Associated Press stories, Page 946
Trump blasts federal indictment as ‘baseless’ at first events since charges were unsealed
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and...
Man who told jurors he had ‘fun’ at the Capitol riot sentenced to 6 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A Virginia man who told his wife — and a federal jury — that he had “fun” at the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for attacking police as he stormed the building. Markus Maly’s prison sentence is significantly lower than the punishment...
One of the 2 giant ducks in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflates
HONG KONG — One of the two giant inflatable ducks floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflated on Saturday, just a day after they were unveiled to revelers. Crowds of residents and tourists flocked in the scorching heat to the promenade near the government headquarters in Admiralty to snap photos...
5 killed in explosion at rocket and explosives factory in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey — An explosion at a rocket and explosives plant in Turkey caused a building to collapse on Saturday, killing all five workers inside, an official said. The explosion occurred at around 8:45 a.m. at the compound of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, on the outskirts of...
On doctor’s advice, Pope Francis to skip Sunday public blessing
ROME — Pope Francis, “wisely” following doctors’ advice, will skip Sunday’s customary public blessing to allow him to better heal after abdominal surgery earlier this week, his surgeon told reporters. Blood and imaging tests indicate that the 86-year-old pope’s recovery is proceeding in an “absolutely normal” manner, Sergio Alfieri, who...
Nuggets now in full command of NBA Finals, top Heat for 3-1 lead
MIAMI — Aaron Gordon scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 and the Denver Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Miami Heat, 108-95, on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the title series. Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for...
UN peacekeeper killed, 8 seriously injured in northern Mali attack
UNITED NATIONS — Attackers killed one U.N. peacekeeper and seriously injured eight others Friday in Mali’s northern Timbuktu region, an area where extremists continue to operate, the United Nations said. The peacekeepers, all from Burkina Faso, were part of a security patrol that was targeted first by an improvised explosive...
4 kids lost in the jungle for 40 days after plane crash found alive in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that authorities found alive four children who survived a small plane crash 40 days ago and had been the subject of an intense search in the Amazon jungle that held Colombians on edge. The children were alone when searchers found them...
PGA Tour rookie Carl Yuan leads by 1 at Canadian Open; McIlroy 3 backVideo
TORONTO — Carl Yuan moved into position to turn around a forgettable rookie year on the PGA Tour, shooting a 5-under-par 67 in cool, rainy conditions Friday to take a one-shot lead at the midway point of the RBC Canadian Open. Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy gave himself a chance...
Secretariat Triple Crown celebration at Belmont subdued by death and air qualityVideo
This was supposed to be the year thoroughbred racing celebrated the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s magnificent Triple Crown triumph as the current crop of 3-year-olds finished their run on center stage. Heading into the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the racing has become almost an afterthought as the public...
Judge in FTX bankruptcy rejects media challenge, says customer names can remain secret
DOVER, Del. — The names of individual customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading can be permanently shielded from public disclosure, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Friday. Following a two-day hearing, Judge John Dorsey rejected arguments from lawyers for several media outlets and for the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, which serves...
In finally competitive Stanley Cup Final, Vegas may still have edge on FloridaVideo
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The sour taste in the aftermath of their Stanley Cup Final Game 3 loss is gone for the Vegas Golden Knights, who quickly moved on to enjoying the nearby ocean breeze. They’re breathing easily up 2-1 on the Florida Panthers in the series, knowing they have...
Nuggets’ Christian Braun seeking NBA title a year after winning NCAA championship
DENVER — Denver Nuggets rookie Christian Braun is showing that the NBA Finals is not too big of a stage for him. The 21st pick in the draft last summer, Braun has made the most of his minutes off the bench, sinking 10 of 12 shots, grabbing a half dozen...
Trump case assigned to judge who faced criticism over her ruling in his favor in Mar-a-Lago search
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The historic federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump has been assigned to a judge he appointed who faced blistering criticism over her decision to grant his request for an independent arbiter to review documents obtained during an FBI search of his Florida estate. A...
Donald Trump stored, showed off and refused to return classified documents, indictment says
MIAMI — Donald Trump improperly stored in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map, according to a sweeping felony indictment that paints a damning...
Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass after latest anti-LGBTQ+ comments
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass on Friday, one day after the right-handed reliever said he didn’t think an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post he shared last month was hateful. The move came hours before Bass was set to catch a ceremonial first pitch from Toronto LGBTQ+...
Trump faces unprecedented legal peril, but will it hurt his standing with Republican voters?
DES MOINES, Iowa — In March, when Donald Trump became the first former president in U.S. history indicted on criminal charges, his reelection campaign saw a huge surge in donations. Even political rivals rushed to support him. There was no dent in his front-runner status after the state charges in...
Chief suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance pleads not guilty to extortion charges
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing teen’s mother. Van der Sloot was extradited to the United States on Thursday from Peru, where he...
Movie Review: New ‘Transformers’ tries but fails to energize the saga
With the “Transformers” franchise clearly at a crossroads, its latest protectors have turned to their deep bench of characters. But just adding more robots won’t transform this tired series. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” returns the franchise to its galaxy-wide self-importance after taking a nice detour with 2018’s smaller “Bumblebee.”...
After making Oscar history, Troy Kotsur pays tribute to his father in new short filmVideo
NEW YORK — When Troy Kotsur made history as the first Deaf male actor win an Oscar at the 2022 Academy Awards, he was thinking about his father. By then, Kotsur had already become a hero to the Deaf community, widely celebrated for his acclaimed performance in the family drama...
No. 1 Iga Swiatek seeks a 3rd French Open title in women’s final against Karolina Muchova
PARIS — A little more than four years ago, in the first round of a tiny clay-court tournament in the Czech Republic, 95th-ranked Iga Swiatek lost in three sets to 106th-ranked Karolina Muchova. That was the only time they’ve ever played each other, although they are frequent practice partners. On...
Belmont Park will resume live racing after air quality improves ahead of Belmont Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. — Live racing will resume at Belmont Park on Friday following significant improvement in air quality conditions in the state, the New York Racing Association announced. Both Belmont and Saratoga reopened for training Friday morning, and the 11-card race will start at 12:50 p.m. The NYRA said in...
Putin says Russian tactical nuclear weapons to be deployed to Belarus next month
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow will deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus next month, a move that the Belarusian opposition described as an attempt to blackmail the West. Putin said during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that work on building...
Supreme Court sides with Jack Daniel’s in dispute with makers of dog toy
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday gave whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s reason to raise a glass, handing the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of the Bad Spaniels dog toy. In announcing the decision for a unanimous court, Justice Elena Kagan was in...
Some in Georgia GOP seek purity test as Trump appears at convention
ATLANTA — Georgia’s state Republican convention gets underway Friday with Donald Trump still expected on Saturday, even as a right-wing party faction seeks to punish GOP officials it considers ideological traitors by banning them from future primary election ballots. Trump could feed an air of vengeance after announcing Thursday that...
