Ohio Democrat says she won’t challenge Pelosi for speaker
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, the top potential rival to Nancy Pelosi for House speaker, dropped out of the running Tuesday, delivering a blow to efforts to topple the California Democrat.
Fudge announced her decision just as Pelosi said she was naming the Ohio congresswoman as incoming chair of a newly revived elections subcommittee that will delve into voting rights access, a top priority of the new Democratic majority. The move also came the same day Fudge faced questions over her past support for a man now suspected of stabbing his ex-wife.
Her consideration to run for speaker, Fudge said, was in part to “ensure diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of the House.” She was “now confident that we will move forward together,” she said in a statement.
As a former chairwoman of the influential Congressional Black Caucus, Fudge noted she was assured by Pelosi assured that black women, in particular, “will have a seat at the decision-making table.”
Pelosi’s move to revive the elections subcommittee of the House Administration Committee is an example of the reach of the leader’s office to dole out plum assignments to lawmakers — or withhold them — as she works to shore up votes to become speaker.
Americans, Canadians warned: Don’t eat romaine lettuce
NEW YORK — Health officials in the U.S. and Canada told people on Tuesday to stop eating romaine lettuce because of a new E. coli outbreak.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is working with officials in Canada on the outbreak, which has sickened 32 people in 11 states and 18 people in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
The strain identified is different than the one linked to romaine earlier this year but appears similar to last year’s outbreak linked to leafy greens.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency doesn’t have enough information to ask suppliers for a recall, but he suggested that supermarkets and restaurants should withdraw romaine until the source of the contamination can be identified. People are also being advised to throw out any romaine they have at home.
The contaminated lettuce is likely still on the market, Gottlieb told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
Tech giants plunge again, pushing market into red for year
NEW YORK — Stocks dropped again Tuesday as losses mounted for the world’s largest technology companies. Retailers also fell, and energy companies plunged with oil prices as the market sank back into the red for the year.
Oil prices tumbled another 6.6 percent as Wall Street reacted to rising oil supplies and concerns that global economic growth will slow down, a worry that’s intensified because of the trade tensions between the U.S. and China. U.S. crude has plunged 30 percent since early October.
Technology companies were hit after the Trump administration proposed new national security regulations that could limit exports of high-tech products in fields such as quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Retailers also skidded. Target’s profit disappointed investors as it spends more money to revamp its stores and its website, while Ross Stores, TJX and Kohl’s also fell on disappointing forecasts.
The S&P 500 index lost 48.84 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,641.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 551.80 points, or 2.2 percent, to 24,465.64.
Renault board: Ghosn to remain CEO while detained in Japan
PARIS — Carlos Ghosn will remain chairman and CEO of Renault despite being detained in Japan on allegations he misused assets of partner Nissan Motor Co. and under-reported millions of dollars in income.
The French carmaker’s board of directors announced its decision after an emergency meeting in Paris on Tuesday.
The board, however, said it was appointing the automaker’s No. 2 executive, Chief Operating Officer Thierry Bollore, to temporarily fill in for Ghosn.
“Mr. Ghosn, temporarily incapacitated, remains chairman and chief executive officer,” a statement from Renault’s board said. But while Ghosn deals with his legal issues in Japan, Bollore will have the same authority to run the company as the CEO, it added.
Renault’s board said its decision was made with an eye toward keeping the company on a steady course “to preserve the interests of the group and the continuity of its operations.”
2 kids, 2 adults dead in arson fire at mansion
COLTS NECK, N.J. — Two children and two adults were found dead Tuesday at a burning mansion that was intentionally set ablaze in an upscale community near the New Jersey shore, officials said.
One of the owners of the home is a technology CEO with a relative whose home also caught fire Tuesday, records show. Authorities said they were investigating whether the two blazes were connected.
Three severely burned bodies were found inside the mansion in Colts Neck, and a man’s body was discovered outside, Monmouth County prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said at a news conference.
Officials have not released any identities, and a medical examiner was still investigating how the four people died, Gramiccioni said.
“It’s important to emphasize that we have no reason to believe that anyone in the community is in any danger at this time,” he added.