Associated Press stories, Page 1018
Christian Thielemann leads Vienna Philharmonic U.S. tour
NEW YORK — During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in November 2020, when Vienna was shut down and people were allowed outside mainly to walk their dogs, Christian Thielemann was stopped by a police officer in the Heldenplatz. “What are you doing?’” he recalled the officer asking. “I said...
At NFL combine, college experience seen as a winning play
INDIANAPOLIS — Linebacker Ochaun Mathis went all-in by betting an extra year of college football could help him make an NFL roster. He knew entering the league at age 24 was a risky proposition, given most players’ careers end at about 25. He knew scouts and team decision-makers would likely...
Stocks rise and are on pace for first winning week in last 4
NEW YORK — Stocks are climbing Friday and on pace to close out their first weekly gain in the last four. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in midday trading as relaxing yields in the bond market took some pressure off Wall Street. It’s on track for a gain of...
Businessman Perry Johnson announces 2024 presidential bid
OXON HILL, Md. — Republican businessman Perry Johnson has announced his long-shot bid for president. Johnson, who tried to run for Michigan governor last year but was deemed by the state’s elections bureau to have filed thousands of fraudulent nominating signatures, announced his White House candidacy to a group of...
Abortion clinics crossing state borders not always welcome
BRISTOL, Va. — The pastors smiled as they held the doors open, grabbing the hands of those who walked by and urging many to keep praying and to keep showing up. Some responded with a hug. A few grimaced as they squeezed past. Shelley Koch, a longtime resident of southwest...
Alex Murdaugh’s fall from grace ends in life sentence for murder
WALTERBORO, S.C. — In the culmination of the once-prominent lawyer’s fall from grace, Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday after being convicted of murdering his wife and son. Judge Clifton Newman asked Murdaugh if he had anything he wanted to say before sentencing him to...
King Charles III picks France, Germany for 1st state visits
LONDON — King Charles III will travel to France and Germany for his first state visits since becoming monarch, Buckingham Palace said Friday, underscoring Britain’s efforts to build bridges with its European neighbors following years of strained relations caused by Brexit. Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, are set to...
U.S., South Korea announce largest field exercises in 5 years
SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean and U.S. militaries announced Friday they will hold their biggest joint field exercises in five years later this month, as the U.S. flew a long-range B-1B bomber to the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against North Korea. The North has threatened...
2 Americans arrested on charges of selling tech to Russia
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday arrested two Kansas men on allegations that the pair illegally exported aviation-related technology to Russia and provided repair services for the equipment. Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky and Douglas Robertson are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file...
Pentagon Papers leaker Ellsberg says he has terminal cancer
WASHINGTON — Daniel Ellsberg, who copied and leaked documents that revealed secret details of U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War and became known as the Pentagon Papers, said he has terminal cancer and months to live. Ellsberg posted on his Facebook page Thursday that doctors diagnosed the 91-year-old with inoperable...
Black Vietnam vet getting his due: Medal of Honor
WASHINGTON — Nearly 60 years after he was recommended for the nation’s highest military award, retired Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat, received the Medal of Honor on Friday for his bravery in the Vietnam War. At a crowded...
Russia seeks explanation for Serbian rockets in Ukraine
BELGRADE, Serbia — Russia is seeking an official explanation from its ally Serbia about reports that the Balkan country has delivered thousands of rockets to Ukraine for its fight against Russia’s invasion. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed “deepest concern” about the reports, which first came from pro-government Russian...
Shapiro aims tax break at police officers, teachers, nurses
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Saying Pennsylvania is in the midst of a workforce crisis, Gov. Josh Shapiro said he will propose a three-year incentive of up to $2,500 a year for newly certified teachers, police officers and nurses when the Democrat unveils his budget plan on Tuesday. The incentive is a...
No bail for Pennsylvania man with explosives in suitcase
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania man admitted packing explosive materials, fuses and a lighter in a suitcase he checked for a commercial flight to Florida and fled the Lehigh Valley airport when he feared arrest, federal authorities said in a court document filed Thursday. Marc Muffley, 40, of Lansford, called his...
Pittsburgh Lenten fish-fry map unites innovation, tradition
By the time the doors open at 4:30 p.m., a boisterous line of 50 hungry people is looping around the gymnasium foyer at Blessed Francis Seelos Academy. Their objective: to occupy tables on the basketball court and, for the parish’s first time since the pandemic descended in 2020, sit down...
Antoine Davis finishes shy of passing Pete Maravich scoring mark
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Antoine Davis outscored them all — except for “Pistol” Pete. Detroit Mercy’s star guard finished four points shy of surpassing Pete Maravich as the NCAA career scoring leader Thursday night, scoring 22 in a gritty 71-66 loss to Youngstown State in the Horizon League tournament. Davis came...
Angry East Palestine residents confront Norfolk Southern over health fears
Residents who say they’re still suffering from illnesses nearly a month after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in Ohio confronted the railroad’s operator Thursday at a town forum, demanding to know whether they’d be relocated from homes they’re afraid to live in. “It’s not safe here,” said one man,...
Jon Rahm has big finish for 65 and the lead at Bay HillVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jon Rahm started his round strong and ended it even better Thursday, closing eagle-birdie-birdie for a 7-under-par 65 and a two-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Not even the brute test of Bay Hill was a match for golf’s hottest player. “Amazing round of golf,” he...
Jonathan Quick goes to Vegas; Bruins get Tyler Bertuzzi before NHL deadlineVideo
Jonathan Quick is on the move again, back to the Pacific Division to solve the Vegas Golden Knights’ latest goaltending quandary. Vegas acquired Quick from Columbus on Thursday, less than 36 hours after the Los Angeles Kings traded the two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender and 2014 playoff MVP to the Blue...
Jury quickly finds Murdaugh guilty of murder of wife, son
WALTERBORO, S.C. — Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction. The jury deliberated for less than three hours...
Panthers founder, former owner Jerry Richardson dies at 86Video
CHARLOTTE, N.C — Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. He was 86. Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement. Richardson became...
Did dioxins spread after the Ohio train derailment?
After a catastrophic 38-train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance, the U.S. senators from Ohio, sent a letter to the state’s environmental protection agency expressing concern that...
Pence won’t say whether he’d support Trump as 2024 nominee
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Former Vice President Mike Pence declined to say Thursday whether he would back Donald Trump if his former boss were to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. Pence, widely expected to seek the nomination himself, suggested that Trump’s leadership style isn’t what the party needs...
As Tennessee, others target drag shows, many wonder: Why?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — “If I hadn’t been a girl, I’d have been a drag queen.” Dolly Parton has uttered those words famously and often. But if she really were a drag queen, one of Tennessee’s most famous daughters would likely be out of a job under legislation signed into law...
As Biden projects unity, Senate Democrats see little action
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden visited the Senate on Thursday to demonstrate unity among Democrats — but he ended up endorsing a Republican priority instead. With Democrats acknowledging they cannot get much done in the closely divided Congress, Biden has pledged to try to find areas where the two parties...

