Associated Press stories, Page 2349
Music starts for Earthlings around Area 51 events in NevadaVideo
HIKO, Nev. — Sound checks echoed from a distant main stage while Daniel Martinez whirled and danced at dusty makeshift festival grounds just after sunset in Rachel, the Nevada town closest to the once-secret Area 51 military base. Martinez’s muse was the thumping beat from a satellite set-up pumping a...
From Australia to Europe, climate protesters hit the streetsVideo
BERLIN — Hundreds of thousands of protesters in Australia, many of them children who skipped school, kicked off a day of demonstrations around the world against climate change in the run-up to a U.N. summit in New York. Rallies to open the “Global Climate Strike” took place on Friday in...
Trump administration blocks ‘urgent’ whistleblower disclosure
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plunged into an extraordinary showdown with Congress over access to a whistleblower’s complaint about reported incidents including a private conversation between President Donald Trump and a foreign leader. The blocked complaint is “serious” and “urgent,” the government’s intelligence watchdog said. The administration is keeping Congress...
Moving plants indoors for winter? Ease them into it gently
Moving houseplants indoors with the onset of cold weather is not your typical furniture-shifting exercise. It requires planning, since houseplants for the most part are tender tropicals and need time to acclimate to a changed growing environment. “Bring them in over a two-week period,” said Kate Karam, editorial director for...
AP Explains: Brownface part of racist face makeup history
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The scandal surrounding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after a yearbook photo showing him in brownface at a 2001 costume party was published is bringing attention to a practice that scholars say white people have been using for years to demean minorities. In the picture, the then-29-year-old...
More than 1,000 rescues, evacuations as Imelda soaks TexasVideo
CHINA, Texas — The slow-churning remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda dangerously flooded parts of Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, scrambling rescue crews and volunteers with boats to reach scores of stranded drivers and families trapped in their homes during a relentless downpour that drew comparisons to Hurricane Harvey two years...
UNC-Duke program too positive on Islam, Trump officials say
The Trump administration is threatening to cut funding for a Middle East studies program run by the University of North Carolina and Duke University, arguing that it’s misusing a federal grant to advance “ideological priorities” and unfairly promote “the positive aspects of Islam” but not Christianity or Judaism. An Aug....
Salary cap economics squeezing out NHL’s middle class
Stanley Cup-winning experience isn’t worth what it used to be. Neither is experience of any kind. As NHL teams move toward paying their stars more money and relying on young players to fill the gaps, hockey’s middle class is being squeezed out. Veterans like 2018 Washington Capitals playoff hero Devante...
Pirates’ skid hits 6 in a row with 11-inning loss to MarinersVideo
The Seattle Mariners are on their way to finishing at the bottom of the AL West, but they plan to do more than merely play out the string over the final two weeks. “We’ve got a lot of young guys who are trying to make an impression,” manager Scott Servais...
Colt suspends production of AR-15 for civilian market
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Gun-maker Colt is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15, the company said Thursday in a shift it attributed to changes in consumer demand and a market already saturated with similar weapons. The company said it will focus instead on...
‘Middle of the herd’ no more: Amazon tackles climate change
NEW YORK — Online shopping giant Amazon revealed a carbon footprint Thursday that rivals that of a small country and vowed to reduce the damage to the planet by cutting its use of fossil fuels. The company, which ships more than a 10 billion items a year on fuel-guzzling planes...
House chairman Adam Schiff: Whistleblower complaint may involve TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence is refusing to turn over to Congress a whistleblower complaint that reportedly concerns Trump making an unspecified promise to a foreign leader. It’s a matter of urgent concern, the intelligence community’s inspector general said. Trump, though giving no details about any...
House OKs measure to prevent possible end-of-month shutdown
WASHINGTON — The House has passed a short-term ending bill to prevent a federal shutdown when the budget year ends Sept. 30. The bipartisan measure, approved by a 301-123 vote, would give lawmakers until the Thanksgiving break to negotiate and pass $1.4 trillion worth of annual agency spending bills. The...
Walgreens, Google affiliate to launch drone delivery test
Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish Crackers or gummy bears as well as aspirin for sick kids will be delivered starting next month in Christiansburg, Virginia, by a 10-pound drone flying as...
Airbnb says it will go public in 2020
Airbnb Inc. said Thursday it plans to go public in 2020, a long-awaited move by the home-sharing company that is both loved and reviled for its disruption of the accommodation sector. Airbnb disclosed the news in a brief statement. It didn’t give a target date for the initial public offering...
Where have the wild birds gone? 3 billion fewer than 1970
WASHINGTON — North America’s skies are lonelier and quieter as nearly 3 billion fewer wild birds soar in the air than in 1970, a comprehensive study shows. The new study focuses on the drop in sheer numbers of birds, not extinctions. The bird population in the United States and Canada...
Bill to increase fine for misusing animal traps passes House
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is giving its unanimous approval to toughening penalties for using body-gripping animal traps outside of the waterways for which they’re designed. Lawmakers voted Thursday to send the bill to the state Senate for its consideration. Backers argue the larger penalties may help deter people from...
Trump sues Manhattan DA seeking to block tax return subpoena
NEW YORK — President Trump asked a federal court Thursday to block an effort by New York prosecutors to obtain his tax returns as part of a criminal investigation, opening another front in the president’s efforts to keep his financial information private. Trump’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against Manhattan District...
AP: Age-bias claims cost Pennsylvania $225K
HARRISBURG — Eighteen agents who investigate violent gun crimes for the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office each cashed $12,500 taxpayer-funded checks last year to settle claims they had been subject to harassment because of their age, The Associated Press has learned. The agency this week disclosed the payments to the current...
Possible ‘Storm Area 51’ crowds worry Nevada desert towns
LAS VEGAS — Visitors descending on the remote Nevada desert for “Storm Area 51” are from Earth, not outer space. No one knows what to expect, but the two tiny towns of Rachel and Hiko near the once-secret military research site are preparing for an influx of people over the...
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant’s shutdown is imminent
HARRISBURG — The final shutdown of Three Mile Island, where 1979’s terrifying partial meltdown became a landmark event in the life cycle of nuclear power in the United States, is imminent. Exelon Corp. officials said the plant will stop producing electricity around noon Friday, following through on a decision the...
U.S. takes back $100M from Afghan government over corruption
KABUL, Afghanistan — Washington is taking back $100 million intended for an Afghan energy infrastructure project, citing unacceptably high levels of corruption in the Afghan government, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday in a harshly worded statement. The U.S. will still finish the massive project, Pompeo said, which...
Key Senate panel approves $250 million for election security
WASHINGTON — A key Senate panel on Thursday approved $250 million to help states beef up their election systems, freeing up the money after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came under criticism from Democrats for impeding separate election security legislation. The Kentucky Republican announced in a floor speech in advance...
Will Billy Porter make Emmy history with best actor win?
LOS ANGELES — Despite the dominance of some shows — “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” — over the past several years, Emmy history could be made Sunday night by a newcomer. Pittsburgh native and Carnegie Mellon University graduate Billy Porter is up for best actor in a drama. If he...
Canada’s Justin Trudeau faces furor over brownface photo from 2001
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign moved to contain a growing scandal Thursday after a yearbook photo surfaced of him in brownface at a 2001 “Arabian Nights” costume party and two other similar incidents came to light. With the election a month away, he apologized and begged Canadians to...
