Associated Press stories, Page 2418
U.S. home construction fell 9.4% last month
WASHINGTON — U.S. home building fell last month, driven by a sharp decline in the construction of new apartments. The Commerce Department said Thursday that housing starts dropped 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.26 million. The construction of new apartments plunged 28.3% to an annual pace of...
U.S. envoy key to Ukraine probe distances himself from Trump
WASHINGTON — The U.S. ambassador to the European Union distanced himself on Thursday from President Donald Trump, planning to tell House impeachment investigators that he was disappointed Trump directed him to work with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine policy and that he believes it’s wrong to invite a...
Hurricane Center: Tropical storm likely along Gulf Coast
MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center says thunderstorms and showers off the coast of Mexico are likely to develop into a storm that will threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast by this weekend. Forecasters say there’s an 80% chance that the area of low pressure located in the Bay of Campeche...
‘Tarzan’ actor Ron Ely’s wife killed; son shot by deputies
“Tarzan” actor Ron Ely’s wife was stabbed to death in their California home by their 30-year-old son, who was then shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies, authorities said Wednesday. Deputies summoned to the home by a 911 call found Valerie Lundeen Ely, 62, dead with multiple stab wounds shortly after...
Review: ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ sleepy version of originalVideo
Director Robert Stromberg’s 2014 take on “Sleeping Beauty” with “Maleficent” entertained through a fresh look at the familiar fairy tale and with a story that showed the power of love can be found even with the darkest of hearts. This was all delivered through one of the most endearing performances...
Country artists bring tears, prayers to CMT awards showVideo
Country music artists cried together and prayed together at an emotional CMT Artists of the Year awards show that reflected the tight-knit community of artists who supported each other through success and loss. Country singer Kane Brown, who was one of several artists of the year honored at Wednesday’s show...
Rep. Elijah Cummings dies from health complications at 68Video
BALTIMORE — Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings died early Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital due to complications from longstanding health challenges, his congressional office said. He was 68. A sharecropper’s son, Cummings became the powerful chairman of a U.S. House committee that investigated President Donald Trump, and was a formidable...
There from the start for Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman in 1st World SeriesVideo
WASHINGTON — Bottle of beer in hand, Ryan Zimmerman stood alone in the Nationals Park home clubhouse for a few moments, taking in the scene while his teammates celebrated reaching Washington’s first World Series since 1933. Eventually, someone threw an arm around the 35-year-old Zimmerman’s shoulders and ushered him back...
Pass-interference calls going as expected, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saysVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the new video review rule for pass interference is working as expected, with only obvious mistakes by officials being corrected. Through Week 6, the league has had 44 reviews related to pass interference, and the on-field ruling was reversed seven times....
Browns GM hints about trade discussions with Redskins for Trent WilliamsVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey already has pulled off one blockbuster trade. He seems eager to make another. Dorsey said he’s had “a few conversations” lately with Washington Redskins president Bruce Allen and hinted one of the topics discussed has been a trade for star left...
Netflix heads into showdown with slowing subscriber growthVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix’s subscriber growth is bogging down even before the leading video streaming service confronts high-powered threats from Apple and Walt Disney Co. The latest sign of the challenges the company is facing emerged Wednesday with the release of its third-quarter results. The numbers provided further evidence that...
Attorney: Lawsuit planned over VA hospital death in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An attorney representing the family of a patient who died at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia says he plans to sue over what he believes is the man’s suspicious death from a wrongful insulin injection. Charleston attorney Tony O’Dell said a notice of a pending...
Technology companies lead modest slide for U.S. stock indexes
A day of mostly listless trading on Wall Street ended Wednesday with modest losses as the stock market gave back some of its gains from the day before. Technology stocks accounted for most of the selling, which lost some of its momentum toward the end of the day. Energy companies...
NLCS sweep puts damper on Cardinals’ 92-win seasonVideo
From one corner of a sullen clubhouse came the glass half full view of the St. Louis Cardinals’ season. “People did not think we were going to be here,” veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright said. “I think if you had asked Cardinals (fans) in spring training if we got to the...
GM and union reach tentative deal that could end strike
DETROIT — Bargainers for General Motors and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative contract deal on Wednesday that could end a monthlong strike that brought the company’s U.S. factories to a standstill. The deal, which the union says offers “major gains” for workers, was hammered out after months of...
Ghost hunter’s work gets TV afterlife in ‘The Holzer Files’Video
Ask the daughter of paranormal researcher and “Ghostbusters” inspiration Hans Holzer whether she’s got any scary Halloween memories to share, and Alexandra Holzer doesn’t disappoint. She was about 12 years old and getting ready to go trick-or-treating while her dad typed busily away in his New York City apartment, she...
Stoneman Douglas High School commission says mental health system needs overhaul
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida’s mental health system is underfunded and needs to be overhauled, with better coordination between providers, law enforcement and educators, the commission investigating last year’s high school massacre recommended to the legislature Wednesday. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, meeting in Orlando, found...
NCAA: College athletes graduating at record-high rate
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA said Wednesday that the overall graduation rate for college athletes hit a record high of 89%. That’s up 1 percentage point from last year’s previous one-year high and almost 10 percentage points above the goal established by the late Myles Brand when the measure was first...
Joe Maddon returns to Los Angeles Angels as new managerVideo
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joe Maddon is back under the halo. Maddon agreed to a three-year deal to become the Los Angeles Angels’ manager Wednesday, reuniting the World Series-winning former bench boss of the Chicago Cubs with the organization where he spent the first three decades of his baseball career. “We...
Aging, thin pipe likely cause of Philadelphia refinery fire
PHILADELPHIA — An aging, failed elbow pipe appears to be the initial cause of a June 21 fire and subsequent explosions that injured five people at the largest oil refinery on the East Coast, federal investigators said Wednesday. The U.S. Chemical and Safety Hazard Investigation Board released a preliminary factual...
British family held at Pa. detention center decries treatment by U.S. after border crossing
Seven members of an extended British family who made an unauthorized crossing into the United States from Canada are being held in federal custody at a Pennsylvania detention center nearly two weeks after their arrest, their lawyer said Tuesday, as U.S. border officials defended their handling of the case by...
Kim Jong Un rides horse on sacred peak, vows to fight U.S. sanctions
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea released a series of photos Wednesday showing leader Kim Jong Un riding a white horse to a sacred mountain he has often climbed before making key decisions. Near the mountain, Kim reportedly vowed to overcome U.S.-led sanctions that he said had both pained and...
2 shot while sitting in car, drive themselves to hospital
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say two people who were shot and wounded while sitting in their car in Philadelphia were able to drive themselves to a hospital. But it’s not yet known what sparked the shooting, which occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday. The two victims, a man and a woman,...
Study: ‘Medicare for All’ not only way to universal coverageVideo
WASHINGTON — Health care memo to Democrats: There’s more than one way to get to coverage for all. A study out Wednesday finds that an approach similar to the plan from former Vice President Joe Bide n can deliver about the same level of coverage as the government-run “Medicare for...
AP fact check: Claims from the Democratic debate – Oct. 16, 2019
WASHINGTON — Twelve Democrats seeking the presidency tussled Tuesday night in a wide-ranging debate featuring the largest number of qualifying candidates on the same stage. Here’s a look at how some of their claims from Westerville, Ohio, stack up with the facts: JOE BIDEN: “I would not have withdrawn the...
