News Daypop Archives

The Trump administration is offering a $3 million prize to revive domestic solar manufacturing, this coming after imposing tariffs opposed by much of the U.S. solar industry. The Energy Department said Wednesday that the American Made Solar Prize would help “reassert American leadership in the solar marketplace.” Earlier this week, President Donald Trump decided to impose tariffs of up to 30 percent on most imported solar cells used in solar panels. Most of the U.S. solar industry revolves around installing solar systems for homeowners and utilities, and those companies largely opposed the tariffs. A federal trade panel recommended the tariffs, which had been sought by two U.S. manufacturers.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to be interviewed under oath by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.  “I‘m looking forward to it, actually,” Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said of an interview with Mueller. “I would do it under oath.”  He later added his lawyers would have to work out the details and that there is no date set but it could be in two or three weeks. The president’s lawyers began meeting with Mueller’s team in December and have been discussing how the president would respond to the special counsel’s questions, including the possibility of sending questions in writing. Sources familiar with the meeting said earlier this month that Mueller wanted to speak with the president directly.. ...Read Full Story

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, said she and her husband “are thrilled” to announce that she is pregnant with their second child, making her the first acting senator to give birth. The soon-to-be mother of two, who’s baby girl is due this spring, thanked friends, family and hospital staff for helping in their “decades-long journey to complete” their family. Duckworth is a decorated Iraq War veteran who lost both her legs in combat.  She was elected to the Senate in 2016 after previously serving two terms in the House of Representatives. The senator’s latest pregnancy news makes her one of 10 women to have a baby while serving their term in Congress, and Duckworth will reportedly be the first acting senator to do so. Duckworth, 49, first became a mom in 2014 after giving birth to daughter Abigail. She was a member of the House at the time.  . ...Read Full Story

A 15-year-old student killed two classmates and hit a dozen others with gunfire Tuesday, methodically firing a handgun inside a crowded atrium at his rural Kentucky high school. Seventeen students were injured, 12 of them hit with bullets and five others hurt in the scramble as hundreds of students fled for their lives from Marshall County High School.  The gunman kept firing until he ran out of ammunition and tried running away. Police arrested him moments later, leading him away in handcuffs to be charged with murder and attempted murder. Authorities did not identify the gunman responsible for the nation’s first fatal school shooting of 2018, nor did they release any details about a motive.  The attack marked the year’s first fatal school shooting, 23 days into 2018.. ...Read Full Story

Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV vice president Alphons Iacobelli pleaded guilty on Monday in connection with a U.S. investigation into allegations he made at least $1.5 million in improper payments to senior union officials, the U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit said. Iacobelli, 58, a former Fiat Chrysler vice president of employee relations, was charged in July in U.S. District Court in Detroit with taking part in a conspiracy to pay prohibited money and gifts to United Auto Workers union officials. Sentencing was set for May 29. Iacobelli faces a statutory maximum of eight years in prison, and prosecutors said he will be required to repay $835,000. . ...Read Full Story

Congress agreed to a short-term bill to fund the government for three weeks and end the three-day long federal government shutdown Monday after Senate Republicans provided assurances to Democrats that immigration reform and other contentious issues would be addressed in the near future.  After the Senate passed the bill by an 81-18 margin Monday afternoon, the House of Representatives concurred with the measure 266-150, sending it to President Donald Trump, whose signature would bring an end to the impasse. Between 700,000 and 800,000 federal employees were furloughed during the standoff, according to the Office of Management and Budget.. ...Read Full Story

The Senate will vote at noon on Monday on whether to cut off a Democratic filibuster of legislation to end the government shutdown, as the shutdown continues into it’s third day. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said there is still no agreement to pass the stopgap funding bill. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set the vote after Schumer blocked a bid for an immediate vote Sunday night. McConnell said he intends to bring up free-standing immigration legislation in February. Democrats have blocked a House-passed temporary funding bill to reopen the government’s doors through Feb. 16. The pending Senate measure would last through Feb. 8. . ...Read Full Story

