Tuscon news

• Texas schools, stores divided on masks as mandate ends

  03-03-2021 23:59
  
  DALLAS (AP) — The impact of Texas’ governor repealing many of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions is beginning to take shape. Some businesses are shedding rules. Some city leaders are plotting new safeguards. And the state’s 5 million schoolchildren largely remained under orders to keep wearing masks for now. President Joe Biden on Wednesday also reacted to America’s second-largest state winding down virus restrictions for nearly 30 million people, calling it “N
  
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• German leaders agree to extend a coronavirus shutdown until March 28 but pave the way for further relaxations

  03-03-2021 23:58
  
  BERLIN (AP) — German leaders agree to extend a coronavirus shutdown until March 28 but pave the way for further relaxations.The post German leaders agree to extend a coronavirus shutdown until March 28 but pave the way for further relaxations appeared first on KVOA.
  
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• Arrest made in shooting on northwest side

  03-03-2021 23:55
  
  Pima County Sheriff's DepartmentBranden StricklandTUCSON (KVOA) - A 23-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection to Tuesday's shooting on the northwest side of Tucson.On Wednesday, 23-year-old Branden Strickland was taken into custody after he was named a suspect in the shooting at 4000 W. Massingale Rd. near Thornydale Road at around 10:55 p.m. Tuesday.According to PCSD, a man was transported to the hospital after he was found with multiple gunshot wounds Tuesday evening.After conducti
  
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• Arizona House OKs bill on businesses ignoring mask mandates

  03-03-2021 23:54
  
  PHOENIX (AP) — The Republican-controlled Arizona House has advnced a measure that would let businesses ignore government mask mandates imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Wednesday’s 31-28 partyline vote came despite emotional opposition from minority Democrats who say it could cost lives. Republicans were just as passionate. They argued government mask mandates and other actions amid the pandemic have hurt businesses and that masks don’t necessarily keep COVID-19 fr
  
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• Banner Health to close Banner North vaccine distribution site due to low vaccine supply

  03-03-2021 23:52
  
  TUCSON - Banner Health has announced they will be closing their North vaccine distribution Center leaving Keno stadium as the primary source of distribution.In a statement released Wednesday morning Banner Health said:
  Elliott Sacks, a resident of Sahuarita, was supposed to have his shot on Tuesday but found out Saturday it had been canceled because of the changes. "For me to find out I'd have to wait another 5 weeks just to go to Banner was very distant heartening."Sacks was due for his first s
  
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• ‘I’m angry, I’m hurt: Parents outraged after teachers from Christian school hold racial slur in social media post

  03-03-2021 23:43
  
  CNN Newsource
  ST. LOUIS, Mo. (CNN) - A Missouri Christian school is drawing criticism after five teachers are seen forming a racial slur with large scrabble tiles.An apology is released, but the local branch of the NAACP is calling for change."I'm angry, I'm hurt because I trust you with my child," said Pastor Raymond Horry, who is a parent at O'Fallon Missouri Private School.It started as a game of human scrabble."They were playing around trying to spell raccoon, but they didn't have the R and
  
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• 6 killed in Oklahoma house fire, including children

  03-03-2021 23:43
  
  WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) — Authorities say a fire tore through an Oklahoma home, killing six people, including several children. Todd Finley, the fire chief in Woodward, a city of roughly 12,000 people about 125 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, says one boy managed to escape the early Wednesday blaze after a firefighter heard a voice coming from the home and managed to jar loose a window air conditioner with the help of a bystander. He declined to say how many of the six dead were children, b
  
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• Businesses tied to Noem family got $600,000 in virus grants

  03-03-2021 23:37
  
  PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Family members of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem received over $600,000 in funds from a state grant program pushed by the governor that directed federal coronavirus relief funds to small businesses. Records on the grant program show a ranch belonging to Noem’s family received $500,000. Also, a business operated by her brothers, Rock and Robb Arnold, received a payment of just over $100,000. Noem once maintained part-ownership of the ranch, but her office says she n
  
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• The Latest: COVID-19 outbreak at Vermont state prison grows

  03-03-2021 23:32
  
  MONTPELIER, Vt. — An outbreak of COVID-19 at the Vermont state prison in Newport has grown to 100 inmates and eight staff members, making it the largest outbreak at a Vermont correctional facility since the start of the pandemic, the commissioner of the Department of Corrections said.
  “It’s all hands on deck for our response,” Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the prison is being treated as though it were a hospital.Officials are
  
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• Coast Guard ends search for helicopter in waters off Alaska

