All 50 US states and the District of Columbia (DC) are on alert for possible violent protests this weekend, ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
National Guard troops have been sent to Washington DC, to deter any repeat of last week’s deadly riots.
The FBI has warned of possible armed marches by pro-Trump supporters at all 50 state capitols.
In DC, Capitol Police arrested an armed man at a security checkpoint.
Police confirmed on Saturday that a Virginia man had been arrested a day earlier with two handguns and 509 rounds of ammunition, as he tried to access a restricted area near the Capitol in a pick-up truck.
He was carrying a “non-government issued credential”, police said.
Responding on Twitter, Representative Don Beyer of Virginia said “the danger is real”, and urged people to avoid the Capitol area.
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NBC’s Sahil Kapur reports on how the Senate will move forward with the impeachment trial of President Trump and how a conviction could come down to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s decision on how to vote.
PITTSBURGH — There were 32 university employees earning more than $500,000 in the Pittsburgh region in the most recently reported tax year for their organization, according to research by the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Seven topped seven figures in compensation: four current and former University of Pittsburgh athletics coaches, two Carnegie Mellon leaders and one Pitt dean.
A dozen employees topped $750,000, 72 topped $300,000 and 94 made at least $250,000.
FRAZER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) – A movie theater is coming back to the Pittsburgh Mills.
According to the Trib, Mark McSparin, president of Michigan-based GQT Movies, confirmed the company is taking over the old Cinemark space.
Word came in May when the Mills had been shuttered for months that the Cinemark theater was closing. Cinemark had said the lease for the theater ran out.
GQT Movies was formed in July of last year after Goodrich Quality Theaters filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, the company’s website says.
The tentative opening date is March 1, the Trib reports, and ticket prices will start at $4.99.
Shortly before the FBI used his dossier to secure a surveillance warrant targeting the Trump campaign, Christopher Steele met with State Department officials and relayed information suggesting Moscow was running an operation out of the Russian consulate in Miami.
There was just one problem with his intelligence: The Russians didn’t have a consulate in Florida’s largest city.
The anecdote, captured in contemporaneous memos and newly released testimony, illustrates just how bad some of Steele’s intelligence reporting was and how widely that was known inside the FBI, even as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was being assured by the bureau that Steele was deemed credible and there was no derogatory information about his work.
Kenneth Laycock, the FBI’s current Executive Assistant Director, was a section chief for Eurasian intelligence in fall 2016 when Steele made a visit to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Kavalec at the State Department.
During the October 2016 meeting, Steele admitted he was leaking to the news media while working as an FBI informant, a violation of his confidential human source agreement. (He later was terminated for it.) And he also relayed the anecdote about the Russian operation out of the Miami consulate, which officials immediately flagged as false, according to Kavalec’s own notes of the meeting.
“It is important to note that there is no Russian Consulate in Miami,” Kavalec wrote.
Laycock said Kavalec relayed her concerns to the FBI and that others working on the now-discredited Russia collusion investigation codenamed Crossfire Hurricane were also aware of Steele’s mistake.
“Do you recall — just trying to jog your memory here in case you do recall — Ms. Kavalec conveying information to you that Steele conveyed to her information about a Russian consulate being located in Miami and that was an inaccurate assessment on Steele’s part?” a Senate investigator asked Laycock in testimony taken last year but made public on Friday by the Senate Judiciary Committee,
“I recall a conversation about a consulate in Miami independent of what she had mentioned regarding what Mr. Steele said to her,” Laycock answered.
PITTSBURGH —Pittsburgh police are investigating after a body was found on Pittsburgh’s North Side Friday morning.Officers responded to a report of a body found on Fountain Street near Sandusky Street around 7 a.m.
A medical worker from Allegheny General Hospital saw the body of a woman on the side of the road and began CPR. The attempts to save her life were unsuccessful.
Police say there were no obvious signs of foul play. Pittsburgh Police’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man at a security checkpoint in Washington on Friday after he flashed what an officer described as an “unauthorized” inauguration credential and a search of his truck found an unregistered handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, the authorities said.
