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ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach. Warnock, a pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, defeated Republican incumbent Kelly…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are heading back to the Capitol for the start of what’s guaranteed to be an unusual session amid the coronavirus pandemic. The roughly five-month annual legislative session begins Wednesday. Some precautions will be in place to avoid spreading COVID-19. House and Senate administrative staff must wear face masks, for…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has several mobile testing teams that are dispatched to various locations around the state each week to provide COVID-19 testing. Anyone can be tested, regardless of symptoms or immigration status. There is no cost to the individual for testing, but they should bring their insurance card if they…
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia voters are set to decide the balance of power in Congress in a pair of high-stakes Senate runoff elections. Tuesday’s voting will help determine President-elect Joe Biden’s capacity to enact what may be the most progressive governing agenda in generations. Democrats must win both of the state’s elections to gain the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is heard on tape pleading with Georgia’s election chief to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state. Trump suggests in a telephone call that the official “find” enough votes to hand Trump the victory. The conversation was the latest step in an unprecedented effort by a sitting American president…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis recorded its worst homicide rate for 50 years in 2020, even though the total number of homicides last year fell just short of the city’s all-time record. Police say 262 people were killed in St. Louis last year — five less than the record of 267 set in 1993.…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is ending a chaotic session with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump. GOP senators are ignoring the outgoing president’s demand to increase the $600 COVID-19 aid checks to $2,000. They are poised to override his veto of a major defense bill. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham of South…
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis County man is jailed without bond on allegations that he killed another man on a bus. KMOV-TV reported Thursday that 22-year-old Dion Raney of Spanish Lake is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The shooting happened Tuesday on a Metro Bus in Bellefontaine Neighbors. Authorities say…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has all but shut the door on President Donald Trump’s push for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks. The Republican leader says Congress has provided enough pandemic aid and he’s blocked another attempt by Democrats to force a vote. McConnell is unwilling to budge, despite political pressure from Trump…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican senator says he’ll object when Congress meets next week to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the election. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri says he’ll protest the Electoral College certification because “some states, including notably Pennsylvania” didn’t follow their election laws. A Biden spokeswoman is dismissing Hawley’s move as “antics”…