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.
April 6, 2021 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Embattled congressman Matt Gaetz says he will not resign from Congress. The Florida Republican made his statement less than a week after reports emerged that he’s under federal investigation for possible sex crimes. Gaetz wrote a column that appeared Monday in the Washington Examiner, a conservative news outlet. Gaetz denies accusations that he “slept with” an underage girl. He also suggests he’s being targeted by political foes because he “loathes the swamp.” The 38-year-old has been one of former President Donald Trump’s most loyal defenders. So far, Gaetz has received almost no public support from other congressional Republicans, and none from Trump.
April 6, 2021 4:22 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minneapolis police chief who called George Floyd’s death “murder” soon after it happened testified that Officer Derek Chauvin had clearly violated department policy when he pinned Floyd’s neck beneath his knee for more than 9 minutes. Chief Medaria Arradondo took the stand on Day Six of Chauvin’s trial in the death of the 46-year-old Black man last May. Arradondo says continuing to kneel on Floyd’s neck once he was handcuffed behind his back and lying on his stomach was “in no way, shape or form” part of department policy or training, “and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values.”
April 6, 2021 4:18 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A large fire ripped through apartments above a popular South Side bar, causing 13 people to lose their homes temporarily. The flames broke out around 6:15 p.m. Monday in the 1100 block of East Carson Street. Investigators said flames could be seen out of the second and third floors above Jack’s Bar. According to officials, the 13 residents have been displaced and are now receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. No one was hurt. It’s unclear how the fire started, but there appears to be no damage to the bar below. Jack’s is now closed temporarily, just one day after being able to reopen again. Blackened rafters and shattered glass were all that was left when firefighters were done. The fire was almost directly across the street from the former South Side Chamber of Commerce, which went up in flames and collapsed in February, leaving a hole in the heart of the area.
April 5, 2021 3:22 pm
UNDATED (AP) – A top U.S. public health official says young people are driving the latest uptick in COVID-19 cases, as the increasing rate of vaccination in older Americans is preventing the most serious cases among seniors. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said during a briefing Monday that “cases are increasing nationally,” and “predominately in younger adults.” Dr. Rochelle Walensky cites the increasing spread of variants, but also a rise in youth sports and extracurricular activities as contributing to the steady increase. But she pointed to positive developments among the most vulnerable age group, saying seniors’ virus deaths have reached their lowest levels since the fall.
April 5, 2021 2:59 pm
WASHINGTON – The White House was forced to scratch the annual White House Easter Egg Roll for the second straight year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that didn’t stop President Joe Biden from giving a nod to the tradition. The president on Monday delivered brief remarks from the White House to mark the holiday with his wife, Jill Biden, and the Easter Bunny by his side. The mythical creature was played by the president’s military aide, Air Force Lt. Col. Brandon Westling. “We look forward to next year when the White House will ring with joy the season once again and there will be an Easter Egg Roll again, God willing,” Biden said. The event, typically held the day after Easter, usually brings 30,000 children and parents to the White House grounds. This year the Bidens had to settle for sending out thousands of 2021 commemorative Easter Egg Roll eggs to vaccination sites and local hospitals. President Rutherford B. Hayes started the White House egg roll tradition in 1878. There have been a few other times when the event was either moved off the White House grounds or canceled.
April 5, 2021 2:53 pm
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – A drone discovered a possible second breach in a large Florida wastewater reservoir as more pumps were headed to the site to prevent a catastrophic flood. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican, toured the area by helicopter Monday and said federal resources were committed to assisting the effort to control the 77-acre Piney Point reservoir in Manatee County, just south of the Tampa Bay area. Among those are the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Fears of a complete breach at an old phosphate plant led authorities to evacuate more than 300 homes, close portions of a highway and move jail inmates. (Photo: CNN)
April 5, 2021 4:30 am
(AP) – Norwegian Cruise Line’s parent company wants to resume sailing from U.S. ports in July. On Monday, the company asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for permission to return to U.S. waters for the first time in more than a year, since the early days of the pandemic. Norwegian says its cruise lines will require that all passengers and crew members vaccinated against COVID-19 at least two weeks before the trip. The company says its safety measures go beyond steps taken by others including airlines, hotels and restaurants. Norwegian plans to start U.S. cruises at 60% of capacity and raise that to 80% in August and 100% in September.
April 5, 2021 4:29 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The emergency room doctor who pronounced George Floyd dead after trying to resuscitate him has testified that he theorized at the time that Floyd’s heart most likely stopped because of insufficient oxygen. Dr. Bradford Langenfeld was a senior resident on duty that night at Hennepin County Medical Center. He said Floyd’s heart had stopped by the time he got to the hospital, and he was not told of any efforts at the scene by bystanders or police to resuscitate Floyd, though paramedics told him they had tried for about 30 minutes. He took the stand at the beginning of Week Two at former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, as prosecutors seek to establish that it was Chauvin’s knee on the Black man’s neck that killed him last May.
April 5, 2021 4:28 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose President Joe Biden’s ambitious rebuild America agenda than to lend support. They vow to fight the costly $2.3 trillion undertaking for roads, bridges and other infrastructure investments. Much the way Republicans provided no votes for the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, they plan to sit on the sidelines for this next big White House priority. The tension could mount this week. Biden shows no signs adjusting to satisfy Republican leaders, instead appealing directly to their constituents for support.
