Judge allows racist Facebook page as evidence in fatal stabbing
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Racist memes on a cellphone and a racist Facebook page can be used as evidence in the trial of a white man charged with murder and a hate crime in a black student’s fatal stabbing on the University of Maryland’s campus, a judge ruled Wednesday. Sean...
Ohio doctor William Husel accused of murder in 25 patient overdose deaths
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio doctor was charged with murder Wednesday in the deaths of 25 hospital patients who, authorities say, were killed with deliberate overdoses of painkillers that in many cases were administered by other medical workers on his orders. In one of the biggest cases of its kind...
Federal government will update list of troubled nursing homes monthly
The federal government will release an updated list of the nation’s most troubled nursing homes monthly, officials with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said. CMS previously kept a list of about 400 of nursing homes with serious patterns of poor care under wraps from the public, even...
Feds to go public with formerly secret lists of troubled nursing homes
Federal regulators said Wednesday they plan to go public with lists of troubled nursing homes in the future, days after Pennsylvania lawmakers unveiled a secret list of 400 such facilities. Kate Goodrich, the chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, said on a call...
3 Americans die at same Dominican Republic resort just days apartVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The State Department is monitoring the investigations into the sudden deaths of three Americans, including a Pennsylvania woman, at the same resort in the Dominican Republic. Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, a psychotherapist from Allentown, died May 25 “suddenly and inexplicably in her hotel room … after arriving and having...
New opioid response team aims to get OD victims in treatment
PHILADELPHIA — A new opioid response team in Philadelphia is pairing paramedics with social service case workers with the goal of getting overdose survivors into treatment, officials announced Wednesday. The new unit hit the streets in April and works with a firehouse in Kensington — an area of the city...
Greensburg Salem middle school celebrates summer with ‘chalk the walk’
The sidewalk outside Greensburg Salem Middle School on Main Street is a colorful celebration of summer. It’s tradition on the last week of school for students and teachers to “chalk the walk,” scrawling pictures and encouraging messages outside, said art teacher Brenda Tarris. Tarris organizes the event with fellow art...
Trump ends fetal tissue research by federal scientists
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is ending medical research by government scientists that uses human fetal tissue, overriding the advice of scientists that there’s no other way to tackle some health problems and handing abortion opponents a major victory. The Health and Human Services Department said in...
Guilty conscience? 8 ways to reduce your plastic waste
Plastic bags, straws, food containers — it all adds up for just one person in just one day. Plastics pollution is the latest buzz, with numerous reports of wildlife dying after eating or becoming entangled in various plastic trash. Laws are being changed over the situation. According to an Associated...
Fund for Virginia Beach shooting victims grows to nearly $1.5 million. Who will get the money?
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Those who have helped manage victim funds after tragedies across the country have a warning for those who will be managing the one in Virginia Beach: Proceed carefully — it’s not going to be easy. Kenneth Feinberg, a Washington attorney who’s managed several high-profile victim funds,...
Hindu festival showers Indian town with turmeric
JEJURI, India (AP) — When the new moon coincides with a Monday, the small Indian town of Jejuri in western Maharashtra state sparkles with gold. During the Bhandara Festival, or the Festival of Turmeric, which falls on Feb. 4, June 3 and Oct. 28 this year, devotees worship Lord Khandoba...
Parents outraged after teacher gives autistic student ‘most annoying’ award
It was a special education teacher who picked an 11-year-old autistic boy as the most annoying student of the year. Akalis Castejon is non-verbal autistic. Occasionally he rocks back and forth or shakes, reports ABC News Chicago. His family was shocked when his Northwest Indiana school presented Akalis with a...
Legal experts question deputy’s arrest over Parkland tragedy
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The arrest of a Florida sheriff’s deputy for not confronting the gunman in the Parkland school massacre represents a highly unusual use of the law — and a legally dubious one, in the opinion of some experts. Scot Peterson, 56, appeared in court Wednesday on 11...
Oakland, Calif., decriminalizes ‘magic mushrooms,’ other natural psychedelics
The city council of Oakland, Calif., unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday that decriminalizes the use of entheogenic plants, a category that includes flora such as “magic mushrooms,” cactuses, and iboga, that can induce a psychedelic experience. The resolution states that law enforcement should not prioritize arresting or investigating adults who...
Wisconsin Legislature sends abortion bills to governor
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday sent four abortion bills to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has promised to veto all of them. One measure addresses the extremely rare occurrence in which a baby is born alive during an abortion attempt. It would impose criminal penalties on doctors...
Amazon says it will be delivering by drones ‘in months’
LAS VEGAS — Amazon says it expects to be delivering orders to shoppers’ homes by drones in the coming months. The online shopping giant did not give exact timing or say which locations the self-driving drones will be making deliveries. Amazon has been working on drone delivery for years. Back...
Trump administration plans to expand hunting, fishing in wildlife refuges
OAK HARBOR, Ohio — The Trump administration is announcing what it calls a major expansion of hunting and fishing in the nation’s protected wildlife refuges. U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Wednesday the plan affects 1.4 million acres of federal public lands, including 74 national wildlife refuges. “President Trump is...
Mexico officials prepare to intercept about 1,000 migrants
METAPA, Mexico — Some 200 military police, immigration agents and federal police were awaiting a group of about 1,000 Central American migrants who were walking north along a southern Mexico highway on Wednesday. The group of migrants, including many women and children, set out early from Ciudad Hidalgo at the...
Readers respond: Dodgeball is not bullying
A story about researchers questioning whether dodgeball is an appropiate game for schoolchildren drew hundreds of responses on social media with most of them decrying the research and saying to leave dodgeball alone. While the Canadian researchers said that dodgeball is not an appropriate game because it often has players...
Trump administration imposes new restrictions on fetal tissue research
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday ended medical research by government scientists using fetal tissue and also cancelled a multi-million-dollar contract for a nongovernment lab that uses the material to test new HIV treatments. “Promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the...
YouTube gets more aggressive in banning supremacist, hoax videos
YouTube said Wednesday it will remove false videos alleging that major events like the Holocaust didn’t happen, as well as a broad array of content by white supremacists and others in a move to more aggressively crack down on hate speech. The Google-owned video site, along with its Silicon Valley...
Panel: New Jersey governor’s staff botched sex assault claim response
TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration botched its handling of a sexual assault claim made by one state worker against another, a state legislative panel found in a report that it published on Wednesday. The Legislative Select Oversight Committee released the 123-page document after nine public hearings and hours...
Americans think fake news is big problem, blame politicians
NEW YORK — Half of U.S. adults consider fake news a major problem, and they mostly blame politicians and activists for it, according to a new survey. A majority also believe journalists have the responsibility for fixing it. Differences in political affiliation are a major factor in how people think...
Powerball winner used numbers from fortune cookieVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina man who says he based his Powerball entry on a fortune cookie he got from his granddaughter now has a fortune to celebrate. WRAL in Raleigh reports retired retailer Charles W. Jackson Jr. stepped forward at North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters on Tuesday to...
Battery-powered glider crashes into Connecticut home
DANBURY, Conn. — A battery-powered glider crashed into the roof of a Connecticut home, injuring the pilot and scaring a mother and her two children who were watching TV. Neighbors described hearing a small explosion when the aircraft hit the home in Danbury Tuesday night and became partially embedded in...