At least 15 people were injured on Monday when a train crashed into a barrier in the northwest of Sydney, Australia’s largest city, and were being treated by emergency services personnel, an ambulance spokesman said. Pictures taken at the scene showed the train had run into buffers at the end of the railway line at Richmond, about 40 miles northwest of central Sydney. The injured were being carried on stretchers into waiting ambulances. Train operator NSW Trains said on Twitter the train had hit a buffer at the end of the line. Television footage showed that it was still upright on the tracks and that its carriages did not appear to be crumpled.. ...Read Full Story

New details have emerged about the shocking abuse 13 children allegedly endured at the hands of their own parents when they were held captive in their own home in California. Riverside County district attorney Mike Hestrin revealed on Thursday that David and Louise Turpin’s 13 children, aged 2 to 29, had been tied up for years as a punishment; when one child managed to break free, the parents shackled them to beds with chains and padlocks and were not even released from their shackles to go to the toilet. Mr Hestrin said all 13 children were severely malnourished. The parents, who appeared in court on Thursday dressed in black and with their legs shackled, appeared calm as they plead not guilty to multiple counts of torture and abuse. Disturbing stories have been revealed, including that the couple would bring home food for themselves but not allow the children to eat it. A law enforcement official said that the children were served only one rationed meal per day and that several of the kids were cognitively impaired as a result of the starvation, had nerve damage because of the “extreme and prolonged physical abuse” and “lacked a basic knowledge of life”. He also revealed that the children were permitted to shower only once a year.. ...Read Full Story

An Arizona man has been accused of a murder spree in which he allegedly killed nine people in three weeks, a rampage that would make him one of the most prolific serial killers in the state’s history. Cleophus Cooksey Jr., 35, was arrested on Dec. 17, 2017, after police responded to a call of shots fired in Phoenix. When officers arrived they found Cooksey’s mother and stepfather dead. Cooksey was not linked to the other homicides until he was in custody, police said Thursday.  Investigators used shell casings to link the other murders, police said. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said new technology allowed officers to determine the evidence was linked to the suspect quickly. Cooksey’s other alleged victims include the brother of his ex-girlfriend and various men and women of black, white and Hispanic race and ethnicity.. ...Read Full Story

Apple Inc. will open a new campus as part of a five-year, $30 billion U.S. investment plan and will make about $38 billion in one-time tax payments on its overseas cash, one of the largest corporate spending plans announced since the passage of a tax cut signed by President Donald Trump. The company has been under increasing pressure to make U.S. investments since the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump targeted the iPhone maker for making products in Asian factories. While Apple has announced no plans to change that practice, the company has begun to emphasize its U.S. economic impact, from developers who sell software on its App Store to the tens of billions of dollars per year it spends with U.S. suppliers. On Wednesday, Apple estimated it would spend $350 billion in the United States over the next five years.. ...Read Full Story

Senate Republicans rejected a bipartisan deal to protect DREAMers and are going back to the drawing board, despite a threat by Democrats to shut down the government within days without one. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday Congress would be “just spinning our wheels” if it voted on an immigration deal reached by a bipartisan group of senators without assurances from President Trump that he will sign it. Republicans overwhelmingly say there is no chance for a deal to get done by this week and talks will be restarting from scratch. Democrats will have to choose between potentially forcing a government shutdown over DACA, or taking the CHIP funding for now and hoping for an immigration bill to pass before the March deadline.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Tuesday she did not hear President Donald Trump use a vulgarity to describe African countries during an impassioned White House meeting last week. Nielsen’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee echoed statements she has made since the meeting on Thursday with Trump and Republican and Democratic legislators, which continued the debate on an immigration law deal and generated accusations of racism toward Trump. Nielsen said she did not remember Trump categorizing African countries in a specific way. “The conversation was very impassioned. I don’t dispute that the president was using tough language,” Nielsen said, adding that several people in the room were using profanity. . ...Read Full Story

