Texas officer Matthew Luckhurst wins appeal of dismissal over feces sandwich
SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio police officer who was fired after colleagues accused him of trying to give a homeless man a sandwich containing dog feces has won his appeal but hasn’t been reinstated. An arbitrator this month overturned Matthew Luckhurst’s dismissal because he wasn’t punished within the required...
Gay, transgender detainees allege abuse at ICE facility in New Mexico
EL PASO, Texas — Gay and transgender people held at a large Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in New Mexico have faced physical and verbal abuse and were placed in solitary confinement after complaining about it, according to a complaint civil rights groups sent to the U.S. agency Monday....
Kate Steinle case: Dismissal of parents’ lawsuit against San Francisco is upheld
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court led by a Trump appointee Monday unanimously upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against San Francisco for failing to alert immigration authorities of the release of the immigrant who killed Kate Steinle. The suit, brought by Steinle’s parents, alleged that San Francisco was...
Marijuana ER visits climb in Denver hospital study
Five years after Colorado first legalized marijuana, a new study shows pot’s bad effects are sending more people to the emergency room. Inhaled marijuana caused the most severe problems at one large Denver hospital. Marijuana-infused foods and candies, called edibles, also led to trouble. Patients came to the ER with...
Rep. Stephanie Borowicz’s prayer in Pennsylvania House generates backlashVideo
HARRISBURG — A freshman Republican’s opening prayer Monday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives drew complaints that it was inappropriately divisive. Rep. Stephanie Borowicz began the day’s session with a Christian invocation that thanked Jesus for the honor and President Donald Trump for standing “behind Israel unequivocally.” “At the name...
Students ordered removed as probe into violence at reform school deepens
State officials Monday ordered the remaining students at a Delaware County reform school removed immediately as a probe into decades of allegations of violence and abuse against students at the Glen Mills School deepened. Glen Mills, the nation’s oldest school for delinquent boys, once housed more than 600 youth, aged...
Michael Avenatti charged with trying to extort millions from Nike
LOS ANGELES — Michael Avenatti, the pugnacious attorney best known for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump, was arrested Monday on charges that included trying to shake down Nike for as much as $25 million by threatening the company with bad publicity. Avenatti, who was also...
5 questions Congress will have for Boeing, FAA this week
The relationship between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, which has set the global standard in aviation safety for decades, will come under unprecedented scrutiny this week after two deadly airline crashes. Both accidents involved a Boeing jet green-lighted by the U.S. regulator, which relied heavily on safety assessments made...
Parkland community worried after 2 survivors’ suicides
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The community of Parkland, Florida, is focusing attention on its suicide prevention programs after two survivors of the Florida high school massacre killed themselves in a week. Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky said Monday that community leaders, government officials, parents, police and others held an emergency meeting...
Photo shows Earth equally balanced with day and night on spring equinox
A stunning new photo of the Earth captures the balance of day and night near the spring equinox. The image shared by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows the world perfectly aligned at the start of spring on last Wednesday. You can see the lights of American cities and...
Treatment firm accused of exploiting addicts, insurers
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office is charging the co-founder and executives of an addiction treatment firm and accusing them of profiting off addicts by fraudulently billing insurance companies for tens of millions of dollars. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the charges Monday against 11 people and nine corporations....
Program aims to raise diabetes awareness
In the United States, about one in every 11 people has diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations in adults, and a leading cause of heart disease and strokes, making March 26 — the American Diabetes Association’s Alert...
State officials urge farmers to apply for disaster relief aid
Farmers swamped by last year’s record rainfall may be eligible for relief aid thanks to a disaster declaration from the federal Farm Service Agency. Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday urged eligible farmers to apply for aid in advance of the next growing season. Farmers across the region said they suffered...
Father of Sandy Hook victim found dead of apparent suicide
HARTFORD, Conn. — The father of Avielle Richman, one of 20 first-grade students and six educators killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, was found dead of an apparent suicide at Edmond Town Hall early Monday, police said. The death of Jeremy Richman, 49, appears to be suicide, police...
Mass school sickness blamed on spicy food, sympathy vomiting
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Public health officials in North Carolina say the sudden onslaught of mass vomiting at an elementary school wasn’t caused by a nefarious disease, but rather fruit-flavored concentrate, spicy food and “sympathetic vomiting.” Citing a Forsyth County Department of Public Health release, news outlets report two dozen fifth-graders...
Lifestyle changes can benefit health of those with diabetes, experts sayVideo
Diabetes affects about 30 million people in the U.S., making it a diagnosis about 9 percent of the country’s population will receive in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 26 is American Diabetes Association Alert Day. Planned as a one-day “wake-up call” focusing on...
Some Americans cheer Mueller conclusion, others disappointed
PHILADELPHIA — The first glimpse into the special counsel’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election did little to mend a gaping American political divide. The four-page summary of Robert Mueller’s probe released by Attorney General William Barr didn’t satisfy many who wanted more details. But in a bitterly...
Trump declares victory now but legal perils far from over
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump may be reveling in what he sees as “complete and total exoneration” from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, but his legal perils are far from over. Federal and state investigators in New York are deep into investigations of their own into Trump and those...
Mueller finds no Trump collusion, leaves obstruction open
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence President Donald Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of...
Bingo and bongs: More seniors seek pot for age-related aches
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. — The group of white-haired folks — some pushing walkers, others using canes — arrive right on time at the gates of Laguna Woods Village, an upscale retirement community in the picturesque hills that frame this Southern California suburb a few miles from Disneyland. There they board...
Pennsylvania’s 2020 Democratic primary could be competitive
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Beto O’Rourke’s splashy campaign event in Pennsylvania last week appeared to herald the start of the state’s presidential primary season. But if Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party faithful are searching for a favorite from among the crowded 2020 primary field, it may be in vain. Early-voting states typically make...
Cyclone Idai death toll above 750; fighting disease new challenge
BEIRA, Mozambique — Cyclone Idai’s death toll has risen above 750 in the three southern African countries hit 10 days ago by the storm, as workers restore electricity, water and try to prevent outbreak of cholera, authorities said Sunday. In Mozambique the number of dead has risen to 446 while...
New York man arrested in subway attack says woman threatened him
NEW YORK — The man facing an assault charge in connection to an attack on a homeless woman on a New York City subway train claims she threatened him with a knife. The New York Post reports the court-appointed attorney for Marc Gomez made the claims at the 36-year-old’s arraignment...
Trump’s allies celebrate ‘no collusion’ findings, while Democrats call for release of full report
The release of the special counsel’s “principal conclusions” Sunday prompted swift reaction from presidential candidates, former national security officials, lawmakers and media pundits who seized on the finding that there was no coordination during the 2016 presidential campaign between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. Attorney General William Barr sent congressional...
Parkland student dies in ‘apparent suicide,’ police say
PARKLAND, Fla. — In the span of one week, two teenagers have died by suicide in Parkland, the community still grieving the loss of 17 teachers and students last year in a deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The mother of a recent graduate told CBS Miami...
