National News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Capitol locked down Wednesday with lawmakers inside as violent clashes broke out between supporters of President Donald Trump police. Dozens of people breached security perimeters at the Capitol and lawmakers inside the House chamber were told to put on gas masks as tear gas was fired in the Rotunda. Lawmakers…

WASHINGTON (AP) — As demonstrators swarmed the U.S. Capitol, Congress has been forced to abruptly halt deliberations over Republican challenges to Joe Biden’s presidential victory. Republicans in a joint session of Congress were mounting their first formal challenge to Biden’s election win. Outside, meanwhile, demonstrators are protesting the joint session, which is to confirm Biden's…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge, as his attorney general, two people familiar with the selection process said Wednesday. Garland, a federal appeals court judge, in 2016 was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court, Biden is expected to announce Garland’s appointment on…

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…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence has been President Donald Trump’s most loyal soldier, dutifully backing the unpredictable leader through one chaotic situation after another. Now Pence is facing the most precarious position of his tenure when he presides over Wednesday's congressional tally of Electoral College votes. It's the last front in Trump’s attempts…