Associated Press stories, Page 1371
Kentucky lawmakers vote to put limits on death penalty
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky would make the death penalty off-limits for some defendants diagnosed with severe mental illnesses under a bill that won final legislative approval on Friday. The Republican-led Senate voted 25-9 to send the measure to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, capping a long effort led by death penalty...
Yemen rebels strike oil depot in Saudi city hosting F1 race
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked an oil depot on Friday in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of a Formula One race in the kingdom — their highest-profile assault yet that threatened to disrupt the upcoming grand prix. The attack targeted the same fuel depot that...
Rudy Giuliani associate pleads guilty in fraud scheme
NEW YORK — An associate of Rudy Giuliani pleaded guilty Friday to a conspiracy charge alleging that he defrauded investors in a company supposedly created to prevent people from being defrauded. Lev Parnas, 50, entered the plea to conspiring to commit wire fraud during a remotely held electronic proceeding in...
Supreme Court Justice Thomas released from hospital
WASHINGTON — Justice Clarence Thomas was discharged from the hospital Friday after a stay of nearly a week, the Supreme Court said. Thomas, 73, had entered the hospital last Friday evening after experiencing “flu-like symptoms.” He was treated for an infection with intravenous antibiotics, the court said Sunday in announcing...
Michigan’s top court rejects latest redistricting challenge
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday turned down a challenge by Democratic-aligned groups to a new map for state House seats. The groups claim the map unfairly favors Republicans and conflicts with the state Constitution, which says no party shall have a disproportionate advantage in redistricting. But...
Kosovo Serbs protest to get votes in Serbia’s April election
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Hundreds of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo protested Friday to pressure the government into allowing them to vote in neighboring Serbia’s April 3 general election. Demonstrators gathered in Mitrovica, 28 miles north of Pristina, with banners reading “We want our human rights” and “Kurti won’t drive us away...
Biden in Poland to see U.S. troops, Ukraine refugees
RZESZOW, Poland — President Joe Biden will hear directly from U.S. troops stationed near Poland’s border with Ukraine on Friday and learn about the growing humanitarian response to the millions of Ukrainians who are fleeing to Poland to escape Russia’s assault on their homeland. Biden planned to meet with members...
Female ministers urge Taliban to rethink decision on girls
BERLIN — Female foreign ministers from 16 countries around the world said Friday they are “deeply disappointed” that Afghan girls are being denied access to secondary schools and called on the Taliban to reverse their decision. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools on Wednesday to girls above the...
Ukraine reports 300 died in Russian strike on theater
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike last week blew up a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering — a catastrophic loss of civilian life that, if confirmed, is likely to further crank up pressure on Western nations...
Teen falls to death from Florida amusement park ride
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 14-year-old boy fell to his death late at night from a free-fall amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district. Sheriff’s officials and emergency crews responded to a call late Thursday at...
Jamal Shead scores 21 points, Houston knocks out 1-seed Arizona
SAN ANTONIO — Houston coach Kelvin Sampson gritted his teeth and raised his arms before emphatically pounding his right fist into his left hand 11 times while celebrating with ecstatic Cougars fans who were not too far from home. Another No. 1 seed is out, and Houston is one win...
Duke beats Texas Tech to send Coach K to Elite 8
SAN FRANCISCO — Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski moved within one win of his record-setting 13th trip to the Final Four in his farewell season thanks to two late baskets by Jeremy Roach that helped seal the Blue Devils’ 78-73 win over Texas Tech on Thursday night. Roach’s two shots were...
Jermaine Samuels powers Villanova over Michigan in Sweet 16
SAN ANTONIO — Jermaine Samuels scored 22 points, and Villanova controlled Michigan and center Hunter Dickinson to earn a 63-55 Sweet 16 victory over the Wolverines on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament. Samuels’ 8-of-13 shooting performance, much of it coming on tough drives through Michigan defenders and around Dickinson,...
Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry found guilty in campaign probe
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted Thursday of charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. A federal jury in California found the nine-term Republican guilty of one...
Arkansas muscles top overall seed Gonzaga out of NCAA TournamentVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — JD Notae scored 21 points despite missing 20 shots, and fourth-seeded Arkansas made Gonzaga miserable on both ends of the floor, bouncing the top overall seed from the NCAA Tournament with a 74-68 win on Thursday night. Notae finished with six rebounds, six assists, three steals and...
Pennsylvania to raise tip threshold for tipped minimum wage
HARRISBURG — Tipped employees in Pennsylvania will soon have to make more than four times as much money in tips to be paid below the state’s minimum wage, under a new regulation that adjusts for 45 years of inflation. The unanimous vote this week by the five-member Independent Regulatory Review...
Report: Justice Thomas’ wife ‘Ginni’ urged overturning 2020 electionVideo
WASHINGTON — Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election — furthering then-President Donald Trump’s lies that the free and fair vote was marred by nonexistent fraud, according...
Stocks close higher as choppy trading persists, oil slips
Technology companies led a broad rally for stocks Thursday on Wall Street, reversing most of the major indexes’ losses from a day earlier and extending the market’s recent run of uneven trading. The S&P 500 rose 1.4%, more than making up for its pullback a day earlier. More than 85%...
Watson visits Browns as 2nd grand jury declines to indictVideo
CLEVELAND — A second grand jury in Texas declined Thursday to indict new Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 22 women and still faces civil lawsuits. As Watson arrived in Cleveland to undergo a physical and meet with coaches, the grand jury in...
USPS doubles number of EV delivery trucks in initial order
One in five of the first batch of next-generation U.S. Postal Service delivery vehicles will be electric-powered, officials said Thursday. The Postal Service formally placed its initial $2.98 billion order for 50,000 vehicles with at least 10,019 of them being battery-electric vehicles. That represents a doubling of electric vehicles from...
Saint Peter’s rides stunning Sweet 16 run behind Doug EdertVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Doug Edert could use a few wet wipes to keep all his free chicken wing sauce out of a wispy mustache so mythical it has its own Twitter account. Around tiny Saint Peter’s, students wear fake mustaches in honor of the guard who has plucked the Peacocks —...
Arizona GOP votes to restrict transgender sports, surgeries
PHOENIX — The Arizona Legislature passed bills Thursday to prohibit gender reassignment surgery for minors and ban transgender athletes from playing on girls sports teams, joining a growing list of Republican-controlled states attempting to restrict transgender rights as they gain more visibility in culture and society. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey...
NASCAR hits Keselowski with huge fine for modifying Next GenVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR issued steep penalties against Brad Keselowski and his new race team Thursday for illegally modifying a supplied part on the Next Gen car. Keselowski was docked 100 driver points and the No. 6 Ford team docked 100 owner points. Matt McCall, his crew chief, was fined...
March Madness viewer’s guide for the Sweet 16Video
A No. 1 seed and two No. 2s did not get past the first weekend. A band of Peacocks from Jersey City took down a blue blood to reach the Sweet 16. They will be joined by a team that won two games last season. March Madness lived up to...
Biden promises new Ukraine aid, warns Russia on chemical weapons
BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid on Thursday in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, but their offers fell short of the more robust military assistance that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for in a pair of live-video appearances. Biden also announced...
