Tuscon news

• States impose new rules, plead with public to stop spread

  23-11-2020 23:42
  
  State and local officials nationwide are imposing new restrictions and pleading with the public in an increasingly desperate attempt to stop the explosive coronavirus spread. The actions come as many Americans resist calls to limit gatherings and travel heading into the holidays. Adding to the stress: Restrictions are throwing people out of work again. About 20 million Americans are now receiving some form of unemployment benefits, but about half will lose them when two federal programs expire a
  
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• Ken Jennings will be first interim ‘Jeopardy!’ host

  23-11-2020 23:37
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — “Jeopardy!” says champion contestant Ken Jennings will be the first interim guest for the late Alex Trebek, and the show will try other guest hosts before naming a permanent replacement. Jennings begins taping next week and his first episodes will air on the week of Jan. 11. He’s well-known to fans of the game show for his 74-game winning streak and victory in last year’s prime-time ‘Greatest of All Time’ competition. ‘Jeopardy!&rsq
  
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• Man arrested after verbal confrontation leads to deadly shooting, collision into southside home

  23-11-2020 23:34
  
  Tucson Police Department
  TUCSON (KVOA) - A man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of a man who reportedly was found with gunshot wounds after he crashed his vehicle into a southside residence Nov. 15.According to Tucson Police Department, 30-year-old Luis Barraza-Bautista reportedly called 911 at around 7 p.m. Nov. 15 to report that "he was involved in a verbal altercation with a male" later identified as 54-year-old Pedro Garcia Martinez.Luis Barraza-Bautista
  
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• Michigan certifies Biden win; a setback for Trump challenge

  23-11-2020 23:31
  
  LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan election officials have certified Democrat Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in the state. It’s another setback for President Donald Trump in his futile effort to undermine the results of the Nov. 3 election through baseless legal challenges and unsupported claims of fraud. The Board of State Canvassers confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one abstention. Allies of Trump and losing GOP Senate candidate John James had urged the panel to delay vo
  
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• Latest: Judge sides with California governor on restrictions

  23-11-2020 23:25
  SAN DIEGO — A California judge on Monday denied a request to temporarily restore indoor service at restaurants and gyms in San Diego County that were forced to move operations outside earlier this month to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
  San Diego Superior Court Judge Kenneth Medel said in his ruling that there is scientific evidence to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping public health orders to restrict business activity during the pandemic. Business owners in California’
  
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• Carl Bernstein says 21 GOP senators contemptuous of Trump

  23-11-2020 23:20
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Veteran Watergate sleuth Carl Bernstein took to Twitter to specifically “out” 21 Republican senators who he says have privately expressed contempt for President Donald Trump. It was an unusual form of reporting for Bernstein, who with former partner Bob Woodward broke stories that led to the resignation of former President Richard Nixon. Bernstein tweeted that the senators’ “craven public silence” had enabled what he considers Trump’s ass
  
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• School Districts Take Different Paths on Handling COVID-19 Risks

  23-11-2020 23:15
  
  As coronavirus cases increase state and countywide, school districts offering differing levels of in-person instruction are reporting positive cases among students and staff causing large numbers of potential contacts to quarantine.
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• South Carolina officials eye single drug for execution plan

  23-11-2020 23:06
  
  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The state of South Carolina says it could execute a man scheduled to die next week with a lethal dose of just one drug if officials cannot get ahold of all three drugs the procedure calls for. Attorneys for inmate Richard Bernard Moore say they will continue to mount legal challenges ahead of Dec. 4, when Moore is scheduled to be executed. Moore has spent nearly two decades on death row for his conviction in the 1999 killing a convenience store clerk in Spartanburg. S
  
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• BLM flag can fly, but only if 21 others do too, city decides

  23-11-2020 23:04
  
  BARRE, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont city approved raising the Black Lives Matter Flag, the “Thin Blue Line” flag and 20 other flags in a resolution that one city councilor called a “compromise” to satisfy opponents of a BLM proposal. Vermont Public Radio reported Monday that the Black Lives Matter flag will be flown at City Hall Park in Barre next month and will be lowered in January. The 22 flags will fly over the next two years. Some of the flags included are multiple fla
  
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• 14,000 COVID-19 tests completed ahead of Thanksgiving weekend