  03-03-2021 23:25
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search in waters off Alaska for an overdue helicopter piloted by the former head of Alaska’s largest tribal health care organization. Andy Teuber is the former head of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. He resigned last week after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. Teuber left Anchorage about Tuesday in a black and white Robinson R66 helicopter enroute to Kodiak Island. He did not arrive, pro
  
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• EU, Britain clash again in latest post-Brexit spat

  03-03-2021 23:15
  
  BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says Britain’s “unilateral action” over trading rules will breach international law and is threatening legal action as post-Brexit tensions continue to escalate between the two sides. In a statement released Wednesday, commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said UK’s decision to take action on trading rules for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland amounts to “a violation” of
  
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• California city believed 1st in US to ban new gas stations

  03-03-2021 23:08
  
  PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California city has become what’s believed to be the first in the country to ban all new gas stations in an effort to curb emissions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Petaluma City Council voted unanimously Monday to prohibit the creation, expansion, reconstruction and relocation of gas stations. It encourages owners to transition to stations that serve electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. The city of 58,000 people 40 miles north of S
  
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• Mississippi close to putting limits on transgender athletes

  03-03-2021 23:06
  
  JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi House has voted to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls’ or women’s sports teams in the state’s schools and universities. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in the coming days, and he’s expected to sign it into law. The bill passed the House by a wide margin Wednesday after passing the Senate last month. Republicans control both chambers of the Mississippi legislature. Brandon Jones of the Southern Pov
  
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• Researcher under federal investigation for Chinese ties

  03-03-2021 23:03
  
  BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A former scientist at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Connecticut, is being investigated by the FBI for failing to disclose financial affiliations with Chinese research institutions when requesting grant funding from the U.S. government. According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court in Bangor, Yijun Ruan was listed as the primary investigator on 17 Jackson Lab research projects that received over $15 million in funding from the National Institutes of Healt
  
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• The Latest: House to wrap early amid threat of violence

  03-03-2021 23:02
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on congressional testimony about the Capitol insurrection (all times local):
  5 p.m.
  The U.S. House is abruptly finishing its work for the week given the threat of violence at the Capitol by a militia group seeking to storm the building, as happened in a deadly siege Jan. 6.
  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer notified lawmakers late Wednesday of the sudden schedule change.
  The decision was made given the threats on the Capitol, according to a Democratic aide gran
  
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• Civil suit in U.S. over British teen’s death can proceed

  03-03-2021 23:00
  
  FALLS CHURCH. Va. (AP) — A federal judge in Virginia has again rejected an American diplomatic couple’s efforts to toss out a lawsuit in the U.S. The suit was filed after the woman fatally injured a British teenager in a car crash and then left the country under diplomatic immunity. Anne Sacoolas and her husband, Jonathan, were stationed in central England in August 2019 when British authorities say 19-year-old Harry Dunn was struck by a car driving on the wrong side of the road. At
  
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• Mayor Romero calls for a pause on Reid Park Zoo expansion

  03-03-2021 22:58
  
  TUCSON (KVOA) - Tucson Mayor Regina Romero release a statement regarding the planned expansion of the Reid Park Zoo.  The project has faced wide community backlash. Many people expressing concerns about plans for the Zoo to absolve the South duck pond.  Romero released the following statement:  “Throughout this last year, our experiences living through a global pandemic and quarantine has deepened the way our community values our public spaces and, especially,
  
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• Car swerves to miss falling couch, crashes; driver ticketed

  03-03-2021 22:58
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A couple driving home from Florida escaped serious injury when they swerved to avoid a couch that fell from a truck on Interstate 95. But they couldn’t avoid a $166 traffic ticket for “failing to drive in a single lane.” Jake Singer says his girlfriend was driving Feb. 20 when she swerved to avoid the couch, their car striking a median and flipping over. He says they were taken to the hospital, where a trooper showed up with the ticket. A
  
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• PCSD: Suspect wanted after man shot, killed while driving on south side

  03-03-2021 22:56
  
  Pima County Sheriff's Department
  TUCSON (KVOA) - The victim of Thursday's fatal shooting on the south side was identified by Pima County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday.According to PCSD, 42-year-old Luis Lopez was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly shot near East Michigan Street and South Contractors Way at around 6 p.m. Thursday.After further investigation, PCSD said Lopez was reportedly shot while he was driving southbound on Contractors Way wi
  
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• Tucson Mayor Romero Wants 'Immediate Pause' On Zoo Expansion

  03-03-2021 22:49
  
  Tucson Mayor Regina Romero is calling for "an immediate pause" to Reid Park Zoo's planned expansion that would take over the South Pond and Barnum Hill area.…
  
