Associated Press stories, Page 1018
European tour issues more fines, possible suspensions, for 26 players who competed for LIVVideo
Equipped with a favorable court ruling, the DP World (European) Tour has expanded its sanctions against players who competed in LIV Golf or Asian Tour events without permission over eight months. The tour already has issued fines of $125,000 to 17 players who played in the first two LIV Golf...
CNN faces backlash over chaotic Trump town hall eventVideo
NEW YORK — CNN is facing a backlash over its town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, an event that swiftly turned chaotic in a stark display of the tightrope facing journalists covering a leading 2024 Republican candidate who refuses to play by the rules. The town hall Wednesday was...
Metallic object that crashed into NJ home was a meteorite
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite, experts announced Thursday. Scientists with The College of New Jersey determined the 6-by-4-inch object, which...
What is Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Gaza militant group now fighting Israel?
JERUSALEM — The cycle has become grimly familiar. Over three days, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed at least 28 people, including senior Palestinian militants, as well as children as young as 4 years old. Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired over 600 rockets toward Israel, killing one person, setting...
Sen. Tuberville criticized for remarks on white nationalists: ‘I call them Americans’
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is facing backlash for remarks he made about white nationalists in the armed forces in an interview about his blocking of military nominees. He said that while Democrats may consider such people to be racists, “I call them Americans.” Tuberville’s office later said...
Supreme Court rejects challenge to California pork law mandating more space for pigs
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a California animal cruelty law that affects the pork industry, ruling that the case was properly dismissed by lower courts. Pork producers had said that the law could force industry-wide changes and raise the cost of bacon and other...
Republicans continue push to restrict teachings on race in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Republicans are one step closer to restricting how teachers discuss race in K-12 classrooms. As conservatives nationwide push bans on so-called “critical race theory,” the state Senate passed a likeminded effort Wednesday in a late-night 27-10 vote after nearly six hours of debate. Parents could...
Buddhist monks accused of embezzling millions donated to Thailand temple
BANGKOK — Seven Buddhist monks are among nine suspects who are being held in pre-trial detention after being arrested for allegedly embezzling assets worth about $8.9 million from donations received by a temple in Thailand’s northeast, authorities said Thursday. The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases said the actions...
Peloton recalling more than 2 million exercise bikes. Here’s why:
Peloton is recalling more than 2 million of its exercise bikes because the bike’s seat post assembly can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards. The recall includes about 2.2 million of the Peloton Bikes Model PL01. The bikes were sold from January 2018 through May 2023 for about...
Ukraine says its counteroffensive now delayed; Britain says it’s sent cruise missiles to Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in remarks broadcast Thursday that Kyiv is delaying its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia’s occupying forces because Ukraine lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. His remarks, in an interview with European broadcasters, were aired shortly before Britain said it...
New blood donation rules allow more gay men to give in U.S.
WASHINGTON — Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships can donate blood in the U.S. without abstaining from sex, under a federal policy finalized Thursday by health regulators. The Food and Drug Administration guidelines ease decades-old restrictions designed to protect the blood supply from HIV. The agency announced plans for...
Review: Jennifer Lopez anchors the action pic ‘The Mother’Video
The most interesting part of “The Mother,” a decent if forgettable action pic starring Jennifer Lopez, is the one that is left largely unexplored. The movie is a high-concept thriller that boils down to just a few words: She’s a mother and an assassin. OK, you’re probably thinking, fine. Misha...
Michael Jordan’s famed ‘Dream Team’ Olympic jacket heading to auction
The jacket that Michael Jordan famously and grudgingly wore while receiving an Olympic gold medal has been in Brian McIntyre’s possession for more than three decades now. He figures the time is right to let someone else enjoy it. The red, white and blue Reebok jacket that Jordan — a...
Flyers name Keith Jones team president, Danny Briere general manager
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers have named long-time television analyst Keith Jones team president of hockey operations and have removed the interim tag from general manager Danny Briere’s title. Jones was a surprise choice Thursday after he spent the last 23 years as an analyst for Flyers telecasts on NBC...
U.S. jobless claims filings highest since 2021, job market remains healthy
The number of Americans filing for jobless claims last week rose to its highest level in a year-and-a-half, though the labor market remains healthy by historical standards. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 6 rose by 22,000 to 264,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s up from...
Shooting at Mercedes factory in Germany leaves 2 dead; suspect detained
BERLIN — A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving two people dead, authorities and the company said. The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old man, was taken into custody, a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said....
U.S. wholesale price data for April points to easing inflation pressures
WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices in the United States rose modestly last month, the latest sign that inflationary pressures may be easing more than a year after the Federal Reserve unleashed an aggressive campaign of steadily higher interest rates. From March to April, the government’s producer price index rose just 0.2%...
What to know about Trump’s CNN town hall: Lies about election and abortion, attacks on accuser
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s primetime return to CNN Wednesday for the first time since 2016 felt like a throwback: Trump with the long, twisting answers; the interviewer at times struggling to fact-check him or return his focus to the question at hand; and then, eventually, both talking over each...
‘Now or never’: Migrants rush to U.S. border ahead of Title 42 expiration
MATAMOROS, Mexico — Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. In a move to clear out overwhelmed holding facilities, Border Patrol agents were told Wednesday to...
As public health emergency ends, pandemic-era support programs have already been fading away
WASHINGTON — The formal end of the national Public Health Emergency on Thursday is largely a symbolic and psychological step, representing the country’s formal emergence from the covid-19 pandemic. But behind the scenes, several core aspects of America’s pandemic-era emergency safety net are also coming to a close, from extra...
Georgia coach Smart says declining invitation for White House visit was not political
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart insisted Wednesday there was no political motivation behind the decision for his national championship football team to decline an invitation to visit the White House in June. Instead, Smart says scheduling issues, including a youth camp in June at the Georgia football facility,...
Jacklyn Zeman, veteran ‘General Hospital’ cast member, has died
Jacklyn Zeman, who played Bobbie Spencer for 45 years on ABC’s “General Hospital” has died at 70. Zeman died after a short battle with cancer, her family confirmed Wednesday. News of her death was first announced by the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini. “I am heartbroken to announce the passing...
Real-life ‘The Queen’s Gambit’: Custodian leads school chess teams in Maine
HAMPDEN, Maine — David Bishop spends the school day as a mild-mannered custodian, but before the final bell rings, he grabs his chess boards and pieces and begins his second role. “The Queen’s Gambit” is playing out in real life in Maine, where this custodian is coaching his schools’ chess...
Figuring out Texas: From guns to immigration, here’s how one state’s challenges echo the country’s
HOUSTON — Thirteen people dead in two mass shootings. Eight immigrants killed when an SUV slams into a crowded bus stop. The likely approval of legislation that would let the Republican governor overturn elections in the most populous county, a Democratic stronghold. All in the past two weeks. These issues...
Rape, incest exceptions to Louisiana abortion ban rejected by GOP lawmakers
BATON ROUGE — Republican lawmakers in Louisiana rejected legislation Wednesday that would add exceptions in cases of rape and incest to one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. This legislative session, there is a package of bills aimed at loosening Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban by adding exceptions, clarifying...
