April 8, 2021 9:35 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to 744,000, signaling that many employers are still cutting jobs even as more people are vaccinated against COVID-19, consumers gain confidence and the government distributes aid throughout the economy. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications increased by 16,000 from 728,000 a week earlier. Jobless claims have declined sharply since the virus slammed into the economy in March of last year. But they remain high by historical standards: Before the pandemic erupted, weekly applications typically remained below 220,000 a week.
April 8, 2021 4:15 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia has become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana. Lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed changes to a bill to allow adults in Virginia to possess and cultivate small amounts starting in July. Northam sent the bill back to lawmakers substantially changed from the version they sent him in February. The amendments lawmakers agreed to Wednesday would accelerate the timeline of legalization by about three years. It will be years before legal retail sales follow legalized possession. The legislation lays out a complex process of creating a new state agency to oversee the marijuana marketplace, with sales beginning in 2024.
April 8, 2021 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden appears ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it. Biden has inched so close to the deadline that his indecision amounts almost to a decision to put off a pullout of the remaining 2,500 troops and to continue supporting the Afghan military. Biden suggested in late March it would be difficult logistically to remove all troops in the next three weeks – along with the coalition partners who can’t function separately.
April 8, 2021 4:11 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A use-of-force expert says Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck area the entire time that he was handcuffed behind his back and lying facedown. Jody Stiger is a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant serving as a prosecution witness. He testified Wednesday that his review of video evidence found that Chauvin’s weight was on Floyd from the time officers put Floyd on the ground until paramedics arrived – about 9 1/2 minutes, by prosecutors’ reckoning. Stiger also says bystanders didn’t appear to be a threat to police. Chauvin’s attorney has suggested officers were distracted by angry onlookers.
April 8, 2021 4:08 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Transgender females in West Virginia would be banned from competing in female sports in middle and high schools and colleges under a bill that narrowly won state Senate approval Thursday. After 90 minutes of passionate debate, the Senate passed the bill on an 18-15 vote. It now heads back to the House of Delegates to address Senate changes with only a few days left in the regular legislative session. Senate Education Committee chairwoman Patricia Rucker says the Senate bill is intended for the safety and protection of biological female athletes. Opponents have labeled it discriminatory and another reason for young people to leave the state.
April 8, 2021 2:44 am
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Firefighters say an explosion and fire at a paint manufacturer’s plant in Columbus, Ohio, left one worker dead and eight people injured. Columbus Battalion Chief Steve Martin says officials are investigating what caused the explosion Thursday shortly after midnight at the Yenkin-Majestic Paint facility. Authorities say some of those hurt were able to get out of the plant. Others were rescued and taken to the hospital. Martin says they were in stable condition Thursday. He says the fire was extinguished, and a 44-year-old employee named Wendell Light was found dead in the rubble of the collapsed building.
April 7, 2021 4:21 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – A mandatory evacuation order near a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses has been lifted. Officials said with Tuesday’s announcement that the situation is under control. More than two dozen pumps have been deployed, along with other equipment. That has eased fears that the reservoir from an old phosphate fertilizer plant would burst through its earthen walls and cause widespread flooding in Manatee County, just south of Tampa. The reservoir initially held about 480 million gallons of contaminated water. But much of it has been drained away once the leak was discovered. Florida lawmakers are considering spending $200 million on a permanent cleanup.
April 7, 2021 4:20 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is using his executive power to ban state government and some private entities from requiring COVID-19 “vaccine passports” to access services. Abbott signed the mandate Tuesday. It blocks state agencies, political subdivisions and public and private organizations that receive public funding in Texas from requiring proof of inoculation against the coronavirus. It’s the latest move from a Republican governor pitting public health campaigns against personal freedom and private choices. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a similar executive order last week.
April 7, 2021 4:17 am
Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states – a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections. That’s nearly 197,500 new cases in the latest available seven-day period. Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000. So far, the White House has shown no signs of shifting from its policy of dividing vaccine doses among states based on population.
April 7, 2021 4:15 am
LEMBATA, Indonesia (AP) – The death toll from mudslides in eastern Indonesia has risen to 119 with scores still missing as rain continued to pound the region and hamper the search. The village of Lamanele on Adonara island suffered the highest losses with 60 bodies recovered so far and 12 missing. Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills early on Sunday, catching people at sleep. On nearby Lembata island, the downpour triggered by Tropical Cyclone Seroja sent solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November to crash down on more than a dozen villages, killing at least 28 and leaving 44 unaccounted for. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents dug through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes searching for those buried.
