Associated Press stories, Page 2241
Vice President Pence to Pope Francis: ‘You made me a hero’Video
VATICAN CITY — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Pope Francis, “You made me a hero” back home by granting him a private audience at the Vatican on Friday. The pontiff and the vice president had a private hour-long conservation. Pence was beaming when the rest of his delegation was...
Agents recover stolen 500-year-old copy of Columbus letter
WILMINGTON, Del. — Federal agents in Delaware have recovered a more than 500-year-old copy of a letter penned by Christopher Columbus that vanished from an Italian library decades ago. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware and Homeland Security investigators, who specialize in the recovery of stolen rare books and historic...
NFL says number of concussions increased slightly in 2019Video
NEW YORK — The NFL said Thursday that the number of concussions players suffered increased slightly this season over 2018. The league said there were 224 reported concussions, 10 more than in 2018. But those totals are way down from the 281 in 2017. “We want to see head contact...
Long lines to get Lamar Jackson’s autograph, picture at Pro BowlVideo
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was signing autographs following Pro Bowl practice Thursday and wrapping up an interview when his sister jumped in with a desperate request. “You have to help mom,” she said. “What’s up?” he asked. “She wants a picture on the field...
‘Bogus’ Ukraine theory led to Trump’s abuse, Democrats tell trialVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic House prosecutors made an expansive case Thursday at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial that he abused power like no other president in history, swept up by a “completely bogus” Ukraine theory pushed by attorney Rudy Giuliani. On Friday, the Democrats will press their final day of arguments before...
Tiger Woods opens with 69 at Torrey North to start new seasonVideo
SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods had his lowest opening round of the year since 2011. It wasn’t enough to be among the leaders Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open, but it was fine with him. Coming off his record-tying 82nd victory in his last PGA Tour start three months ago...
Ex-pharmaceutical exec John Kapoor gets more than 5 years for pushing opioid
BOSTON — The founder of an Arizona pharmaceutical company was ordered to spend 5 1/2 years in prison Thursday for orchestrating a bribery and kickback scheme prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis. John Kapoor, 76, the former chairman of Insys Therapeutics, was sentenced in Boston’s federal court after a...
Robert Morris men easily outpaced by St. Francis Brooklyn
NEW YORK — Chauncey Hawkins and Deniz Celen scored 15 points apiece as St. Francis Brooklyn easily defeated Robert Morris, 78-57, on Thursday night. AJ Bramah had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Colonials (9-11, 5-2 Northeast Conference). Dante Treacy added 13 points. Josh Williams had 10 points. Unique...
3 U.S. firefighters who died in Australia crash identified
SYDNEY — The three American firefighters who were killed when the aerial water tanker they were in crashed while battling wildfires in Australia have been identified by their employer. The men who died Thursday in the crash of the C-130 Hercules were Capt. Ian H. McBeth, 44, of Great Falls,...
Prosecutor: DNA match leads to Florida ‘pillowcase rapist’
MIAMI — A DNA match has led to a Florida man prosecutors suspect is the “pillowcase rapist” responsible for numerous sexual assaults of women in the Miami area during the 1980s. Robert Koehler, 60, was arrested over the weekend in Brevard County and was being held without bond Thursday after...
Two years, four operations later, CiCi Bellis back on Slam stageVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — The worst part might have been the telephone conversation — CiCi Bellis and her mother on one end of the line, a doctor on the other -— to go over the plan for one in a series of operations to rebuild the 20-year-old American tennis player’s right...
Terrell Suggs aiming for Super Bowl after joining Chiefs last monthVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was a moment during practice last week, while the Kansas City Chiefs were prepping for their AFC title game against Tennessee, that caused linebackers coach Matt House to seek out defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. It had to do with pass rusher Terrell Suggs, and it...
Zion Williamson’s exceptional debut provides Pelicans hopeVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Zion Williamson’s sublime 17-point surge in a span of barely more than three minutes could become part of New Orleans’ pro sports lore, even if the final score won’t. For the Pelicans, a narrow loss to a well-coached, savvy San Antonio Spurs team carried far less weight...
Trump administration ends some protections for waterways, aiding developersVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday ended federal protection for many of the nation’s millions of miles of streams, arroyos and wetlands, a sweeping environmental rollback that could leave the waterways more vulnerable to pollution from development, industry and farms. The policy change, signed by heads of the Environmental...
Veteran accuses bank of discrimination for not taking checks
LIVONIA, Mich. — A black Air Force veteran who tried to deposit settlement checks from a discrimination lawsuit was rejected by his suburban Detroit bank, which suspected fraud and called police. After settling a lawsuit with his former employer, Sauntore Thomas now is suing TCF Bank, alleging racial discrimination. “They...
Greek police find 1.25 tons of cannabis hidden in date paste
ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities say they found more than a ton of processed cannabis camouflaged among a shipment of date paste headed by sea from Lebanon to Libya, police said Thursday. A police statement said the drugs were discovered on Jan. 16 in a ship’s container on a freighter...
Pence: Israel PM, election rival invited to U.S. to talk peace
JERUSALEM — Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz would visit the White House to discuss the “prospect of peace” with the Palestinians. The dramatic announcement, made after a meeting with Netanyahu, raised speculation that the White...
Michigan veteran accuses bank of discrimination for not cashing checksVideo
LIVONIA, Mich. — A black Air Force veteran who tried to deposit settlement checks from a discrimination lawsuit was rejected by his suburban Detroit bank, which suspected fraud and called police. After settling a lawsuit with his former employer, Sauntore Thomas now is suing TCF Bank, alleging racial discrimination. “They...
Former Wells Fargo CEO fined $17.5M for sales scandal
NEW YORK — Federal regulators have slapped former Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf with a $17.5 million fine for his role in the bank’s sales practices scandal. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also announced Thursday it was suing five other former Wells Fargo executives for a...
Police: Man kills firefighter who was leaving wife’s home
GRANITE QUARRY, N.C. — A North Carolina man shot and killed a firefighter who stepped outside his estranged wife’s house, then walked inside the home and fatally shot himself after confronting the woman, officials said. The man parked a pickup truck in the driveway and was “lying in wait” Wednesday,...
Deputy uses stun gun to settle a beef between K9 and cow
GEORGETOWN, S.C. — A sheriff’s deputy responding to a burglary call in South Carolina was forced to settle a beef between his K9 and a spooked cow by using a stun gun. Georgetown County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Pleasant Hill community on Wednesday when a K9 that was...
9 parents separated from families return to children in U.S.
LOS ANGELES — As his long-lost son walked toward him in an airport terminal, a sobbing David Xol stretched out his arms, fell to one knee and embraced the boy for about three minutes, crying into his shoulder. He had not held the child since May 2018, when border agents...
Jim Lehrer of the ‘MacNeil-Lehrer Report’ dies at 85Video
NEW YORK — Jim Lehrer, co-host and later host of the nightly PBS “NewsHour” that for decades offered a thoughtful take on current events, has died, PBS said Thursday. He was 85. Lehner died “peacefully in his sleep,” according to PBS. He had suffered a heart attack in 1983 and...
Pa. GOP House speaker Mike Turzai to retire after 3 terms
Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai will not run for reelection, the Republican announced Thursday, ending the career of a conservative force in state government in a critical year when Democrats are aiming to take control of the chamber. Turzai, 60, made the announcement at a news conference at his office...
Trump to attend anti-abortion rally in WashingtonVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump will become the first president to attend the annual anti-abortion gathering in Washington called the March for Life. Trump has made it a priority to embrace social conservatives, particularly on the issue of abortion. In past years, he has sent members...
