College student says Trump backers recruited him for Pete Buttigieg smear
A Michigan college student says pro-Trump agitators recruited him to falsely claim he was raped by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, then published the smear without his permission. Hunter Kelly, a 21-year-old gay Trump supporter, said conservative activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman sought to use him for the “despicable...
Schiff says House will make a criminal referral of Trump ally Erik Prince for possible perjuryVideo
WASHINGTON — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Tuesday that his panel would make a criminal referral to the Justice Department regarding potential false testimony by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of the private military contractor Blackwater and an ally of President Trump. “The evidence is so weighty...
Hemp-growing permit deadline passes for Pennsylvania farmers
Tuesday was the deadline for Pennsylvania farmers to apply for a permit to grow industrial hemp. Farmers already in the application process have until May 21 to sign a final agreement with the state Department of Agriculture. Although legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is still a regulated crop...
EPA reaffirms weed killer safe for users as court cases grow
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency reaffirmed Tuesday that a popular weed killer is safe for people, as legal claims mount from Americans who blame the herbicide for their cancer. The EPA’s draft conclusion Tuesday came in a periodic review of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. The agency found...
Police: Franklin County man took 4-year-old, bound her, stuffed her in trunkVideo
WAYNESBORO — A 20-year-old man entered a home’s unlocked front door, snatched a 4-year-old girl from her bed and bound and stuffed her into a wooden trunk at his grandparents’ house, telling police he’d been scoping out children who he thought lived in “deplorable conditions,” according to a criminal complaint....
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,...
