Associated Press stories, Page 145
Emails show DeSantis administration blindsided Florida county officials with plans for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration left many local officials in the dark about the immigration detention center that rose from an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, emails obtained by The Associated Press show, while relying on an executive order to seize the land, hire contractors and bypass laws...
British Open brings rain, sun, wind and Scottie Scheffler in range of the lead
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The British Open had a little bit of everything Thursday, from sunshine to rain, a breeze to strong gusts. And no surprise, it had Scottie Scheffler right in the mix. Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick handled the notorious “Calamity Corner” par-3 16th by chipping in...
Trump is checked for lower leg swelling and diagnosed with a common condition in older adults
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the...
Louisiana cancels $3B repair coastal restoration funded by Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana is officially halting a $3 billion coastal restoration funded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement money, state and federal agencies confirmed Thursday. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project had been intended to rebuild upward of 20 square miles of land in southeast Louisiana to combat sea...
U.S. Justice Department wants no prison time for ex-officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Justice Department is recommending an ex-Kentucky police officer convicted of using excessive force during the deadly Breonna Taylor raid should serve no prison time, an abrupt about-face after spending years prosecuting the former detective. Brett Hankison is the only officer who fired his weapon the...
Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty
GETTYSBURG — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than...
Idaho judge lifts sweeping gag order in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday in Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case. Bryan Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022....
Former Steelers wide receiver Mike Williams decides to retire from NFL at age 30
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams has decided to retire from the NFL at age 30. His agent, Tory Dandy, told general manager Joe Ortiz on Wednesday night, hours before the first full day of training camp. Williams signed a $6 million, one-year deal in mid-March...
Myles Garrett voted the NFL’s No. 1 edge rusher by the AP
Myles Garrett is a four-time All-Pro, the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the only player to register 14 sacks in four straight seasons. His dominant stretch earned him the No. 1 edge rusher spot Thursday in a preseason survey by The Associated Press. A panel of eight...
Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice sentenced to 30 days in jail over Dallas high-speed crash
DALLAS — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Thursday after authorities said he and another speeding driver caused a chain-reaction crash that left multiple people injured on a Dallas highway last year. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office said Rice pleaded...
Caitlin Clark pulls out of All-Star weekend because of groin injury
Caitlin Clark is out of All-Star weekend. The Indiana Fever guard injured her right groin on Tuesday night in the final minute of the team’s win over the Connecticut Sun. She said Thursday in a message posted on X that she had to rest her body. “I am incredibly sad...
Juul can continue selling its tobacco and menthol e-cigarettes, FDA says
The Food and Drug Administration is allowing vaping brand Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, providing relief to a company that has struggled for years after being widely blamed for sparking the teen vaping trend. FDA regulators said Thursday that Juul’s studies show its e-cigarettes are less harmful...
Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood lead surprising days of the ‘older gentlemen’ at British Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Phil Mickelson delivered more magic Thursday in the British Open, leaving one shot in a bunker and holing the next one from 75 feet away for an unlikely par. He tipped his cap. He gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. It looked like the Mickelson of...
Ukraine to boost domestic arms production to counter Russia’s invasion
KYIV, Ukraine — A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country’s weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed...
Puerto Rico bans hormone therapy and gender surgery for transgender youth
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a bill that prohibits hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from activists in the largely conservative U.S. territory. The law approved late Wednesday applies to those younger than 21 and calls...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fall for 5th straight week, hitting lowest level since April
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in three months, a sign that the U.S. labor market remains sturdy despite fears over the impact of widespread U.S. tariffs. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending...
Retail sales up a surprising 0.6% in June after a May pullback by consumers
WASHINGTON — After an earlier pullback, consumers picked up their spending in June despite anxiety over tariffs and the state of the U.S. economy. Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.6% in June after declining 0.9% in May, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Sales in April fell 0.1%, pulled down by...
Senate passes $9B in spending cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid requested by Trump
WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the president’s top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators. The legislation, which now moves to the House,...
1.4M of the nation’s poorest renters risk losing their homes with Trump’s proposed HUD time limit
WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Havalah Hopkins rarely says no to the chain restaurant catering gigs that send her out to Seattle-area events — from church potlucks to office lunches and graduation parties. The delivery fees and tips she earns on top of $18 an hour mean it’s better than minimum-wage shift...
Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary: Here’s a look at the park then and now
Disneyland is celebrating 70 years of being “The Happiest Place on Earth.” The summerlong festivities in southern California include the opening of “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” a show featuring a lifelike animatronic of the company’s founder that debuts Thursday and also marks Disneyland’s official anniversary. Walt Disney’s vision...
Keeping animals of all sizes — from cats to horses — cool during record heat
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With record temperatures hitting the U.S., pet owners have to protect their four-legged family members from dangers like heat stroke and dehydration. But keeping an animal the size of a small car cool isn’t as easy as bringing it inside to the air conditioning. That’s...
Zelenskyy shakes up Ukrainian Cabinet, appointing a new prime minister to reinvigorate war effort
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s economy minister and the key negotiator in the mineral deal with the U.S, Yuliia Svyrydenko, was appointed as its new prime minister Thursday, becoming the country’s first new head of government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Svyrydenko is one of a group...
2 killed and several injured in Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of Gaza’s only Catholic church on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding several others, according to witnesses and church officials. Among the injured was the parish’s priest, who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final...
Britain will lower its voting age to 16 in a bid to strengthen democracy
LONDON — Britain will lower the voting age from 18 to 16 by the next national election as part of measures to increase democratic participation, the government announced Thursday. The center-left Labour Party pledged before it was elected in July 2024 to lower the voting age for elections to Britain’s...
Legendary singer Connie Francis dead at 87
Connie Francis, the wholesome pop star of the 1950s and 1960s whose hits include “Pretty Little Baby” and who would later serve as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy, has died at age 87. Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist,...
