Associated Press stories, Page 1224
Judge: Prosecutors cannot enforce Michigan’s abortion ban
A Michigan judge on Friday blocked county prosecutors from enforcing the state’s 1931 ban on abortion for the foreseeable future, after two days of witness testimony from abortion experts, providers and the state’s chief medical officer. The ruling follows a state Court of Appeals ruling this month that county prosecutors...
Pittsburgh woman bitten by shark at Myrtle Beach; she’s one of 2 victims
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Two swimmers survived being bitten by sharks this week at South Carolina’s most popular beach. Both people were attacked in Myrtle Beach on Monday with one suffering a serious injury to the forearm and the second a more glancing bite to the leg, police told media...
Nicaraguan police arrest bishop, other priests in raid
MEXICO CITY — Nicaraguan police on Friday raided the residence of a Roman Catholic bishop who is an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government, apparently detaining the senior clergyman and several other priests holed up inside for two weeks after police set up a cordon. The pre-dawn raid came...
Biden to host unity summit against hate-fueled violence
WILMINGTON, Del. — President Joe Biden will host a White House summit next month aimed at combating a spate of hate-fueled violence in the U.S., as he works to deliver on his campaign pledge to “heal the soul of the nation.” The White House announced Friday that Biden will host...
GOP candidate says call for Merrick Garland’s death was ‘facetious’
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Republican candidate for Congress in western New York said in a radio interview that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland “should be executed” for authorizing a search former President Donald Trump’s home, before clarifying later in the show that he wasn’t being serious. Buffalo-area businessman Carl Paladino...
Brain-eating amoeba suspected in 2nd Midwest death
OMAHA, Neb. — A child likely died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in an eastern Nebraska river, health officials said, making it the second such probable death in the Midwest this summer and raising the question of whether climate change is playing a role....
U.S. offers extra monkeypox vaccine doses for gay pride eventsVideo
NEW YORK — The U.S. is setting aside an extra 50,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine for places with upcoming gay pride events, health officials said Thursday. The number of doses sent to each place will be based on factors like the size of the event, how many health workers will...
Rhino horns trafficker sentenced to over 5 years in prison
NEW YORK — A citizen of Liberia and resident of Uganda was sentenced to over five years in prison Thursday after admitting that he participated in wildlife trafficking that authorities say moved rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory worth at least $3.4 million. Moazu Kromah, 49, of Kampala, Uganda, was sentenced...
Don’t dawdle with latest iPhone update. Here’s why and how
Apple regularly issues updates to the software powering the iPhone, and sometimes it’s OK to dawdle when it comes to installing them. But that’s not the case with its latest — an upgrade that Apple released Wednesday to close a security hole that could allow hackers to seize control of...
Justice Department: 3 men charged in Whitey Bulger’s killing
BOSTON — Three men, including a Mafia hitman, have been charged in the killing of notorious Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger in a West Virginia prison, the Justice Department said Thursday. The charges against Fotios “Freddy” Geas, Paul J. DeCologero and Sean McKinnon come nearly four years after Bulger’s...
Man bought body parts on Facebook, central Pennsylvania police say
A Pennsylvania man has been charged with abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property and other charges after police say he allegedly tried to buy stolen human remains from an Arkansas woman for possible resale on Facebook. A spokeswoman for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock...
Judge blocks Florida ‘woke’ law pushed by Gov. DeSantis
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida judge on Thursday declared a Florida law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts race-based conversation and analysis in business and education unconstitutional. Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said in a 44-page ruling that the “Stop WOKE” act violates the First Amendment...
Judge appears willing to unveil some of Mar-a-Lago affidavit
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to put forward proposed redactions as he committed to making public at least part of the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart gave prosecutors...
Browns QB Deshaun Watson settles for 11-game suspension
BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson has reached a settlement with the NFL and will serve an 11-game suspension and pay a $5 million fine rather than risk missing his first season as quarterback of the Cleveland Browns following accusations of sexual misconduct. Watson was accused of sexual assault and harassment...
B1G deal: Big Ten lands $7 billion, NFL-style TV contracts
The Big Ten’s new $7 billion media rights deal will string the conference’s top football games across three major networks each week, creating an NFL-style television schedule on Saturdays. The Big Ten announced Thursday it has reached seven-year agreements with Fox, CBS and NBC to share the rights to the...
Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week
WASHINGTON — Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to stand out as one of the strongest segments of the U.S. economy. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending August 13 fell by 2,000 to 250,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Last...
Russia deploys hypersonic missiles to its Baltic exclave
MOSCOW — The Russian military said Thursday that it has deployed warplanes armed with state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to the country’s Kaliningrad region, a move that comes amid soaring tensions with the West over Moscow’s action in Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry said three MiG-31 fighters with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles arrived at...
A look at the world’s skinniest skyscraper: Steinway TowerVideo
NEW YORK — One skyscraper stands out from the rest in the Manhattan skyline. It’s not the tallest, but it is the skinniest — the world’s skinniest, in fact. The 84-story residential Steinway Tower, designed by New York architecture firm SHoP Architects, has the title of “most slender skyscraper in...
Lawyer’s group text causes 2nd Florida murder case mistrial
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A prosecutor in a murder case complained about a judge’s ruling in a group text message that included the judge, resulting in a second mistrial for a man charged with killing his girlfriend’s young son. Now the defense wants the case dismissed altogether. Broward County Judge...
U.S. to hold trade talks with Taiwan
HUALIEN, Taiwan — The U.S. government will hold trade talks with Taiwan in a sign of support for the island democracy that China claims as its own territory, prompting Beijing to warn Thursday it will take action if necessary to “safeguard its sovereignty.” The announcement of trade talks comes after...
Airbnb is rolling out new screening tools to stop parties
SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb says it will use new methods to spot and block people who try to use the short-term rental service to throw a party. The company said this week it has introduced technology that examines the would-be renter’s history on Airbnb, how far they live from the...
Report: LIV draft contract has restrictions and major bonusVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — A draft contract to play for Saudi-funded LIV Golf includes clauses that require players be available to recruit other players to the league and to get permission before granting exclusive interviews, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The Journal said it reviewed a draft contract that LIV...
Trump supporters’ threats to judge spur democracy concerns
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of federal judges face the same task every day: review an affidavit submitted by federal agents and approve requests for a search warrant. But for U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the fallout from his decision to approve a search warrant has been far from routine. He has...
Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg to plead guilty, testify against company
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to tax violations Thursday in a deal that would require him to testify about illicit business practices at the former president’s company, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Allen Weisselberg is charged with...
LeBron James inks 2-year, $97M extension with Lakers
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension through the 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because James and the Lakers haven’t yet...
