March 2, 2024 7:00 am
An Elco man has been sentenced on his conviction on several child sexual assault crimes. Jerome Stewart, 40 will spend the next 69-138 years in prison. Stewart was convicted of child rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated assault felonies and other charges that dated back to 2009. It took a jury 90 minutes to deliver the verdict back in November of 2023. Stewart has 5 other outstanding cases waiting to be settled.
March 2, 2024 5:13 am
More delegates are up for grabs Saturday as Donald Trump looks to get closer to clinching the Republican nomination and Nikki Haley continues seeking her first win. Trump is overwhelmingly favored to add to his delegate lead in Republican caucuses in Idaho and Missouri, as well as a convention in Michigan. There are no Democratic contests Saturday. The next contest is the GOP caucus in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, followed two days later by Super Tuesday, when 16 states and American Samoa will hold primaries on what will be the largest day of voting of the year outside of the November election.
March 2, 2024 5:11 am
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The head of a Gaza hospital where some of the wounded from bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy were taken says more than 80% had been struck by gunfire. That suggests heavy shooting by Israeli troops. At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured Thursday when witnesses said troops opened fire as crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a crowd surge surrounding the convoy. It said its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed threatened them. Dr. Mohammed Salha of Al-Awda Hospital said the vast majority of the 176 wounded brought there had been shot.
March 2, 2024 5:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shortages of ammo and supplies are quickly resulting in Ukraine losing ground, U.S. congressional leaders warn. Yet the Republican-controlled House has shown little hurry to resupply Kyiv with military aid. Across Washington, officials see the drop-off in ammunition shipments with increasing alarm. Defense officials are now considering tapping the Pentagon’s ammunition reserves even before Congress approves the funding to replenish them. But House Speaker Mike Johnson appears determined to chart his own course on a foreign aid package, which could leave Congress stalled for weeks longer.
March 2, 2024 5:04 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man has been exonerated and released after spending nearly 30 years on death row in connection with a fatal arson fire at a Philadelphia apartment building. Daniel Gwynn was released Wednesday from the state prison in Montgomery County after a judge dismissed first-degree murder, arson and aggravated assault charges against Gwynn. The city District Attorney’s Office supported the move, ending a yearslong push by Gwynn’s lawyers. They have long said he gave a faulty confession to Philadelphia police while addicted to drugs. And they say he’s not pictured in a photo array once used to link him to the crime.
March 1, 2024 3:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says that the U.S. will begin air-dropping humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a day after more than 100 of Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops. The president announced the long-considered move on Friday after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way. Biden made the announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White house.
March 1, 2024 1:41 pm
Drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens plan to start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone in a few states. A CVS Health spokesperson says the company will start filling prescriptions for the medication in Rhode Island and neighboring Massachusetts “in the weeks ahead.” Walgreens will begin dispensing the medication within a week. The chain will start with some locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. The announcements come more than a year after federal officials finalized a rule that broadened availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, including large chains and mail-order companies.
March 1, 2024 1:32 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials say Americans with COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its longstanding guidance on Friday. People can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and it’s been a day since they’ve had a fever. COVID-19 is no longer the public health menace it once was and most people have some degree of immunity from vaccinations or from infections. And some experts note that many people are not following the five-day isolation guidance anyway.
March 1, 2024 5:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has passed another short-term spending measure that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22. The extension averts a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise have kicked in at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The short-term extension is the fourth in recent months. Lawmakers are voicing increased optimism that it’ll be the last before Congress approves two separate spending packages totaling more than $1.6 trillion for the full fiscal year. The renewed focus on this year’s spending bills doesn’t include a separate effort to provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
March 1, 2024 5:20 am
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the classified documents prosecution of Donald Trump is expected to set a trial date. It’s a crucial decision that could affect whether the former president and leading Republican candidate faces a jury this year on charges that he hoarded top secret records and hid them from government investigators. Ahead of Friday’s hearing, federal prosecutors requested a July 8 trial date. Defense lawyers said there was no way to hold a fair trial this year at a time when Trump is looking to clinch the Republican presidential nomination but nonetheless proposed August 12 as a possible date to begin jury selection.
