2,200 quarantined over mumps outbreak at immigration centers
PHOENIX — Over 2,200 people exposed to the mumps virus in at least two immigration detention facilities have been quarantined, authorities said Tuesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say the 25-day quarantine began March 7 at facilities in Pine Prairie, La., and Aurora, Colo. The outbreak has renewed long-held concerns...
Fast food chains agree to end ‘no poach’ agreements
In what’s being declared a win for workers, four national fast food chains agreed Tuesday to stop using “no-poach” agreements. “No poach” agreements are clauses, often contained in fast-food franchise agreements, that prevent fast food workers from switching between employers of the same franchise in order to obtain a better...
Mitt Romney mercilessly mocked for the way he blew out his birthday candlesVideo
The good? Mitt Romney was presented a cake adorned with candles Tuesday for his 72nd birthday. The bad? The event filmed and uploaded to social media. The ugly? The reaction on Twitter. Internet users jumped the chance to mock the way the junior senator from Utah blew out said candles....
Pennsylvania opens investigation into gas liquids pipeline
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s attorney general said Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation into construction on a 350-mile natural gas liquids pipeline project across southern Pennsylvania that has been blamed for polluting waterways in dozens of places and causing sinkholes near homes. Attorney General Josh Shapiro took the investigation...
Pitt graduate workers blast university for union suppression tactics
Graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh say school officials are trying to suppress voter turnout for an upcoming union election by insisting it be held at two locations removed from the center of the Oakland campus. Last week, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ruled against the university’s attempts...
Push for broader LGBT rights slowed by lack of GOP support
NEW YORK — The LGBT rights movement’s top legislative priority, a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill, will be introduced in Congress on Wednesday, but the excitement will be tempered by political reality: The bill could well be doomed, at least for this year, by lack of Republican support. That dynamic mirrors the...
Pilots have reported issues in U.S. with new Boeing jet
Airline pilots on at least two flights have reported that an automated system seemed to cause their Boeing planes to tilt down suddenly, the same problem suspected of contributing to a deadly crash in Indonesia. The pilots said that soon after engaging the autopilot on Boeing 737 Max 8 planes,...
Man killed after trying to ‘ambush’ police in Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A man who “wanted to ambush” police was killed Tuesday inside a plasma donation center in southwestern Michigan during a shootout that injured an officer, authorities said. A Kalamazoo officer was shot in the torso, but his injury wasn’t life-threatening due to a bulletproof vest, said Karianne...
Michael Avenatti is no longer representing Stormy Daniels
Michael Avenatti and Stormy Daniels are parting ways. Daniels said in a tweet that she has retained Tulsa-based attorney Clark Brewster as her personal attorney and has asked him to review all legal matters involving her. “Upon completion of Mr. Brewster’s review and further consultation with me, I anticipate Mr....
Venezuelans turn highway off ramp into cellphone hotspot
CARACAS, Venezuela — A highway shoulder in Venezuela’s capital has turned into one of the city’s most sought-after destinations. It’s one of the few places residents could find the slightest cellphone signal strong enough to reach loved ones around the world during the country’s worst blackout. “My siblings who live...
App is ‘Yelp for conservatives’ looking for safe places to eat, sleep
A young conservative activist is violently attacked on the University of California-Berkeley campus. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and his wife are chased out of a fancy D.C. restaurant by anti-Trump protesters. MAGA hat-wearing teenagers from Covington, Ky., are vilified on social media after a confrontation with protesters following the March...
British Parliament overwhelmingly rejects Theresa May’s Brexit plan
LONDON — Three years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, lawmakers have failed to agree on how to do it. Parliament overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised Brexit deal Tuesday in a vote of 391-242 - a loss of 149 ballots. The defeat for May and her...
Venezuelan government targets Guaido over national blackout
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for the alleged sabotage of the country’s power grid, the chief prosecutor said Tuesday, as the government sought to pressure an adversary who blames corruption and mismanagement for nearly a week of national blackouts. The announcement by Tarek William...
Trump laments complexity of modern airlines in wake of crash
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump lamented the complexity of modern airplanes Tuesday in the wake of two deadly crashes in the past five months, appearing to speculate on the cause of the disasters before aviation experts from the United States and elsewhere complete their investigations. The president commented as several...
Longest U.S.-Taliban peace talks see ‘progress’ in Qatar
DOHA, Qatar — The longest peace talks between the United States and the Taliban to end America’s 17-year war in Afghanistan concluded Tuesday night in Qatar, with both sides saying progress had been made. The nearly two weeks of talks produced two draft agreements between the militants and the U.S....
Duquesne researchers receive $1.5M grant to study link between emotions and physical pain
Duquesne University researchers are using a $1.5 million grant to study how emotions can have an influence on certain types of physical pain. The study will look at chronic bladder pain, a condition that has no known cause and is difficult to treat. The condition affects more women than men....
Dick’s to halt sales of rifles, ammo at 125 of its stores
CORAOPOLIS — Dick’s Sporting Goods said Tuesday that it will stop selling hunting rifles and ammunition at 125 of its stores, replacing the gear with merchandise it believes will sell better at those locations. CEO Edward Stack said the move comes after the sporting goods retailer replaced hunting merchandise in...
Target shopper accused of downing 6 pack in dressing room before shoplifting
A woman’s shoplifting charge goes beyond the merchandise she tried to carry out of the store. Elysia Johnson, 21, allegedly went to a Target in Lathrop, Calif., on Saturday afternoon and placed merchandise in her hand basket and cart while walking through the store, reports The Sacramento Bee. One of...
Plane turns back after mom forgets baby at airport
When a passenger realized she had forgotten her baby back at the airport, the pilot of a Malaysia-bound plane turned around and headed back. The Guardian reports that just after takeoff, the mother alerted the crew about her situation. The pilot was told and radioed back to the King Abdulaziz...
Cargo plane appears to have hit turbulence before February crash in Texas
DALLAS — A Boeing 767 appears to have hit turbulence a minute before it dropped into a rapid descent and smashed into a Texas bay in February, killing all three people aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board says “small vertical accelerations” suggest Atlas Air Flight 3591 entered turbulence soon after...
100K backlogged rape kits sent for DNA testing, lead to 1K arrests
NEW YORK — Languishing evidence in over 100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities, spurring over 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions in three years, officials said Tuesday. It’s estimated that another 155,000 or...
Federal appeals court OKs Ohio law aimed at abortion funding
CINCINNATI — A divided federal appeals court has upheld an Ohio anti-abortion law that blocks public money for Planned Parenthood. The Tuesday ruling by the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and could result in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Ohio...
TV stars, coaches charged in college bribery scheme
BOSTON — Fifty people, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were charged Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation’s most elite schools. Federal authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam...
Joe Biden hints he’ll announce decision on 2020 run in a ‘few weeks’
Former Vice President Joe Biden told a key labor ally he may need their energy “in a few weeks,” as he nears a decision on whether to join a crowded Democratic field for what would be his third run for president. “I appreciate the energy you showed when I got...
Pennsylvania offers grants for fighting wildfires
As the spring wildfire season ramps up, volunteer fire departments in small or rural communities can look to the state for grants to help offset the high cost of fighting wildfires. State officials said fire departments in rural areas or communities with fewer than 10,000 residents can qualify for up...