  23-11-2020 23:02
  
  TUCSON (KVOA)- The University of Arizona completed more than 14,000 COVID-19 tests as students head home for the holidays to finish up the rest of the fall semester online.The testing blitz which began on Nov. 9 will end on Wednesday, but testing will be available to university students through the holidays and mandatory testing for dorm residents.The test’s administered this past week, 4,048 were for off-campus students, with 1,537 for on-campus students and 1,284 for employees. Testing n
  
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• With Pima County Cases Skyrocketing, UA Returning to Remote Classes After Fall Break

  23-11-2020 22:58
  
  In its final week of in-person instruction for the fall semester, the University of Arizona is reporting slightly elevated COVID-19 case numbers as it finishes its pre-fall break testing blitz this week, UA President Robert C. Robbins shared in a news conference Monday, Nov. 23. …
  
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• With Pima County Cases Rising, UA Returning to Remote Classes After Fall Break

  23-11-2020 22:58
  
  In its final week of in-person instruction for the fall semester, the University of Arizona is reporting slightly elevated COVID-19 case numbers as it finishes its pre-fall break testing blitz this week, UA President Robert C. Robbins shared in a news conference Monday, Nov. 23. …
  
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• The Latest: Colorado health order allows patient transfers

  23-11-2020 22:54
  
  DENVER — As Colorado experiences its highest hospitalization rate of COVID-19 patients, Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order authorizing the state health department to order hospitals and emergency departments to transfer and cease admitting new patients in order to deal with the influx of coronavirus cases.
  According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, as of Sunday the state had over 1,500 confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations. On Friday, Polis said full hospi
  
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• Nebraska police chief defends officers in fatal traffic stop

  23-11-2020 22:54
  
  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s police chief said two officers acted appropriately when a Black man was fatally shot during a Nebraska traffic stop last week because the man repeatedly didn’t comply with their commands, but video of the incident won’t be immediately released. Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said Monday the officers followed department policy when Kenneth Jones was shot last Thursday because he reached for a gun in his waistband and disregarded officers’ com
  
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• Court: Texas, Louisiana can end Planned Parenthood funding

  23-11-2020 22:53
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas and Louisiana can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. Monday’s decision by a majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses earlier rulings in two longstanding fights over abortion. Opponents of legal abortion have long sought to deny federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood because some Planned Parenthood affiliates perform them. Abortion rights supporters and advocates for women’s health hav
  
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• Michigan certifies Biden win despite Trump’s GOP overtures

  23-11-2020 22:45
  
  LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan election officials on Monday certified Democrat Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in the state amid President Donald Trump’s brazen attempts to subvert the results of the election. The Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one abstention. Allies of Trump and losing GOP Senate candidate John James had urged the panel to delay voting for two weeks to audit votes in heavily Dem
  
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• Ex-Homeland Security official Mayorkas returns under Biden

  23-11-2020 22:44
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is turning to a veteran of the Department of Homeland Security to lead the agency amid widespread concern that it became overtly politicized under President Donald Trump in carrying out his immigration and law enforcement priorities. Biden is nominating Alejandro Mayorkas, He served as a deputy secretary of homeland security and director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services under President Barack Obama. He worked on efforts to respond to t
  
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• Georgia counties set to start recount requested by Trump

  23-11-2020 22:41
  
  ATLANTA (AP) — After the Trump campaign requested a recount of the presidential ballots in Georgia, county election workers have just over a week to complete the new tally. Gabriel Sterling, a top state elections official, said during a video news conference Monday that the counties can begin the recount at 9 a.m. Tuesday and must finish by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 2. The election results certified last week showed Democrat Joe Biden beating Republican President Donald Trump by 12,670 votes out
  
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• Republicans, biz leaders push for action on Biden transition

  23-11-2020 22:36
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Pressure is increasing on President Donald Trump’s administration to authorize a formal transition process for President-elect Joe Biden. An increasing number of Republicans, national security experts and business leaders say it is time for that process to move forward. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio on Monday called for the head of the General Services Administration to release money and staffing needed for the transition. Meanwhile, more than 160 business lea
  
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• Michigan election board certifies victory for Biden, another setback in Trump’s effort to overturn election results

  23-11-2020 22:35
  
  LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan election board certifies victory for Biden, another setback in Trump’s effort to overturn election results.The post Michigan election board certifies victory for Biden, another setback in Trump’s effort to overturn election results appeared first on KVOA.
  
