Associated Press stories, Page 2457
Electric bikes might soon be coming to national park trails
WASHINGTON — Motorized electric bicycles may soon be humming their way into serene national parks and other public lands nationwide, under a new Trump administration order — hotly opposed by many outdoors groups — allowing the so-called e-bikes on every federal trail where a regular bike can go. Sales of...
Trump eyes mental institutions as answer to gun violence
WASHINGTON — When shots rang out last year at a high school in Parkland, Fla., leaving 17 people dead, President Donald Trump quickly turned his thoughts to creating more mental institutions. When back-to-back mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, jolted the nation earlier this month, Trump again...
Teen phenom Coco Gauff to take on defending champ Osaka at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Coco Gauff is still not quite used to hearing her name shouted by thousands of U.S. Open spectators reveling in each booming serve, each “How did she do that?” shot and each victory by a 15-year-old American who is the youngest woman in the U.S. Open’s third...
5 whales dead after mass stranding on Maui beach
HONOLULU — Five whales died, including four that were euthanized, after a mass stranding Thursday on a beach on the Hawaii island of Maui. Ten melon-headed whales were found stranded alive early in the morning on Sugar Beach in the coastal resort community of Kihei. Hours later, a whale calf...
Hurricane Dorian bears down on northern Bahamas
Hurricane Dorian bore down on the northern Bahamas on Saturday with howlingwinds, surging seas and a threat of torrential rains, forcing some evacuations and hotel closures ahead of the fierceCategory 4 storm. Forecasters expected Dorian, packing 150 mph winds, to hit some Bahamian islands Sunday before heading nearFlorida and then...
1-year-old child dies in hot car in North Carolina
PINEVILLE, N.C. — Police in North Carolina say a baby has died after his mother left the 1-year-old in a hot car while she was at work. News outlets report Pineville Police responded to a 911 call Thursday evening and found the 1-year-old boy in his car seat in a...
Knowing when to prune is just as important as knowing how
Pruning is one of the most fundamental tasks in gardening, and knowing when to trim is as essential as knowing how. Pruning woody plants at the wrong time can interrupt bloom cycles and damage stressed plants. “It’s time to prune whenever your pruners are sharp” is an old adage that...
Trump attacks Fox News, but the network remains silent
NEW YORK — The one constant with President Donald Trump’s increasingly frequent attacks on Fox News has been the network’s refusal to respond, even as the president complains that “Fox isn’t working for us anymore.” In recent days, however, some Fox personalities like Bret Baier, Juan Williams and Brit Hume...
250 pigs escape; most back, some with help from hot dog buns
ORANGE, Vt. — About 250 pigs have been causing a ruckus in a Vermont town the past month after they escaped from their enclosure, but most of them had been returned as of Thursday thanks to a trail of hot dog buns and good ol’ fashioned corralling. Several farm workers...
Alabama governor apologies for wearing blackface in college
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey apologized Thursday for wearing blackface decades ago, becoming the latest politician to face scrutiny over racially insensitive photos and actions from their university days. Ivey, 74, issued the apology after a 1967 radio interview surfaced in which her now-ex-husband describes her actions at...
Condemned death row inmate waits to hear whether he will be spared
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A condemned Tennessee prisoner is waiting to hear whether he will be spared the death chamber after he claimed prosecutors illegally excluded African Americans from the jury pool. Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman (ah-BOO’-ah-LEE’) (AHB’-dur-RAK’-mahn), who is black, faces an April 16 execution date for the 1986 murder of Patrick...
Feds: Drug ring had enough cheap fentanyl to kill 14 million
NORFOLK, Va. — Law enforcement officials in Virginia said Thursday that they’ve taken down a multi-state drug ring and seized enough cheap fentanyl from China to kill 14 million people. The bust was announced in the wake of growing efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl from Chinese labs to...
