California’s new governor signs moratorium on executions
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The 737 inmates on the largest death row in the nation got a reprieve from California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday when he signed an executive order placing a moratorium on executions. Newsom also withdrew the lethal injection regulations that death penalty opponents already have tied up...
Vietnam urges Malaysia free 2nd woman in N. Korean killing
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam is urging Malaysia to release the second woman accused of killing the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader. Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh made the plea in a phone call Tuesday with his counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah. A statement posted on the ministry’s website said Minh...
NYC’s Chrysler Building may become a hotel under its new owners
New York City’s landmark Chrysler Building, which is being bought for about a fifth of what it last sold for, could ultimately be transformed from an aging office tower into a hotel. Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding LLC and Austrian real estate firm Signa Holding GmbH last week agreed to purchase...
Blame the bare-istas: Town’s residents don’t like scantily clad help at this coffee shop
The Northern California town of American Canyon, population about 20,000, is trying to shut down a coffee shop by asking the kind of oddly philosophical question you might contemplate while nursing a cup of joe: Is a cafe still just a cafe if the baristas are wearing close to nothing?...
New concern on college campuses: ‘drunkorexia,’ combination drinking, eating disorder
My college experience included this life-skills lesson: Drink alcohol on a full stomach, so you don’t get inebriated too quickly. Of course, most college students shouldn’t be drinking at all, but we know from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that close to 60 percent of college students...
Trump lenders subpoenaed by New York attorney general in new probe
NEW YORK — New York’s attorney general opened a new line of inquiry into President Trump’s business dealings, issuing subpoenas to Deutsche Bank AG and Investors Bank over loans for real estate projects and a failed bid to buy the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, according to a person familiar...
Bones were found in the fireplace. Rare coins may have been the motive for murder, police say.
It was reportedly not a happy home. The couple lived on a tree-shaded street in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County. The house overlooked a creek that corkscrewed all the way to the Susquehanna River and Harrisburg about 10 miles away to the east. Inside, the relationship between Rabihan and Hap...
New Mexico bill would create first state-run pot shops in U.S.
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico would become the first U.S. state to set up its own government-operated marijuana stores and subsidize medical cannabis for the poor under a bill brokered between Republicans and Democrats, as a new wave of states weighs legislation that would legalize recreational sales and consumption....
Gene-edited food quietly arrives in restaurant cooking oil
NEW YORK — Somewhere in the Midwest, a restaurant is frying foods with oil made from gene-edited soybeans. That’s according to the company making the oil, which says it’s the first commercial use of a gene-edited food in the U.S. Calyxt said it can’t reveal its first customer for competitive...
2,200 quarantined over mumps outbreak at immigration centers
PHOENIX — Over 2,200 people exposed to the mumps virus in at least two immigration detention facilities have been quarantined, authorities said Tuesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say the 25-day quarantine began March 7 at facilities in Pine Prairie, La., and Aurora, Colo. The outbreak has renewed long-held concerns...
Fast food chains agree to end ‘no poach’ agreements
In what’s being declared a win for workers, four national fast food chains agreed Tuesday to stop using “no-poach” agreements. “No poach” agreements are clauses, often contained in fast-food franchise agreements, that prevent fast food workers from switching between employers of the same franchise in order to obtain a better...
Mitt Romney mercilessly mocked for the way he blew out his birthday candlesVideo
The good? Mitt Romney was presented a cake adorned with candles Tuesday for his 72nd birthday. The bad? The event filmed and uploaded to social media. The ugly? The reaction on Twitter. Internet users jumped the chance to mock the way the junior senator from Utah blew out said candles....
Pennsylvania opens investigation into gas liquids pipeline
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s attorney general said Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation into construction on a 350-mile natural gas liquids pipeline project across southern Pennsylvania that has been blamed for polluting waterways in dozens of places and causing sinkholes near homes. Attorney General Josh Shapiro took the investigation...
Pitt graduate workers blast university for union suppression tactics
Graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh say school officials are trying to suppress voter turnout for an upcoming union election by insisting it be held at two locations removed from the center of the Oakland campus. Last week, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ruled against the university’s attempts...
Push for broader LGBT rights slowed by lack of GOP support
NEW YORK — The LGBT rights movement’s top legislative priority, a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill, will be introduced in Congress on Wednesday, but the excitement will be tempered by political reality: The bill could well be doomed, at least for this year, by lack of Republican support. That dynamic mirrors the...
Pilots have reported issues in U.S. with new Boeing jet
Airline pilots on at least two flights have reported that an automated system seemed to cause their Boeing planes to tilt down suddenly, the same problem suspected of contributing to a deadly crash in Indonesia. The pilots said that soon after engaging the autopilot on Boeing 737 Max 8 planes,...
Man killed after trying to ‘ambush’ police in Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A man who “wanted to ambush” police was killed Tuesday inside a plasma donation center in southwestern Michigan during a shootout that injured an officer, authorities said. A Kalamazoo officer was shot in the torso, but his injury wasn’t life-threatening due to a bulletproof vest, said Karianne...
Michael Avenatti is no longer representing Stormy Daniels
Michael Avenatti and Stormy Daniels are parting ways. Daniels said in a tweet that she has retained Tulsa-based attorney Clark Brewster as her personal attorney and has asked him to review all legal matters involving her. “Upon completion of Mr. Brewster’s review and further consultation with me, I anticipate Mr....
Venezuelans turn highway off ramp into cellphone hotspot
CARACAS, Venezuela — A highway shoulder in Venezuela’s capital has turned into one of the city’s most sought-after destinations. It’s one of the few places residents could find the slightest cellphone signal strong enough to reach loved ones around the world during the country’s worst blackout. “My siblings who live...
App is ‘Yelp for conservatives’ looking for safe places to eat, sleep
A young conservative activist is violently attacked on the University of California-Berkeley campus. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and his wife are chased out of a fancy D.C. restaurant by anti-Trump protesters. MAGA hat-wearing teenagers from Covington, Ky., are vilified on social media after a confrontation with protesters following the March...
British Parliament overwhelmingly rejects Theresa May’s Brexit plan
LONDON — Three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, lawmakers have failed to agree on how to do it. Parliament overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised Brexit deal Tuesday in a vote of 391-242 - a loss of 149 ballots. The defeat for May and her...
Venezuelan government targets Guaido over national blackout
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for the alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor said Tuesday, as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts. The announcement by Tarek William...
Trump laments complexity of modern airlines in wake of crash
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump lamented the complexity of modern airplanes Tuesday in the wake of two deadly crashes in the past five months, appearing to speculate on the cause of the disasters before aviation experts from the United States and elsewhere complete their investigations. The president commented as several...
Longest U.S.-Taliban peace talks see ‘progress’ in Qatar
DOHA, Qatar — The longest peace talks between the United States and the Taliban to end America’s 17-year war in Afghanistan concluded Tuesday night in Qatar, with both sides saying progress had been made. The nearly two weeks of talks produced two draft agreements between the militants and the U.S....
Duquesne researchers receive $1.5M grant to study link between emotions and physical pain
Duquesne University researchers are using a $1.5 million grant to study how emotions can have an influence on certain types of physical pain. The study will look at chronic bladder pain, a condition that has no known cause and is difficult to treat. The condition affects more women than men....
