Associated Press stories, Page 957
China responds to U.S. complaint over plane intercept with demand for end to surveillance flights
BEIJING — Beijing responded Wednesday to complaints from the United States about a Chinese fighter jet’s dangerous interception of an American Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the South China Sea by demanding an end to such flights. The incident adds to military, diplomatic and economic tensions between...
For the Florida Panthers, celebrations getting a bit hairy, just in time for the Stanley Cup Final
SUNRISE, Fla. — The tradition of hockey’s playoff beard goes back to at least the mid-1980s, with the Detroit Red Wings widely credited with beginning the facial hair phenomenon. The playoff beard rub might have started last month by accident. Go back to April 26, when the Florida Panthers staved...
Al Pacino, 83, and Noor Alfallah, 29, are expecting a baby
NEW YORK— Al Pacino, 83, and 29-year-old Noor Alfallah are expecting a baby, the actor’s representative confirmed Wednesday. Pacino’s publicist, Stan Rosenfield, verified the news first published by TMZ, but said there would be no statement at this time. The baby would be Pacino’s fourth child. He has a 33-year-old...
With matchup finally set, Nuggets’ Michael Malone says beating Heat will be ‘biggest challenge of our lives’
Aaron Gordon bristled at the notion the Denver Nuggets must operate the “rust versus rest” seesaw with 10 days between their Western Conference title celebration in Los Angeles and the start of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Rest? “We’ve been working,” Gordon declared about 15 hours after the...
DeSantis looks to connect with voters during 1st full day of campaigning in Iowa
SALIX, Iowa — Ron DeSantis was making a four-stop blitz through Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday, aiming for a personal connection with voters while intensifying his criticism of former President Donald Trump. The Florida governor’s first stop was the floor of Port Neal Welding...
Florida drama teacher who includes deaf students in school shows will receive a special Tony Award
NEW YORK — The special Tony Award that honors educators will go this year to a drama teacher in Florida who has closed the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds by having productions performed in both voice and American Sign Language. Jason Zembuch-Young, artistic director of the public South...
Priceless painting looted by Nazis during World War II returns to Poland from Japan
WARSAW, Poland — A priceless 16th century Italian painting that was looted by Nazi Germany during World War II and discovered in Japan has been returned to Poland, authorities in Warsaw said Wednesday. The “Madonna with Child” attributed to Alessandro Turchi, is the latest of some 600 looted artistic pieces...
Wildfire on Canada’s Atlantic coast forces evacuation of 16,000 people
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Nova Scotia’s leader begged people to stay out of the woods and avoid any activity that could start more fires after a wildfire on Canada’s Atlantic coast damaged about 200 houses and other structures and prompted the evacuation of 16,000 people. “It’s extensive. It’s heartbreaking,” said...
Filipino American chefs come into their own with multiple James Beard award nods
Like a lot of chefs, Aaron Verzosa has been hustling the past three years to get Archipelago, his Filipino restaurant in Seattle, through the pandemic and its ripple effects. Getting a James Beard Award nomination was a validating moment. “Being able to amplify and showcase stories about the Filipino American...
MLB takes over Padres broadcasts Wednesday after Bally misses payment
Major League Baseball will take over broadcasts of San Diego Padres games beginning Wednesday after Diamond Sports missed a rights fees payment to the regional sports network’s parent company and let the grace period expire. Diamond Sports, which owns 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner, said in a statement...
Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a Syrian refugee, will travel the U.S.
NEW YORK — Little Amal, a 12-foot (3.7-meter) puppet of a Syrian refugee, will journey across the United States this fall, visiting key places in America’s history to raise awareness about immigration and migration. The puppet of the 10-year-old girl will visit the U.S. Capitol, Boston Common, Joshua Tree National...
Donald Trump’s legal team and Manhattan prosecutors spar over where he will stand trial
NEW YORK — Ten months before Donald Trump is scheduled to stand trial in his historic New York City criminal case, Manhattan prosecutors are turning the former president’s words against him in a tug of war over precisely where he will be tried. Trump’s lawyers have spent weeks angling to...
