Associated Press stories, Page 2207
Democrats launch probe of Justice Department, seek Roger Stone interviews
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee is launching a wide-ranging probe of Attorney General William Barr and the Justice Department, demanding briefings, documents and interviews with 15 officials as it tries to determine whether there has been improper political interference in federal law enforcement. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., on...
Pompeo to witness signing of Afghanistan peace deal, Trump says
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that he’s dispatching Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the signing of an agreement with the Afghan Taliban aimed at beginning a drawdown of thousands of U.S. troops and ending America’s 18-year involvement in the war. Trump said Pompeo would soon, at the president’s...
Wall Street has worst week since 2008
Stocks sank around the globe again Friday as investors braced for more economic pain from the coronavirus outbreak, sending U.S. markets to their worst weekly finish since the 2008 financial crisis. The damage from the week of relentless selling was eye-popping: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3,583 points, or...
FCC proposes fines for phone companies that shared user data
NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has proposed roughly $200 million in fines combined for the four major U.S. phone companies for improperly disclosing customers’ real-time location. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said during a news conference Friday that the fines amounted to $91 million for T-Mobile, $57 million for...
Amazon bans 1 million products because of coronavirus claims
Amazon has pulled more than 1 million items from its digital shelves due to claims that the products could either cure or help prevent the spread of coronavirus. The move comes during the same week that Facebook said it would ban advertisements on its platform for products purporting to cure...
U.S. reports first drug shortage tied to virus outbreak
WASHINGTON — Health officials reported the first U.S. drug shortage tied to the viral outbreak that is disrupting production in China, but they declined to identify the manufacturer or the product. The Food and Drug Administration said late Thursday that the drug’s maker recently contacted officials about the shortage, which...
General Motors to add 1,200 workers at 2 Michigan factories
DETROIT — General Motors is adding 1,200 jobs at two Michigan factories to build midsize SUVs and two new luxury sedans. GM said Friday that its Lansing Delta Township plant will get a third shift and 800 more workers to build the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs, which have...
The Abbey Road Institute opens 1st U.S. school in Miami
MIAMI — One of the world’s leading music studios has set its sights on Miami, with the help of a Grammy-winning Colombian music producer. Abbey Road Studios, where legendary bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd recorded their albums, will open its first U.S. music school in Miami in partnership...
Federal judge blocks measure giving Lake Erie legal rights
TOLEDO, Ohio — An unusual ballot measure approved by voters in Ohio’s fourth-largest city to give legal rights to Lake Erie has been struck down by a federal judge. A coalition of environmental groups had led the effort in Toledo as a way to add new protections for Lake Erie...
W.Va. moving to up fines after girl’s fall into grease pit
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia may soon stiffen fines for restaurants that fail to secure the lids of grease pits after a young girl fell into one of the collection traps last year. The House of Delegates on Friday unanimously approved a measure to increase fines from $5 to $50...
Authorities: Altoona teens charged in fatal shooting during robbery
ALTOONA — Three teenage boys face murder charges in the fatal shooting of another teen who was killed when they tried to steal marijuana from him, authorities said. The three teens — two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old, all form Altoona — were arraigned Thursday and remanded to the county jail....
Harvey Weinstein juror: #MeToo movement was not a factor in trial
NEW YORK — The jury that convicted Harvey Weinstein of rape and sex assault did not consider the trial’s implications for the #MeToo movement, one of the jurors said in an interview aired Friday. “No, zero, absolutely zero,” juror Drew Malbin said on “CBS This Morning.” “Because it’s not the...
Prince Harry records charity song with Jon Bon JoviVideo
LONDON — Prince Harry joined Jon Bon Jovi at Abbey Road Studios in London on Friday as the singer recorded a charity single to support the foundation that oversees the Invictus Games — a multinational sports event for sick and injured servicemen. The prince and the popstar greeted each other...
Nigeria confirms 1st case of new virus in sub-Saharan AfricaVideo
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian authorities on Friday reported the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa as the outbreak spread to a region with some of the world’s weakest health systems. The health commissioner for Lagos, Africa’s largest city with more than 20 million people, said an...
Vatican task force offers help to church on abuse prevention
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is launching a task force of experts to help Catholic dioceses and religious orders develop guidelines to handle cases of sexual abuse by clergy and tend to survivors. The initiative was proposed last year during Pope Francis’ summit on preventing abuse. It was considered necessary...
Mexico confirms first 2 cases of coronavirus
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s assistant health secretary announced Friday that the country now has two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Hugo Lopez-Gatell said one of the patients is in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa. While a second test is still pending on that...
White House hopefuls target Trump on coronavirus response
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Democratic White House hopefuls are seizing on President Donald Trump’s delayed response to the coronavirus outbreak, calling it the latest evidence of his incompetence and warning that the crisis may only deepen as a result. But some experts and Democrats warn that the candidates risk exacerbating a...
California is abnormally dry after low-precipitation winter
SAN FRANCISCO — A dry beginning of the year has left most of California abnormally parched, as officials brace for the possibility of an early and more intense wildfire season amid record-breaking temperatures. Drought has expanded from just under 10% of the state last week to nearly a quarter, mainly...
Ex-Phoenix area sheriff declares victory despite court loss
PHOENIX (AP) — Former Phoenix-area Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost a bid to erase his criminal conviction for disobeying a 2011 court order, but claimed victory Thursday after an appeal’s court said the verdict no longer has any legal consequence because of President Donald Trump’s pardon. The 9th Circuit Court of...
Grandfather, Navy vet among 5 victims of Wisconsin shooting
The five men who were killed by a co-worker at a Milwaukee brewery include an electrician, a Navy veteran, a father of two small children, a fisherman and a grandfather who is being remembered as someone who “always put his family’s needs before his own.” Authorities said the five men...
Warren still dogged by past claims of indigenous ancestry
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Cherokee citizens are calling on Elizabeth Warren to publicly disavow a family story of indigenous heritage as a way to dissuade others from making false claims they say often romanticize Native Americans. The topic has haunted the Massachusetts senator since even before she announced she would seek...
New coronavirus case escalates US response
VACAVILLE, Calif. — Public health officials were retracing the steps of a Northern California woman on Thursday believed to be the first person in the U.S. to contract the highly contagious coronavirus without traveling internationally or being in close contact with anyone who had it. The diagnosis, confirmed Wednesday, marks...
Mississippi man gets death sentence for multiple killings
MAGNOLIA, Miss. — A Mississippi man was given four death sentences by a jury on Thursday, hours after he spoke in court and blamed the devil for his actions the night eight people were shot to death. Willie Cory Godbolt, 37, was convicted Tuesday of the May 2017 slayings of...
Pence’s handling of 2015 HIV outbreak gets new scrutiny
INDIANAPOLIS — President Donald Trump’s choice of Vice President Mike Pence to oversee the nation’s response to the new coronavirus threat is bringing renewed scrutiny to the former governor’s handling of an HIV outbreak in southern Indiana when he was governor. Pence reluctantly agreed to authorize a needle exchange program...
Guam residents compensated for war atrocities decades later
HAGATÑA, Guam — For Antonina Palomo Cross, Japan’s occupation of Guam started with terror at church. The then-7-year-old was attending Catholic services with her family when the 1941 invasion began, setting off bomb blasts, sirens and screams. It ended with her family surrendering their home and eventually carrying the dead...
