Associated Press stories, Page 998
Appeals court halts House interview with ex-Trump prosecutor Mark Pomerantz
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked House Republicans from questioning a former Manhattan prosecutor about the criminal case against ex-President Donald Trump, the latest twist in a legal battle between Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office and the House Judiciary Committee. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court...
EPA agrees to make Pennsylvania cut Chesapeake Bay pollution
BALTIMORE — Pennsylvania must minimize its outsized role in polluting the Chesapeake Bay, according to a proposed settlement agreement announced Thursday that would subject the state to increased oversight from federal environmental officials. The agreement comes after other jurisdictions in the bay’s watershed — Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District...
Tornadoes kill 3 in central U.S.; new storms possibleVideo
DALLAS — Strong storms with tornadoes that plowed across the central U.S. killed at least three people in Oklahoma and left thousands without power Thursday as forecasters warned of potentially more severe weather. Authorities were still unsure of the full scale of injuries and destruction in Oklahoma, the storms produced...
Tennessee GOP lawmaker resigns after ethics panel finding
NASHVILLE — A Republican lawmaker in Tennessee resigned Thursday because of an ethics violation involving the Legislature’s workplace discrimination and harassment policy. Rep. Scotty Campbell, vice chair of the House Republican Caucus, was among the GOP legislators who voted two weeks ago to expel two Black Democratic lawmakers for protesting...
Man accused of shooting girl, parents over stray basketball arrested in Florida
GASTONIA, N.C. — A North Carolina man accused of shooting and wounding a 6-year-old girl and her parents after children went to retrieve a basketball that had rolled into his yard was arrested in Florida Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The violence was the latest in a string of recent shootings...
Former WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. charged in Mississippi welfare fraud case
JACKSON, Miss. — Companies run by a former professional wrestler received “sham contracts” in Mississippi and misspent millions of dollars of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the neediest people in the U.S., according to a new federal indictment. The indictment of former wrestler Ted “Teddy” DiBiase...
Hawaii blocks some Waikiki sands for seal pup
HONOLULU — The birth of an endangered seal at Hawaii’s most popular tourism hubs is highlighting the tension between protecting the islands’ fragile ecosystems and maintaining access to the pristine white sand beaches that attract millions of visitors each year. Hawaii officials this week fenced off a large stretch of...
Twitter begins removing blue checks from users who don’t pay
This time it’s for real. Many of Twitter’s high-profile users are losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity and distinguish them from impostors on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. After several false starts, Twitter began making good on its promise Thursday to remove the blue checks...
Racial gap in U.S. stroke deaths widened during pandemic
NEW YORK — The longstanding racial gap in U.S. stroke death rates widened dramatically during the covid-19 pandemic, government researchers said Thursday. Stroke death rates increased for both Black and white adults in 2020 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. But the difference between...
Part party, part call to action: A look at pot holiday 4/20
SEATTLE — Thursday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when cannabis fans gather in clouds of smoke at music festivals, celebrate with all-you-can-eat deals on chicken wings and other munchies, and take advantage of pot-shop discounts in legal weed states. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect...
Trade-ups for quarterbacks becoming more common in NFL
Tired of spending years in the quarterback wilderness, shuffling in a string of mostly ineffective veterans at the game’s most important position, the Carolina Panthers made a bold move that has been all too common in recent years. The Panthers packaged two first-round picks, two second-round picks and star receiver...
Ravens prepare for draft amid Lamar Jackson-related uncertainty
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson’s contract situation looms over all aspects of Baltimore’s offseason — and the draft is certainly no different. Unless there’s a major breakthrough in negotiations before then, the Ravens will go into the draft without a lot of certainty at the game’s most important position,...
Browns enter another NFL draft with needs, without top picks
CLEVELAND — For the Cleveland Browns, being on the clock in this year’s NFL draft will again require extra patience. They’ll spend Day 1 on the sideline watching. Just as they did during the playoffs. After mortgaging their future in the controversial trade last year for quarterback Deshaun Watson, the...
Offensive line, secondary depth among Bengals draft needs
When it comes to draft philosophy, the Cincinnati Bengals are pretty consistent. If there is a quality offensive lineman or defensive back available when they are on the clock in the first round, they usually go in that direction. In fact, that has happened 11 times since 2003. With the...
Penn State’s James Franklin: Revenue sharing with players ‘inevitable’
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State coach James Franklin believes major college football players will inevitably be paid and the sooner it happens the better it will be for all involved with the sport. In an interview this week with The Associated Press, Franklin said that while college sports leaders...
BuzzFeed to close news division, cut 15% of all staff
Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media company BuzzFeed will shut down its news division as it cuts about 15% of its entire staff. In a memo sent to staff, co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said that cuts would also occur across its business, content, tech and administrative teams, according to multiple media...
Distrust in America: Small mistakes, deep fear — and gunfire
In suburban Detroit, it was a lost 14-year-old looking for directions. In Kansas City, it was a 16-year-old who went to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers. There was the 12-year-old rummaging around in a yard in small-town Alabama, the 20-year-old woman who found herself in the...
NATO chief: Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in the alliance
KYIV, Ukraine — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defiantly declared Thursday that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in the military alliance and pledged more support for the country on his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion just over a year ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Stoltenberg, who has been instrumental...
IRS agent alleges Hunter Biden probe is being mishandled
WASHINGTON — An IRS special agent is seeking whistleblower protection to disclose information about what the agent alleges is mishandling of an investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, according to a letter sent to members of Congress. Mark Lytle, the attorney for the IRS whistleblower, wrote to lawmakers...
SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off Thursday on it first test flight and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near...
Daffodils bloom as symbol of Warsaw ghetto uprising memory
WARSAW, Poland — Yellow daffodils are everywhere in Warsaw this week, a symbol of remembrance for the 1943 uprising by Jews in the city’s ghetto against Nazi German occupiers. There are the real daffodils that residents and visitors to the Polish capital place on memorials to honor Holocaust victims, and...
House passes trans athlete ban for girls and women’s teams
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would bar federally supported schools and colleges from allowing transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male to compete on girls or women’s sports teams. The legislation approved by a 219-203 vote is unlikely to advance further because...
Oakland A’s purchase land for new stadium in Las Vegas
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a new retractable roof ballpark in Las Vegas after being unable to build a new venue in the Bay Area. Team president Dave Kaval said Wednesday night the team finalized a deal last week to...
U.S. invests in alternative solar tech, more solar for renters
The Biden administration announced more than $80 million in funding Thursday in a push to produce more solar panels in the U.S., make solar energy available to more people, and pursue superior alternatives to the ubiquitous sparkly panels made with silicon. The Department of Energy announced the investments in the...
Charge to be dropped in Alec Baldwin movie set shooting
SANTA FE, N.M. — Prosecutors in New Mexico plan to drop an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “ Rust,” Baldwin’s attorneys said Thursday. “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against...
