Associated Press stories, Page 2382
Gibraltar releases Iran supertanker that US sought to seize
MADRID — Gibraltar on Thursday allowed a detained Iranian supertanker to leave the British overseas territory despite a last-minute U.S. attempt to seize the vessel, potentially defusing tensions between London and Tehran as a British-flagged tanker remains held by the Islamic Republic. The release of the Grace 1 comes amid...
Trump nominates law professor for judicial vacancy
RALEIGH, N.C. — President Donald Trump has nominated a law professor who previously worked as a prosecutor, defense attorney and journalist to fill the nation’s longest federal judiciary vacancy. Trump nominated Richard E. Myers on Wednesday to be a federal judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Raleigh lawyer...
Michael Avenatti blames arrest on ‘vindictive’ prosecutors
NEW YORK — Lawyer Michael Avenatti wants a judge to dismiss criminal charges alleging he extorted Nike, and he’s blaming his arrest on what he calls “vindictive” prosecutors. Avenatti’s attorneys filed papers Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to extort up to...
Authorities: Woman pulls gator from pants during stop – Aug. 15, 2019
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Officials say a Florida woman who pulled a small alligator from her yoga pants during a traffic stop and illegally possessed numerous other wild animals has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to four charges. Florida prosecutors say a Charlotte County sheriff’s deputy stopped a...
U.S. long-term mortgage rates stay near historic lows
WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates remained near historically low levels this week against a backdrop of volatile financial markets around the globe. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the benchmark 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.60%, its lowest level since November 2016. A year ago the...
Man who fell 15 feet in Ohio says dog saved him
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — A man in Ohio is crediting his dog for saving him after the man suffered a bad fall. WSAZ-TV reports Jimmy Hale fell off a flood wall in Portsmouth last week while walking his dog Taco. Hale ended up passing out after falling 15 feet and didn’t...
U.S. industrial output fell 0.2% in July as factories struggle
WASHINGTON — U.S. industrial production fell 0.2% in July, as factory activity slumped in a worrisome sign for the economy. The Federal Reserve said Thursday that the overall decline was caused primarily by a 0.4% drop last month in manufacturing production. Output decreased for autos, fabricated metals, wood products, textiles...
Report: Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee seamstresses harassed, abused
Women sewing blue jeans for Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee and The Children’s Place faced sexual harassment and gender-based violence and some were coerced into having sex with supervisors to keep their jobs in African factories, labor rights groups say. In response to the revelations, the brands have agreed to bring in...
Coast Guard finds 43 bales of pot floating off California
AVALON, Calif. — Authorities have found 1,300 pounds of plastic-wrapped marijuana floating in the ocean near Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. The Daily News reports Wednesday that the U.S. Coast Guard acting on a tip discovered 43 bales of pot worth about $1 million. The marijuana was...
Judge: Georgia must scrap old voting machines after 2019
ATLANTA — A federal judge on Thursday ordered Georgia to stop using its outdated voting machines after this year and to be ready with hand-marked paper ballots if its new system isn’t in place for the presidential primaries. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg’s 153-page ruling Thursday is not a complete...
Jake Gyllenhaal attributes conquering fear to Oscar-winning docVideo
Few performances are as daunting as the one-person play. That’s why Jake Gyllenhaal had to find a way to conquer that fear when he took on the role of Abe in the second half of “Sea Wall/A Life.” “Before I did it, I was terrified,” Gyllenhaal said of “A Life,”...
Philadelphia gunman identified after hourslong standoff
PHILADELPHIA — An hourslong standoff where a gunman shot at police, wounding six of them, as he was barricaded inside a Philadelphia home somehow ended with no fatalities. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who spent hours Wednesday negotiating with the gunman through the phone, said the situation that unfolded “could...
Aretha Franklin’s cancer doctors recall her grace, gritVideo
Regardless of her reputation as a performer, Aretha Franklin ‘s cancer doctors say she was no diva as a patient. As the anniversary of her death approaches, two of her doctors tell The Associated Press that the Queen of Soul handled the diagnosis and treatment with grace — and the...
High-end bling: Tiffany launching men’s jewelry collection
NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co. is launching its first comprehensive jewelry collection for men in October as the upscale chain taps into a trend popularized by the likes of Jay-Z and John Mayer. The move, announced Thursday, is part of the Tiffany’s strategy to attract millennials and pump up...
Michigan governor: Civil rights director should resign over comments
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that the state’s civil rights director should resign or be fired after he made inappropriate, offensive comments about women. Whitmer, who does not have the power to dismiss Agustin Arbulu, said she will no longer let him attend Cabinet meetings and...
Epstein’s Caribbean islands drawing tourists after his death
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — Jeffrey Epstein’s armed guards and the sharp rocks that lie beneath the turquoise waters glistening around his Caribbean island have long deterred boaters from the area, but curiosity has overcome concern since the financier apparently killed himself in jail as he awaited trial in...
Pirates can’t maintain strong start in loss to AngelsVideo
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols doesn’t want to talk about his growing list of accomplishments until his career comes to an end. That leaves the task to the rest of baseball, and they are running out of ways to describe Pujols’ illustrious time in the game....
Iowa Rep. Steve King suggests rapes, incest helped populate the worldVideo
DES MOINES — U.S. Rep. Steve King on Wednesday defended his call for a ban on all abortions by questioning whether “there would be any population of the world left” if not for births because of rape and incest. Speaking before a conservative group in the Des Moines suburb of...
Indians get different results by keeping routine the same
CLEVELAND — The Indians clubhouse is buzzing with activity about three hours before a three-game series opener against the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, whose season could be over by October. For a stretch, Cleveland’s postseason plans were in serious doubt. As players kill time before the first...
Jets’ Le’Veon Bell wants to be No. 1 on field, in rap gameVideo
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Le’Veon Bell was in fifth grade when he couldn’t shake music from his mind. The creative beats. The grooving basslines. The raw lyrics. He was hooked on it all, just like football. “That’s when I really realized I loved music,” the former Steelers standout said. “I...
Philadelphia gunman in custody after hourslong standoff; 6 officers woundedVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A gunman who opened fire on police Wednesday as they were serving a drug warrant in Philadelphia, wounding six officers and triggering a standoff that extended into the night, is in police custody, authorities said. Philadelphia police Sgt. Eric Gripp said early Thursday morning that the man was...
Florida man arrested for threatening neighbors with nunchucks, hits himself with them
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Police say they’ve arrested a Florida man who’s accused of threatening his neighbors with nunchucks and bug spray before cutting his own head when he accidently hit himself with the weapon. Daytona Beach police spokesman Messod Bendayan says 61-year-old Larry Adams complained about his neighbor’s loud...
Tiger Woods needs good week, good health to reach Tour Championship
MEDINAH, Ill. — The course is familiar to Tiger Woods. The circumstances are not. Medinah is where Woods buried that 8-foot par putt on the 17th hole in 1999 to win the PGA Championship for the first time by holding off teenage Sergio Garcia. He returned to Medinah in 2006...
Dow plunges as bond market flashes recession warning for first time since 2007Video
NEW YORK —The threat of a recession doesn’t seem so remote anymore for investors in financial markets. The yield on the closely watched 10-year Treasury fell so low Wednesday that, for the first time since 2007, it briefly crossed a threshold that has correctly predicted many past recessions. Weak economic...
Trump official: Statue of Liberty’s poem is about Europeans
A top Trump administration official says the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty, welcoming “huddled masses” of immigrants to American shores, was referring to “people coming from Europe” and that the nation is looking to receive migrants “who can stand on their own two feet.” The comments on Tuesday...
