Associated Press stories, Page 2186

SALT LAKE CITY — Rare salt formations have been documented for the first time on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and they could yield insights about salt structures found on Mars before they disappear for good. They’re showing up now in part because water levels at the largest...

RICHMOND, Va. — An injunction barring the Trump administration from discharging two Air Force members who are HIV-positive was upheld Friday by a federal appeals court panel that called the military’s rationale for prohibiting deployment of service members living with HIV “outmoded and at odds with current science.” The airmen...

NEW YORK (AP) — Internal documents reveal that Boeing employees were aware of problems with the Max 737 jet ahead of two deadly crashes, and that the company emphasized speed over safety during the approval process with the Federal Aviation Administration. The documents were made public Thursday by Boeing at...

BOSTON — Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein donated $750,000 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and visited campus at least nine times as he sought to rehabilitate his image following a 2008 sex crimes conviction, according to findings released Friday by a law firm hired to investigate Epstein’s ties with the...

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang GT featured in the film “Bullitt” was sold Friday at a Florida auction house for $3.74 million. The sale at Mecum Kissimmee marks the most expensive Mustang ever sold, surpassing a 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake that sold last year for...

HAVANA — The Trump administration is banning charter flights to Cuban cities besides Havana in a new tightening of U.S. restrictions on the island. In October, the administration banned commercial flights to cities outside the capital. The State Department said in a press release Friday that charter operators would have...

Another bit of old, quirky San Francisco will be no more when Tom Sweeney finally hangs up his white pressed collar and signature Beefeater jacket this weekend after more than four decades of opening doors at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel downtown. Sweeney has taken the luggage of movie stars...

BEIJING — The Chinese paddlefish’s sharp, protruding snout made it one of the largest freshwater species in the world. Since scientists declared it extinct in a research paper published last week, Chinese internet users and media outlets have been paying tribute to the hefty creature. “It’s farewell at first sight,”...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro will report that he headed into his 2020 reelection year with more than $3 million in his campaign bank account, about 40% of what he spent to get elected in 2016 to his first four-year term. In a preliminary report his campaign gave...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this week’s missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on U.S. bases in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nets will be going up along a portion of Florida’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans the mouth of Tampa Bay and has become a magnet for suicides. The Tampa Bay Times reported Friday that the steel mesh nets will be installed along a 1.5-mile section of...

A man accused of punching a protester outside a rally for President Donald Trump has been found guilty. A jury convicted Dallas Frazier, 30, Thursday of misdemeanor assault for hitting Michael Alter, 61, outside the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati in August. Thousands attended the rally at the Cincinnati arena....

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers downshifted on hiring in December, adding 145,000 jobs, with steady spending by Americans continuing to steer economic growth heading into a presidential election year. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate held at 3.5% for the second straight month, prolonging a half-century low. Hiring...

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to ban guns at the state Capitol. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have set a meeting to vote on new rules that are widely expected to include a proposed new gun ban for the Capitol and...

GUAYANILLA, Puerto Rico — A new community has popped up in this earthquake-damaged town in southwest Puerto Rico: it houses 300 people, a dozen police officers and one macaw. Cries of “Uno!” filled the air early Friday morning as children on cots played card games while men with a pillow...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida ordered Mrs. Florida 2016 to spend a month in jail for stealing her mother’s Social Security checks rather than using the money to pay for nursing home care. U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart also sentenced Karyn Turk on Thursday to five...

Boeing employees raised doubts among themselves about the safety of the 737 Max, apparently tried to hide problems from federal regulators and ridiculed those responsible for designing and overseeing the jetliner, according to a batch of emails and texts released nearly a year after the aircraft was grounded over two...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Vermont lawmaker has proposed a bill that would bar anyone under 21 from using or owning a cellphone — a move meant to draw attention to restrictions on guns. The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. John Rodgers, states that the Legislature has concluded those under 21...

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Earth Alliance environmental organization will donate $3 million to help wildfire relief efforts in Australia. The foundation said Thursday that it has started the Australia Wildfire Fund to help with an “international response to the catastrophic bushfires” currently raging in the country. The wildfires have scorched an area...

Queen Elizabeth II has moved quickly to take control of the crisis surrounding the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to distance themselves from the royal family, ordering royal courtiers to find a future role for the pair within days. Officials representing the most senior members...