Former governor Paul LePage: Dissolving Electoral College would hurt whites
BANGOR, Maine — Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage says any elimination of the Electoral College would hurt white people. LePage told WVOM radio that allowing the popular vote to choose the president would give minorities more power and that “white people will not have anything to say.” Proposals to eliminate...
German town defends seizing family’s pet, selling it on eBay
BERLIN — Officials in Germany are defending their decision to seize an indebted family’s pet pug and sell it on eBay, saying the move was a last resort because authorities were unable to find anything else to take. The incident in the western town of Ahlen prompted criticism on social...
Colorado, Rocky Mountain highs bring in billions through recreation pot sales
Denver long ago laid title to being the Mile High City, but with more than $6 billion in retail sales of cannabis and cannabis-infused products in four years of legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado, the state’s capital city might now want to claim being at least a mile and half...
Union wants Pennsylvania school pension fund to divest private prison stocks
The American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, is calling on Pennsylvania’s $56.2 billion school employees’ retirement fund (PSERs) and 23 other large pension funds to consider divesting their stock in private prison corporations. A new AFT report found that PSERs is among two dozen public pension funds that own a...
Andrew Wheeler, former energy lobbyist, confirmed as nation’s top environmental official
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday approved former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to head the Environmental Protection Agency by a vote of 52 to 47, elevating a veteran of Washington political and industry circles who has advanced President Trump’s push to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations. Wheeler, who began his...
Judge won’t make Mongols biker gang surrender trademark logo
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge has refused to order the Mongols motorcycle gang to forfeit its trademarked logo, delivering a blow to prosecutors. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter said Thursday that such an order would have been unconstitutional. Mongols attorney Joe Yanny says the ruling...
Protesters in Ukraine call for president’s impeachment
KIEV, Ukraine — Hundreds of demonstrators marched across the Ukrainian capital Thursday calling for the impeachment of the country’s president over embezzlement claims. President Petro Poroshenko, who is seeking re-election in a March 31 vote, has come under fire over a media investigation that implicated one of his senior associates...
Moscow court orders prominent U.S. investor to remain in jail
MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a prominent U.S. foreign investment manager and ordered him to remain in jail for at least the next month-and-a-half in connection with an embezzlement probe. The Moscow City Court’s decision to keep Michael Calvey behind bars until April 13...
Trump accepts Kim’s ‘word’ he had no role in Otto Warmbier death
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he takes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “at his word” that Kim was unaware of the alleged mistreatment of an American college student who died after being imprisoned there. Trump said in Vietnam that Kim “tells me he didn’t know about it,...
Former West Penn Power manager loved fishing, family
If there was a place Cecil Fitzgerald was truly happy, it was most likely far offshore, aboard a boat with a fishing line in the water. “We really enjoyed boating and fishing,” said Mr. Fitzgerald’s wife of 63 years, Mary Lou Fitzgerald. “That was one of the main things we...
Arizona town bans phone use by drivers
FLORENCE, Ariz. — A town in central Arizona has banned the use of phones while driving beginning in March. The Casa Grande Dispatch reported Thursday that the Florence Town Council passed an ordinance on Feb. 19 prohibiting the use of “portable wireless communication devices” while behind the wheel. The ordinance...
Mercer County among first in state to implement new post-election audits
A Western Pennsylvania county will be among the first in the state to have an enhanced audit of its election results. Mercer and Philadelphia counties both bought new voting systems that will be used for the first time in November. With concerns over election security increasing in recent years, the...
DeVos to pitch federal tax credit for ‘educational freedom’
The Trump administration is proposing a federal tax credit for donations made to groups offering scholarships for private schools, apprenticeships or other educational programs. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is unveiling the plan Thursday, while legislation is being proposed by Republicans in the House and Senate. The proposal, called the Education...
U.S. economic growth just missed 3 percent mark in 2018
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy slowed in the final three months of last year to an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent, the slowest pace since the beginning of 2018, as the government shutdown and other factors took a toll on growth. Economists believe growth has slowed even more in...
Hyundai, Kia recall over 500K vehicles as fire risk spreads
DETROIT — Hyundai and Kia have added more than a half-million vehicles to 3½-year string of U.S. recalls for engine failures and fires. Three recalls released Thursday by the government add new problems and vehicles to the Korean automakers’ list of safety woes, which have brought hundreds of complaints about...
Rescuers pass water, food to Indonesia mine buried
BOLAANG MONGONDOW, Indonesia — Rescuers have passed water and food to some of the dozens of people trapped in a collapsed Indonesian gold mine, an official said Thursday, calling the grueling rescue effort in a remote inaccessible location a race against time. The national disaster agency said 19 people had...
Ice castles turn farmland into winter wonderlandVideo
NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. — On a clear, frigid night in a courtyard made of walls of ice, Bruce McCafferty and his young son stand mesmerized, bathed in the pulsating rainbow light emanating from a series of stout ice formations. McCafferty and his son Dougie have come out to Ice Castles...
Cohen returns to Capitol Hill after slamming Trump as liar
WASHINGTON — In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the president’s former lawyer cast him as a racist and a con man who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex and who lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia. A...
Trump, Kim summit collapses amid failure to reach deal
HANOI, Vietnam — The nuclear summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un collapsed Thursday after the two sides failed to reach a deal due to a standoff over U.S. sanctions on the reclusive nation, a dispiriting end to high-stakes meetings meant to disarm a global threat....
Man, 19, accused of assaulting 81-year-old over MAGA hat
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Authorities say a young man at a New Jersey supermarket assaulted an 81-year-old who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. Somerset County prosecutors have charged 19-year-old Ryan Salvagno with assault and harassment. Officials say Salvagno exchanged words with the older man about the hat...
Wells Fargo announces consumer redress program
Wells Fargo has launched a program to review claims from consumers who think they were harmed by the bank violating consumer protection laws. The program is designed for people who believe they were affected by the bank but weren’t eligible for previous restitution programs. Consumers could be entitled to relief...
Israel AG recommends charging Netanyahu with with bribery, breach of trust
JERUSALEM — Israel’s attorney general on Thursday recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with bribery and breach of trust in a series of corruption cases, a momentous move that shook up Israel’s election campaign and could spell the end of the prime minister’s illustrious political career. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit...
WTO panel rules China over-subsidized grain production to undercut global pricesVideo
World Trade Organization officials ruled earlier this week that the Chinese government over-subsidized the country’s grain producers, artificially raising Chinese prices for grain and reducing imports. The WTO’s panel report “is a significant victory for U.S. agriculture that will help American farmers compete on a more level playing field,” USDA...
Coast Guard officer accused of plotting terrorist attack may face more than 30 years
A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant accused of planning a domestic terrorist attack illegally possessed silencers among the arsenal of weapons prosecutors contend he stockpiled for his plot, according to new court filings. A federal grand jury indicted Christopher Hasson, 49, of Maryland, on Wednesday, adding two new charges related to...
Va. first lady Pam Northam reportedly gave out cotton to black students during tour
Virginia first lady Pam Northam, who told her husband not to moonwalk during a news conference about wearing blackface, reportedly handed out cotton to black students on a tour of the governor’s mansion. Last week, the first lady and her husband, Ralph Northam, hosted about 100 students who had worked...
