Associated Press stories, Page 2607
Trump sidelines immigration nominee for ‘tougher direction’
WASHINGTON — The notice to Congress from the White House was met with confusion: Why would President Donald Trump withdraw his nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Longtime border official Ron Vitiello appeared to be cruising toward confirmation. One Senate committee had endorsed his nomination and a second...
Police: Altoona man wakes to stranger sleeping on his kitchen floor
Police say an Altoona man awoke to find a stranger sleeping on his kitchen floor surrounded by torn-up sanitary napkins. Altoona police say they arrested 60-year-old Brian Smith on Thursday after the homeowner called police when he found Smith in his kitchen. The Altoona Mirror reports Smith was unconscious and...
Bill Cosby agrees to settle 7 defamation cases
Bill Cosby has agreed to settle lawsuits filed by seven women who say he defamed them when he accused them of lying about sexual misconduct allegations. Court documents filed Friday in Springfield, Massachusetts, show the two sides have negotiated a settlement since Cosby went to prison last fall in a...
Vaccine wars: Social media battle outbreak of bogus claims
SAN FRANCISCO — Like health officials facing outbreaks of disease, internet companies are trying to contain vaccine-related misinformation they have long helped spread. So far, their efforts at quarantine are falling short. Searches of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram turn up all sorts of bogus warnings about vaccines, including the soundly...
Filings: Bill Cosby agrees to settle 7 defamation cases
Bill Cosby has agreed to settle lawsuits filed by seven women who say he defamed them when he accused them of lying about sexual misconduct allegations. Filings Friday in federal court in Springfield, Mass., show the two sides have negotiated a settlement since Cosby went to prison last fall in...
Florida businessman convicted in $1B Medicare fraud case
MIAMI — A federal jury on Friday convicted a Florida health care executive on 20 criminal counts in what prosecutors described as a $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme. Jurors reached a partial verdict after four days of deliberating the fate of Philip Esformes in one of the biggest such cases...
Rep: Mick Jagger doing well after receiving medical treatment
NEW YORK — A representative for Mick Jagger says he has successfully undergone treatment, though no details were provided. In a statement released Friday, his rep says Jagger “is doing very well and is expected to make a full recovery.” Last week the Rolling Stones announced they were postponing their...
Avicii’s posthumous single and album to be released
NEW YORK — Avicii’s first posthumous single will be released next week and a full album will be out in June. Collaborators of the Swedish DJ-producer say in a statement Friday that Avicii was close to completing his new album before he died last April in Muscat, Oman. His co-writers...
Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner ordered to register as sex offender
NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner was ordered Friday to register as a sex offender as he nears the end of a 21-month prison sentence for having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl. A New York City judge designated Weiner a Level 1 offender under the state’s...
Police to charge West Virginia mom after abduction tale
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A woman will be criminally charged for falsely reporting that an Egyptian man tried to kidnap her daughter from a West Virginia shopping mall, a police detective told The Associated Press on Friday. Barboursville Police Detective Greg Lucas said they are going to charge Santana Renee Adams...
Visiting border, Trump to push again on immigration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump headed to California on Friday in a renewed push to make border security a central campaign issue for his 2020 re-election. Trump, talking to reporters as he left the White House to head out west, denied that he changed his mind about shutting down the...
Pro-KKK editor says Alabama paper is sold, but to whom?
LINDEN, Ala. — An Alabama newspaperman who drew widespread condemnation after a recent editorial embracing the Ku Klux Klan says he has sold his little weekly paper — but the new owner’s identity and maybe even the sale itself are shrouded in doubt. The Democrat-Reporter, whose longtime editor and publisher...
Browns to sign ex-Steelers safety Morgan Burnett, QB Garrett Gilbert
CLEVELAND — A person familiar with the plans says the Cleveland Browns intend to sign former Packers and Steelers safety Morgan Burnett and quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who played in the failed Alliance of American Football. The person familiar spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Friday because...
Should the SAT be optional? Bribery scandal renews debate
BUFFALO — The most brazen abuses of standardized testing in the college bribery scandal could be chalked up to security lapses: the ringer hired to take the SAT, the proctors paid to look the other way, the accommodations for extra time obtained through false diagnoses of disabilities. But the scheme...
With tears and wine, Kathie Lee Gifford bids farewell to ‘Today’Video
NEW YORK — Kathie Lee Gifford has wrapped up 11 years with NBC’s “Today” show with laughs, tears and — of course — wine. The 65-year-old received a standing ovation from the audience after rapper Flo Rida opened the program Friday. Co-host Hoda Kotb credited Gifford for their success. Her...
Pa. inmate suffers brain injuries in attack, remains in coma
EAGLEVILLE — Authorities say a Pennsylvania county jail inmate critically injured his cellmate during an attack in which he stomped on the man’s head more than 20 times. Joseph Hodum faces several counts, including attempted murder, stemming from Saturday’s attack. Bail was set at $1 million for the 38-year-old Philadelphia...
Study challenges health benefits of moderate drinking
LONDON — It might just be enough to kill your buzz: A new study challenges the idea that a drink or two a day could actually be good for you. In a study conducted in China, the researchers found that moderate drinking slightly raised the risk of stroke and high...
Group says 60 killed in protests against Sudan’s president
CAIRO — Sudan’s security forces have killed at least 60 people in more than three months of street protests, an international rights group said Friday as organizers called for fresh anti-government rallies in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities. Physicians for Human Rights said President Omar al-Bashir’s forces have attacked...
Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte among those honored at jazz gala
NEW YORK — Tony Bennett had few words to say, but many more to sing. Bennett was among the honorees Thursday night at “A Great Night in Harlem,” the annual fundraiser for the Jazz Foundation of America. Introduced by Ben Stiller to a capacity audience at the Apollo Theater, Bennett...
Teens get weekends in jail for racist, anti-Semitic graffiti
GLENELG, Md. — Two Maryland teens have been sentenced to jail for racist and anti-Semitic graffiti that was found at their former high school in Glenelg. News outlets report 19-year-olds Matthew Lipp and Tyler Curtiss were sentenced Thursday to 16 consecutive weekends in jail and eight consecutive weekends, respectively. Curtiss...
2 seen in surveillance at Gerald Ford grave come forward
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Police say two people suspected of defacing the gravesite of former President Gerald Ford and first lady Betty Ford have come forward and are cooperating. Grand Rapids, Michigan, police say the results of the investigation will be forwarded to a prosecutor for review when it is...
Environmental groups to sue Shell over climate change
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Climate activists are planning to deliver a court summons to Shell in a court case aimed at forcing the energy giant to do more to rein in carbon emissions. The summons is being delivered to Shell’s headquarters in The Hague on Friday afternoon. The move comes...
Pope’s Good Friday meditation to focus on human trafficking
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is dedicating this year’s Good Friday meditations to victims of human trafficking. The Vatican said Friday that Francis had asked an Italian nun who rescues migrant women forced to work as prostitutes to compose the meditations. They will be read aloud at the torch-lit ritual...
EU investigates video game companies over antitrust concerns
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s competition watchdog is stepping up its investigation of a U.S. video game platform and five game makers over concerns they blocked players from buying cheaper versions of games in other countries. The EU’s competition commissioner said Friday it issued a statement of objections to Valve...
Lawsuit: Teacher sexually abused child, birthed his kids
WHEELING — A West Virginia man says his middle school teacher sexually abused him for years, gave birth to his children and threatened to take them away if he left her. The Intelligencer reports 28-year-old Christopher Birch is suing former Bridge Street Middle School science teacher and track coach, Elizabeth...
