TSA agents find non-working grenade launcher in luggage
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Florida man’s plans to bring a military rocket-propelled grenade launcher back home were shot down after security screeners at a Pennsylvania airport spotted the non-functioning weapon in his checked bag. The Transportation Security Administration says the unassembled parts of the launcher and a replica grenade were...
Woman films moment an avalanche in central Norway came down
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Norwegian woman showed her quick wits when filming a “dramatic” avalanche that was cascading down towards her home. Gunn Gravem Isaksen told The Associated Press she was at home in central Norway when the avalanche occurred on Tuesday. On realizing what was going on, she rushed...
Monster twister takes 10 relatives from 1 Alabama family
BEAUREGARD, Ala. — Cousins Cordarrly Jones and Demetria Jones have a hard time counting all the relatives they lost to a monster tornado that wiped out a rural community in Alabama. Their grandparents, 89-year-old Jimmy Jones and 83-year-old Mary Louise Jones, were killed in their home on a two-lane road...
Omar’s Israel remarks expose Democrats’ simmering divisions
WASHINGTON — Back in January, the Democrats welcomed their brash young newcomers to Congress with smiles and hugs. That was before the new colleagues dragged the party’s simmering divisions over Israel out in the open. Provocative comments from Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota have thrust the Democrats into an uncomfortable...
China says new law will bar demands for technology handover
BEIJING — China will bar government authorities from demanding overseas companies hand over technology secrets in exchange for market share, a top economic official said Wednesday, addressing a key complaint at the heart of the China-U.S. trade dispute. The provision is contained in a foreign investment law to be debated...
Tensions boil over at City Council meeting over police treatment of Stephon Clark protesters
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At a raucous meeting Tuesday night, the Sacramento City Council heard from residents who were enraged by the police’s reaction to a protest Monday night. Police ended a Stephon Clark march in East Sacramento by arresting protesters on a bridge over Highway 50. Police arrested 84 people...
Homeland Security chief defends Trump’s misstatement on border apprehensions
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sparred with newly empowered House Democrats over President Trump’s immigration policies Wednesday, defending his recent misstatement that border apprehensions were at an all-time high. Nielsen called on Congress to address what she described as a growing emergency along the southern border even as...
Mexico says at most only 22 vaquita porpoises remain
MEXICO CITY — Experts said Wednesday that, at most, only 22 vaquitas remain in the Gulf of California, where a grim, increasingly violent battle is playing out between emboldened fishermen and the last line of defense for the smallest and most endangered porpoise in the world. Jorge Urban, a biology...
Arizona prosecutor says Uber not criminally liable in crash
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — An Arizona prosecutor has determined that Uber is not criminally liable in a crash last year in which one of its self-driving SUVs fatally struck a pedestrian in suburban Phoenix. But it’s not known whether prosecutors are considering charges against the driver in the March 18 crash...
Man’s dying wish fulfilled with call from President Trump
WEST HAVEN, Conn. — A terminally ill Connecticut man who’s a big supporter of President Donald Trump is getting a bucket list wish fulfilled, with help from his Democratic sister. Jay Barrett, of West Haven, who has cystic fibrosis, left the hospital to begin palliative care at his sister’s home...
Colorado plan to focus oil, gas rules on safety creates divide
DENVER — Supporters of a plan to overhaul Colorado’s oil and gas regulations told lawmakers Tuesday that the measure is a flexible, common-sense approach to dealing with frequent conflicts over health and safety. Opponents said it goes too far and could lead to a virtual ban on drilling in some...
Broward School Board votes not to fire embattled superintendent
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Robert Runcie, the embattled superintendent who has come under increasing criticism since the Parkland shooting, survived an attempt to topple him from his post Tuesday. The vote came shortly before 6 p.m. after nearly seven hours of debate. Six of his nine school board bosses voted...
North Korea rebuilds rocket engine test site, in ominous signal about attitude to talks
North Korea has begun rebuilding work on a rocket launch pad and missile engine test site, in an ominous sign about its attitude toward negotiations on denuclearization. The rebuilding work began some time between Feb. 16 and March 2, according to satellite imagery, meaning it began either just before or...