A federal law enforcement official said that the man, Wesley A. Beeler, 31, worked as a contractor, and that his credential was not fake, but was not recognized by the police officer. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the arrest.
After45 years in business, the first 10 just for fun, Jamison Farm is closing down operations.
Owners John and Sukey Jamison had provided the Latrobe farm’s grass-finished lamb to some of the best restaurants and well-known chefs across the country for decades. But all that is coming to end in the next few weeks. And, yes, COVID-19 is at least partially responsible.
“I know, it’s terrible,” Mr. Jamison said. But sales to restaurants — which account for 60 percent of the business — have pretty much evaporated during the pandemic, and the Jamisons aren’t sure when, or even whether, the industry will bounce back.
While some restaurants have been buying here and there for takeout during the pandemic, it’s not been enough to make the business a go, he said. The farm’s last major shipment was March 14, to Jose Andres’ Zaytinya in Washington, D.C.
“I don’t think people realize how bad the restaurant situation is,” the 73-year-old farmer said. He likens it to the dismal period after Sept. 11 and during the recession of 2008-2009.
While the couple has been thinking of retiring for at least a couple of years, he said they were hoping to do so after they found someone else to take over the business.
NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. —The owner of a restaurant in North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, says he’s staying open despite a state order to shut down.
Steve Salvi says the order alleges that his Cenacolo restaurant violated state COVID-19 rules because he does not enforce the state’s mask mandate.
Salvi tells Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that he questions the science behind Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 restriction. He also says he’s ready to take the state to court and has hired attorneys.
All city of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, commonwealth of Pennsylvania and federal offices and courts will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Banks will be closed. Post offices will be closed with no pickup or delivery of regular mail. State liquor stores normally open on Mondays will be open.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation driver’s license and photo ID centers also will be closed.
Garbage pickup will be delayed one day.
The Port Authority of Allegheny County will operate bus, T and incline service on a regular weekday schedule. The customer service line will operate normally, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m; call 412-442-2000 (TTY 412-231-7007). The Downtown Service Center on Smithfield Street will be closed.
PITTSBURGH —Police said they found a man dead with gunshot wounds Friday night.Investigators responded to reports of gunshots on Stratmore Street around 9:55 p.m.
The man was found shot outside a home.
Medics rushed him to the hospital in critical condition where he died.
Shortly after that shooting, police responded to a two-vehicle crash on Middletown Road at Berry Street not far away.
A man in the first vehicle had gunshot wounds to his torso, and he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Police took the woman driving that first vehicle for questioning.
Witnesses told investigators two men ran away from the vehicle.
The driver of the second vehicle was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Emergency sources said the two scenes were related.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 is working to learn who the victims in these shootings are, why they were shot, and if police have any suspects.
SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 8:26 p.m. EST on Wednesday west of Tampa off the Florida coast, marking the return of the company’s 21st contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA.
They own roughly 52,000 more acreages than the Offutt family, who sit at No. 2 on Land Report’s list of families who own the most farmland in the U.S.
In total, Bill and Melinda Gates have acquired land in more than a dozen states. However, his largest land holdings are in Louisiana (69,071 acres), Arkansas (47,927 acres), Nebraska (20,588 acres), Arizona (25,750 acres) and Washington state (16,097).
The potential pardon for Steve Bannon would follow a wave of reprieves the president has recently granted to political allies who have been convicted, charged or reportedly under federal investigation.
Goya Foods President and CEO Robert Unanue Friday said Democrats “essentially declared martial law” by ordering shutdowns over the coronavirus and accused them of having “weaponized” the pandemic for political gain.
“The problem is, it’s a political year,” Unanue said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.” “Unfortunately they shut down this economy.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said Friday that President-elect Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion relief package was “plagiarizing the last relief bill.”
On Twitter, Crenshaw did not hold back his feelings about Biden or the proposed relief package, per The Hill.
“This guy has no idea that all of this was just passed into law. Stop plagiarizing the last relief bill and tell Democrat governors to OPEN the economy,” Crenshaw tweeted.
