Associated Press stories, Page 1505
Judge won’t bar public from Ghislaine Maxwell jury selection
NEW YORK — A judge on Thursday rejected British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to block the public and news media from jury selection in her New York City trial on charges she recruited teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan said the...
Why no tusks? Poaching tips scales of elephant evolution
WASHINGTON — A hefty set of tusks is usually an advantage for elephants, allowing them to dig for water, strip bark for food and joust with other elephants. But during episodes of intense ivory poaching, those big incisors become a liability. Now researchers have pinpointed how years of civil war...
Endangered orangutan in New Orleans expecting twinsVideo
NEW ORLEANS — A critically endangered Sumatran orangutan in New Orleans is pregnant with twins, the zoo in New Orleans announced Thursday. “We are very excited about this pregnancy,” Bob MacLean, senior veterinarian at the Audubon Zoo, said in a news release. “Twinning is extremely rare in orangutans — there...
Haiti gang leader threatens to kill kidnapped missionaries
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that police say is holding 17 members of a kidnapped missionary group is seen in a video released Thursday saying he will kill them if he doesn’t get what he’s demanding. The video posted on social media shows Wilson Joseph...
U.S. blocks tomato imports from Mexican farm over labor abuses
WASHINGTON — The U.S. ordered a halt Thursday to imports of tomatoes from a Mexican farming company and its subsidiaries for what officials said was abusive treatment of workers that amounts to forced labor. Customs and Border Protection issued an order to detain shipments from Agropecuarios Tom, based in the...
California proposes new oil drilling ban near neighborhoods
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s oil and gas regulator on Thursday proposed that the state ban new oil drilling within 3,200 feet of schools, homes and hospitals to protect public health in what would be the nation’s largest buffer zone between oil wells and communities. It’s the latest effort by Democratic...
Fla. Gov. DeSantis to convene legislature to fight vaccine mandates
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he will call state lawmakers back to work early to pass legislation to combat coronavirus vaccine mandates enacted by businesses. The Republican governor didn’t specify a starting date for the special session of the GOP-controlled statehouse in November. “At the...
Expert panel takes up complicated covid booster questions
WASHINGTON — Influential government advisers are deciding Thursday how best to expand the nation’s covid-19 booster campaign, including whether and when it’s OK to “mix and match” brands for the extra dose. The advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are slated to discuss who should get extra...
Volvo adds 195,000 vehicles to recall for dangerous air bags
DETROIT — Volvo is recalling another 195,000 vehicles in the U.S. because the front driver’s air bags could explode and send shrapnel into the cabin. It’s the company’s third U.S. recall for the issue with air bag inflators made by supplier ZF/TRW. It stems from the death of an unidentified...
U.S. unemployment claims fall to new pandemic low of 290,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a new low point since the pandemic erupted, evidence that layoffs are declining as companies hold onto workers. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s...
Trump announces launch of his own social media site
NEW YORK — Nine months after being expelled from social media for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s launching a new media company with its own social media platform. Trump says his goal in launching the Trump Media & Technology...
Existing home sales surge as interest rates point higher
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes bounced back in September to their strongest pace since January as mortgage rates tick higher, motivating buyers to get off the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing homes sales rose 7% compared with August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Bernini’s dazzling chapel even brighter after restoration
ROME — A chapel in a Rome church that is home to a Baroque sculptural masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini has been made even more dazzling after restoration. Art and restoration specialists presented the result in the Cornaro Chapel in St. Mary of the Victory Church on Thursday. The chapel’s...
No. 7 Penn State, Illinois unsure of QBs ahead of matchup
UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State coach James Franklin originally planned to practice with two quarterbacks this week, neither named Sean Clifford. But the third-year starter, who is nursing an unspecified upper-body injury, participated with some passes. He also split snaps with Ta’Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux on Wednesday. Clifford’s return...
Realignment era: 6 Conference USA schools leaving for American
Major college football is settling into a strange period with lame duck memberships and frayed allegiances that could last another season or even two as conferences sort out the latest shifts and turns of realignment. The American Athletic Conference on Thursday became the latest to act in the trickle down...
Big changes in White House ideas to pay for $2 trillion plan
SCRANTON — In an abrupt change, the White House is floating new plans to pay for parts of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social services and climate change package, shelving a proposed big increase in corporate tax rates though also adding a new billionaires’ tax on the investment gains of...
Rare coin made in Colonial New England could fetch $300,000
An extraordinarily rare coin with a face value of just pennies when it was minted in mid-17th century New England could sell for the equivalent of about $300,000 when it’s put up for auction in London next month. The silver one shilling coin made in Boston in 1652 — considered...
Expansion, eventual departures of Oklahoma, Texas on minds of Big 12 basketball coachesVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chris Beard got right to it. His Texas Longhorns will have a target on their backs. “We’ve already begun talking to our players about how difficult it’s going to be,” he said. “But it’s really no different than anywhere else I’ve ever coached. If you’re going...
Report: Trump golf club under new criminal probe over taxes
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times. The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National...
Charges unlikely for riders who saw Philadelphia train rape
PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors pursuing the case against a man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train last week don’t anticipate charging fellow passengers for not intervening, a spokesperson for the suburban Philadelphia district attorney said. “It’s still an open investigation, but there is no expectation at this time...
Russians to stay off work for a week as coronavirus deaths riseVideo
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week starting later this month amid rising covid-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated. The government coronavirus task force reported 1,028 deaths in the past 24 hours, the...
Framber Valdez leads Astros over Red Sox in Game 5 of ALCS for 3-2 series leadVideo
BOSTON — Framber Valdez was perfect through four, took a two-hit shutout into the seventh and became the first pitcher in the 2021 postseason to finish eight innings Wednesday as the Houston Astros beat Boston, 9-1, in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series and moved one win from a...
NFL agrees to end race-based brain testing in $1B settlement
PHILADELPHIA — The NFL agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims, according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court. The revised testing plan follows public outrage...
Braves scratch Huascar Ynoa from Game 4 start in NLCS vs Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Huascar Ynoa was scratched with shoulder inflammation from his scheduled start for the Atlanta Braves against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, then removed from the postseason roster. Ynoa first experienced discomfort on Monday but believed he would be able to...
‘The stakes are enormous:’ Steve Bannon case tests Congress’ powerVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is expected to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress. It’s up to the Justice Department, and the courts, to determine what happens next. As lawmakers ready a vote on Thursday to send a contempt referral to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, there’s considerable...
