USA

BALTIMORE (AP) — More than a week after a cyberattack hobbled Baltimore’s computer network, city officials said Wednesday they can’t predict when its overall system will be up and running and continued to give only the broadest outlines of the problem.

DALLAS (AP) — Investigators who were “thwarted” during earlier investigations of child sexual abuse by priests on Wednesday searched the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas to obtain evidence of sexual misconduct, according to a police commander and police records.

Investigators searched the diocesan headquarters, a storage unit it uses and the offices of a church, police Maj. Max Geron told reporters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is siding with public health groups suing the Food and Drug Administration to begin reviewing thousands of e-cigarettes on the U.S. market.

The ruling handed down Wednesday in district court states that the agency shirked its legal duty when it postponed reviewing all U.S. vaping products by several years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Wednesday his agency is still “in the throes of constructing” an aid package for farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs, but he is not prepared to say when it will be ready.

Perdue said the Agriculture Department is reviewing feedback from producers about the strengths and weaknesses of last year’s relief package, valued at up to $12 billion. This year’s package could range between $15 billion and $20 billion, Perdue projected.

16 May 2019 (AP) - In a fateful swipe at telecommunications giant Huawei, the Trump administration issued an executive order Wednesday apparently aimed at banning its equipment from U.S. networks and said it was subjecting the Chinese company to strict export controls.

Huawei would be the largest business ever subjected to the controls, a law enforcement measure that requires it to obtain U.S. government approval on purchases of American technology, said Kevin Wolf, who had been the assistant secretary of commerce for export administration in the Obama administration.

PARIS (AP) — The White House is not endorsing a global pledge to step up efforts to keep internet platforms from being used to spread hate, organize extremist groups and broadcast attacks, citing respect for “freedom of expression and freedom of the press.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties in Congress demanded more information on the White House’s claims of rising threats in the Middle East, warning President Donald Trump off a dangerous escalation with Iran.

The top leaders in Congress — the so-called Gang of Eight— are to receive a classified briefing from the administration on Thursday. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the White House has resisted a wider presentation for all lawmakers, part of what Democrats say is a pattern of stonewalling.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

“To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (APP): Escalating religious-based violence in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka have prompted two senior United Nations officials to call for an end to “hateful attacks” directed towards the country’s Muslim minority.

In retaliation for the deadly violence on Easter Sunday, against Christians churches and upscale hotels in various parts of the country that left more than 200 people dead and hundreds of others injured, revenge attacks reportedly took place against mosques and Muslims’ homes on Monday.

15 May 2019; AA: The head of Turkey’s religious authority strongly condemned on Tuesday a recent arson attack on a mosque in the U.S.

"I strongly condemn such provocative acts that will hurt all Muslims and disrupt the world peace," Ali Erbas, head of the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), said on Twitter.