Associated Press stories, Page 1393
McConnell: Finland, Sweden ‘important additions’ to NATO
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that Finland and Sweden would be “important additions” to NATO as he led a delegation of GOP senators to the region in a show of support against Russia’s aggression. McConnell also called on President Joe Biden to designate Russia as state...
Finland, Sweden inch closer to seeking NATO membership
BERLIN — Finland’s government declared a “new era” is underway as it inches closer to seeking NATO membership, hours before Sweden’s governing party on Sunday backed a plan to join the trans-Atlantic alliance amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia has long bristled about NATO moving closer to its borders, so...
Small wins buoy Ukraine; West says Russians losing momentum
KYIV, Ukraine — Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faced a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and an opponent buoyed Sunday by its wins on and off the battlefield. Finland decided to seek NATO membership as top diplomats from the...
In early primaries, voters favor polling places over mail
ATLANTA — The great vote-by-mail wave appears to be receding just as quickly as it arrived. After tens of millions of people in the United States opted for mail ballots during the pandemic election of 2020, voters in early primary states are returning in droves to in-person voting this year....
Buffalo shooter targeted Black neighborhood, officials say
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The white 18-year-old who shot and killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket had researched the local demographics and arrived in the area a day in advance to conduct reconnaissance with the “express purpose” of killing as many Black people as possible, officials said Sunday. The chilling...
Capitals out in 1st round for 4th time since winning Cup in 2018
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin thinks it’s pretty messed up that the Washington Capitals haven’t won a playoff series since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2018. This time, they have only themselves to blame. “We have it, but we just blow it away,” Ovechkin said Friday night after his team’s Game...
Max Domi, Antti Raanta help Hurricanes close out Bruins in Game 7
RALEIGH, N.C. — Max Domi scored twice in the second period, and Antti Raanta had 27 saves to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Saturday to win the deciding Game 7 of their first-round playoff series. Teuvo Teravainen also scored for the Hurricanes, who finally put...
No sea serpents or mobsters, but Tahoe trash divers strike gold
STATELINE, Nev. — They found no trace of a mythical sea monster, no sign of mobsters in concrete shoes or long-lost treasure chests. But scuba divers who spent a year cleaning up Lake Tahoe’s 72-mile shoreline have come away with what they hope will prove much more valuable: tons and...
Muñoz keeps Byron Nelson lead with local star Spieth 1 backVideo
McKINNEY, Texas — Sebastián Muñoz will be the “other” local guy in the final pairing of the final round of the Byron Nelson. It’s cool by the Colombian who now calls the Dallas area home and has at least shared the lead after all three rounds. Muñoz shot a 6-under-par...
From bummer to baby, Kyle Busch heads to Kansas on high noteVideo
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Busch stalked away from his battered car in controversial fashion last weekend at Darlington, his once-promising run in NASCAR’s throwback race having ended in frustration after Brad Keselowski’s blown front tire sent him spinning. It didn’t take long for Busch’s week to get a whole...
Djokovic back in a big final at Italian Open, vs. TsitsipasVideo
ROME — This is just what Novak Djokovic needed a week before the French Open. The top-ranked Serb beat Casper Ruud, 6-4, 6-3, on Saturday at the Italian Open to reach his biggest final of the year. Having missed a big portion of the season because he wasn’t vaccinated against...
Shootings near Milwaukee Bucks playoff game prompt curfew
Downtown Milwaukee will be under a limited curfew for the rest of the weekend and a massive watch party scheduled for Sunday has been called off after at least 20 people were injured in three separate shootings near an entertainment district where thousands gathered for an NBA playoff game. In...
10 dead in mass shooting at Buffalo supermarket
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A teenage gunman wearing military gear and livestreaming with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket in what authorities described as “racially motived violent extremism,” killing 10 people and wounding three Saturday before he surrendered, authorities said. Police officials said the...
Putin warns Finland NATO membership would harm relations
HELSINKI — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his Finnish counterpart Saturday that relations between the two neighbors could be “negatively affected” if Finland follows through with plans to apply for NATO membership. The Kremlin’s press service said in a statement that Putin told Sauli Niinisto Finland’s abandonment “of its traditional...
McConnell, GOP senators meet Zelenskyy in surprise Kyiv stop
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and a delegation of GOP senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv during an unannounced visit Saturday, delivering the latest show of American solidarity with the country at war with Russia. A video posted on Zelenskyy’s Telegram account showed McConnell, R-Ky.,...
20 injured in Milwaukee shootings after Bucks playoff game
MILWAUKEE — Twenty people were injured in two shootings in downtown Milwaukee near an entertainment district where thousands had been watching the Bucks lose to the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals, authorities said. None of the injuries from either shooting after Friday night’s game...
‘Chrisley Knows Best’ stars to stand trial in Atlanta
ATLANTA — A federal trial for reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley on charges including bank fraud and tax evasion is set to start Monday in Atlanta. The trial is getting underway just days after E! announced that it is moving forward with a new dating series, “Love Limo,”...
Abortion rights backers rally in anger over post-Roe future
WASHINGTON — Supporters of abortion rights took to the streets across America on Saturday to make clear their anger at the prospect that the Supreme Court will soon strike down the constitutional right to abortion. Cries of “My body, my choice” rang out as activists committed to fighting for what...
Clarence Thomas says abortion leak has changed Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — Justice Clarence Thomas says the Supreme Court has been changed by the shocking leak of a draft opinion earlier this month. The opinion suggests the court is poised to overturn the right to an abortion recognized nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade. The conservative Thomas, who...
Trump backs Mastriano in Pennsylvania GOP governor primary
HARRISBURG — Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for governor, siding with a far-right candidate who was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and has worked with determination to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mastriano was already leading a...
Panthers beat Capitals in OT, win 1st playoff series since 1996Video
WASHINGTON — On the wrong side of a comeback effort this time, the Florida Panthers rebounded in overtime and made sure they wouldn’t need to go home to finish their first-round series. Carter Verhaeghe scored the OT winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington...
Bruce Boudreau to return as coach of Canucks
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Bruce Boudreau will return as coach of the Vancouver Canucks next season after helping to turn the struggling NHL club around as a midyear replacement. Speaking Friday afternoon after completing a “rough round” of golf, the 67-year-old Boudreau said “we have some unfinished business in Vancouver,...
North Korea confirms 21 new deaths as it battles covid
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Saturday reported 21 new deaths and 174,440 more people with fever symptoms as the country scrambles to slow the spread of covid-19 across its unvaccinated population. The new deaths and cases, which were from Friday, increased total numbers to 27 deaths and 524,440...
U.S., Russian defense chiefs speak for 1st time since invasion
WASHINGTON — Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday after months of refusing direct contact with his American counterpart. But officials said the call didn’t appear to signal any change in Moscow’s war in Ukraine. A senior Defense Department official said Friday...
Mixed Texas ruling allows trans youth parent investigations
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday allowed the state to investigate parents of transgender youth for child abuse while also ruling in favor of one family that was among the first contacted by child welfare officials following an order by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The court did...
