Associated Press stories, Page 1028
Trump: East Palestine train derailment response a ‘betrayal’
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the federal response to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as a “betrayal” during a visit to the village where residents and local leaders are increasingly frustrated more than two weeks after the disaster. Trump, wearing his...
Met cuts season to 18 operas, matching fewest in 4 decades
NEW YORK — The financially challenged Metropolitan Opera is cutting its schedule to 18 productions next season, matching the pandemic-curtailed 2019-20 season for the fewest since 14 in strike-shortened 1980-81. The Met said Wednesday it will have six new productions and 12 revivals, down from seven new stagings and 16...
Space telescope uncovers massive galaxies near cosmic dawn
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered what appear to be massive galaxies dating back to within 600 million years of the Big Bang, suggesting the early universe may have had a stellar fast-track that produced these “monsters.” While the new James Webb Space Telescope has spotted even older galaxies,...
A year later, Chris Rock opens up on a Baltimore stage about ‘The Slap’
BALTIMORE — Nearly one year after actor Will Smith assaulted comic Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, the legendary funnyman is finally prepared to discuss the incident known as “Slapgate” — and he’s doing it for one of the first times on a Baltimore stage. Rock joked for nearly...
Winner comes forward to claim $1.35B Mega Millions jackpot
PORTLAND, Maine — The winner of a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot — the fourth largest in U.S. history — has come forward to collect the prize, state officials said Wednesday. The winner had been a mystery, and remains a mystery. The Maine State Lottery said the winner chose to...
Amazon closes $3.9B buyout of health company One Medical
NEW YORK — Amazon said Wednesday it has closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization One Medical. The e-commerce giant has said the buyout, which was announced in July, is a key component of its growing health care business, which includes its online drugstore Amazon Pharmacy and...
Could R. Kelly essentially get a ‘life’ prison sentence?
CHICAGO — Superstar-turned-felon R. Kelly wouldn’t be eligible for release until 2066, a year shy of his 100th birthday, if a federal judge accepts prosecutors’ recommendations at his sentencing hearing Thursday in his hometown of Chicago. Kelly, 56, will be sentenced on his convictions from last year in Chicago of...
At least 2 dead, more than 50 missing in China mine collapse
BEIJING — An open pit mine collapsed in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region on Wednesday, killing at least two people and leaving more than 50 missing, state media reported. The official Xinhua News Agency said people were buried under debris at the mine in Alxa League. It said six were...
Global impact: 5 ways war in Ukraine has changed the world
LONDON — War has been a catastrophe for Ukraine and a crisis for the globe. The world is a more unstable and fearful place since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022. One year on, thousands of Ukrainian civilians are dead, and countless buildings have been destroyed. Tens of...
10 Palestinians killed, scores hurt in Israel West Bank raid
NABLUS, West Bank — Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others. The raid, which reduced a building to rubble and left a series of...
Key developments in the aftermath of the Turkey, Syria earthquake
SAMANDAG, Turkey — Demolition teams are clearing mounds of rubble from the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, as emergency responders scramble to shelter survivors — who were traumatized anew by Monday’s magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Turkey’s already badly battered province of Hatay. That quake killed eight people...
Biden: Putin’s suspension of U.S. arms treaty ‘big mistake’
WARSAW, Poland — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake” by suspending his country’s participation in the the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. The U.S. president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the U.S. will remain by...
Florida art dealer pleads guilty in Andy Warhol forgery scheme
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A South Florida art dealer pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in connection with a scheme involving the sale of fake Andy Warhol paintings. Daniel Elie Bouaziz, 69, pleaded to a single count of money laundering in Fort Pierce federal court, while prosecutors agreed to drop...
Microsoft brings Bing chatbot to phones after curbing quirks
Microsoft is ready to take its new Bing chatbot mainstream — less than a week after making major fixes to stop the artificially intelligent search engine from going off the rails. The company said Wednesday it is bringing the new AI technology to its Bing smartphone app, as well as...
CNN’s Don Lemon tweets another apology, returns to work
NEW YORK — CNN anchor Don Lemon tweeted an apology to viewers for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly before returning to work on Wednesday, then stuck to the news. He made no mention of his comments last week that Haley was not in “her prime,” during...
Massive winter storm brings snow, strong winds, frigid cold
MINNEAPOLIS — Brutal winter weather bringing snow, dangerous gusts of wind and bitter cold settled over much of the northern U.S. on Wednesday, shutting down roadways, closing schools and businesses and prompting dire warnings for people to stay home. The massive storm with blizzard-like conditions to the north were part...
Pennsylvania House nears vote on child-abuse lawsuit window
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Democrats put their freshly minted majority status to work Tuesday in shutting down Republican efforts to make changes to legislation designed to let victims of childhood sexual abuse file otherwise outdated lawsuits. After the winners of three Pittsburgh-area special elections were sworn in, giving Democrats a...
Jennifer McClellan wins special election for Virginia’s 4th District
RICHMOND, Va. — Democrat Jennifer McClellan defeated her Republican opponent in a special election Tuesday to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, prevailed over pastor and Navy...
Alabama hoops star Brandon Miller delivered gun in shooting, police sayVideo
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller brought a teammate the gun that was used in a fatal January shooting near campus, an investigator testified Tuesday. Miller, a freshman standout, brought Darius Miles’ gun to him on the night of the shooting after Miles texted him and...
Upper Midwest braces for blizzard, nearly 2 feet of snowVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — A monster winter storm took aim Tuesday at the Upper Midwest, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans. The storm was to begin around midday and continue through Thursday morning...
Alligator kills 85-year-old Florida woman as she walked dog
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — An 85-year-old woman was killed by an alligator while walking her dog in a senior living community on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, officials said. The woman was walking her dog on Monday afternoon beside a canal in Spanish Lakes Fairway near Fort Pierce when the nearly 11-foot...
Southern Baptists oust Saddleback Church over woman pastor
The Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday ousted its second-largest congregation — Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren — for having a woman pastor. The vote by the convention’s Executive Committee culminates growing tension between the nation’s largest Protestant denomination — which officially...
Explosion at Ohio metals plant kills 1 worker, injures 13
OAKWOOD VILLAGE, Ohio — A maintenance worker was killed in explosion at an Ohio metals plant that sparked a large fire and sent more than a dozen people to hospitals, with at least two in critical condition, authorities said. Emergency crews were called to the I. Schumann & Co. copper...
West Virginia passes campus carry, bill heads to governor
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms on West Virginia public college and university campuses is heading to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice after passing the final hurdle in the GOP-dominated Legislature. The state House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly...
Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son takes stand at murder trial
Alex Murdaugh’s defense called his surviving son to the stand Tuesday to poke holes in evidence prosecutors have presented in the disgraced South Carolina attorney’s double murder trial. Buster Murdaugh answered questions in a matter-of-fact tone, ranging from how he found out about the killings to how his brother would...
