South Africa buys 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa says it will import 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to inoculate the country’s health workers. This is South Africa’s first announcement of the purchase of a covid-19 vaccine as cases there soar. The first 1 million doses will be delivered later this month from...
Casey joins Schumer, Pelosi in urging Cabinet to oust Trump over siege on Capitol
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and several House Democrats from Pennsylvania, including Rep. Mike Doyle of Forest Hills, joined a growing chorus including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on President Trump’s Cabinet to remove him from office following Wednesday’s violent assault on the Capitol by...
Trump says his term is ending, transition will be orderly
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged his defeat in the Nov. 3 election and announced there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th” after Congress concluded the electoral vote count early Thursday certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Trump’s acknowledgment came after a day of chaos...
Lawmakers vow to investigate police after Capitol breachVideo
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how Capitol police handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed the mob to occupy and vandalize the building. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, said the breach “raises grave security concerns,″...
30 people arrested for violating D.C. curfewVideo
WASHINGTON — Police have arrested 30 people for violating a curfew imposed in Washington, D.C., after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Officials say the 30 people were arrested Wednesday evening after being found on the streets after the 6 p.m. deadline. The curfew had been imposed after scores of supporters...
Facebook removes Trump’s video on Capitol chaos; Twitter locks his account
Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday removed a video posted by President Donald Trump in which he falsely claimed that the November election was stolen from him and asked rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol to go home even as he praised them. In the video, Trump said that he won...
West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. CapitolVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia lawmaker took video of himself and other supporters of President Trump rushing Wednesday into the U.S. Capitol. In the video by Republican Del. Derrick Evans, later deleted from his social media page, he is shown wearing a helmet and clamoring at the door to...
Capitol has seen violence over 220 years, but not like this
In more than 220 years, the U.S. Capitol had seen nothing like it: a roiling mob, forcing its way past its majestic marble columns, disrupting the passage of power, desecrating the seat of the world’s greatest democracy. But this was far from the first time the Capitol has been scarred...
Former presidents Bush, Obama ‘appalled’ and sickened by mayhem at Capitol
Former President George W. Bush said he and his wife, Laura, are sickened and heartbroken over the “mayhem” in Washington, D.C., and have watched in “disbelief and dismay” as events unfolded. Bush said the “assault” on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and the disruption of a constitutionally mandated meeting to...
World leaders express shock at storming of U.S. Capitol
Leaders around the world condemned the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, expressing shock at the chaos unfolding in a country they once relied upon for global leadership. “Disgraceful scenes in US Congress,” tweeted Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, a staunch ally...
Trump supporters stage protests nationwide
From Oklahoma to Kansas to Utah, supporters of President Donald Trump staged protests nationwide Wednesday. In Oklahoma City, Okla., close to 1,000 Trump supporters gathered at the Oklahoma Capitol as a joint session of Congress convened in Washington to confirm the Electoral College vote won by Joe Biden. Protesters held...
Pa. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward defends election questions as U.S. Capitol stormed
State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward on Wednesday refused to budge from her position questioning the integrity of Nov. 3 election in Pennsylvania, even as an angry crowd of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol and Gov. Tom Wolf called out state Republicans for fomenting a “shameful lie.” Ward of...
Biden calls on protesters to ‘pull back,’ urges restoring decency
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden called Wednesday for the restoration of “just simple decency” as a mob incited by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed Congress from certifying the results of November’s election in which Biden won the White House. Biden had planned to deliver a speech...
Woman shot inside Capitol during riot diesVideo
WASHINGTON — A woman who was shot inside the U.S. Capitol during the violent pro-Trump protest has died. That’s according to two officials familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The Metropolitan Police Department...
Trump to protesters: ‘We love you. You’re very special … but go home’
President Donald Trump issued a recorded statement via Twitter about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday telling protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol to “go home.” And then he doubled down about two hours later. “I know you’re pain. I know you’re hurt,” Trump said in his statement. “We had an election that...
Photos: Protesters storm U.S. Capitol, disrupt approval of Biden’s win
Protesters backing President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in violent clashes with police that force a delay in the constitutional process to affirm Joe Biden’s victory in the November election. Trump had urged his supporters to come to Washington to protest Congress’ formal approval of Biden’s win....
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Challenging Biden win threatens republic
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged fellow Republicans on Wednesday to abandon their effort to overrule President-elect Joe Biden’s election triumph, directly rebuking defeated President Donald Trump and asserting that the GOP drive threatened the country’s democratic foundations. “The voters, the courts and the states have all spoken,”...
Romney heckled in airport in another show of GOP divisions
SALT LAKE CITY — Supporters of President Donald Trump heckled Republican U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah in an airport, illustrating divisions in the Republican Party between Trump loyalists and those ready to accept the results of the presidential election. Romney has been considered Trump’s sharpest GOP critic and is...
Justice Department says it’s been affected by Russian hack
The Justice Department disclosed on Wednesday that it was among the federal agencies harmed by a massive breach of government networks that U.S. officials have linked to Russia. The extent of the damage was unclear. The department said that 3% of its Microsoft Office 365 email accounts were potentially affected,...
For first time in 5 years, U.S. gas mileage down, emissions up
DETROIT — A new government report says gas mileage for new vehicles dropped and pollution increased in model year 2019 for the first time in five years. The mileage increase comes as Americans continue to buy SUVs and trucks, and shift away from more efficient vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency...
Biden introduces Judge Merrick Garland as attorney general
President-elect Joe Biden introduced Merrick Garland as his pick for attorney general on Thursday, turning to an experienced judge to help de-politicize the Justice Department and restore the rule of law after what he described as four years of lawlessness under President Donald Trump. Biden also described the pro-Trump mob...
Pro-Trump mob overruns U.S. Capitol in bid to overturn election; 4 dead
WASHINGTON — A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. The nation’s elected representatives...
Pence defies Trump, says he can’t reject electoral votes
WASHINGTON — Defying President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged Wednesday he does not have the power to throw out the electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president in two weeks, dashing Trump’s baseless hopes that Pence somehow could find a way to keep him...
Pennsylvania reports highest new covid case total in 2 weeks
Pennsylvania reported its highest total of new cases of coronavirus in two weeks on Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 9,474 new positive cases of covid-19, raising the statewide total to 683,389. The state also added the most new deaths to its total since May. Wednesday’s addition of 368...
On the llam: ‘Very chill’ llama found wandering off highway
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — A passerby spotted a wandering llama in a field off an interstate in Massachusetts and with the help of an animal control officer, brought it to a farm for safekeeping. Patrick Boddy was driving in Newburyport when he spotted the male gray-and-white llama, stopped his truck and...