Associated Press stories, Page 110
2 more beachfront homes near collapse as Hurricane Erin’s waves pound North Carolina’s Outer BanksVideo
Two homes on the North Carolina Outer Banks sit precariously in the high waves with their days seemingly numbered. Since 2020, 11 neighboring homes have fallen into the Atlantic Ocean. While the swells from storms like Hurricane Erin make things worse, the conditions threatening the houses are always present —...
Tulsi Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce by 40%, cutting budget by more than $700 million
WASHINGTON — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will dramatically reduce its workforce and cut its budget by more than $700 million annually, the Trump administration announced Wednesday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement, “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and...
CFP committee adding weight to games against strong opponents, limit reward for beating weak foes
The College Football Playoff selection committee announced Wednesday it will place more emphasis on strength of schedule this year when determining which teams make the 12-team field. The committee said in a statement that the schedule strength metric has been adjusted to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents....
Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell carted off from game vs. Tigers after crashing into fence
DETROIT — Houston Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell left Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers on a cart after crashing into the center field fence in the first inning. The Tigers led 4-0 with no one out when Dillon Dingler hit a line drive to deep center. The ball deflected off...
10 House Democrats ask NCAA about plans to protect women as ways to pay college athletes increase
Ten Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have asked the NCAA if and how college sports’ major governing body plans to protect the interests of female athletes as the largest portion of NIL and revenue-sharing payments continue to be directed to male athletes. The lawmakers, in a letter...
Hurricane Erin picking up steam as it edges along the East Coast
RODANTHE, N.C. — Hurricane Erin began strengthening again Wednesday while creeping toward the mid-Atlantic coast and churning up menacing waves that have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City. Forecasters expect the storm to peak going into Thursday and say it could re-intensify into a major hurricane. While...
Judge denies Justice Department request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein ’s sex trafficking case, joining two other judges in denying the public release of material from investigations into the late financier’s decades-long sexual abuse of young women and girls....
Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia ZooVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings. Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs...
Mississippi Supreme Court map violates Voting Rights Act, judge rules
JACKSON, Miss. — A federal judge has ordered Mississippi to redraw its Supreme Court electoral map, after finding the map dilutes the power of Black voters. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled the map, which was enacted in 1987, violates the Voting Rights Act and cannot be used in future...
Rhode Island prosecutor under review after warning ‘you’re gonna regret this’ during arrestVideo
A Rhode Island prosecutor is under review after police body camera footage recorded her warning officers “you’re gonna regret this” while she was being arrested. Devon Flanagan, a special assistant attorney general, was arrested outside a restaurant by Newport police Aug. 14 for trespassing, according to law enforcement. Body camera...
Target CEO to step down amid company struggles
NEW YORK — Target named an insider as its next chief executive officer Wednesday, a decision that comes as the discount retailer tries to reverse a persistent sales malaise and to revive its reputation as the place to go for affordable but stylish products. Minneapolis-based Target said CEO Brian Cornell,...
Israel approves settlement project that could divide West Bank
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel gave final approval Wednesday for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights groups say could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state. Settlement development in E1, an open tract of...
Trump calls on Federal Reserve official to resign after official accuses her of mortgage fraud
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to resign after a member of his administration accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud, the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to gain control over the central bank. Bill Pulte, director of the agency that...
Texas can’t put the Ten Commandments in certain school districts’ classrooms, judge says
Texas cannot require public schools in Houston, Austin and other select districts to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a judge said Wednesday in a temporary ruling against the state’s new requirement. Texas is the third state where courts have blocked recent laws about putting the Ten Commandments in...
Bus crash in Afghanistan kills more than 70 Afghans returning from IranVideo
A bus crash in northwestern Afghanistan killed at least 79 people returning from Iran, including 19 children, an official said. Two people were also injured in the crash, Ministry of Interior spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told The Associated Press. Tolo News, citing the official, said the accident happened Tuesday around...
Rwanda-backed rebels killed over 140 civilians in eastern Congo, rights group says
DAKAR, Senegal — Rwanda-backed rebels killed at least 140 people in farming communities in eastern Congo in July, a human rights group said in a report Wednesday, describing the killings as “summary executions.” Human Rights Watch said 141 people, predominantly Hutus, were feared dead or missing after the attacks near...
A fire is burning one of the world’s tallest trees near the Oregon coast
PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities in Oregon are trying to extinguish a fire that is burning in one of the world’s tallest trees near the state’s southern coast. The Doerner Fir, a coastal Douglas Fir tree over 325 feet tall and estimated to be over 450 years old, has been burning...
Lawyer argues Meta can’t be held liable for gunmaker’s Instagram posts in Uvalde families’ lawsuit
LOS ANGELES — A lawsuit filed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims alleging Instagram allowed gun manufacturers to promote firearms to minors should be thrown out, lawyers for Meta, Instagram’s parent company, argued Tuesday. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the May 2022 shooting at Robb...
Ranger fired for hanging transgender flag in Yosemite and park visitors may face prosecution
A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan while some visitors face potential prosecution for alleged violations of protest restrictions that have been tightened under President Donald Trump. Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger and biologist who studies bats, said they hung a 66-foot...
US destroyers head toward waters off Venezuela as Trump aims to pressure drug cartels
WASHINGTON — The United States is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning. The USS Gravely, the USS Jason Dunham and the USS...
Even at the grocery store, Texas troopers don’t let Democrats out of sight after walkoutVideo
AUSTIN, Texas— Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier refused to come to the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now she won’t leave, and fellow Democrats are joining her protest. Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens of California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York...
DHS Secretary says entire southern border wall to be painted black to stop people from climbing it
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration — and she credited President Trump with the idea. Noem spoke during a visit to a portion...
A Gaza-bound ship that left Cyprus with 1,200 tons of food aid nears Israeli port
LIMASSOL, Cyprus — A ship that set off from Cyprus loaded with 1,200 tons of food supplies for the Gaza Strip approached the Israeli port of Ashdod on Tuesday in a renewed effort to alleviate the worsening crisis in the Palestinian territory, where food security experts say the “worst-case scenario...
Mexico says there’s no agreement with DEA for new border enforcement collaboration
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president denied on Tuesday that her administration had an agreement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, a day after the U.S. agency announced “a major new initiative” to collaborate in the fight against drug cartels. President Claudia Sheinbaum was referring to “Project Portero,” an effort announced...
North Korean leader’s sister says her country will never see the South as a diplomatic partner
SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said her country will never see South Korea as a partner for diplomacy, state media reported Wednesday in what was her latest taunt of Seoul’s new efforts to mend ties. Kim Yo Jong, who is one...
