Associated Press stories, Page 1307
Taiwan says China military drills appear to simulate attack
BEIJING — Taiwan said Saturday that China’s military drills appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, after multiple Chinese warships and aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei that infuriated Beijing. Taiwan’s armed forces issued an alert,...
17 missing, dozens hurt as fire rages in Cuban oil tank farm
HAVANA — A fire set off by a lightning strike at an oil storage facility raged uncontrolled Saturday in the city of Matanzas, where four explosions and flames injured nearly 80 people and left 17 firefighters missing, Cuban authorities said. Firefighters and other specialists were still trying to quell the...
Israel and Gaza militants exchange fire after deadly strikes
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes flattened homes in Gaza on Saturday and rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted, raising fears of an escalation in a conflict that has killed at least 15 people in the coastal strip. The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a senior commander of...
Biden tests negative for covid, isolating until 2nd negative
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden tested negative for covid-19 on Saturday but will continue to isolate at the White House until a second negative test, his doctor said. Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote in his latest daily update that the president, “in an abundance of caution,” will abide by the “strict...
Musk says Twitter deal could move ahead with ‘bot’ info
Elon Musk said Saturday his planned $44 billion takeover of Twitter should move forward if the company can confirm some details about how it measures whether user accounts are ‘spam bots’ or real people. The billionaire and Tesla CEO has been trying to back out of his April agreement to...
Senate Democrats approve big Biden deal; House to vote nextVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats pushed their election-year economic package to Senate passage Sunday, a hard-fought compromise less ambitious than President Joe Biden’s original domestic vision but one that still meets deep-rooted party goals of slowing global warming, moderating pharmaceutical costs and taxing immense corporations. The estimated $740 billion package heads next...
Russian forces begin assault on two eastern Ukraine cities
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces began an assault Saturday on two key cities in the eastern Donetsk region and kept up rocket and shelling attacks on other Ukrainian cities, including one close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s military and local officials said. Both cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka...
Police: Suspect in slayings of 4 in Ohio arrested in Kansas
DAYTON, Ohio — A suspect wanted in Ohio in the shooting deaths of four people, including a teenage girl, has been arrested in Kansas, authorities said. Police in Montgomery County’s Butler Township said late Saturday night that 39-year-old Stephen Marlow was taken into custody by local police in Lawrence, Kansas....
Boy at heart of U.K. court battle dies after life support ends
LONDON — A 12-year-old boy who has been in a coma for four months died Saturday at a London hospital after doctors ended life-sustaining treatment that was the subject of a lengthy court battle. Archie Battersbee’s mother, Hollie Dance, said he died at 12:15 p.m., about two hours after the...
Titans patient as QB Malik Willis makes jump from LibertyVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Malik Willis is experiencing some growing pains as the Tennessee Titans rookie works through his first training camp. Willis threw a deep pass to Josh Malone for a nice connection Friday and came back by finding Mason Kinsey across the middle in coverage. Needing a touchdown to...
Tom Kim going places in a hurry, among leaders at Wyndham
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Joohyung “Tom” Kim began the Wyndham Championship with a quadruple bogey on his first hole and wasn’t the least bit bothered. The kid seems to be going places in a hurry. Already assured a PGA Tour card for next season, Kim overcame his rough start with a...
North Korea calls Pelosi ‘destroyer of international peace’
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Saturday called U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” accusing her of inciting anti-North Korea sentiment and enraging China during her Asian tour earlier this week. Pelosi traveled to South Korea after visiting Taiwan, which had prompted...
Anne Heche in hospital, ‘stable’ after fiery car crash
LOS ANGELES — Actor Anne Heche was in the hospital Saturday following an accident in which her car smashed into a house and flames erupted, a spokeswoman said. “Anne is currently in stable condition. Her family and friends ask for your thoughts and prayers and to respect her privacy during...
Explainer: Why final election results take days, not hours
As election workers spend long hours tallying ballots in Arizona and elsewhere in the days after Tuesday’s primary elections, some critics are arguing they should be finished counting by now. Widely shared Twitter posts this week called the delayed results “corrupt” and “unacceptable,” while Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake in...
Alex Jones ordered to pay $49.3M total over Sandy Hook lies
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas jury on Friday ordered Infowars’ Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in total damages to the parents of a first-grader killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which the conspiracy theorist falsely called a hoax orchestrated by the government in order to tighten...
Blaze kills Pa. firefighter’s 10 relatives, 3 of them children; criminal probe underway
NESCOPECK, Pa. — Fire tore quickly through a house in northeastern Pennsylvania early Friday morning, killing seven adults and three children and horrifying a volunteer firefighter who arrived to battle the blaze only to discover the victims were his own family, authorities said. The children who died were ages 5,...
Judge rules Georgia must end statewide PSC elections
ATLANTA — A federal judge ruled Friday that Georgia’s statewide election of its five public service commissioners illegally dilutes Black voting power, ordering the state to not prepare ballots for two races that had been scheduled in November. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg, if it stands, would...
Pentagon denies D.C. request for National Guard migrant help
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon rejected a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance in what the mayor has called a “growing humanitarian crisis” prompted by thousands of migrants being bused to the city from two southern states. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to provide Guard personnel and...
John Rensenbrink, U.S. Green Party co-founder, dies at 93
PORTLAND, Maine — John Rensenbrink, a Maine political scientist and conservationist who co-founded the Green Party of the United States, has died. He was 93. Rensenbrink, of Topsham, died in hospice, surrounded by his family, the national Green Party said. An obituary in the Bangor Daily News stated that Rensenbrink...
China halts climate, military ties over Pelosi Taiwan visit
WASHINGTON — China announced Friday it was ending all contact with the United States on major issues — including crucial climate cooperation that led to the international 2015 Paris accord — as tensions and public rebukes ratcheted higher over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. China’s move to freeze...
Sinema gives her nod, and influence, to Democrats’ big bill
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin sealed the deal reviving President Joe Biden’s big economic, health care and climate bill. But it was another Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who intently, quietly and deliberately shaped the final product. Democrats pushed ahead Friday on an estimated $730 billion package that in...
Indiana Legislature 1st to approve abortion bans post Roe
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s Legislature became the first in the nation Friday to pass new legislation restricting access to abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The measure now goes to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has not indicated whether he will sign it. Indiana was among the...
Republicans pick Milwaukee to host 2024 national convention
Republicans on Friday unanimously chose Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin for the 2024 national convention, a win for the city on the shores of Lake Michigan after its hosting of the Democratic convention in 2020 was upended by the covid-19 pandemic. The decision in favor of Milwaukee over Nashville, announced...
Elon Musk countersuit accuses Twitter of fraud over ‘bot’ count
Elon Musk accused Twitter of fraud in a countersuit over his aborted $44 billion deal for the social media company, which he claimed held back necessary information and misled his team about the true size of its user base. The countersuit by the billionaire and Tesla CEO alleges that Twitter...
Ex-Pitt receiver Jordan Addison says move to USC was only about football
LOS ANGELES — Former Pitt star Jordan Addison said he didn’t know Southern Cal was the school for him until the moment he set foot on campus for his recruiting visit shortly after entering the transfer portal in May. And the Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver said anybody who thinks his decision...