Passengers injured on cruise ship battered by strong wind
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Extreme gusts of wind rocked a Florida-bound cruise ship, causing injuries to several passengers. Norwegian Cruise Lines says the Norwegian Escape ran into wind estimated at 115 mph late Sunday that caused the ship to tilt to its port side. The cruise line said in a...
Pennsylvania added almost 4,000 marijuana jobs last year, study finds
Pennsylvania added nearly 4,000 legal marijuana-related jobs in 2018, according to a study done by cannabis information website Leafly. It’s not easy to track the number of people employed by the marijuana industry. State and federal agencies do not track these numbers, according to Leafly’s study. The study estimates job...
Betsy DeVos pushes plan to save tax breaks for private school scholarship funds
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is riding to the rescue of a private-school tax break that was ensnared in a bitter fight between the Treasury Department and Democratic states that sought to circumvent caps on state and local deductions under the Trump tax overhaul. DeVos and two Republican lawmakers are pushing...
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg bows out of 2020 presidential contest
NEW YORK — Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday that he would not run for president, concluding his path to the Democratic nomination was narrow and he could accomplish more as a private citizen. The decision removes from the race one of the world’s richest men, a self-described...
Ohio teen Ethan Lindenberger tells Senate why he defied his mom to get vaccinatedVideo
WASHINGTON — An Ohio teen defied his mother’s anti-vaccine beliefs and started getting his shots when he turned 18 — and told Congress on Tuesday that it’s crucial to counter fraudulent claims on social media that scare parents. Ethan Lindenberger of Norwalk, Ohio, said his mother’s “love, affection and care...
Discoverer Blog bypasses Latrobe as Pennsylvania’s best small town
Move over Latrobe. The Westmoreland County city that was rated as one of the 50 most charming cities in the nation last month by the Travel Channel was looked over as the best small community in Pennsylvania by an online website. A writer for the Denver-based Discoverer Blog selected New...
In wake of Luke Perry’s death, a renewed focus on stroke
If you’re wondering how it’s possible that Luke Perry died from a stroke at only 52 years old, you might be surprised. It’s more common to suffer a stroke earlier in life than some may think. Dr. Rick Williamson, director of endovascular neurosurgery at Allegheny General Hospital, said out of...
FDA chief Scott Gottlieb steps down after nearly 2 years
WASHINGTON — Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is stepping down after nearly two years leading the agency’s response to a host of public health challenges, including the opioid epidemic, rising drug prices and underage vaping. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced in a statement Tuesday that...
Toomey bill to limit Trump’s tariff power gaining support
A bipartisan Senate bill that seeks to rein in President Trump’s authority to impose tariffs is gaining momentum. The bill, originally sponsored by U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Allentown and Mark Warner, D-Va., would require the president to get congressional approval to impose tariffs based on national security. In recent weeks...
Teens at swastika party apologize as outrage grows
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Teens who attended an Orange County party this weekend that included Nazi symbolism purportedly had this to say: “I want to express my deepest remorse and regret.” “I made a poor decision.” “We made a very big mistake.” “I am so sorry.” “My actions were disgusting,...
Warrant: Hotel guests heard fight before Pa. jeweler found dead in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — A preliminary hearing has been set for a woman accused in the stabbing death of a Pennsylvania jeweler at a hotel in New Orleans’ main tourist district. Megan Hall will appear in court on March 14. The 25-year-old was arraigned on second-degree murder charges on Monday in...
Cops: Teen put cow tranquilizers in stepdad’s energy drinks to be funny
A 17-year-old is facing two felony charges for spiking his stepfather’s energy drinks with cattle sedatives, court documents reveal. KTRK-TV reported Tyler Rabenhorst-Malone of Lima, Wisc., has been charged with placing foreign objects in edibles and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Officials say in January 2018 the teen’s stepdad went to...
