Associated Press stories, Page 2469
Free-agent DT Gerald McCoy to visit Browns
CLEVELAND — The Browns will get to show Gerald McCoy how far they’ve come. The free-agent defensive tackle, released earlier this week by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will visit Cleveland on Friday. General manager John Dorsey said the meeting will be an opportunity for both sides to see if they...
Trump orders declassification of information related to origins of Russia probe
WASHINGTON — President Trump directed the U.S. intelligence community on Thursday to “quickly and fully cooperate” with Attorney General William Barr’s investigation of the origins of the multi-year probe of whether his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. The move marked an escalation in Trump’s efforts to “investigate the investigators,” as...
South Carolina man charged in death of daughter he mistook for intruder
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Authorities in South Carolina have charged a man with killing his daughter, whom he mistook for a potential intruder. The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office says 43-year-old Jermaine Pressley faces charges of murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and three counts of felon in possession...
Theme park attendance crosses half-billion mark for 1st timeVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Worldwide attendance at the 10 biggest operators of amusement parks increased 4% last year and crossed the half-billion-visitors mark for the first time, according to an industry report released this week. The report by the Themed Entertainment Association and the Economics Practice at AECOM said global attendance...
Joe Gibbs comes long way from nervous beginnings in racing
CONCORD, N.C. — When Joe Gibbs decided to venture from the NFL and form a race team in 1992, he was scared. Petrified, in fact. Gibbs won three Super Bowls as coach of the Washington Redskins, but he was an outsider starting from scratch when it came to stock car...
House passes bill to help workers with retirement savings
WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to promote retirement security by making it easier for small businesses and other companies to offer retirement plans. The bipartisan bill, approved 417-3, also makes it easier for workers to transfer retirement plans when they change jobs and allows part-time workers...
Judge orders file in Jussie Smollett criminal case unsealed
CHICAGO — A judge in Chicago ordered the file in Jussie Smollett’s criminal case unsealed Thursday, saying the actor’s actions did not appear to be those of someone seeking to maintain his privacy. The order by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Steven Watkins follows requests by The Associated Press and...
Trump admin sending another $16 billion to ailing farmers
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is delivering another $16 billion in aid to farmers hurt by his trade policies, an effort to relieve the economic pain among his supporters in rural America. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the first of three payments is likely to be made in July...
Indianapolis 500 officials to offer measles vaccine at race
INDIANAPOLIS — Some fans attending Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 can get measles vaccines at the track’s infield medical center. IndyCar medical director Geoffrey Billows said Thursday a “very limited supply” of vaccines will be available at the medical building near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. He says most insurance companies will...
New Jersey beach smoking ban in place for start of summer
SEA GIRT, N.J. — Smoking and vaping will be banned on nearly every public beach in New Jersey this summer under tougher new restrictions. Nonsmokers are rejoicing over the ban, which also applies to public parks. But some smokers are feeling discriminated against by the law, which took effect in...
Asian, Asian American heroes to power Marvel comics series
Asian superheroes — assemble. Marvel Comics is giving ink to an unprecedented team-up of its mightiest Asian and Asian American heroes, also known as the new Agents of Atlas. Established icons like martial arts master Shang-Chi and newbies like Wave, the newest Filipino superhero, will team up in a stand-alone,...
Rihanna feels the pressure as she makes fashion history
Rihanna may have looked cool and collected next to the debut collection for her new fashion label, Fenty, donning a brilliant white tuxedo dress and a 1,000-watt smile. But on the inside it was another story. “It’s all a facade,” said the Barbados-born star who has become the first black...
‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh freed after 17 years in prison
John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for the Taliban and was captured by invading U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, got out of prison Thursday after more than 17 years, released under tight restrictions that reflected government fears he still harbors radical views. Lindh, 38, left a...
U.S. forecasters: Expect near normal Atlantic hurricane season
WASHINGTON — The Atlantic hurricane season is off to yet another early start, but U.S. weather officials say it should be a near normal year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday predicted nine to 15 named storms. It says four to eight of them will become hurricanes and...
Host of celebrities speak out on criminal justice reform
Kim Kardashian West isn’t the only celebrity speaking out for prison reform. It’s a topic that was also very important to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, and to Common, Kevin Hart and a host of others who consider the criminal justice system often unfair and dehumanizing. Hussle served time before he...
‘Real Housewives’ husband gets reprieve in deportation fight
A federal court has ruled that the husband of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member Teresa Giudice can stay in the U.S. as he appeals deportation to his native Italy. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia delayed Joe Giudice’s deportation in an order published Wednesday. The...
Pelosi questions Trump’s fitness; time for ‘intervention’?
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi openly questioned President Donald Trump’s fitness for office Thursday, suggesting a family or staff “intervention” after a dramatic blow-up at a White House meeting the previous day. Both the Republican president and Democratic leaders dug in a day after Trump stalked out of the...
Census: Big cities in U.S. aren’t growing like they used to
ORLANDO, Fla. — Big cities in the U.S. aren’t growing like they used to. Most of the nation’s largest cities last year grew by a fraction of the numbers they did earlier in the decade, according to population and housing unit estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The...
Politics, killings stifle wolf recovery amid hefty price tag
RALEIGH, N.C. — Illegal killings and longstanding political resistance have undercut the return of two species of endangered wolves to the wild, frustrating government efforts that already cost more than $80 million but have failed to meet recovery targets. The number of red wolves roaming the forests of North Carolina...
Celebrity chef Mario Batali facing assault charge in Boston
BOSTON — Celebrity chef Mario Batali is facing a criminal charge on allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. Batali, who recently gave up financial stakes in all his restaurants, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of indecent assault...
Fugitive says he’ll surrender if people like his wanted poster on Facebook
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New...
Trump’s campaign centered on fighting Democrats, not policy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump dropped the pretense of working with congressional Democrats on Wednesday and sent a clear message that his re-election campaign will be centered on condemning overzealous investigations rather than advancing a robust domestic policy agenda. Both sides may have feigned surprise at Trump’s angry outburst, in...
U.S. says Trump coal moves hasten but don’t increase emissions
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration’s decision to lift a moratorium on coal sales from public lands could hasten the release of more than 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases, but officials concluded Wednesday it would make little difference in overall U.S. climate emissions. That conclusion from the Bureau of...
Democratic pledges against big money come with an asterisk
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders wants to crack down on outside groups that do political spending, though one is allied with his presidential campaign. Elizabeth Warren has vowed no untraceable “dark money” will help her White House bid, despite being backed by an organization that doesn’t disclose some of its donors....
3 deaths in Missouri as tornado strikes state capital
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouri’s capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart. The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado...
