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At least 10 state health departments in the United States have detected the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant of COVD-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, according to a new report. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in an update on Jan. 15, said that a “more highly transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2, B.1.1.7, has been detected in 10 U.S. states.” SARS-CoV-2 is another name for the coronavirus that is believed to have emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Health officials warned that models have shown the B.1.1.7 strain of the virus has the...

Philadelphia police will be stationed near historic landmarks and government buildings in the city around Inauguration Day, ready to address any violence that may occur following last week’s violent pro-Trump insurrection in the nation’s capital. Other police officers will be on call in the event of civil unrest or violence, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a Thursday briefing. “At this particular point in time, we do not have any credible or specific threats to Philadelphia, however, this is a fluid situation,” she said.

Video: Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman: "This idea that saying that Pennsylvania was 'rigged' or that we were 'trying to steal the election' -- that's a lie. And you do not have the right, that is not protected speech."

In 2020, the city of Philadelphia exceeded its highest number of homicides since 1990, with the official total being 499. To put this into a national perspective, consider that Houston had almost 100 fewer murders than Philadelphia despite having 782,000 more people. And New York had 37 fewer murders than Philadelphia despite having 6,861,000 more people. While these types of chilling statistics have normally been met with an immediate change in law enforcement policies and criminal justice leadership, the mayor, police commissioner, district attorney, and media establishment in Philadelphia seem more concerned with controlling the narrative than making communities safer....

Pennsylvania reported 6,047 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, a hopeful sign the state won’t see a repeat of the December surge that brought twice that number of new infections daily. The state reported 215 deaths — a relatively high figure but, since people usually die weeks after being infected, one that’s likely a delayed result of the earlier surge. As of Friday morning, 4,848 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, another downward trend and well below the December peak when more than 6,300 were hospitalized. Still, state health officials this week continued to stress the need to wear face masks, avoid...

Gun sales in Pennsylvania have hit an all-time high. In new numbers released by Pennsylvania State Police on Wednesday, more than 420,000 firearm background checks were processed between October 1 and the end of the year. The highest total previously was 406,151, set in the third quarter of 2020. During the last quarter of 2019, 272,901 firearm background checks were processed.

The retired firefighter who appears to be the man caught on camera throwing a fire extinguisher that hit at least three officers at the Capitol during a riot was arrested Thursday, officials said. Robert Sanford, of Chester, Pa., faces three federal felony charges including assaulting a police officer, the Wall Street Journal reported. Video footage of the incident shows the man hurling a fire extinguisher officers attempting to control a mob outside of the west side of the Capitol. The FBI has been pursuing charges against dozens of suspects in the riots, many of whom were identified through photos and...

Mayor Jim Kenney is asking the public to help identify whether any of the 30,000 City of Philadelphia employees participated in the violent and unlawful breach of the U.S. Capitol last week. Hundreds of people stormed the building as Congress was preparing to certify President-elect Biden’s win. It has since come to light that several Republican officials, white supremacists, off-duty police, and military members from across the country were part of the insurrectionist mob, with more names revealed by the day. “I fully support the rights of all citizens — including our city employees — to exercise their First Amendment...

Andrew Cuomo — Fredo the Elder — crawled out of the cave where he spends his days pulling wings off of flies and smelts participation trophies for his handling of the pandemic in his state to remind us that he is perhaps the worst governor in America. I only said “perhaps” because who knows what Gavin Newsom will do this week? ... he has led what might be the most botched vaccine rollout in the country. Originally he had set strict rules about who would have priority to receive the vaccine, and threatened to levy fines of up to $1...

In a not entirely surprising decision, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to expedite election appeals filed by President Donald Trump (including Lin Wood's suit) to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.This does not mean the cases are dismissed but the justices won’t consider them until later this winter; and, as @steve_vladeck pointed out, they should all be moot by that point, though the justices can always find a way to rule.Without comment, #SCOTUS denies the pending motions to expedite in eight pending election-related disputes. This means it will consider the requests that it take up the cases...

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey on Sunday called for President Trump to resign because of the riots carried out by his supporters at the US Capitol last Wednesday, doubting whether there is time left in his presidency for impeachment to make its way through Congress. “I think the best way for our country … is for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible. I acknowledge that may not be likely, but I think that would be best,” the Pennsylvania lawmaker said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “It does not look as though there is the will...

---snip--- President Trump committed impeachable offenses that disqualify him from serving. “I do think the president committed impeachable offenses but I don’t know what’s going to land on the Senate floor,” Toomey told “The Journal Editorial Report” on Fox News. Toomey, however, waffled on whether Congress should move forward with impeachment given President-elect Joe Biden will take power on Jan. 20. “I have to say I do think the president’s behavior this week does disqualify him from serving but we’ve got 10 days,” Toomey said. The Pennsylvania senator said he’s unsure whether it’s logistically possible, practical or desirable to try...

Just days after Wednesday’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Lehigh University Board of Trustees has rescinded the honorary degree granted to President Donald Trump three decades ago, a move sought by many members of the school community since Trump won the White House. The school awarded the degree in 1988. In 2018, faculty voted by a wide margin to urge the Bethlehem school’s trustees to rescind it, calling some of Trump’s statements racist, sexist and Islamophobic and not representative of the school’s values.

President Donald Trump was wrong. There is no discrepancy between the number of voters and the number of votes counted. The claim that there were more ballots than voters comes from a flawed analysis done by state Republican lawmakers who relied on incomplete data and a misunderstanding of how those data are collected. [snip] Trump’s false claim: “More than 60,000 ballots in Pennsylvania were reported received back, they got back, before they were ever supposedly mailed out. In other words you got the ballot before you mailed it!”The reality: As with the claim about discrepancies in vote histories, this appears...

And so they did it. With mounds and mounds of evidence in plain sight that the 2020 election was stolen, Congress went ahead and certified it anyway. Hey, what’s a little election thievery between friends. Eight Pennsylvania Republican Congressman outlined the problems with the Pennsylvania election. The problems, they said, were these: Accepting ballots past 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.Not properly requiring signatures to match those on mail-in ballots or requiring dates.Meanwhile, the matching of signatures was required at a polling site.Authorizing the curing of mail-in ballots with less than a 24-hour notice.Only some counties were informed and adhered to...

Republican 138 Yea .... Support Trump 64 Nay 0 Present 7 not voting

Members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation described the violence at the U.S. Capitol as a “disgrace” and “unacceptable.” Supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as Congress met Wednesday to count the electoral votes, a final procedural step before Joe Biden becomes the nation’s 46th president. Members of Congress, Vice President Mike Pence and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were ushered out of the Capitol in an unimaginable scene garnering worldwide attention....U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Lehigh County Republican who had said it’s time for all lawmakers to accept Biden’s victory, denounced the invasion of the Capitol. “This is an absolute...

The Senate overwhelmingly rejected an objection to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes with a final vote of 7-92 early Thursday morning. The Senate vote was triggered by Sen. Josh Hawley and Rep. Scott Perry, who both submitted a protest of the electors from the commonwealth. While the House went to a debate over the objection, Senate Republicans agreed not to debate the objection before taking a vote.

Gov. Tom Wolf issued this statement Wednesday afternoon condemning the violence in Washington, D.C.: “Today, President Trump’s supporters attempted a coup. This was the direct result of a deliberate disinformation campaign by Republicans from the President down to legislators in Pennsylvania. They lied about the results of the election. They lied about voter fraud. They lied about my administration and other governors. They lied about the administration of the election here in Pennsylvania and across the country. On November 3, we had a remarkably well-run election despite historic challenges. “Eight of the nine Republican members of Congress from Pennsylvania lied...

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