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• 4-year-old girl dies after being hit by vehicle in Glendale

  03-03-2021 22:49
  
  GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Police in Glendale say a 4-year-old girl is dead and a 3-year-old boy seriously injured after being struck by a pickup truck on a walkway. They say the fatal crash occurred about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday as a family of five was walking toward the entrance of a Walmart store. Police say the driver of the truck backed out of a parking space, came to a stop and then went forward back into the parking space _ striking a parked car and then the children. Witnesses told police
  
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• Ducey issues order for Arizona schools to reopen this month

  03-03-2021 22:38
  
  PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has issued an executive order for students and teachers to return to school later this month. Schools must return to in-person learning by March 15 or after their spring break. The only exceptions will be middle and high schools in counties where COVID-19 transmission rates are considered high. The Republican governor said he made the decision after consulting with public school leaders and looking at the federal health guidelines. A dozen of Arizona&
  
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• The Latest: Dozens of federal inmates refuse vaccine

  03-03-2021 22:35
  
  HARTFORD, Conn. — More than 200 inmates at the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, have declined to get vaccinated against COVID-19, including numerous medically vulnerable prisoners who have been seeking release to home confinement due to concerns about the coronavirus, according to federal officials.
  Federal prosecutors disclosed in a new court document filed Tuesday that nearly 550 of the approximately 800 inmates at the prison complex have been offered a COVID-19 vaccine and 336 ha
  
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• Oregon moves to ban display of nooses, a racist symbol

  03-03-2021 22:34
  
  SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Greg Evans, a Black man who joined a parade of witnesses urging Oregon lawmakers to ban the display of nooses, says the issue is personal for him: A family member had been lynched over a century ago in South Carolina. Louisiana, Virginia, California, New York, Maryland and Connecticut previously criminalized the display of nooses. The bill under consideration in Oregon would make intimidation by display of a noose a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a
  
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• Reports: Myanmar military-named deputy UN ambassador resigns

  03-03-2021 22:33
  
  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Social media and newspaper reports say Myanmar’s deputy U.N. ambassador has resigned, a day after U.N. officials received a letter from the nation’s military assigning him to replace the ambassador who has strongly opposed their recent coup. A Burmese language newspaper and social media accounts say deputy Ambassador Tin Maung Naing also posted his own resignation. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun maintains he remains ambassador representing the democratically elec
  
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• Arizona prison guard alleges sex assaults by supervisor

  03-03-2021 22:30
  
  PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona corrections officer has alleged in a lawsuit that she was subjected to a hostile environment at a prison where her supervisor was accused of sexually assaulting her and three others who worked there. The lawsuit said managers at Florence prison created an atmosphere where Sgt. Jason McClelland believed he could harass others without consequences. The complaint said McClelland was charged in August with sexually assaulting the officer and a prison nurse and later c
  
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• Czechs seek help abroad to treat their COVID-19 patients

  03-03-2021 22:28
  
  PRAGUE (AP) — The hard-hit Czech Republic has turned to Germany and other European countries with a request to help treat its coronavirus patients. The country’s Interior Minister says neighboring Germany has offered dozens of beds in its hospitals to treat Czech COVID-19 patients. He says 19 of them are immediately ready. He says Switzerland is another country ready to help with 20 beds in its hospitals while offering to take care of the transport of the patients. Talks have been al
  
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• Search on for Alaska helicopter piloted by tribal official

  03-03-2021 22:22
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard is searching in waters off Alaska for an overdue helicopter piloted by the former head of Alaska’s largest tribal health care organization. Andy Teuber is the former head of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. He resigned last week after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. Teuber left Anchorage on Tuesday in a black and white Robinson R66 helicopter enroute to Kodiak Island. He did not arrive, prompting the sear
  
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• Prosecutors: Man threatened Missouri, Tennessee congressmen

  03-03-2021 22:18
  
  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a 63-year-old Missouri man accused of threatening two Democratic congressman from Missouri and Tennessee. Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that Kenneth Hubert, of Marionville, is charged with threatening Reps. Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri and Steve Cohen of Tennessee. Hubert was arrested and made his first court appearance Wednesday. He remains in custody pending a detention hearing on Monday. The indictment says Hubert thr
  
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• New Mexico corrections officer sues over vaccination mandate

  03-03-2021 22:15
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A corrections officer is suing a New Mexico county over a requirement that first responders and other Dona Ana County employees be vaccinated. Isaac Legaretta says in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court that forcing employees to take vaccines that aren’t yet fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violates federal law. Legaretta is facing termination for declining a vaccination. His attorney is seeking an injunction to keep the county fro
  
