Associated Press stories, Page 2675
Mitch McConnell warns against early exit from Syria, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Islamic State and al-Qaida militants still pose a “serious threat” to the United States and cautioned the Trump administration against an early exit from Syria and Afghanistan. The comments by McConnell, R-Ky., appeared to be a pushback against the...
Stocks end mixed as Wall Street assesses earnings
NEW YORK — Stocks posted an uneven finish on Wall Street on Tuesday, handing the S&P 500 index its second decline in a row. An early gain faded as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate results and looked ahead to a heavy schedule of news on companies and the...
U.N.: More than 130 migrants appear to be missing off Djibouti
JOHANNESBURG — More than 130 migrants were thought to be missing after two boats capsized Tuesday off the tiny East African nation of Djibouti, the U.N. migration agency said. Local police had found five bodies and search efforts were underway, the U.N. statement said. Witnesses said the boats were overloaded...
Wolf calls for tougher gun laws after synagogue shooting
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf is renewing his call for lawmakers to pass legislation expanding background checks on firearms in Pennsylvania and end an exception for shotguns, sporting rifles and semi-automatic rifles that are sold at gun shows. The Democratic governor’s statement Tuesday comes three months after a truck...
Sheriff: Louisiana suspect confesses to killing 5; used dad’s gun
BATON ROUGE, La. — The 21-year-old man accused of killing five people including his parents in a multi-parish shooting over the weekend before fleeing to his grandmother’s house has confessed, authorities said Tuesday. Dakota Theriot told authorities he used a gun he stole from his father, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason...
Chief: Injured Houston officer shot 3 times in line of duty
HOUSTON — Houston’s police chief says one of four narcotics officers shot while serving a search warrant at a suspected drug house has been struck by gunfire two other times during his career. Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday that the 54-year-old police supervisor, whose name hasn’t been released, was...
Pennsylvania resumes push to recognize Eastern hellbender
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Senate is resuming a push to make the Eastern hellbender the state’s official amphibian, an effort to highlight the plight of a creature whose numbers researchers say are declining because of pollution in rivers and streams. The bill emerged unanimously Tuesday from a Senate committee. A...
Ohio pastor pleads guilty to sex trafficking of teen girls
TOLEDO, Ohio — A second of three Ohio ministers accused of enticing teenage girls to have sex with them has pleaded guilty. Cordell Jenkins agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to federal charges that include child sex trafficking. Federal authorities say he was among three Toledo-area pastors who paid teenage girls...
FBI finds no specific motive in Las Vegas shooting
LAS VEGAS — A high-stakes gambler who rained a hail of gunfire down on a crowd of country music fans, killing 58, took any specific motive for the 2017 attack to his grave, the FBI said Tuesday as it concluded the investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S....
Insulin cost in focus as Congress opens drug price hearings
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican lawmaker said Tuesday that he plans to investigate the “unacceptable” cost of insulin, as Congress opened hearings on high prescription drug prices and how government might put the brakes on a pharmaceutical industry used to setting its own terms. “I have heard stories about people...
Some journalists wonder if their profession is tweet-crazy
NEW YORK — If Twitter is the town square for journalists, some are ready to step away. That’s happening this week at the online news site Insider — by order of the boss. Reporters have been told to take a week off from tweeting at work and to keep TweetDeck...
73-year-old Frenchman wins solo round-the-world sailing race
LES SABLES D’OLONNE, France — A 73-year-old French sailor has won an unusual, around-the-world yacht race after 212 days alone at sea without modern instruments — his first sailing victory. Jean-Luc Van Den Heede arrived Tuesday in the harbor of Les Sables d’Olonne in western France in his Rustler 36,...
Be it age or injury, Woods now begins year at a slower pace
SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods wrapped up his week at Torrey Pines with a 67 to tie for 20th and said it was good to shake off some rust and see what needs work. It was his first competition in seven weeks, and only his second event since the Ryder...
Baltimore will longer prosecute marijuana possession cases
BALTIMORE — The state’s attorney in Baltimore says her office will no longer prosecute any marijuana possession cases, regardless of the quantity of the drug or an individual’s prior criminal record. Marilyn Mosby says pot possession cases have no public safety value, waste money, and disproportionately impact communities of color....
Trump friend Roger Stone pleads not guilty in Russia probe case
WASHINGTON — Roger Stone, a longtime adviser and confidant of President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges in the Russia investigation after a publicity-filled few days spent torching the probe as politically motivated. The political operative and self-proclaimed dirty trickster appeared for his arraignment at the federal courthouse...
Friend keeps word to Hemingway, play to premier at Point Park
WESTPORT, Conn. — When the 1958 film adaptation of “The Old Man and the Sea” hit theaters, Ernest Hemingway happened to be in New York City to watch the World Series and invited his close friend A.E. Hotchner to go see the movie with him. “About 12 or 13 minutes...
U.S. consumers rattled by shutdown, roiling markets
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence tumbled this month to its lowest reading in a year and a half, tested by the partial government shutdown and roiling financial markets. Still, consumer spirits remain robust by historic standards. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index...
AP-NORC poll: President Trump’s marks on the economy slip
WASHINGTON — The public continues to give President Donald Trump his best ratings on the economy, but a new poll finds the share who approve of how he’s handling that issue has slipped since last fall. And as his promise of a U.S.-Mexico border wall brought a stalemate over funding...
Spy agencies doubt North Korea will give up nuclear weapons
WASHINGTON — In an assessment casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s goal of a nuclear-disarmed North Korea, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress on Tuesday that the North is unlikely to entirely dismantle its nuclear arsenal. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted that...
Poll: Most Americans see nation on the wrong track
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — The state of the union is dark. A large majority of Americans say they are pessimistic about the state of the country and few expect things will get better in the year ahead, according to a poll released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs...
Report outlines ways to make Pennsylvania voting more secure
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A report issued Tuesday says Pennsylvania should adopt changes to make its elections more secure — encouraging the replacement of older voting machines, enhanced security of voter rolls and better contingency planning for cyberattacks and other technological challenges. The Blue Ribbon Commission on Pennsylvania’s Election Security report...
Trump dismisses tell-all book ‘Team of Vipers’ as ‘made up stories’
WASHINGTON — President Trump is dismissing — and potentially bolstering sales — of a new tell-all book by a former White House aide, calling it “made up stories and fiction.” The book by Cliff Sims, called “Team of Vipers,” is the latest in a series of insider accounts by journalists...
Workspaces centered on women on the rise in #MeToo movement
MINNEAPOLIS — Entering the year-old workspace ModernWell feels like coming into a comfortable spa. Clean lines give way to cozy touches like footstools covered with faux fur and a roaring fire surrounded by comfortable armchairs. Women type away on laptops at tables scattered throughout. There is not a man in...
Cops: Pa. man handcuffed wife in car due to infidelity concerns
BETHLEHEM — Authorities say a Pennsylvania man shackled his wife inside his vehicle numerous times while he went to work because he was concerned she was cheating on him. John VanHorn is charged with false imprisonment. Bethlehem police found the woman Wednesday when they responded to reports of a woman...
911 dispatcher helps boy with his fractions homework
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Police dispatchers are trained to deal with a number of situations, and a dispatcher in Indiana had to know her numbers when a boy called 911 seeking help with his homework. Lafayette Police dispatcher Antonia Bundy answered the call from the boy, who said he had “a...
