Associated Press stories, Page 1717

BEIJING — The Chinese government defended its use of Twitter and Facebook on Thursday, following a report that it had used its growing social media presence to spread disinformation about the origins of the covid-19 pandemic. When asked about the report, the Foreign Ministry’s top spokesperson, Hua Chunying, didn’t directly...

KYIV, Ukraine — A court in Belarus on Thursday sent two female journalists to prison on charges of violating public order after they covered a protest against the nation’s authoritarian president. The court in the Belarusian capital of Minsk handed two-year sentences to Katsiaryna Bakhvalava, 27, who goes by the...

MADRID — More than 50 people were arrested and dozens injured during a second night of protests that turned violent in several Spanish cities. The protests were sparked by the imprisonment of a rapper who had insulted the monarchy and praised terrorism. The protests began peacefully late Wednesday in dozens...

1928 — At Moritz, Switzerland, Sonja Henie becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating champion. At 15 years and 315 days, easily beats Austria’s Fritzi Burger and American Beatrix Loughran. 1932 — Sonja Henie wins her sixth straight World Figure Skating title. 1944 — One day after playing in a high...

INDIANAPOLIS — The president of the The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields resigned on Wednesday, days after the institution apologized for posting a job listing seeking a new director who would maintain the museum’s “traditional, core, white art audience.” The museum’s board of trustees and board of governors said...

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles college student and self-described fascist was arrested after he sat in former Vice President Mike Pence’s chair in the Senate chambers during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said. Officials say Christian Secor — a 22-year-old student at the University of California, Los...

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Two men are accused of pretending to be federal marshals and flashing phony credentials to get out of wearing facial coverings at a South Florida resort hotel. When the staff at the Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort asked Walter Wayne Brown Jr., 53, and Gary Brummett, 81,...

DALLAS — The now former mayor of a West Texas town says he had already turned in his resignation when he wrote a Facebook post saying it was not the local government’s responsibility to help those suffering in the cold without power. In his typo-ridden post made Tuesday morning, Tim...

MELBOURNE, Australia — Top-ranked Ash Barty built a big lead in the Australian Open quarterfinals before her opponent took a medical timeout and left the court. More than an hour later, it was Barty heading abruptly for the exit, upset 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday by 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of...

CLEVELAND — Cody Allen, the Cleveland Indians’ career saves leader and an underappreciated closer for the team, retired at age 32. The Indians announced Allen’s retirement Wednesday on Twitter, posting: “From a 23rd round draft pick to the franchise saves (leader). Congrats on a great career, Cody.” Allen spent seven...

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. — An Arizona woman charged in the Jan. 6 onslaught of the U.S. Capitol bragged in a Snapchat video that she was recently recruited by a Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys, a neofascist organization that describes itself as “Western chauvinists” and has long forbidden female...

By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the covid-19 vaccine as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will persuade troops to get the shot. Some Army units are seeing as few as one-third agree to the vaccine. Military...

At least seven people have been wounded by gunfire near a transit station in north Philadelphia, police said. Police said two people were shot in the back shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday near the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station in the Olney neighborhood. Three other people were hit in an...

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Residents, some of whom lack heat or basic amenities in their own homes due to the unusually chilly weather, have been rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles and taking them to a convention center in a South Texas resort town. “Every 15 minutes or less there’s another...

PEDARA, Sicily — Residents and municipal teams worked Wednesday to clean up a Sicilian village near Mount Etna after Europe’s most active volcano spewed lava, ashes and volcanic stones. The eruption, which featured spectacular displays of gushing lava, forced the temporary closure of Sicily’s Catania Airport, a frequent occurrence when...

WASHINGTON — Federal agents have seized more than 10 million fake 3M brand N95 masks in recent weeks, the result of an ongoing investigation into counterfeits sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The most recent seizures occurred Wednesday when Homeland Security agents intercepted...

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A 70-year-old man arrested Wednesday in the hit-and-run death of rapper Nicki Minaj’s father stopped briefly to ask the injured man if he was OK but didn’t call for help, police said. Charles Polevich faces charges of leaving the scene of an incident and tampering with physical...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House on Wednesday passed a bill banning nearly all abortions, following the lead of other states with similar measures that would go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. The proposal passed the Senate on Jan. 28. It...

WASHINGTON — How do you define success when it comes to reopening schools in the pandemic? President Joe Biden and his aides are having difficulty settling on an answer to that question. At his town-hall forum Tuesday night, Biden denied that his administration ever thought one day of classroom instruction...

MOSCOW — Europe’s top human rights court has ordered Russia to release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a ruling quickly rejected Wednesday by Russian authorities who are bent on isolating the Kremlin’s most prominent foe. The decision by the European Court of Human Rights had demanded that Russia free Navalny...

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who ripped into liberals, foretold the rise of Donald Trump and laid waste to political correctness with a merry brand of malice that made him one of the most powerful voices on the American right, died Wednesday. He was 70....