May 16, 2024 4:11 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent Thursday to the federal register recognizes medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs. The plan signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland wouldn’t legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. The Drug Enforcement Administration will take public comment on the proposal to move marijuana from its classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside some anabolic steroids. The U.S. Cannabis Council trade group applauds the proposed change. (Photo: AP)
May 16, 2024 10:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has blocked the release of audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents. The White House argues Republicans in Congress only want the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes as Biden seeks reelection. The Democratic president has asserted executive privilege over audio of his interview with the special counsel at the center a Republican effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee are expected to hold hearings Thursday over the contempt effort.
May 16, 2024 5:05 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s whirlwind agreement to meet for two presidential debates has upended the way the forums have been organized for nearly four decades. It sidelines and casts doubt on the future of the nonpartisan commission that has traditionally planned them. The presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees on Wednesday accepted debate invitations from CNN in June and ABC in September, shaking up the tradition of three debates not tied to a specific network and held in the weeks before the November election. Their plans came together rapidly, ending uncertainty about whether the candidates would debate.
May 16, 2024 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip. Officials said Thursday that they are poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated delivery process more than two months after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered it to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make it in. Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on that southern city on the Egyptian border, complicating those shipments. American officials insist U.S. troops will not set foot in Gaza, though they acknowledge the danger of operating near the war zone.
May 16, 2024 4:58 am
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – Governor Josh Shapiro is working to get help for the congregation of a Union Township church after an EF-2 tornado touched down in the area, ripping off the roof. At the Crossroads Church, workers have installed new windows and are putting on a new roof, after it was ripped off during church services with nearly 100 people inside. Two days later, the pastor’s phone rang with a private number. “I answer and he goes, ‘Hello, this is Governor Shapiro,’ I said, ‘Oh wow, Gov. Shapiro, is this a prank call?’” said Ken Barner, Crossroads Ministry pastor. The governor retweeted a post about the tornado damage, adding that he wants these communities to know his administration has their back and they’ll do everything they can to help people recover. “He offered his prayer and support, on behalf of him and his wife, he’s praying, he basically just listened and I thought it was very kind,” Barner said. “Right after it occurred, on Monday, Governor Shapiro called, he wanted to know what was going on,” said County Commissioner Larry Maggi. “It was reassuring to know we haven’t been forgotten on this end of the state, glad he called and is attempting to help somewhat.” The county did not declare a state of emergency, which is where any offers of help become tricky. “It’s good and bad to be declared a state of emergency or federal or state disaster, had to reach an amount of damage. We didn’t reach that, although for the people it occurred to it was pretty catastrophic,” Maggi explained.
May 16, 2024 4:53 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Natural gas producer CNX Resources says it plans to build a $1.5 billion facility at Pittsburgh’s airport to make hydrogen-based fuels. But, in its plan unveiled Wednesday, it says it will only build it if President Joe Biden’s administration allows coal mine methane to qualify for hydrogen production tax credits. Biden’s administration is deciding how to tailor billions in tax credits. CNX said the facility would remove coal mine methane from the atmosphere and blend it with natural gas to produce hydrogen-based airline fuel. Climate change activists say producing hydrogen from fossil fuels, instead of from carbon-free electricity, would undermine the purpose of the hydrogen program to displace fossil fuels.
May 15, 2024 5:26 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the numbers Wednesday. CDC officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. The agency says about 107,500 people died of overdoses in the U.S. last year. That’s down 3% from 2022. It’s too soon to know what spurred the decline, but experts reacted cautiously. They say the decline as relatively small. They also note that the last time a decline occurred — in 2018 — drug deaths shot up afterward.
May 15, 2024 5:24 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates, on June 27 hosted by CNN and on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. CNN says its debate will be held in its Atlanta studios with no audience present. The Democratic president earlier Wednesday announced he won’t participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that’s organized them for more than three decades. Biden proposed two debates with the Republican ex-president, excluding third-party candidates. Trump says, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” CNN holds open the door to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s participation if he or any other third-party candidate meets polling and ballot access requirements.
May 15, 2024 10:33 am
PRAGUE (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. The message posted to his account said that Fico “has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure. The next few hours will decide.” Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said.
May 15, 2024 8:43 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Consumer inflation in the United States cooled slightly last month after three elevated readings, likely offering a tentative sigh of relief for officials at the Federal Reserve as well as President Joe Biden’s re-election team. Prices rose 0.3% from March to April, down slightly from 0.4% the previous month. Measured year-over-year, inflation ticked down from 3.5% to 3.4%. And a measure of underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, also eased in April. Inflation had been unexpectedly high in the first three months of this year after having steadily dropped in the second half of 2023. The elevated readings had dimmed hopes that the worst bout of inflation in four decades was being rapidly tamed.
