Trump administration agrees to delay ‘conscience’ rule for health care workers
SAN FRANCISCO — The Trump administration has agreed to postpone implementing a rule allowing medical workers to decline performing abortions or other treatments on moral or religious grounds while the so-called “conscience” rule is challenged in a California court. The rule was supposed to take effect July 22, but the...
Body parts found in gator after Florida man discovered dead
FORT MEADE, Fla. — Officials are investigating the death of a man discovered floating in a Florida canal with some of his remains found inside an alligator. The Ledger reports that a person found the body floating west of Fort Meade and saw an alligator had parts of it in...
Burning Man OK with attendance cap; will fight searches
RENO, Nev. — Burning Man organizers say they won’t challenge the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plans to cap their attendance at current levels under a new 10-year permit but they will fight any move toward federally-sanctioned screenings for weapons and drugs at the counterculture celebration. BLM proposed in a...
Detective who fought for 9/11 compensation funding dies
NEW YORK — A former New York City police detective who was a leader in the fight for the Sept. 11 Victims Compensation Fund died Saturday at age 53. Detective Luis Alvarez’s death from cancer was announced by Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea, who tweeted that Alvarez was “an inspiration,...
Animal rescue group seeks discarded bras for injured turtles
INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — A North Carolina animal rescue group is appealing to women not to throw out their old bras, but instead to send them to their agency to help turtles with broken shells. News outlets report Carolina Waterfowl Rescue is asking women through social media to remove the...
Officials: Florida man robs Wendy’s after grilling himself a burger
JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — Florida officials say they are looking for a ‘hamburglar’ who broke into two restaurants, fixed himself some food, and then stole money. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says the suspect forced his way into a Wendy’s in Jensen Beach, Florida, by smashing a window with a...
Man accused of forging police report as late for work excuse
LISBON, N.H. — A man accused of forging a letter to back up his bogus police story that he used an excuse to his boss is facing real charges in New Hampshire. The Caledonian-Record reports that 51-year-old Paul Neilson was charged last week with forgery, a felony punishable by up...
Flint hears from prosecutors who dropped water charges
FLINT, Mich. — Prosecutors who dropped charges against eight people in the Flint water scandal explained their decision in a public forum Friday night, telling frustrated, shocked and saddened residents they must look at hundreds of mobile devices and millions of documents that a previous investigative team never reviewed. Michigan...
Woman reported in critical condition after stabbing in East Pittsburgh
State police said a 22-year-old woman was critically injured Friday after being stabbed multiple times in an East Pittsburgh home. Trooper Adam Sikorski reported that troopers were dispatched to a residence in the borough about 8 p.m. for a report of a woman being stabbed. Police said the woman was...
Mt. Pleasant area man cared for foster children
Richard Frena loved children so much so that he and his former wife, Dorothy Marie, were foster parents to 41 over many years. “He wanted to help them out,” said his sister, Elizabeth Mizikar of Mammoth, Mt. Pleasant Township. “They would take in the children and care for them.” Richard...
Toxic bacteria outbreak sparks warnings on Mississippi coast
People along the Mississippi coastline are being warned not to swim or eat seafood. USA Today reports that the warning is in response to an outbreak of toxic bacteria known as cyanobacterium. Residents have been advised to avoid water that has a greenish-blue hue, which is said to cause rashes,...
Some calling for independent probe of fatal Texas drug raid
HOUSTON — The growing investigation into the deadly January drug raid by Houston police that killed a couple and injured five officers has some local officials and community activists asking whether the probe should be taken over by an independent third party. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office, which is...
Top immigration official: Border crossings dropping
YUMA, Ariz. — The acting secretary of Homeland Security said Friday that he expected 25% fewer migrants to cross the border this month, as officials in Yuma unveiled the newest temporary facility meant to detain children and families. That number of illegal crossings would still be too high, but it...
Fatal lion attack nets 3 ‘serious’ violations for center
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina labor officials have cited an animal sanctuary for safety violations after a lion fatally mauled a 22-year old intern last December. The state Occupational Safety and Health Division issued a citation Thursday for three “serious” violations to the Conservator’s Center in Caswell County. Because Alexandra...
Order: Abortions can continue at Missouri’s lone clinic
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri commissioner on Friday ruled that the state’s only abortion clinic can continue providing the service at least until August as a fight over its license plays out, adding that there’s a “likelihood” that the clinic will succeed in the dispute. Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao...
Conviction comes after DNA, family tree crack 1987 killings
EVERETT, Wash. — A jury convicted a Washington state man Friday in the killings of a young Canadian couple more than three decades ago — a case that was finally solved when investigators turned to powerful genealogy software to build a family tree of the then-unknown suspect. Tanya Van Cuylenborg,...
Pennsylvania begins sealing criminal files under ‘clean slate’ law
HARRISBURG — Lower-level criminal convictions are starting to be automatically sealed under a year-old Pennsylvania state law touted as a way to give offenders a fresh start. State officials and other supporters on Friday called the “clean slate” legislation a model for other states. The court system plans to be...
Pennsylvania poised to take over health insurance exchange
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is poised to roll out its own online health insurance exchange to take the place of the one run by the federal government for the state’s residents since 2014, saying it can save money for hundreds of thousands of policy-buyers. The Republican-controlled Legislature gave final approval Friday...
No license required: July 4 is Fish-For-Free Day in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will offer its second and final Fish-For-Free Day of the year on July 4 when anyone can fish, even without a state fishing license. All other fishing regulations apply, though. The commission offers the free days to open up fishing opportunities for the public,...
Fact checking Democrats on migrant kids, the rich and climate
WASHINGTON — A fired-up field of Democrats stumbled on some facts at the most visceral turns in their debate Thursday as they took on and sometimes sparred over race, the treatment of migrant children, the climate and the super-rich. Here’s a review of the rhetoric in the second night of...
Police arrest suspect in killing of Utah college student Mackenzie Lueck
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah college student last seen in a Salt Lake City park 11 days ago was abducted and killed and her remains burned in the yard of a man now facing aggravated murder and other charges, authorities said Friday. Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown,...
White supremacist gets life in prison for Charlottesville car attack
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — An avowed white supremacist who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters during a white nationalist rally in Virginia was sentenced to life in prison Friday on hate crime charges. James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, had pleaded guilty in March to the 2017 attack...
Gov. Tom Wolf to sign $34 billion ‘divided government’ budget
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf prepared Friday to sign a $34 billion compromise budget after lawmakers wrapped up the week with a flurry of votes on hundreds of pages of legislation that in some cases drew angry protests from his fellow Democrats. Fueled by strong tax collections, the budget boosts...
Order: Abortions can continue at Missouri’s lone clinic
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri commissioner on Friday ruled that the state’s only abortion clinic can continue providing the service at least until August as a fight over its license plays out, adding that there’s a “likelihood” that the clinic will succeed in the dispute. Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao...
Mother charged with murder in deaths of twin girls
MONTAUK, N.Y. — A desperate search for a mother who had threatened to kill her 2-year-old twin daughters ended with the discovery of the girls’ bodies in the woman’s car, police on New York’s Long Island said Friday. Tenia Campbell, 24, was arrested in the deaths of her daughters Jasmine...
