Associated Press stories, Page 1335
Louisiana lawyer: Abortion bill could subject women to homicide charge
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana House committee voted to make abortion a crime of homicide for which a woman ending her pregnancy could be charged, along with anyone helping her. The bill also declares that any federal law, regulation or court ruling that allows abortion is void and that any...
Report: Phil Mickelson had $40 million in gambling losses
Federal auditors investigating Phil Mickelson’s role in an insider trading scheme found his gambling losses totaled more than $40 million from 2010 to 2014, according to an excerpt from Alan Shipnuck’s forthcoming biography. Shipnuck posted the excerpt on his “Firepit Collective” site Thursday. His unauthorized biography on Mickelson is to...
Karine Jean-Pierre to be next White House press secretaryVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday named Karine Jean-Pierre to be the next White House press secretary, with incumbent Jen Psaki set to leave the role next week. Biden is also bringing back longtime Democratic strategist Anita Dunn as his senior adviser. She had served in the Biden White...
Bird flu takes unheard-of toll on bald eagles, other birds
OMAHA, Neb. — Bird flu is killing an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds, with many sick birds arriving at rehabilitation centers unsteady on their talons and unable to fly. “It’s quite a sight to see an eagle with a six-foot wingspan having uncontrollable seizures because of...
Senate to vote next week on protecting abortion rights
WASHINGTON — The Senate will vote next week on legislation that would codify abortion rights into federal law as Democrats mount their response to the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. The procedural vote, scheduled for Wednesday, will mostly be symbolic and...
Wall Street, tech investors back Musk Twitter bid with $7B
Elon Musk has strengthened the equity stake of his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter with commitments of more than $7 billion from a diverse group of investors including Silicon Valley heavy hitters like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. A regulatory filing Thursday also said that Musk is in talks with...
Stocks slump 3% as worries grow over higher interest ratesVideo
NEW YORK — A sharp sell-off left the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 1,000 points lower Thursday, wiping out the gains from Wall Street’s biggest rally in two years, as worries grow that the higher interest rates the Federal Reserve is using in its fight against inflation will derail...
Once conflicted, Biden embraces role as abortion defender
WASHINGTON — Soon after being elected to the U.S. Senate, Joe Biden was pulled aside by a Democratic colleague who wanted to know how he was going to vote on abortion. Biden explained that while he was personally opposed to abortion and would resist federal funding for the procedure, he...
Death toll rises to 26 in central China building collapse
BEIJING — The death toll jumped Thursday to 26 from the collapse last week of a residential and commercial building in central China, state media reported. Ten other people have been rescued from the wreckage in the city of Changsha, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The 10th survivor, an...
Walgreens, Florida settle opioid costs lawsuit for $683M
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Walgreens pharmacy chain has reached a $683 million settlement with the state of Florida in a lawsuit accusing the company of improperly dispensing millions of painkillers that contributed to the opioid crisis, state officials said Thursday. State Attorney General Ashley Moody said the deal was...
Next battle over access to abortion will focus on pills
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — It took two trips over state lines, navigating icy roads and a patchwork of state laws, for a 32-year-old South Dakota woman to get abortion pills last year. For abortion-seekers like her, such journeys, along with pills sent through the mail, will grow in importance if...
President declares disaster in New Mexico wildfire zone
LAS VEGAS — Firefighters slowed the advance of the largest wildfire in the U.S. as heavy winds relented Wednesday, while President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration that brings new financial resources to remote stretches of New Mexico devastated by fire since early April. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez announced...
Review: Halestorm’s new album is a roar (and lots more, too)
“Back From the Dead” by Halestorm (Atlantic) Lzzy Hale, the lead singer and guitarist for the heavy metal band Halestorm, is that rare breed of wild child whose path you cross at your own peril, and her aggressiveness soaks through her music. The band’s new album, “Back From the Dead,”...
Small businesses still struggle to find enough workers
NEW YORK — Some small businesses are still struggling to hire qualified workers, even as Americans return to the U.S. job market in droves. Hiring and retaining employees remains the top challenge for small businesses, according to a survey of 1,100 businesses by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices out...
Explainer: Why is Bob Baffert not in the Kentucky Derby?
Bob Baffert has been the face of American horse racing for nearly 30 years. His success on the sport’s biggest stages and his shock of white hair make him hugely recognizable, even to the average person who doesn’t follow the sport outside of the Kentucky Derby. He trained American Pharoah...
AP analysis finds growing number of poor, high-hazard dams
More than 2,200 dams built upstream from homes or communities are in poor condition across the U.S., likely endangering lives if they were to fail, according to an Associated Press analysis. The number of high-hazard dams in need of repairs is up substantially from a similar AP review conducted just...
WHO reports nearly 15M deaths associated with covid
LONDON — The World Health Organization is estimating that nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the past two years, more than double the official death toll of 6 million. Most of the fatalities were in Southeast Asia,...
OPEC+ opens oil taps gradually as Russian war roils markets
LONDON — OPEC and allied oil-producing countries decided Thursday to stick to a modest increase in production, even as Europe’s proposed phaseout of Russian oil threatens to yank millions of barrels off a global market already thirsty for crude. At an online meeting, the alliance known as OPEC+ — which...
Alabama’s new transgender care felony faces federal test
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge will hear arguments Thursday on a challenge to Alabama’s plan to outlaw the use of gender-affirming medications to treat transgender youth. U.S. District Judge Liles Burke has scheduled a hearing on a request to block the law’s enforcement while it’s challenged in court. The...
Young Yankees fan given Judge HR ball meets his heroVideo
TORONTO — The young Yankees fan who became a viral sensation this week shed more tears of joy on Wednesday when he met his hero, New York slugger Aaron Judge. It came hours after cameras captured Derek Rodriguez, 9, tearfully hugging Blue Jays fan Mike Lanzillotta after Lanzillotta snagged Judge’s...
‘Seemed like goodbye’: Mariupol defenders make their stand
LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels underneath Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant held out against Russian troops Thursday in an increasingly desperate and perhaps doomed effort to deny Moscow what would be its biggest success of the war yet: the complete capture of the strategic port city. The bloody...
Attacks dominate Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary debate
HARRISBURG — What could be the final primary debate between Republicans running for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat devolved into a string of attacks over China, abortion and more as the candidates stretched Wednesday night for any perceived advantage in a wide-open and expensive race. In many cases, the five...
Victor Hedman, Lightning beat Maple Leafs to even series
TORONTO — Victor Hedman had a goal and three assists for his first four-point playoff game, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3, on Wednesday night in Game 2 to even the first-round series. Nikita Kucherov added a goal and two assists, and Brayden Point, Corey...
Hurricanes claim testy win vs. Bruins, take 2-0 series lead
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice, and the Carolina Hurricanes overcame the early loss of goalie Antti Raanta to beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2, on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. Jesper Fast had the game’s first goal for Carolina in...
Tampa Bay, Seattle to meet in 1st NFL game in GermanyVideo
LONDON — The first regular-season NFL game in Germany will be between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks at the home of soccer club Bayern Munich. The game will take place at the Allianz Arena on Nov. 13, the NFL said Wednesday. Frankfurt will also be staging a...
