In the news
■ Annelies Verlinden, Belgium’s interior minister, and Health Minister Frank Vandenbrouke issued an exemption to the country’s coronavirus measures to reassure children that St. Nicholas won’t have to go into quarantine and can deliver presents on Dec. 6, a holiday marking the onset of winter.
■ Ashley Hinson, 37, a Republican congresswoman-elect who flipped an Iowa seat in last week’s election, said she is feeling fine after testing positive for the coronavirus and will quarantine at her home in Marion.
■ Maureen Smith, a spokesman for the archdiocese of Atlanta, said an 1,100-student Catholic high school has switched to online learning after about 50 students tested positive for the coronavirus, which they may have contracted at a Halloween party hosted by a student’s family.
■ Lucy Letby, 30, a British nurse accused of killing eight babies and trying to kill another 10 at a hospital south of Liverpool, will remain in custody under orders from a judge a day after she was charged with murder and attempted murder.
■ George Stahl, 36, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, who was caught driving at speeds of up to 130 mph, was arrested after he told Utah Highway Patrol troopers that he had consumed drugs and beer, and was on his way to Missouri to kill former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, according to court documents.
■ Grady Sanford, 56, of Canton, Ga., was fired as chief deputy of the Forsyth County sheriff’s office and charged with distributing child pornography after authorities acting on a tip from an exploited children organization investigated his internet activity and found suspect images, authorities said.
■ Shane McKinney, 54, a Baton Rouge pediatrician accused of physically and verbally assaulting a Southern University student-athlete while she was out walking, was arrested in what police described as a “racially motivated attack.”
■ Amiyah Verner, 18, of Aberdeen, Miss., was charged with manslaughter after telling police that she didn’t know that a handgun, with the magazine removed, had a bullet in the chamber when she accidentally shot and killed her roommate.
■ Don Young, the 87-yearold Alaska congressman, said he’s “feeling strong, following proper protocols” in announcing that he tested positive for covid-19, a day after election officials declared that he had won his 25th term in the U.S. House of Representatives.