Associated Press stories, Page 2249
AP sources: FBI to keep states in loop on election breaches
WASHINGTON — The FBI, in a change of policy, is committing to inform state officials if local election systems have been breached, federal officials told The Associated Press. In the past, the FBI would alert local governments about attacks on their electoral systems without automatically sharing that information with the...
FBI arrests 3 white supremacists ahead of pro-gun rally in Virginia
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — FBI agents on Thursday arrested a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist and two other men who are linked to a violent white supremacist group and were believed to be heading to a pro-gun rally next week in Virginia’s capital. The three men are members of The...
Group finds aircraft approval process safe, despite Boeing crashes
A government committee asked to review U.S. approval of new passenger planes after two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max has found that the system is safe and effective but could be improved. The committee differed sharply with legislators who are investigating Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, which...
Microsoft: ‘carbon-negative’ by 2030, even for supply chain
Microsoft is pledging to become 100% “carbon-negative” by 2030 by removing more carbon from the environment than it emits. CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday that the commitment will happen “not just across our direct emissions, but across our supply chain, too.” It’s a major step up from Microsoft’s previous green...
Russia’s new PM a career bureaucrat with no political aims
MOSCOW — Mikhail Mishustin never had any political ambitions as a career bureaucrat and his name didn’t come up as a top candidate to become Russia’s next prime minister. But the 53-year-old Mishustin, the longtime chief of Russia’s tax service, was tapped for the post by President Vladimir Putin. The...
Retail trade group says 2019 holiday sales rose 4.1%
NEW YORK — The nation’s largest retail trade group says holiday sales increased 4.1%, the top end of its forecast. The National Retail Federation had expected growth in a range of 3.8% to 4.2% for the November and December period. The growth is nearly double the 2.1% growth seen during...
Nations of Iran crash victims seek compensation for families
LONDON — The governments of five countries that lost citizens when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner demanded Thursday that Tehran accept “full responsibility” and pay compensation to the victims’ families — though they had little to offer besides moral pressure to get Iran to comply. After a meeting in...
Police: Suspended student stabs 2 classmates at Texas school
ABILENE, Texas — A recently suspended Texas high school student stabbed two of his classmates Thursday morning before fleeing campus, officials said. Police arrested the student about 30 minutes after the 8 a.m. attack at Abilene High School, police spokesman Rick Tomlin told KTXS-TV. Medics took both victims to a...
Muslim millennial’s site dispels stereotypes for millions
Today she travels the world, attends a red-carpet movie premiere and sits on panels with astronauts, former presidents and feminist icons. But in the years after 9/11, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh was just a New Jersey teenager, writing a blog from her bedroom. She used the blog to connect with other young...
7 killed, 14 tortured in Panama exorcism terror rituals
PANAMA CITY — Prosecutors in Panama said Thursday they have found the corpses of six children and one adult in a clandestine burial pit where a religious sect was found torturing indigenous people in exorcism rituals. Prosecutors said the dead minors found in the pit ranged in age from one...
Prince Harry takes on 1st duties since royal crisis talksVideo
LONDON — Prince Harry went back to work Thursday, mixing with children playing rugby and offering no hint of the days of turmoil that followed his recent announcement that he wished to step back from royal duties and become financially independent. It was a fairly standard event for Harry, who...
Chief justice, senators sworn in for Trump impeachmentVideo
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in Thursday to preside over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, then immediately administered the oath to the full Senate to ensure “impartial justice” as jurors for only the third such proceeding in American. history. Roberts made the short trip across the street...
Watchdog: White House violated law in freezing Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law in holding...
Demi Lovato to sing national anthem at Super Bowl
NEW YORK — Grammy-nominated pop singer Demi Lovato will perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl. NFL and Fox on Thursday announced the performance, which will take place ahead of the big game on Feb. 2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will headline the...
Rare video shows 5 mountain lions together in CaliforniaVideo
JACKSON, Calif. — Five California mountain lions were seen together on home surveillance video in a rare gathering of the notoriously solitary big cats. The footage was recorded at a rural residence at the edge of the El Dorado National Forest east of Sacramento, KTXL-TV reported Wednesday. “We shared the...
Senate expected to give Trump back-to-back trade victories
WASHINGTON — One day after signing a new trade deal with China, President Donald Trump is expected to get more good news on his trade agenda as the Senate considers a new North American pact. The House has already overwhelmingly approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The Senate is expected to...
Wrestler Rocky Johnson, Dwayne Johnson’s father, dead at 75
Rocky “Soulman” Johnson, a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler who became better known as the father of actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has died. He was 75. WWE issued a statement on Johnson’s death Wednesday night. Johnson and Tony Atlas became the first black world tag team champions in WWE...
Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas says Trump had knowledge of Ukraine pressureVideo
WASHINGTON — A close associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer says he delivered an ultimatum in May to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior U.S. officials would attend his inauguration and all American aid to the war-torn country would be withheld if an investigation into Joe Biden...
Cardinals WR, former Pitt star Larry Fitzgerald returning for 2020Video
TEMPE, Arizona — Larry Fitzgerald didn’t keep the Arizona Cardinals waiting for long. One of the most productive wide receivers in NFL history isn’t done yet, returning for his 17th season with the franchise that drafted him in 2004. After some speculation that the popular 36-year-old Fitzgerald might finally retire,...
LSU probing Odell Beckham’s apparent on-field payments to playersVideo
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU has contacted officials from the NCAA and SEC about Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s apparent cash payments to Tigers players on the field after the national championship game, a university spokesman said. LSU athletics spokesman Michael Bonnette said initial information suggested that Beckham handed...
House leaders march Trump impeachment articles to the SenateVideo
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic procession across the U.S. Capitol, Democratic House leaders marched the formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate late Wednesday, setting the stage for only the third trial to remove a president in American history. Trump complained anew it was all a...
Astronaut completes spacewalk without helmet camera, lights
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts had to make do with fewer lights and camera views from one helmet Wednesday while performing critical battery work outside the International Space Station. It was the second pairing of NASA’s Jessica Meir and Christina Koch outside the orbiting lab. In October, they teamed...
Pennsylvania House votes to stop drivers’ use of hand-held phones
HARRISBURG — A divided Pennsylvania House voted Wednesday to ban the use of hand-held phones for all drivers to make calls, although police would not be allowed to stop motorists for that reason alone. Representatives voted 120-74 for the proposal that would expand current law, which bans any texting and...
Virgin Islands suit alleges decades-long abuse by Jeffery Epstein
HAVANA — A lawsuit filed by prosecutors in the Virgin Islands says multimillionaire sex offender Jeffery Epstein used two private islands in the U.S. territory to engage in a nearly two-decade conspiracy to traffic and abuse girls. At one point, the suit filed Wednesday alleges, Epstein and associates organized a...
Fever chart: Earth had its hottest decade on record in 2010sVideo
WASHINGTON — The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, two U.S. agencies reported Wednesday. And scientists said they see no end to the way man-made climate change keeps shattering records. “If you think you’ve heard...
