April 7, 2021 4:21 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – A mandatory evacuation order near a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses has been lifted. Officials said with Tuesday’s announcement that the situation is under control. More than two dozen pumps have been deployed, along with other equipment. That has eased fears that the reservoir from an old phosphate fertilizer plant would burst through its earthen walls and cause widespread flooding in Manatee County, just south of Tampa. The reservoir initially held about 480 million gallons of contaminated water. But much of it has been drained away once the leak was discovered. Florida lawmakers are considering spending $200 million on a permanent cleanup.
April 7, 2021 4:20 am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is using his executive power to ban state government and some private entities from requiring COVID-19 “vaccine passports” to access services. Abbott signed the mandate Tuesday. It blocks state agencies, political subdivisions and public and private organizations that receive public funding in Texas from requiring proof of inoculation against the coronavirus. It’s the latest move from a Republican governor pitting public health campaigns against personal freedom and private choices. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a similar executive order last week.
April 7, 2021 4:17 am
Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states – a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections. That’s nearly 197,500 new cases in the latest available seven-day period. Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000. So far, the White House has shown no signs of shifting from its policy of dividing vaccine doses among states based on population.
April 7, 2021 4:15 am
LEMBATA, Indonesia (AP) – The death toll from mudslides in eastern Indonesia has risen to 119 with scores still missing as rain continued to pound the region and hamper the search. The village of Lamanele on Adonara island suffered the highest losses with 60 bodies recovered so far and 12 missing. Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills early on Sunday, catching people at sleep. On nearby Lembata island, the downpour triggered by Tropical Cyclone Seroja sent solidified lava from a volcanic eruption in November to crash down on more than a dozen villages, killing at least 28 and leaving 44 unaccounted for. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents dug through the debris with their bare hands, shovels and hoes searching for those buried.
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.
