Associated Press stories, Page 2692
China sentences Canadian to death, raises diplomatic tension
BEIJING — A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death Monday in a sudden retrial in a drug smuggling case that is likely to escalate tensions between the countries over the arrest of a top Chinese technology executive. The court in northeastern Liaoning province announced that it had given...
On bad hip, Andy Murray bounced from Australian Open; Nadal finds form
MELBOURNE, Australia — If this was it for Andy Murray, if this truly was it, he gave himself — and an appreciative, raucous crowd that included his mother and brother — quite a gutsy goodbye, the type of never-give-in performance he’s famous for. What Murray could not quite do Monday...
Report: 2 killed, 40 detained in new gay purge in Chechnya
MOSCOW — The Russian republic of Chechnya has launched a new crackdown on gays in which at least two people have died and about 40 people have been detained, LGBT activists in Russia charged Monday. The new allegations come after reports in 2017 of more than 100 gay men arrested...
Bud Light debuts bigger nutrition labels
DETROIT — Nutrition labels are coming to the beer aisle. Starting next month, packages of Bud Light will have prominent labels showing the beer’s ingredients, calories and the amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein in a serving. The labels aren’t legally required, but major beer makers agreed to disclose ingredients...
Citigroup adjusted profits rise by 9 percent, beats estimate
NEW YORK — Citigroup is reporting its profits rose by 9 percent on an adjusted basis from a year earlier, helped by a lower tax rate and a reduction in expenses. Citi said Monday it earned $4.31 billion in the last three months of 2018, or a profit of $1.64...
Ford and Cadillac SUVs, Toyota sports car star at Detroit auto show
DETROIT — SUVs and a big pickup truck will get top billing at Detroit’s auto show this year, but there are some surprise sports cars and electric vehicles on the agenda. Press days for the show begin Monday, although there are a couple of unveils set for before the show...
PG&E, facing colossal liability, seeks bankruptcy protection
SAN FRANCISCO — Facing potentially colossal liabilities over deadly California wildfires, PG&E will file for bankruptcy protection. The announcement Monday follows the resignation of the power company’s chief executive a day earlier. Shares plunged by 50 percent before the opening bell. PG&E said Monday that it’s given the required 15-day...
Fact check: Trump isn’t holed up nonstop at White House
WASHINGTON — Eager to defend a prolonged government shutdown over his border wall, President Donald Trump is pretending that he’s holed up nonstop at the White House waiting for a deal with Democrats. He’s also rewriting history regarding his promise to make Mexico pay for the wall. Trump says he...
4 weddings and a robbery? Hugh Grant seeks script return
LONDON — British actor Hugh Grant has a plea for the thief who broke into his car: Please return the script that was inside. Grant, who shot to fame in “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1994, tweeted about the robbery late Sunday night. He said that in “the unlikely...
‘So happy.’ Chris Pratt engaged to Katherine Schwarzenegger
LOS ANGELES — A whirlwind romance is leading to an engagement for actor Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger. Pratt posted a photo of his 29-year-old partner sporting an engagement ring on Instagram Monday. He wrote, “Sweet Katherine, so happy you said yes!” There’s no word on when and where the...
USA Today publisher targeted for buyout
DENVER — The publisher of USA Today has received a $1.36 billion buyout bid from a media group with a history of taking over struggling newspapers and slashing jobs. MNG Enterprises, better known as Digital First Media, said in a letter to Gannett Co. Monday that its leadership team has...
Congress to face same question: When will shutdown end?
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington for its first full week of legislative business since control of the House reverted to Democrats, but lawmakers will be confronted with the same lingering question: When will the partial government shutdown end? One Republican senator says he’s offered President Donald Trump a possible...
China’s 2018 trade surplus with U.S. hits record high $323B
BEIJING — China’s 2018 trade surplus with the United States surged to a record $323.3 billion but exports contracted in December as the delayed impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes started to hurt demand. Exports to the United States in 2018 rose 11.3 percent to $478.4 billion despite Trump’s...
Developers, not farmers, get biggest hit from wetlands rule
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump often points to farmers as among the biggest winners from the administration’s proposed rollback of federal protections for wetlands and waterways across the country. But under longstanding federal law and rules, farmers and farmland already are exempt from most of the regulatory hurdles on behalf...
Pa. bar offering reward for stolen party bus
BETHLEHEM, Pa — A Pennsylvania bar is offering a $2,500 reward to get back its stolen party bus. Bethlehem police say the owners of the Revel Social Lounge and Restaurant reported the black mini bus stolen from its parking lot Thursday. Police say the bus can hold 15 passengers, and...
3-hour ‘standoff’ ends when homeowner returns from walk
BETHLEHEM — A nearly three-hour standoff with police at a Bethlehem Township home turned out to be at an empty house. The incident Saturday night began when the father of a man who lives at the house called 911 and said he thought his son had been shot by his...
Maria Sharapova opens Australian Open with easy win
MELBOURNE, Australia — Maria Sharapova has the second-best record among active players in first-round matches at the majors, and she gave an illustration of why that’s the case with a ruthless 6-0, 6-0 win over Harriet Dart at the Australian Open. The 2008 Australian Open champion got play started on...
‘Game of Thrones’ final season to debut on April 14
NEW YORK — “Game of Thrones” fans, get ready. HBO announced Sunday night that the eighth and final season will begin on April 14. In a one minute and 44 second teaser released Sunday, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) are seen in...
Daughter’s plea draws 50,000 birthday cards for World War II veteran
FULLERTON, Calif. — When Sue Morse requested on Facebook that friends send her father well-wishes for his Dec. 30 birthday, she expected maybe 160 cards. At 96, World War II veteran and Purple Heart medal recipient Duane Sherman has survived most of his friends. As of Jan. 9, Sherman received...
Man accused in death of girl, 4, who spilled juice on Xbox
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — Prosecutors will seek a life sentence for a suburban Chicago man accused of beating a 4-year-old girl to death after she spilled juice on an Xbox video console. Prosecutors said “heinous” circumstances justify the sentence for 19-year-old Johnathan Fair, of Waukegan, if he is eventually convicted of...
Nick Ward leads No. 6 Michigan State over Penn State, 71-56
STATE COLLEGE — Nick Ward had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 Michigan State to a 71-56 win over Penn State on Sunday. Matt McQuaid added 15 points and Cassius Winston chipped in 11 for the Spartans (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten), who have won 10 straight. They...
Judge blocks Trump birth control coverage rules in 13 states
OAKLAND, Calif. — A U.S. judge in California on Sunday blocked Trump administration rules, which would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control, from taking effect in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Judge Haywood Gilliam granted a request for a preliminary injunction by California,...
Wintry mix of snow, freezing rain pummels mid-Atlantic
RICHMOND, Va. — A winter storm that contributed to at least five deaths in the Midwest pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for a second day Sunday, bringing with it an icy mix that knocked out power, cancelled flights and contributed to hundreds of car accidents. Virginia State Police said the driver...
Graham says Trump isn’t giving in on southern border wall
WASHINGTON — A leading Senate Republican close to President Donald Trump says Trump isn’t giving in on his demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the issue that’s caused the partial government shutdown that’s now in its fourth week. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he encouraged Trump during a telephone...
Grandfather: Wisconsin teen in ‘good spirits’ after rescue
BARRON, Wis. — The grandfather of a 13-year-old northwestern Wisconsin girl says she’s in “exceptionally good spirits” after being found nearly three months after authorities say she was kidnapped during a home invasion that left her parents dead. Jamye Closs had been missing for nearly three months when she approached...