Biden revealed his relief package on Thursday. The proposal was highlighted by $1,400 additional stimulus checks, an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, and an extension of unemployment programs to September.
PENNSYLVANIA — Women’s retail chain Christopher & Banks has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, becoming the latest retailer to fall victim to steep, coronavirus related reductions in sales. The future of the company’s stores 449 stores, including 31 in Pennsylvania, appears to be bleak.
The women’s retailer blames its bankruptcy on the coronavirus outbreak.
A freshman House Republican has demanded Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., use her power to stop a Chinese communist newspaper from being delivered to congressional offices.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, tweeted Monday morning about finding a copy of China Daily in her office late last week.
“Frankly, I was appalled when I walked into work Friday morning and saw my office had received an unsolicited copy of China Daily. I wrote to the Speaker immediately and asked her to address this issue.”
The Jan. 8 letter demanded Pelosi, as speaker, “stop the CCP from distributing its state-run publication within our hallowed halls. This offensive garbage should not be automatically distributed to congressional offices at the cost of the American taxpayers.”
d Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., use her power to stop a Chinese communist newspaper from being delivered to congressional offices.
By Mary Niederberger
Pittsburgh Current Education Writer
mary@pittsburghcurrent.com
A month ago, the future of the community learning hubs that were serving more than 1,700 students who needed a supervised setting during online school days in the fall was uncertain as initial funding was running dry.
But now, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services has partnered with local foundations to ensure that 60 hubs throughout the county will remain open through the school year if they are needed.
Elaine Plunkett, DHS communications specialist, said the department has already secured $500,000 in foundation funding and is applying for grants with additional foundations at the same time it is leveraging department funds to keep the hubs in operation.
Currently, three foundations have agreed to provide some funding. Those foundations and grant amounts are: the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, $100,000; Jefferson Regional Foundation, $200,000; and McElhattan Foundation $200,000.
“The 60 learning hubs (30 are outside of Pittsburgh) are critical resources for children and families,” Plunkett wrote in an email.
Those sentiments were echoed by James Fogarty, executive director of A+Schools advocacy group.
The tax filing season will open on Feb. 12 this year, about two weeks later than normal, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Delaying the day tax returns will start being accepted is necessary to allow the IRS time to update and test its systems following the late-December stimulus law that approved a second round of stimulus payments and other tax benefits, the agency said in a statement Friday. The filing deadline will still be April 15, as usual.
“This programming work is critical to ensuring IRS systems run smoothly. If filing season were opened without the correct programming in place, then there could be a delay in issuing refunds to taxpayers,” according to the IRS statement. “These changes ensure that eligible people will receive any remaining stimulus money as a Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2020 tax return.
PITTSBURGH —Joanne Rogers embodied kindness while out volunteering, on the red carpet, and celebrating the legacy of her husband of more than 50 years, Fred Rogers.
The 92-year-old died on Thursday. A devastating loss for those in the Pittsburgh-area and beyond.
“The world is a little less fun now without Joanne in it,” said Paul Siefken. “Joanne Rogers is a very special, very wonderful person.”
Siefken is the CEO of Fred Rogers Productions. He shared a picture of him and Mrs. Rogers from 2018 at the unveiling of a U.S. Postal stamp honoring Mr. Rogers, who died in 2003.
“After Fred’s passing she showed the world that she was an amazing person,” he said. “She’s had a chance to kind of introduce herself to America and I think America really fell in love with her.”
David Newell played Mr. McFeely on the show that aired first in 1968. Newell said he, Joanne and Fred were friends for more than 50 years.
“She was Joanne in her own way,” he said. “When you talked to her you were getting the real person and the same with Fred.”
He received a phone call on Thursday that Mrs. Rogers had died.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Newell said.
He said the Rogers were a part of his family. He shared what he will miss most about the woman who lit up every room she entered.
“What I’ll miss is her sense of humor and how much fun she used to have,” Newell said.
