Nation

Dem debate shifts from Phoenix to DC due to virus concerns

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:37pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic National Committee is moving Sunday’s presidential debate from Arizona to Washington because of concerns about coronavirus. 

St. Paul teachers continue strike, 2nd day no classes

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:36pm

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Some 36,000 public school students had another day off Wednesday in St. Paul while their teachers walked the picket line in the second day of a labor strike.

Teachers and support staff picketed again outside the city’s schools, as parents scrambled to make alternative plans for their children.

St. Paul Federation of Educators spokeswoman Megan Boldt said Wednesday no new contract talks have been scheduled with the school district. The district says all schools will be closed for a third day Thursday.

Mother of Mayweather Jr.’s children found dead

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:36pm

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) — An ex-girlfriend of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. who was the mother of three of his children was found dead in a Southern California suburb, authorities said.

The coroner’s office confirmed Wednesday that the woman was Josie Harris, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told KABC-TV.

The woman was found just before 10 p.m. Tuesday in a vehicle parked in the driveway of her apparent residence just outside the city of Santa Clarita and firefighters pronounced her dead, a sheriff’s department statement said. 

Trump ban on travel from Europe escalates pain for airlines

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:26pm
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(AP) — President Donald Trump’s decision Wednesday to impose a 30-day ban on most Europeans entering the United States is the latest stunning setback for an airline industry that is reeling from a drop in bookings and a surge in people who are canceling reservations for fear of contracting the coronavirus.

Dow plummets again as sell-off over the coronavirus deepens

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:25pm

NEW YORK (AP) — The deepening coronavirus crisis sent stocks into another alarming slide on Wall Street on Thursday, triggering a brief, automatic shutdown in trading for the second time this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 1,800 points, or nearly 8%, at midmorning, while the broader S&P 500 was off 6.2%, amid a cascade of cancellations and shutdowns across the globe and rising worries that the White House and other authorities around the world can’t or won’t help the weakening economy any time soon. 

Wash. state bans big events amid rising virus deaths

Published on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 4:51pm
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SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s governor announced a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area Wednesday to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the state where at least 24 people have died.

The directive from Gov. Jay Inslee encompasses 4 million people and does not affect workplaces or classrooms but applies to such events as Seattle Mariners baseball games. It was not immediately clear whether that means the team will play it home games in an empty stadium, as soccer teams in Europe are doing.

Sanders says he’s moving ahead

Published on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 4:50pm
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BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Bernie Sanders says he’s moving ahead with his Democratic presidential campaign. 

He told reporters in Burlington on Wednesday that he’s not quitting despite key primary losses to Joe Biden the night before. The Vermont senator’s path to the presidential nomination considerably narrowed after decisive losses to Biden in Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi. 

‘Very much alive’: Biden victorious in 4 more states

Published on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 4:49pm
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden decisively won Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary, seizing a key battleground state that helped propel Bernie Sanders’ insurgent candidacy four years ago. The former vice president’s victory there, as well as in Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho, dealt a serious blow to Sanders and substantially widened Biden’s path to the nomination.

Biden again showed strength Tuesday with working-class voters and African Americans, who are vital to winning the Democratic nomination. 

Nation Shorts

Published on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 4:48pm

Suit filed over Sandy Hook inspired law limiting gun rounds

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Gun rights supporters are suing Connecticut officials over part of a 2013 state gun control law passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, saying it unconstitutionally bans people from loading more than 10 rounds of ammunition into their firearms.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court cites the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the ability of people to better defend themselves with more bullets in their guns.

Weinstein sentenced to 23 years for sexual assaults

Published on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 4:26pm
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NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison, pleading for mercy as his accusers said his punishment in the landmark #MeToo rape case was long overdue.

After two of his accusers confronted him again in a Manhattan court, the 67-year-old former Hollywood mogul broke his courtroom silence to say he felt “remorse for this situation.” But he also argued that men are being accused of “things that none of us understood.”