April 7, 2021 4:14 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The parade of Minneapolis police officers rejecting a former officer’s actions in restraining George Floyd is continuing at his murder trial. Jurors at the Derek Chauvin’s trial have been told that he received extensive training in how to defuse tense situations and how to properly restrain suspects. A use-of-force trainer testified Tuesday that officers aren’t trained to use their legs or knees on somebody’s neck, and are told to avoid neck pressure when possible. And a sergeant in charge of crisis-intervention training also testified that officers are taught to make critical decisions in dealing with people in crisis, including those suffering mental problems or the effects of drug use, and then defuse the situation.
April 7, 2021 4:12 am
A new survey from the Biden administration finds that large numbers of students are not returning to the classroom even as more schools reopen for full-time, in-person learning. The findings reflect a nation that has been locked in debate over the safety of reopening schools. Even as national COVID-19 rates continued to ebb in February, key measures around reopening schools barely budged. Nearly 46% of public schools offered five days a week of in-person to all students in February, according to the survey, but just 34% of students were learning full-time in the classroom. White students were far more likely to be learning in-person than their nonwhite classmates.
April 7, 2021 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania House has given its approval to a bill to establish a two-year window for civil claims over childhood sexual abuse. The vote on Wednesday is part of a belt-and-suspenders approach that also includes a potential constitutional amendment. The bill was sent to the state Senate by a vote of 149 to 52. Just two weeks ago, both chambers finished the first round of approvals for the constitutional amendment. Supporters say the proposed legislation and amendment are a way to get justice for victims who lost the right to sue when they turned 18 or were young adults, depending on Pennsylvania state law at the time.
April 7, 2021 3:14 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system is disclosing that it is dealing with a federal investigation, although officials atop the Public School Employees’ Retirement System have yet to publicly disclose the nature of the inquiry. In addition, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is on the pension system’s board, told lawmakers that top PSERS officials have received federal subpoenas. The disclosures come less than two weeks after the system said it is investigating a consultant’s calculation about the fund’s investment performance that is wrong. The board, late Tuesday night, approved a resolution after a long closed-door meeting to hire a law firm to represent it “in matters relating to a federal investigation.”
April 7, 2021 2:36 am
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – A Walmart worker in West Virginia has been accused of stealing $124,000 in gift cards over a five-month period. Kenneth Werkau of Clarington, Ohio, was indicted Wednesday in federal court on three counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors say the 63-year-old Werkau was employed as an associate at a Walmart in Moundsville. He is accused of stealing and activating the gift cards from September 2019 through January 2020. If convicted, Werkau could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. It wasn’t immediately known whether Werkau has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
April 6, 2021 12:41 pm
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) – Authorities say a Navy medic shot and critically wounded two people at a Maryland business park before fleeing to the Fort Detrick Army base, where he was shot and killed. Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando said at a news conference that the man entered a business at the Riverside Tech Park on Tuesday, causing people inside to flee, but it was unclear if the shooting took place inside or outside. Lando said that after the shooting, the man drove about 10 minutes to Fort Detrick, where he was shot by base personnel. He says the two people who were wounded were flown to a hospital.
April 6, 2021 9:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is set to announce that he’s shaving about two weeks off his May 1 deadline for states to make all adults eligible for coronavirus vaccines. A White House official says Biden will make the announcement later Tuesday. With states gradually expanding eligibility beyond such priority groups as seniors and essential, front-line workers, the president plans to announce that every adult in the U.S. will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19. That’s about two weeks earlier than Biden’s original May 1 deadline. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s plans before the formal announcement.
April 6, 2021 4:28 am
DALLAS (AP) – Six people were found fatally shot in a suburban Dallas home after police say two brothers made a plan to kill four family members and themselves. Officers in Allen went to the home for a welfare check at around 1 a.m. Monday. Police Sgt. Jon Felty says that one of the two brothers wrote a lengthy post on social media in which he said he and his brother planned to kill their family members and then themselves. Felty said the deaths were being investigated as a murder-suicide but he could not yet say who shot whom.
April 6, 2021 4:26 am
(AP) – The nation’s top health agency is no longer recommending daily disinfection of schools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance Monday, saying disinfecting chemicals like ammonia and bleach need be used only within 24 hours after an infected person has been there. Last summer, the agency recommended strong disinfecting chemicals be used daily to prevent the spread of the virus in classrooms. Earlier this year, the CDC posted documents meant to de-emphasize disinfection on such a regular schedule, but Monday’s guidance more clearly erased the daily recommendation. The updated guidance applies to homes, schools, and other settings that are not hospitals or health-care facilities.
April 6, 2021 4:24 am
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A group of farmers has filed a federal antitrust case against several big agricultural companies, contending the companies worked together to ban e-commerce sales in order to keep prices for seeds, fertilizer and other chemicals artificially high. The farmers are seeking class-action status and they want a judge to force the companies to give up “unlawful profits” and pay compensation to those impacted by the high prices. The Idaho farming operations based in Rupert filed the lawsuit seeking class-action status last month. Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states. Odessa Hines, a spokesperson for defendant BASF Agricultural Solutions, says the allegations don’t indicate anything except a competitive market.