In a nationally televised speech, Rutte said he had informed King Willem-Alexander of his decision and pledged that his government would continue work to compensate affected parents as quickly as possible and to battle the coronavirus.
“We are of one mind that if the whole system has failed, we all must take responsibility, and that has led to the conclusion that I have just offered the king, the resignation of the entire Cabinet,” Rutte said.
Not long after delivering his statement, Rutte got on his bicycle and rode to the king’s palace in a forest in The Hague to formally inform him. Dutch television showed Rutte parking his bike at the bottom of steps leading into the palace and walking inside.
The move was seen as largely symbolic; Rutte’s government will remain in office in a caretaker mode until a new coalition is formed after a March 17 election in the Netherlands.
PARIS (AP) — As the wan winter sun sets over France’s Champagne region, the countdown clock kicks in.
Laborers stop pruning the vines as the light fades at about 4:30 p.m., leaving them 90 minutes to come in from the cold, change out of their work clothes, hop in their cars and zoom home before a 6 p.m. coronavirus curfew.
Forget about any after-work socializing with friends, after-school clubs for children or doing any evening shopping beyond quick trips for essentials. Police on patrol demand valid reasons from people seen out and about. For those without them, the threat of mounting fines for curfew-breakers is increasingly making life outside of the weekends all work and no play.
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN)At least 67 people have died after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island early Friday, according to the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in Indonesia.
Jan Gelfand told CNN on Friday that he expects the death toll and number of missing people to increase.
Hundreds have been injured, according to the country’s disaster mitigation agency.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 1:28 am Jakartatime, was six kilometers (3.7 miles) northeast of the city of Majene, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
Thirty-four people died in the city of Mamuju, to the north of the epicenter, while another eight died in Majene.
In Majene, at least 637 were injured and 15,000 residents have been displaced, according to the country’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB).
Thousands of residents fled their homes to seek safety following the quake, which could be felt strongly for five to seven seconds and damaged at least 300 houses in Majene, BNPB said.
Other buildings have also been badly damaged, including a military command office in Majene, and hotels and government buildings in Mamuju.
Many people are still trapped under collapsed buildings, according to local search and rescue teams.
Despite coronavirus restrictions, events are scheduled throughout the region to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.
Friday
Jewish nonprofit Repair the World and Shabbat dinner organizer OpenTable host a free virtual panel at 6 p.m. on unpacking and addressing racism in Pittsburgh’s education system in honor of Dr. King. Moderated by Benjamin Gutschow of Casa San Jose, a resource center for Latin immigrants, the panel includes Nina Barbuto, executive director of the arts and technology center Assemble, Allyce Pinchback Johnson of Pinchback Consulting and Amanda Godley of Pitt’s Graduate School of Education. To register, visit werepair.org/pittsburgh.
Poetry Unplugged returns for a fifth year of spoken word and music inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. Hosted by the August Wilson African-American Culture Center in Downtown, the virtual event starts at 8 p.m. and features poetry from writers jessica Care moore, Nikki Giovanni and others. Poet and curator Mahogany Browne serves as master of ceremonies. For tickets, $18.75, go to trustarts.org.
The Clemente Museum will host a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day through the life of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente, who used his celebrity status to serve disadvantaged Latin American and African-American communities. Presented by Doors Open Pittsburgh, the event begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Clemente Museum in Lower Lawrenceville. Register and get tickets, starting at $5, at doorsopenpgh.org.
Saturday
The annual Let Freedom Sing Concert in celebration of MLK will go on digitally for its 14th year at 7 p.m. Hosted by KDKA radio host Lynne Hayes-Freeland, the concert will be broadcast live over YouTube and Facebook from the Hill District. Vocalists Anita Levels and Michael Warren, actor and spoken word artist Vanessa German and the Dr. J Piano Trio and Boys Choir from the Afro American Music Institute in Homewood will perform. An interfaith, intergenerational choir directed by Dr. Herbert Jones and made up of singers from Pittsburgh and Lexington, N.C., will conclude the performance. To watch the free broadcast, visit letfreedomsing.net. Donations will go to the Food Bank of Greater Pittsburgh and Pastor’s Pantry in Lexington.