A former CIA officer has been arrested and charged with illegally retaining classified records, including names and phone numbers of covert CIA assets. 53 year-old Jerry Chun Shing Lee was arrested Monday night after arriving at JFK International Airport. He made an initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in New York, but will face charges in northern Virginia, where the CIA is located. According to court documents, Lee, a Hong Kong resident, served in the CIA from 1994 to 2007 as a case officer. A court affidavit states that Lee traveled to northern Virginia with his family in 2012, when the FBI searched Lee’s possessions and found two small books with handwritten notes containing names and numbers of covert CIA employees and locations of covert facilities.. ...Read Full Story

A firestorm ignited by President Donald Trump’s remarks last week has impaired lawmakers’ ability to reach a deal on immigration and spending levels, according to congressional aides. Sources also caution of a possible government shutdown at week’s end. Congressional aides say they are expecting a short-term deal funding the government for a few weeks to come to the table, but by no means do they feel it is guaranteed. Prospects for any deal diminished because of controversial reported comments last week from President Trump in a meeting with lawmakers about his desire to stop immigration from “shithole countries.”  Mr. Trump denied reports of his remarks, saying “they weren’t made,” and accused Democrats of backing away from a deal. Two Republican senators also called into question the reports quoting Mr. Trump, though others in attendance have confirmed them.. ...Read Full Story

Two parents were arrested after police discovered that 13 people were being held captive in their California home, shackled to beds with chains and padlocks in filthy conditions, officials said Monday. David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were charged Sunday with torture and child endangerment and bail has been set at $9 million each. The couple was taken to the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Their victims ranged in age from 2 to 29, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. One victim, a 17-year-old girl, managed to escape from the residence in Perris, California on Sunday and called 911 from a cell phone she found in the house, police said. The girl claimed her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive inside the home by her parents, some of them bound with chains and padlocks. The children and adults were being treated at medical facilities in the area. . ...Read Full Story

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Peru Sunday morning, leaving at least one person dead and dozens injured. A 55-year-old man died in the town of Yauca after being crushed by a rock said Yamila Osorio, governor of the southwestern city of Arequipa. Osorio said at least 20 people also were injured in the quake. The earthquake hit offshore at about 4:18 a.m. at a depth of 24.4 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean, 25 miles from the town of Acari. Effects of the quake were also felt in Chile, and power was lost in the cities of Acari, Jaqui, Tanaca Yauza, Salamanca, Condesuyos and others, said Acari Mayor Jorge Alfonso De La Torre Velarde.. ...Read Full Story

Hawaii’s emergency authorities lacked reasonable safeguards to prevent the kind of false alert that panicked residents with a warning of an imminent ballistic missile attack, the head of the Federal Communications Commission said.  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement on Sunday that an investigation into the incident is well under way with federal and state officials.  Hawaiian residents were sent into a panic on Saturday by the false missile alert. The alert was sent when an employee at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency “pushed the wrong button,” according to Governor David Ige. The FCC has jurisdiction over the emergency alert system. Federal and state lawmakers have also called for an investigation into Hawaii’s incident.. ...Read Full Story

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to renew sweeping surveillance powers for the government’s intelligence agencies. The vote on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which must be renewed every five years and is set to expire on January 19, passed by a 256 to 164 margin. Contradictory early morning tweets by President Donald Trump sparked confusion prior to the House vote. Initially in his tweet, he seemed opposed to the bill. A little over an hour later he had completely reversed himself, tweeting: “We need it! Get smart!”. ...Read Full Story

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens admitted late Wednesday that he had been “unfaithful” in his marriage, after a St. Louis television station reported he had an affair before he became governor and that he allegedly threatened to blackmail the woman about their sexual encounter. The allegations prompted the opening of a probe by the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office and prompted calls by Republican Missouri state senators for an immediate investigation by the state’s attorney general.  They asked that the Senator resign if the blackmail allegations are proven to be true. Greitens has denied through his attorney, James Bennett, that he had tried to blackmail the woman to keep her quiet, and said there were multiple false allegations in the TV station’s report.. ...Read Full Story

