April 14, 2021 9:43 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison. A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Madoff died at the federal medical center in Butner, North Carolina, apparently of natural causes. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. Last year, Madoff’s lawyers filed court papers to try to get the 82-year-old released from prison in the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he had suffered from end-stage renal disease and other chronic medical conditions. The request was denied.
April 14, 2021 4:16 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A use-of-force expert says former Officer Derek Chauvin was justified in pinning George Floyd to the ground because because he kept struggling. The witness, Barry Brodd, testified Tuesday for the defense at Chauvin’s murder trial. He contradicted a parade of authorities from both inside and outside the Minneapolis police force who said Floyd used excessive force and violated his training. At one point he suggested that if Floyd was being compliant, he would have had both hands in the small of his back, “and just be resting comfortably.” That prompted an incredulous response from the prosecutor, who said Floyd was moving because he was struggling to breathe by shoving his shoulder into the pavement. The defense began presenting its case after 11 days of prosecution testimony.
April 14, 2021 4:14 am
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota prosecutor says he will charge a white former suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Black motorist Daunte Wright with second-degree manslaughter. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said Wednesday that Kim Potter will be charged Wednesday. The announcement comes a day after Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where she had served for 26 years. It carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The shooting ignited days of unrest. The former Brooklyn Center police chief has said that Potter had intended to use her Taser on Wright but fired her handgun instead.
April 14, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A blistering internal report by the U.S. Capitol Police describes a multitude of missteps that left the force unprepared for the Jan. 6 insurrection. The report obtained by The Associated Press says riot shields shattered upon impact, expired weapons couldn’t be used, training courses had been skipped, and an intelligence division had no set standards. The watchdog report was released internally last month. It provides new details about broader security and intelligence failures that Congress has been investigating. And it provides details about conversations between officials as they disagreed on whether National Guard forces were necessary to back up the understaffed police force.
April 14, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Biden will withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan over the coming months, U.S. officials said, completing the military exit by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that drew the United States into its longest war. Biden declared on Wednesday that the Sept. 11 attacks, which were coordinated from Afghanistan, cannot justify American forces still being there 20 years after the deadliest terror assault on the United States. Biden called the U.S. military presence the nation’s “forever war.” He said at the White House that he is the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan and he “will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.”
April 14, 2021 4:09 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – About 150 unaccompanied children found at the southern border of the U.S. have arrived in northwestern Pennsylvania and will be housed at a dormitory at the Pennsylvania International Academy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said children landed Tuesday night at Erie International Airport. Children are released to sponsors in the U.S., usually parents or close relatives, while being allowed to pursue their cases in immigration courts. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie says a local volunteer effort will be led by the Pittsburgh-based Holy Family Institute, which also has received children from the border at its facilities in that city.
April 14, 2021 2:58 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – There may be nothing more nerve-wracking for a member of Congress than redistricting, when the once-a-decade redrawing of district boundaries injects uncertainty into their political career. By the end of April, the U.S. Census Bureau is releasing the first numbers from the 2020 census. It includes the state population count that determines how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets. Pennsylvania is expected to lose a district. That means there will be 17 districts for 18 incumbent U.S. House members from Pennsylvania when next year’s elections roll around. If each of the 18 wants to run again, two of them will have to run against each other.
April 13, 2021 8:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. is recommending a “pause” in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow.
April 13, 2021 7:37 am
Washington City Councilman Matt Staniszewski has been resentenced and will be released from the Washington County jail to spend 30-days at an inpatient treatment facility in Monroeville. The 44 year old councilman was jailed in February after a probation violation when State Police in Bedford County say his vehicle was found blocking a lane along the turnpike. Police say his blood-alcohol level was more than three-times the legal limit. Probation officers then went to Staniszewski’s father’s home the next day and say they found him intoxicated. The probation violation was in connection with his DUI arrest here in the city back in the summer of 2019. Staniszewski’s attorney Sean Logue tells WJPA news that he has yet to hear from police in connection with the Bedford County incident. A preliminary hearing on those charges has not been set. Logue says his client is eager to get the help he needs and to get back to work on city council. Logue says Staniszewski has no intention to resign from that position.
April 13, 2021 6:33 am
Peters Township Council deliberated several upcoming construction projects that are ongoing or will be taking place over the next year. Council approved a road paving project that will cost $1.4 million dollars. Six contractors supplied bids and A. Liberoni, Inc. was awarded the contract. Council also authorized a $250,000 design contract to EPM Architecture for the design of a new fire department substation in the Venetia area of the township. The township will also be seeking bids for the design of the new aquatic center in Rolling Hills Park. In addition to seeking bids for the aquatic center, Council also authorized a change order for $691,500 for grading work to be done for the yet approved aquatic center. Township Manager Paul Lauer explained to Council that this is the most economical and logistical means to get the grading work for the pool done. He stressed that whether the pool is done this year or in ten years this work is necessary and will avoid future disruption in the park if the pool project is delayed into the future. He also stated that if the pool is never built, the graded area could easily be repurposed. Lauer also updated council on the success of the Covid-19 Vaccination Program being run by Washington Health System in the Recreation Center. He states that now wait times for vaccinations have decreased significantly and appointments are now being met in days and not weeks.
