Associated Press stories, Page 1782
Taylor Swift has finished redoing sophomore album ‘Fearless’Video
NEW YORK — Last year, Taylor Swift gave us a lot of new music. This year it will be old — the pop star has announced she’s dropping the first of her re-recorded albums. Swift said online Thursday that “Fearless: Taylor’s Version” is finished and “will be with you soon,”...
3 years later, Parkland school shooting trial still in limbo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s been more than 1,000 days since a gunman with an AR-15 rifle burst into a Florida high school, killed 17 people and wounded 17 others. Yet, with Valentine’s Day on Sunday marking the three-year milestone, the trial of 22-year-old Nikolas Cruz is in limbo. One...
KKK member sentenced for driving into crowd of protesters
RICHMOND, Va. — An acknowledged member of the Ku Klux Klan was sentenced Tuesday to three years and eight months in prison on charges he drove his pickup truck through a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters near Virginia’s capital city. Harry Rogers, 37, of Hanover County, was convicted of...
Kraft Heinz sells Planters brand to Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods is going nuts. The Austin, Minnesota-based company, known for its meat brands like Spam and Applegate, said Thursday it is buying the Planters nut business from Kraft Heinz Co. for $3.35 billion. Included in the deal are Planters brands like Nut-rition, Cheez Balls and Corn Nuts. “The acquisition...
Gina Carano fired from ‘Mandalorian’ after social media post
LOS ANGELES — Lucasfilm says Gina Carano is no longer a part of “The Mandalorian” cast after many online called for her firing over a social media post that likened the experience of Jews during the Holocaust to the U.S. political climate. A spokesperson with the production company said in...
Morgan Wallen tells fans not to defend his racist language
Country star Morgan Wallen asked fans not to downplay the racist language he was caught saying on camera and said that he accepted the punishments he faced. TMZ posted a video last week of Wallen saying a racial slur and Wallen apologized at the time. Wallen posted a five-minute Instagram...
Fauci: Virus shot categories to open up by April
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts by April it will be “open season” for vaccinations in the U.S., as supply boosts allow most people to get shots to protect against covid-19. Speaking to NBC’s “Today Show,” Fauci, who serves as science adviser to President joe Biden, says the rate of...
Norway deports truck driver for not using snow chains
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norwegian authorities deported a truck driver who was stopped by police twice within an hour for driving without mandatory snow chains near a city north of the Arctic Circle. The man, who has been banned from returning to Norway for two years, was “careless of the conditions,...
This date in sports history: Feb. 11Video
1878 — The Boston Bicycle Club, the first bicycle club in the United States, is formed. 1949 — Willie Pep becomes the first boxer in the history of the 126-pound class to regain a lost championship with a 15-round unanimous decision over Sandy Saddler at Madison Square Garden. 1950 —...
Red Sox deal OF Andrew Benintendi to Royals in 3-team trade
BOSTON — The Red Sox sent Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday in a three-team trade that also included the New York Mets, parting with the final member of the outfield trio that helped Boston win the 2018 World Series. The Red Sox traded Benintendi along with...
Alex Bowman, William Byron take Daytona 500 front row
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — New number, new day, new time, same result for Hendrick Motorsports. Alex Bowman and William Byron swept the front row Wednesday night in qualifying for the Daytona 500, giving Hendrick its 14th pole and sixth in the last seven years. Hendrick’s engine-building wing has seven straight...
Trevor Lawrence to have surgery before NFL DraftVideo
CLEMSON, S.C. — Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence will have surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder before the NFL Draft. Lawrence’s representative, Kyle Strongin of MGC Sports, said Lawrence scheduled a workout for NFL personnel on Friday instead of waiting for Clemson’s pro day March 11 because of the upcoming...
Daytona 500 highlights chasm between NASCAR’s haves, have-nots
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Josh Bilicki has a plan for his first Daytona 500. He wants to ride around with his Rick Ware Racing teammates near the back of the field in an attempt to avoid the inevitable multi-car melee that almost always happens in “The Great American Race.” Maybe...
Hustler publisher Larry Flynt dies at 78
LOS ANGELES — Porn purveyor Larry Flynt, who built Hustler magazine into an adult entertainment empire while championing First Amendment rights, died Wednesday. He was 78. Flynt had been in frail health and died of heart failure at his Hollywood Hills home, said his nephew, Jimmy Flynt Jr. From his...
Petroleum spills into San Francisco Bay at Chevron refineryVideo
RICHMOND, Calif. — Crews are working to clean up a petroleum spill in San Francisco Bay near the wharf at Chevron’s oil refinery in Richmond, authorities said Wednesday. The spill was discovered at 3 p.m. Tuesday when a sheen was observed on the water, according to joint statements from federal,...
Prominent Saudi women’s rights activist released from prison
One of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent political activists was released from prison Wednesday, her family said, after serving nearly three years on charges that sparked an international uproar over the kingdom’s human rights record. Loujain al-Hathloul, who pushed to end a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, was arrested...
Navy commanders address 2 racist incidents on West Coast
WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. Navy commanders met this week with sailors on ships on the West Coast after two recent racist incidents triggered one of the first military stand-downs to address extremism in the ranks. The meetings came after a noose was found on one ship, and hate speech was...
Bill would allow firing of striking West Virginia teachers
CHARLESTON — A West Virginia lawmaker has renewed an attempt to punish teachers for striking in a state where work stoppages have occurred in two of the past three years. Senate Education Committee chairwoman Patricia Rucker, a Jefferson County Republican, introduced a bill Wednesday on the first day of the...
Phillies finalize $28M, 2-year deal with Didi GregoriusVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Shortstop Didi Gregorius and the Philadelphia Phillies finalized a $28 million, two-year contract Wednesday. Gregorius, who turns 31 next week, batted .284 with 10 homers, 40 RBIs and an .827 OPS in 60 games in his first season with the Phillies. He hit .274 and averaged 20 homers...
Super Bowl champion Buccaneers celebrate with boat paradeVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Even on the water, it seems the connection between seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady and his receivers cannot be denied. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held a boat parade Wednesday to celebrate their first NFL title in 18 years on a sun-splashed day with thousands of...
Jerome Powell stresses commitment to full employment, low rates
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday underscored the Fed’s commitment to reducing unemployment to multi-decade lows, where it stood before the pandemic, while signaling little concern about the risk of potentially high inflation or financial market instability. Powell stressed in prepared remarks for a webcast to the Economic Club...
Tennessee governor: Transgender athletes will ‘destroy women’s sports’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday advocated for banning transgender girls from playing on middle and high school sports teams, saying transgender athletes will “destroy women’s sports.” “I do believe that transgenders participating in women’s sports will destroy women’s sports,” Lee, who is up for reelection...
Government investigating massive counterfeit N95 mask scam
Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus....
Report: TikTok sale pushed by Trump is shelved
The Biden administration has “indefinitely” shelved a proposed U.S. takeover of the popular video app TikTok, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Last year, the Trump administration brokered a deal that would have had U.S. corporations Oracle and Walmart take a large stake in the Chinese-owned app on national-security...
Biden orders sanctions against Myanmar after military coup
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar, taking action after the military this month staged a coup in the Southeast Asian country and arrested de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians. Biden said he was issuing an...
