Associated Press stories, Page 1028
Za’Darius Smith excited to have ‘hand in the dirt’ with Browns, team with Myles GarrettVideo
CLEVELAND — Za’Darius Smith has dropped down to touch his literal football roots. “Hand in the dirt,” he said. Of all the reasons Smith is excited to be with the Cleveland Browns — a fresh start, playing on a defensive line with Myles Garrett, being back in the AFC North...
Nuggets make Denver hoops town with 1st trip to NBA Finals in 47 yearsVideo
DENVER — It took 3,787 regular-season games and 29 trips to the playoffs, countless ripoffs of rainbow uniforms and even more ‘yeah, buts’ than any city should have to stomach. Finally, 47 seasons into an entertaining, often frustrating and almost always overlooked journey in the NBA, Denver is at the...
NHL’s Gary Bettman basks in ‘newer markets’ making Stanley Cup runs
Hockey purists might be grumbling about the upcoming Stanley Cup Final because it will have nothing but Sun Belt teams involved. It suits Gary Bettman just fine. Bettman was honored by the Sports Business Journal on Wednesday with a lifetime achievement award for the NHL’s growth during his 30 years...
49ers QB Trey Lance happy in San Francisco despite uncertain status
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Trey Lance has no desire for a fresh start even though his path to becoming the franchise quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers has many roadblocks. After the Niners traded three first-round picks to draft him third overall in 2021, Lance has started only four games...
PGA Tour’s ‘Block party’ moves to Colonial along with local favoritesVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Michael Block entered the gates at Colonial Country Club for the first time this week to the screams of “Block Party!” and that was on a day of practice rounds when most of the people around were players and tournament volunteers. Block’s surreal journey is still...
Danish masters prepped canvases with leftovers from brewing beer
NEW YORK — Danish painters in the 19th century may have turned to an unusual source for some of their supplies: breweries. Researchers examined paintings from the Danish Golden Age and found traces of yeast and grains. That suggests painters were turning to byproducts from local breweries to prepare canvases,...
Microsoft: State-sponsored Chinese hackers could be laying groundwork for disruption
BOSTON — State-backed Chinese hackers have been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and could be laying the technical groundwork for the potential disruption of critical communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises, Microsoft said Wednesday. The targets include sites in Guam, where the U.S. has a major military presence,...
Death-defying A.J. Foyt returns to the Indy 500
WALLER, Texas — A.J. Foyt was 15 when a boat he and two friends were riding in capsized in a storm. The young Foyt clung tightly to a buoy until a fishing vessel found him, too late for one of the other boys who already had drowned. Not long afterward,...
DeSantis launches GOP presidential campaign in Twitter announcement plagued by glitchesVideo
MIAMI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday with a Twitter announcement plagued by technical glitches, stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest that will test his strength against former President Donald Trump and criticism that he’s not ready for the national stage. The 44-year-old...
Capitol rioter who propped feet on Pelosi’s desk in photo sentenced to over 4 yearsVideo
WASHINGTON — An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in a widely circulated photo from the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison. Richard “Bigo” Barnett became one of the faces of the Jan. 6...
Lamar Jackson at voluntary practice for Ravens after skipping last year’s
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson has a simple explanation for why he decided to participate in voluntary practices for the Baltimore Ravens this year. “New offense,” he said. “Had to get that down pat before the season rolls in. Because the season’s getting nearer, even though we got a...
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes: ‘I’m about legacy and winning rings more than making money’Video
Patrick Mahomes would rather win Super Bowls than worry about making the most money. That doesn’t mean the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback hasn’t seen what’s been happening across the NFL. Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million extension in 2020 that set the bar for quarterbacks, but it already has been...
Where’s Stefon Diggs? Von Miller not concerned by Bills WR skipping OTAsVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Von Miller isn’t the least bit concerned about Buffalo Bills teammate Stefon Diggs missing voluntary spring practices. Nor is the veteran pass rusher reading anything into the cryptic messages the receiver posted on his social media accounts this offseason. Miller is too familiar with Diggs’ competitive...
Pennsylvania high court appears split over plan to force power plants to pay for carbon emissions
HARRISBURG — Justices on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court indicated Wednesday that they are likely to have split opinions on whether a governor has the right to force power plant owners to pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, or whether he first needs approval from a Legislature that refuses to go...
Fuzzy falcon chicks who nest at Michigan State football stadium get tracking bands
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Newly fitted with tracking bands, four peregrine falcon chicks named Pickles, Muhammad, Egbert and Swooper have a nest in one of the best seats — make that perches — at Michigan State University’s football stadium. Scientists and college students on Wednesday carefully attached metal tracking bands...
1 year after Uvalde shooting, investigation of police response continues
AUSTIN, Texas — A criminal investigation in Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting is still ongoing as Wednesday marks one year since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde. The continuing probe underlines the lasting fallout over...
Alex Bowman cleared to return to NASCAR competition at Charlotte
Alex Bowman has been cleared to return to racing this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after missing four events with a fractured vertebra. Bowman was injured April 25 while competing in a sprint car race in Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson’s new racing series in West...
Amanda Gorman’s poem for Biden’s inauguration banned by Florida school
MIAMI — A poem written for President Joe Biden’s inauguration has been placed on a restricted list at a South Florida elementary school after one parent’s complaint. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, poet Amanda Gorman vowed to fight back. Her poem, “The Hill We Climb” was challenged by the...
ACC backs plan to offer increased payouts to schools for postseason success
The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving forward allowing schools to earn more money generated from their own postseason performances, a move coming as the league tries to find ways to close a growing financial gap with two power-conference peers. The ACC announced Wednesday that its board of directors have endorsed...
Tina Turner, unstoppable superstar whose hits included ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It,’ dead at 83
NEW YORK — Tina Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do...
Rapper Fetty Wap sentenced to 6 years in prison for drug-trafficking scheme
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — As friends and family looked on, rapper Fetty Wap on Wednesday apologized for his actions and said he was “exactly where I’m supposed to be,” before a judge sentenced him to six years in federal prison for his role in a New York-based drug-trafficking scheme. The...
Yellowstone baby bison put to death after visitor picks it up, leading herd to reject it
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Yellowstone National Park officials killed a newborn bison because its herd wouldn’t take the animal back after a man picked it up. The calf became separated from its mother when the herd crossed the Lamar River in northeastern Yellowstone on Saturday. The unidentified man pushed...
Debt ceiling explained: Why it’s a struggle in Washington and how the impasse could end
WASHINGTON — Pushing to strike a debt ceiling deal, the Republican negotiating team headed Wednesday to the White House for more discussions with the sides still far apart. Time is short: There are just days left before the government could run out of cash to pay its bills. The White...
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton likely broke laws, Republican investigation findsVideo
AUSTIN — A Republican-led investigation on Wednesday accused Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of committing multiple crimes in office — including felonies — during an extraordinary public airing of scandal and alleged lawbreaking that plunged one of the GOP’s conservative stars into new political and legal risk. For more than...
Haley commits to federal abortion ban but says it’s unlikely without more Republicans in Congress
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday pledged to sign a federal ban on abortion but noted that passing one would be highly unlikely without more Republicans in Congress. Although Haley didn’t say how many weeks a federal ban should encompass, her commitment to signing one is...
