Associated Press stories, Page 1311
Police: Texas gunman was inside the school for over an hourVideo
UVALDE, Texas — The gunman who massacred 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school was inside for more than an hour before he was killed in a shootout, law enforcement authorities said Thursday amid mounting public anger and scrutiny over their response to the rampage. A media...
Prague strips Soviet WWII commander of honorary citizenship
PRAGUE — The Czech capital stripped a Soviet World War II commander of his honorary Prague citizenship Thursday. The Prague City Council ‘s approved Mayor Zdenek Hrib’s proposal to revoke the honor bestowed in June 1945 on Soviet Marshal Ivan Stepanovic Konev. Konev led the Red Army forces that liberated...
Ellen DeGeneres ends daytime show with plea for compassion
LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres brought her nearly two-decade daytime talk show to an end Thursday with a celebrity lovefest and a forceful assertion of her achievement as a gay woman daring to be herself. DeGeneres and guests Jennifer Aniston, Billie Eilish and Pink shared memories and affection as “The...
Pakistan’s ex-premier calls off planned sit-in, demands vote
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s defiant former Prime Minister Imran Khan called off a planned, open-ended sit-in in Islamabad on Thursday, temporarily assuaging fears of a protracted civil conflict after he led thousands on a march toward Parliament and demanded the government’s resignation. Khan’s followers began converging on the Pakistani capital on...
Senate GOP blocks domestic terrorism bill, gun policy debate
WASHINGTON — Democrats’ first attempt at responding to the back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, failed in the Senate on Thursday as Republicans blocked a domestic terrorism bill that would have opened debate on difficult questions surrounding hate crimes and gun safety. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y....
Spanish court dismisses Shakira appeal in tax fraud case
MADRID — A court in Spain on Thursday dismissed Colombian singer Shakira’s appeal in a tax fraud case, paving the way for a trial after a judge previously concluded there was enough evidence to suggest the pop star may have avoided her fiscal obligations to the state. The case first...
Wisconsin GOP leader open to arming teachers in schools
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s top legislative Republican said Thursday that he is open to the idea of arming teachers following the latest school shooting in Texas, while he dismissed as “disingenuous” an offer from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to find common ground. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told the Associated Press...
Greece tells UN that Turkey is challenging its sovereignty
ATHENS, Greece — Greece has told the head of the United Nations that Turkey is directly challenging its sovereignty over islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, and pursuing a hostile and “revisionist” policy that is destabilizing the region. The four-page letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dated May 25 and signed...
Lawsuit: 13-year-old’s hands up when shot by Chicago police
CHICAGO — A 13-year-old boy shot in the back by a Chicago police officer was unarmed and had his arms raised to surrender when he was hit by the bullet, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday, saying the incident illustrates deeply flawed implementation of department policy on the pursuit of...
Doctors, hospitals in crisis-hit Lebanon go on 2-day strike
BEIRUT — Dozens of doctors, nurses and medical personnel rallied Thursday outside the Central Bank in the Lebanese capital of Beirut after declaring a two-day general strike to protest rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. The strike was declared by two medical professionals’ unions — The Syndicates of Doctors in Beirut and...
Police: Video captures man shooting 4 walking to Philadelphia prom party
PHILADELPHIA — Four people were shot Wednesday night as they walked to a prom party in the Mantua neighborhood, according to Philadelphia police. WPVI-TV reports that just after 7 p.m. surveillance video captured a gunman who was reportedly on a bike when he fired the gunshots. The suspect is described...
Davos ends with Germany pushing global work on climate, war
DAVOS, Switzerland — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed hopes Friday for global cooperation on climate change, hunger and war, while dozens of climate activists demonstrated in the Swiss town of Davos as a meeting of global elites ended with many words but little concrete action to solve the world’s most...
Russians shell dozens of Ukrainian towns in fierce battle for the Donbas
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Russia shelled more than 40 towns and villages in the Donbas region, Ukrainian officials said Thursday, as Moscow intensified attacks in Ukraine’s industrial heartland and attempted to encircle key eastern cities. Now in its fourth month, Russia’s war on its neighbor has increasingly zeroed in on efforts...
Fewer Americans apply for jobless benefits last week
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week with the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits already near five-decade lows. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 210,000 for the week ending May 21, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications are generally representative of the number...
Powerful earthquake shakes southern Peru
LIMA, Peru — A magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook a remote region of southern Peru on Thursday, sending frightened people running into the streets in nearby Bolivia, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7:02 a.m. quake was centered 8 miles west-northwest...
U.S. making covid antiviral drug more available at test sites
WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects covid-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island, providing patients...
States divided on gun controls, even as mass shootings rise
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was quick to react to this week’s carnage at a Texas elementary school, sending a tweet listing the gun control measures the Democratic-controlled state has taken. He finished with: “Your turn Congress.” But gun control measures are likely going nowhere in Congress, and...
Abrams-Kemp slugfest promises to be pricey, long and ugly
ATLANTA — Georgia voters didn’t get much of a break from election talk on the day after the Tuesday primary in which Republican Gov. Brian Kemp demolished GOP challenger David Perdue and Democrat Stacey Abrams finally clinched a nomination waiting for her after no other members of her party jumped...
Steven Tyler enters treatment, Aerosmith cancels showsVideo
BOSTON — Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has voluntarily entered a rehabilitation program, forcing the Boston-based rock band to cancel the first portion of its upcoming Las Vegas residency. Tyler, 74, has made no secret of his lifelong struggle with substance abuse disorder. “As many of you know, our beloved brother...
Roger Penske ready for 300,000 guests at full-capacity Indy 500Video
INDIANAPOLIS — Roger Penske motioned toward the Turn 4 grandstands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His father took him to those seats in 1951, and a 14-year-old Penske was instantly hooked by the sights and the sounds of “The 500-Mile Sweepstakes,” won that day by Lee Wallard. It was the beginning...
Ohio’s high court rejects latest GOP-drawn Statehouse maps
COLUMBUS — A frustrated Ohio Supreme Court rejected Republican-drawn Statehouse maps for a fifth time Wednesday, extending the string of GOP defeats in a redistricting process that has ground the state’s legislative primaries to a halt. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor was clearly angered by the Republican-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission’s decision...
French Open champ Barbora Krejcikova says she has covid-19
PARIS — Barbora Krejcikova, last year’s French Open champion in singles and doubles, said she tested positive for covid-19 and will withdraw from the tournament. She already lost in the first round of singles but said Wednesday in a posting on Instagram she will need to drop out of trying...
Police suspect arson in fire at Wyoming abortion clinic site
CASPER, Wyo. — An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a fire early Wednesday that police believe was deliberately set — possibly by someone seen running away from the building carrying what appeared to be a gas can and a bag. The blaze...
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice being treated for possible Lyme disease
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday he is bring treated for possible Lyme disease after becoming ill following two events he attended in the northern part of the state. The Republican governor postponed his regularly scheduled covid-19 briefings this week and said he has tested negative...
‘How to Murder Your Husband’ author found guilty of murder
PORTLAND, Ore. — A jury in Portland has convicted a self-published romance novelist — who once wrote an essay titled “How to Murder Your Husband” — of fatally shooting her husband four years ago. The jury of seven women and five men found Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, guilty of second-degree...
