Judge denies bail, public defender to man accused of spying
SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge said Wednesday that a California tour operator is a flight risk and denied him bail while he awaits trial on charges of carrying national security documents to officials in China. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Corley also ordered Xuehua Edward Peng to hire his own...
Protests escalate in Iraq: 9 dead, hundreds wounded
BAGHDAD — At least seven people were killed and dozens were wounded in clashes that spread across several Iraqi provinces on Wednesday as security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas for the second day to disperse anti-government protesters demanding jobs, improved services and an end to corruption. The deaths...
Ex-South Carolina official gets prison time in prostitution sting
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former member of the board that oversees South Carolina highways will spend seven months in prison for trying to hire a prostitute just hours after he received probation for admitting he tried to derail an FBI investigation by destroying evidence. John Hardee, 72, was sentenced Wednesday...
Cops: Florida man caught on video cutting brake lines on electric scooters
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Police in Fort Lauderdale have arrested a man who appears on surveillance video to be cutting the brake line on a pair of electric scooters that people rent to ride around the city, police say. Randall Thomas Williams, 59, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, is seen...
Billionaire, friend get no-jail plea deal in Las Vegas drug case
LAS VEGAS — A billionaire California technology firm founder and his friend took no-jail plea deals Wednesday that had them donate $1 million to charities while not admitting guilt in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room drug investigation. Henry Thompson Nicholas III and co-defendant Ashley Christine Fargo stood with their...
Netanyahu’s legal saga reaches critical stage in Israel
JERUSALEM — Prosecutors began a pre-indictment hearing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, opening a critical stage in a lengthy legal saga that threatens to end the career of the long-serving Israeli leader and has paralyzed the country’s political system. Netanyahu’s lawyers sat down with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit...
Monday last day to register for Nov. 5 municipal electionVideo
People who need to register to vote in the Tuesday, Nov. 5 municipal election only have a few days left to do so. The deadline to register, or to change an address or party affiliation is Monday To qualify to vote, one must be a U.S. citizen at least one...
Democrats warn White House to expect subpoena on Ukraine
WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders warned the White House on Wednesday to expect a subpoena demanding documents on President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, accusing the administration of “flagrant disregard” of previous requests and saying that refusal could be considered an impeachable offense. Separately, the Democrats accused Trump of “an incitement...
Wolf: Marijuana pardons won’t be rubber-stamped
A week after Lt. Gov. John Fetterman urged Pennsylvanians with low-level, nonviolent marijuana convictions to apply for expedited pardons, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday cautioned that such pardons will not be automatically approved. Fetterman, who chairs the board of pardons, joined Wolf last week in announcing their support for decriminalizing...
Pa. marijuana grower urges regulation for disclosure of vaping ingredients
In the wake of national concern over illness linked to vaping, one Pennsylvania medical marijuana company is making sure users, in their catchphrase, “know it before you blow it.” Clinton County-based Terrapin Pennsylvania has disclosed all of the ingredients in its vaporizing products at DemandCleanVapes.com, and called on state lawmakers...
‘Unprecedented’ demand for shingles vaccine leads to shortage
High demand for the shingles vaccine means Pennsylvanians wanting to protect themselves against the painful, blister-causing virus might have to wait. “The demand has been unprecedented,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease physician. “We want to...
Report: Renewables will provide nearly half of world’s electricity by 2050
Renewable sources of energy will provide nearly half of the world’s electricity by 2050, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Currently, 28% of global electricity is generated from renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind and solar technologies. In its International Energy Outlook 2019, EIA projects that renewables will...
Bernie Sanders has heart procedure, cancels campaign events
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders’ campaign said Wednesday that the Democratic presidential candidate had a heart procedure for a blocked artery and was canceling events and appearances “until further notice.” The 78-year-old Sanders experienced chest discomfort during an event Tuesday and sought medical evaluation, according to a campaign statement. It said...
Fed-up San Francisco neighbors use rocks to block homeless
SAN FRANCISCO — A group of San Francisco neighbors say they bought boulders and had them delivered to their sidewalk to stop people from camping and dealing drugs on their street. In Los Angeles this summer, the owner of a cultural center erected massive planters around his building to block...
Pompeo acknowledges he was on Trump call at center of probeVideo
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Wednesday that he was on the July phone call between President Donald Trump and the Ukraine president that’s at the center of the House impeachment inquiry. But Pompeo continued to push back against what he said was Democrats’ “bullying and intimidation.”...
Sheriff: Armed girl threatened to kill boy over crush
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Authorities in South Carolina say a girl brought two kitchen knives to her elementary school and threatened to kill a boy who had a crush on another girl. Citing a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report, The Island Packet reports the knives were found in the...
Twitter, Tweetdeck suffer global outages
Yes, everyone else was experiencing it, too. Twitter and Tweetdeck experienced global outages Tuesday night, and they remained a problem for many users Wednesday morning. Twitter Support said users might have had issues tweeting, getting notifications or viewing direct messages. Users also reported issues with retweeting and using Twitter’s GIF...
Judge temporarily blocks law aimed at Trump’s tax returns
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A U.S. judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a California law aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to release his personal income tax returns in order to appear on the 2020 primary ballot. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. issued a written opinion saying the law likely...
Lizard protections sought in Southwest amid U.S. oil boom
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A small lizard found among the dunes straddling New Mexico and West Texas in one of the nation’s richest oil basins is at the center of a legal complaint filed Tuesday. Environmentalists want the U.S. government to add the lizard to the endangered species list as part...
Federal judge temporarily blocks Georgia abortion law
ATLANTA — A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Georgia’s restrictive new abortion law from taking effect, following the lead of other judges who have blocked similar measures in other states. The law signed in May by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp bans abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is present,...
White ex-officer’s guilty verdict stuns some black advocates
Monica Blake watched closely as a Texas jury weighed the case against a white police officer charged in the fatal shooting of a black neighbor, wondering whether the panel would render a different decision than so many others in recent years. When Amber Guyger was convicted of murder Tuesday, Blake,...
Pipeline rules adopted years after deadly explosion, spills
BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. transportation officials on Tuesday adopted long-delayed measures that are meant to prevent pipeline spills and deadly gas explosions but don’t address recommended steps to lessen accidents once they occur. The new rules from the Department of Transportation apply to more than 500,000 miles of pipelines that...
Missouri executes killer despite concern about painful death
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri man was executed Tuesday for killing a man during a violent 1996 crime spree, despite concerns that the inmate’s rare medical condition would cause a gruesome lethal injection. Russell Bucklew was executed at the state prison in Bonne Terre. It was Missouri’s first execution since...
Trump’s reelection campaign cashes in on impeachment woes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is furious that Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry. His reelection team couldn’t be happier. “It’s a total boon,” said Roy Bailey, the campaign’s national finance co-chairman. “Money is flying in.” Trump’s sudden rise to political power was fueled by a potent mix of outrage and...
Video: Woman climbs into lion enclosure at Bronx Zoo, taunts himVideo
A woman visiting the Bronx Zoo in New York somehow climbed into the exhibit and ended up standing mere feet away from one of the adult male animals. According to NBC News, the incident occurred Sept. 28. The woman broke into “a little dance” while the seemingly perplexed lion stared...