Ethnic Serbs in Kosovo gather in northern town after clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers
ZVECAN, Kosovo — Hundreds of ethnic Serbs on Wednesday gathered in a town in northern Kosovo, days after clashes that injured 30 soldiers from a NATO-led peacekeeping force and over 50 Serbs, provoking fears of a renewal of the region’s bloody conflicts and prompting the Western military alliance to send...
Amazon workers stage walkout over job cuts, return-to-office mandate
SEATTLE — A group of corporate Amazon workers upset about the company’s environmental impact, recent layoffs and a return-to-office mandate is planning a walkout at the company’s Seattle headquarters Wednesday. The lunchtime protest comes a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect requiring...
House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate
WASHINGTON — Veering away from a default crisis, the House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent. The hard-fought deal pleased few, but...
CEOs got smaller raises. It would still take a typical worker 2 lifetimes to make their annual pay
After ballooning for years, CEO pay growth is finally slowing. The typical compensation package for chief executives who run S&P 500 companies rose just 0.9% last year, to a median of $14.8 million, according to data analyzed for The Associated Press by Equilar. That means half the CEOs in the...
Florida art dealer gets 2 years, 3 months in Warhol forgery scheme
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A South Florida art dealer was sentenced Tuesday to two years and three months in federal prison in connection with a scheme involving the sale of fake Andy Warhol paintings. Daniel Elie Bouaziz, 69, was sentenced in Fort Pierce federal court, according to court records. He...
New Zealand airline is asking passengers to weigh in before their flights
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s national airline is asking passengers to step on the scales before they board international flights. Air New Zealand says it wants to weigh 10,000 passengers during a monthlong survey so pilots can better know the weight and balance of their planes before takeoff. But...
Cruise ship passengers left terrified after ship sails through rough seas on return to CharlestonVideo
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A cruise ship that navigated rough seas off the South Carolina coast over the Memorial Day weekend has resumed sailing on its next cruise, Carnival Cruise Lines said. Terrified passengers on the Carnival Sunshine took to social media to post video of water pouring through a flooded...
Manson follower Leslie Van Houten should be paroled, California appeals court rules
LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court said Tuesday that Leslie Van Houten, who participated in two killings at the direction of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969, should be let out of prison on parole. The appellate court’s ruling reverses an earlier decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who rejected...
NBA Finals finally set with Nuggets, underdog Heat squaring off
Cancel that flight plan, Denver. Turns out, the NBA Finals are starting in the Mile High City after all. And Jimmy Butler was proven right. Finally, we have a title-series matchup: The Miami Heat, champions of the Eastern Conference even after getting in as only the No. 8 seed, will...
The Stanley Cup Final between Vegas, Florida will end with 1st-time NHL champion
Jon Hamm is excited for this Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights. “Stoked, man,” the actor and noted hockey fan said. “I live in L.A., so that’s a half-hour flight away for me.” The NHL is pumped, too. Even though the ratings likely will sag...
French Open’s No. 2 seed, Daniil Medvedev, loses to 172nd-ranked qualifier, Thiago Seyboth WildVideo
PARIS — If anyone thought a couple of recent runs to Week 2 at the French Open and a clay-court title a little more than a week ago made Daniil Medvedev a little fonder of the red stuff, forget it. A first-round loss as the No. 2 seed at Roland...
South Carolina gas station owner charged with murder in 14-year-old’s shooting deathVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina gas station owner was charged Monday with murder in the death of a 14-year-old boy whom he allegedly chased from the store and shot in the back, the sheriff said. Rick Chow thought the teen had shoplifted four bottles of water Sunday night from...
T.J. Newman returns with a novel that’s on par with summer movie blockbustersVideo
Time is a precious commodity and some readers need to be hooked from page one. T.J. Newman ‘s 2021 debut novel “Falling” (Avid Reader/Simon & Schuster) begins with a sentence that blasts out of a cannon: “When the shoe dropped in her lap the foot was still in it.” The...