President Donald Trump is telling South Korea’s president that he’s open to U.S.-North Korean talks “at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances.” That’s according to a White House readout of the president’s call Wednesday with South Korean President Moon Jae-In. The phone call comes after the Koreas held their first high-level talks in two years. North Korea agreed to send a delegation to the Olympic Games and both sides agreed to hold talks on reducing tensions along their border. Moon has said he’s open to meeting with Kim Jong Un to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff.. ...Read Full Story

A federal judge’s decision to stop President Trump from ending protections for so-called Dreamers offered the young immigrants a temporary reprieve, but may have stalled the urgency in Congress toward a more lasting legislative solution. On Wednesday, Trump denounced the federal courts as “broken and unfair” after a district judge in San Francisco issued a temporary ruling keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in place, despite Trump’s decision to end it this year. Pressure had been mounting for Congress to broker a deal by Jan. 19 as part of a must-pass budget package to fund the government. The White House suggested the court’s ruling would make a legislative deal harder to obtain. “We find this decision to be outrageous,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process.”. ...Read Full Story

At least eight people are dead and 25 are injured in California from weather-related incidents, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The southern part of the state has been drenched with severe rain just weeks after several fires tore through the area. Flash flooding, debris flow and mudslides are affecting counties hit hard by the Thomas and La Tuna fires. In the community of Montecito, some homes have been ripped from their foundations as a result of the torrential conditions, and excessive flooding and debris made some parts of Santa Barbara impassable. Routes in and out of Santa Barbara have been shut down from the south, and various roadways have been swallowed by the floods. The only way into some of the washed-out homes is by air.. ...Read Full Story

Steve Bannon, who returned to run Breitbart News after a stint as White House chief strategist last year, said on Tuesday that he was stepping down from his post as the outlet’s executive chairman. The move comes as Bannon deals with backlash from Michael Wolff’s explosive book, Fire and Fury, in which Bannon harshly disparaged several members of the president’s inner circle, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. On Sunday, Bannon offered a quasi-apology for his statements, but it does not seem to have stopped the fallout.  Reports claim that Bannon’s departure was forced by Rebekah Mercer, a Republican mega-donor whose investment in Breitbart gave her a seat on the board. In an article on Breitbart News, the site announced that “Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth and orderly transition.”. ...Read Full Story

A college football reporter was found unharmed Monday morning, 36 hours after she vanished and told friends she had been followed home by a suspicious man. Courtney Roland disappeared late Saturday after covering a Texas A&M elite football camp in Houston, her family said in social media posts. “We believe she was confused because of a reaction to medications that she had been taking,” Houston Police Capt. Mark Lentini said during a news conference Monday afternoon. Roland was discovered at around 8:15 a.m. local time Monday morning by a citizen who said she was passing underneath an overpass walking toward a Chick-fil-A. Roland was taken to a local hospital for a routine evaluation, where she remains with family and friends, police said.. ...Read Full Story

Officials have ordered thousands of people who were affected by recent wildfires in Southern California to evacuate as an upcoming winter storm poses a threat for mudslides and flash floods. Mandatory evacuations were issued for about 7,000 people in mountainous areas affected by the Thomas, Whitter, Sherpa and Rey fires. Another 23,000 people were under evacuation warnings, officials said. The storm is the West Coast’s first significant winter storm of the season, and heavy rain and strong winds are expected in the area through Tuesday, bringing “strong potential” for flash flooding and mud in areas where wildfires recently burned through.. ...Read Full Story

The first Hollywood awards show of 2018 kicked off with a focus on social issues instead of fashion. Actors descending upon Sunday’s Golden Globes red carpet were in black to ban together in support of the newly created “Time’s Up” initiative and the already widespread #MeToo movement. Reese Witherspoon,  The movement to wear black was to represent Hollywood taking a stand against the numerous sexual harassment cases uncovered last year, declaring that time is up on inequality and mistreatment of women. Tracee Ellis Ross, Rashida Jones, Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson created a viral video together to urge those at the Globes to join them in wearing black. . ...Read Full Story

