March 16, 2021 5:45 pm
Several area fire departments were called out Tuesday afternoon to a house fire in the Windsor Highlands neighborhood. There’s been no word on what may have caused the fire or if there were any injuries.
March 16, 2021 11:01 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Yaphet Kotto, the commanding actor who brought tough magnetism and stately gravitas to films including the James Bond movie “Live and Let Die” and “Alien,” has died. He was 81. Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, announced his death in a Facebook post. She said he died Monday in the Philippines. Kotto was best known for his infuriated FBI agent in “Midnight Run,” the James Bond villain Mr. Big in “Live and Let Die” and the technician Dennis Parker in 1979’s “Alien.” On TV, he played Al Giardello from 1993 to 1999 on the NBC series “Homicide: Life on the Street.” He’s survived by his wife and six children. (Photo: imdb)
March 16, 2021 4:17 am
One of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment accusers met with investigators working for the state attorney general’s office for more than four hours Monday via Zoom. A lawyer for Charlotte Bennett says that during the interview she revealed new details about Cuomo’s behavior and a “sexually hostile work environment.” Bennett also provided investigators with 120 pages of records. Cuomo, a Democrat, has said that he will cooperate with the investigation. His office didn’t immediately comment Monday when asked about Bennett’s interview. Bennett says Cuomo quizzed her last June about her sex life and inquired about her willingness to have a sexual relationship with an older man.
March 16, 2021 4:16 am
BOSTON (AP) – U.S. guidelines that say students should be kept 6 feet apart in schools are receiving new scrutiny from federal health experts, state governments and education officials working to return as many children as possible to the classroom. The distancing guidelines have remained a major hurdle for schools as they aim to open with limited space. But amid new evidence that it may be safe to seat students closer together, states including Illinois, Indiana and Massachusetts are allowing 3 feet of distance, and others including Oregon are considering it.
March 16, 2021 4:15 am
(AP) – China’s U.N. ambassador says China is donating 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to U.N. peacekeepers, with priority given to those serving in Africa.Ambassador Zhang Jun sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres informing him of the donation. It follows the announcement by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi of Beijing’s intention to donate vaccines at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Feb. 17. The mission said “China attaches great importance to the safety and security of peacekeepers” and the donation “is a further step to make China’s vaccines a global public good, and also a demonstration of China’s firm and continuous support to the U.N. and multilateralism.”
March 16, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Security officials say they will soon scale back fencing that has circled the U.S. Capitol and cut off the entire area to pedestrian and vehicular traffic since a mob attacked the building on Jan. 6. The acting House sergeant-at-arms, Timothy Blodgett, said Monday in a memo to members of Congress that the fencing will be scaled back in two phases. The decision comes in response to guidance from the U.S. Capitol Police that “there does not exist a known, credible threat” that warrants keeping the temporary barrier in place.
March 16, 2021 4:12 am
CHESTER, Pa. (AP) – President Joe Biden has visited a small, minority-owned business in suburban Philadelphia to showcase his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. He underscored that the huge relief package was passed without any help from Republican lawmakers as he sought to highlight how the bill will help small businesses imperiled by the public health crisis. The visit to Smith Flooring, Inc. was Biden’s first stop in an ongoing administration roadshow to publicize, and take credit, for the virus relief package. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff delivered a similar message during stops in Colorado. (Photo: AP)
March 16, 2021 4:10 am
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (AP) – Officials say a boy who was riding in a SUV with his mother was killed when a small plane struggling to return to a South Florida airport crashed into them on a residential street. The crash happened Monday afternoon in Pembroke Pines. Fire Chief Marcel Rodriguez says two people on the plane also died. The child’s mother was released from the hospital late Monday. Rodriguez says the Beechcraft Bonanza plane had just taken off from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines. Officials say the boy’s mother tried to free him from the car, which a neighbor said looked like it was cut in half. A Doorbell ring camera captured the entire tragedy on video.
March 16, 2021 4:09 am
(AP) – The company that makes the prescription painkiller OxyContin would be transformed into a new entity that would funnel profits into combatting the U.S. opioid crisis under a $10 billion plan submitted to a federal bankruptcy judge late Monday. Members of the Sackler family who own Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma would pay more than $4 billion. Individual victims, state and local governments, and Native American tribes would be in line for payments. Attorneys general for nearly half the states say the plan “falls short of the accountability that families and survivors deserve.” They want more money from the Sacklers, among other changes.
March 16, 2021 2:39 am
The Washington City Police Department issued a warning on their Facebook page this week, regarding a number of drug overdoses in the city. Police say they have had multiple overdoses resulting in death. They say the individuals who overdosed were snorting cocaine or what they believed to be cocaine. They say that at this point in time, they do not know what the substance is. They say their warning is not limited to powder Cocaine. They say there is a possibility that other drugs are being mixed with toxic substances that can cause death. They are asking individuals not to use any illegal or un prescribed drugs, but they say they also understand that people will still use despite the warning, so they are urging caution.
