After war on drugs, Seattle tries ‘peace’
SEATTLE - Police officers sprang from a black patrol van on a recent day, surrounding two men smoking crack on a gritty downtown block. The officers asked for ID and confiscated a homemade pipe fashioned from glass and surgical hose. Such stops have played out for decades on the front...
Utah man arrested in shooting of off-duty Los Angeles deputy
ALHAMBRA, Calif. — A Utah man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of shooting an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy at a fast-food restaurant, and authorities say they are investigating whether he killed another man an hour earlier in attacks that both appear to be random. Rhett Nelson, 30, of...
Woman alleges 2008 sexual assault by UCLA gynecologist
LOS ANGELES — A woman says she was sexually assaulted by a gynecologist who worked for the University of California, Los Angeles and is upset the school apparently knew about it from her social media post but never contacted her as it investigated other incidents that led to charges against...
Public rental bikes used for Naked Bike Ride in New Orleans
Public bicycles sponsored by a health insurance company were used in a rather unsanitary way. It was more than 90 degrees on June 8 in New Orleans when the 2019 World Naked Bike Ride kicked off and riders mounted their saddles for a ride through the French Quarter. Although many...
Wolf administration hopes ‘groundswell’ support can pass natural gas severance tax
Officials in Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration hope that packaging a natural gas severance tax with a proposal to address community blight and infrastructure needs will give it a better chance of passing the Pennsylvania General Assembly this year. Several members of the administration Tuesday said there is a “groundswell” of...
Pa. bottle bill would set up deposit program to reduce waste, litter
A proposal to set up a beverage bottle and can deposit program in Pennsylvania now has support in the state House and Senate. State Rep. Wendy Ullman, D-Doylestown, said Tuesday state Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, planned to introduce a companion bill in the Senate that is modeled on her legislation...
PHEAA offers low-cost, no-fee private student loans
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is reinventing itself as a private lender to fill in the gaps for students who have maxed out on grants and federal loans this year, but still can’t cover the cost of college or approved trade schools. Officials at PHEAA, the embattled agency that...
Jon Stewart lashes out at Congress over 9/11 victims fund
WASHINGTON — Comedian Jon Stewart scolded Congress Tuesday for failing to ensure that a victims’ compensation fund set up after the 9/11 attacks never runs out of money. Stewart, a longtime advocate for 9/11 responders, also called out lawmakers for failing to attend a hearing on a bill to ensure...
Florida Uber driver has ear medically reattached after fight
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — An Uber driver nearly lost an ear in a fight in a parking garage at a Florida airport. The South Florida SunSentinel reports 26-year-old Sir-Christian Alexander Gordon appeared in court Thursday to face a charge of aggravated battery. The charge stems from what authorities describe as...
Alec Baldwin’s brother slams Mike Huckabee for panning SNL Trump role
Mike Huckabee started it. Billy Baldwin escalated it. Former Arkansas governor Huckabee tried promoting his own television show by referencing Alec Baldwin’s statement that he is “so done” playing President Donald Trump on SNL. Huckabee tweeted “Good news for viewers who are “so done” with “SNL” & unfunny vicious Trump...
Pennsylvania nursing homes receive failing grade from advocacy group
Pennsylvania nursing homes received an “F” from a national advocacy group that rates and ranks states on the quality of its care. But the head of a trade group representing nursing homes in the state said the report doesn’t account for the full picture of care, including ongoing funding struggles....
GOP’s Amash, impeachment supporter, quits conservative group
WASHINGTON — Rep. Justin Amash, the lone Republican calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, has quit the Freedom Caucus of House conservatives, his spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. The split comes a few weeks after Amash called for the House to impeach Trump based on the details of special counsel Robert Mueller’s...
In hot water? Study says warming may reduce sea life by 17%
WASHINGTON — The world’s oceans will likely lose about one sixth of its fish and other marine life by the end of the century if climate change continues on its current path, a new study says. Every degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) that the world’s oceans warm, the total mass...
Pennsylvania Senate backs bill to expand armed school security options
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Senate is backing legislation that supporters say give school districts and private schools more options to hire armed security guards. The bill passed 32-17 on Tuesday, with a handful of Democrats joining the Republican majority to send it to the House of Representatives. The bill would allow...
Sleeping with the TV on may make you gain weight
CHICAGO — Dozing off to late-night TV or sleeping with other lights on may mix up your metabolism and lead to weight gain and even obesity, provocative but preliminary U.S. research suggests. The National Institutes of Health study published Monday isn’t proof, but it bolsters evidence suggesting that too much...
U.S. Catholic bishops convene to confront sex-abuse crisis
BALTIMORE — The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops convened a high-stakes meeting Tuesday under pressure to defuse the ever-widening child sexual abuse crisis that has weakened the church. The bishops “face the task of rooting the evil of sexual abuse from the church,” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference...
Biden and Trump head to Iowa in a potential 2020 preview
DES MOINES, Iowa — After months of jabbing each other from afar, President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will overlap Tuesday in Iowa, a state that’s critical to their political futures. For Biden, a convincing win in next year’s caucuses would cement him as the Democratic front-runner and reinforce...
In the loop: Tokyo seen from commuter train line
TOKYO (AP) — Want a glimpse of daily life in downtown Tokyo? Take a ride on the Yamanote loop line. For most Tokyoites, the line is an incredibly punctual and efficient transportation system for commuting. For tourists, it offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people in many of...
Boris Johnson builds momentum in U.K. Conservative race
LONDON — Boris Johnson solidified his front-runner status in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister on Tuesday, gaining backing from leading pro-Brexit lawmakers. But he faced calls from his rivals to abandon his low-profile campaign strategy and start answering questions from journalists and the public. Ten candidates are...
Republican governor signs bill protecting abortion rights
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont’s Republican governor has signed a bill into law that protects a woman’s access to abortion services. Gov. Phil Scott signed the legislation Monday, saying he has consistently supported a woman’s right to choose. He says “the legislation affirms what is already allowable in Vermont — protecting...
Family shares memories of Flight 93 attendant
Family members of Lorraine Bay, one of five flight attendants aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, will speak at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Stoystown, Somerset County, this weekend. Ed Root and his daughter, Emily Schenkel, will participate in the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial’s...
Botswana decriminalizes gay sex in landmark Africa case
JOHANNESBURG — Botswana became the latest country to decriminalize gay sex on Tuesday in a landmark case for Africa when the High Court rejected as unconstitutional sections of the penal code punishing same-sex relations with up to seven years in prison. Jubilant activists in the packed courtroom cheered the unanimous...
Accused Mar-a-Lago intruder allowed to be her own attorney
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Chinese woman charged with illegally entering President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort will be allowed to act as her own attorney. Federal Judge Roy Altman granted Yujing Zhang’s request Tuesday to fire her public defenders and represent herself. Altman found Zhang competent and intelligent, but strongly...
Bishops meeting on sex abuse clouded by state investigations
DETROIT — Hundreds of boxes. Millions of records. From Michigan to New Mexico this month, attorneys general are sifting through files on clergy sex abuse, seized through search warrants and subpoenas at dozens of archdioceses. They’re looking to prosecute, and not just priests. If the boxes lining the hallways of...
Near-record ‘dead zone’ predicted in Gulf of Mexico
NEW ORLEANS — Scientists are predicting a near-record Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” where the water holds too little oxygen to sustain marine life. “A major factor contributing to the large dead zone this year is the abnormally high amount of spring rainfall in many parts of the Mississippi River...
