Associated Press stories, Page 1296
Cameron Smith has claret jug and now eyes No. 1 in worldVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — J.J. Spaun did just enough right at the end to fashion a 2-under-par 68 and keep his one-shot lead Saturday in the FedEx St. Jude Championship with a familiar name lurking. At stake for Cameron Smith is No. 1 in the world. Already a banner year with...
Prosecutor: Stab attack on Salman Rushdie was ‘preplanned’
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — The man accused in the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called a “preplanned” crime, as the renowned author of “The Satanic Verses” remained hospitalized with serious injuries. An attorney for Hadi Matar entered...
Expanded IRS free-file system one step closer in Dems’ bill
WASHINGTON — The flagship climate change and health care bill passed by Democrats and soon to be signed by President Joe Biden will bring U.S. taxpayers one step closer to a government-operated electronic free-file tax return system. It’s something lawmakers and advocates have been seeking for years. For many Americans,...
Afghan rights leader heartbroken after year of Taliban rule
UNITED NATIONS — A year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, prominent Afghan rights activist Sima Samar is still heartbroken over what happened to her country. Samar, a former minister of women’s affairs and the first chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, left Kabul in July 2021 for...
Over a dozen injured when car crashes into Irish pub, police say
ARLINGTON, Va. — More than a dozen people were injured — four of them critically — after a vehicle crashed into a northern Virginia pub and restaurant, according to authorities. The crash at the Ireland’s Four Courts establishment, which happened early Friday evening, also caused a fire, which was soon...
R. Kelly accuser to give key testimony on trial-fixing charge
CHICAGO — R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago that starts Monday is in many ways a do-over of his 2008 state child pornography trial, at which jurors acquitted the singer on charges that he produced a video of himself when he was around 30 having sex with a girl no...
Sinema took Wall Street money while killing tax on investors
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat who single-handedly thwarted her party’s longtime goal of raising taxes on wealthy investors, received nearly $1 million over the past year from private equity professionals, hedge fund managers and venture capitalists whose taxes would have increased under the plan. For years, Democrats...
Russian shelling heavy in east; Ukraine strikes key bridge
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s military pounded residential areas across Ukraine overnight, claiming gains, as Ukrainian forces pressed a counteroffensive to try to take back an occupied southern region, striking the last working bridge over a river in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, Ukrainian authorities said Saturday. A Russian rocket attack on...
Shippers prepare for worst as Rhine levels near critical low
Shipping companies prepared to halt the transport of goods on the Rhine as water levels in Germany’s biggest river neared a critically low point Saturday. An ongoing drought affecting much of Europe has lowered rivers such as the Rhine, preventing large ships with heavy loads from passing key waypoints and...
Southern Baptists say denomination faces DOJ investigation over clergy sex abuse
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse. The SBC’s Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no individuals...
Salman Rushdie on ventilator after stabbing, may lose an eye
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie remained hospitalized Saturday after suffering serious injuries in a stabbing attack as praise poured in for him from the West but he was disparaged in Iran. Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, and was on a ventilator,...
J.J. Spaun leads FedEx Cup opener; Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy miss cutVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — J.J. Spaun hopes he’s only getting started on the road to the FedEx Cup finale. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth will have to wait another week. As for Jason Day, his season is over. Spaun made a late birdie for a 3-under-par 67 to take...
Len Dawson, MVP of Chiefs’ first Super Bowl win, in hospiceVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Len Dawson, the 87-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title, has entered hospice care in Kansas City. KMBC-TV, the Kansas City station where Dawson began his broadcasting career in 1966, confirmed Dawson is in hospice care...
Fetterman ‘grateful’ as he returns to Pa. Senate race
ERIE — Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman acknowledged he was lucky to be alive as he officially returned to the campaign trail Friday, more than 90 days after the Democrat suffered a stroke that threatened his life and political prospects in one of the nation’s premier Senate contests. Fetterman spoke...
Browns’ Watson apologizes ‘to all the women I have impacted’
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson apologized Friday “to all the women I have impacted” after being accused by two dozen women of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Watson, who is facing a potential yearlong NFL suspension, spoke before Cleveland’s exhibition opener in Jacksonville — his first game since Jan....
Kansas to recount abortion vote by hand, despite big margin
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ elections director says the state will go along with a request for a hand recount of votes from every county after last week’s decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference and a recount won’t change the result. Melissa Leavitt of...
Pipeline break spills 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming
BILLINGS, Mont. — A diesel pipeline in Wyoming owned by a company that’s being sued by federal prosecutors over previous spills in two other states cracked open and released more than 45,000 gallons of fuel, state regulators and a company representative disclosed Friday. Cleanup work is ongoing from the spill...
More than 3.1 million TV viewers for ‘Field of Dreams’ game
NEW YORK — More than 3.1 million viewers watched Fox Sports’ broadcast of Major League Baseball’s second “Field of Dreams” game, about half of the audience for the 2021 game. The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 on Thursday night at a throwback ballpark in eastern Iowa, a short...
Padres star Fernando Tatis suspended 80 games for positive drug testVideo
NEW YORK — San Diego Padres dynamo Fernando Tatis Jr., one of the brightest, freshest stars in MLB, was suspended 80 games on Friday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The penalty imposed by MLB was effective immediately, meaning the shortstop cannot play in the majors this year for...
What’s in Biden’s big bill? Climate, health care, deficit reduction
WASHINGTON — The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share. And billions left over to pay down federal deficits. All told, the Democrats’ “Inflation...
Judds asks court to seal report of death investigation
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The family of country singer Naomi Judd filed a court petition Friday to seal police reports and recordings made during the investigation into her death. The family filed the petition in Williamson County Chancery Court, saying the records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the...
Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from federal lands
BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review...
Louisiana Supreme Court rejects appeal in abortion ban case
BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday denied an appeal filed by plaintiffs in the ongoing legal battle over the state’s abortion ban, allowing the ban to stay in effect. The ruling marked a major blow to abortion-rights advocates and providers, who had hoped the ban would...
Respected snake researcher dies from rattlesnake bite
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A respected snake researcher who had been making significant discoveries about the species since childhood has died after being bitten by a timber rattler. William H. “Marty” Martin died Aug. 3 after being bitten the day before by a captive snake on the property at his...
FBI seized ‘top secret’ documents from Trump home
WASHINGTON — The FBI recovered “top secret” and even more sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the sudden, unprecedented search this week. A property receipt unsealed by the court shows...
