March 5, 2022 4:20 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – An Amtrak engineer has been acquitted of charges related to a high-speed derailment that left eight people dead and hundreds injured in Philadelphia in 2015. The jury cleared 38-year-old engineer Brandon Bostian of causing a catastrophe, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. He had been charged once for each injury and death. Bostian’s lawyer describes him as having a perfect work record until he was distracted by people throwing rocks in the area just before the crash. The train was going more than 100 mph on a 50 mph curve when the train derailed. Amtrak had earlier settled the civil litigation for $265 million.
March 4, 2022 2:46 pm
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A federal judge has blocked an effort by voters to disqualify North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn from seeking reelection by alleging his involvement with the rally that preceded the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021 made him ineligible. U.S. District Judge Richard Myers in Wilmington issued a preliminary injunction during a court hearing Friday. Myers declared the state’s candidate challenge process didn’t apply to a portion of the 14th Amendment designed to prevent congressmen who had fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War from returning to Congress. Cawthorn spoke at the Jan. 6 rally and voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
March 4, 2022 4:32 am
DETROIT (AP) – Face masks will be optional for U.S. union auto workers, as long as their factories are in counties that are not at high risk for the novel coronavirus. A task force of officials from Ford, General Motors, Stellantis and the United Auto Workers union decided to drop a mask requirement at a meeting on Thursday. The union says in a statement that the group decided to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in making masks optional, regardless of vaccination status. Automakers will tell workers when the changes are effective at their plants. More than 150,000 workers represented by the UAW began wearing masks at work in May of 2020, when factories reopened after an eight-week shutdown at the start of the pandemic.
March 4, 2022 4:29 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is ordering new sanctions against Russian oligarchs and others in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle as Russian forces pummel Ukraine. Those targeted by the new sanctions include Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, and Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, one of Russia’s wealthiest individuals and a close ally of Putin. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke late Thursday as Russian forces shelled a nuclear plant in the eastern Ukraine city of Enerhodar. They urged Russia to “cease its military activities” in the area and allow firefighters to access the damaged site.
March 4, 2022 4:27 am
The Russian parliament has passed a bill introducing sentences of up to 15 years in prison for intentionally spreading “fake” information about military action. Russian state news agencies reported Friday the passing of the bill in the third and final reading. The development came amid a crackdown by Russian authorities on independent media and criticism of last week’s invasion of Ukraine. Spreading what Russian authorities deem to be false information is punishable by up to three years in prison, or 15 years if it is deemed to have “severe consequences.” The bill also bans calling for sanctions to be implemented against Russia.
March 4, 2022 4:26 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian firefighters have extinguished a blaze at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant. The fire was ignited by Russian shelling. Russian forces have seized control of the site and are pressing their campaign to cripple the country despite global condemnation. Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator said that no changes in radiation levels have been recorded so far after the Zaporizhzhia plant came under attack. No casualties have been reported. But the blaze caused worldwide concern. The shelling of the plant came as the Russian military advanced on a strategic city near where the plant is located, and gained ground in their bid to cut off Ukraine from the sea.
March 4, 2022 4:24 am
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) – A powerful bomb has exploded inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, killing more than 30 worshippers and wounding dozens more, many of them critically, police said. The explosion occurred as worshippers had collected in the Kucha Risaldar mosque in Peshawar’s old city for Friday prayers. Ambulances rushed through congested narrow streets carrying the wounded to Lady Reading Hospital, where doctors worked feverishly. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
March 4, 2022 4:23 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s biggest public pension system will begin to sell off its investments in Russia and Belarus. The board voted unanimously Thursday to divest in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The $72.5 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System is one of the nation’s biggest public pension funds. It’ll target what it says is almost $300 million directly invested in Russia and Belarus. That’s less than one-half of 1% of the fund’s total assets. Belarus has been a key ally of Russia in its attack on Ukraine. The board’s motion also decreed that the system will make no future investments in Russia or Belarus.
March 4, 2022 4:19 am
Public comment during the Washington County Commissioner’s meeting continues to be dominated by supporters of an audit of the 2020 election. Supporters were disappointed that their advocate Dr. Douglas Frank blasted county commissioners for asking him for documentation and information sources of his voter fraud finings in Washington County. In a change of pace there were several detractors of Frank’s election findings and they poked holes in theories he used in his mathematical equations. Also during public comment, Kim Oyler pointed out that Frank has stated that he possesses all of the usernames and passwords to local elected officials. Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughn indicated that that information will be turned over to the appropriate authorities. Oyler declined to make any further comment regarding her public comment during the meeting. Also, a so-called ‘Audit the Vote’ canvass operation is being planned for Saturday. An event promotion on their website indicated that a Vote Verification Party will take place on March 5. The website offers few details on activities that are to take place. Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander says it is important that residents know that these individuals are not working on behalf of the county. In other business, Commissioners approved a measure to apply to the state for additional Local Share Account funds. The county will be making application to a state program that oversees LSA funds for $1,000,000 to make improvements to the Washington County Fairgrounds. The county’s share of the costs will be $700,000 for excavation to improve drainage, improve parking and show tent relocation.
March 4, 2022 4:03 am
Washington City Council approved a measure to purchase bulletproof vests for the police force. Mayor Scott Putnam says the purchase price of $34,561 will be offset by an $11,000 grant acquired from the United States Department of Justice Ballistic Vest Partnership. Putnam credited police Chief Dan Rush for laying out the specifications for the vest and winning the grant. Secondly, council approved a resolution renaming a portion of Sixth Street between Central and Forrest as Frances Vactor Way. Putnam described Vactor as a larger than life individual who had a great influence in her neighborhood. Finally Park Director DeAnna Martin announced that there will be a Night at the Races Fundraiser on March 26 at Julian’s Catering. Tickets for the event are $20 and can be purchased at the Washington Park office, Keystone Elks and the Arms Club. Proceeds from the event will benefit the July 4th Fireworks at the Park event.
