Associated Press stories, Page 1485
Israeli strawberry clocks in as world’s heaviest on record
KADIMA-ZORAN, Israel — After a year-long jam, a mammoth Israeli strawberry is entering the record books. Weighing a whopping 10.19 ounces, more than half a pound, the titanic berry this week was declared the world’s largest by Guinness World Records. The strawberry was picked on Chahi Ariel’s family farm near...
Miners, families testify against bill to ax injury benefits
Jonathan Barber was 29 years old with an infant son when injuries he received on the job in a West Virginia coal mine left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Barber was struck between his shoulder blades by an unstable brow at a mine in April 2017. He lay buried...
‘Candy Bomber’ who dropped sweets during Berlin airlift dies
U.S. military pilot Gail S. Halvorsen — known as the “Candy Bomber” for his candy airdrops during the Berlin airlift after World War II ended — has died at age 101. Halvorsen died Wednesday following a brief illness in his home state of Utah, surrounded by most of his children,...
Biden moves to reverse Trump-era limits on green cards
SAN DIEGO — The Biden administration on Thursday proposed reversing a rule that denies green cards to applicants who receive certain government benefits, one of former President Donald Trump’s signature moves to limit legal immigration. The administration stopped applying the more expansive Trump-era limits in March, making the announcement more...
Truckers in Canada hold their ground despite threats of crackdown
OTTAWA, Ontario — Hundreds of truckers clogging the streets of Canada’s capital stood their ground and defiantly blasted their horns Thursday as police poured in, threatening to break up the nearly three-week protest against the country’s covid-19 restrictions. Busloads of police arrived near Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, and workers put up...
What do you give Yoko Ono on her birthday? A tribute albumVideo
NEW YORK — Ben Gibbard wasn’t necessarily looking for music by Yoko Ono when he went record shopping a few decades ago. He was just browsing in the “O” section and stumbled on a copy of her 1973 album “Feeling the Space.” “It wasn’t super-expensive and I was like, ‘Yeah,...
Romance fraud: Looking for love in wrong place proves costly
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — For the victim, a 78-year-old man from Annandale, it started with an effort to find some companionship. He created an account on a social network called iFlirt, then made contact with someone identifying herself as a widowed woman in her 30s who seemed interested. As the...
Former Angels employee convicted in Skaggs’ overdose death
FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Los Angeles Angels employee was convicted Thursday of providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas. Eric Kay was convicted on one count each of drug distribution resulting in death and drug conspiracy. He faces up to...
Construction wraps on problem-plagued Mariner East pipeline
PHILADELPHIA — Work is finished on a multibillion-dollar pipeline system that connects the vast Marcellus Shale gas field in western Pennsylvania to an export terminal near Philadelphia, according to its corporate owner, which faces criminal charges that it fouled waterways and residential water supplies during pipeline construction. Energy Transfer said...
MLB labor talks last 15 minutes as lockout continues
NEW YORK — The threat to Opening Day on March 31 appeared to intensify Thursday when the drawn-out talks to end Major League Baseball’s lockout ended just 15 minutes after they had resumed following a four-day break. What was supposed to be the second day of spring training workouts instead...
No new settlement yet of opioid claims against Purdue Pharma
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and a group of states have not been able to agree on a multibillion-dollar settlement of lawsuits over the drug’s role in the opioid crisis after more than a month of mediation. A mediator could call for still more talks between the parties, Purdue lawyer Marshall...
Estimated 73% of U.S. now immune to omicron: Is that enough?
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society. Millions of individual Americans’ immune systems now recognize the virus and are primed to...
Arbery not seen stealing, cop told hate crime defendants
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A police officer testified Thursday that he told a white father and son on trial for hate crimes in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery there was no evidence the 25-year-old Black man had stolen anything after security cameras recorded him wandering inside a home under construction several...
Michigan raises Harbaugh’s pay back to over $7 million per year
Michigan has once again made Jim Harbaugh one of the highest paid coaches in college football. Harbaugh’s reworked five-year contract with the school, obtained Thursday through a records request, runs through the 2026 season and guarantees he will make more than $7 million annually. Harbaugh’s salary starts at $7.05 million...
Trump must testify in New York investigation, judge rules
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices, a judge ruled Thursday. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to comply with subpoenas issued in December by New...
Brazil mudslide death toll is at 113, police say 116 missing
PETROPOLIS, Brazil — The death toll from floods and landslides that swept down on the mountain city of Petropolis rose to at least 113 on Thursday and local officials said it could still rise sharply, with 116 more still unaccounted for. The Rio de Janeiro state government confirmed the rising...
Experts see avocado price rise, damage to Mexican producers
MEXICO CITY — Experts say you may be paying more for your avocado toast in the short term, and the effects of the U.S. temporary ban on imports of the fruit is already being felt by avocado pickers in Mexico. Mexico is negotiating security guarantees for U.S. inspectors who certify...
Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympics: 5 individual races, no medals, 3 DNFs
BEIJING — There was simply no way to predict this. Not for anyone, including Mikaela Shiffrin herself. That the American skier would go 0 for 5 in individual races at the Beijing Olympics, leaving without a medal from any and with a best showing of ninth place, was hard enough...
Anna Shcherbakova wins figure skating gold as Russian teammate Kamila Valieva, at center of doping scandal, falls short of medals podium
BEIJING — Anna Shcherbakova won a stunning gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Beijing Games on Thursday night, relying on her experience to deliver a clean performance, while Russian teammate Kamila Valieva tumbled out of the medals in a mistake-filled end to her controversial Olympics. Shcherbakova performed a...
Bubba Wallace, Kurt Busch vow to turn Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing into champs
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kurt Busch first met Michael Jordan in a board room last summer as the free-agent driver weighed his racing options. Busch was star-struck in an “awesome moment” when the 6-foot-6 NBA Hall of Famer stood and shook hands with his future 23XI Racing employee. The basketball...
‘The brand is so toxic’: Democrats fear extinction in rural U.S.
SMETHPORT — Some Democrats here in rural Pennsylvania are afraid to tell you they’re Democrats. The party’s brand is so toxic in the small towns 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh that some liberals have removed bumper stickers and yard signs and refuse to acknowledge their party affiliation publicly. These Democrats...
More virus rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead
The nation’s leading health officials said Wednesday that the U.S. is moving closer to the point that covid-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during...
How American cash for Canada protests could sway U.S. politics
WASHINGTON — The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country’s liberal leader. Yet whatever impact the protests have on...
Biden: Russian threat to invade Ukraine is still ‘very high’
Fears of a new war in Europe resurged Thursday as U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Russia could invade Ukraine within days, and violence spiked in a long-running standoff in eastern Ukraine that some worried could provide the spark for wider conflict. World dignitaries raced for solutions, but suspicions between...
Poulin leads Canada women to Olympic gold in 3-2 win over U.S.
BEIJING — Marie-Philip Poulin reminded everyone of her Captain Clutch reputation. And Canada regained its place atop the women’s hockey world. It was only fitting that Poulin delivered at a time her team needed it most by scoring twice, including her third Olympic gold-medal clinching goal, in Canada’s 3-2 win...