A water main broke in a JFK International Airport terminal on Sunday, flooding a baggage claim area and adding to travelers’ misfortunes at the airport this week. The water main broke about 1:30 p.m. in Terminal 4, which was later evacuated and had to be shutdown to international flights, according to the airport. A JFK spokesperson said that a frozen pipe caused the main to break, and that about three to four inches of water are on the ground. The flooding has caused further delays and cancellations at JFK as New York City recovers from the “bomb cyclone” that hit the northeast last Thursday. Thousands of flights were cancelled because of the winter storm, leaving many travelers stranded at the airport for days.. ...Read Full Story

At least six people have died and more than 4,000 U.S. flights have been canceled due to a massive winter storm hitting the East Coast, with heavy snow, gusty winds and the coldest air of the season. State officials said three of the deaths occurred in North Carolina and a fourth happened in South Carolina, as the weather system barreled up the eastern coast. Two people were killed in Virginia on Thursday, according to authorities. Meanwhile, U.S. airlines canceled at least 4,020 flights within, into and out of the United States, according to airline tracking. Most of the cancellations were in New Jersey, Boston and New York.. ...Read Full Story

 U.S. and Canadian health officials are investigating whether contaminated romaine lettuce caused dozens of E. coli infections leading to one death.The Public Health Agency of Canada said it found enough evidence to link 41 cases of E. coli to the vegetable, though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is still attempting to determine the cause. The CDC said it’s unable to recommend whether Americans should stop eating romaine lettuce, but Consumer Reports issued a warning Wednesday. It’s also advising that stores remove the item from store shelves.. ...Read Full Story

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dissolve his voter fraud commission Wednesday, the White House said. Trump cited lack of cooperation from states as the reason for his decision to dissolve the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which faces a series of lawsuits over privacy. Trump established the commission in May to research “improper” voter registration procedures, systemic vulnerabilities and voting irregularities including any scenario where a person ineligible to vote becomes an eligible voter in a particular jurisdiction.  . ...Read Full Story

As record cold temperatures paralyze much of the country, a “bomb cyclone” forming off the East Coast is threatening to douse the area in ice and snow. Meteorologists are calling the event Winter Storm Grayson, and they say it could bring snow to the Southeast on Wednesday, as well as possible blizzard conditions to the Northeast Wednesday night and Thursday. The weather event has the potential to make 2018 one of the worst winters in the U.S. yet. A bomb cyclone typically brews over the water where drops in barometric pressure can make it an extra forceful weather event. Making matters worse, forecasters say the storm could trap the bone-chilling cold currently putting the middle of the U.S. in a deep freeze over the Atlantic coastline later this week.. ...Read Full Story

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said on Tuesday he would retire when his current term ends next year, opening the door for a possible political comeback by 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Ending speculation of whether he would seek reelection after more than three decades in office, Hatch, 83, made the announcement in a short video, saying “every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves.” President Donald Trump had urged Hatch to run again, a move that would have prevented Romney from potentially filling his seat.  Romney issued a statement shortly after Hatch’s announcement, writing on Facebook, “I join the people of Utah in thanking my friend, Senator Orrin Hatch for his more than forty years of service to our great state and nation.”. ...Read Full Story

A new storm is making its way to the Southeast Wednesday, likely dumping rain, sleet and some snow before moving north. The storm has prompted schools to close in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Ice has already formed on fountains in some southern cities, including Savannah, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina. In northern Florida and southern Georgia, a dangerous mix of snow and ice are in the forecast for Wednesday morning, and residents of cities including Tallahassee, Florida, and Valdosta, Georgia, may see up to an inch of snow on the roadways during the Wednesday morning commute. Georgia and the Carolinas may see 1 to 3 inches of snow.. ...Read Full Story

A two-hour outage in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s processing systems caused delays at some of the nation’s biggest airports on New Year’s Day. In a statement, CBP said the outage began at 7:30 p.m. and ended at 9:30 p.m. All the airports involved are currently back online, according to CBP, though some are still experiencing effects from the outage. “CBP took immediate action to address the technology disruption,” the agency said in a statement. “CBP officers continued to process international travelers using alternative procedures at affected airports. Travelers at some ports of entry experienced longer than usual wait times as CBP officers processed travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security.. ...Read Full Story