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• Ducey Issues Executive Order Requiring Schools to Offer In-Person Classes by March 15

  03-03-2021 22:01
  
  Gov.  Doug Ducey issued a new Executive Order on Wednesday requiring schools to return to in-person, teacher-led instruction by March 15, or after Spring Break. This comes as 12 of Arizona’s 15 counties, including Pima, are "in phases where all schools are safe to open." This includes district and charter schools.…
  
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• Dems tighten relief benefits, firm up support for virus bill

  03-03-2021 21:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Democrats have agreed to tighten eligibility limits for stimulus checks. This is a concession to party moderates, and it comes as leaders prepare to move their $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill through the Senate. At the same time, the White House and top Democrats are standing by progressives and say the Senate package will retain the $400 weekly emergency unemployment benefits included in the House-passed pandemic legislation. The moves reflect a
  
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• Arkansas lawmakers send governor near-total abortion ban

  03-03-2021 21:55
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Legislation banning nearly all abortions in Arkansas is headed to Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s desk. The majority-Republican House on Wednesday approved legislation banning all abortions except those to save the life of the mother. The bill does not include any exceptions for rape or incest. Hutchinson has signed several abortion restrictions over the years, but has not said whether he supports this ban. The Republican governor has said he’s concerned about th
  
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• US warns of military response to rocket attack on Iraq base

  03-03-2021 21:54
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is warning that the U.S. may consider a military response to the rocket attack that hit an air base in western Iraq where American and coalition troops are housed. A U.S. contractor died after at least 10 rockets slammed into the base early Wednesday. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby says the contractor “suffered a cardiac episode while sheltering” and died shortly afterward. It was the first such attack since the U.S. struck Iran-aligned milit
  
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• Right-wing friendly Parler again sues Amazon

  03-03-2021 21:47
  
  SEATTLE (AP) — A new lawsuit has been filed against Amazon by Parler, a right-wing friendly social network. The platform was forced offline after supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Amazon Web Services, the Seattle tech giant’s cloud-computing division, stopped working with Parler in January over what Amazon said was Parler’s inability to moderate violent content. Parler went back online two weeks ago, hosted by SkySilk, a Los Angeles-
  
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• Senate has no space for ballots it got after court fight

  03-03-2021 21:42
  
  PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Senate apparently has no place to put 2.1 million voted ballots a judge says they can get from Maricopa County so the Senate can audit November’s election that saw President Joe Biden win. The ballots have been loaded on a truck and are ready for delivery. But after the Senate spent more than two months fighting to enforce a subpoena for them, they can’t find the space to securely store the ballots. Their lawyer asked the county if they can do their a
  
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• Technology stocks lead indexes lower as yields resume climb

  03-03-2021 21:39
  
  Technology companies are leading a slide in stocks on Wall Street as another rise in bond yields rattles investors. The S&P 500 fell 1% Wednesday, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.4%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.47% from 1.41%. Banks benefited from the increase in bond yields, which allows them to charge higher rates on mortgages and many other kinds of loans. However higher rates can also slow the economy and discourage borrowing. Investors continue to look
  
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• Cochise County residents can now text to 911

  03-03-2021 21:36
  
  UnmutePlayRemaining Ad TimeAd - 00:00
  COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. (KVOA) - Residents in Cochise County can now text 911.
  Residents should still call 911 as the primary means to report any emergency.
  The Text to 911 services allows residents who are unable to verbally communicate to send a text message.
  Due to technical limitations, the services are not available in certain locations, including Fort Huachuca. If a texter is in an area where Text to 911 services are not available, they will immediately
  
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• Study: Employment rose among those in free money experiment

  03-03-2021 21:32
  
  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A study of people in California who got $500 a month for free says they used it to pay off debt and get full-time jobs. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration launched in February 2019. It gave 125 people $500 a month from private donations and not tax dollars. A pair of independent researchers reviewed data from the first year of the experiment and released their findings on Wednesday. They found 28% of the people had full-time jobs when the program bega
  
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• Pentagon probe slams ex-White House Dr. Jackson’s behavior

  03-03-2021 21:29
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Defense Department inspector general has released a scathing report on the conduct of Ronny Jackson, now a congressman from Texas, when he worked as a top White House physician. The internal investigation concluded that Jackson made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy on drinking alcohol on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted worries about his ability to provide pr
  
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• Man injures 8 with ax in Sweden before being shot, arrested

