Associated Press stories, Page 1326

ATLANTA — Researchers say a large spider native to East Asia that proliferated in Georgia last year could spread to much of the East Coast. The Joro spider’s golden web took over yards all over north Georgia in 2021, unnerving some residents. The spider was also spotted in South Carolina,...

Brittney Griner’s wife, Cherelle, has thanked everyone for their support of the WNBA star, who was arrested last month in Russia. Brittney Griner was detained at a Moscow airport when Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges. They were identified as containing oil derived from cannabis,...

DES MOINES, Iowa — One person was killed and two others were critically wounded Monday after gunfire that appeared to come from a passing vehicle struck them outside an Iowa school, authorities said. Des Moines police said in a news release that potential suspects have been detained in the shooting...

WASHINGTON — In a victory for Democrats, the Supreme Court has turned away efforts from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to block state court-ordered congressional districting plans. In separate orders late Monday, the justices are allowing maps selected by each state’s Supreme Court to be in effect for the...

ATLANTA — Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended for the 2022 season for betting on NFL games in 2021. The suspension announced by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday is for activity that took place while Ridley was away from the team addressing mental health concerns. The...

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Monday that the state will formally recommend against covid-19 vaccinations for healthy children. Ladapo made the announcement at a roundtable event organized by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that featured a group of doctors who criticized coronavirus lockdowns and mandate policies. It...

DETROIT — The Biden administration is proposing stronger pollution regulations for new tractor-trailer rigs that would clean up smoky diesel engines and encourage new technologies during the next two decades. The proposal released Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency would require the industry to cut smog-and-soot-forming nitrogen oxide emissions by...

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have placed a franchise tag for next season on tight end David Njoku, preventing him from hitting the free agent market. Njoku was one of the few bright spots last season for the Browns, who went 8-9 and missed the playoffs amid massive expectations. The...

NEW YORK — The Atlantic Coast Conference returns to Brooklyn this week, not quite the college basketball powerhouse it has historically been. The ACC Tournament starts Tuesday at Barclays Center, with just two teams ranked in the latest AP Top 25. No. 7 Duke is the top seed heading into...

As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, the potatoes, corned beef and cabbage are piled high in the supermarkets. Millions of Americans claim some Irish ancestry and honor the patron saint of Ireland on March 17. But the holiday has an inclusive feel, and you don’t need to be Irish to celebrate....

SANDPOINT, Idaho — Linda Navarre moved to Sandpoint, Idaho, from Cleveland in 1978, when the town consisted of people in the timber industry and hippies “and they all got along.” Now she barely recognizes the small resort community near the Canadian border that is quickly growing as people disenchanted with...

Hockey Hall of Fame member Angela James opened what could become a widening rift between North America’s top two women’s professional hockey organizations on the eve of joining the new ownership group of the Premier Hockey Federation’s Toronto Six. Days before the PHF officially announced the sale on Monday, James...

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Wake Forest’s Alondes Williams and coach Steve Forbes have earned the top individual honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The league announced Williams as its player of the year and Forbes as its top coach on Monday. The Demon Deacons were picked 13th in the preseason but...

“Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for the Truth” by Elizabeth Williamson (Dutton) If you stand on a street corner all day yelling at passersby, you might reach a few hundred people. If you do the same thing on the internet, that number is comparatively limitless. “Sandy Hook:...

One of the planet’s biggest celebrities will play a woman desperately craving fame when Pamela Anderson makes her Broadway debut next month in the musical “Chicago,” The Associated Press has learned. Anderson will play Roxie Hart from April 12-June 5 at the Ambassador Theatre, a remarkable union of one of...

LA VERGNE, Tennessee — Sometimes even Dolly Parton has a hard time keeping up with the legend of Dolly Parton. “I often go into my museum in Dollywood, you know, because I’m in the mood to be there or we’re in there doing something or putting something new in. And...

Department store chain Kohl’s said it expects to increase sales by a low-single-digit percentage annually, with plans to open 100 new small-format stores in the next four years and expand Sephora-branded shops to 850, among other moves. Kohl’s announced its long-term goals on Monday ahead of the company’s annual investor...

NEW YORK — Wall Street had its biggest drop in more than a year Monday as another leap for oil prices threatened to squeeze inflation’s grip on the global economy. The S&P 500 fell 3%, its biggest decline in 16 months, after a barrel of U.S. oil surged to $130...

HARRISBURG — John Fetterman was sitting, alone, in the corridor outside the hotel ballroom where Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party committee members were gathered, looking every bit like someone who didn’t belong there. Moments later, Fetterman — Pennsylvania’s sitting lieutenant governor — got trounced by more than 2 to 1 by U.S....

NEW YORK — Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin couldn’t hold back when following a retired U.S. Army colonel on the air recently, saying she barely had time to correct all of his “distortions.” She tried, though. And it wasn’t for the first time or the last time. Griffin,...

WASHINGTON — As the prospect of a red wave grows, a series of Republican missteps including recruiting stumbles, weak fundraising and intense infighting is threatening the GOP’s path to the Senate majority. Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey dealt his party its latest setback late last week by announcing he would...

LVIV, Ukraine — Safe corridors intended to let Ukrainian civilians escape the Russian onslaught could open Tuesday, Kremlin officials said, though Ukrainian leaders greeted the plan with skepticism since prior efforts to establish evacuation routes crumbled over the weekend amid renewed attacks. With the invasion well into its second week,...

The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up the sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby, leaving in place a decision by Pennsylvania’s highest court to throw out his conviction and set him free from prison. The high court declined prosecutors’ request to hear the case and reinstate...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday assured Lithuania and Latvia of NATO protection and American support as he made quick visits to two of the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. Along with Estonia, which Blinken will...