Democrats claim wins in Pennsylvania House special elections
HARRISBURG — Democrats are claiming victory in special elections to fill two vacant Pennsylvania state House seats. Movita Johnson-Harrell claimed victory Tuesday night in the election to a west Philadelphia seat, while Bridget Malloy Kosierowski claimed victory in a Scranton-area district. Both seats were occupied most recently by Democrats: Lackawanna...
‘Epic’ storm brings blizzards, floods, tornado to mid-U.S.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A window-rattling late winter storm sent blizzards, floods and a tornado across more than 25 states Wednesday, stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains to Texas and beyond. “This is a very epic cyclone,” said Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s...
Do voters long for a policy wonk? Elizabeth Warren hopes so
NEW YORK — More than 1,000 people packed a New York concert venue for an act that wasn’t on guitar and drums. It was Elizabeth Warren, vocalizing hard numbers. The Massachusetts Democratic senator wove data points into a stump speech that riffed on the policy proposals she’s rolled out in...
States weigh bans on shackling jailed mothers during childbirth
SALT LAKE CITY — Michelle Aldana gave birth to her first child chained to a hospital bed. Then serving time at the Utah state prison on a drug charge, she says she labored through the difficult 2001 birth for nearly 30 hours, her ankles bleeding as the shackles on both...
Tennessee high court rules for reporter in defamation suit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday expanded protections for reporters by ruling they can only be held libel for defamation if their reporting is not fair and accurate, regardless of their personal feelings toward a subject. Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk sued investigative reporter Phil Williams for...
Pentagon warns of cyberattacks from Russia, China, N. Korea, Iran
WASHINGTON — Cyberattacks from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are increasingly sophisticated and, until recently, were done with little concern for the consequences, the top Pentagon cyber leaders told a congressional committee on Wednesday. Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of U.S. Cyber Command, laid out the escalating threats, following...
School rampage in Brazil leaves 9 dead, many wounded
SUZANO, Brazil — Two masked men armed with guns, knives, axes and crossbows descended on a school in southern Brazil on Wednesday, killing five students and two adults before taking their own lives, authorities said. The men, identified as former students at the school in a suburb of Sao Paulo,...
Manafort gets 7 years in prison, then faces fresh N.Y. charges
WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to a total of seven and a half years in prison on federal charges Wednesday, then was hit almost immediately with fresh state charges in New York that could put him outside the president’s power to pardon. In Washington, U.S....
Dozens trapped in Nigeria school collapse; at least 8 dead
LAGOS, Nigeria — Emergency crews sifted through debris as night fell on frantic efforts to rescue scores of school children and others feared trapped inside a three-story building that collapsed Wednesday in Nigeria’s densely populated commercial capital, Lagos. At least eight people were confirmed dead and 37 others were rescued...
As Brexit day nears, British lawmakers to vote on requesting delay from EU
LONDON — British lawmakers have gone on record saying they don’t want the U.K. to leave the European Union without a divorce agreement in place, increasing the odds that Brexit won’t take place as planned at the end of the month. With an approaching deadline intensifying fears that economic and...
‘Full House’ actress Lori Loughlin out on bond in bribery case
LOS ANGELES — Colleges and companies moved swiftly to distance themselves from employees swept up in a nationwide college admissions scheme, many of them coaches accused of taking bribes and others prominent parents accused of angling to get their children into top schools by portraying them as recruited athletes. That...
State Department says Khashoggi’s killing was human rights abuse
WASHINGTON — The State Department on Wednesday characterized the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by government agents as a human rights abuse but avoided implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA concluded was likely to have ordered it. In its annual human rights report of abuses in...
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful removes 7.2 million pounds of trash
Talk about taking out the trash. The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful program resulted in 7.2 million pounds of trash being disposed of in 2018, thanks to the work of nearly 130,000 volunteers, according to a spokeswoman for the organization. In addition, 2.3 million pounds of electronics waste and over 43,000 tires...
Texas report: Pennsylvania 2nd only to us in natural gas production
Texas may be the biggest natural gas producer in the country, but Pennsylvania isn’t far behind — and it’s gaining. A Texas oil and gas trade association acknowledged as much in its recently-released 2019 State of Energy Report. The report by the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, or...
Arkansas lawmakers send governor 18-week abortion ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers have sent the governor legislation banning most abortions 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, a prohibition that could be the strictest in the country. The House on Wednesday gave final approval by an 86-1 vote to the bill, which Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has...
Trump: U.S. grounding Boeing 737 Max 8, 9 after Ethiopia crash
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the U.S. is issuing an emergency order grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people. Many nations in the world had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8...
Scientists back temporary global ban on gene-edited babies
NEW YORK — An international group of scientists and ethicists on Wednesday called for a temporary global ban on making babies with edited genes. It’s the latest reaction to last November’s announcement that gene-edited twins had been born in China, which was widely criticized. Mainstream scientists generally oppose making babies...
Israeli group honors Nikki Haley with coin
JERUSALEM — An Israeli organization has minted a coin emblazoned with the face of Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, to commemorate her defense of Israel in the world body. The Sanhedrin, a Jewish organization that dreams of restoring the Jewish Temple, where ancient temples...
Claire’s recalls makeup products FDA said tested positive for asbestos
A week after disagreeing with the FDA about asbestos in three of its makeup products, girls’ fashion chain Claire’s did what the FDA wanted: issued an official recall of the three products. Claire’s pulled Eyeshadows, Compact Powder and Contour Palette from stores last week. So, this recall concerns those who...
Pitt disputes claims of union suppression
University of Pittsburgh officials are denying student claims that their choice of locations for a union election for graduate student workers was an attempt to suppress the voting turnout. Graduate teaching and research assistants at Pitt won a right to hold a union election last week when the Pennsylvania Labor...
Italy outraged as court finds victim too ugly to be raped
ROME — Italy’s Justice Ministry has ordered a preliminary inquiry into an appeals court ruling that overturned a rape verdict in part by arguing that the woman who was attacked was too ugly to be a credible rape victim. The ruling has sparked outrage in Italy, prompting a flash mob...
NASA’s new rocket won’t be ready for moon shot next year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s top official says the space agency’s new rocket won’t be ready for a moon shot next year. Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate committee Wednesday he’s considering switching to commercial rockets to preserve the June 2020 launch date. Bridenstine says two commercial rockets would be...
Verizon says 5G network will cost extra $10 a month
A handful of Verizon customers will soon have faster wireless service — but they’ll have to pay $10 a month more. Verizon says it’ll flip the switch next month on a much-hyped, next-generation 5G phone network. Service will start in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. The offer is available only...
Paul Manafort sentenced to a total of 7½ years in prison for conspiracy, fraud
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to an additional three and one-half years of prison, questioning his remorse and rebuking him for his crimes and years of lies. That makes seven and one-half years for Manafort, coming on top of the roughly...
U.S. health officials move to tighten sales of e-cigarettes
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators are moving ahead with a plan designed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavored products in convenience stores and online. The new guidelines, first proposed in November, are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials...