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• Correction: Election 2020-Arizona story

  23-11-2020 22:20
  
  PHOENIX (AP) — In a story November 19, 2020, about a failed bid to postpone election certification in metro Phoenix, The Associated Press misspelled the name of the judge who decided the case. He is Judge John Hannah, not Hanna. The post Correction: Election 2020-Arizona story appeared first on KVOA.
  
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• Biden’s choice for UN envoy signals return to US engagement

  23-11-2020 22:20
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden’s pick of Linda Thomas-Greenfield as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations reflects his intent to return to a more traditional role at the world body as well as offer an olive branch to a beleaguered diplomatic corps. If confirmed by the Senate, Thomas-Greenfield would be neither the first African American nor the first woman, nor even the first African American woman, to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But she&rsqu
  
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• Sci-fi Author and Wife Found Dead in Foothills Home

  23-11-2020 22:12
  
  A science fiction author and his wife were found dead from gunshot wounds after Pima County Sheriff’s deputies discovered the couple in their Foothills home late Thursday, Nov. 19.
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• Stocks rise on Wall Street on latest hopes for virus vaccine

  23-11-2020 22:08
  
  Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Monday after investors received several pieces of encouraging news on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, tempering concerns over rising virus cases and business restrictions. The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.6%, led by banks, industrial companies and other businesses that have been beaten down by the virus. The latest vaccine developments are helping to raise hopes that some normalcy will eventually be restored to everyday life and the economy. AstraZenec
  
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• Transgender woman sues Georgia corrections officials again

  23-11-2020 22:02
  
  ATLANTA (AP) — A Black transgender woman has sued Georgia prison officials, saying they failed to protect her from repeated sexual assaults behind bars. Ashely Diamond says in the lawsuit filed Monday that authorities also failed to provide her with adequate medical treatment. Diamond previously sued Georgia corrections officials in 2015 over similar allegations. Diamond was paroled in August 2015 and settled her first lawsuit in 2016, which led to some prison policy changes. She was retur
  
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• The Latest: National security experts urge Trump to concede

  23-11-2020 21:58
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):
  3:55 p.m.
  More than 100 former national security officials who served in Republican administrations or GOP members of Congress say President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the election and allow for an orderly transition is a “serious threat” to the homeland and America’s democratic process.In a signed letter released Monday, the group urged all Republican leaders, including those on Cap
  
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• AP source: Biden taps ex-Fed chair Yellen to lead treasury

  23-11-2020 21:51
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has chosen former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary, a pivotal role in which she would help shape and direct his economic policies. Her nomination was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with Biden’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them. Yellen, who is widely admired in the financial world, would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department in a line stretching ba
  
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• The Latest: US to start distributing experimental virus drug

  23-11-2020 21:45
  
  WASHINGTON — The U.S. government on Tuesday will start distributing 30,000 doses of an experimental antibody drug to fight COVID-19, the one President Donald Trump received last month.
  Over the weekend, the Food and Drug Administration agreed to allow emergency use of the drug, made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., for people with mild to moderate symptoms who are at high risk of developing serious illness because of their age or other medical conditions. It’s not authorized for us
  
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• NAU vs. Arizona game canceled after player’s positive COVID-19 test

  23-11-2020 21:45
  
  TUCSON (KVOA) – The Arizona Men’s Basketball game on Wednesday has been canceled after a player with Northern Arizona University tested positive for the coronavirus.
  UArizona says both will work together to determine if a date to reschedule the game this season is possible."The news of this cancellation is very disappointing to student-athletes, coaches and fans. However, health and safety must remain our top priorities as we move forward this season," said Nathan Wiechers Associate
  
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• California high school athletes travel to Arizona to keep playing through COVID-19

  23-11-2020 21:45
  
  SAN CLEMENTE, California – High school athletes can’t play competitively this fall semester due to California’s pandemic restrictions, so some elite players are traveling to Arizona and other states to maintain their skills and continue developing a scouting profile for colleges.…
  
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• AP source: Biden taps ex-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary; she’d be 1st woman to lead department

  23-11-2020 21:40
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — AP source: Biden taps ex-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary; she’d be 1st woman to lead department.The post AP source: Biden taps ex-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary; she’d be 1st woman to lead department appeared first on KVOA.
  