  03-03-2021 21:29
  
  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish police say a man armed with an ax attacked and injured eight people in a southern Swedish town before being shot and arrested. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said a possible terrorist motive for Wednesday’s attack was being investigated, but didn’t elaborate. Shortly after his statement, investigators at a police press conference said they had started a preliminary investigation into attempted murder with details “that make us investigate any terror
  
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• 6 men found dead in cartel-type vests in Mexico border area

  03-03-2021 21:28
  
  CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Authorities in the northern Mexico border state of Tamaulipas say six men wearing vests with the initials of a notorious drug cartel have been found dead near the city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. An official who was not authorized to be quoted by name says the six dead men had all been shot in the head. The official said all six were found wearing bulletproof vests bearing the initials “CDG,” which stands for the Cartel del
  
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• VIRUS TODAY: Most small businesses don’t require virus tests

  03-03-2021 21:26
  
  Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:
  THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:
  — The majority of U.S. small businesses aren’t requiring COVID-19 tests for employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Two sectors, health care and hospitality, had higher rates of requiring employees to test negative before working than the national average.
  — Cities and states are rapidly expanding access to vaccines as the U.S. races to head off a resurge
  
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• The Wright way: Do-it-all guard has Buffs ranked, on track

  03-03-2021 21:20
  
  BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — McKinley Wright IV expects to be overcome by emotion before playing his final home game when No. 24 Colorado faces Arizona State on Thursday. The do-it-all senior point guard will depart as the school’s all-time leader in assists and recently became the first men’s Pac-12 player to eclipse 1,700 points, 600 rebounds and 600 assists for a career. His sights are firmly focused on helping the Buffaloes make the NCAA Tournament and go on a deep run.The post Th
  
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• Israel suspects Iran connection to Mediterranean oil spill

  03-03-2021 21:20
  
  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities said that a Libyan-owned tanker believed to be smuggling oil from Iran to Syria was responsible for spilling tons of crude into the eastern Mediterranean last month, causing one of Israel’s worst environmental disasters. Environmental Protection Ministry officials said the “Emerald” sailed from the Persian Gulf to off the coast of Syria. Ministry officials said it is believed to have dumped its oil in the eastern Mediterranean, around
  
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• Red Flag Warning issued March 3 at 1:18PM MST until March 3 at 6:00PM MST by NWS Phoenix AZ

  03-03-2021 21:18
  
  * AFFECTED AREA…Central Deserts.
  * TIMING…Late Wednesday morning through the afternoon.
  * WINDS…South 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
  * RELATIVE HUMIDITY…As low as 4 percent.
  * IMPACTS…Fuels are very dry and fire danger is high to veryhigh. These conditions combined with low relative humidity andstrong winds will lead to widespread hazardous fire weatherconditions.Please advise the appropriate officials and fire crews in thefield of this red flag warning.
  
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• Huawei CFO lawyer says Trump comments a ‘salvo’ in trade war

  03-03-2021 21:13
  
  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A lawyer for a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies says comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump turned her into a “bargaining chip” and “co-opted the extradition process.” Canada arrested  the daughter of Huawei’s founder and the company’s chief financial officer, at Vancouver’s airport in late 2018. The U.S. wants Meng Wanzhou extradited to face fraud charges. Her law
  
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• Ducey issues executive order requiring schools to offer in-person learning

  03-03-2021 21:07
  
  PHOENIX (KVOA) - Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued Wednesday a new executive order returning schools to in-person, teacher-led instruction.
  Under the order, schools are to return to in-person learning by March 15 or after spring break.
  In a news release, Ducey's office said "according to metrics developed by the CDC, 12 of Arizona’s 15 counties are in phases where all schools are safe to open, including in the state’s two largest counties, Maricopa and Pima."“Arizona’s stude
  
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• It’s back to school for Jill Biden and new education chief

  03-03-2021 21:04
  
  MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) — First lady Jill Biden and new Education Secretary Miguel Cardona are out to show that in-person learning can be done safely in schools during the pandemic. They spent about an hour visiting classrooms and other areas at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut, on Wednesday. Biden herself is a community college teacher who is teaching virtually. She says “teachers want to be back” and so do her students. The first lady and Cardona were a
  
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• The Latest: Biden: ‘Big mistake’ by states to drop mask rule

  03-03-2021 21:03
  
  WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called out Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi for “Neanderthal thinking” in deciding to relax their mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.
  The governors of both states announced Tuesday they would lift their states’ mask mandates and other restrictions on businesses and gatherings aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.Biden called it a “big mistake” while speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday during a
  
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