Sunday
Garfield creative hub Boom Concepts and Repair the World will host a workshop on agitational art. Led by artist DS Kinsel, the workshop will go over temporary public art, how to express your voice in your neighborhood and how to create small-scale public art. The event begins at 11 a.m. Register at rpr.world/art.
Later that day, Boom Concepts, Repair the World and Dafna Rehavia, an artist, counselor and art psychotherapist, come together in a virtual activity, “Binds and Bonds: Processing Trauma with Art.” Ms. Rehavia will discuss how to creatively use household objects and give attendees a visual tour of her art installation at Boom Concepts. The event begins at 1 p.m. To register, visit rpr.world/boom.
Monday
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with its ongoing campaign “Food justice is social justice.” The food bank will open its Duquesne warehouse to 30 volunteers to prepare food for distribution across the organization’s 11-county service area from 9 a.m. to noon. To register to volunteer, visit pittsburghfoodbank.org. Also, the Hindu Jain Temple in Monroeville has agreed to match donations to the food bank up to $10,000 that day at pittsburghfoodbank.org/MLK.
Oakland arts and activism organization 1Hood Media partners with Repair the World on a virtual learning and advocacy initiative for families at 9 a.m. Attendees will write letters to city officials advocating for the safety of all community members. To register, visit @RepairtheWorldPittsburgh on Facebook.
The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development to increase access for children and families to books championing people of all abilities, gender, race, ethnicity and economic status. The Book Drive for Diversity is fully virtual, but you can register at uwswpa.org and select books to donate on behalf of the drive.
The United Way is also partnering with YWCA Greater Pittsburgh on forums for parents in celebration of MLK Day. The first session at 9 a.m. will focus on how to talk to children about race, led by Barbara Johnson, vice president of the Center for Race and Gender Equity at YWCA Greater Pittsburgh. The second session at 11 a.m. will focus on social media as tools for social change, led by Candi Castleberry, vice president of diversity partnership strategy and engagement at Twitter. The second session is interactive, so participants are encouraged to have their smartphones handy. To register, visit uwswpa.org.
The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty will celebrate the ongoing impact of Martin Luther King Jr. with its broadcast “Living the Legacy” at 3 p.m. The program will highlight the work of Young, Black & Educated, founded by Treasure Palmer and Nicholas Anglin. The local group organized 16 Black Lives Matter protests in Pittsburgh last summer. Artists Lost Culture Dance Crew and Jameelah Platt will also be featured along with performances from last year’s event from The Funky Fly Project, Balafon West African Dance Ensemble and K-Theater Dance Complex. Pay what makes you happy and register at kelly-strayhorn.org.
A Washington D.C. police officer witnessed rioters using military-style hand signals to communicate inside the Capitol building during the breach on January 6, a law enforcement official tells CBS News.
The identification of individuals using military, small unit tactics is among the “highest priorities” for a Sedition Task Force being run by the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office. The apparent use of “small unit tactics,” trained to military and law enforcement, drew immediate scrutiny from investigators. These tactics were witnessed both outside and inside the Capitol Building, CBS News has learned.
Federal investigators are reviewing images that appeared on social media, as well as thousands of hours of video from closed circuit cameras positioned outside the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Republican National Committee, the Democratic National Committee, the Capitol campus and police body cameras.
The New York Post on Wednesday reported that Don. Jr. and Kimberly will be moving to Jupiter, not Palm Beach, where Jared and Ivanka have purchased a $30million lot.
The NY Post reports that Don Jr and Kimberly are moving to Jupiter, Florida
It is some 80 miles from Miami, where Ivanka and Jared have bought a home
A source told the Post the pair would be ‘tortured in the streets’ if they stayed in New York City
The President made Florida his state of permanent residency in 2019
It has far lower tax rates than New York and many have moved there since the pandemic
Jared and Ivanka bought their $30m plot of land before the attempted coup last week
Since then, the Trump Organization has been ostracized by multiple industries
