Associated Press stories, Page 2287
New enforcement operation focuses on meth trafficking hubsVideo
ATLANTA — Federal authorities are targeting methamphetamine “transportation hubs” around the country in an effort to block the distribution of the highly addictive drug, officials announced Thursday. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon visited Atlanta to announce the launch of Operation Crystal Shield. Atlanta is one of eight...
College student dies of flu before 911 rescuers can find him
TROY, N.Y. — A college student was found dead in his home of the flu after a garbled 911 call left rescuers with no means of locating him, authorities said. Police and firefighters in Troy, N.Y., spent 45 minutes on Feb. 10 searching the City Station apartment complex where Rensselaer...
Fired Chicago Police superintendent getting $190K pension
CHICAGO — Chicago’s former police chief has been receiving a pension of more than $15,800 a month since the mayor fired him for allegedly lying about a night he was found asleep in his city-issued SUV, according to a newspaper report. Eddie Johnson was awarded the pension by the Policemen’s...
Woman struck and killed by Mardi Gras float during paradeVideo
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans is mourning the death of a woman who was run over by a parade float as the city celebrates the season leading up to Mardi Gras. Police are still investigating the accident, spokesman Juan Barnes said Thursday. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office identified her Thursday...
Israel leader vows thousands of new homes in east Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday he was pushing ahead with the construction of 5,000 new Jewish homes in key areas of east Jerusalem, where critics say additional building could cut Palestinian residents off from the rest of the West Bank. On a visit to the Har...
CBS streaming service to grow with Viacom, Paramount videos
NEW YORK — ViacomCBS is planning a new streaming service that will combine the existing CBS All Access service with Paramount movies and shows from Viacom channels such as MTV and BET. The move had been expected since CBS and Viacom combined in August to better compete in the increasingly...
Trump ally Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months in prisonVideo
WASHINGTON — Trump loyalist and ally Roger Stone was sentenced Thursday to 40 months in federal prison, following an extraordinary move by Attorney General William Barr to back off his Justice Department’s original sentencing recommendation. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Stone’s crimes demanded a significant time behind...
Uber resumes operating in Colombia after 3-week hiatus
BOGOTA, Colombia — Uber restarted operations in Colombia on Thursday after shutting down its app for almost three weeks. In a statement, the platform said it had found “new alternatives” to work legally in the South American country. Uber said that from now on, its app will help users enter...
Struggling Victoria’s Secret is sold as women demand comfortVideo
NEW YORK — Victoria’s Secret, which once defined sexy with its leggy supermodels in their lacy bras and oversized angel wings, has a new owner. Now, the big question is whether the once sought after but now struggling brand can be reinvented for a new generation of women demanding more...
Trapped paraglider rescued from power lines in California
OLIVEHURST, Calif. — A paraglider spent three hours trapped in power lines before being rescued in northern California. The paraglider, who was not immediately identified, was facing the ground with the wires as his only support when first responders arrived Wednesday night, according to officials with the Olivehurst Fire Department....
South Sudan rival leaders agree to form coalition government
JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan’s rival leaders on Thursday announced they have agreed to form a coalition government just two days before the deadline, a breakthrough after months of delays and a major step in the emergence from a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people in the...
Vatican sees intense interest in opening of Pius XII archive
VATICAN CITY — More than 150 historians and researchers have signed up to access the soon-to-open Vatican archives of Pope Pius XII, evidence of the intense scholarly interest into the World War II-era pope and his record during the Holocaust, officials said Thursday. Cardinal José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, the...
Hair Club for Men founder — and client — Sy Sperling diesVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hair Club for Men founder Sy Sperling, famous for the TV commercials where he proclaimed “I’m not only the Hair Club president but I’m also a client,” died Thursday in Florida. He was 78. Sperling died in Boca Raton after a lengthy illness, spokeswoman Terri Lynn...
‘Leaning Tower of Dallas’ is online star after implosion
DALLAS — A social media sensation dubbed the “Leaning Tower of Dallas” was born when a portion of a building survived an implosion in Dallas. After the implosion Sunday failed to bring down the core of the 11-story former Affiliated Computer Services building, the online jokes and photos began. Many,...
Morgan Stanley to buy E-Trade for $13 billionVideo
NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley, the investment bank for millionaires, big business and megamergers, is buying E-Trade Financial, the online brokerage that encouraged waves of regular investors to get into the market with ads featuring its talking spokesbaby. The roughly $13 billion, all-stock deal would be one of the biggest...
Trump taps loyalist Richard Grenell as nation’s top intel official
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, will become acting director of national intelligence, a move that puts a staunch Trump ally in charge of the nation’s 17 spy agencies, which the president has only tepidly embraced. “Rick has represented our Country exceedingly...
South Korea reports 1st virus death; 2.5M urged to stay home
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea reported its first death from the new virus on Thursday while the mayor of a southeastern city urged its 2.5 million people to stay inside as infections linked to a church congregation spiked. The death was the ninth confirmed from the virus outside mainland...
9 killed in suspected far-right attack in Germany
HANAU, Germany — A 43-year-old German man shot and killed nine people at several locations in a Frankfurt suburb in attacks that appeared to have been motivated by far-right beliefs, officials said Thursday. The gunman first attacked a hookah bar and a neighboring cafe in central Hanau at about 10...
AP fact check: Dems’ debate flubs; Trump untruths at rally
WASHINGTON — The latest Democratic presidential debate was a raucous one, ripe for exaggerations and distortions as Mike Bloomberg made his debut on the debate stage and rivals went after him and each other. President Donald Trump weighed in on the feisty performance at a rally where he mischaracterized what...
Takeaways from the Democratic debate
LAS VEGAS — Six Democratic presidential hopefuls met on the debate stage in Las Vegas, but it was the newcomer, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who received the most attention, and none of it positive. Here are some key takeaways from the debate. THE $60 BILLION PUNCHING BAG Bloomberg...
Debate night brawl: Bloomberg, Sanders attacked by rivals
LAS VEGAS — From the opening bell, Democrats savaged New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg and raised pointed questions about Bernie Sanders’ take-no-prisoners politics during a contentious debate Wednesday night that threatened to further muddy the party’s urgent quest to defeat President Donald Trump. Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who...
U.S. judge sides with migrants in case against Border Patrol
PHOENIX — Conditions at most Border Patrol facilities in Arizona are punitive and unconstitutional, a U.S. judge in Arizona said Wednesday while ruling in favor of migrants who have long-complained about inhumane and unsanitary conditions in holding cells. The ruling came weeks after the conclusion of a seven-day trial in...
Report: Work to reduce wildfire risks has economic benefits
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Projects to reduce the risk of wildfires and protect water sources in the U.S. West have created jobs and infused more money in local economies, researchers say, and they were funded by a partnership between governments and businesses that has become a model in other countries. A...
Police: 8 killed in shootings in the German city of HanauVideo
HANAU, Germany — Eight people were killed in shootings on Wednesday evening in the German city of Hanau, authorities said. Two hookah lounges reportedly were targeted. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators early Thursday, three hours after the shootings which took place at about 10 p.m. A short police statement...
Police say 8 killed in shootings in the German city of Hanau
HANAU, Germany — Eight people were killed in shootings in the German city of Hanau on Wednesday evening, authorities said. Two hookah lounges reportedly were targeted. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators early Thursday, three hours after the shootings which took place at about 10 p.m. (2100 GMT). A short...
