Associated Press stories, Page 2464
Watchdog: Comey violated FBI policies in handling of memos
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general says former FBI Director James Comey violated FBI policies in his handling of memos documenting private conversations with President Donald Trump. The watchdog office says Comey broke FBI rules by giving a memo containing unclassified information to a friend with instructions to share...
‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary involved in fatal boat crash
TORONTO — “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary says he was on a boat that was involved in a fatal crash in Canada over the weekend. Ontario Provincial Police Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne said Wednesday two boats crashed on Lake Joseph near Seguin, Ontario, killing a Florida man identified as 64-year-old...
Virginia man gets 5 years in prison for dog burned alive
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia man will serve five years in prison without parole for the death of a pit bull that was tied to a fence, covered in accelerant and set on fire. Richmond police announced Wednesday that the sentence was part of 20-year-old Jyahshua A. Hill’s plea agreement....
Authorities: Man dies after falling from cliff in Ohio park
LOGAN, Ohio — Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources says an Ohio man has died in a fall off the edge of a cliff in Hocking Hills State Park. Department spokeswoman Maureen Kocot said in a release that 22-year-old Alexander Colson was hiking Saturday on an overlook trail at Old Man’s...
Home turf: Browns’ Mayfield to star in ads living in stadium
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — Baker Mayfield has a new teammate. She rocks a headband, too. The Browns’ charismatic quarterback has entered a marketing partnership with Progressive and will star alongside his wife, Emily Wilkinson, in a national advertising campaign for the insurance giant. The ad shows the couple as new...
Corey Dickerson homers as Phillies rout PiratesVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Rhys Hoskins did more with less. The slumping slugger doubled, tripled and drove in a run as the Philadelphia Phillies got 17 hits in a 12-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Hoskins has been struggling mightily at the plate this month and made a game-changing...
Pennsylvania to close another prison as inmate ranks shrink
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is planning to close another prison, as the inmate population continues to decline and prison costs rise, lawmakers and union officials said Wednesday. Prison officials briefed lawmakers and Retreat state prison staff in northeastern Pennsylvania about their plans to close the facility in March, but have not...
Immigrants in U.S. military face new citizenship rule for their children
PHOENIX — The Trump administration on Wednesday introduced new rules that will make it harder for children of some immigrants serving in the military to obtain citizenship. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released updated guidance Wednesday that appears to mostly affect non-citizen service members but which caused confusion among immigration...
No. 1 reason patients don’t fill their prescriptions: sticker shock
WASHINGTON — It’s the No. 1 reason patients don’t fill their prescriptions: sticker shock. While the price of almost any good or service can be found online, most Americans don’t know what they’ll owe for a prescription medication until they get it. Unexpected costs contribute to the estimated 20 to...
Suspended Browns RB Kareem Hunt won’t be with team during ban
CLEVELAND — Kareem Hunt will have to spend his NFL suspension isolated from his team. The suspended Browns running back, who must serve an eight-game ban for physical altercations, will not be permitted inside the team’s facility starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday in an...
Sabres defenseman, ex-Penguin Matt Hunwick likely to miss season
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres defenseman Matt Hunwick is expected to miss this season due to a neck condition that bothered the 12-year veteran for much of last season. General manager Jason Botterill based Hunwick’s prognosis on offseason medical evaluations in making the announcement Wednesday, about two weeks before the...
Federer drops 1st set again but advances at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Roger Federer’s not about to start trying new tricks now. So even though he has lost the opening set in each of his first two U.S. Open matches for the first time in the 19 times he has entered the Grand Slam tournament, it’s not as if...
Prep sports participation drops, led by decline in football
Led by a decline in football for the fifth straight year, participation in U.S. high school sports dropped in 2018-19 for the first time in 30 years, according to an annual survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The 2018-19 total of 7,937,491 participants was a...
Prosecutor: North Carolina student with guns in dorm studied mass shootings
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina university student arrested with guns and ammunition in his dorm room had studied mass shootings and was making plans to kill his roommate and himself if he didn’t get into a fraternity, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Paul A. Steber, a 19-year-old freshman from Boston...
OxyContin maker negotiating settlement worth a reported $12B
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Purdue Pharma would devote its profits to cleaning up the devastation wrought by opioids, and the controlling Sackler family would be out, under a $10 billion to $12 billion nationwide settlement taking shape at the negotiating table, according to published reports Wednesday. The agreement, if it comes...
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she’s ending 2020 presidential bidVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand is dropping out of the presidential race as a campaign that once looked poised to ride strong #MeToo credentials to formidability was instead plagued by low polling and major fundraising struggles. The 52-year-old New York senator said Wednesday that she was suspending her campaign. That...
Suits allege abuse, cover-up in Pennsylvania diocese
SCRANTON — Frustrated by the Pennsylvania Legislature, four men are taking advantage of a shifting legal landscape to file suit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton over decades-old allegations of clergy sexual abuse. The plaintiffs, who range in age from 45 to 57, cite a recent Pennsylvania appeals court...
Facebook tightens political ad rules, but leaves loopholes
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is tightening its rules around political advertising ahead of the 2020 presidential election, acknowledging previous misuse. But it’s not clear if it will be enough to stop bad actors from abusing its system. The changes include a tightened verification process that will require anyone wanting to...
Jet-car speed racer, ‘Mythbusters’ host Jessi Combs dies in Oregon jet-car crashVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Jet-car speed racer Jessi Combs, known by fans as the “fastest woman on four wheels,” has died in a crash in Oregon’s Alvord Desert while trying to break a speed record, local authorities said Wednesday. Combs, 39, died Tuesday afternoon while racing in a dry lake bed...
FEMA, Coast Guard money moved to border programs
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security is moving $271 million from other agencies such as FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard to increase the number of beds for detained immigrants and support its policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases play out. The news comes...
Fans guide to Penn State football
Penn State football fans will notice changes on gamedays this season, notably when trying to accomplish the day’s most difficult task: parking their cars. Penn State has overhauled traffic and parking plans around Beaver Stadium, meaning the way fans arrive and depart will be much different than last year. Athletic...
West Virginia state senator charged with prostitution
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia state Sen. Mike Maroney has been charged with soliciting a prostitute. The Republican lawmaker turned himself in and was arraigned Wednesday morning, a Marshall County court clerk said. He has pleaded not guilty and paid a $4,500 bond. Maroney exchanged text messages to discuss prices...
McDonald’s offering harassment training to all U.S. workers
McDonald’s is introducing a new training program for its U.S. employees after dozens of workers complained of sexual harassment. The Chicago-based company says its 2,000 U.S. franchisees have committed to provide the training to 850,000 employees. The online and in-person training will begin in October. It will educate workers about...
Union, AT&T say 20,000 striking workers coming back to work
NEW YORK — AT&T and the Communications Workers of America said that the 20,000 AT&T workers in the Southeast who went on strike over the weekend were coming back to work Wednesday. The union said Wednesday that it had a “handshake deal” on a new agreement with AT&T and that...
26 killed in fiery attack on bar in southern Mexico
MEXICO CITY — An attack on a bar in Mexico’s Gulf coast city of Coatzacoalcos killed 26 people and injured about a dozen, officials said Wednesday, and they said it was apparently overseen by a man who had been recently arrested but released. “The criminals went in, closed the doors,...
