President Joe Biden speaks to the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced fresh measures meant to curb gun violence, detailing the changes from the scene of a mass shooting in California that left 11 dead. Tuesday’s action does not change U.S. government policy. Rather, it directs federal agencies to ensure compliance with existing laws and procedures — a typical feature of executive orders issued by presidents when they confront the limits of their own power to act without cooperation from Congress. The president said he’d signed the executive order aimed at increasing background checks to buy guns, promoting more secure firearms storage and ensuring U.S. law enforcement agencies get more out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.

A pedestrian carries an umbrella while walking past a Silicon Valley Bank Private branch in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. After a frenetic weekend of round-the-clock briefings, U.S. policymakers took the audacious step guaranteeing all the deposits of the failed Silicon Valley Banks, even those exceeding the FDIC’s $250,000 limit. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

WASHINGTON (AP) — After a frenetic weekend of round-the-clock briefings, U.S. policymakers took the audacious step of guaranteeing all the deposits of the failed Silicon Valley Bank — even those exceeding the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s $250,000 limit. The hope is that it will restore confidence in the financial system after the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history. The plan came together as the government was unable to sell off the defunct institution on time. But the FDIC may try to auction it off again. Meanwhile, policymakers and lawmakers are starting to look ahead for ways to prevent the next crisis.

FILE- This Feb. 14, 2019 file photo shows a Honda logo at the 2019 Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh. Honda is recalling a half-million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, because the front seat belts may not latch properly. The recall covers some of the the automaker’s top-selling models including the 2017 through 2020 CR-V, the 2018 and 2019 Accord, the 2018 through 2020 Odyssey and the 2019 Insight. Also included is the Acura RDX from the 2019 and 2020 model years. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling a half-million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because the front seat belts may not latch properly. The recall covers some of the the automaker’s top-selling models including the 2017 through 2020 CR-V, the 2018 and 2019 Accord, the 2018 through 2020 Odyssey and the 2019 Insight. Also included is the Acura RDX from the 2019 and 2020 model years. Honda says in documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators that a manufacturing issue can cause the seat belt buckle channel to interfere with the release button, stopping the buckle from latching. Dealers will replace the release buttons or assemblies if needed. Owners will be notified by letter starting April 17.

Axiom Space chief engineer Jim Stein demonstrates a prototype spacesuit, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Houston. NASA selected Axiom Space to design the spacesuits that its moonwalking astronauts will wear when they step onto the lunar surface later this decade. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Moonwalking astronauts will have sleeker, more flexible spacesuits that come in different sizes when they step onto the lunar surface later this decade. The spacesuits will be white like they were during NASA’s Apollo program more than a half-century ago to reflect heat and keep future moonwalkers cool. The company behind the next-generation spacesuits said Wednesday the design is proprietary. NASA awarded Axiom Space a $228.5 million contract to provide the moonsuits. The space agency is targeting late 2025 at the earliest to land two astronauts on the moon’s south pole.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Acting U.S. Marshal Phil Cornelious, Western District of Pennsylvania, announces the arrest of fugitive Travis Burton, on March 15, 2023, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
Travis Burton is charged by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office with Criminal Homicide and Possession of a Firearm. These charges stem from a shooting incident which took place on January 14, 2023 in Johns Island South Carolina that resulted in the death of a 65-year-old man.
The U.S. Marshals Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force provided information that Burton may be in McKeesport, PA. Operating with that information the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force conducted an investigation to determine Burton’s exact location. Early on the morning of March 15, 2023, with the assistance of the McKeesport Police Department, Task Force members found Burton hiding in the basement of a residence in the 600 block of Romine Street, McKeesport, PA. Burton
was arrested and transported to the Allegheny County Jail where he was booked on outstanding felony homicide and firearm warrants from South Carolina. Burton is currently awaiting extradition back to South Carolina.
The arrest of this fugitive represents a culmination of extensive cooperative investigative efforts between, U.S. Marshals Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, and the McKeesport Police Department.
The Task Force objectives are to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug offenses, sex offenders and other serious felonies. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.
Tips can be submitted to the U.S. Marshals service directly and anonymously by downloading the USMS Tips app to your Apple or Android device. It can also be accessed online at https://www.usmarshals.gov/tips/index.html. You can also follow the latest news and updates about the U.S. Marshals Service on Twitter: @USMarshalsHQ.

Ohio has filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern to make sure it pays for the cleanup and environmental damage caused by a fiery train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month. The state’s attorney general said Tuesday that the federal lawsuit also seeks to force the company to pay for groundwater and soil monitoring in the years ahead and economic losses in the village of East Palestine and surrounding areas. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says the fallout from the Feb. 3 derailment will reverberate for many years. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has apologized for the impact the derailment has had on East Palestine.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trial has begun in western Pennsylvania in the death of an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed in a street confrontation more than 3 1/2 years ago. Thirty-four-year-old Christian Bey is charged in Allegheny County with homicide in the July 2019 shooting that killed 36-year-old Officer Calvin Hall after an apparent dispute at a Homewood block party. The Tribune-Review reports that Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Ramaley told jurors in her opening statement Tuesday that DNA on the murder weapon matched that of the defendant. Defense attorney Carmen Robinson said the case was about “a rush to judgment and a biased investigation.”

PITTSBURGH (AP) — As part of a yearlong investigation, The Associated Press obtained the data points underpinning several algorithms deployed by child welfare agencies to understand how they predict which children could be at risk of harm. They offer rare insight into the mechanics driving these emerging technologies. Among the factors they use to measure a family’s risk, whether outright or by proxy: race, poverty rates, disability status and family size. The tool’s developers say their work is transparent and that they make their models public. The AP has learned that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating one Pennsylvania county’s child welfare system to determine whether its use of an algorithm discriminates against people with disabilities or other protected groups.

PITTSBURGH (March 15, 2023) – The AHN Bariatric and Metabolic Institute announced today its bariatric program at AHN Wexford Hospital has been accredited as a Comprehensive Center by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®), a joint quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

MBSAQIP works to advance safe, high-quality care for bariatric surgical patients through the accreditation of bariatric surgery centers. AHN Wexford Hospital joins AHN West Penn Hospital and over 900 bariatric surgery centers across the U.S. and Canada with the designation. Each has undergone an independent, voluntary, and rigorous peer evaluation in accordance with nationally recognized bariatric surgical quality standards.

Based at West Penn Hospital, the AHN Bariatric and Metabolic Institute extended its program to patients at AHN’s newest full-service hospital last spring. Since then, patients living in communities north of Pittsburgh have had convenient access at AHN Wexford to one of the region’s most experienced clinical teams providing a range of advanced medical and surgical weight loss solutions.

“This achievement is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to providing the most advanced, highest quality care available,” said George Eid, MD, chair, AHN Bariatric and Metabolic Institute. “Their commitment has immeasurable impacts on our patients, many of whom are in need of and very much deserve lifesaving care that affords them the opportunity to live healthier, happier lives.”

Some innovative, minimally invasive surgical solutions for obesity and other metabolic diseases offered at AHN Wexford include laparoscopic gastric bypass and laparoscopic-sleeve gastrectomy. Certain patients may be candidates for an endoscopic bariatric procedure in which a small, flexible scope is inserted through the patient’s mouth and no incision is made. The endoscopic procedure aims to significantly reduce a patient’s stomach volume and/or alter other parts of the digestive tract.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates about 93 million adults in the U.S. are affected by obesity. Obesity is linked to more than 40 other diseases including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancer, orthopedic injuries and infertility.