Associated Press stories, Page 85
NFL will emphasize sportsmanship, crack down on violent, sexually suggestive gesturesVideo
The NFL wants players to have fun within the rules. That’s why the league will be emphasizing sportsmanship and cracking down on violent and sexually suggestive gestures this season. “Unsportsmanlike gestures like simulating or either shooting a gun or brandishing a gun, or inappropriate gestures like a throat slash, or...
Villanova says report of campus shooter was a ‘cruel hoax’
VILLANOVA — A report of a shooter on Villanova University’s campus that sparked panic among students and drew a heavy police presence was a “cruel hoax,” the school’s president said Thursday. Earlier in the afternoon, students had received a text from the Villanova alert system that told them to lock...
Cracker Barrel unveils new logo as part of wider rebrand efforts, sparking ire among some online
NEW YORK — Cracker Barrel is marching forward with an ongoing makeover. And to the dismay of some fans, the chain’s new logo now ditches the barrel itself. Or rather, the drawing many have associated with Cracker Barrel over the years. The man leaning on that barrel is also gone,...
Sony hikes the price of the Playstation 5 in the U.S.
NEW YORK — Sony has raised the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles being sold in the United States by $50. “Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony Global Marketing Vice President Isabelle Tomatis wrote in a blog post. “As a result, we’ve...
Ravens’ Harbaugh says there’s ‘no damage’ to Lamar Jackson’s foot after it was stepped onVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says star quarterback Lamar Jackson is “fine” after his foot was stepped on this week. That’s the same thing the Ravens told reporters Wednesday, but after Jackson wasn’t at practice Thursday, Harbaugh was understandably asked for an update. “Got his foot...
Judge says former Trump lawyer Alina Habba has been unlawfully serving as U.S. attorney in New Jersey
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey since last month. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann held that Habba’s term as the interim U.S. attorney ended in July, and...
Man arrested for WNBA sex-toy throwing at Liberty game, the 3rd arrest in string of disturbances
NEW YORK — An Ohio man was arrested for the throwing of a sex toy at a WNBA game in New York, police said Thursday. It’s the latest development in a string of disturbances where similar toys were tossed at WNBA games across the country, resulting in at least three...
Trump’s crackdown in D.C. leaves residents on edge as federal agents set up checkpoints
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have set up checkpoints around the nation’s capital, sometimes asking people for their immigration status and detaining them, as President Donald Trump’s crackdown ensnares more residents each day. Trump claimed that a crime crisis required his Republican administration’s intervention in the Democratic-led city this month, brushing...
Gymnast who sparked FBI sex abuse inquiry into coach says she’s proud to come forward
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Recalling the damage her now-arrested coach inflicted on her and many of her gymnast friends, Finley Weldon said she feels a sense of pride. Free from the grip that Sean Gardner had during her years of training at an Iowa academy known for producing Olympians, Weldon...
Orlando officials denounce removal of rainbow crosswalk near Pulse nightclub mass shooting site
ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando officials on Thursday denounced the overnight removal by Florida transportation workers of a rainbow-colored crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub where 49 people were gunned down, saying it was part of an attack on LGBTQ lives by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called...
Brent Hinds, former Mastodon singer-guitarist, dies at 51 in motorcycle crash
Brent Hinds, the former singer-guitarist for the Grammy-winning heavy metal band Mastodon, has died in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, the band and authorities said. He was 51. Hinds was killed while riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle late Wednesday night when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield while...
Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the U.S. in 2023, Pew report finds
The number of people in the United States illegally surged to an all-time high of 14 million in 2023, a research group said Thursday, a major increase that still falls well short of estimates from President Donald Trump and some critics of immigration. The Pew Research Center’s closely watched gauge...
Why the Federal Reserve’s independence matters
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump this week called on a Federal Reserve governor to resign over an accusation of mortgage fraud, the latest effort by his administration to exert greater control over one of the few remaining independent agencies in Washington. Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook says she won’t leave...
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump
NEW YORK — A New York appeals court on Thursday threw out President Donald Trump’s massive civil fraud penalty while upholding a judge’s finding that he exaggerated his wealth for decades. The ruling spares Trump from a potential half-billion-dollar fine but bans him and his two eldest sons from serving...
Former top aide to NYC mayor among 7 facing new charges in City Hall corruption probe
NEW YORK — A former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams is among seven people facing new charges in the corruption investigation that has swirled around City Hall for two years, prosecutors in Manhattan announced Thursday. Adams himself has not been charged, but the case will thrust...
James Dobson, Focus on the Family founder and key leader on the Christian right, dies at 89
COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — James Dobson, who founded the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, died on Thursday. He was 89. Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dobson was a child psychologist who launched a radio show to...
Uganda agrees to deal with U.S. to take deported migrants if they don’t have criminal records
KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda has agreed a deal with the United States to take deported migrants on condition that the deportees should not have criminal records and not be unaccompanied minors, officials said Thursday. The Ugandan foreign affairs ministry in a statement said the “two parties are working out the...
U.S., EU issue written framework for their trade deal, still a work in progress
BRUSSELS — U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and European Union officials on Thursday released a bare-bones account of their trade deal that imposes a stiff 15% import tax on 70% of European goods exported to the U.S., but they left blank key areas including wine and spirits and steel and...
China races to build world’s largest solar farm, which would be the size of Chicago
TALATAN, China — Chinese government officials last month showed off what they say will be the world’s largest solar farm when completed high on a Tibetan plateau. It will cover 235 square miles, which is the size of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels far faster than anywhere else...
Netanyahu pushes forward with Gaza City operation despite opposition
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Widespread opposition from within Israel and international condemnation have not deterred Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his plan to expand the Israeli military’s operation in Gaza City. The Israeli military began calling medical officials and international organizations in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday to...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits rise last week, but layoffs remain historically low
WASHINGTON — More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but U.S. layoffs remain in the same historically healthy range of the past few years. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 16 rose by 11,000 to 235,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s slightly more than the...
Russian attack on western Ukraine hits American factory during the U.S.-led push for peace
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a rare drone and missile attack on western Ukraine overnight, officials said Thursday, striking targets including an American-owned electronics plant and injecting further uncertainty into the U.S.-led efforts to end the three-year-old war. The aerial assault on a part of Ukraine that has largely avoided...
China and Pakistan foreign ministers agree to launch new economic corridor projects
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and China pledged to expand economic cooperation and investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship program of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, officials said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Thursday....
‘South Park’ targets federal takeover of D.C. police in latest episode
NEW YORK — “South Park” continued its cartoon assault on the Trump administration Wednesday, with an episode that addressed the federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police department. The latest installment on Comedy Central depicted the recurring character “Towelie” — a walking, talking towel — riding in a bus past landmarks...
Hurricane Erin stirs up strong winds and floods part of a N.C. highway as it slowly moves out to sea
RODANTHE, N.C. — Hurricane Erin battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes as the monster storm slowly began to move away from the East Coast on Thursday. Forecasters predicted the storm would peak Thursday and...
