WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he has given the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan the go-ahead to begin the initial withdrawal of U.S. troops. Esper said he was not sure whether it began Monday but said Gen. Scott Miller in Kabul has the authority to begin now. Speaking alongside Esper at the Pentagon Monday, the U.S. military’s top general said there’s no expectation that violence in Afghanistan will “go to zero” quickly, following the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement announced on Saturday. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would be unrealistic to think that violence would stop immediately.

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — A shooter opened fire on a vehicle carrying three people in a western Pennsylvania community, leaving one passenger hospitalized in critical condition. Authorities say the shooting in McKeesport occurred around 2:45 p.m. Sunday, though it’s still not clear what sparked the gunfire. The driver continued on for several streets before stopping the vehicle. Witnesses say the victim, a 19-year-old man whose name was not released, then got out the vehicle and started screaming for help. The 20-year-old male driver and a 13-year-old who was sitting in the back seat were not injured. Authorities say the victim was shot multiple times. The shooter apparently fled the scene on foot and remained at large Monday.

(Photos of Senator Elder L. Vogel, State Representatives Jim Marshall and Josh Kail unveiling the bridge sign, Lt. Colonel Matt Allen and Lt. Colonel Craig Minnick…
all taken by Sandy Giordano)

A ceremony renaming the Vanport Bridge was held at the Rochester VFW on Saturday. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano was there. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

Investigators are looking into the cause of two house fires in New Brighton over the weekend. The first fire was reported at an abandoned home along Sixth Avenue. Officials say that the home was fully engulfed. Firefighters had to call for extra help to fight the blaze and keep it from spreading to a home next door. Beaver County Emergency Services tells Beaver County Radio News this morning that crews were called to another fire in New Brighton, less than a mile away on 6th Street, a short time later. Firefighters arrived to find flames on the porch of another abandoned home. The fire marshal is looking into the cause of both fires and whether they were intentionally set. No injuries were reported.

 

The first-ever Primanti Bros. Restautant and Bar in Beaver County will open its doors on Wednesday. The restaurant is located near the Walmart on Brodhead Road in Monaca. The new location will give away free sandwiches for a year to the first 100 customers through the door. The restaurant will also have an opening celebration tailgate beginning at 5:30 a.m. Doors open to the first 100 tailgaters around 10 a.m. with the restaurant opening to the public at 11 a.m.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Prosecutors in western Pennsylvania have withdrawn charges against five men charged in a shooting at a neighborhood vigil in Pittsburgh 4 1/2 years ago that wounded three people, two of them children. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the action by the Allegheny County district attorney’s office Friday came 10 days before jury selection was scheduled in the case. A prosecutor cited “the murder of a commonwealth witness, subsequent lack of cooperation of witness and other evidentiary issues.” The September 2015 gunfire occurred at a vigil in the Homewood neighborhood to mark the two-year anniversary of a young man’s shooting death nearby.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, MARCH 2ND, 2020

 

TODAY – RAIN SHOWERS THIS MORNING WILL EVOLVE INTO
A MORE STEADY RAIN FOR THE AFTERNOON.
HIGH – 54.

TONIGHT – OVERCAST WITH RAIN SHOWERS AT TIMES.
LOW – 43.

TUESDAY – STEADY LIGHT RAIN IN THE MORNING.
SHOWERS CONTINUING IN THE AFTERNOON.
HIGH – 54.

AP sources: Buttigieg ending his presidential campaign
By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press
Democrat Pete Buttigieg is ending his campaign for president. Three people with knowledge of Buttigieg’s decision tell The Associated Press he is informing campaign staff. They were not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity. His campaign says Buttigieg will speak Sunday night in South Bend, Indiana. Buttigieg rose to the field’s top tier but failed to notch enough wins in the critical early states necessary to keep his bid moving forward. The millennial, Afghan War veteran and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, defied expectations in a field of better-known candidates for months while becoming the first openly gay top contender for a major party nomination.

Democrat Pete Buttigieg is ending his campaign for president.
Three people with knowledge of Buttigieg’s decision tell The Associated Press he is informing campaign staff. They were not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
His campaign says Buttigieg will speak Sunday night in South Bend, Indiana.
Buttigieg rose to the field’s top tier but failed to notch enough wins in the critical early states necessary to keep his bid moving forward.
The millennial, Afghan War veteran and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, defied expectations in a field of better-known candidates for months while becoming the first openly gay top contender for a major party nomination.
“Mayor Pete” burst onto the scene with a blitz of national media a year ago and impressive fundraising. He leaned hard into a next-generation message of urgency on pressing issues while preaching a message of hope and inclusion.

Wash. state sees 1st virus death in US, declares emergency
By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press
The governor of Washington state declared a state of emergency Saturday after a man died there of COVID-19, the first such reported death in the United States. Health officials say the man who died was in his 50s, had underlying health conditions. More than 50 people in a nursing facility are sick and being tested for the virus. A woman in her 40s who works at the facility and a resident in her 70s have tested positive for the virus. Officials in California, Oregon and Washington state are worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities because people are being infected by unknown means.