Associated Press stories, Page 2438
Hurricane Lorena nears Mexico’s resort-studded Los Cabos
CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — Hurricane Lorena neared Mexico’s resort-studded Los Cabos area Friday as owners pulled their boats from the water, tourists hunkered down in hotels, and police and soldiers went through low-lying, low-income neighborhoods urging people to evacuate. Lorena was forecast to pass over or near the southern...
Walmart to stop selling electronic cigarettes at its stores
NEW YORK — Walmart says it will stop selling electronic cigarettes at its namesake stores and Sam’s Clubs following a string illnesses and deaths related to vaping. The nation’s largest retailer said Friday that it will complete its exit from e-cigarettes after selling through current inventory. It cited growing federal,...
‘House Hunters’ host Suzanne Whang dies at 57
Suzanne Whang, whose smooth, calm voice provided the narration for HGTV’s “House Hunters” for years, has died. She was 57. Her Tuesday death was confirmed Friday by her longtime agent, Eddie Culbertson. Whang first gained fame as the on-screen host of the show, where anxious home buyers are shown trying...
Chris Sullivan of ‘This is Us’ takes risks on the red carpet
Chris Sullivan may or may not win at this weekend’s Emmy Awards, but it’s a sure bet that when he strikes a pose on the red carpet, his unconventional attire will make a statement. At past events, Sullivan has donned a top hat and cane, brightly colored flowered pants and...
Chris Cornell’s teen daughter releases song produced by himVideo
A ballad that Chris Cornell produced for his daughter Toni when she was just 12 is now being released. “Far Away Places” was written by Toni three years ago, and was one of the last songs that Cornell recorded before his death in May 2017. The song was released on...
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 presidential bid
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ended his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Friday after struggling to gain traction in a sprawling field of candidates. Announcing his decision in an MSNBC interview, de Blasio did not throw his support behind any candidate but...
Music starts for Earthlings around Area 51 events in NevadaVideo
HIKO, Nev. — Sound checks echoed from a distant main stage while Daniel Martinez whirled and danced at dusty makeshift festival grounds just after sunset in Rachel, the Nevada town closest to the once-secret Area 51 military base. Martinez’s muse was the thumping beat from a satellite set-up pumping a...
From Australia to Europe, climate protesters hit the streetsVideo
BERLIN — Hundreds of thousands of protesters in Australia, many of them children who skipped school, kicked off a day of demonstrations around the world against climate change in the run-up to a U.N. summit in New York. Rallies to open the “Global Climate Strike” took place on Friday in...
Trump administration blocks ‘urgent’ whistleblower disclosure
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plunged into an extraordinary showdown with Congress over access to a whistleblower’s complaint about reported incidents including a private conversation between President Donald Trump and a foreign leader. The blocked complaint is “serious” and “urgent,” the government’s intelligence watchdog said. The administration is keeping Congress...
Moving plants indoors for winter? Ease them into it gently
Moving houseplants indoors with the onset of cold weather is not your typical furniture-shifting exercise. It requires planning, since houseplants for the most part are tender tropicals and need time to acclimate to a changed growing environment. “Bring them in over a two-week period,” said Kate Karam, editorial director for...
AP Explains: Brownface part of racist face makeup history
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The scandal surrounding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after a yearbook photo showing him in brownface at a 2001 costume party was published is bringing attention to a practice that scholars say white people have been using for years to demean minorities. In the picture, the then-29-year-old...
More than 1,000 rescues, evacuations as Imelda soaks TexasVideo
CHINA, Texas — The slow-churning remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda dangerously flooded parts of Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, scrambling rescue crews and volunteers with boats to reach scores of stranded drivers and families trapped in their homes during a relentless downpour that drew comparisons to Hurricane Harvey two years...
UNC-Duke program too positive on Islam, Trump officials say
The Trump administration is threatening to cut funding for a Middle East studies program run by the University of North Carolina and Duke University, arguing that it’s misusing a federal grant to advance “ideological priorities” and unfairly promote “the positive aspects of Islam” but not Christianity or Judaism. An Aug....
Salary cap economics squeezing out NHL’s middle class
Stanley Cup-winning experience isn’t worth what it used to be. Neither is experience of any kind. As NHL teams move toward paying their stars more money and relying on young players to fill the gaps, hockey’s middle class is being squeezed out. Veterans like 2018 Washington Capitals playoff hero Devante...
Pirates’ skid hits 6 in a row with 11-inning loss to MarinersVideo
The Seattle Mariners are on their way to finishing at the bottom of the AL West, but they plan to do more than merely play out the string over the final two weeks. “We’ve got a lot of young guys who are trying to make an impression,” manager Scott Servais...
Colt suspends production of AR-15 for civilian market
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Gun-maker Colt is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15, the company said Thursday in a shift it attributed to changes in consumer demand and a market already saturated with similar weapons. The company said it will focus instead on...
‘Middle of the herd’ no more: Amazon tackles climate change
NEW YORK — Online shopping giant Amazon revealed a carbon footprint Thursday that rivals that of a small country and vowed to reduce the damage to the planet by cutting its use of fossil fuels. The company, which ships more than a 10 billion items a year on fuel-guzzling planes...
House chairman Adam Schiff: Whistleblower complaint may involve TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence is refusing to turn over to Congress a whistleblower complaint that reportedly concerns Trump making an unspecified promise to a foreign leader. It’s a matter of urgent concern, the intelligence community’s inspector general said. Trump, though giving no details about any...
House OKs measure to prevent possible end-of-month shutdown
WASHINGTON — The House has passed a short-term ending bill to prevent a federal shutdown when the budget year ends Sept. 30. The bipartisan measure, approved by a 301-123 vote, would give lawmakers until the Thanksgiving break to negotiate and pass $1.4 trillion worth of annual agency spending bills. The...
Walgreens, Google affiliate to launch drone delivery test
Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish Crackers or gummy bears as well as aspirin for sick kids will be delivered starting next month in Christiansburg, Virginia, by a 10-pound drone flying as...
Airbnb says it will go public in 2020
Airbnb Inc. said Thursday it plans to go public in 2020, a long-awaited move by the home-sharing company that is both loved and reviled for its disruption of the accommodation sector. Airbnb disclosed the news in a brief statement. It didn’t give a target date for the initial public offering...
Where have the wild birds gone? 3 billion fewer than 1970
WASHINGTON — North America’s skies are lonelier and quieter as nearly 3 billion fewer wild birds soar in the air than in 1970, a comprehensive study shows. The new study focuses on the drop in sheer numbers of birds, not extinctions. The bird population in the United States and Canada...
Bill to increase fine for misusing animal traps passes House
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is giving its unanimous approval to toughening penalties for using body-gripping animal traps outside of the waterways for which they’re designed. Lawmakers voted Thursday to send the bill to the state Senate for its consideration. Backers argue the larger penalties may help deter people from...
Trump sues Manhattan DA seeking to block tax return subpoena
NEW YORK — President Trump asked a federal court Thursday to block an effort by New York prosecutors to obtain his tax returns as part of a criminal investigation, opening another front in the president’s efforts to keep his financial information private. Trump’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against Manhattan District...
AP: Age-bias claims cost Pennsylvania $225K
HARRISBURG — Eighteen agents who investigate violent gun crimes for the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office each cashed $12,500 taxpayer-funded checks last year to settle claims they had been subject to harassment because of their age, The Associated Press has learned. The agency this week disclosed the payments to the current...
