March 6, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge has sharply rebuked Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the special counsel’s Russia report. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton says Barr made a “calculated effort” to spin the investigation’s findings in favor of President Donald Trump and showed a “lack of candor.” He delivered the criticism in a 23-page ruling in which he said he would review an unredacted version of the Mueller report before deciding what additional information from the document should be publicly disclosed. Walton says he needs to review the document itself because he cannot trust that the Justice Department’s redactions of the report were made in good faith.
March 6, 2020 4:21 am
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) – President Donald Trump defended his administration’s response to the coronavirus and his confrontational style of name-calling political opponents as he fielded questions from the public in his first TV town hall of the 2020 election cycle. Trump regularly calls his top Democratic presidential opponents “Sleepy Joe” and “Crazy Bernie.” Asked whether he could deliver his message without the controversial rhetoric, the president replied: “When they hit us, we have to hit back … You can’t turn your cheek.”
March 6, 2020 4:17 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Authorities have released the name of the suspect who was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire that left a Pittsburgh police detective wounded. The Allegheny County medical examiner says 25-year-old Elijah Brewer died at a hospital Thursday night following the shooting, which took place during a traffic stop on East Ohio Street. Allegheny County Police say four detectives had stopped the vehicle when there was an exchange of gunfire between the officers and the sole passenger. The detective was shot in the leg. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich says he was taken to a hospital where he is alert and recovering.
March 6, 2020 4:13 am
The City of Washington departed from the norm on the acquisition of two new police vehicles. City Council approved a four year lease agreement with Jim Shorkey Auto Group to acquire and outfit the new vehicles. City Police Chief Robert Wilson stated that he and Mayor Scott Putnam have been considering a lease program for more than a year. The chief stated that the cars without necessary equipment would have cost approximately $44,000. In the 4 annual payments of $12,186 the cars will be delivered fully outfitted. The advantage to this program is that the city will spread the cost of the cars over a 4 year period as opposed to having to come up with full payment at the very beginning. The city will have the option to purchase the cars for a dollar at the end of the lease.
March 6, 2020 4:12 am
On June 27, history will be made in Washington County. Washington County Gay Straight Alliance Inc. has scheduled a day-long pride festival to take place on Main Street, between Beau and Maiden Streets from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The festival comes after a year of gaining heavy traction in the community by way of participating in the Rebellion and Christmas Parades in 2019. Kathy Cameron, Executive Director of the Alliance and Treasurer/Assistant Secretary of Pride isn’t sure what the numbers for the festival will be like because it is the first of its kind. However, because of the involvement within the community for the last 15 years, Cameron believes there will be a positive reception.
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.”