A family of five from New York, vacationing in Costa Rica, were among the victims of a New Year’s Eve plane crash that killed all 12 people on board, investigators and local media have revealed. The small plane carrying 10 American tourists and two local crew members crashed and burst into flames in a wooded area in in Guanacaste, northwest Costa Rica, the government reported Sunday. Five of the victims were identified as Americans Bruce, Irene, Matthew, William and Zachary Steinberg, from Scarsdale, New York.  In St. Petersburg, Florida, Rabbi Jacob Luski of Congregation B’nai Israel said Monday that four members of his congregation, Drs. Mitchell Weiss and Leslie Weiss and their two children, Hannah and Ari, also died in the crash.. ...Read Full Story

Days before the ball drops in Times Square, security is already building. To protect about 1 million revelers in the city, the NYPD is promising to step up patrols, canine teams and heavy-weapons squads. Concrete barriers are back, along with sand trucks to block vehicles. And the NYPD is putting special focus on aerial security, with spotters on buildings and officers stationed in every hotel along 7th Avenue in the event of a sniper-style attack. Other big cities are beefing up their security too. Chicago police said they are adding specialized teams with a focus on vehicle-style attacks, and for the first time Miami will conduct random security checks at its outdoor events. . ...Read Full Story

Alabama officials certified the results of its special Senate election Thursday, officially naming Democrat Doug Jones the victor not long after a judge rejected a last-minute challenge from Republican Roy Moore. Late Wednesday, hours before the Alabama State Canvassing Board was scheduled to meet Thursday to certify Jones’ victory, Moore and his campaign filed a lawsuit alleging that voter fraud had tainted the election results and requesting that certification be delayed.. ...Read Full Story

A U.S. Border Patrol agent and two other people have died after a sport utility vehicle collided with a wild hog in Southwest Texas, authorities said. The accident happened late Monday on a rural road near Uvalde, about 110 miles southwest of San Antonio. On Tuesday after a preliminary investigation there was indication that a Ford Expedition collided with the hog, which caused the vehicle to swerve into oncoming traffic and hit a Mercedes SUV head-on. The Expedition’s driver, 51-year-old Ruby Garza, and the driver of the Mercedes, 27-year-old Antonio Cordova, were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Expedition, 51-year-old Julia Vasquez, died later at a hospital. . ...Read Full Story

Power was largely restored at Disneyland on Wednesday after an outage at the California theme park forced some guests to be escorted from stalled rides. About 12 rides were affected and no one was hurt, a parks spokeswoman said.  A transformer problem caused the late morning outage in Toontown and Fantasyland, and an unknown number of guests were taken off rides. No one else was being allowed into the park and power was restored in Toontown and much of Fantasyland within a couple hours.  Power was expected to be fully restored later in the day. . ...Read Full Story

A singer and potential congressional candidate said Tuesday that she has filed a sexual assault complaint against President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager for hitting her twice on her buttocks during a Washington gathering in November. Joy Villa, a Trump backer who wore a “Make America Great Again” dress at the Grammys, says she will meet with detectives in Washington next week about the complaint against Corey Lewandowski. Villa said she was initially reluctant to come forward because she was worried about any backlash, but after a friend who witnessed the incident spoke about it publicly, and other friends urged her to come forward.. ...Read Full Story

A Christmas storm dumped a record amount of snow on the Pennsylvania city of Erie and surrounding areas. The National Weather Service office in Cleveland says the storm brought 34 inches on Christmas Day — a new all-time daily snowfall record for Erie. Another 19 inches fell before dawn Tuesday, bringing the total to 53 inches — the greatest two-day total in commonwealth history. The city of Erie issued a snow emergency, citing “dangerous and impassable” roads, and asked residents to stay off city streets until the snow stops and roads can reopen.. ...Read Full Story

For many in the Northeast and Midwest it was a White Christmas. A blizzard swept into parts of New England and bitter cold enveloped much of the Midwest as blizzard warnings were issued Monday for portions of central and northern Maine, and part of the New Hampshire coast.  In addition to slowing travel in New England, the storm was responsible for some power outages. More than 20,000 customers in eastern Massachusetts without electricity.  Mountain areas in parts of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming received more than 1 foot of snow, which started Saturda, but it meant a heightened warning of avalanches in higher elevations outside of ski areas.. ...Read Full Story

