California
Suspect in Paul Pelosi attack enters not-guilty plea
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man who allegedly broke into U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and beat her 82-year-old husband in October pleaded not guilty Wednesday to six charges, including attempted murder, prosecutors said.
The suspect, David DePape, had planned to kidnap the speaker — who was in Washington at the time of the attack — when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home on Oct. 28, authorities said. Instead, the 42-year-old defendant severely beat her husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer in an attack that was witnessed by two police officers and shocked the political world.
Paul Pelosi was knocked unconscious and woke up in a pool of his own blood. He later underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. He has since appeared in public wearing a hat and a glove that covered his wounds.
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence during a preliminary hearing to move forward. Wednesday’s appearance was another arraignment, a procedural move where the defendant enters a plea on the charges that will be brought to trial.
DePape is still being held without bail; his state case returns to court Feb. 23. The public defender’s office declined to comment. A federal case in which DePape has also pleaded not guilty is also ongoing.
He is charged in state court with attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and threatening a family member of a public official.
During the preliminary hearing earlier this month, a San Francisco police investigator testified that DePape said there was “evil in Washington,” and he was looking to harm Nancy Pelosi because she is second in line for the presidency. Authorities have said DePape was drawn to conspiracy theories.
DePape told police he wanted to hold the Democratic leader hostage and “break her kneecaps” to show other members of Congress there were “consequences to actions,” the criminal complaint alleges.
In November, Nancy Pelosi said she would step down as Democrats’ leader in the House after two decades but remain in office. She and Paul have been married for nearly 60 years.
Alabama
State prisons pick new inmate health care provider
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Department of Corrections, for the second time this year, has picked a Tennessee-based company to provide health care services at its 27 facilities.
YesCare Corp., based in Brentwood, Tennessee, was chosen over three other companies that submitted proposals. The department said it would negotiate with YesCare and release information about the contract once it is final. The four-and-a-half-year contract is scheduled to take effect April 1, al.com reported.
The department had issued a request for proposals on Sept. 26. The other companies that submitted proposals were Centurion, Vital Core, and Wexford.
Wexford is the current provider and its employees who work in department facilities will be offered jobs with YesCare, corrections officials said.
Department commissioner John Hamm said YesCare was chosen based on a combination of quality, cost, and experience. YesCare has more than 40 years of correctional health care experience at more than 475 facilities across the country, the department said.
The department said in July that it had picked YesCare Corp. over four other companies but rescinded the decision and issued a new request for proposals. The agency did not give a specific reason for repeating the process, saying only that it was done “out of an abundance of caution.”
The quality of health care and mental health care for inmates is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates in 2014. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled in 2017 that the department’s mental health care was “horrendously inadequate.” The court is overseeing efforts by the state to increase staffing and make other changes to improve mental health care.
The case is separate but has overlapping issues with the Department of Justice lawsuit filed in 2020 alleging unconstitutional conditions in Alabama’s prisons for men.
Nation
U.S. will require COVID-19 testing for travelers from China
The U.S. announced new COVID-19 testing requirements Wednesday for all travelers from China, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections.
The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. China’s “zero COVID” policies had kept China’s infection rate low but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth.
Beginning Jan. 5, all travelers to the U.S. from China will be required to take a COVID-19 test no more than two days before travel and provide a negative test before boarding their flight. The testing applies to anyone 2 years and older.
Other countries have taken similar steps in an effort to keep infections from spreading beyond China’s borders. Japan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travelers from China, and Malaysia announced new tracking and surveillance measures. India, South Korea and Taiwan are requiring virus tests for visitors from China.
Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 22, is usually China’s busiest travel season, and China announced Tuesday it will resume issuing passports for tourism for the first time since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The U.S. action is a return to requirements for some international travelers. The Biden administration lifted the last of such mandates in June. At that time, the CDC continued to recommend that people boarding flights to the U.S. get tested close to departure time and not travel if they are sick.
Early in the pandemic, the U.S. barred entry to foreigners traveling from China, weeks after the virus first emerged there three years ago. Americans were allowed to return home and flights from China were funneled to selected airports where passengers were screened for illness.
But the virus already was spreading in the U.S. among people with no travel history.
