The world at a glance . . . United States

Santa Clara, Calif.

Shift on medical pot: Federal law enforcement officers will no longer raid state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week at a news conference in California. The new stance is a break from the Bush administration’s policy, which dispatched drug enforcement agents to raid some three-dozen marijuana dispensaries, mostly in California, the state considered the birthplace of the medical marijuana movement. “Federal resources should not be used to circumvent state law,” said a Justice Department spokesman. The new policy is consistent with President Obama’s campaign statement that he was “open” to the use of marijuana “to relieve pain and suffering.” The sale, cultivation, and use of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in 13 states; New Jersey is currently considering legalization.

Alabaster, Ala.

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Freak storm: A rare late-winter snowstorm blanketed Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas this week before barreling on and burying the Northeast under as much as 15 inches of snow. The weather snarled air traffic at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, and led more than 200 churches in Alabama to cancel services. “I think you can worship in this stuff, it’s so rare,” said Vonda Braswell, 9, while throwing snowballs in her front yard in Alabaster. The storm prompted school cancellations in Washington, D.C., New York, and Boston, as well. Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, which faces a $2 billion budget deficit, lamented that his state has spent $40 million on storm cleanup this winter. “I don’t like snow,” O’Malley said.

Phoenix

Gunrunner trial: Jury selection began this week in the trial of an Arizona gun dealer charged with supplying weapons to Mexican drug gangs. The illicit guns allegedly include an assault rifle linked to the massacre of eight Mexican drug agents. Authorities say George Iknadosian, owner of X-Caliber Guns in Phoenix, sold assault weapons, including many AK-47s, to “straw buyers” who then ferried the guns across the border to members of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico. “We had a direct pipeline from Iknadosian to the Sinaloa cartel,” said Thomas Mangan of the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Iknadosian, 47, allegedly has sold 515 AK-47s since 2006. It’s unknown how many were sold to the cartels. Iknadosian has pleaded not guilty.

Atlanta

Assisted suicide bust: Agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation this week charged three men and a woman with helping a cancer victim end his life. Officials say the four members of the Final Exit Network violated the state’s law against assisted suicide by showing 58-year-old John Celmer how to suffocate himself using helium tanks and a plastic hood, which they call an “exit bag.” The arrests of the four “exit guides” came after an agent infiltrated the group by posing as a prospective client. Final Exit called the charges a “test case” for assisted suicide, which is legal only in Oregon and Washington state. “We’re liberal do-gooders,” said Derek Humphry, a leader of the group who lives in Oregon. “Yet we’re assailed as if we were criminals.”

Washington, D.C.

Bowing to Rush: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele this week apologized to Rush Limbaugh after dismissing him as an “entertainer” whose radio program is often “incendiary” and “ugly.” Steele had made the comments in an interview with CNN, in which he also said that he, not Limbaugh, is the “de facto leader of the Republican Party.” In response, Limbaugh described Steele as an embarrassment to Republicans. “You know who needs a little leadership? Michael Steele,” said Limbaugh. “I respect Rush Limbaugh, he is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice,” Steele said in his apology. “The words that I said weren’t what I was thinking.”

Clearwater, Fla.

Boat accident claims three: The Coast Guard this week suspended its search for three men, including two National Football League players, who have been missing since their boat capsized last weekend off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Coast Guard personnel rescued a fourth man, former University of South Florida football player Nick Schuyler, who had been fishing with the other three. Schuyler was found after spending 36 hours clinging to an overturned, 21-foot boat in heavy seas. The missing include Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, NFL free agent Corey Smith, and former University of South Florida football player William Bleakley. Schuyler said the three, who were wearing life vests, drifted away from the boat after it capsized.