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump released a joint Christmas Day video message on Monday. Mr. Trump tweeted out the video, which was pre-recorded at the White House before he left for his holiday vacation at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. “My fellow Americans, Melania and I are delighted to wish America and the entire world a very Merry Christmas,” the president says in the video. The first lady says that at this time of year, “we see the best of America and the soul of the American people,” and pays tribute to “our brave men and women in uniform.”. ...Read Full Story

Nearly 9 million Americans have signed up for health coverage in 2018, nearly reaching last year’s total, a significantly higher number than had been expected. The Trump administration had taken steps to discourage signups, in fact President Trump said this Wednesday: “We essentially repealed Obamacare.” While Republicans did pass a tax bill Wednesday that undoes one of the central components of Obamacare: the mandate that people have health insurance, or pay a fine. Health-care experts say that does not mean Obamacare is dead. . ...Read Full Story

One of two Wisconsin girls who tried to kill a classmate to win favor with a fictional horror character named ‘Slender Man’ has been sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital. Anissa Weier pleaded guilty in August to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, but claimed she wasn’t responsible for her actions because she was mentally ill.  On Thursday the 16-year-old Weier was sentenced to be hospitalized for 25 years from the date of the crime, which would keep her institutionalized until age 37. She and Morgan Geyser lured Payton Leutner into a wooded park near Milwaukee in 2014, where Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has emailed members of the United Nations, who are set to vote Thursday in favor of a General Assembly resolution urging the United States to rescind its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In the email, Haley wrote: “As you consider your vote, I want you to know that the President and U.S. take this vote personally,”  “The President will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us. We will take note of each and every vote on this issue.”   Haley also said the U.S. is not asking other countries to follow its lead, and move their embassies to Jerusalem, “though we think it would be appropriate.”. ...Read Full Story

 President Donald Trump applauded Republicans for passing a sweeping tax bill Wednesday, promising Americans they would see relief by February. During a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said the “historic” bill would be an “incredible Christmas gift for hardworking Americans” and touted the lower corporate rate that he says will keep businesses in the country.  GOP senators and members of Congress came to the White House later Wednesday — after the House voted on the measure a second time — to celebrate the bill’s passage. The bill also marks the first significant legislative achievement of Trump’s presidency. . ...Read Full Story

At least 12 people died when a bus carrying cruise ship passengers to Mayan ruins in eastern Mexico flipped over on a highway early Tuesday, officials said. The crash occurred as the bus was on its way to the ruins at Chacchoben, about 110 miles south of Tulum. Seven Americans and two citizens of Sweden are among the injured, according to authorities. Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises said in a statement that passengers from two of its ships, the Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, were involved in the crash. The cause of the accident was under investigation.. ...Read Full Story

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a sweeping tax overhaul bill, moving the legislation on to the Senate for consideration. The bill passed 227-203. The 500-page, $1.5 trillion bill lowers the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and the top individual tax rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. The Senate was expected to pass the vote Tuesday night. Even if all 48 Democrat senators vote against the tax bill, Republicans expect to have enough votes to pass it. . ...Read Full Story

ESPN President John Skipper resigned Monday, citing a substance addiction problem, in a move that stunned the sports media business.  Skipper, who took over as president of the sports network in 2012, said in a statement he has battled substance abuse issues for “many years” and decided “the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem.” He did not share any details of the nature of his substance abuse problem. George Bodenheimer, who served as ESPN’s president from 1998 to 2011, is taking the helm at ESPN for the next three months and helping find a permanent successor for Skipper, Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Iger said. . ...Read Full Story

