March 6, 2020 2:34 am
Washington City Councilman Matt Staniszewski appeared before Senior Judge Gerald Solomon in Washington County Court to answer to DUI charges from an August 2019 incident where he was found unconscious in his car on a city street. Defense attorney Sean Logue requested a continuance so that the district attorney has time to decide whether to allow Staniszewski to be accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program (ARD). Acceptance into the program is totally at the district attorney’s discretion and there is no guarantee that Staniszewski will qualify. Previous alcohol offenses will be considered for Staniszewski’s eligibility for the program. If accepted, Staniszewski faces fines of over $2000, license suspension and the prohibition of alcohol consumption and the inability to frequent establishments that serve alcohol. Staniszewski is currently being monitored by outpatient therapists and by an ankle monitor designed to detect alcohol in a person’s system. Staniszewski’s next hearing is scheduled for May 7th.
March 5, 2020 11:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Elizabeth Warren has ended her Democratic presidential bid after a disappointing finish in Super Tuesday states. That’s according to a person familiar with her plans. The Massachusetts senator hasn’t endorsed Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden. Warren’s campaign had the markers of success: robust poll numbers, impressive fundraising, a national organization. But she was squeezed out by Sanders, who had an immovable base of voters she needed to advance. In the end, she didn’t even win her home state – she finished third behind Joe Biden and Sanders. Her exit from the race Thursday came days after Amy Klobuchar quit. It leaves the Democratic field with just one remaining female candidate: Tulsi Gabbard.
March 5, 2020 5:45 am
SEATTLE (AP) – The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 11 with a victim succumbing in California – the first reported fatality outside Washington state. Officials in Placer County, northwest of Sacramento, said Wednesday an elderly adult who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a San Francisco-to-Mexico cruise had died. They said the victim had underlying health conditions. Washington also announced another death Wednesday, bringing its total to 10. Most of the dead were residents of a nursing home in Kirkland, a suburb east of Seattle.
March 5, 2020 4:19 am
BAXTER, Tenn. (AP) – A search continued Wednesday for survivors of deadly tornadoes in Tennessee, where 24 people were killed and others remain missing. Gov. Bill Lee declared an emergency and sent the National Guard to help with search-and-rescue efforts Wednesday. The twisters struck after midnight Tuesday, tearing apart more than 140 buildings and burying some people in the rubble as they slept. People across Nashville were awakened by outdoor sirens warning of the tornado danger, but such warning systems don’t exist in some rural areas. Some survivors credit alerts that blared from their cellphones for saving their lives.
March 5, 2020 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Çhief Justice John Roberts is criticizing as “inappropriate” and “dangerous” comments Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer made about Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Roberts was responding to Schumer’s remarks at a rally outside the court while a high-profile abortion case was being argued inside. A video of that rally shows Schumer saying, “You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” and naming the two Supreme Court appointees of President Donald Trump. A spokesman says Schumer was referring to “the political price Senate Republicans will pay.”
March 5, 2020 4:17 am
BEIRUT (AP) – Syrian state media and an opposition war monitor say Israeli warplanes fired missiles toward military positions in central Syria. State news agency SANA said Israeli warplanes launched the missiles early Thursday while flying over Lebanon’s airspace. SANA reported that all the missiles were shot down by Syrian air defenses before reaching their targets. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, says the warplanes struck two air bases in the central province of Homs. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Israel has repeatedly struck Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent years and has warned against any permanent Iranian presence on the frontier.
March 5, 2020 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has passed an $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak in hopes of reassuring a fearful public and accelerating the government’s response. The money would pay for a multifaceted attack on a virus that is spreading more widely every day, sending financial markets spiraling, disrupting travel and potentially threatening the U.S. economy’s decade-long expansion. Thursday’s sweeping vote sends the bill to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature. The plan would more than triple the $2.5 billion amount outlined by the White House 10 days ago.
March 5, 2020 4:14 am
TOKYO (AP) – Asian shares are rising, taking their cue from a surge on Wall Street as governments and central banks took more aggressive measures to fight the virus outbreak and its effects on the economy. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, China and Australia are all rising. Investors are anticipating that more central banks will follow the Federal Reserve’s lead in cutting rates. The gains on Wall Street more than recouped big losses from a day earlier as wild, virus-fueled swings around the world’s markets extend into a third week. The recovery came as China reported further progress in containing the outbreak.
March 5, 2020 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania state laboratory is improving its ability to handle samples that it is testing for the new coronavirus that is sickening people across the globe. State health officials said Wednesday that the lab can now handle about 25 samples a day. A spokesman said that rate should increase in the coming days after the lab gets a piece of equipment, an extractor, that boosts its testing capacity. Officials say there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. Hospital and state officials in Pennsylvania are encouraging people who fear they may have contracted coronavirus to call their doctor or hospital.
March 5, 2020 4:11 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Two brothers allege in a lawsuit that a tour bus driver behaved recklessly before a Pennsylvania Turnpike crash that killed five people. Anthony and Quwanjay Ellis were both hurt when the Z&D Tour Inc. bus crashed about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh on Jan. 5. They filed a lawsuit Thursday in a New Jersey court. According to the suit, Quwanjay Ellis observed the driver going faster than normal about a half-hour before the crash. In the suit, they claim negligence and seek damages. A message was left at a phone number listed for Z&D Tour Inc. of Rockaway, New Jersey.
