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BOSTON (AP) — Organizers of Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade appear to have had a change of heart about barring a group of gay veterans from marching. Parade organizers tweeted today that an "acceptance letter" was signed by the Allied War Veterans Council that will allow OutVets to march in the March 19 parade. This week's decision to bar OutVets from marching drew immediate condemnation from high-profile politicians and stirred up an uproar on social media. OutVets was first allowed to participate in the parade in 2015.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House official says President Donald Trump is choosing Dr. Scott Gottlieb to head the Food and Drug Administration. Gottlieb is a conservative pundit, and former practicing doctor, with deep ties to Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry. He'd set out to achieve Trump's goal of cutting red tape at the FDA, which regulates everything from pharmaceuticals to seafood to electronic cigarettes. Trump has called the FDA's drug approval process "slow and burdensome," despite changes to speed reviews, particularly of cutting-edge products.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief says the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945 with more than 20 million people in four countries facing starvation and famine. Stephen O'Brien told the U.N. Security Council that "without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death" and "many more will suffer and die from disease." He urged an immediate injection of funds for Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and northeastern Nigeria.
NEW YORK (AP) — A senior New York City official says Russia's ambassador to the United Nations died last month from a heart attack and no foul play was suspected. The official was briefed by the medical examiner's office -- which had said earlier today that it couldn't publicly release the cause and manner of death for Ambassador Vitaly Churkin. He died suddenly last month after collapsing in his office.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California man has pleaded guilty to stabbing the U.S. airman who weeks earlier was hailed as a hero for helping thwart a terror attack aboard a French train. A spokeswoman for the Sacramento County district attorney's office says James Tran pleaded guilty to attempted murder today, less than a week before he was to go on trial. He faces a nine-year prison sentence. Tran admitted knifing Air Force Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone in 2015 during a fight near a Sacramento bar. Stone is one of three Sacramento men who tackled a gunman with ties to radical Islam on a Paris-bound passenger train in August 2015.
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