Associated Press stories, Page 2321
Pompeo heads to Ukraine next week as impeachment winds down
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine next week, making his first trip to the country at the heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. As Trump’s Senate trial on impeachment charges continues, the State Department announced Friday that Pompeo would travel to Kiev as part of a...
Pentagon: 34 U.S. troops had brain injuries from Iran’s strike
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Friday that 34 U.S. troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries suffered in this month’s Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base, and that half of the troops have returned to their military duties. Seventeen of the 34 are still under medical observation, according...
Ewan McGregor says ‘Star Wars’ TV series still on despite reports
LOS ANGELES — Ewan McGregor says any delay in completing work on in his new Obi-Wan Kenobi “Star Wars” streaming series will be brief and is aimed at making it better. McGregor addressed trade reports that the Disney Plus series had been placed on hold at an event Thursday promoting...
China expands lockdown against virus, fast-tracks hospital
BEIJING — China expanded its lockdown against the deadly new virus to an unprecedented 36 million people and rushed to build a prefabricated, 1,000-bed hospital for victims Friday as the outbreak cast a pall over Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest and most festive holiday. The number of confirmed cases...
Taylor Swift shakes Sundance with revealing documentary
The normally private Taylor Swift premiered an intimate documentary Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival in which the pop star discloses a past eating disorder, chronicles her inner battle over speaking forthrightly about politics and says her victorious 2017 sexual assault court case was a dramatic turning point in her...
Iraqis rally against U.S. troops, demanding they leave
BAGHDAD — Waving national flags and banners denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump, tens of thousands of Iraqis marched peacefully through Baghdad on Friday to demand the ouster of U.S. troops from their country in a protest organized by a populist Shiite cleric. The show of force by followers of Muqtada...
Trump administration picks a new leader for U.S. Border Patrol
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has named a new head of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rodney Scott will take over for Carla Provost, who is retiring, according to an announcement obtained Friday by The Associated Press from Mark Morgan, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott has been...
Gov. Wolf to seek school construction aid amid health issues
HARRISBURG — With budget season approaching, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is developing a plan to help deal with aging school buildings plagued by environmental problems, including lead paint and asbestos insulation, his office said. Wolf must deliver a budget proposal to the Legislature on Feb. 4, and lawmakers who are...
Chicago woman becomes 2nd U.S. case of new virus from ChinaVideo
WASHINGTON — A Chicago woman has become the second U.S. patient diagnosed with the new pneumonia-like virus from China, health officials announced Friday. The woman in her 60s returned from China on Jan. 13 without showing any signs of illness, but a few days later she called her doctor to...
Trump administration changes gears on fuel economy requirements
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is making a concession on its proposed minimum fuel economy requirement for new vehicles, but environmental groups and a key Democratic senator complain it does not go far enough, and still falls well below the requirements set under the Obama administration. Fuel economy standards would...
Convicted NYC bomber gets life term for New Jersey shootout
ELIZABETH, N.J. — An Afghan-born U.S. citizen already serving life in prison for a bombing in New York City was sentenced Friday to an additional life term for a shootout with police in New Jersey as he attempted to avoid arrest in 2016. State Superior Court Judge John Deitch sentenced...
Youth served: Gauff wins, Serena loses at Australian OpenVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Perhaps Serena Williams, now 38, will win a 24th Grand Slam title someday. And maybe Coco Gauff, still just 15, never will earn her first major championship. Sure felt, though, as if a generational shift was being signaled Friday at the Australian Open, with a pair of...
6 killed in Germany shooting, suspect arrested
BERLIN — Six people have been killed and several were injured in a shooting in the southwestern German town of Rot am See, police said Friday. A suspect has been arrested and no further suspects are believed to be at large, Aalen police said. “According to my information, there were...
2 killed, 20 injured when warehouse explosion shakes HoustonVideo
HOUSTON — A massive explosion Friday leveled a warehouse in Houston, killing two workers, damaging nearby buildings and homes and rousing frightened residents from their sleep miles away, authorities said. The explosion happened about 4:30 a.m. inside a building at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, which makes valves and provides thermal-spray...
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...
