Associated Press stories, Page 2453
Moscow protesters sent to prison for using force on police
MOSCOW — A Moscow court has convicted two people of using force on police at a July 27 protest rally and given them multi-year prison sentences. The court ruled on Wednesday that 28-year-old Kirill Zhukov used illegal force by pulling up a riot police officer’s visor. Zhukov received a three-year...
Lack of interest thwarts latest Pennsylvania casino auction
HARRISBURG — Lack of interest has thwarted Pennsylvania’s latest casino expansion attempt. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board received no bidders Wednesday in a casino license auction ordered by lawmakers as part of an aggressive gambling expansion launched in 2017 by a cash-hungry state government. It was Pennsylvania’s second failed effort...
U.S. trade gap fell 2.7% in July including the gap with China
WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit declined in July, including the gap with China that has been the focus of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the gap between the goods and services the United States buys and what it sells abroad fell 2.7% to $54...
Alabama couple gets prison for producing child porn
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama couple has been sentenced to prison on charges related to producing child porn. A Justice Department statement says 36-year-old Kenneth Earl Hooks got two life sentences and 120 years, to run consecutively. Sarah Pauline Morris, 28, was sentenced to about 16 years. The statement says...
Aerial videos, photos show Hurricane Dorian’s destruction in BahamasVideo
FREEPORT, Bahamas — Bahamians rescued victims of Hurricane Dorian with jet skis and a bulldozer as the U.S. Coast Guard, Britain’s Royal Navy and a handful of aid groups tried to get food and medicine to survivors and take the most desperate people to safety. Airports were flooded and roads...
Oprah Winfrey launching wellness arena tour in early 2020
LOS ANGELES — Oprah Winfrey is taking her motivational spirit on the road early next year with an arena tour to promote a healthier lifestyle. The former talk-show host and OWN television network chief announced Wednesday that the “Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus” tour will begin Jan. 4...
Michigan moves to be 1st state to ban flavored e-cigarettes
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is moving to make Michigan the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes. The Democrat announced Wednesday that she ordered the state health department to issue emergency rules. They will prohibit the sale and misleading marketing of flavored nicotine vaping products. Whitmer says in a...
Police chase ends when SUV hits bus in Philadelphia; 9 hurt
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say an SUV being pursued by police crashed into a commuter bus in Philadelphia, injuring nine people. The pursuit started in Upper Merion, as police tried to capture three robbery suspects. State police soon joined in, and the SUV eventually rear-ended the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s bus...
Authorities: Socks help solve 28-year-old Philadelphia cold case murder
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say a pair of socks helped lead to an arrest in the killing of a Pennsylvania woman nearly 30 years ago. Philadelphia authorities say Theodore Dill Donahue is charged with murder and numerous other counts in the 1991 death of his 27-year-old girlfriend, Denise Sharon Kulb. His...
Judge to discuss unsealing new trove of Jeffrey Epstein court papers
NEW YORK — A federal judge will discuss plans Wednesday for unsealing a new trove of court records involving sexual abuse allegations against Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who took his own life last month while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska scheduled the hearing after...
Hong Kong leader withdraws extradition bill that caused months of protests
HONG KONG — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced Wednesday the government will formally withdraw an extradition bill that sparked months of demonstrations, bowing to one of the protesters’ demands in the hope of ending the increasingly violent unrest. But a pro-government lawmaker warned that the bill’s withdrawal was...
Family, teenagers among 34 presumed dead in California boat fire
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — High school students, a science teacher and his daughter, an adventurous marine biologist and a family of five celebrating a birthday are among those presumed to have died when fire tore through a scuba diving boat off the Southern California coast, trapping dozens of sleeping people...
Erratic Federer loses to Grigor Dimitrov in U.S. Open quarterfinals
NEW YORK — Betrayed by his forehand, and maybe his body, too, Roger Federer is out of the U.S. Open. Federer gave away a lead against a guy he’d never lost to and was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 by 78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals before a stunned...
Pirates surrender lead in 9th, lose in 10th against MarlinsVideo
Miguel Rojas hit a tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning, and Garrett Cooper connected in the 10th as the Miami Marlins rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, ending their franchise-record 15-game road losing streak. The Marlins were down to their...
‘Total devastation’: Dorian slams parts of the BahamasVideo
FREEPORT, Bahamas — Relief officials reported scenes of utter ruin Tuesday in parts of the Bahamas and rushed to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful storm on record ever to hit the islands. At least seven deaths were reported, with the...
Bengals sign running back Giovani Bernard to 2-year dealVideo
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals signed running back Giovani Bernard to a two-year contract extension Tuesday through the 2021 season. He could have become a free agent after this season. Bernard, a second-round draft pick in 2013, has been used to complement Joe Mixon. Last season, he carried 56 times...
Rams agree with QB Jared Goff on 4-year contract extensionVideo
LOS ANGELES — Quarterback Jared Goff agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Rams through the 2024 season. The Rams confirmed the agreement Tuesday night. The team didn’t disclose contract terms. Goff is beginning his fourth year with the Rams, who made him the No. 1 overall...
Alabama sheriff: 14-year-old killed his family, later confessedVideo
ELKMONT, Ala. — A 14-year-old boy admitted to killing five members of his family, including his three younger siblings, in a slaying that rattled a small Alabama town, authorities said Tuesday. Limestone County sheriff’s spokesman Stephen Young said the boy called 911 at about 11 p.m. Monday. He met deputies...
Notre Dame searches for answers after uneven performance in opening winVideo
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — There are some questions marks for No. 8 Notre Dame after a somewhat lackluster showing on the road to open the season, even if it ended with a 35-17 win over Louisville. The silver lining for coach Brian Kelly: He was able to give his inexperienced...
Pentagon diverts $3.6 billion in military construction to build border wall
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday approved the use of $3.6 billion in funding from military construction projects to build 175 miles of President Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border. Pentagon officials would not say which 127 projects will be affected, but said details will be available...
Britain’s Boris Johnson suffers defeat in Parliament over Brexit
LONDON — On a day of humiliating setbacks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a major defeat in Parliament on Tuesday night as rebellious lawmakers voted to seize control of the Brexit agenda, prompting the embattled prime minister to say he would call for a new general election. The 328...
Law enforcement: Texas shooter purchased rifle at private saleVideo
ODESSA, Texas — The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that previously blocked him from getting a gun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke Tuesday...
Gov. Wolf to visit Auschwitz memorial to honor Tree of Life victims
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s governor will be traveling next week to visit National Guard troops stationed in Lithuania and to honor the victims of last year’s Squirrel Hill synagogue shooting during a stop at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced Tuesday he will spend time with some of the...
AP Top 25 football teams open 23-0 vs unranked teams
The Top 25 went 23-0 against unranked teams to open the season, leaving the rankings mostly unchanged with No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama at the top of the first regular-season AP college football poll of 2019. The Tigers received 54 first-place votes out of 62 in the media...
Mitch McConnell says he’s waiting on Trump to chart path on guns
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans are waiting for the White House to chart a path forward on gun violence legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, effectively putting the burden on President Donald Trump to decide the GOP’s legislative response to the spate of mass shootings that included another deadly...
