Associated Press stories, Page 2705
Cleveland man pleads not guilty in mom’s death, held on $1M bond
CLEVELAND — An Ohio man suspected of killing his mother by hitting her with a vehicle on Christmas Day has pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated murder. Thirty-five-year-old Vincent Varone, of suburban Cleveland, remained held on bond of $1 million after his arraignment Wednesday. He also is charged with...
Sheriff: Fake pastor carrying drug-filled Bible visited jail
LAURINBURG, N.C. — Authorities say a man posing as a pastor tried to smuggle drugs into a North Carolina jail by hiding them in a Bible. News outlets cite a Facebook post from the Scotland County Detective Division that says 28-year-old James A. Morman III visited the Scotland County jail...
Kansas City Walmart stabbing suspect: ‘I tried to kill her’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man has been charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend in the neck while she was working at a Walmart store. Twenty-two-year-old Brian Lenoble Jr. is charged with first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action. No attorney is listed for him in online court records....
Sheriff: Vandals targeted teen for interracial relationship
GOLDSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina sheriff says the vandalism of two vehicles is being investigated as a hate crime stemming from an interracial relationship between two teens. A Wednesday release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says that on Dec. 27 a white family’s minivan was found spray-painted with...
Sanders contrite as 2016 aides face harassment allegations
NEW YORK — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his chief lieutenants are offering contrition as some of his 2016 campaign staffers face allegations of sexual harassment that threaten to derail a second White House bid before it begins. Hours after a New York Times report detailed allegations of unwanted sexual...
Police: 17-year-old girl arrested after police car joyride
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Authorities say a 17-year-old girl took a police cruiser on a joyride following a traffic stop early on New Year’s Day in western Michigan. Grand Rapids police say the girl was a passenger in a minivan that was pulled over about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday following a...
Survey: U.S. firms added a strong 271,000 jobs in December
WASHINGTON — U.S. businesses added a robust 271,000 jobs in December. Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that last month’s job gains marked a sharp upturn from November’s gain of 157,000. The gains, if backed up by government numbers due Friday, could be strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate. ADP...
22 injured when bus overturns on Mississippi interstate
JACKSON, Miss. — A Greyhound bus driver has been charged with driving under the influence after the bus overturned on an interstate highway in Mississippi and caused injuries that sent nearly two dozen passengers to hospitals. Jackson Police Sgt. Roderick Holmes said in a news release the wreck happened about...
Boy stayed up to watch Netflix, saved family from fire
MINQUADALE, Del. — A 13-year-old boy who defied his mom by staying up late to watch Netflix is credited with saving his family from the fire that destroyed their Delaware home. The News Journal reports that Angela Marie Borden said in a Facebook post that her son, Damir, was still...
Krispy Kreme delivers doughnuts to officers over pastry loss
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Krispy Kreme has stepped in to comfort Kentucky police officers mourning the loss of a doughnut truck that caught fire. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the company and a police escort delivered dozens of doughnuts to the city police department Wednesday afternoon. Officer Kyle Mounce says no one...
China lands spacecraft on ‘dark’ side of moon in world first
BEIJING — China’s burgeoning space program achieved a first on Thursday: a landing on the so-called dark side of the moon. Three nations — the United States, the former Soviet Union and more recently China — have sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, which faces Earth, but...
Clemson carrying memories of year’s loss into title game
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson center Justin Falcinelli remembers the quiet, hollow feeling in the locker room after last year’s Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama. He vowed not to forget it. Not that Falcinelli could have even if he wanted to. Clips of the 24-6 defeat to the Crimson Tide in...
Browns interview former Colts, Lions coach Jim Caldwell
CLEVELAND — Jim Caldwell spent a year away from the NFL, and while he was gone, the Browns found a franchise quarterback. Maybe he’ll get to coach Baker Mayfield. Caldwell, who led Indianapolis to the Super Bowl and made Detroit respectable, became the second candidate to interview with Browns general...
Mexico finds flayed god temple; priests wore skins of dead
MEXICO CITY — Mexican experts have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, authorities said Wednesday. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during recent excavations of Popoloca Indian ruins in the central state...
6 die in Denmark’s worst train accident since 1988
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Six passengers were killed when a Danish train sustained damage while crossing a bridge that was closed to cars because of high wind Wednesday, and authorities investigated if falling cargo from a freight train caused Denmark’s deadliest railway accident in 30 years. Authorities said the two trains...
Sheriff: Unknown if race was factor in Texas girl’s slaying
HOUSTON — A Texas sheriff said Wednesday that he’s aware of claims by activists that a weekend shooting that killed a 7-year-old black girl was racially motivated but adds that it remains unclear what prompted the shooting and investigators are considering all possibilities. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during...
Daryl Dragon, of ‘The Captain and Tennille,’ dead at 76
NEW YORK — Daryl Dragon, the cap-wearing “Captain” of “The Captain and Tennille” who teamed with then-wife Toni Tennille on such easy listening hits as “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Muskrat Love,” died Wednesday at age 76. Dragon died of renal failure at a hospice in Prescott, Ariz., according...
Penn State moves to trademark the Happy Valley nickname
STATE COLLEGE — It’s sometimes called State College and sometimes University Park, but Penn State wants to ensure it holds the trademark when it’s called Happy Valley. The Centre Daily Times reported Wednesday the university asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last month to trademark the term that refers...
Apple sees a significant slump in iPhone sales
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple acknowledged that demand for iPhones is waning, fulfilling the worst fears of investors concerned that the company’s most profitable product has lost some of its luster. The reckoning came in the form of a warning that Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered to the company’s shareholders in...
Police: Man fires into Oklahoma City Taco Bell over sauce
OKLAHOMA CITY — Police in Oklahoma City say they are looking for a man who fired a gun into a Taco Bell after he didn’t get the sauce he wanted. Authorities say the confrontation happened after 1 a.m. Monday. No one was hurt, but a drive-thru window was shot out....
Modern NFL makes it harder for dominant defenses to lead way to title
From Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain in the 1970s to Chicago’s Monsters of the Midway in the ’80s to Seattle’s Legion of Boom more recently, dominant defenses have often been the story of the NFL postseason. High-powered offenses might generate the highlights, the fantasy points and victories in the regular season. But...
Alex Ovechkin to skip NHL All-Star Game, take 1-game suspension
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin will skip the All-Star Weekend in San Jose to get some extra rest and serve an automatic one-game suspension. The Washington Capitals announced Ovechkin’s decision Wednesday. The team says the NHL’s leading goal-scorer wants to take advantage of the adjoining bye week to prepare for the...
Can Trump win Pa. again in 2020? GOP increasingly concerned
HARRISBURG — Democratic energy in the perennial battleground state of Pennsylvania is raising questions about President Donald Trump’s ability to replicate his stunning 2016 win in a state Republicans hadn’t carried for nearly two decades. Democrats animated by an anti-Trump fervor scored big victories in county and municipal races across...
Netflix criticized for yanking Patriot Act episode in Saudi
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Netflix faced criticism on Wednesday for pulling an episode in Saudi Arabia of comedian Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” that criticized the kingdom’s powerful crown prince. The American comedian used his second episode, released on Oct. 28, to lambaste Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the...
14-year-old boy arrested on murder charge after fatal crash
HOUSTON — A 14-year-old boy who authorities say was driving an SUV that caused a fatal car accident has been arrested on a murder charge. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the SUV was filled with teens who were throwing eggs at other cars Tuesday afternoon when another driver began...
