Associated Press stories, Page 2399
JGR driver Erik Jones overcomes slow start to inch into playoff contention
LONG POND — Erik Jones started the season on the hot seat for Joe Gibbs Racing. Now, 21 races into the season, he is on a hot streak for the best team in NASCAR and making an easy case for a new contract. With five races left before NASCAR sets...
Florida day care raided, 1 arrest in pornography probe
MIAMI — Law enforcement officials have raided a Florida day care center and arrested one man during a child pornography investigation. Homeland Security Investigations spokesman Nestor Iglesias says the Monday morning raid of Little Seeds Academy in Miami was tied to a search warrant seeking evidence such as computers, cellphones...
9 hurt after roof collapses at Houston construction site
HOUSTON — The Houston Fire Department says nine workers were taken to hospitals after they were injured when part of the roof of a building under construction collapsed. Firefighters responded to the roof collapse Monday morning at a hotel under construction north of downtown Houston. Video from local TV stations...
PBS adds George W. Bush documentary to its president series
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A documentary about the life and political career of former President George W. Bush is coming to PBS stations next year. The two-part documentary, titled “W,” will include interviews with historians, journalists and inner-circle members. Among them: Bush’s chiefs of staff, press secretary Ari Fleischer and...
Gov. Wolf: 200K Pennsylvanians jeopardized by Trump’s food stamps move
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf is warning that food stamp benefits for about 200,000 people are jeopardized by a Trump administration move to stop allowing states to exceed federal income eligibility thresholds. Wolf said Monday that such a change would primarily affect the elderly, the disabled and lower-income families. He...
5 governors, including Wolf, push presidential candidates to aid Great Lakes
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Five Democratic governors of states in the Great Lakes region Monday urged the candidates in next year’s presidential election to support a plan for safeguarding their shared waters by boosting federal spending on treatment plants and environmental cleanups. Led by Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, the governors...
At least 52 dead in Brazil prison riot, 16 decapitated
RIO DE JANEIRO — At least 52 prisoners were killed by other inmates Monday during clashes between organized crime groups at the Altamira prison in northern Brazil, according to prison officials. Para state prison authorities said 16 of the victims were decapitated while others were asphyxiated. The count of victims...
Missing Alabama woman’s body found at bottom of a well
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A body believed to be that of a missing Alabama woman has been found at the bottom of a well, and two men have been charged in her death. News outlets report Tuscaloosa County workers acting on a tip recovered a body tentatively identified as 20-year-old Marka...
TSA: Man checked missile launcher in luggage at BWI
BALTIMORE — Federal officials say they’ve found a missile launcher in a man’s luggage at the airport in Baltimore. The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement that the military grade weapon was located in the man’s checked luggage at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. TSA officers called airport police...
Frenchman dies in Rome after falling onto banks of Tiber
ROME — Italian police say a 19-year-old French tourist died early Monday after falling onto the cement banks along the Tiber river in Rome. The Carabinieri paramilitary police say the teenager had left a pub with two friends when he attempted to get on a parapet bordering the Tiber in...
Lightning give goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy 8-year, $76 million extension
TAMPA, Fla. — Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has signed an eight-year, $76 million contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team announced the deal — worth an average of $9.5 million per season — with the Vezina Trophy winner on Monday. Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois says...
Pennsylvania teen wins $3 million as Fortnite world champ
NEW YORK — All those hours playing video games have paid off for a 16-year-old. Kyle Giersdorf of Pottsgrove racked up the most points and won $3 million as the first Fortnite World Cup solo champion. The competition took place Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Giersdorf says...
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz says he’s glad to be home
BOSTON — Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz says he is glad to be home with family after a botched assassination attempt in his native Dominican Republic. More than seven weeks after he was shot, Ortiz said on Instagram in his first public comments, “Being at home and look at...
Trump signs Sept. 11 victims’ compensation fund extensionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday signed a bill ensuring that a victims’ compensation fund related to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks never runs out of money, ending years of legislative gridlock as the number of first responders dying of Ground Zero-related illnesses mounted. Appearing in the Rose Garden with...
New York cuts penalties for marijuana possession
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s governor signed a bill Monday that softens penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana and allows for the expungement of some past convictions. The legislation signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo makes unlawful possession of marijuana a violation. The penalty is $50 for possessing...
Officer hurt in shootout in popular tourist area in Arkansas
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — A man who was seen “pumping a gun” in a busy tourist area in Arkansas was critically wounded in a shootout with police, authorities said. Hot Springs police said several people called 911 to report a man walking along Bathhouse Row while carrying a long gun...
Kathy Griffin still working and hustling after Trump photo
NEW YORK — Kathy Griffin says two days into the fallout of her 2017 photo posing with a fake severed head of President Donald Trump, she knew she should film what was happening. She was losing jobs, making headline news and the topic of widespread scrutiny, not to mention the...
FBI: 2 suspects arrested in ‘Pink Lady Bandit’ robberies
HAMLET, N.C. — The FBI says two suspects have been arrested in what’s been dubbed the “Pink Lady Bandit” bank robberies along the East Coast. An FBI news release says 36-year-old Circe Baez and 38-year-old Alexis Morales were arrested Sunday at a Charlotte, N.C., hotel. Investigators believe Baez robbed four...
Gulp! Arkansas photographer snaps images of snake eating bug
OZARK, Ark. — An amateur photographer has snapped some startling gone-in-a-gulp images of a venomous snake devouring an unlucky bug at Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. Charlton McDaniel of Fort Smith says he was “fascinated and captivated” to see a copperhead eat a newly emerged cicada at dusk on July...
Oyster seeding: A ‘tangible, physical’ way to help the water
OCEAN GATE, N.J. — Restoring oyster beds and helping keep the water clean isn’t just for scientists and environmental groups anymore. Students, younger children and those with no particular scientific background like the idea that something they do this morning can be helping the earth by this afternoon. Kenna Allocco,...
1 dead, 5 wounded in shooting during rap video production in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — One man was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting during a rap video production in Philadelphia. Police say unidentified gunmen opened fire as the victims were about to shoot the video on Sunday night. Police say a 21-year-old was shot in the head and died...
Wife defends father in deaths of twins he left in hot car
NEW YORK — A mother is defending her husband in the deaths of infant twins he left in a hot car in New York City while working an eight-hour shift. Marissa Rodriguez says her husband, Juan Rodriguez, is a good person and would never have hurt the children intentionally. She...
Pfizer to absorb Washington County-based Mylan, creating generic giant
Pfizer, the country’s largest drugmaker, will absorb the generic pharmaceutical company Mylan, potentially creating a global generic powerhouse. The two companies said Monday that they’ll combine Mylan, a $10 billion company based in Washington County, with Pfizer’s Upjohn, which sells household names from Viagra to cholesterol fighter Lipitor that have...
Trump says Coats is out as national intelligence director
WASHINGTON — Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, will leave his job next month, President Trump announced, after a turbulent two years in which Coats and the president were often at odds over Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump announced Coats’ departure as Aug. 15 in a tweet on...
Priests accused of sex abuse turned to under-the-radar groupVideo
DRYDEN, Mich. — The visiting priests arrived discreetly, day and night. Stripped of their collars and cassocks, they went unnoticed in this tiny Midwestern town as they were escorted into a dingy warehouse across from an elementary school playground. Neighbors had no idea some of the dressed-down clergymen dining at...