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• China launches mission to bring back material from moon

  23-11-2020 21:39
  
  WENCHANG, China (AP) — China has launched an ambitious mission to bring back material from the moon’s surface for the first time in more than 40 years — an undertaking that could boost human understanding of the moon and of the solar system more generally.  Chang’e 5 — named for the Chinese moon goddess — is the country’s boldest lunar mission yet. If successful, it would be a major advance for China’s space program, and some experts say it co
  
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• The Latest: Biden stresses cooperation with nation’s mayors

  23-11-2020 21:34
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):
  3:30 p.m.
  President-elect Joe Biden says he wants to work closely with the nation’s mayors to help Americans cope during the coronavirus pandemic.
  Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris met Monday with the U.S. conference of mayors virtually, from a theater in downtown Wilmington, Delaware. They each sat at a low table and spoke to a screen displaying a video grid of 49 mayors.
  Biden told the mayors th
  
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• Health care fraud trial: Doctor acquitted on 7 of 8 counts

  23-11-2020 21:33
  
  JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi doctor has been acquitted on seven of eight counts against him in what prosecutors said was about $18 million in health care fraud involving prescription pain cream. His secretary was acquitted on all five counts against her. The Clarion Ledger reports that jurors were unable to agree on the eighth count against Dr. Gregory Auzenne. The two-week-long trial of Auzenne and 46-year-old Tiffany Clark ended late Friday in federal district court in Jackson. Th
  
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• China launches ambitious mission to bring back material from the moon’s surface for the first time in more than 40 years

  23-11-2020 21:33
  
  WENCHANG, China (AP) — China launches ambitious mission to bring back material from the moon’s surface for the first time in more than 40 years.The post China launches ambitious mission to bring back material from the moon’s surface for the first time in more than 40 years appeared first on KVOA.
  
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• Guatemalan Congress backs down on budget after protests

  23-11-2020 21:26
  
  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Guatemala’s Congress has backed down on a 2021 federal budget that drew angry protests, including the burning of part of the Congress building. The new budget would have slashed social spending, and was approved last week while the country was distracted by Hurricane Iota.  Congressional leader Allan Rodríguez said Monday the already approved budget had been suspended, leaving it unclear what the next step might be. Guatemala’s government called f
  
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• Rittenhouse attorney says judge allowed him on case

  23-11-2020 21:25
  
  KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A California attorney says a judge has granted his request to appear in court for an Illinois 17-year-old accused of killing two people during a protest in Wisconsin. John Pierce is not licensed to practice in Wisconsin and needed the court’s permission to represent Kyle Rittenhouse in court. Such requests are routinely granted, but prosecutors wanted a hearing on the matter. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Pierce has no real criminal defense experien
  
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• ‘Thanksgiving Grandma’ keeps up tradition despite COVID loss

  23-11-2020 21:20
  
  PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman who drew widespread attention after opening her Thanksgiving table to a stranger she accidentally texted has kept the tradition going, despite losing her husband Lonnie to COVID-19. Wanda Dench and 21-year-old Jamal Hinton met in 2016 after the grandmother from the Phoenix suburb of Mesa mistakenly texted her grandson about coming for Thanksgiving to Hinton’s number. Hinton jokingly replied he would like to come as well. Dench told him he was welcome.
  
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• Biden names climate statesman John Kerry as climate envoy

  23-11-2020 21:20
  
  President-elect Joe Biden has picked climate-change older statesman John Kerry for a newly created role of climate envoy for national security. The selection heightens the incoming administration’s attention to warnings that worsening natural disasters from global warming will weaken U.S. defenses and spin off conflicts around the globe. Climate activists were split on the news. Executive Director Varshini Prakash of the influential Sunrise Movement climate group says Kerry combines a trac
  
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• Average US price of gas down a penny a gallon to $2.18

  23-11-2020 21:10
  
  CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline slipped a penny a gallon over the past two weeks, to $2.18. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Monday that gas prices have dropped 8 cents over the past 10 weeks. The price at the pump is 51 cents less than it was a year ago.  The highest average price in the nation is $3.33 a gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest average is $1.73 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The average price
  
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• WATCH: FLOTUS welcomes White House Christmas tree

  23-11-2020 21:09
  
  First lady Melania Trump welcomed the official White House Christmas tree on Monday.The tradition, dating back to 1966, includes a horse-drawn carriage bringing the tree to the north portico of the White House.This year's tree comes from the National Christmas Tree Association's Grand Champion Grower Dan and Anne Taylor.The White House superintendent of grounds visited the Taylor's farm in West Virginia and selected an 18-foot tall Fraser fir to be put up in the historic blue room of the White
  
