Delay sought on California ruling allowing high-capacity ammo magazines
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s attorney general said Tuesday it appears the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines has started in the state for the first time in nearly two decades after a federal court judge tossed out a statewide ban. Attorney General Xavier Becerra asked a federal judge to delay implementing...
Police: Customer chokes Giant Food Store cashier over smashed potato chips
A Giant Food Store customer angry that a cashier was apparently being careless with his snack chips confronted and choked the man, police allege. Bradley Bower, 55, of New Cumberland, will be arraigned on a charge of simple assault at the time of his preliminary hearing, which is set for...
Dam’s spillway gets first use since 2017 California crisis
OROVILLE, Calif. — Officials at the nation’s tallest dam unleashed water down a rebuilt spillway Tuesday for the first time since it crumbled two years ago and drove hundreds of thousands of California residents from their homes over fears of catastrophic flooding. Water flowed down the spillway and into the...
CBD is getting buzz, but does it work? And is it legal?
With CBD showing up everywhere, U.S. regulators announced Tuesday they are exploring ways the marijuana extract could be used legally in foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will hold a public hearing May 31 to gather more information on the science, manufacturing and...
Defense Ministry tells Algeria’s leader to quit immediately
ALGIERS, Algeria — The Algerian Defense Ministry called Tuesday for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit “immediately” after two decades in office, saying “there is no more time to waste” after six weeks of nationwide protests against the chief of state and his inner circle. The ministry’s appeal came in a...
Amtrak wasted $23M on unneeded office space, inspector general says
WASHINGTON — Amtrak wasted at least $23 million by acquiring unneeded office space in Boston, New York, Washington and several other cities, according to a report by the railroad’s inspector general. The report by Stephen Lord, the assistant inspector general for Amtrak, sketches a picture of a quasi-public, federally-subsidized passenger...
High school robotics team gives toddler mobilityVideo
FARMINGTON, Minn. — The parents of a 2-year-old Minnesota boy who needed an expensive power wheelchair turned to an unlikely source for help — a high school robotics team. Farmington High School’s robotics team created a functioning wheelchair for Cillian Jackson by retrofitting a Power Wheels riding toy. Cillian’s father,...
North Carolina GOP chair, major donor charged with bribery
RALEIGH, N.C. — The chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party, an insurance magnate and two of his associates are facing federal charges for a plan to shower the state’s top insurance regulator with campaign contributions to ensure special business treatment, a criminal indictment unsealed Tuesday said. State GOP Chairman Robin...
Pope: Women have ‘legitimate claims’ for justice, equality
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said in a document released Tuesday that women have “legitimate claims” to seek more equality in the Catholic Church, but he stopped short of endorsing recent calls from his own bishops to give women leadership roles. In the text, Francis also told young adults they...
Administration officials grapple with Trump’s border threat
WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials are reining back the president’s threat to shut the southern border this week as they grapple with a surge of Central American migrants trying to enter the U.S. President Trump said last week he would seal the border with Mexico in the coming days if...
White House official cites problems in security clearances
WASHINGTON — A career official in the White House security office says dozens of people in President Trump’s administration were granted security clearances despite “disqualifying issues” in their backgrounds, including concerns about foreign influence, drug use and criminal conduct. Tricia Newbold, an 18-year government employee who oversaw the issuance of...
Police identify North Dakota business owner, 3 slain employees
MANDAN, N.D. — Police on Tuesday identified the owner of a North Dakota property management business and three employees as the people whose bodies were found there a day earlier, and said they don’t yet have a suspect in the attack. Chief Jason Ziegler didn’t say how the victims died...
May: U.K. to seek further Brexit delay, try to break logjam
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday that she will seek to further delay Britain’s exit from the European Union and seek to make an accord with the political opposition in a bid to break the Brexit impasse. May made the announcement after the EU’s chief negotiator warned that...
Another Texas chemical fire kills 1 worker, injures 2
HOUSTON — A fire at a Texas chemical plant Tuesday that sent plumes of black smoke into the air killed one worker and injured at least two others, authorities said, in the second major blaze at a Houston-area chemical facility in about two weeks. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed...
Ohio proposal would honor presidential popular vote
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s coveted 18 electoral votes would be delivered to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote under a proposal making its way toward the state’s fall ballot. The proposed constitutional amendment, whose summary language was certified Monday, would force state lawmakers to assure the powerful...
Amsterdam’s ban of red-light district tours irks sex workers
The sex trade in the Netherlands draws participants and gawkers from around the globe. But the Dutch capital is now cracking down on guided tours to respect sex workers and ease congestion in the red-light district. The first limits began Monday night with a ban on tours from 7 p.m.,...
U.K. police say railway sabotage attempt linked to Brexit
LONDON — British police said Tuesday that they are investigating two attempts to sabotage railway lines that are believed to be linked to Brexit. The British Transport Police force said two “malicious obstructions” hit sections of rail line in central and eastern England on March 21 and 27. In both...
5 former federal workers sue CIA, NSA claiming censorship
Five former federal employees filed a lawsuit against several agencies Tuesday, alleging that the government’s pre-review process for publication is an unconstitutional “system of censorship.” The review process, which applies to millions of government workers, requires former intelligence agency and military personnel to get approval before writing, publishing or speaking...
Pope: Women have ‘legitimate claims’ for justice, equality
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said in a document released Tuesday that women have “legitimate claims” to seek more equality in the Catholic Church, but he stopped short of endorsing recent calls from his own bishops to give women leadership roles. In the text, Francis also told young adults they...
‘Pro’s pro’ dedicated life to golf
When John Goettlicher retired, he received a farewell note from golf legend Arnold Palmer. “The game has certainly been enriched by your presence, and I salute you, my friend,” Palmer wrote. Mr. Goettlicher spent 67 years as a golf professional, earning the admiration of others working in the industry. He...
Trump puts off vote on health-care bill until after next year’s elections
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signaled Monday night that he will not press for a vote on a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act until after next year’s elections, apparently heeding warnings from fellow Republicans about the perils of such a fight during campaign season. In a series of...
Blast injures 3 at top military school in Russia
MOSCOW — Russia’s Defense Ministry says three people have been injured in an explosion inside an elite military academy in Russia’s second-largest city. The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that an unidentified “object” went off early afternoon inside the prestigious Mozhaisky Academy in St. Petersburg, which trains officers...
Narcan available in vending machines in Las Vegas
Vending machines dispense just about anything these days — snacks, soda, aspirin, laundry products. Add anti-overdose medication to that list. In Las Vegas, health officials have begun offering Narcan, the life-saving nasal spray that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. It’s the brand-name version of naloxone. The Center for...
2020 by the numbers: Democrats posting big campaign stats
WASHINGTON — How many ways can you measure the first quarter of the year? For Democratic presidential candidates, it’s 300-plus events, 24 states and hundreds of voter questions. The Iowa caucus is still 10 months away, but the Democratic primary campaign is already an all-out sprint — passing eye-popping markers...
U.S. officials worry paralyzing illness may grow more common
NEW YORK — One morning last fall, 4-year-old Joey Wilcox woke up with the left side of his face drooping. It was the first sign of an unfolding nightmare. Three days later, Joey was in a hospital intensive care unit, unable to move his arms or legs or sit up....