Texas governor says ‘mistakes’ made in immigrant rhetoric
EL PASO, Texas — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday “mistakes were made” when he sent a fundraising mailer that called on supporters to “defend Texas” from illegal immigration, which was dated a day before a gunman targeting Mexicans killed 22 people in El Paso. The letter was condemned as...
Surprise! 23-year-old Townsend of U.S. upsets Halep at Open
NEW YORK — The pure, raw emotion from Taylor Townsend came through after she delivered one last crisp forehand volley to complete her U.S. Open upset of two-time major champion Simona Halep, then clenched her fists, raised her arms and yelled, “Yes! Yes!” before patting her heart. And there it...
Teammates mourn slayings of pitcher’s family in Va. town
KEELING, Va. — Blake Bivens was inconsolable as the 24-year-old minor league pitcher flew from a road trip back to southern Virginia, where his wife, 1-year-old son and mother-in-law were slain. “It was awful,” said Montgomery Biscuits manager Morgan Ensberg, who traveled with Bivens on Tuesday. “Blake is an incredibly...
New Mexico official: Retake state land leased to Epstein
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico’s attorney general urged officials Thursday to retake state trust land that had been leased to Jeffrey Epstein’s ranch, saying the financier’s bid for the scrubby, desert acreage meant for cattle grazing should not have been granted. In a statement, Attorney General Hector Balderas accused Epstein...
Rules changes could come to NCAA if California bill passes
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA wants a level playing field for all athletes, even if state law proposals threaten its longtime model for amateur sports. With the California assembly considering a potentially landmark measure that would allow athletes at state colleges and universities to profit from the use of their names,...
Marshal says fugitives had 8-hour head start on authorities
PHOENIX — The U.S. marshal for Arizona says a fugitive couple suspected of murder escaped by tying up two security guards near the Utah state line. In an interview Thursday with Phoenix radio station KTAR-FM, David Gonzales shared more details about how 56-year-old Blane Barksdale and 59-year-old Susan Barksdale escaped...
Alex Trebek, saying he’s on the mend, back at ‘Jeopardy!’
LOS ANGELES — “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek has returned to work, saying he’s “on the mend” following treatment for pancreatic cancer. The game show posted a video Thursday on Twitter showing the 79-year-old host back on set and promising “a good year” ahead. He actually started work on July 22,...
U.S. proposes easing rules on methane emissions
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to revoke many of its regulations covering oil-industry leaks of methane, a potent climate-changing gas. EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement Thursday that the agency is following President Donald Trump’s directive to remove regulatory burdens on the oil and gas...
Judge ends case against Epstein, with a nod to the accusers
NEW YORK — A judge has formally ended the criminal case against financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman on Thursday granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss charges against Epstein after he killed himself in jail Aug. 10 while he was awaiting his sex trafficking trial. The judge’s action was...
Ouch! Pro runner steps into Michigan pothole, breaks leg
FLINT, Mich. — There’s more evidence of Michigan’s woeful roads: A champion runner says he fractured a leg bone when he stepped into a pothole during a 10-mile race in Flint. Chris Derrick, a three-time U.S. Cross Country champion, posted a photo of his right leg on Instagram. View this...
Magnitude 6.3 earthquake rumbles 150 miles off Oregon coast
COOS BAY, Ore. — An underwater earthquake with an initial 6.3 magnitude has struck off the Oregon coast. The U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday no tsunami is expected from the temblor, which happened about 150 miles from land. It was at a depth of about 5.4 miles underwater. There were...
Creating depth chart a players’ affair at Penn State
STATE COLLEGE — Every year at this time, college football fans wait anxiously for coaching staffs to settle on their first depth chart of the season, giving them their first look at what their favorite teams will look like on the field when the season opens. James Franklin gave Penn...
Pennsylvania court: Making gun-like hand gesture is a crime
LANCASTER COUNTY — A Lancaster County man convicted of disorderly conduct for making a shooting gesture with his hand has lost his bid to have it overturned. A state appellate court made the ruling Tuesday on the appeal brought by Stephen Kirchner, 64. The man from Manor Township made the...
