Associated Press stories, Page 2616
Federal bills would let state prisons jam cellphone signals
Federal legislation proposed Thursday would give state prison officials the ability they have long sought to jam the signals of cellphones smuggled to inmates within their walls. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and U.S. Rep. David Kustoff of Tennessee introduced companion bills in both chambers, The Associated Press has...
Wisconsin superintendent bans sexist cheerleading awards
MILWAUKEE — The superintendent of a Wisconsin high school district has outlawed cheerleading awards that objectify students’ bodies and ordered mandatory staff training on discrimination and harassment. Dr. Sue Savaglio-Jarvis said in a letter Monday to all principals and administrators in the Kenosha Unified School District that “mock awards of...
Rock On: NASA releases artsy shots of 2 asteroids
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has released a pair of artsy shots of two little asteroids. Thursday’s picture shows an asteroid coming apart at its dusty seams, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope. Two long comet-like tails are streaming from asteroid Gault, a 2.5-mile-wide world that’s spinning so fast it’s...
Man allegedly steals Little Debbie snack truck, eats nothing
ELMIRA, N.Y. — It appears an upstate New York man was not hungry when police say he stole a Little Debbie delivery truck. Police say 38-year-old Joseph Tocco of Elmira swiped the truck Monday from a loading dock. Police stopped it a short time later. Police say Tocco told them...
Record 1,100 mutilated dolphins wash up on French shores this year
PARIS — The dolphins’ bodies were horribly mutilated, the fins cut off. But what shocked French marine researchers wasn’t just the brutality of the deaths of these highly intelligent mammals, but also the numbers involved — a record 1,100 have washed up on France’s Atlantic coast since January. The mass...
Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott nervous about rock hall speech
NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Elliott has no problem addressing huge crowds at concerts and festivals. But when his band Def Leppard gets inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Friday, it’s the speech that will make him uneasy. “Getting up and going ‘How’s everybody doing? Are...
Philly landlord charged with stealing from murdered tenant’s home
Authorities say a landlord was charged with stealing from his tenant’s home in Philadelphia the day after he was murdered. Police say 38-year-old Dan Charyna was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with burglary, criminal trespass and theft. Officers responded to the home Wednesday evening, the same location the tenant...
Seattle bus driver shot in torso drives passengers to safety
SEATTLE — A Seattle bus driver hailed as a hero for steering the bus away from a gunman who opened fire on him and his passengers says he’s “glad to be alive.” Eric Stark was hit in the torso Wednesday afternoon by a bullet but authorities say he still managed...
Motorist hit in face by frozen turkey dies years later at 59
LAKE RONKONKOMA, N.Y. — A New Yorker who urged leniency for the teenager who nearly killed her in 2004 by throwing a frozen turkey through her car windshield has died. Victoria Ruvolo was 59. Anthony Ruvolo says his aunt died Monday. The cause is not known, and it’s unclear whether...
ACLU: Meijer to change policies on filling prescriptions
PETOSKEY, Mich. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan says it has reached an agreement with Meijer on policy changes and training after a pharmacist at one of the retailer’s stores refused to fill a prescription to help a woman complete a miscarriage. The ACLU said in a news...
Pa. man gets death for teen’s rape, murder, dismemberment
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — A man who killed and dismembered his girlfriend’s 14-year-old daughter as part of a rape-murder fantasy he shared with the teenager’s mother was sentenced to death Thursday. Jacob Sullivan, 46, had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and related charges for killing Grace Packer in 2016. After deliberating...
Police: Standoff ‘resolved’ at hotel hours after man killed
MANCHESTER, N.H. — At least one man was killed in a 15-hour standoff at a New Hampshire hotel that ended Thursday, police said. The standoff ended around 10:30 a.m. with authorities bringing out a stretcher with someone on it at the Quality Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire, near Interstate 293...
