November 26, 2020 4:34 am
HOUSTON (AP) – The U.S. government has appealed a judge’s order barring the expulsions of immigrant children who crossed the border alone, a policy enacted during the coronavirus pandemic to deny the children asylum protections. Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a preliminary injunction on Nov. 18 sought by advocates for immigrants that barred expulsions of unaccompanied children under public health laws. The Justice Department on Wednesday night also asked Sullivan to issue a stay of the injunction pending appeal, a request he previously denied.
November 26, 2020 4:32 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn despite Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts. Trump announced the pardon on Wednesday, calling it his “Great Honor.” Flynn’s family thanked Trump “for answering our prayers and the prayers of a nation” by issuing the pardon. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Flynn pardon “an act of grave corruption and a brazen abuse of power.” The pardon is part of a broader effort by the president to undo the results of a Russia investigation that shadowed his administration and yielded criminal charges against a half dozen associates.
November 26, 2020 4:30 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa — Pennsylvania State Police are searching for an elderly man who disappeared Wednesday evening in Fayette County. Clarence Frederick Robinson, 97, was last seen around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon traveling north along State Route 119 in his 2012 Maroon/Tan Ford 5-150 pickup truck. He stands at 5’10”, is balding with gray hair and brown eyes while weighing roughly 170 pounds. The Smithfield man was last seen wearing navy blue pants, a button down shirt and a U.S. Air Force ball cap. Anyone with information on Robinson’s disappearance is asked to call State Police in Uniontown at 724-439-7111.
November 26, 2020 4:20 am
A Pennsylvania appeals court judge has ordered state officials on Wednesday to halt any further steps toward certifying election results. The ruling comes a day after Gov. Tom Wolf said he had certified Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election in Pennsylvania. Wolf’s administration quickly asked the state Supreme Court to block the ruling from taking effect, saying there was no ‘conceivable justification’ for it. Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough, a Republican, had issued the order. It wasn’t immediately clear if she hoped to hold up the certification of state and local contests on the ballot or interrupt the scheduled Dec. 14 meeting of the state’s 20 electors.
November 26, 2020 4:15 am

PITTSBURGH, Pa (WPXI) — Did your phone blare with a message about COVID-19 Wednesday evening? Gov. Wolf’s office announced the state will start using the national Wireless Emergency Alert system to put out messages about the pandemic. According to a news release, WEA is a national public safety system that allows people who own a cellphone to receive targeted, text-like messages. The system is currently used to issue alerts to your phone for things like Amber Alerts or severe weather warnings. The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau allows the state to use the system as a COVID-19 communications tool. State officials said the plan is target specific regions of the state for future messages.
November 25, 2020 4:59 pm

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – In a time of plague and raw division, President-elect Joe Biden is appealing for unity in a Thanksgiving-eve address to the nation. He’s asking Americans to “steel our spines” for a fight against the coronavirus that he predicted would continue for months. With COVID-19 cases surging nationwide, Biden called on Americans to take precautions to try to stem the tide of the virus, by wearing masks and practicing social distancing. But even as he urged common purpose and healing, President Donald Trump asserted that the election results must be overturned.
November 25, 2020 4:57 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, taking direct aim in the final days of his administration at a Russia investigation that he has long insisted was motivated by political bias. Trump announced the pardon on Wednesday, calling it his “Great Honor.” Flynn is the second Trump associate convicted in the Russia probe to be granted clemency by the president. Trump commuted the sentence of longtime confidant Roger Stone just days before he was to report to prison. It is part of a broader effort to undo the results of an investigation that has shadowed his administration and yielded criminal charges against a half dozen associates.
November 25, 2020 1:29 pm

The NFL has announced that the Thanksgiving prime time game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens has been postponed. The NFL issued a statement stating “This decision was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts,”. Several Ravens players and office personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 this week. The game has been moved to Sunday afternoon, kickoff is at 1:15 and can be seen on NBC.
November 25, 2020 9:48 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of a Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to 778,000, evidence that the U.S. economy and job market remain under strain as coronavirus cases surge and colder weather heighten the risks. The Labor Department’s report Thursday said jobless claims climbed from 748,000 the week before. Before the virus struck hard in mid-March, weekly claims typically amounted to roughly 225,000. They shot up to 6.9 million during one week in March before dropping yet remain historically high more than eight months later, with many businesses unable to fully reopen.
November 25, 2020 4:08 am

NEW YORK (AP) – Fox News has reached a settlement with the parents of Seth Rich, a former Democratic National Committee employee who was killed in 2016. Authorities have concluded that he died in a botched robbery attempt, but a Fox story later falsely suggested that Seth Rich had leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign. There was a false Internet conspiracy theory that suggested that leaked emails had something to do with Rich’s death. Joel and Mary Rich had accused Fox of exploiting their son’s death and subjecting them to emotional distress. They said they hoped the media will take more caution in the future. Neither the Riches nor Fox would disclose terms of the deal.