March 18, 2023 4:26 am
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has signed a bill prohibiting medication abortions in the state and also allowed a separate measure restricting abortion to become law without his signature. The pills are already banned in 13 states with blanket bans on all forms of abortion, and 15 states already have limited access to abortion pills. The Republican governor’s decision comes after the issue of access to abortion pills took center stage this week in a Texas court. Wyoming’s ban on abortion pills would take effect in July, pending any legal action that could potentially delay that.
March 18, 2023 4:25 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president has said that U.S. families are to blame for the fentanyl overdose crisis because they don’t hug their kids enough. The comment by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador caps a week of provocative statements from him about the crisis caused by the synthetic opioid. Fentanyl has been blamed for about 70,000 deaths per year in the United States. López Obrador said family values have broken down in the United States, because parents don’t let their children live at home long enough. He has also denied that Mexico produces fentanyl. On Friday, the Mexican president said the problem was caused by “a lack of hugs, of embraces.”
March 18, 2023 4:24 am
PARIS (AP) — It’s a time of protest in Paris and much of France, where opponents hope to bring down the government of President Emmanuel Macron. They’re blocking the streets over his decision to force a pension system change through parliament without a vote. Raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 is wildly unpopular. Macron’s opponents filed motions Friday that will trigger no-confidence votes next week. Meanwhile traffic is snarled, campuses are blocked and sanitation workers are keeping foul-smelling rubbish from reaching Europe’s largest incineration site. Unions want people to leave schools, factories, refineries and other workplaces until Macron withdraws the bill.
March 18, 2023 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery has been sentenced to two years in prison. U.S. District Judge John Bates also sentenced Larry Brock on Friday to two years of supervised release after prison and 100 hours of community service. Brock declined to speak in court before the judge imposed his sentence. Brock joined other rioters on the Senate floor only minutes after then-Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber to escape the mob attacking the building on Jan. 6, 2021.
March 18, 2023 4:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Law enforcement officials in New York are making security preparations for the possibility that Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks by a Manhattan grand jury and appear in a courtroom in an investigation examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. That’s according to four law enforcement officials who spoke Friday to The Associated Press. There has been no public announcement of any timeframe for the grand jury’s secret work. The officials say authorities are just preparing in case of an indictment, so they are considering security, planning and the practicalities of a potential court appearance. Trump has cast the investigation as a political “witch hunt.”
March 18, 2023 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week highlighted China’s aspirations for a greater role on the world stage. But they also revealed the perils of global diplomacy: Hours after Friday’s announcement of the trip, an international arrest warrant was issued for Putin on war crimes charges, taking at least some wind out of the sails of China’s big reveal. The flurry of developments came as the Biden administration watches warily Beijing’s moves to assert itself more forcefully in international affairs.
March 18, 2023 4:11 am
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania county prosecutor is in jail after being convicted of six charges for an attack on a woman acquaintance. Jurors also acquitted suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault. The verdict was issued Thursday after less than three hours of deliberations. The 37-year-old Thomas was found guilty of strangulation and criminal trespassing, both felonies, and simple assault, unlawful restraint, indecent assault and false imprisonment. He was also acquitted of a second simple assault count. Cambria County officials said Friday Thomas is in the county jail. Thomas’ lawyer says he considers it a victory that Thomas was acquitted of the most serious charges.
March 18, 2023 1:29 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is alerting anglers that Lake Wilma, located in Wayne Township, Greene County, will be temporarily closed to the public, by the private owner, effective immediately. Because the lake is being closed by the owner at this time for their current operations in the area, the PFBC will be unable to conduct trout stocking operations at the lake, which were scheduled to occur on March 22 and April 12, 2023. Additionally, anglers will be unable to access the lake on Mentored Youth Trout Day on March 25, Opening Day of Trout Season on April 1, and for an indefinite period to follow. The PFBC is currently looking for opportunities to reallocate the trout that were scheduled to be stocked in Lake Wilma to other waters for anglers to enjoy this season. CNX Resources Corporation, which owns Lake Wilma and allows public access for fishing and boating, has indicated that, in lieu of the temporary closure, the company intends to stock the lake with trout at a later date and host a special community fishing event at a date to be determined. Additional details regarding the fishing event will be available in the coming weeks. To find alternate waters stocked with trout in Greene County and across Pennsylvania, anglers can review the Trout Stocking Schedule on the PFBC website (Fishandboat.com).
March 17, 2023 12:33 pm
THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court says it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” It also issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Putin’s office, on similar allegations. A possible trial of any Russians at the ICC remains a long way off. Moscow does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.
March 17, 2023 10:20 am
DETROIT (AP) – Ford is recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in two actions to fix leaky brake hoses and windshield wiper arms that can break. The largest recall covers nearly 1.3 million 2013 through 2018 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKX midsize cars. The company says in documents posted Friday by safety regulators that the front brake hoses can rupture and leak brake fluid. That would increase brake pedal travel and make stopping distances longer. Dealers will replace the hoses. Ford will mail owner notification letters starting April 17. They’ll get a second letter once parts are available for the fix. The second recall covers more than 222,000 F-150 pickups from 2021. The windshield wiper arms can break. Dealers will replace the arms if needed.
