February 7, 2020 9:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Hiring jumped at the beginning of the year as employers added 225,000 jobs, bolstering an economy that faces threats from Boeing’s shutdown and a viral outbreak in China. The Labor Department also said that a half-million people poured into the job market in January and not all of them found jobs. That lifted the unemployment rate to 3.6%, from a half-century low of 3.5% in December.
February 7, 2020 8:58 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – More than 260,000 homes and businesses in the eastern United States are without power following a storm that left at least five people dead in the South. The National Weather Service said early Friday the system was expected to strengthen as it moves up the Eastern Seaboard, bringing high winds and rain through the mid-Atlantic region. Gusts up to 55 mph were predicted for the nation’s capital. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from flooding in places across the Southeast, and many school districts have canceled classes. Five storm-related deaths were confirmed in Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.
February 7, 2020 4:47 am
Washington City Council took up two measures concerning distressed properties at its regular meeting Thursday night. The first measure was to attempt to approve joining the Washington County Land Bank. A motion was put forth but the item died due to lack of a second. The land bank is operated by the Washington County Redevelopment Authority. They purchase distressed properties that are sold at tax sale and rehabilitate those properties and sell them to the public. According to Mayor Scott Putnam, there are some requirements and language items that need to be ironed out before the city is comfortable entering into the arrangement. Putnam says council sees the benefit and they are close to an agreement. The second issue concerned the property at the corner of North Main Street and West Chestnut Street. Council approved a measure to turn the property over to the Redevelopment Authority and have them to assess the property and get estimates to demolish the building and finish any related site work. The measure passed unanimously but Councilman Ken Westcott cautions council to make sure that everything is done in the proper fashion. The city does not own the building and there is a 1 million dollar federal lien against the property. All of this work is pertinent, but he wants to make sure the city is not stuck with a cost that they did not expect.
February 7, 2020 4:36 am
Authorities say they are investigating the possibility that as many as six Ringgold Middle School students may have threatened to shoot up their school on Friday. Classes were cancelled in the district Friday after district officials said they received a tip through the district’s Safe2Say Something Program. Authorities say the juveniles have been questioned and police are still trying to determine if there was an actual plan or talk about violence. The Safe2Say Program was created by the State Attorney General’s Office to allow individuals to report concerns about safety in schools.
February 7, 2020 4:13 am
BEIJING (AP) – Japan has reported 41 new cases of a virus on a cruise ship that’s been quarantined in Yokohama harbor while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat. Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan. Before Friday’s 41 confirmed cases, 20 passengers who were found infected with the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess at Yokohama near Tokyo. About 3,700 people are confined aboard the ship. A newborn discovered infected 36 hours after birth has become the youngest known patient.
February 7, 2020 4:11 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Pennsylvania judge accused of making racist comments about a juror has been barred from hearing any cases. A court order issued Tuesday says Judge Mark Tranquilli was suspended after being accused of referring to a black female juror as “Aunt Jemima” repeatedly in comments in the chambers following the acquittal of a drug suspect on Jan. 24. Allegheny County Bar Association says it is also “demanding a complete investigation” by the state’s Judicial Conduct Board. Tranquilli was temporarily reassigned to summary appeals on Tuesday following an interview of the judge by court administration staff. He did not responded to requests for comment this week.
February 7, 2020 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A new report recommends Pennsylvania’s Legislature increase licensing fees and take other steps to put the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement on more sound financial footing. The report released Thursday by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale says the agency could run out of money sometime this summer. It also recommends that lawmakers increase penalties for kennels that fail inspections but remain open while they appeal. The bureau has 41 dog law wardens and inspects about 2,600 kennels. Dog licenses currently cost $6.50 a year for dogs that have been spayed or neutered, or $8.50 if they haven’t.
February 6, 2020 3:52 pm
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – A powerful winter storm is sweeping across the Deep South with high winds, rain and floods. Two people are dead and another missing, with injuries racking up as rescue crews pull people from cars and homes in high water. Afternoon tornado watches are in effect for a huge swath of the Southeast, from the Florida Panhandle up to southeastern Virginia. The storm has destroyed homes in Mississippi and Alabama, caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region. The Tennessee Valley Authority is keeping close watch on reservoirs as water levels rise.
February 6, 2020 12:30 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A preliminary report about a bus crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Mt. Pleasant that killed five people early last month says light snow was falling at the time and that the bus had just passed a sign warning to keep below 55 mph on a curve. The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday put out the three-page report that says all aspects of the crash remain under investigation. The report doesn’t say how fast the bus was traveling when the driver lost control about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. The bus had been traveling from Rockaway, New Jersey, to Cincinnati. (Photo: WPXI)
February 6, 2020 4:49 am
Kirk Douglas, the muscular actor with the dimpled chin who starred in “Spartacus,” “Lust for Life” and dozens of other films and helped fatally weaken the Hollywood blacklist, has died at 103. Douglas was nominated three times for Oscars – for “Champion,” “The Bad and the Beautiful” and “Lust for Life.” He later received an honorary award for “50 years as a creative and moral force” in the movie industry. His son Michael won Oscars as producer for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and as actor for “Wall Street.”
