U.S. military confirms pandemic won’t sideline Santa Claus
DENVER — The U.S. military is tracking an elderly man with a white beard and a large belly who goes by the name of Saint Nicholas. There’s no reason for alarm though, Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck said. In fact, this is a Christmas tradition going on its 65th...
Protesters call for justice in police killing of Andre Hill
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Demonstrators gathered in a cold Christmas Eve drizzle Thursday to call for justice in the death of Andre Hill, a Black man who was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer this week. Chants of “Whose street? Our street!” rang out from the crowd, which gathered...
Italy enters Christmas lockdown amid signs of coronavirus resurgence
ROME — Police in Italy enforced new covid-19 travel restrictions aimed at limiting Christmas get-togethers involving far-flung family members as public health officials appealed Thursday for a “drastic reduction” in social contacts to prevent new infections over the holidays. A modified nationwide lockdown went into effect on Christmas Eve with...
Truckers finally leave U.K. after days of virus gridlock
DOVER, England — Truckers and travelers stuck in a days-long gridlock at the English port of Dover started heading to France on Thursday after the country partially reopened its borders with Britain following international concern over a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant. However, thousands of stranded truck drivers still awaited...
Dark days: Experts fear the holidays will fuel the U.S. crisis
LOS ANGELES — Hard-hit California eclipsed 2 million coronavirus cases on Christmas Eve as the U.S. headed into a holiday season of travel and family gatherings that threaten to fuel the deadly outbreak across the nation. Despite warnings from public health experts to stay home, over 1.19 million travelers passed...
Judge in Pa. rejects restaurants’ challenge of Wolf’s indoor dining ban
HARRISBURG — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has rejected a bid to block one of Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest orders to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a three-week shutdown of indoor dining at restaurants through Jan. 4, as Wolf went to court to sue restaurants defying the...
Police: Couple steals $300 albino python from Massachusetts pet store
PEABODY, Mass. — Police in Peabody, Massachusetts, are looking for a couple who slithered away with a snake worth $300 from a city pet store. The couple entered the Petco store around 4:30 p.m. Monday, police told The Salem News on Wednesday. The man asked an employee if he could...
Pair of Nazi headstones removed from Houston Cemetery
SAN ANTONIO — Two German WWII graves bearing Nazi swastikas have been removed from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and replaced with new headstones. The pair of headstones had become a long controversy over whether they were historical artifacts worth preserving or emblems of hate that should be destroyed, according...
Nurses fear what’s to come: ‘Walk down our unit for a day’
LOS ANGELES — The nurses of California are afraid. It’s Christmas Eve, and they aren’t home with their families. They are working, always working, completely gowned up — and worn down. They’re frightened by what people are doing, or not doing, during a coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more...
Pennsylvania’s covid surge eases a bit as Christmas arrives
When a surge of new cases hit Pennsylvania in early December, it ratcheted up the state’s average daily case count to over 10,000. Over the past week, that surge seems to have eased slightly. The trend continued on the day before Christmas. With 9,230 new covid-19 cases announced by the...
Chacko’s in Wilkes-Barre selected by Barstool Sports to get covid aid throughout pandemicVideo
The holidays got a little brighter Thursday for Chacko’s Family Bowling Center. The Wilkes-Barre bowling alley and restaurant got word on Christmas Eve that they were chosen for The Barstool Fund, a covid relief effort started by Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports. The next business we're helping is Chacko's Family...
Time almost up for some unemployed workers to apply for extra $300
People who were fully or partially unemployed for six weeks in August and September because of covid-19 are running out of time to apply for extra aid. Eligible individuals could receive up to $300 a week in extra jobless benefits, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency will close the application...
Attempt to recall Lincoln, Neb., mayor, council falls short
LINCOLN, Neb. — A campaign to recall Lincoln’s mayor and four city council members has failed after petition circulators could not to gather enough signatures to trigger a recall election, organizers said Wednesday. The group LNK Recall said it came up thousands of signatures short in their quest to recall...
Melted fuel removal at Fukushima delayed by pandemic
TOKYO — Japan’s government and the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said Thursday that the removal of melted reactor fuel planned to start in 2021 will have to be postponed by about one year due to the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The economy and industry ministry and Tokyo Electric...
Coronavirus dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem and elsewhere
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — A stream of marching bands joyously paraded through Bethlehem on Thursday, but few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Similar subdued scenes were repeated across the world as...
Presidential election hostilities may fuel fight over Pa. courts
HARRISBURG — The angst, anger and hostility over Pennsylvania’s presidential election result will flow past New Year’s Day. Republicans who control the state Legislature could use the first weeks of 2021 to fast-track a constitutional amendment that would remake the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court after Republicans and President Donald Trump...
‘We are struggling’: A bleak Christmas for America’s jobless
NEW YORK — Last Christmas, Shanita Matthews cooked up a feast for her family of three: Roast chicken, barbecue spareribs, spinach, macaroni and cheese. This year? They’ll stick with tuna fish and crackers, among the few items she can afford at the supermarket. “We’re not really doing Christmas — I...
House Republicans block $2,000 virus checks despite Trump demand
WASHINGTON — House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump’s longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans before signing a long-overdue covid-19 relief bill. The made-for-TV clash came as the Democratic-controlled chamber convened for a pro forma session scheduled in anticipation...
U.K., EU reach post-Brexit trade deal
BRUSSELS — Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough came Thursday with just over a week to go until the U.K.’s split...
Santa’s ride has begun: Here’s how to track the jolly elf online
The Ride has begun. It’s officially Christmas Day — somewhere — and Santa has begun making his annual rounds. The jolly old elf can be tracked online, as he has for years now, via NORAD and Google’s Santa Tracker. NORAD’s tracker — aka the North American Aerospace Defense Command —...
‘Historic milestone’: 1 million Americans have received a covid vaccine, CDC saysVideo
More than 1 million Americans have received their first doses of a covid-19 shot across the country since federal officials authorized two vaccines for emergency use, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. CDC Director Robert Redfield called it an “early but important milestone” in a media statement. “With...
A child so sick his parents feared the worst, now they urge changeVideo
MONTPELIER, Idaho — Kale Wuthrich watched doctors surround his son in the emergency room, giving him fluids though IV tubes, running a battery of tests and trying to stabilize him. He was enveloped by the confusion and fear that had been building since his 12-year-old suddenly fell ill weeks after...
Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Roger Stone
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued pardons and sentence commutations for 29 people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest burst of clemency in his final weeks at the White House. The actions bring to nearly 50 the...
Winter storm in Dakotas, Minnesota make travel frightfulVideo
FARGO, N.D. — A storm that began with snow, strong winds and bitter cold into the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota early Wednesday was making travel treacherous and grounded flights on one of the most anticipated air travel days since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Blizzard warnings were posted...
Studies find having covid-19 may protect against reinfection
Two new studies give encouraging evidence that having covid-19 may offer some protection against future infections. Researchers found that people who made antibodies to the coronavirus were much less likely to test positive again for up to six months and maybe longer. The results bode well for vaccines, which provoke...