An Amtrak train derailed on Monday in Washington State in its inaugural run on a faster route from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, sending passenger cars tumbling from a bridge onto a major highway, killing a number of riders and injuring nearly 100. The derailment caused multiple fatalities among the passengers, and as the train struck several cars on Interstate 5 it caused additional injuries but no more reported deaths. Thirteen of the train’s 14 cars jumped the tracks, and five vehicles plus two semi-trailer trucks were involved in the accident. It was not immediately clear whether the derailment was connected to the rerouting. A statement from the state transportation department said the track had undergone “weeks of inspection and testing” before Monday’s launch.. ...Read Full Story

President Trump said Sunday he is not considering firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the wake of calls from some Republican allies to shut down the Mueller probe into Russian involvement in the 2016 over allegations of bias by FBI officials. “No, I’m not,” the President told reporters upon his arrival back at the White House from Camp David. Mr. Trump’s attorneys are embroiled in a fresh spat with Mueller, the former FBI director, over his team’s reported acquisition of thousands of emails from Trump’s transition team. Trump’s legal team wrote in a letter Friday that the emails had been obtained inappropriately from a federal agency and called for Mueller to return the documents. A spokesman for Mueller said all documents related to the investigation had been obtained through normal means.. ...Read Full Story

A power outage at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, ground operations to a halt on Sunday. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a ground stop on flights, meaning planes are held at their departure points, the airport said. Delta Air Lines diverted some Atlanta-bound flights and expected delays as a result of the loss of power, a spokesman said. The airline is based in Atlanta and the airport is its main hub. Southwest Airlines cancelled the remainder of its flights to and from the Atlanta airport on Sunday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said some international flights were sent to other airports. It was not immediately clear what caused the outage, but Georgia Power and the airport said they were investigating.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday that they had charged a Long Island, New York woman with laundering more than $85,000 in fraudulently obtained money through Bitcoin to help Islamic State. Zoobia Shahnaz, 27, was arrested Wednesday on charges of bank fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Shahnaz pleaded not guilty on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Tomlinson in New York. Prosecutors said that between March and July of this year, Shahnaz obtained a loan and multiple credit cards by making false representations to financial institutions, and used them to buy Bitcoin. A lawyer for Shahnaz, Steve Zissou, could not immediately be reached for comment.. ...Read Full Story

The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to dismantle landmark rules regulating the businesses that connect consumers to the internet, granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’ online experiences. The agency scrapped the so-called net neutrality regulations that prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-quality service or certain content. The federal government will also no longer regulate high-speed internet delivery as if it were a utility, like phone service.. ...Read Full Story

US Ambassador Nikki Haley will present “irrefutable evidence” that Iran has tried to cover up violations of international obligations, the US mission said Wednesday. Haley will hold a press conference in Washington on Thursday on Iran’s “ongoing destabilizing activities in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.” The United States and Saudi Arabia have accused Iran of supplying weapons to Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who fired a missile intercepted near Riyadh airport on November 4. . ...Read Full Story

House and Senate GOP leaders forged an agreement Wednesday on a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s tax laws, paving the way for final votes next week to slash taxes for businesses and give many Americans modest tax cuts starting next year. Top GOP aides said lawmakers had reached an agreement in principle on the final package. Details still need to be drafted and assessed by congressional scorekeepers, but the final House-Senate compromise is on track to be unveiled this week, the aides said.. ...Read Full Story

Democrat Doug Jones has pulled off a major upset in Alabama by defeating Republican Roy Moore in Tuesday’s special election, becoming the first Democrat to win election to the Senate from the deeply conservative state in 25 years. “We have come so far and the people of Alabama have spoken,” Jones said during a victory speech in Birmingham late Tuesday. But in a late-night speech to supporters, Moore refused to concede. Moore told the crowd that when the “vote is this close…it’s not over.” With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Jones had 49.9 percent to Moore’s 48.4 percent.. ...Read Full Story

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand fired back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying she would not be silenced after he attacked her on Twitter. After Gillibrand called for an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct against him, Trump attacked the Senator in a tweet which implied Gillibrand would do just about anything for money, prompting a swift and immediate backlash. Gillibrand replied directly to Trump on Twitter: “you cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office.”  And at a news conference later on Tuesday, Gillibrand called Trump’s tweet “a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice.”. ...Read Full Story