Associated Press stories, Page 2385
WeWork cuts nearly 20% of workforce in restructuring effort
NEW YORK — WeWork is slashing nearly 20% of its workforce, embarking on a painful restructuring of its money-losing operation that doomed its stock market debut and left the office-sharing company on the brink of bankruptcy. WeWork said it has laid off 2,400 of its approximately 12,500 employees to “create...
Pennsylvanians to get more time on sex abuse charges, suits
HARRISBURG — The state where a grand jury’s groundbreaking report set off a new wave of reckoning over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church passed legislation Thursday giving victims more time to sue and police more time to file charges. The Pennsylvania House sent the statute-of-limitations bill to Democratic...
Utah woman fights charges after stepkids see her topless at home
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah woman charged with a crime after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home is fighting the case that could force her to register as a sex offender, pointing to a court ruling that overturned a topless ban in Colorado and helped fuel...
Man shot by police in struggle on Las Vegas airport tarmac
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas police shot a man who fought with officers, including one who was knocked unconscious, before dawn Thursday on the tarmac near a terminal at McCarran International Airport, authorities said. The wounded intruder and the injured officer were hospitalized after the incident about 4 a.m. in...
Glitch in Medicare drug plan finder could cost consumers
WASHINGTON — A glitch in Medicare’s revamped prescription plan finder can steer unwitting seniors to coverage that costs much more than they need to pay, according to people who help with sign-ups as well as program experts. Serving some 60 million Medicare recipients, the plan finder is the most commonly...
North Pole’s ‘Christmas in Ice’ canceled amid lack of ice
Seasonal ice park officials in Alaska are missing a crucial ingredient announcing a Christmas-themed park has closed amid lack of ice in North Pole. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Wednesday that Executive Director Keith Fye says the annual ice park called Christmas in Ice was canceled for the first time...
Country star Sam Hunt arrested for DUI in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country singer Sam Hunt was arrested for driving under the influence and violation of the open container law after police in Nashville stopped him for driving the wrong way down a one-way road. Hunt was arrested Thursday morning, booked into jail and released on $2,500 bond, according...
U.S. home sales rose 1.9% in October, lifted by lower rates
WASHINGTON — Americans took advantage of lower mortgage rates and purchased more homes in October, though sales were held back by a shortage of available properties. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of existing homes rose 1.9% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46...
Judge temporarily stops 1st federal executions since 2003
WASHINGTON — A judge has temporarily halted the first federal executions in 16 years as a lawsuit on how the government intends to carry them out continues. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said in a Wednesday evening ruling that the public is not served by “short-circuiting” legitimate judicial process....
Aide says ambassador on ‘political errand’ for Trump
WASHINGTON — In riveting testimony, a former national security official declared Thursday that a U.S. ambassador carried out a controversial “domestic political errand” for Donald Trump on Ukraine, an allegation undercutting a main line of the president’s defense in the impeachment inquiry. Fiona Hill told House investigators she came to...
Massachusetts OKs ban on flavored vaping, tobacco products
BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers passed a groundbreaking ban Thursday on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes. The bill would also place a 75% excise tax on vaping products and require health insurers, including the state’s Medicaid program, to cover tobacco cessation counseling. “This nation-leading step...
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu charged in corruption cases
JERUSALEM — Israel’s attorney general on Thursday formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, throwing the country’s paralyzed political system into further disarray and threatening the long-time leader’s grip on power. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit charged Netanyahu with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes...
Pennsylvania lawmakers near finish on church scandal bills
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Legislature moved closer Wednesday night to settling a yearslong battle over lifting criminal and civil statutes for child sexual abuse crimes in a debate growing out of Roman Catholic Church scandals. The Republican-controlled state Senate voted to dramatically expand statutes of limitation in sexual abuse cases where...
Pirates affiliate 1 of 42 minor league teams in danger of being dropped
WASHINGTON — Nearly one-quarter of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked MLB to reconsider its proposal for a restructuring of the minor leagues after the 2020 season that would lead to 42 teams — including those in Erie, Williamsport, State College as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates’...
Underperforming Maple Leafs fire coach Mike Babcock
TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Mike Babcock and replaced him with Sheldon Keefe. Babcock had a record of 9-10-4 in 2019-20 for the struggling Leafs, who are 0-5-1 in their last six games, including five straight losses in regulation. Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan flew to Arizona...
Defense Official: Ukraine asked about aid on day of Trump callVideo
WASHINGTON — In a blow to GOP defenses of President Donald Trump, a Defense Department official said Wednesday the Ukrainian government asked “what was going on” with U.S. military aid as early as July 25 — the very day that Trump asked Ukraine’s president to investigate Democrats. Testifying in an...
Senate sends fight over Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to House
HARRISBURG — Legislation to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009 passed the state Senate on Wednesday against a deadline to stall Gov. Tom Wolf’s move to substantially expand overtime pay eligibility. The Republican-controlled Senate approved the bill, 42-7, to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage in four steps...
AP source: FBI has asked for interview with whistleblower
WASHINGTON — The FBI last month requested an interview with the whistleblower whose complaint fueled the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and Ukraine, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday. An agent from the FBI’s Washington field office reached out to the whistleblower’s lawyers last month to seek...
West Virginia’s Gabe Osabuohien cleared to play by NCAA
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The NCAA cleared forward Gabe Osabuohien to play at West Virginia this season. The Mountaineers said in a release the NCAA approved the junior’s waiver request for immediately eligibility Wednesday. Osabuohien transferred to West Virginia from Arkansas in August, when he was dismissed by Razorbacks coach Eric...
NCAA gives Memphis freshman James Wiseman 11-game ban
The NCAA cleared heralded freshman James Wiseman to return to the basketball court Jan. 12. Wiseman will sit out a total of 12 games under a decision announced by the NCAA. The sports governing body also announced Wednesday that Wiseman must donate $11,500 to charity of his choice to regain...
Court ponders discipline against Penn State case prosecutor Frank Fina
HARRISBURG — A lawyer for the agency that investigates misconduct by Pennsylvania lawyers says a yearlong law license suspension is justified against one of the primary prosecutors in Jerry Sandusky’s 2012 child molestation trial. Amelia Kittredge with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel argued Wednesday in favor of the punishment against...
Browns’ Myles Garrett attends appeal hearing for NFL suspensionVideo
CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett looked composed and casual, a stark contrast to the last time he was seen in public. Dressed in a bright blue suit and black turtleneck, the Cleveland Browns star defensive end met Wednesday with an appeals officer in New York in hopes of getting a reduction...
Jewish group condemns Nazi auction in GermanyVideo
BERLIN — A Jewish group condemned an auction of Nazi memorabilia in Germany on Wednesday that included items such as Adolf Hitler’s top hat, a silver-plated edition of his book “Mein Kampf” and a black cocktail dress owned by his long-time partner Eva Braun. “It’s wrong to make money off...
7-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson to retire after 2020
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson sat down next to Jeff Gordon at a 2001 driver meeting and asked the champion if he had time to offer any career advice. Gordon was so impressed with the fellow California native that he encouraged Rick Hendrick to start a team built specifically for...
Jets’ Le’Veon Bell rips NFL for ‘random’ 5th HGH test
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Former Pittsburgh Steeler Le’Veon Bell is throwing a flag on the NFL’s drug testing policy. The New York Jets running back said Wednesday he has been unfairly targeted by the league after taking a fifth test this season for performance enhancers and criticizes the NFL’s policy....
