Associated Press stories, Page 1608
Biden set to sign competition order targeting big business
President Joe Biden is set to sign on Friday an executive order that the White House bills as an effort to target anticompetitive practices in tech, health care and other parts of the economy while boosting workers’ wages and consumer protections. The sweeping order includes 72 actions and recommendations that...
GM recall: Side air bags can explode in Chevy, GMC pickups
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling more than 400,000 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the side air bags can explode without warning and spew parts into the cabin. The recall covers certain 2015 and 2016 Chevrolet and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks. Documents posted Friday by U.S....
Taliban say they now control 85% of Afghanistan’s territory
MOSCOW — The Taliban claimed on Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistan’s territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country. The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior...
Amid growing frustration, Biden administration pushes voting rights
WASHINGTON — Facing a call to “save American democracy,” the Biden administration has unveiled new efforts to help protect voting rights amid growing complaints from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House has not done enough to fight attempts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to...
DeSantis parts with Trump in response to Surfside tragedy
SURFSIDE, Fla. — When the coronavirus ravaged Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis defiantly bucked mask mandates. He later cracked down on protesters advocating racial justice, blasted President Joe Biden on immigration, jumped into the fight over transgender athletes and signed sweeping legislation to toughen voting rules. But after a deadly building...
This date in sports history: July 9Video
1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first to swim the 100-meter freestyle under 1 minute as he breaks Duke Kahanamoku’s world record with a time of 58.6 seconds. 1932 — The NFL awards a franchise to Boston under the ownership of George Preston Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O’Brien, and Dorland...
Suns beat Bucks to take 2-0 lead in NBA Finals
PHOENIX — The ball went from Chris Paul to Devin Booker and didn’t stop moving until Deandre Ayton scored after every Suns player had touched it. The 10-pass sequence was the prettiest play of the NBA Finals and the kind the one-man show Bucks couldn’t dream of. “We actually talked...
Conor McGregor talks trash, throws kick at Dustin Poirier before UFC 264Video
LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor wore a plaid purple suit and sunglasses when he performed some of his greatest Vegas hits at his UFC 264 news conference Thursday ahead of his latest attempt to roll back the mixed martial arts clock. The biggest star in combat sports preened, strutted and...
Zaila Avant-garde breezes to National Spelling Bee win
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Whether dribbling a basketball or identifying obscure Latin or Greek roots, Zaila Avant-garde doesn’t show much stress. The 14-year-old from Harvey, La., breezed to the championship at the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night, becoming the first African American winner and only the second...
Gov. Tom Wolf calls election audit plan a ‘disgrace to democracy’
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday said it is a “disgrace to democracy” that a Republican state lawmaker is trying to launch what he calls a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election, similar to what is happening in Arizona. Wolf, a Democrat, said on Twitter that the “sham...
Nasa Hataoka shoots 10-under 61 in Marathon LPGA Classic
SYLVANIA, Ohio — Nasa Hataoka parred the final two holes to miss a chance for the second 59 in LPGA Tour history, finishing with a 10-under-par 61 and a four-stroke lead Thursday in the Marathon LPGA Classic. Annika Sorenstam is the only player to shoot 59 on the LPGA Tour,...
MLB extends paid leave for Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer as abuse investigation continuesVideo
NEW YORK — Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave was extended by seven days through July 15 by Major League Baseball and the players’ association on Thursday while the sport’s investigators check into allegations of sexual misconduct against the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher. Bauer was placed on seven days’ paid leave on...
British Open returns after covid-19 cancellation, but golfers back in a bubbleVideo
As tradition goes at the British Open, it might feel as though nothing has changed. Shane Lowry, a popular champion on Irish soil at Royal Portrush, returns the silver claret upon his arrival Monday at Royal St. George’s in England for a ceremonial start to the 149th edition of golf’s...
Former Steelers DB Dicky Maegle dies
HOUSTON — Dicky Maegle, the Rice running back tackled in the 1954 Cotton Bowl by an Alabama player who came off the bench in one of the most legendary plays in college football history, has died. Rice University and the National Football Foundation said Tuesday that Maegle passed away Sunday....
Italy OKs port for rescue ship with 572 migrants aboard
ROME — Italy on Thursday agreed to allow the disembarking of 572 rescued migrants following a charity ship’s desperate plea that food was running short and tensions rising on the crowded Ocean Viking. Hours earlier, Luisa Albera, search and rescue coordinator of SOS Mediterranee, launched an urgent appeal from the...
Pfizer to seek OK for 3rd covid-19 vaccine dose
Pfizer is about to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its covid-19 vaccine, saying Thursday that another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant. Research from multiple countries shows the Pfizer shot and other widely used covid-19...
Tropical storm pounds East Coast after killing 1 in Florida
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tropical Storm Elsa carved a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down and blew one of them into a lake. Elsa’s winds strengthened...
Lawyer Michael Avenatti sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for extortion
NEW YORK — Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who once represented Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity. Avenatti, 50, was convicted...
Stanley Cup champion Lightning ace final exam on ‘last day of school’Video
TAMPA, Fla — With the clock ticking on their time together, the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning talked about what they already knew was their last Stanley Cup run as a group. They talked about it midway through the playoffs. They talked about it on the verge of reaching the...
Alabama officer still getting paid after murder conviction
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama police officer is still getting paid two months after he was convicted of murder. Huntsville officer William Ben Darby was stripped of his law enforcement certification after a jury May 7 found him guilty of murdering Jeff Parker, a man who told police he was...
With fans back, ballpark workers enjoy chance to return
A suite attendant at the Miami Marlins’ home ballpark, Lisa Eckstein had a chance to reconnect with a familiar face when she returned to work this season. “I have a guest I’ve taken care of for 18 years,” she said. “Their initial reaction was to come and hug me because...
Naomi Osaka says Michelle Obama, Stephen Curry, others offered support
NEW YORK — Naomi Osaka says former first lady Michelle Obama and sports stars Novak Djokovic, Michael Phelps and Stephen Curry were among those who reached out to offer support after she withdrew from the French Open to take a mental health break. In an essay in Time magazine’s Olympic...
Tokyo under state of emergency; fans will be banned from Olympic events
TOKYO — Fans will be banned from Tokyo-area stadiums and arenas when the Olympics begin in two weeks, the city’s governor said Thursday after meeting with organizers of the pandemic-postponed games. That means the Olympics largely will be a TV-only event, after the Japanese government put the capital under a...
Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy wins Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL playoff MVP
TAMPA, Fla. — When Andrei Vasilevskiy was thrust into action during the 2015 Stanley Cup Final with starting goaltender Ben Bishop injured, he was a shy, unknown quantity at the beginning of his NHL journey. Six years later, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion at the peak of his career...
Tampa Bay blanks Montreal, repeats as Stanley Cup championVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Quieting the din inside Amalie Arena for just a moment, Gary Bettman looked over to the Tampa Bay Lightning and reached back into the dark days of the pandemic perhaps one last time. The NHL commissioner beckoned not just captain Steven Stamkos but the entire team over...
