U.S. sales OK’d for cigarette alternative that heats tobacco
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials on Tuesday said Philip Morris can sell a cigarette alternative that heats tobacco without burning it, a key decision in the tobacco industry’s shift toward newer products. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet decided whether to allow the device, IQOS (EYE-kose), to be...
New York judge sparks outrage for no jail time in rape sentence
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — An upstate New York judge who stoked social media outrage for sentencing a former school bus driver to probation in the rape of a 14-year-old is getting “numerous vitriolic” phone calls, court officials said Tuesday. Jefferson County Supreme Court Judge James McClusky last week sentenced Shane Piche...
Trump, Pelosi claim progress after infrastructure meetingVideo
WASHINGTON — There were no TV cameras this time, no accusations of bad faith, or anyone tossing binders or storming out. Instead, unlike their December and January clashes in the Oval Office, President Trump met Tuesday for 90 minutes with the Democratic leaders he’s dubbed “Chuck and Nancy” in what...
Rep. Metcalfe pushes bill requiring doctors to treat unvaccinated kids
As measles continues to spread across the nation, state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe rallied support Tuesday for a bill he introduced in January that would prevent doctors from denying care to children whose parents have chosen not to have them vaccinated. House Bill 286, also known as the Informed Consent Protection...
Space rock left big crater on moon during full lunar eclipse
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A space rock left a massive crater on the moon during January’s total lunar eclipse. Spanish scientists reported Tuesday the meteoroid hit the moon at 38,000 mph, carving out a crater nearly 50 miles across. It was the first impact flash ever observed during a lunar...
Saturday start to 2019 deer hunting season might not be permanent
Much like the split vote to allow deer hunting to start the Saturday after Thanksgiving, differences of public opinion has the Pennsylvania Game Commission already agreeing to re-examine the controversial issue after this year. After 55 years of opening the Monday after Thanksgiving, the commission voted 5-3 on April 8...
Arizona woman attacked by bees after hive falls on her head
TEMPE, Ariz. — An Arizona woman is recovering from more than 20 bee stings after heavy winds blew a hive off a tree and it landed on her head. Firefighters in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe say it happened Monday afternoon as the woman picked up her child from daycare....
GM needed help beating profit estimates, so it called a Lyft
General Motors Co. needed a little help from ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. to beat analysts for first-quarter profit as cost cuts only partially made up for lower sales. The Detroit-based company posted adjusted earnings of $1.41 a share for the first three months of the year, topping analysts’ average projection...
Indian Army says they found evidence of the Yeti
The Indian Army believes they found evidence of the mysterious — and mythical — Yeti in the Himalayas. The army posted to its official Twitter account on Monday, “For the first time, an #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast ‘Yeti’ measuring 32x15 inches close to...
Lawsuit says man from Somalia’s been detained over 2 years
CONCORD, N.H. — A federal lawsuit in New Hampshire says an asylum seeker from Somalia has been detained for 2½ years without a bond hearing and should be released. Acting on behalf of Mahamed Ahmed-Cali, the ACLU on Friday sued the heads of the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Immigrations...
Grandma pushing stroller also charged in hit-and-run death
FLORENCE, S.C. — South Carolina authorities say they have charged both the hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a 4-year-old girl and the grandmother who was pushing the girl across a highway in a stroller. Investigators say Emily Hall was killed Friday night as she was being pushed across state...
22 face conspiracy, cruelty counts after Philadelphia cockfight raid
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say nearly two dozen people are facing charges following last week’s raid on a north Philadelphia home where police said a cockfight was being held. Officials said roughly 40 roosters and chickens, some of them dead, were found in the home late Friday night. Authorities say officers...
Oklahoma high court nullifies medical abortion restrictions
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court says a state law that restricts women’s access to drug-induced abortions is unconstitutional. The decision handed down Tuesday overturns a 2014 state law that banned “off-label” use of mifepristone, a medication used for abortions, sometimes called RU-486. The statute required that physician’s comply...
Joe Biden: Congress has ‘no alternative’ but to impeach if Trump blocks probe
Former vice president Joe Biden said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that Congress would have “no alternative” but to impeach President Donald Trump if his administration seeks to block its investigations of issues raised in the special counsel’s report on Russian election interference. Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Biden...
Pope Francis tells hairdressers to stop gossiping
Thou shalt not gossip. It probably was in the set of Commandments that Moses didn’t bring down with him. OK, maybe that’s not true. But what is true is that on Monday, Pope Francis warned 230 Italian Catholic hairdresses, stylists and beauticians to “avoid falling into the temptation of gossip...
Donkeys don’t like bad weather, study claims
Most people don’t like when it’s cold … or it rains … or it’s too windy. Well, it turns out donkeys are just like most people. That’s according to a new study. By now, you’ve likely said to yourself, “They needed a study for that?” Well, with that out of...
North Korea criticizes Pompeo over comments on nuke talks
SEOUL, South Korea — A senior North Korean diplomat on Tuesday accused U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of making “foolish and dangerous” comments, after Pompeo said Washington will have to “change paths” if nuclear negotiations with North Korea break down. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency quoted First...
Venezuela’s Guaido takes to streets in military uprising
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó took to the streets with activist Leopoldo Lopez and a small contingent of heavily armed soldiers early Tuesday in a bold and risky call for the military to rise up and oust socialist leader Nicolas Maduro. “I want to tell the Venezuelan...
Congo Ebola cases hit record for most reported in single day
BUTEMBO, Congo — The woman spent more than a week at home sick before family members tried to take her to an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo. Before the motorcycle could reach the facility, it was too late. Her crumpled body rested against the driver’s back as he worriedly...
U.S. workers’ compensation rose moderately in 1st quarter
WASHINGTON — Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose 0.7% in the first three months of the year, a modest gain that matched the previous quarter’s increase. The data, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, suggests that growth in workers’ compensation has stalled in recent months. In the first quarter,...
Pa. mom pleads guilty in disabled toddler’s bathtub drowning
PEN ARGYL, Pa. — A mother who was under the influence of drugs when her disabled 2-year-old son drowned in a bathtub has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Michelle Wallace entered her plea Monday as part of a deal with the Northampton County District Attorney’s office in Pennsylvania. It calls...
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams will not run for Senate in 2020
Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat who garnered national attention after narrowly losing her bid for governor last year, announced Tuesday that she will not run for Senate, despite a fierce lobbying effort by party leaders. Abrams, 45, who in recent months has said she also was considering a presidential bid,...
Sheriff’s deputy gets probation for stalking ex-girlfriend
NEWTON, N.C. — A former sheriff’s captain of Catawba County, N.C., has pleaded guilty to stalking his ex-girlfriend. News outlets report Jason Reid pleaded guilty Monday to charges including cyberstalking and willful failure to discharge duties. He was sentenced to 20 months of supervised probation and 240 hours of community...
Enigmatic Beluga whale lets people pet it in Artic Norway
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A beluga whale found in Arctic Norway with a tight harness that is believed to have links to a military facility in Russia is so tame that residents can pet the mammal on its nose. The white whale has been frolicking in the frigid harbor of Tufjord,...
Emperor Akihito announces abdication as Japan marks end of era
TOKYO — Japanese Emperor Akihito announced his abdication at a palace ceremony Tuesday in his final address, as the nation embraced the end of his reign with reminiscence and hope for a new era. “Today, I am concluding my duties as the emperor,” Akihito said as he stood in front...
