China tells tech manufacturers to stop using Micron chips, stepping up feud with United States
China has stepped up a feud with Washington over security by telling users of computer equipment deemed sensitive to stop buying products from the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, Micron Technology Inc. The country's cyberspace agency says Micron products have unspecified โserious network security risksโ that threaten Chinaโs information infrastructure and affect national security.
Feds will appeal mask ruling only if mandate still needed
The Justice Department says it will not appeal a federal district judgeโs ruling that ended the nationโs federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary.
Airport crowds, airline ticket sales show travel recovering
An American Airlines jet sits parked at a gate as light snow falls at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Arlington, Va. American Airlines says bookings are coming back they're nearly at pre-pandemic levels. Gasoline demand is up too, as more Americans travel by car. โI would just sort of reiterate the recommendations from CDC, saying please limit travel to essential travel for the time being.โNew reported cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have increased 18% in the past two weeks. However, deaths declined 29% over that same period, to an average of 1,363 per day to 970 per day by Sunday. White House officials said Monday that more than 50 million Americans โ nearly one in five adults โ are now fully vaccinated.
Virginia Tech women upset No. 2 NC State 83-71 in OT
BLACKSBURG, Va. โ Kenny Brooks has won nearly 63% of his games since becoming the Virginia Tech womenโs basketball coach in 2016. Aisha Sheppard scored 18 of her 28 points in overtime to help Virginia Tech upset No. Virginia Tech had never beaten an opponent ranked higher than No. That was the difference.โAdElizabeth Kitley added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Azana Baines had 16 points for Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech: Hosts North Carolina on Sunday.
Louisville is No. 1 in women's AP Top 25 for 1st time
Louisville coach Jeff Walz gestures during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Virginia Tech on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Blacksburg, Va. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP, Pool)For the first time in school history, coach Jeff Walz has Louisville at No. 1 in The Associated Press womenโs college basketball poll. Louisville received 20 first-place votes from a 29-member national media panel. UConn coach Geno Auriemma is tied with the late Pat Summitt for the second most victories in womenโs basketball history. ___More AP womenโs college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
NHL teams begin to unveil advertisements on helmets
In this image provided by the Washington Capitals, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson wears a helmet bearing a Capital One logo during NHL hockey practice, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, in Arlington, Va. (Zach Guerette/Washington Capitals via AP)There will be advertisements on NHL players' helmets this season as teams try to recoup revenue lost to the pandemic. The New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators became the first teams to unveil helmet ads Tuesday. โOf course, the teams are in a big hole,โ Nashville chief revenue officer Chris Junghans said after the team announced its deal with Bridgestone. โSo, they're looking for valuable, real valuable, tangible assets that will help us, guys like me, make partners whole. Each of the first three teams got a deal done with the company that sponsors the naming rights for its arena.
Pentagon plan on cyber split draws strong Hill criticism
A U.S. official confirmed Saturday that the Pentagon has a plan for separating the National Security Agency and Cyber Command. In his letter to Miller, Smith said the Pentagon has not met conditions set by the 2017 defense bill for severing the NSA from Cyber Command. The notion of splitting NSA from Cyber Command goes back to the Obama administration, which proposed to elevate the status of Cyber Command by making it a unified military command, taking it from under the purview of U.S. Strategic Command. That move was approved by President Donald Trump in 2017, and it was foreseen that at some point Cyber Command would split away from the NSA, although such a move had strong opponents in Congress. It's not clear who the Trump administration might install as head of the NSA if it were split from Cyber Command before President-elect Joe Biden takes office Jan. 20.
Jupiter, Saturn merging in night sky, closest in centuries
(Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ Jupiter and Saturn will merge in the night sky Monday, appearing closer to one another than they have since Galileoโs time in the 17th century. Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn in their respective laps around the sun every 20 years. Saturn and Jupiter have been drawing closer in the south-southwest sky for weeks. Despite appearances, Jupiter and Saturn will actually be more than 450 million miles (730 million kilometers) apart. A telescope will not only capture Jupiter and Saturn in the same field of view, but even some of their brightest moons.
San Antonio VA begins administering COVID-19 vaccinations
SAN ANTONIO โ The South Texas Veterans Health Care System on Wednesday began administering COVID-19 vaccinations to frontline health care employees and veterans residing in long-term care Community Living and Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder centers. The VA System is part of the initial group of 37 VA medical centers across the country that began receiving and administering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week. โThe South Texas Veterans Health Care System is proud to be a part of the initial 37 VA medical centers receiving the vaccine,โ said Christopher R. Sandles, Medical Center Director/CEO. โWe are dedicated to ensuring all Veterans receiving care at VA and our employees are ultimately offered the vaccine.โThe vaccine is administered as a series of 2 doses, 21 days apart. VA will report directly to the CDC data on all vaccine doses administered by VA.
The Latest: SEC championship game to have crowd of 16,500
(AP Photo/Morry Gash)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Southeastern Conference championship game between No. This will be the ninth time Alabama and Florida have met in the SEC title game, which has been played in Atlanta since 1994. It was moved to take the place of the Michigan-Ohio State game, which was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Wolverinesโ program. ___UConn has postponed a second menโs basketball game as it continues to deal with a playerโs positive coronavirus test. Should the game be played, the winner of the Washington-Oregon matchup will be Pac-12 North champions and play in the conference title game on Dec. 18.
