February 11, 2020 6:16 am
It is back to class for students in the Ringgold School District. Extra security is in place after the district cancelled classes both Friday and again on Monday after safety concerns arose involving alleged threats against the Middle School. The district conducted so-called ‘flexible instruction’ days. District officials say the Washington County District Attorney’s office is now assisting Ringgold Police in their investigation. According to reports, six students have been questioned in connection with the threats. No other details are currently being released.
February 11, 2020 4:24 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Lyle Mays, a jazz keyboardist whose work, chiefly with the Pat Metheny Group, won nearly a dozen Grammy Awards, has died at the age of 66. Metheny says Mays died Monday in Los Angeles after a long battle with a recurring illness. Beginning in the 1970s, Mays played, composed and arranged with Metheny. The fusion group incorporated everything from contemporary jazz to rock and world music. Mays also composed music for the movie “The Falcon and the Snowman.” Metheny calls Mays one of the greatest musicians he’s ever known.
February 11, 2020 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Michael Bloomberg is under fire for resurfaced comments in which he says the way to bring down murder rates is to “put a lot of cops” in minority neighborhoods because that’s where “all the crime is.” Bloomberg made the comments at a 2015 appearance at the Aspen Institute, as part of an overall defense of his support for the controversial “stop and frisk” policing tactic that has been found to disproportionately affect minorities. On Tuesday, after reports of the 2015 audio resurfaced, Bloomberg issued a statement saying his 2015 remarks “do not reflect my commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity.”
February 11, 2020 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The defense has rested its case in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial. Now the stage is set for closing arguments beginning Thursday and deliberations starting early next week. The jury heard on Tuesday from the last of three key defense witnesses called to try to cast doubt on testimony by Weinstein accusers. The 67-year-old Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex in 2006 on a different woman. He’s maintained any sexual encounters were consensual.
February 11, 2020 4:21 am
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – New Hampshire voters are having their say on the Democratic Party’s chaotic presidential nomination fight. The state’s presidential primary Tuesday will determine which candidates are stronger or weaker after Iowa’s chaotic caucuses last week. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg began the day as the undisputed front-runners. New Hampshire also offers a critical test for former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren faces the prospect of an embarrassing defeat on her near-home turf. And Biden is traveling to South Carolina, where he hopes to make a strong showing among black voters later this month.
February 11, 2020 4:19 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office is suing electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul over how its products are marketed and sold to teenagers. The office on Monday filed a complaint in Philadelphia court, seeking an injunction to halt its e-cigarette sales in Pennsylvania force it to dramatically change business practices. A Juul Labs Inc. spokesman says the company hasn’t reviewed the complaint but wants to focus on combating underage use and converting adult smokers from traditional cigarettes. Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states, including New York, Minnesota and California.
February 11, 2020 4:14 am
Peters Township Council took aim at traffic congestion and park design at their regular meeting on Monday night. Council authorized a change in scope order to Mackin Engineers to better enhance accessibility to one of the park’s pavilions. In a recent workshop it was determined that access to a pavilion that seats roughly 200 people had limited access to parking. The change includes the development of an additional parking lot and an access road to that lot. The change order amounts to $44,100. In matters related to traffic, Peters Township approved a $92,000 contract to Michael Facchiano Construction for the reconfiguration of the intersection of E. McMurray Road and Valleybrook Road. That award is contingent on the qualification of the project under a grant from the Green Light Go Grant Program. Penndot alerted the township that they question whether this type of project qualifies under the grant program. The grant will fund 75% of the cost of the reconfiguration project. The township is scheduled to have the project completed by the end of May.
February 10, 2020 5:36 pm
Officials at West Virginia University say three people were hurt after a rock slide in Morgantown Monday afternoon. School officials say a boulder hit a PRT vehicle. Authorities say the three people were taken to the hospital for evaluation related to the incident. One from a car on the roadway and two from a PRT car. According to the WVU PRT Twitter page, the PRT is closed until further notice but buses are running. Monongalia County 911 officials said all lanes on U.S Route 19 between Eighth Street and Patteson Drive were closed. According to the Morgantown Police Department’s Facebook page, the road will be closed until the West Virginia Division of Highways can stabilize the hillside. (Photo: Daily Athenaeum)
February 10, 2020 3:11 pm
FORREST CITY, Ark. (AP) – Officials say a gunman is dead and two police officers are injured following a shooting at a Walmart in eastern Arkansas. The shooting was reported Monday morning in Forrest City. Mayor Cedric Williams says the officers were hospitalized soon after the shooting at the store in Forrest City, about 45 miles west of Memphis. A Walmart spokesman says the company is working with the Forrest City Police Department in its investigation. Walmart is based in Bentonville, Arkansas. (Photo: CNN)
February 10, 2020 10:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department says four Chinese military hackers have been charged with breaking into the computer networks of the Equifax credit reporting agency and stealing the personal information of tens of millions of Americans. Law enforcement officials say the four are also accused of stealing the company’s trade secrets. The defendants are all members of the People’s Liberation Army, an arm of the Chinese military. The case comes as the Trump administration has warned against what it sees as the growing political and economic influence of China, and efforts by Beijing to collect data on Americans and steal scientific research and innovation.
