Associated Press stories, Page 1130
Nostalgia sells; nostalgia with a twist can be a smash
Nostalgia sells and marketers know it, having used the brands of yesteryear fully aware that consumers will open their wallets to scratch that sentimental itch. Those oldies but goodies keep popping up today, but increasingly with a twist. Companies continue to re-release snacks, entertainment and technology that millions of people...
Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics
KYIV, Ukraine — With next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join. Such...
Maid’s son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took $4M for her death
For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man — but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over $4 million from his housekeeper’s relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son...
Why is R&B music more explicit than ever? It’s complicated.
NEW YORK — Tank was nervous after sending his manager a preview of “When We” — he’d never released a song that explicit. “He’s like, ‘You’re crazy, but it’s jammin’!’” the R&B singer recalled. “It ended up being my biggest record ever.” Released in 2017, the seductive chorus of “when...
Olympic flame to take seaborne journey to 2024 Paris Games
MARSEILLE, France — The Olympic flame is going for a sail. Instead of arriving overland, the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece, arriving aboard a three-mast tall ship in the French port of Marseille. Paris organizers announced the flame’s...
Elon Musk surprise appearance as Tesla tweet trial wraps up
SAN FRANCISO — A high-profile trial focused on a 2018 tweet about the financing for a Tesla buyout that never happened drew a surprise spectator Friday — Elon Musk, the billionaire accused of misleading investors with his usage of the Twitter service he now owns. Musk, the CEO of both...
Missing Florida Lyft driver’s car found with slaying suspect
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The car owned by a missing 74-year-old Florida Lyft driver was found in North Carolina and the man who was driving it is wanted in connection with a homicide last week in southwest Florida, authorities said Friday. Lyft driver Gary Levin hasn’t been heard from since...
$700M Powerball prize latest in string of giant jackpots
DES MOINES, Iowa — No, it’s not lottery deja vu. There really is another giant lottery jackpot up for grabs Saturday night, the latest in a string of big prizes enticing players to plunk down $2 and try to beat formidable odds. This time, it’s an estimated $700 million Powerball...
Support growing in NHL for longer 3-on-3 OT, fewer shootouts
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Troy Terry made his name in hockey with his shootout heroics for the U.S. in the 2017 world junior championship against Russia, much like T.J. Oshie did at the Olympics a few years earlier. Still, the Anaheim Ducks All-Star wouldn’t mind seeing fewer of them decide...
New rules would limit sugar in school meals for 1st time
U.S. agriculture officials on Friday proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, with a focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries. The plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to significantly decrease sodium in the...
Olympic bans and boycotts go back a century
Ukraine and the three Baltic countries, all former Soviet republics, moved a step closer Friday to boycott next year’s Paris Olympics because of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The International Olympic Committee plans to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” despite their invasion of Ukraine,...
Chinese balloon now over central U.S. as Blinken cancels visit
WASHINGTON — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions. The cancelation came despite China’s claim...
California weighs making flag football a school sport for girls
California officials are considering a plan to make flag football a girls high school sport amid soaring popularity of the game and a push to get more female athletes on the field. The federated council of the California Interscholastic Federation — the statewide body that governs high school athletics —...
New Mexico legislators may block local abortion ordinances
SANTA FE, N.M. — A standoff over abortion in politically conservative regions of New Mexico is looming as Democratic state legislators present a bill that would prohibit local governments from interfering with women’s access to reproductive health care. The initiative from state House Democrats responds to abortion restrictions recently adopted...
U.S. may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in several states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the governors of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming provided “substantial”...
NFL will offer free CPR training during Super Bowl week
Inspired by the lifesaving medical attention Damar Hamlin received on the field during a game last month, the NFL and American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center. Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills...
Baltic leaders warn Olympic boycott possible if Russians compete
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian athletes from next year’s Paris Games because of the war in Ukraine, saying Friday a boycott was a possibility. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said athletes from her country could be...
U.S. adds a surprisingly strong 517,000 jobs despite Fed hikes
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added a robust 517,000 jobs in January, a surprisingly strong gain in the face of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to slow growth and tame inflation with higher interest rates. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, a new half-century low. Friday’s government report added to the...
Companies pledge millions in Fed effort to stem road deaths
WASHINGTON — Nearly 50 businesses and nonprofits — including rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, industrial giant 3M and automaker Honda — are pledging millions of dollars in initiatives to stem a crisis in road fatalities under a new federal effort announced Friday. It’s part of the Department of Transportation’s “Call...
NATO urges Russia to respect nuclear pact with the U.S.
BRUSSELS — NATO called on Russia on Friday to respect the only treaty it has with the United States aimed at keeping a lid on nuclear weapons expansion and urged Moscow to allow on-the-ground inspections of military sites to resume. The so-called New START Treaty was signed by Russia and...
Some 1/6 rioters change tune after apology
WASHINGTON — Appearing before a federal judge after pleading guilty to a felony charge in the deadly Capitol riot, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed remorse for letting down his family and his community, saying he made a “crucial mistake.” Less than a year later, Evans is portraying himself...
U.K. man admits treason over crossbow plot against queen
LONDON — A man who was arrested on the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow pleaded guilty to treason on Friday for planning to attack Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, admitted to a charge under the Treason Act of intending to “injure the person of Her...
Busy college football recruiting period called ‘total chaos’Video
The first Wednesday of February used to be the biggest day on the calendar for college football recruiting. Now it is an afterthought. The December signing period, which is now when nearly all major prospects finalize their plans, is still relatively new but is causing enough headaches for busy coaches...
Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jaylen Brown lead NBA All-Star reservesVideo
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Portland’s Damian Lillard must have known they were going to the All-Star Game. Players averaging more than 30 points typically don’t have to worry about not hearing their name called. Other players — like Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Utah’s...
Lebioda leads on a day of ever-changing conditions at PebbleVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Changes in weather and fortunes can happen without notice in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which seems to suit Hank Lebioda just fine these days. Playing his sixth different course in his last six rounds on the PGA Tour, Lebioda ran off six birdies in an...
