Pennsylvania State Police loosens ban on trooper arm tattoos
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state troopers will now be allowed to have tattoos on their arms, but those who do will have to wear long-sleeved uniform shirts that conceal them when they are on duty, the agency announced Wednesday. In a statement, Col. Robert Evanchick, the state police commissioner, said the...
Venezuela President Maduro urges all women to have 6 children
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolás Maduro wants Venezuelan women to have many children as a way to boost the country, which has seen millions of people flee in recent years to escape its economic crisis. Maduro made the exhortation during a televised event Tuesday evening for a government program promoting...
Florida lawmakers rally behind 6-year-old arrested at schoolVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers rallied behind a 6-year-old girl who was zip-tied at school and arrested last fall, when state House on Wednesday unanimously passed a measure requiring law enforcement authorities to put procedures in place for arresting children under 10 years old. The child’s family last month made footage...
Nielsen says 19 million people watched Super Tuesday returns
More than 19 million people watched coverage of the Super Tuesday primary results on the top broadcast and cable news networks. Fox News Channel led the way with 4.17 million viewers, the Nielsen company said Wednesday. But CNN scored a key victory by leading all of the networks among viewers...
U.S. strikes Taliban forces, in 1st hit since peace deal
KABUL — The United States conducted its first airstrike against Taliban forces Wednesday in Afghanistan since signing an ambitious peace deal with the militant group. U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said in a tweet that the “defensive” strike was the first U.S. attack against the militants in 11 days....
Doctors try 1st CRISPR editing in the body for blindness
Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases. A patient recently had it done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science...
Twitter preps ephemeral tweets, starts testing in Brazil
Twitter is starting to test tweets that disappear after 24 hours, although initially only in Brazil. The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the public and permanent...
Feds investigate nursing home as U.S. death toll hits 11
SEATTLE — The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 11 on Wednesday with a patient succumbing in California — the first reported fatality outside Washington state — as federal authorities announced an investigation of the Seattle-area nursing home where most of the victims were stricken. Officials in California’s...
Food stamp change fuels anxiety as states try to curb impact
CHICAGO — Having food stamps offers Richard Butler a stability he’s rarely known in his 25 years. He was in state custody at age 2, spent his teen years at a Chicago boys’ home and jail for burglary, and has since struggled to find a permanent home. The $194 deposited...
Looking for hand sanitizer? Good luck finding it
NEW YORK — The hand sanitizers on Amazon were overpriced. A Walmart this weekend was completely sold out. Only on his third try was Ken Smith able to find the clear gel — at a Walgreens, where three bottles of Purell were left. He bought two. “I didn’t want to...
First lady helps honor women from 12 countries for courage
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump drew parallels Wednesday between her youth welfare initiative and a group of women from around the world whom the State Department has recognized for acts of courage in their countries. Although the “Be Best” initiative was designed for children, the first lady said the program “ties...
Twitter tests disappearing tweets, starts in Brazil
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is starting to test tweets that disappear after 24 hours, although initially only in Brazil. The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the...
Supreme Court divided in 1st big abortion case of Trump era
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared divided in its first major abortion case of the Trump era, leaving Chief Justice John Roberts as the likely deciding vote. Roberts did not say enough to tip his hand in an hour of spirited arguments at the high court Wednesday. The court’s election-year...
Spanish minister defends bold slogan for bill on sex crimes
MADRID — Spain’s minister of equality defended herself Wednesday from attacks by right-wing opposition parties who have criticized her use of a bold slogan to support the government’s draft bill on sex crimes. The ministry included the slogan “Drunk and alone, I want to make it home” on a message...
Ukraine prime minister ousted, president seeks ‘new brains’
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian lawmakers overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to accept the resignation of the prime minister, whose performance over his six-month tenure came under severe criticism from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The president’s Servant of the People party, which dominates the parliament, took the lead in relieving Oleksiy Honcharuk of his...
Toyota adds 1.1M vehicles to fuel pump recall
DETROIT — Toyota is adding 1.1 million U.S. vehicles to a major recall to fix possible fuel pump failures that can cause engines to stall. The company said Wednesday that the added vehicles bring the total to 1.8 million. In January, Toyota recalled nearly 700,000 vehicles in the United States...
Warren huddles with advisers, reassesses presidential raceVideo
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren was huddling with her campaign advisers Wednesday to determine if there was a reason to stay in the race after her Super Tuesday wipe-out. An aide to the Massachusetts senator said she was speaking to staffers and assessing the path forward. The aide spoke on the...
Bloomberg drops out of presidential race, endorses BidenVideo
NEW YORK — Billionaire Mike Bloomberg ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. It was a stunning collapse for the former New York City mayor, who had his 2020 hopes on the Super Tuesday states and pumped more than $500...
Pennsylvania drivers 40th in the nation in gas consumption
Could that pesky gas tax be taking a toll on Sunday drivers in the Keystone State? Could drivers here be turning to more fuel efficient vehicles, or is pothole avoidance syndrome taking a toll? Regardless of the cause, it looks as though gas consumption here may be edging down ever...
Warren’s future uncertain after loss in home state of Mass.
WASHINGTON — The future of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign was in serious doubt after she was defeated in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in her home state of Massachusetts. The disappointing finish in the state she represents, and a weak showing in other Super Tuesday states, marked a striking collapse for...
Takeaways from Super Tuesday: Biden’s big bounce
DENVER — Super Tuesday is the biggest day on the primary calendar, and the results seem very likely to reshape the Democratic presidential race in ways few could have predicted a couple weeks ago. Here are some takeaways from the results. BIDEN BOUNCES BACK BIG It is hard to overstate...
Trump says he spoke to a Taliban leader, had ‘good talk’Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he spoke on the phone to a Taliban leader, making him the first U.S. president believed to have ever spoken directly with the militant group responsible for the deaths of thousands of U.S. troops in nearly 19 years of fighting in Afghanistan....
Numerous weapons found after UPS worker threatened mass shooting
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — A UPS worker suspected of threatening a mass shooting at the company’s facility in Silicon Valley has been arrested after investigators found numerous firearms and ammunition at his home, police said. Thomas Andrews, 32, surrendered late Sunday after leading officers on a brief car pursuit on U.S....
Sanders wins top prize, California; Biden surges nationwide
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders seized victory in Super Tuesday’s biggest prize, California, while a resurgent Joe Biden scored wins in the upper Midwest and African American strongholds in the South, in a dramatic offensive. The two Democrats, lifelong politicians with starkly different visions for America’s future, were battling for delegates...
Northampton County restricts immigration agents after courthouse arrest
A Pennsylvania county imposed restrictions on U.S. immigration agents Tuesday after a federal officer arrested a man at the courthouse, sparking a heated confrontation that was captured on video. Franklin Urrutia-Cordon, 32, went to the Northampton County Courthouse for a hearing in his drunken driving case and unexpectedly found himself...
