Associated Press stories, Page 2237

BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers passed a groundbreaking ban Thursday on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes. The bill would also place a 75% excise tax on vaping products and require health insurers, including the state’s Medicaid program, to cover tobacco cessation counseling. “This nation-leading step...

JERUSALEM — Israel’s attorney general on Thursday formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, throwing the country’s paralyzed political system into further disarray and threatening the long-time leader’s grip on power. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit charged Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Legislature moved closer Wednesday night to settling a yearslong battle over lifting criminal and civil statutes for child sexual abuse crimes in a debate growing out of Roman Catholic Church scandals. The Republican-controlled state Senate voted to dramatically expand statutes of limitation in sexual abuse cases where...

WASHINGTON — Nearly one-quarter of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked MLB to reconsider its proposal for a restructuring of the minor leagues after the 2020 season that would lead to 42 teams — including those in Erie, Williamsport, State College as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates’...

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Mike Babcock and replaced him with Sheldon Keefe. Babcock had a record of 9-10-4 in 2019-20 for the struggling Leafs, who are 0-5-1 in their last six games, including five straight losses in regulation. Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan flew to Arizona...

HARRISBURG — Legislation to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009 passed the state Senate on Wednesday against a deadline to stall Gov. Tom Wolf’s move to substantially expand overtime pay eligibility. The Republican-controlled Senate approved the bill, 42-7, to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage in four steps...

WASHINGTON — The FBI last month requested an interview with the whistleblower whose complaint fueled the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and Ukraine, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday. An agent from the FBI’s Washington field office reached out to the whistleblower’s lawyers last month to seek...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The NCAA cleared forward Gabe Osabuohien to play at West Virginia this season. The Mountaineers said in a release the NCAA approved the junior’s waiver request for immediately eligibility Wednesday. Osabuohien transferred to West Virginia from Arkansas in August, when he was dismissed by Razorbacks coach Eric...

The NCAA cleared heralded freshman James Wiseman to return to the basketball court Jan. 12. Wiseman will sit out a total of 12 games under a decision announced by the NCAA. The sports governing body also announced Wednesday that Wiseman must donate $11,500 to charity of his choice to regain...

HARRISBURG — A lawyer for the agency that investigates misconduct by Pennsylvania lawyers says a yearlong law license suspension is justified against one of the primary prosecutors in Jerry Sandusky’s 2012 child molestation trial. Amelia Kittredge with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel argued Wednesday in favor of the punishment against...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson sat down next to Jeff Gordon at a 2001 driver meeting and asked the champion if he had time to offer any career advice. Gordon was so impressed with the fellow California native that he encouraged Rick Hendrick to start a team built specifically for...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Former Pittsburgh Steeler Le’Veon Bell is throwing a flag on the NFL’s drug testing policy. The New York Jets running back said Wednesday he has been unfairly targeted by the league after taking a fifth test this season for performance enhancers and criticizes the NFL’s policy....

Record throngs of travelers are expected to jam into airports over the Thanksgiving break and airlines are adding hundreds of flights a day in response. The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that it expects to screen more than 26.8 million passengers and airline crew members between Nov. 22 and Dec....

DETROIT — General Motors is suing Fiat Chrysler, alleging that its crosstown rival got an unfair business advantage by bribing officials of the United Auto Workers union. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges that FCA was involved in racketeering by paying millions in bribes to...

Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett says his $10,000 payment after the close of a criminal case should prevent Chicago from seeking reimbursement for a police investigation of his claim that he was a victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Smollett’s attorneys filed a response Tuesday to Chicago’s lawsuit in...

GAINESVILLE — A Georgia police chief says a white 16-year-old girl had collected several kitchen knives and scouted out a mostly black congregation as part of a methodically planned attack on worshippers there. Police say the plot came to light when Gainesville High School students told administrators the girl had...

LYNN, Pa. — Pennsylvania state police say a good Samaritan who stopped to help people involved in a traffic accident was killed and two others were hurt when they were struck by a passing vehicle. The crash on Route 309 in Lynn was reported around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. A car...

FENTON, Mo. — A 78-year-old woman removed her 51-year-old daughter from a nursing home, then fatally stabbed her in a suburban St. Louis hotel before attempting to kill herself, police say. Marjorie Theleman was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of her daughter, Sharon...