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• The Latest: Mexico’s Catholic Church halts large pilgrimage

  23-11-2020 21:07
  
  MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church announced the cancellation Monday of what’s considered the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage, for the Virgin of Guadalupe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Mexico’s Episcopal Conference said in a statement that the basilica will be closed from December 10-13. The Virgin is celebrated on Dec. 12 and for weeks in advance, pilgrims travel from across Mexico to gather by the millions in Mexico City.
  The church recommended that
  
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• GOP senator, business leaders urge prompt Biden transition

  23-11-2020 21:01
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Pressure is increasing on a Trump administration official to authorize a formal transition process for President-elect Joe Biden. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio on Monday called for the head of the General Services Administration to release money and staffing needed for the transition. Meanwhile, more than 160 business leaders asked GSA chief Emily Murphy to immediately acknowledge Biden as president-elect and begin the transition. When Murphy ascertains that Biden w
  
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• New York state sues Buffalo diocese over priest misconduct

  23-11-2020 20:55
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s attorney general is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and two former church leaders, accusing them of covering up allegations of sexual misconduct against predatory priests. The civil suit filed Monday alleges the diocese, former Bishop Richard Malone and an auxiliary bishop sheltered and improperly financially supported accused priests by letting them retire or go on medical leave when they should have reported them to the Vatican.  Att
  
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• Catholic Church cancels Guadalupe pilgrimage over pandemic

  23-11-2020 20:55
  
  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church says the COVID-19 pandemic has forced cancelled this year’s celebration of what’s considered the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage — for the Virgin of Guadalupe.Mexico’s bishops’ conference said Monday that the basilica will be closed from December 10-13. The Virgin is celebrated on Dec. 12 and for weeks in advance pilgrims travel from across Mexico to gather by the millions in Mexico City. The ch
  
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• DC boosts limits on restaurants, gatherings amid virus spike

  23-11-2020 20:54
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s capital is tightening its public COVID-19 restrictions in the face of spiraling virus numbers locally and around the country. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that the District of Columbia will remain in Phase 2 of its reopening plan, but she announced a number of adjustments. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 25, the maximum limit for outdoor gatherings will be reduced from 50 to 25 people and indoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people. Restaurants can conti
  
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• Greece faces renewed lockdown as pressure on hospitals rises

  23-11-2020 20:44
  
  THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s health minister says the government is set to extend its lockdown measures beyond the end of November given the spread of COVID-19 and the pressure on hospitals. Vassilis Kikilias said it’s “self-evident” the lockdown can’t be lifted at the end of the month. The country of about 11 million people now has more than 92,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,714 deaths — more than 1,000 of which were over the past month &
  
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• Local artist creates holiday collection to help animal shelter

  23-11-2020 20:42
  
  Humane Society of Southern Arizona
  TUCSON KVOA) - A local artist is making a difference this holiday season.
  While getting into the holiday spirit, Diana Madaras is also helping a local animal shelter.Madaras created the “My Forever Home” collection, which supports the homeless pets at the Human Society of Southern Arizona.The collection includes 18 cards with envelopes and an inside sentiment, “Wishing all pets a special ‘forever home’ this coming year. May you ha
  
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• The Latest: Biden to nominate Haines for top intel post

  23-11-2020 20:41
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):
  2:35 p.m.
  President-elect Joe Biden has selected Avril Haines, a former deputy director of the CIA, to be director of national intelligence, the first woman to hold that post.
  If confirmed, Haines would be the first woman to be the nation’s top intelligence officer, charged with overseeing more than a dozen U.S. intelligence agencies.
  Picking Haines is a signal that Biden intends to return the nation’s
  
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• Green Things Garden to hold Poinsettia Festival

  23-11-2020 20:27
  
  Green Things Garden Center
  TUCSON (KVOA) - Green Things Garden Center and Zocalo Village will be hosting the Poinsettia Festival.
  The festival will take place every day at 3384 E. River Rd. from 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m from Nov. 23 through Dec. 24.The Poinsettia Festival is a perfect opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the 20 greenhouses and take that perfect selfie photo.As the holidays are approaching, Santa will be visiting on Saturdays and Sundays.Visitors can also take holiday craft classe
  
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