Associated Press stories, Page 1274
Forest-rich Africa looks to grow its carbon market
MOMBASA, Kenya — In villages dotted across the African continent, locals living in once-heavily forested regions are starting to find their land in high demand. In Kenya’s Gazi Bay, arguably the continent’s most famous mangrove restoration project, thousands of trees have been planted thanks to nearly a decade of concerted...
Stepping up: Next generation of royals to see more scrutiny
LONDON — Prince William and wife Kate made a surprise joint appearance with Prince Harry and wife Meghan on Saturday, warmly greeting a large crowd gathered outside Windsor Castle to remember their long-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Their “walkabout,” the first time the brothers have appeared amicably together in public...
Russia announces troop pullback from Ukraine’s Kharkiv area
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it was pulling back troops from two areas in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made significant advances in the past week. The news came after days of apparent advances by Ukraine south of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest...
‘Thank you, ma’am’: A singular queen, mourned by her people
LONDON — By early afternoon, the scent of thousands of lilies and roses floated in the air outside Buckingham Palace. But the pilgrims kept arriving, bearing still more bouquets and notes of endearment addressed to the only queen most have ever known. The scene outside the wrought iron gates was...
Marsha Hunt, ’40s star and blacklist victim, dies at 104
TORONTO — Marsha Hunt, one of the last surviving actors from Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s who worked with performers ranging from Laurence Olivier to Andy Griffith in a career disrupted for a time by the McCarthy-era blacklist, has died. She was 104. Hunt, who appeared...
Queen Elizabeth is featured on several currencies. Now what?
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II has been depicted on British banknotes and coins for decades. Her portrait also has been featured on currencies in dozens of other places around the world, in a reminder of the British empire’s colonial reach. So what happens next after her death this week? It...
Chief Justice John Roberts defends legitimacy of court
DENVER — Chief Justice John Roberts defended the authority of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution, saying its role should not be called into question just because people disagree with its decisions. When asked to reflect on the last year at the court in his first public appearance since...
Heat wave breaks in Southern California with spotty rain
SAN DIEGO — Southern Californians welcomed cooler temperatures and spotty rain Saturday from a tropical storm veering off the Pacific Coast days after a relentless heat wave nearly overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid. Officials braced for flooding in coastal and mountain areas from the storm and feared powerful winds could...
Charles is proclaimed king; sons unite to thank the public
LONDON — King Charles III was formally proclaimed sovereign of the United Kingdom on Saturday, as officials unveiled details of the meticulously choreographed ceremonies that will culminate in the state funeral of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Sept. 19. In this time of sorrow for the House of Windsor,...
Black preacher arrested while watering flowers sues police
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Black pastor who was arrested by white police officers while watering the flowers of a neighbor who was out of town filed a federal lawsuit alleging the ordeal violated his constitutional rights and caused lingering problems including emotional distress and anxiety. Michael Jennings filed the lawsuit...
Scottie Scheffler overwhelming choice as PGA Tour player of the year
Scottie Scheffler went 58 tournaments over more than two years between getting a PGA Tour card and getting his first win at the Phoenix Open. That turned out to be just the beginning of a year that topped all others in golf. A month later, Scheffler went to No. 1...
Burger King investing $400M in U.S. revamp to boost sales
Burger King plans to invest $400 million in its U.S. restaurants over the next two years to update its stores and boost flagging sales. The burger chain said Friday the investment includes $250 million to revamp stores and update technology and kitchen equipment and $120 million for heavier advertising. Burger...
Judge tosses Trump’s Russia probe suit against Clinton, FBI
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and former top FBI officials, rejecting the former president’s claims that they and others acted in concert to concoct the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his administration. U.S. District Judge Donald...
MLB prepared to voluntarily recognize minor league union
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is ready to voluntarily accept the formation of a minor league union, a key step that will lead to collective bargaining and possibly a strike threat at the start of next season. The Major League Baseball Players Association launched the unionization drive on Aug....
WNBA to crown first-time champion: Aces or Sun
The WNBA will crown a first-time champion when Las Vegas and Connecticut meet in the Finals starting Sunday. Both franchises have come close, with Connecticut falling to Washington in the 2019 Finals and Las Vegas to Seattle a year later. It’s the Sun’s fourth trip to the Finals, also advancing...
Weird Al gives himself the Weird Al treatment in new biopicVideo
TORONTO — When a young, bespectacled Al Yankovic picked up an accordion, few — especially Al, himself — would have predicted the long-running show-business career that would follow. But can you imagine if they did? That every step of Yankovic’s way — the first Hawaiian shirt, the epiphany of riffing...
Sheriff: 3 children among victims shot to death in Maryland
ELKTON, Md. — Two adults and three children were found shot to death Friday at a Maryland house after a man called 911 from the home to report a shooting, authorities said. Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams said a man, a woman and three children — in the 5th, 7th...
U.S. counts millionth organ transplant while pushing for more
The U.S. counted its millionth organ transplant on Friday, a milestone that comes at a critical time for Americans still desperately waiting for that chance at survival. It took decades from the first success — a kidney in 1954 — to transplant 1 million organs, and officials can’t reveal if...
Chase Elliott only looking forward in NASCAR’s playoff push
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chase Elliott wasn’t around to see the fireworks at the end of last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington. Or, for that matter, the fire coming from Kevin Harvick’s car. Elliott’s playoff opener was over early after the regular-season champion lost control of his No....
Slain Las Vegas reporter spent career chasing corruption
LAS VEGAS — In four decades of writing about the Las Vegas underworld and government corruption, investigative reporter Jeff German took on plenty of powerful and dangerous people. The hard-bitten newsman was once punched by an organized crime associate and received veiled threats from mobsters. Nothing seemed to faze him...
Proud Boys Hawaii leader, friend plead guilty in Jan. 6 riot
The founder of the Hawaii Proud Boys chapter and a Texas man who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and posed for a picture in front a door on which one of them had written “Murder the Media” each pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to a felony charge...
King Charles III, in first address, vows ‘lifelong service’
LONDON — King Charles III vowed in his first speech to the nation as monarch Friday to carry on Queen Elizabeth II’s “lifelong service,” as Britain entered a new age under a new sovereign. Around the world, the queen’s exceptional reign was commemorated, celebrated and debated. Charles, who spent much...
Ravens GM: Lamar Jackson talks on hold until after season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Get ready for at least a few more months of uncertainty about Lamar Jackson and his contract. Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement Friday that the Ravens and Jackson still haven’t agreed on an extension for the star quarterback and will keep working...
‘A servant queen’: World pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Across the globe, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted reflections on the historic sweep of her reign and how she succeeded in presiding over the end of Britain’s colonial empire and embracing the independence of her former dominions. Tributes to the queen’s life...
U.N. atomic watchdog: Ukraine power plant needs safe zone to avoid disaster
KYIV, Ukraine — The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog says conditions at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are increasingly precarious and a safety zone around it needs to be established immediately to prevent a nuclear accident. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in...
