Associated Press stories, Page 1187

BAGHDAD — The followers of the influential populist Shiite cleric came by the thousands to storm Iraq’s parliament. Just as quickly, the protesters dispersed at his command. Mass mobilization and control is a well-worn strategy of Muqtada al-Sadr, a mercurial figure who has emerged as a powerful force in Iraq’s...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — At least five migrants drowned and another 66 were rescued on Thursday after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico, officials said. Federal and local authorities were still on the scene searching for...

BAMAKO, Mali — At least three civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed in separate attacks in central Mali, the army said, the latest round of attacks as insecurity worsens in the West African nation. Two attacks Wednesday targeted Mali army positions in the center of the country, and the...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Western Kentucky football coach Tyson Helton was part of Conference USA’s inaugural season in 1996, as a freshman quarterback on his father’s team at Houston that shared the first title. He was also previously an assistant coach for two other teams in the league that is now...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of...

JetBlue has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal that would create the nation’s fifth largest airline if approved by U.S. regulators. The agreement Thursday comes a day after Spirit’s attempt to merge with Frontier Airlines fell apart. Spirit had recommended its shareholders approve a lower...

LONDON — Shell posted record profits Thursday for a second straight quarter as the energy giant benefited from soaring prices of oil and natural gas fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine. London-based Shell said it’s second-quarter adjusted earnings — which exclude one-time items and fluctuations in the value of inventories...

HARRISBURG — Four Pennsylvania universities said Wednesday they will follow through with tuition increases despite calls from House Republicans to roll back the price hikes. The lawmakers, including Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, the GOP nominee for governor, argue Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Lincoln and Temple are receiving federal funds...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against five media companies brought by a Kentucky student involved in a 2019 widely viewed encounter with a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Nicholas Sandmann, then a 16-year-old student at Covington Catholic High...

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A 15-year-old boy shot and killed three siblings at a home near Fairbanks and was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Alaska State Troopers said. The troopers, in a statement, said they received a report of shots being fired on Tuesday afternoon at a Fairbanks home....

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has backed out of teaching a seminar at George Washington University’s law school in the nation’s capital, following student protests and the university’s statement of support for the conservative justice’s role on campus. “Justice Thomas informed GW Law that he is unavailable to...

More research suggests it’s time to abandon the craze over vitamin D. Taking high doses of “the sunshine vitamin” doesn’t reduce the risk of broken bones in generally healthy older Americans, researchers reported Wednesday. It’s the latest in a string of disappointments about a nutrient once hoped to have wide-ranging...

CHICAGO — The man accused of opening fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery, representing the seven people killed and dozens wounded in the attack...

WASHINGTON — In an unexpected turnabout, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday they had reached an expansive agreement that had eluded them for months on health care, energy and climate issues, taxes on higher earners and corporations and trimming of the federal debt. For months,...