FDA says pacemakers, glucose monitors and other devices could be vulnerable to hackers
Federal agencies warned patients and manufacturers this past week that a recently discovered problem with Bluetooth Low Energy communications may allow computer hackers to remotely disable or access pacemakers, glucose monitors, ultrasound devices and other medical systems. The FDA and Homeland Security Department said that while there have been no...
AGs for crackdown on chemical used to sterilize medical devices
Half of all medical devices used in the United States — from bandages to implantable computers — are sterilized with a toxic gas that has come under critical scrutiny over concerns about air pollution that could cause cancer. Now Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined a coalition of 11...
Meet Perseverance: Mars rover gets name ahead of July launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s next Mars rover finally has a name. Perseverance, a six-wheeled robotic explorer, will blast off this summer to collect Martian samples for eventual return to Earth. The name was suggested by Alex Mather, a Virginia seventh-grader, as part of a naming contest for U.S. schoolchildren....
Federal judge sharply rebukes AG William Barr’s handling of Mueller report
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday sharply rebuked Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the special counsel’s Russia report, saying Barr had made “misleading public statements” to spin the investigation’s findings in favor of President Donald Trump and had shown a “lack of candor.” U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton...
U.S. labs await virus-testing kits promised by administrationVideo
WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials doubled down on their promise to deliver 1 million tests for the coronavirus this week as states reported limited testing supplies and federal lawmakers expressed doubts about the government’s timeline. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Thursday that a private manufacturer authorized...
$1.25B West Virginia opioid settlement trial date set
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia communities seeking a $1.25 billion settlement with the opioid industry are set to go on trial against the companies in late August, a federal judge said Thursday. The trial date, scheduled for Aug. 31, will serve as a deadline for the proposed settlement, which would...
Worker: Olive Garden customer demanded and got white server in Indiana
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Olive Garden has fired the manager of one of its restaurants in southwestern Indiana who was accused of complying with a white customer’s demand to replace her table’s black server with one who wasn’t black. An Olive Garden spokeswoman, Meagan Bernstein, said Wednesday that the company does...
Michigan lawmaker Pete Lucido disciplined after sexual harassment probe
LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan lawmaker was stripped of a committee chairmanship and ordered to undergo training Thursday after the state Senate concluded allegations of sexual harassment lodged by several women, including a legislator, were credible. Republican Sen. Peter Lucido of Macomb County’s Shelby Township lost his position leading the...
Prosecution doctor: Florida killer was insane when he bit victim’s faceVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A prosecution psychiatrist says a Florida college student was legally insane when he fatally attacked a couple outside their home, chewing off part of the man’s face, court documents filed this week show. Dr. Gregory C. Landrum’s finding bolsters the case of Austin Harrouff’s attorneys, who...
Company is telling Twitter users not to use its vodka for homemade hand sanitizers
With stores and online retailers running out of hand sanitizers in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, some have turned to the internet for recipes to create your own gels. Several sites have posted guides to concoct the hand-cleaning mixture at home using alcohol and aloe vera gel, and adding...
Wine flows from water taps in small Italian town
Imagine turning on your kitchen faucet only to have wine flow out instead of water. At first, it sounds like heaven. But then, you might consider what effect that would have when you go to take a shower. Or wash clothes. The residents of Castelvetro, a small village about 10...
Pennsylvania Senate hides some details in expense records
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate is hiding thousands of detailed explanations about its expenses from official records it provided under public records requests about how it spends taxpayer money, news organizations reported Thursday. Before turning over the documents, Senate officials edited out the explanations, making it appear as though they...
Russia, Turkey reach cease-fire deal in northwestern SyriaVideo
MOSCOW — The presidents of Russia and Turkey said they reached agreement on a cease-fire to begin at midnight Thursday in northwestern Syria, where escalating fighting had threatened to put forces from the two countries into direct conflict. The deal struck by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep...
Missouri man dressed as Joker charged in terrorist threats
UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — A suburban St. Louis man accused of livestreaming threats to bomb and kill people in a bustling entertainment district while dressed as the Batman villain the Joker has been charged with terrorism. Forty-eight-year-old Jeremy Garnier, of University City, was charged Tuesday with a felony count of...
Elizabeth Warren ends presidential bid
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren, who electrified progressives with her “plan for everything” and strong message of economic populism, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Thursday, according to a person familiar with her plans. The exit came days after the onetime front-runner couldn’t win a single Super Tuesday state,...
Biden’s revived campaign puts Pennsylvania primary in play
Super Tuesday’s Democratic primary results and the continued whittling of the party’s presidential hopefuls mean Pennsylvania’s primary could matter for the first time in years. Experts say the stage is set for the battle between former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to carry into...
Carnegie Museum of Natural History offers robust line-up of science and nature summer camps
Summer will be here before you know it. Why not introduce your kids to a lifelong appreciation for the natural world? Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) offers camps for ages 4 through 13. The museum’s week-long camps begin June 8 and run through the week of August 17. With...
Dogs, cats can’t pass on coronavirus, but can test positive
HONG KONG — Pet cats and dogs cannot pass the new coronavirus on to humans, but they can test positive for low levels of the pathogen if they catch it from their owners. That’s the conclusion of Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department after a dog in quarantine tested...
How risky is that virus? Your mind may mislead
Anna Alexander, a property manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia, started the day Monday thinking that she might avoid shaking hands because of the coronavirus outbreak. Then somebody stuck out a hand to shake. She took it. “I’m a business person,” Alexander, 65, explained. “But if somebody else does it next...
U.S. worshippers grapple with virus burdens others have borne
A rising number of churches across the United States are making changes in response to the coronavirus outbreak, including a decision by numerous Catholic dioceses to suspend the serving of wine during Communion. Thus far, there’s been no indication of any widespread cancellations of worship services. However, Jamie Aten, a...
MLK’s son asks Alabama to stop inmate’s upcoming execution
MOBILE, Ala. — The son of Martin Luther King, Jr. has called on Alabama’s governor to stop Thursday’s plan to execute an inmate for the 2004 killings of three police officers in which authorities say a co-defendant did the shooting. Nathaniel Woods, 43, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection...
Chief Justice Roberts denounces Sen. Chuck Schumer for attacks on 2 justicesVideo
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a rare statement Wednesday to rebuke Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer for what Roberts called “threatening” and “dangerous” statements directed at the two justices named by President Donald Trump. The president soon weighed in as well, with a tweet. The...
Arizona police plan community meeting on incident where father killed son with guitar
CLARKDALE, Ariz. — Clarkdale police have scheduled a community meeting Thursday evening to discuss a deadly incident in which a man used a guitar to fatally strike his 4-year-old son on the head and also injure his mother before being fatally shot by a police officer. A police announcement said...
Texas man gets jail for video of himself licking ice cream tub
PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A 24-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail for posting on social media a video last August of himself removing an ice cream container from a Texas market freezer, licking the contents and returning the container to the freezer. D’Adrien Anderson, 24, also...
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz wears gas mask on House floor during vote on bill to fund coronavirus fightVideo
Evidently, a worldwide epidemic and the fact Congress is spending billions of dollars for the United States to be prepared for it is a laughing matter for Matt Gaetz. Gaetz, a two-term representative from Florida, showed up Wednesday on the House floor wearing a gas mask during a vote for...
