November 4, 2022 4:06 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The rate of deaths that can be directly attributed to alcohol rose nearly 30% in the U.S. during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to new government data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had already said the overall number of such deaths rose in 2020 and 2021. Two reports from the CDC this week provided further details. A report released Friday focused on more than a dozen kinds of “alcohol-induced” deaths that were wholly blamed on drinking. The rate of those had been increasing by 7% or less each year. In 2020, they rose 26%. That’s the highest rate recorded in at least 40 years.
November 4, 2022 4:05 am
(AP) – Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the social platform. The company had told employees by email that they would find out by 9 a.m. PDT (noon EDT) if they had been laid off. The email did not say how many would lose their jobs. Musk didn’t confirm or correct investor Ron Baron at a conference stage in New York on Friday when he asked Musk how much money the billionaire Tesla CEO would save after he “fired half of Twitter” earlier in the day. Twitter’s roughly 7,500 employees have been expecting layoffs since Musk took helm of the company. Already, Musk has fired top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal.
November 4, 2022 4:04 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – President Joe Biden’s travel itinerary for his last big campaign swing before the midterm elections reveals his defensive stance in the campaign’s closing days. He’s spending the bulk of the waning days of the campaign trying to hang on to seats that his party already holds. Biden kicked off a four-state, three-day campaign swing on Thursday to support Democrats in competitive races in solidly blue California, Illinois and New Mexico as well as battleground Pennsylvania, where Biden has deep roots. He campaigned Thursday in Albuquerque with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham before heading to southern California to stump for San Diego-area Rep. Mike Levin.
November 4, 2022 2:42 am
Washington County Commissioners met Thursday and authorized several contract items for the upcoming year. Budget was not discussed during the meeting but Finance Director Josh Hatfield states that preliminary work with departments is being done. He expects the preliminary budget to be posted for review the week before Thanksgiving. Commissioner Chairwoman Diana Irey-Vaughn also spoke after the meeting about how the county is dealing with surplus property. The county has entered into an agreement with Bill Anderson Auctioneers to help them sell surplus furniture, fixtures and vehicles. Irey-Vaughn states that the county is very happy with results from these auctions that have been bringing in more money from sales than previous methods of disposing of surplus items.
November 4, 2022 2:36 am
A man that was living in a local hotel will stand trial on charges of felony rape of a child. Logan Hunt, 30 will have his trial begin on November 14. He is accused of the rape of a then 5 year old child that he would babysit. Police say that the father of the child noticed bruising and took the child to Children’s Hospital for evaluation. The child was found to have a broken arm and other injuries consistent with abuse. A subsequent police interview with the child by police indicate the child was raped on multiple occasions and they would be struck on the face and told not to tell anyone about the encounters. A competency hearing is scheduled before the trial begins. Hunt is charged with several other felonies related to this incident including aggravated indecent assault of a child and endangering the welfare of children. Hunt remains in the Washington County Jail.
November 4, 2022 2:22 am
Washington City Council met on Thursday and heard several proposals to aid in its fight against blight. City Administrator Donn Henderson is proposing several changes to existing ordinances and is putting the final touch on a new one. Currently landlords are to register tenants each year and there is no fee for that registration. An update would levy a $10 fee per unit to cover the costs of administration of the ordinance that is currently a $10,000 strain on city finances. Secondly, a new vacant property fee that is now a $200 one time fee would be changed to a $375 two year registration. If the property remains unoccupied beyond that, the fee will increase to $700 per year. Henderson states that it is to make sure property purchasers do not just sit on vacant property. He says many times vacant properties are the sites for vandalism and other crime. Finally, consideration is being given to adopting a “quality of life” ordinance that would expedite the process of bringing property owners into compliance with city codes. Violators would be given a ticket and a time frame to correct the problem. If not corrected in the appropriate time, the city would send the case to a magistrate. Mayor Scott Putnam promoted the city’s Small Business Saturday on November 26. The event that began in 2016 with two businesses participating has grown to 26 this year. Events begin with a Breakfast Crawl at 9:30. Pop up markets and an indoor farmers market are on tap also. Budget work continues and Putnam says staff and council are working hard to deliver a balanced budget with no tax hike for 2023.
November 3, 2022 5:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal prosecutors have rested their case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates charged in the U.S. Capitol attack after presenting more than four weeks of testimony, videos and text messages they say prove the defendants were behind a violent plot to stop the transfer of presidential power. The case has now turned to the defense, which is preparing to put Rhodes on the witness stand – an enormously risky move that the extremist group leader may see as his only way to escape conviction. Rhodes’ lawyers have signaled that they will rely on an unusual defense strategy with former President Donald Trump at the center.
November 3, 2022 3:47 pm
WEIRTON, W.Va. (AP) – A 15-year-old West Virginia boy has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shootings of his mother and sister. More than two years later, prosecutors said they still don’t know why he did it. The Weirton Daily Times reported that Connor Crowe entered the plea Tuesday in Hancock County Circuit Court. Prosecuting Attorney Steven Dragisich said Crowe was 13 in 2020 when he killed his mother and his 15-year-old sister. He said he’ll seek the maximum 40 years in prison on each count. Because of his youth at the time of the killings, he could be eligible for parole in 15 years.
November 3, 2022 12:54 pm
DETROIT (AP) – Stellantis and the U.S. government are warning owners of 276,000 older vehicles to stop driving them after Takata air bags apparently exploded in three more vehicles, killing the driver. The company, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is telling people to stop driving Dodge Magnum wagons, Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars and Chrysler 300 sedans from the 2005 through 2010 model years. Stellantis says that it confirmed the air bag inflators blew apart in two cases, killing two people. The company suspects an inflator rupture in another case that also killed a driver.
November 3, 2022 12:42 pm
Authorities say no one was hurt in a fire in the city of Washington Thursday morning. Washington County 911 says the blaze broke out just after one-thirty in a home in the one-hundred block of Gibson Avenue. Initial reports were that two people were inside but everyone got out okay. There’s been no word on what may have caused the blaze. Several fire departments assisted the city, including North and South Strabane, Canton, North Franklin and Peters Township.
