December 10, 2021 1:56 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Michael Nesmith, the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming member of the 1960s, made-for-television rock band The Monkees, has died at 78. His family says Nesmith died Friday of natural causes. Nesmith was a struggling singer-songwriter in 1966 when he saw a trade-publication ad seeking “four insane boys” for a zany TV show about a rock band modeled after the Beatles. He quickly became Mike, the show’s serious but often naive lead guitarist. After the show ended, Nesmith went on to several successful careers. He recorded more than a dozen non-Monkees albums, wrote several books and dozens of songs. He also founded two entertainment companies.
December 10, 2021 10:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has ruled that Texas abortion providers can sue over the state’s ban on most abortions, but the justices are allowing the law to remain in effect. The court acted Friday, more than a month after hearing arguments over the law that makes abortion illegal after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo. That’s around six weeks, before some women even know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. áThe law has been in place since Sept. 1.
December 10, 2021 9:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing and other items left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate since 1982. The Labor Department also reported Friday that from October to November, prices jumped 0.8%. Inflation has been intensifying pressure on consumers, especially lower-income households and particularly for everyday necessities. It has also negated the higher wages many workers have received, complicated the Federal Reserve’s plans to reduce its aid for the economy and coincided with flagging public support for President Joe Biden.
December 10, 2021 7:48 am
LONDON (AP) – A British appellate court has opened the door for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States. The High Court in London overturned a lower court that found Assange’s mental health was too fragile to withstand the American penal system. A judge earlier this year refused a U.S. request to extradite Assange to face spying charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military documents a decade ago. The judge said Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. The appellate court ruled Friday that U.S. assurances were enough to guarantee Assange would be treated humanely. Assange’s fiancé says the decision will be appealed.
December 10, 2021 4:19 am
CHICAGO (AP) – A jury has convicted Jussie Smollett on five of six charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to Chicago police about it. The jury returned the verdict Thursday afternoon against the former “Empire” actor. Smollett’s attorney says he will appeal. Defense attorney Nenye Uche says Smollett is disappointed and “100% innocent.” Special prosecutor Dann Webb says the jury’s verdict is “a resounding message” that the performer staged the attack and lied about it to police. Two brothers testified during the nearly two-week trial that Smollett paid them to fake the January 2019 attack in downtown Chicago. Smollett repeatedly denied their claims.
December 10, 2021 4:17 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Ralph Tavares, the eldest of the five brothers in the Grammy-winning R&B singing group Tavares, has died. The group’s hits included 1975’s “It Only Takes a Minute” and 1976’s “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel.” Tavares manager David Oriola says Ralph Tavares died Wednesday at his home in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He was 79. His group’s version of the Bee Gees’ “More Than a Woman” appeared on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack along with the original. The soundtrack won a Grammy for album of the year and was a massive hit, giving the brothers wider fame.
December 10, 2021 4:15 am
TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (AP) – Mexican rescue workers rushing to a highway accident found a horrific scene of death and injury after a freight truck jammed with as many as 200 migrants tipped over and crashed into the base of a steel pedestrian bridge Mexico. The migrants inside the cargo trailer were flipped, tossed and crushed into a pile that mingled the living and the dead. By late Thursday, the death toll stood at 53, and authorities said at least 54 people had been injured in the crash in southern Mexico. It was one of the worst single-day death tolls for migrants in Mexico since the 2010 massacre of 72 migrants by the Zetas drug cartel in the northern state of Tamaulipas.
December 10, 2021 4:13 am
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – This winter, more motorists may find themselves stuck on snowy highways or have their travel delayed due to a shortage of snowplow drivers. States from Washington to Pennsylvania and some in the Rocky Mountains are having trouble finding enough people willing to take the comparatively low-paying jobs that require a Commercial Driver’s License and often entail working at odd hours in dangerous conditions. States are warning that it could take longer for the plows to clear highways during winter storms. State transportation departments are competing for drivers with trucking companies with the ability to increase pay and offer signing bonuses. And trucking companies are short on drivers, too.
December 10, 2021 4:06 am
It was not business as usual for Washington City Council on Thursday night. The voting meeting of council was held virtually once again because of the Covid-19 pandemic. City Hall has been closed for more than a week because of a recent outbreak of Covid-19 that followed the outbreak at the police department. None the less, council did approve a $15,032,714 balanced budget. That budget will not include any tax increase to city residents. Mayor Scott Putnam credited belt tightening throughout all city departments in being able to deliver this spending plan. As far as reopening City Hall, Putnam is looking at the end of next week as a possible reopening date. In other council business, parking has been eliminated on South College Street from Railroad Street to South Street. Putnam says that parked cars made turning difficult at that intersection and removing parked cars would eliminate that problem. City Hall will be closed on December 24 for Christmas and December 31 for New Years. Council will reorganize on January 3 at noon in Council Chambers.
December 10, 2021 2:29 am
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The number of antlered white-tailed deer killed in West Virginia during the two-week firearms season went up 10% compared with a year ago. Preliminary data from the Division of Natural Resources shows hunters killed nearly 42,700 deer from Nov. 22 through Dec. 5. During the 2020 period there were nearly 38,800 deer killed. The most deer were killed in Greenbrier, Hampshire, Randolph and Jackson counties. Wildlife resources chief Paul Johansen says deer kills increased 31% in the southeastern corner of the state and 20% in the southwest. The archery and crossbow deer hunting seasons continue through Dec. 31, while muzzleloader deer season runs from Dec. 13 to 19.
