Associated Press stories, Page 1789
Justice at last: Convictions of 39 U.K. postal workers quashed
LONDON — In a ruling that reversed one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, 39 people who ran local post offices had their convictions for theft, fraud and false accounting overturned Friday because of what an appeals court said was clear evidence of “bugs, errors or...
Lost frescoes to greet visitors when Italy’s Uffizi reopens
Recently discovered frescoes will greet visitors to Florence’s Uffizi Galleries when the museum reopens May 4 after the most recent covid shutdown. Workers doing restoration discovered the painted walls and ceilings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries beneath plaster in the museum’s west wing, which is where the new...
Stocks rise, erasing most of S&P 500’s weekly losses
Stocks closed out a choppy week of trading with a broad rally, though the gains were not enough to keep the S&P 500 from its first weekly loss in the last five. The benchmark index rose 1.1% Friday, clawing back all of its losses from a day earlier. It posted...
Detectives: DNA solves 1985 slaying, rape of dementia victim
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A DNA test has led to the arrest of a suspect in the April 1985 slaying, rape and kidnapping of a 78-year-old woman who had dementia and had wandered away from her home. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that it had arrested Richard...
Police: 1 dead, 4 wounded in downtown San Diego shooting
SAN DIEGO — A gunman in downtown San Diego shot and killed one person and then walked another block and opened fire again, wounding four people before police took him down with a Taser, police said Friday. A 32-year-old suspect was arrested after the Thursday night shooting and was taken...
Browns exercise QB Baker Mayfield’s 5th-year option
CLEVELAND — The Browns exercised the fifth-year option on quarterback Baker Mayfield’s rookie contract on Friday, an expected move after his strong 2020 season. The team did the same with top cornerback Denzel Ward’s contract. Mayfield had 30 touchdown passes last season and led the Browns to their first playoff...
Therapy bunny at San Francisco ballpark brings smiles, is instant hit
SAN FRANCISCO — A handsome, golden-colored therapy bunny named Alex came to the ballpark and stole the hearts of San Francisco Giants fans Thursday night, attending the series opener against Miami with owners Kei Kato and Josh Row. Sporting a dark bow tie with orange crabs to represent the Giants’...
New home sales surged 20.7% in March to 1.02 million
WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes surged 20.7% in March to the highest level since 2006, rebounding from a sharp decline the previous month when severe winter storms wreaked havoc in many parts of the country. Sales climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.02 million last month after...
Women’s Champions League title up for grabs with Lyon gone
Now that seven-time champion Lyon is gone, the remaining four clubs in the Women’s Champions League have a chance to win the title for the first time. None of the semifinalists have ever won Europe’s premier club competition and they know a golden opportunity awaits when the first-leg matches kick...
FDA: N95 masks, now plentiful, should no longer be reused
The Biden administration has taken the first step toward ending an emergency exception that allowed hospitals to ration and reuse N95 medical masks, the first line of defense between frontline workers and the deadly coronavirus. Thousands of medical providers have died in the covid-19 pandemic, many exposed and infected while...
Caitlyn Jenner says she will run for governor of CaliforniaVideo
LOS ANGELES — Republican Caitlyn Jenner said Friday she will run for governor of California, injecting a jolt of celebrity into an emerging campaign that threatens to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office. Jenner — an Olympic hero, reality TV personality and a transgender rights activist — said in...
Jill Biden to visit tribal school still teaching remotely
ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. — A small grade school on the outskirts of the Navajo Nation capital is ready for students to return. Staff at Hunters Point Boarding School in St. Michaels have repainted the building, upgraded the washer and dryer in the dorms, installed a security gate, placed plexiglass between...
Maryland public universities to require covid-19 vaccine
BALTIMORE — Maryland’s public higher education system will require that students, faculty and staff returning to campuses in the fall be vaccinated against covid-19. University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay Perman announced the decision in a statement Friday. The system will allow appropriate exemptions for medical or religious reasons, the...
Russian’s Navalny to end prison hunger strike
MOSCOW — Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he is ending his hunger strike after getting medical attention and being warned by his doctors that continuing it would be life-threatening. In an Instagram post on Friday afternoon, the 24th day of his hunger strike, Navalny said he will continue to...
Russian troops start pulling back from Ukrainian border
MOSCOW — Russian troops began pulling back to their permanent bases Friday after a massive buildup that caused Ukrainian and Western concerns. On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the sweeping maneuvers in Crimea and wide swaths of western Russia over, and ordered the military to pull the troops...
SpaceX launches 3rd crew in under year, fly on reused rocket
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched four astronauts into orbit Friday using a recycled rocket and capsule, the third crew flight in less than a year for Elon Musk’s rapidly expanding company. The astronauts from the U.S., Japan and France should reach the International Space Station early Saturday morning, following...
Albuquerque seeks $200K from Trump campaign for security
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has referred former President Donald Trump’s campaign to a collection agency over nonpayment of a bill related to security costs for a campaign rally he held in 2019. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the bill for $211,175.94 covers security costs stemming...
Low on beds, oxygen, India adds global high 314,000 coronavirus casesVideo
NEW DELHI — India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world’s second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. The 314,835 infections added in...
Explosion at New Hampshire gender reveal party rocks several towns
KINGSTON, N.H. — One New Hampshire family’s gender reveal party was definitely a blast. Kingston police said they received reports of a loud explosion Tuesday that could be heard in several towns and as far away as Massachusetts. They responded to Torromeo quarry where they found people who acknowledged holding...
Man pleads guilty in fatal shootings of 8 from Ohio familyVideo
A man pleaded guilty in the murders of his child’s mother and seven other members of her family on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of when the shootings were discovered in southern Ohio. Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty to 23 counts in Pike County court in a deal with prosecutors that...
Les McKeown, who fronted the Bay City Rollers, dies at 65Video
LONDON — Les McKeown, the former lead singer of the 1970s Scottish pop sensation Bay City Rollers, has died suddenly at the age of 65, his family said Thursday. A statement from his family posted on social media said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of...
Oscar slate holds ‘firsts’ for Asian actors, filmmakers
It may be hard to believe that there are still many “firsts” left to check off after 93 years of the Academy Awards, and yet this year there were a handful for Asian actors and filmmakers. Steven Yeun (“Minari”) became the first Asian American actor to be nominated for best...
Research on shaken baby syndrome helps free 15-year inmate
A California man imprisoned for 15 years in the death of his month-old son is free after prosecutors and a judge agreed that the scientific research underlying what was once called “shaken baby syndrome” has changed significantly in recent years. Clifton Jones, 45, was released this month from Soledad State...
Screws tighten for home buyers in March, prices surge 17.2%
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the second consecutive month in March because there are so few on the market, and the fierce competition for those that do exist is pushing prices to new highs. Existing home sales fell 3.7% last month from February to a seasonally-adjusted rate...
Countering Biden, GOP pitches $568B for infrastructureVideo
WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a public works proposal with a much smaller price tag and a narrower definition of infrastructure than what President Joe Biden has proposed, highlighting the stark differences between the two sides that will be difficult to bridge in the coming...
