U.S. imposes new Ukraine sanctions over election interference
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday sanctioned more than a half-dozen associates of a Ukrainian lawmaker accused by U.S. officials of interfering in the 2020 presidential election by releasing edited audio recordings of President-elect Joe Biden. The Treasury Department already had imposed sanctions on Andrii Derkach, whom U.S. officials...
FBI warns of plans for nationwide armed protests next week
WASHINGTON — The FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week’s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol. An internal FBI bulletin warned that, as...
Woman hedges apology in tense interview on hotel attackVideo
NEW YORK — A woman who wrongly accused a Black teenager of stealing her cellphone and tackled him at a New York City hotel appeared to back off her apology in a TV interview that aired Monday, suggesting without evidence that maybe he did try to steal her phone after...
Michigan bans open carry of guns inside state Capitol
LANSING, Mich. — A state panel on Monday banned the open carry of guns in Michigan’s Capitol, a week after an armed mob rioted in the U.S. Capitol and following a plot last year to storm the statehouse. Moves to ban weapons at the statehouse have been pushed since April,...
Mississippi governor signing law for flag without rebel sign
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is set to sign a bill Monday that gives the state a new flag with a magnolia and the phrase, “In God We Trust,” just over six months after legislators retired the last state flag in the U.S. that included the Confederate battle...
Pa. health secretary says ‘it’s a misconception’ that covid vaccines are sitting dormant
Pennsylvania’s top health official said the state could “soon” move to Phase 1B of the covid-19 vaccination plan but revealed little about when that will be and what it will look like. The state so far has administered 285,671 doses of the vaccine, said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine,...
National Park Service shuts Washington Monument citing threats surrounding inauguration
The National Park Service is shutting down public access to the Washington Monument until Jan. 24, citing threats surrounding Joe Biden’s inauguration. The agency said Monday that it was implementing the temporary closure “in response to credible threats to visitors and park resources.” Park officials say that groups involved in...
Kamala Harris’ team says it was blindsided by VP-elect’s Vogue cover
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has landed on the cover of the February issue of Vogue magazine, but her team says there’s a problem: the shot of the country’s soon-to-be No. 2 leader isn’t what both sides had agreed upon, her team says. Instead of the powder blue power suit Harris...
4 Russian soldiers die, over 40 injured in road crash
MOSCOW — At least four Russian soldiers died and more than 40 others were injured Monday in a traffic crash near Moscow, officials said. The Defense Ministry said that a truck driver lost control of his vehicle and rammed into a convoy of military buses on a highway just northwest...
Trump reportedly considering pardons for rappers Lil Wayne, Kodak Black
When, seemingly out of nowhere, famed New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne, who was born Dwayne Carter, took to Twitter a week before the November election to endorse President Donald Trump, many of his fans were blindsided. “President Carter with President Trump,” read the boastful tweet above an image of the...
50 countries vow to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030Video
PARIS — At least 50 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet, including land and sea, over the next decade to halt species extinction and address climate change issues, during a global summit Monday aimed at protecting the world’s biodiversity. About 30 leaders, government officials and heads of international...
Biden inauguration theme set: ‘America United’
WASHINGTON — The theme for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration will be “America United,” an issue that’s long been a central focus for Biden but one that’s taken on added weight in the wake of the violence at the U.S. Capitol last week. In an announcement shared first with the Associated...
U.S. ramps up vaccinations to get doses to more Americans
The U.S. is entering the second month of the biggest vaccination effort in history with a major expansion of the campaign, opening football stadiums, major league ballparks, fairgrounds and convention centers to inoculate a larger and more diverse pool of people. After a frustratingly slow rollout involving primarily health care...
No more puny prizes: Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots soar
After a long stretch of relatively paltry prizes, U.S. lottery players now have a choice of games that offer combined jackpots of more than $1 billion. The jackpot for Mega Millions’ Tuesday night drawing has climbed to $600 million, and the top prize in the Powerball game reached $550 million...
Pennsylvania reports nearly 13K more covid cases, 186 deaths in 2 days
The state added 12,844 more covid-19 cases over the past two days, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Monday. Health officials reported 7,506 of those cases Sunday and another 5,338 cases on Monday. Of the newest reported cases, 11,522 were confirmed through PCR tests, while 1,322 were listed as probable....
Judge halts 1st U.S. execution of female inmate in 67 years
MISSION, Kan. — A judge has halted the U.S. government’s first execution of a female inmate in nearly seven decades, saying a court must first determine whether the Kansas woman who killed an expectant mother, cut the baby from her womb and then tried to pass off the newborn as...
Trump to honor Belichick with Presidential Medal of Freedom
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will present one of the nation’s highest civilian honors to Bill Belichick, the football coach of the New England Patriots and the only coach to win six Super Bowl titles. The presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom is expected Thursday, a White House official...
Nancy Bush Ellis, sister and aunt of presidents, dies
Nancy Bush Ellis, a longtime Democrat who helped her Republican brother and nephew get elected president, has died of complications of the coronavirus. She was 94. “We are sad to share that President Bush’s beloved sister, Nancy Bush Ellis, has passed away. Our condolences and prayers are with the Ellis...
House speeding to impeach Trump for Capitol ‘insurrection’Video
WASHINGTON — Poised to impeach, the House sped ahead Monday with plans to oust President Donald Trump from office, warning he is a threat to democracy and pushing the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly in an extraordinary effort to remove Trump in the final days of...
Bar association seeks to ban Rudy Giuliani over ‘combat’ remarks
Rudy Giuliani is facing possible expulsion from the New York State Bar Association over incendiary remarks he made to President Donald Trump’s supporters last week before they violently stormed the U.S. Capitol. The organization said Monday that it has opened an inquiry into whether Giuliani should remain a member. Its...
Meet the online gadget show, a hall of mirrors to the future
Every January, huge crowds descend on Las Vegas for the CES gadget show, an extravaganza of tech and glitz intended to set the tone for the coming year in consumer technology. CES kicks off this week, but thanks to the pandemic, it will be in a radical new format —...
Pope says women can read at Mass, but still can’t be priests
ROME — Pope Francis changed church law Monday to explicitly allow women to do more things during Mass, granting them access to the most sacred place on the altar, while continuing to affirm that they cannot be priests. Francis amended the law to formalize and institutionalize what is common practice...
Capitol assault a more sinister attack than first appeared
Under battle flags bearing Donald Trump’s name, the Capitol’s attackers pinned a bloodied police officer in a doorway, his twisted face and screams captured on video. They mortally wounded another officer with a blunt weapon and body-slammed a third over a railing into the crowd. “Hang Mike Pence!” the insurrectionists...
Supreme Court won’t hear Pittsburgh abortion clinic free speech case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is declining to get involved in a case about free speech outside a Pittsburgh abortion clinic. The high court turned away the case Monday. The court’s decision not to hear the case leaves in place a 2019 appeals court decision that upheld a Pittsburgh ordinance...
Supreme Court denies fast-track hearings for remaining GOP challenges to Pa. election results
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to fast-track remaining legal challenges to Pennsylvania’s election results on Monday, underscoring the justices’ reluctance to wade into widely discredited Republican arguments for reversing the outcome of the 2020 vote. The decision did not dismiss the election challenges outright and kept them alive...
