Associated Press stories, Page 1018
Fort Bragg drops Confederate namesake for Fort Liberty
FORT LIBERTY, N.C. — Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake Friday to become Fort Liberty in a ceremony some veterans said was a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members. The change was part of a broad Department of...
Disney lawsuit judge removes himself from case but not for reasons cited by DeSantis
ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge overseeing the First Amendment lawsuit that Walt Disney Parks filed against Gov. Ron DeSantis and others is disqualifying himself, but not because of bias claims made by the Florida governor. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said in a court filing Thursday that it...
Justice Department says it won’t charge Mike Pence over handling of classified documents
NEW YORK — The Department of Justice has informed former Vice President Mike Pence ‘s legal team that it will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home. The department sent a letter to Pence’s attorney on Thursday informing him that, after an...
Jill Biden arrives in Cairo as part of Mideast tour aiming to empower women
CAIRO — Jill Biden arrived in Cairo on Friday, on the second leg of her six-day trip across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe that seeks to empower women and promote education for young people. The first lady arrived in the Egyptian capital from Amman, Jordan, where she attended...
Drought, water overuse prompt Arizona to limit construction in some fast-growing parts of Phoenix
PHOENIX — Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of metro Phoenix that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought that is sapping its water supply. In a news conference Thursday, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the restrictions that could affect some...
Churchill Downs implements safety, performance standards to address recent spate of horse deathsVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Horse racing’s oversight authority and Churchill Downs have each announced additional safety and health measures in the wake of 12 recent deaths since late April at the home of the Kentucky Derby. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will conduct additional post-entry screening of horses to...
Jokic gets triple-double, Nuggets roll past Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of NBA FinalsVideo
DENVER — Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were facing some questions going into their first NBA Finals, and their answers came in resounding fashion. No, a week and a half off didn’t hurt them. And, no, the NBA’s biggest stage isn’t too big, either. Jokic got a triple-double in...
Just days to spare, Senate gives final approval to debt ceiling deal, sending it to BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — Fending off a U.S. default, the Senate gave final approval late Thursday to a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, grinding into the night to wrap up work on the bipartisan deal and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk to become law before the fast-approaching deadline. The...
Journalists to strike at the largest U.S. newspaper chain
Journalists across the U.S. will walk off their jobs next week at roughly two dozen newsrooms run by Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the the country, their union said Thursday. The mostly one-day strike, which will start Monday, aims to protest Gannett’s leadership and cost-cutting measures imposed since its...
Riley avoids big numbers for 67 on tough day at MemorialVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — Davis Riley opened with a 67 at the Memorial to finish atop the leaderboard after the opening round for the second straight year. And that’s where the similarities end. Riley birdied three of his last four holes Thursday afternoon when the turf was firm and the wind...
Man pleads guilty to picking up Yellowstone bison calf that was rejected by herd, euthanized
MAMMOTH, Wyo. — A man from Hawaii pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge alleging he picked up a bison calf in Yellowstone National Park, causing the animal’s herd to reject it and leading park officials to kill it rather than allow it to be a hazard to visitors. A federal...
Golden Knights out to fulfill owner’s quest to win Stanley Cup in 6th yearVideo
LAS VEGAS — Drivers were directed to the overflow parking lot Thursday morning, and a line at least 30 deep waited and hoped to get into the Vegas Golden Knights’ practice. It was like 2018 all over again. Except this Knights team is no longer the unexpected first-year expansion club...
Beloved New York swan babies rescued after mother was eaten by family, police say
The village of Manlius in upstate New York is mourning the loss of Faye, a swan who was stolen from the town’s pond over the weekend along with her four cygnets. The cygnets, or baby swans, were recovered, but officials say the mama swan was eaten. “The mother swan was...
Oath Keeper who guarded Roger Stone before Jan. 6 attack gets more than 4 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A member of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group who was part of a security detail for former President Donald Trump ‘s longtime adviser Roger Stone before storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Thursday to more than four years in prison. Roberto Minuta, who was seen on...
Man pleads guilty to assaulting Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota in D.C. apartment building
WASHINGTON — A man pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota in the elevator of her Washington apartment building in February, according to court records. Kendrid Khalil Hamlin pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a member of Congress and assaulting law enforcement officers, according to the...
Mirra Andreeva, a teen who doesn’t like homework, wins easily at French OpenVideo
PARIS — Mirra Andreeva is the latest teen sensation in tennis, a 16-year-old Russian who is the youngest player to win a match in the women’s main draw at the French Open since 2005. Do the math: That’s before she was born. The 143rd-ranked Andreeva made her way through qualifying...
Biden tells Air Force Academy graduates their leadership needed; trips after speechVideo
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked U.S. Air Force Academy graduates for choosing “service over self” but said they now have the “great privilege” of leading in a world that will only get more confusing in the years to come. His appearance was punctuated by a...
Money stored in Venmo, other payment apps could be vulnerable, financial watchdog warns
NEW YORK — Customers of Venmo, PayPal and CashApp should not store their money for the long term with these apps because their funds might not be safe during a crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned on Thursday. The alert comes several weeks after the failure of Silicon Valley...
Senate passes GOP bill overturning student loan cancellation, teeing it up for Biden veto
WASHINGTON — A Republican measure overturning President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation plan passed the Senate on Thursday and now awaits an expected veto. The vote was 52-46, with support from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana as well as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema,...
Know any airplane mechanics? A wave of retirements is leaving some U.S. industries desperate to hire
WASHINGTON — Kwasi Bandoh, a senior recruiter for an airline, stood before a group of aviation mechanic students at their graduation ceremony last month and congratulated them for all having jobs. As some of the students began nudging each other, Bandoh realized that perhaps not every one of them had...
Family mourns 2 young boys killed by gunfire as they played in Pennsylvania yard
LEBANON — Relatives of two young boys killed by gunfire as they played with kittens in the backyard of their Pennsylvania home were mourning them Thursday as authorities announced two men were charged with their slayings. Brothers Jesus and Sebastian Perez-Salome, ages 8 and 9, and a third victim were...
Eugene DePasquale to run for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2024
HARRISBURG — Eugene DePasquale, Pennsylvania’s former two-term auditor general, said Thursday that he will run for state attorney general in the 2024 election. DePasquale is the first candidate to announce for the state’s top law enforcement office and he is unlikely to be the only Democrat to seek the party’s...
Renewable energy surges, driven by solar boom and high fuel prices, report finds
BERLIN — The world is set to add a record amount of renewable electricity capacity this year as governments and consumers seek to offset high energy prices and take advantage of a boom in solar power, according to a new report Thursday. The International Energy Agency said high fossil fuel...
U.S. companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs
Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The company’s $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots...
Jordan’s crown prince weds scion of Saudi family in ceremony packed with stars and symbolismVideo
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s crown prince married the scion of a prominent Saudi family on Thursday in a palace ceremony attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world, as massive crowds gathered across the kingdom to celebrate the region’s newest power couple. The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein,...
