Associated Press stories, Page 2659
Border security brawl seems near a serene resolution
WASHINGTON — Congress is set to resolve its clattering brawl with President Donald Trump in uncommonly bipartisan fashion as lawmakers prepare to pass a border security compromise providing a mere sliver of the billions he’s demanded for a wall with Mexico and averting a rekindled government shutdown this weekend. With...
School massacre 1 year later: A time to remember the victims
PARKLAND, Fla. — The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre a year ago renewed the national debate on guns and school safety, turned some victims’ parents and surviving students into political activists and at least temporarily ended the local sheriff’s career. But Thursday’s anniversary will primarily be about remembering the...
Prince Philip won’t be charged in UK car crash
LONDON — British prosecutors say Prince Philip won’t face charges in connection with a car collision that left two women injured. The decision came just days after Buckingham Palace said the 97-year-old royal would stop driving. Prosecutors said Thursday they had decided that it would not be in the public...
Cancer death racial gap narrows but still higher for blacks
NEW YORK — For a long time, blacks have died of cancer at higher rates than other Americans. But a new report says the gap is narrowing. Nearly 30 years ago, black men had a 47 higher cancer death rate than white men. Now it’s 19 percent higher. Black women...
Duquesne falls at La Salle on late layup
PHILADELPHIA — Pookie Powell scored the last two of his team-high 25 points on a driving layup with five seconds left as La Salle edged Duquesne, 73-72, on Wednesday night. Powell made 4 of 6 3-pointers. David Beatty had 15 points for La Salle (8-15, 6-5 Atlantic 10). Isiah Deas...
Perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche dead at 96
LEESBURG, Va. — Lyndon LaRouche Jr., the political extremist who ran for president in every election from 1976 to 2004, including a campaign waged from federal prison, has died. He was 96. LaRouche’s political action committee confirmed Wednesday on its website that LaRouche died a day earlier. The cult-like figure,...
AAF’s officials pleased with opening weekend TV ratings but remain cautious
The Alliance of American Football was a ratings winner in its inaugural weekend, but founder Charlie Ebersol realizes it is a small sample size. “We feel really good about them and that our theory that Americans want more football tends to be true,” Ebersol said. “However, we still have to...
Jim France tries to revive sagging NASCAR from behind the scenes
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jim France is running NASCAR the same way he lives his life: quietly, in the background, away from the spotlight he never craved. The youngest son of NASCAR’s founder carved his own path in the family business and left the leadership roles to his father, Bill...
Ex-W.Va. Supreme Court justice Allen Loughry gets 2 years for corruption
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former West Virginia Supreme Court justice who had a $32,000 blue suede couch in his office and was at the center of an impeachment and corruption scandal was sentenced to two years in federal prison Wednesday. “I have not seen evidence of remorse,” U.S. District Judge...
Sergio Garcia apologizes for outburst at Saudi Arabia tournament
LOS ANGELES — Sergio Garcia apologized in a statement and in person to the players in his group when he damaged five greens at the Saudi International. He apologized in a social media post and in an interview at his locker Wednesday at Riviera. That has been the easy part....
U.S. says ex-intel official Monica Witt defected to Iran, revealed secrets
WASHINGTON — A former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran despite warnings from the FBI has been charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government, including the code name and secret mission of a Pentagon program, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Justice Department also accused Monica Elfriede...
Authorities say suspect in suitcase death is in the country illegally
A man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and dumping her body in a suitcase in Connecticut is a citizen of Portugal who has been in the U.S. illegally for more than a year, federal authorities said Wednesday as the victim’s loved ones gathered for her funeral. Javier Da Silva Rojas,...
Kentucky bishop says Covington students were not instigators
COVINGTON, Ky. — Investigators hired by a Kentucky diocese have found that Catholic school boys didn’t instigate a confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial that went viral on social media. Covington Bishop Roger Foys initially condemned the students’ behavior after a video showed a teenage boy face-to-face with a Native American...
NASA rover finally bites the dust on Mars after 15 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Opportunity, the Mars rover that was built to operate for just three months but kept going and going, rolling across the rocky red soil, was pronounced dead Wednesday, 15 years after it landed on the planet. The six-wheeled vehicle that helped gather critical evidence that...
Couples learn how to be romantic and business partners
Debbie and Gary Douglas sometimes need to remind each other, this is your business partner talking. In business together for 16 years, the Douglases have found that being co-owners of a public relations firm requires them to be more direct with each other than they once were as spouses. Like...
Ravens reportedly agree to trade Joe Flacco to Broncos
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Joe Flacco has gone from Denver Broncos tormentor to savior. The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to trade the veteran quarterback to the Broncos in exchange for a fourth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, a person with knowledge of the agreement told the Associated Press. The person...
Mike Krzyzewski: ‘No knowledge’ of alleged assault by ex-Duke player
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says he has “no knowledge” of a woman’s allegation that she was sexually assaulted by a former Blue Devils basketball player and he believes the school should and will investigate. Lawyer Nancy Erika Smith has said her client, Meredith Watson, was raped by...
Cavaliers’ Kevin Love sitting out final game before All-Star break
CLEVELAND — Cavaliers forward Kevin Love will sit out the final game before the All-Star break to get further rest following foot surgery. Love has not suffered any setbacks since returning last week to play for the first time since having the operation in November. The five-time All-Star has played...
Levi Strauss plans to raise $100M in initial public offering
SAN FRANCISCO — Well-known jeans company Levi Strauss & Co. says it plans to raise about $100 million through an initial public offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range has yet to be determined. The total amount raised may change based on investor demand and...
Indictment: Ex-‘American Idol’ contestant Antonella Barba was drug courier
NORFOLK, Va. — A recently unsealed court document says a former contestant on both “American Idol” and “Fear Factor” worked as a courier for a drug ring and was trying to deliver nearly 2 pounds of fentanyl when she was arrested last year. The Virginian-Pilot reports 32-year-old Antonella Barba was...
Activision to lay off 800 workers as video game sales drop
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Video game maker Activision Blizzard is laying off nearly 800 workers as the company braces for a steep downturn in revenue following the best year in its history. The cutbacks announced Tuesday illustrate the boom-and-bust cycles in an industry whose fortunes are tied to video games...
Authorities: 2 Scranton women sitting in car shot, wounded
WILKES-BARRE — Authorities say two women sitting in a car were shot and wounded in northeastern Pennsylvania. But it’s not yet known what sparked the shooting in Wilkes-Barre, which occurred around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities say the victims — identified only as two Scranton residents ages 19 and 20 —...
Unhappy with deal, Trump still doesn’t expect a new shutdown
WASHINGTON — Under mounting pressure from his own party, President Donald Trump appeared to be grudgingly leaning toward accepting an agreement that would head off a threatened second government shutdown but provide just a fraction of the money he’s been demanding for his Mexican border wall. Trump said Tuesday he...
Angels 2-way star Ohtani will focus on hitting as he continues recovery from Tommy John
TEMPE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani tossed his water bottle toward a clubhouse garbage can and missed, instead landing it in a laundry bin. He laughed out loud, smiled big — as he so often does — then retrieved the trash and put it in the proper place. That’s about as...
Duke overcomes 23-point 2nd-half deficit to beat Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cam Reddish made a tying 3-pointer with 1 minute, 28 seconds left and the go-ahead free throws with 14 seconds remaining, helping No. 2 Duke overcome a 23-point second-half deficit to beat No. 16 Louisville, 71-69, on Tuesday night. After making 2 of 17 shots to open...
