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.
April 6, 2021 9:46 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is set to announce that he’s shaving about two weeks off his May 1 deadline for states to make all adults eligible for coronavirus vaccines. A White House official says Biden will make the announcement later Tuesday. With states gradually expanding eligibility beyond such priority groups as seniors and essential, front-line workers, the president plans to announce that every adult in the U.S. will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19. That’s about two weeks earlier than Biden’s original May 1 deadline. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s plans before the formal announcement.
April 6, 2021 4:28 am
DALLAS (AP) – Six people were found fatally shot in a suburban Dallas home after police say two brothers made a plan to kill four family members and themselves. Officers in Allen went to the home for a welfare check at around 1 a.m. Monday. Police Sgt. Jon Felty says that one of the two brothers wrote a lengthy post on social media in which he said he and his brother planned to kill their family members and then themselves. Felty said the deaths were being investigated as a murder-suicide but he could not yet say who shot whom.
April 6, 2021 4:26 am
(AP) – The nation’s top health agency is no longer recommending daily disinfection of schools to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance Monday, saying disinfecting chemicals like ammonia and bleach need be used only within 24 hours after an infected person has been there. Last summer, the agency recommended strong disinfecting chemicals be used daily to prevent the spread of the virus in classrooms. Earlier this year, the CDC posted documents meant to de-emphasize disinfection on such a regular schedule, but Monday’s guidance more clearly erased the daily recommendation. The updated guidance applies to homes, schools, and other settings that are not hospitals or health-care facilities.
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.
