Amid rising anxiety, colleges tell students it’s OK to fail
WALTHAM, Mass. — Bentley University has plenty of success stories among its faculty and alumni. But one recent evening, the school invited students to hear about the failures. Speaking to a crowded auditorium, one professor recounted the time he sank a $21 million company. Another recalled failing her college statistics...
San Diego County sues U.S. over asylum-seeking family releases
SAN DIEGO — San Diego County sued Wednesday to overturn the Trump administration’s cancellation of an immigration program because the move has led to the quick release of families after they cross the border without allowing time for travel arrangements. The county on the Mexican border said the decision to...
Meow hear this: Study says cats react to sound of their name
NEW YORK — Hey Kitty! Yes, you. A new study suggests household cats can respond to the sound of their own names. No surprise to you or most cat owners, right? But Japanese scientists said Thursday that they’ve provided the first experimental evidence that cats can distinguish between words that...
14-year-old says he is Illinois boy who went missing in 2011
In 2011, 6-year-old Timmothy Pitzen’s mother picked him up at school in Illinois, took him to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a hotel, leaving a note in which she said her son was fine but that no one would ever find him. On Wednesday,...
Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
DALLAS — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him. Effective immediately, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will...
Yabba dabba don’t: California town rejects Flintstones house
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — Towering dinosaurs stand among fanciful mushrooms in the sloping backyard. A life-sized Fred Flintstone welcomes visitors near the front door. And by the driveway on the lawn is a giant “Yabba Dabba Do” sign in orange, purple and red. The latest battle in the war between government...
Arrest revives security concerns at Trump’s Florida estate
PALM BEACH, Fla. — As palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, Yujing Zhang approached Secret Service agents in the Mar-a-Lago parking lot. She said she was going to the swimming pool at the Palm Beach presidential estate and presented agents with two Chinese passports in her name. That raised...
Search finds no evidence of student’s 2004 disappearance
HAVERHILL, N.H. — Authorities who searched a home and dug up a basement in northern New Hampshire said Wednesday they found no evidence of a college student who disappeared after crashing her car nearby 15 years ago. Maura Murray, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts-Amherst nursing student, left campus on Feb....
Los Angeles police say bike-riding face slasher arrested
LOS ANGELES — A man who rode around on a bicycle and slashed the faces and necks of at least nine people in Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. One victim said the man laughed after he cut her. Lenrey Briones was tracked down...
Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
DALLAS — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him. Effective immediately, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will...
House chairman asks IRS for 6 years of Trump’s tax returns
WASHINGTON — A House committee chairman on Wednesday formally asked the IRS to provide six years of President Trump’s personal tax returns and the returns for some of his businesses as Democrats try to shed light on his complex financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest. The request by Massachusetts...
Mark Cuban on immigration policy: ‘We’re being really, really, really stupid’
DALLAS — Tech billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wasn’t shy Tuesday night when asked about the country’s immigration policy. When it comes to recruiting and retaining the world’s best talent, he said, the country’s got it wrong. “Right now, we’re being really, really, really stupid by taking really,...
Republicans change Senate rules to speed nominations; leaders trade charges of hypocrisy
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday unilaterally changed the rules governing presidential nominations, a bitter escalation of the long-running dispute over the rights of the minority in a chamber once hailed for its bipartisan nature. The move, on a largely party-line vote of 51 to 48, will ease the confirmation...
Great Barrier Reef is being battered by climate change, and it might only get worse
The damage caused in recent years to the Great Barrier Reef by ocean heat waves has compromised the massive reef’s ability to recover, and climate change could make the problem more severe in the future, according to research published Wednesday. The world’s largest coral reef, which stretches for more than...
Philadelphia issuing photo ID cards to residents 13 or over
The City of Brotherly Love will start offering identification cards to residents who may have difficulty get a Pennsylvania ID. Homeless people, those in the country illegally and teens can apply for the cards. “The card helps create a more welcoming Philadelphia that embraces everyone who lives here. It is...
Pa. senate questions college enrollment numbers
A key Pennsylvania lawmaker Wednesday signaled that legislators will be taking a critical look at how demographics are affecting higher education. Senate Majority Policy Committee Chair David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill and Berks) said the Senate will examine the impact of changing demographics on higher education during a public hearing on...
British prime minister’s party fumes over her Brexit outreach to opposition leader
LONDON — It might be the biggest gamble of her political career. Theresa May’s last-minute invitation to opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to work together on Britain’s exit from the European Union stunned friends and foes — and signaled the prime minister’s desperation to deliver Brexit. May’s dramatic swerve across her...
Trump signs memorandum to stem counterfeit goods traffickingVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Wednesday to rein in what the administration calls the “Wild West” of online trafficking in counterfeit goods. The memorandum is aimed at stopping the sale of counterfeit products on sites like Amazon, Ebay and China’s e-commerce leader, Alibaba. “This president...
Sarah Palin says it was a ‘gut punch’ to be disinvited from John McCain’s funeral
Sarah Palin, the late Sen. John McCain’s former running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign, said in a recent interview that being left out of the maverick’s funeral was “kind of a gut punch.” And it’s not the first time she’s used those words to describe her complicated relationship with...
Police: Black woman charged following beating by white man
DALLAS — A black woman who Dallas police say was beaten by a white man over a parking dispute now has been charged with a felony for later shattering a windshield on the man’s pickup. Police said Tuesday that 24-year-old L’Daijohnique Lee is charged with criminal mischief following last month’s...
Justice Department finds ‘severe’ problems in Alabama prisons
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Justice Department issued a scathing report on Alabama’s prisons on Wednesday, saying the state is violating the Constitution by failing to protect inmates from violence and sexual abuse and by housing them in unsafe and overcrowded facilities. The department gave Alabama 49 days to correct the...
Baby born inside California McDonald’s
FRESNO, Calif. — A woman gave birth to a baby at a McDonald’s restaurant in Madera, Calif., police say. It happened Monday night when the woman went into labor in the lobby, according to a Madera police Facebook post. When officers and paramedics from Pistoresi Ambulance arrived, they realized there...
Polish priest apologizes for burning of ‘Harry Potter’ books
WARSAW, Poland — A priest in northern Poland who led a public burning of books that included titles from the “Harry Potter” series and other items parishioners wanted destroyed has apologized, saying the ritual was not intended to condemn specific authors, religions or social groups. The Rev. Rafal Jarosiewicz called...
Creepy cargo: Philippines seizes 757 tarantulas from Poland
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine customs officials were astonished when they opened nicely gift-wrapped boxes of cookies and oatmeal flown in all the way from Poland and found a hair-raising contraband: hundreds of live tarantulas. Bureau of Customs personnel seized the 757 tarantulas at a mail exchange center near Manila’s international...
3 ex-Penn State frat members get jail in pledge’s death
BELLEFONTE — Three ex-Penn State fraternity brothers have been sentenced to jail on hazing charges in connection to the February 2017 death of a student pledging the fraternity. The Centre Daily Times reports that sentences handed down Tuesday to the three former Beta Theta Pi members range from 30 days...
