NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Georgia shooting: A state investigator testified Thursday that a white man was heard saying a racist slur as he stood over Ahmaud Arbery’s body, moments after fatally shooting the black man. In a hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence to proceed with a murder trial, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that Travis and Greg McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan, used their trucks to chase down and box in Arbery, who repeatedly reversed directions trying to escape. Magistrate Court Judge Wallace Harrell found that there was enough evidence for the cases against all three to proceed.
2 Lottery winner: A Powerball ticket worth more than $136 million has been sold in West Virginia, lottery officials said Thursday. It was the only winning ticket in the country to match all six numbers drawn Wednesday night: 13264164 and a Powerball of 17, West Virginia Lottery officials said in a statement. The ticket was sold at Go Mart #93 in Hinton, which will receive a $100,000 sales bonus. The winner can either take the annuitized grand prize of $136.4 million paid out over 29 years or the cash option of $108 million, officials said. The Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s drawing resets to $20 million.
3 Desert quake: A magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolted the region of California desert where a powerful quake last summer was followed by thousands of aftershocks. The U.S. Geological Survey says Wednesday’s quake hit at a fairly shallow depth shortly after 6:30 p.m. and was centered 13.6 miles north of the small city of Ridgecrest. A dispatcher with the Ridgecrest Police Department said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The quake was felt as a rolling motion in a highrise building in downtown Las Vegas. It also shook buildings in downtown Los Angeles.
4 Bishop accused: The Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn, already under a church investigation for alleged sex abuse, has been accused by a second man of abuse in the 1970s, when the bishop was a parish priest in New Jersey. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio “repeatedly sexually abused” Samier Tadros starting when he was about 6 years old, according to a March 9 letter that Tadros’ lawyer sent to the attorney representing the Archdiocese of Newark. DiMarzio denied the accusations made by the first accuser. In a statement, he also denied the accusation leveled by Tadros. DiMarzio’s case has drawn interest because it is among the first conducted according to procedures Pope Francis issued under a new church law that went into effect last June.
5 Pompeo probe: The State Department’s fired inspector general told lawmakers that he had told senior aides to Mike Pompeo that he was investigating the secretary of state and his wife for possible misuse of government funds, undercutting Pompeo’s claim that he knew nothing about the probe. Steve Linick also confirmed he was investigating Pompeo’s emergency declaration in 2019 that allowed for $8 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over protests from Congress, according to a statement by five House and Senate Democrats who interviewed him.
Chronicle News Services