No. 9 Miami rallies behind King, D to beat Va. Tech 25-24
DโEriq King threw for 255 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, rallying the Hurricanes to a 25-24 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday. Miami announced it had 13 players unavailable before the game, including three starters and several offensive linemen. Hendon Hooker paced Virginia Tech, throwing for 201 yards and rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown. โI hurt for them,โ Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said of his players. Virginia Tech: The Hokies travel to Pittsburgh โ if the Panthers are ready to play.
Barbir's FG gives No. 25 Liberty 38-35 win over Hokies
25 Liberty to a 38-35 victory over Virginia Tech. But officials ruled that Virginia Tech had called a timeout before the kick. โIโve always done this,โ Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. Hendon Hooker paced Virginia Tech, throwing for 217 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown. Virginia Tech: The Hokies play Miami at home on Saturday.
Tentative settlements in WVa veterans' hospital deaths
CHARLESTON, W.Va. โ Tentative settlements have been reached in several civil lawsuits filed on behalf of the families of veterans who died at a West Virginia hospital where a former nursing assistant admitted to intentionally killing seven people with fatal doses of insulin. The settlements were disclosed by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Saturday as well as in federal court filings stemming from the deaths of six veterans at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg. Manchin said in a statement that the tentative settlement โis further evidence that the VA and the Clarksburg VAMC were negligent in the murders that happened under their watch.โThe veterans' deaths involved in the settlements occurred in 2018. Fired hospital nursing assistant Reta Mays pleaded guilty in July to intentionally killing seven patients with wrongful insulin injections. Mays admitted at a plea hearing to purposely killing the veterans, injecting them with unprescribed insulin while she worked overnight shifts at the hospital in northern West Virginia between 2017 and 2018.
Bill calling for sweeping VA mental health care changes heading to presidentโs desk
Statistics like these prompted a bipartisan group of U.S. senators to draft a bill that would bring sweeping changes to the Department of Veteran Affairs' mental health services. Senate Bill 785, also known as the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, has now passed the Senate and House and is headed to President Donald Trumpโs desk for approval. The bill does the following:establishes increased accountability over the departmentโs mental health and suicide prevention programs;expands VA tele-health capabilities to better serve rural veterans;bolsters and expedites federal research capabilities;directs the VA to embark on a precision medicine initiative that will improve how mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated;makes necessary improvements to the VA mental health workforce. โMental health is widely misunderstood, and thereโs a negative culture associated with it, especially in the military. โNot everyone that they see will fit the parameters they need to see or allow them into a mental health provider.
Take it to the grave: Roanoke man wants to be buried in Wrigleyโs Gum casket - and it looks like heโll get his wish
Thatโs the case for one Roanoke man whoโs known to share Wrigleyโs Gum with everyone he meets. John has been in Roanoke for a few months to be by Suttieโs side as his health declines. Suttie asked Sammy Oakey at Oakeyโs Funeral Home to have his casket painted like the iconic gum box. And before he knew it, hundreds of packs of gum were on their way to Roanoke, and he had good news to share. Suttieโs family said his health is improving, and thatโs a good thing, because they need someone to give away all the gum.
Rivera misses Washington practice to begin cancer treatments
As planned, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio stepped in and ran practice ahead of Washington's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)Ron Rivera missed Washington's first game week practice to begin treatment for a form of skin cancer, so Jack Del Rio stepped in as planned. Del Rio didn't have an update on how Rivera was feeling, but expects him back at the team's practice facility Wednesday. I really dont hear Coach (Rivera) when he's here doing, cornerback Ronald Darby said. But to be honest, it did feel a little weird because whats going on and what he's going through, but we've got to keep pushing.
Falwell says he's resigned from Liberty University
FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 file photo, Jerry Falwell Jr., right, answers a student's question, accompanied by his wife, Becki, during a town hall meeting on the opioid crisis at a convocation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. On Aug. 7, 2020, Falwell stepped down, at least temporarily, from his role as the president of the school. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Falwell says wife had affair, family faced blackmail attempt
FILE -This Wednesday Nov. 28, 2018 file photo shows Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr., right, and his wife, Becky during after a town hall at a convocation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Falwell Jr. says he is seeking help for the "emotional toll" from an affair his wife had with a man who he says later threatened his family. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Geofence warrants to be tested in Virginia bank robbery case
This aerial drone photo shows the Call Federal Credit Union building, front, Tuesday June 16, 2020, in Midlothian, Va. Police were able to obtain geofence search warrants, a tool being increasingly used by law enforcement. The warrant sought location histories kept by Google of cellphones and other devices used within 150 meters (500 feet) of the bank. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
San Antonio VA confirms highest number of COVID-19 patients in the VA health care system
SAN ANTONIO โ A San Antonio veterans hospital has confirmed it has admitted 18 patients with COVID-19 as of Friday, according to the VA.Officials said Friday that the South Texas Veterans Health Care System has reported the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the VA Health Care System. The 18 coronavirus inpatients in the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital are in stable condition, officials said. โWithin the last week weโve seen an increase of patients being treated for COVID-19,โ Christopher R. Sandles, director and CEO for the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, said in a news release. This week, the number of San Antonio and Texas cases have risen dramatically, causing Bexar County to implement a new face mask requirement for businesses. The South Texas Veterans Health Care System states anyone who enters one of their facilities must wear a face mask and should expect to be pre-screened.