Smollett saga shook public trust, heightened racial tensions
In the two months since Jussie Smollett reported a late-night attack by assailants shouting racial and anti-gay slurs, the “Empire” actor and activist went from victim to defendant. Police and many in the black community rallied to his defense before condemning his account as a hoax. On Tuesday, Smollett was...
Trump turns to health care with an eye on 2020
WASHINGTON — Buoyed by word that the special counsel didn’t find collusion with Russia, President Donald Trump is voicing new interest in policymaking, including a fresh effort to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” But Trump has few detailed policy proposals to back up his words, suggesting he’s as focused on highlighting...
After Mueller, Trump allies counsel against pardon push
NEW YORK — The end of the special counsel’s investigation sparked fresh speculation that President Donald Trump might pardon some of those charged in the probe. It’s also spawned a don’t-go-there chorus from some of Trump’s closest advisers and GOP allies. They’re warning that pardons could ignite a political firestorm...
Trump visits Michigan as Republicans confront ominous signs
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The 50 or so party faithful gathered at a western Michigan GOP headquarters prayed for President Donald Trump’s re-election and hummed with excitement about his upcoming visit — a meeting-turned-pep rally for the effort they’ll mount on his behalf in 2020. “Are we ready?” former Michigan...
Mueller’s evidence is likely a massive amount of material
WASHINGTON — Democrats say they want “all of the underlying evidence” in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. But what is all of that evidence? Mueller’s team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants and interviewed more than 500 witnesses. That means the special counsel likely compiled thousands,...
ESPN’s Keith Olbermann: Sorry for threatening hunter for rare kill
JACKSON, Miss. — ESPN broadcaster Keith Olbermann has apologized for insulting and threatening a Mississippi turkey hunter who killed a rare white turkey. The Clarion Ledger reports the former MSNBC political commentator tweeted Wednesday that he was sorry for his earlier tweet that threatened 22-year-old Hunter Waltman. The threatening tweet...
Winning $768M Powerball ticket sold in Wisconsin
NEW BERLIN, Wis. — A single ticket that matched all six Powerball numbers to win the estimated $768.4 million jackpot — the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history — was sold in a Milwaukee suburb, Wisconsin Lottery officials said Thursday. The ticket, worth a cash option of $477 million, was...
NASCAR’s winners/losers from radical schedule changes
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An entire generation of NASCAR has spent its life tuned to a schedule so predictable events could be planned years in advance and race dates marked milestones. Daytona meant the beach — a week out of school in February, the Fourth of July for vacation — and...
New-look Reds await Pirates in season opener
CINCINNATI — The MLB commissioner is grand marshal of the pregame parade. All major league teams are wearing patches commemorating Cincinnati’s first all-professional team. A new manager and an overhauled lineup provide intrigue. The Reds haven’t been in the Opening Day spotlight this way for years. The last time Cincinnati...
Alaska white supremacist gang members face federal charges
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Filthy Fuhrer and five other members of a white supremacist gang that was spawned in prisons in Alaska, Arizona and Colorado have been charged in the gruesome beating death of a member whose Nazi tattoo was burned off his rib cage with a hot knife. Fuhrer, who...
Arizona lawmaker resigns amid probe of 1983 sex charges
PHOENIX — Arizona Rep. David Stringer resigned Wednesday amid an ethics investigation of 1983 sex charges and his comments on race and immigration. The Prescott Republican lawmaker stepped down as he faced a 5 p.m. deadline to hand over documents demanded by the House Ethics Committee. Earlier in the day...
Man pleads guilty to kidnapping Jayme Closs, killing parents
BARRON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty Wednesday to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents, in a move that spares the girl held captive in a remote cabin for three months from the possible trauma of having to testify at his trial. Jake Patterson, 21, sniffled and...
MLB moves into new era: No players left from 20th century
Four-man outfields. High-tech anti-spying rules. A starting pitcher facing just one batter in a playoff game. But beyond all the shifts, analytics and social media outreach, here’s the best way to tell MLB has zoomed into a new era: There’s not a single active player left from the 20th century....
