Associated Press stories, Page 2476
Phoenix looks to be next big city with citizen police review
PHOENIX — Dozens of people, mostly African Americans, huddled around tables scattered across a church gymnasium on a recent evening, discussing past run-ins with Phoenix police officers and ways to hold them accountable. In a city still stinging from a video of officers pointing guns and cursing at a black...
From tusks to tails, nations eye trade in endangered species
GENEVA — From guitars to traditional medicines and from tusk to tail, mankind’s exploitation of the planet’s fauna and flora is putting some of them at risk of extinction. Representatives of some 180 nations are meeting in Geneva to agree on protections for vulnerable species, taking up issues including the...
Florida vacation home invaded by vomiting vultures
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A New York couple’s luxurious vacation house in Florida has been taken over by dozens of black vultures that are vomiting and defecating everywhere. The Palm Beach Post reports the Casimano family can’t even visit the $702,000 home they purchased earlier this year in the...
Woman thought she had kidney stones, gave birth to tripletsVideo
A South Dakota woman who recently gave birth to triplets says she didn’t find out about her pregnancy until she went to the hospital with what she thought were kidney stones. KOTA-TV reports Dannette Giltz, of Sturgis, gave birth to the healthy triplets on Aug. 10. Giltz says that despite...
At least 63 dead in wedding party blast in Afghan capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide-bomb blast ripped through a wedding party on a busy Saturday night in Afghanistan’s capital and dozens of people were killed or wounded, a government official said. An Afghan official Sunday said at least 63 people died as a result of the suicide bomber’s detonating explosives...
California woman gets jail for dumping puppies in trash
INDIO, Calif. — A Southern California woman authorities caught on surveillance video in April dumping a bag of 3-day-old puppies into a trash can has received jail time after changing her plea to guilty. Deborah Culwell was sentenced this week to 365 days in county jail — reduced to 174...
Officer resigns after 2 hurt by truck at immigration protestVideo
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An officer at a detention center resigned Friday amid investigations into a truck that drove through a group protesting federal immigration policies. The resignation of Capt. Thomas Woodworth from the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility was announced in a brief statement from the center in Central Falls,...
Doctors warn of fallout from new immigration rule
CHICAGO — Diabetics skipping regular checkups. Young asthmatics not getting preventive care. A surge in expensive emergency room visits. Doctors and public health experts warn of poor health and rising costs they say will come from sweeping Trump administration changes that would deny green cards to many immigrants who use...
Crews reopen Denali park road; stranded tourists leave
DENALI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska — Road crews have cleared one lane in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve, and buses returned about 300 stranded tourists to the park entrance safely. The tourists became stranded Friday after heavy rains triggered mudslides and caused excess water from a culvert to damage the...
New York City subway scare suspect taken into police custody
NEW YORK — A man suspected of placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a New York City subway station, causing an evacuation and roiling Friday’s morning commute, has been apprehended, police said. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Saturday morning that a man seen in surveillance video...
Philadelphia standoff suspect charged with attempted murder
PHILADELPHIA — A man suspected of shooting six police officers during an hourslong standoff that ended when tear gas caused the man to surrender was charged with attempted murder. Authorities have said that the criminal background of suspect Maurice Hill should have prevented him from legally owning the firepower used...
Judge blasts Georgia officials’ handling of election system
ATLANTA — Georgia election officials have for years ignored, downplayed and failed to address serious problems with the state’s election management system and voting machines, a federal judge said in a scathing order this week. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said those problems place a burden on citizens’ rights to...
Hundreds arrive to honor El Paso victim after public invited
EL PASO, Texas — When Jordan Ballard read that one of the victims of the El Paso massacre had few relatives and the public was invited to her funeral, the Los Angeles resident bought a plane ticket and flew to Texas to honor a woman she had never met. She...
NASA picks Alabama’s ‘Rocket City’ for lunar lander job
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA picked Alabama’s “Rocket City” on Friday to lead development of the next moon lander for astronauts. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville beat out Johnson Space Center in Houston, which managed the Apollo lunar lander a half-century ago. The new lunar lander — not yet...
Florida vacation home invaded by vomiting vultures
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A New York couple’s luxurious vacation house in Florida has been taken over by dozens of black vultures that are vomiting and defecating everywhere. The Palm Beach Post reports the Casimano family can’t even visit the $702,000 home they purchased earlier this year in the...
Arrests precede major demonstrations in Portland, Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. — Authorities arrested the leader of a right-wing group on the eve of a rally that’s expected to draw people from around the U.S. to Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, prompting Patriot Prayer’s Joey Gibson to urge his followers to “show up one hundred-fold” in response. Self-described anti-fascists have...
Kentucky finds 1,000 teachers violated law during ‘sickouts’
FRANKFORT, Ky. — An election-year investigation into teacher rallies at Kentucky’s Capitol found more than 1,000 educators violated state law by participating in protests that shut down some schools, Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration said Friday. No penalties will be assessed, Kentucky’s labor secretary said, but he warned “the grace extended...
NRA wants a role when Oliver North meets state investigators
NEW YORK — A National Rifle Association leader-turned-critic is meeting with New York investigators next week, and the NRA wants to be there.a New York’s attorney general’s office is questioning Oliver North on Tuesday as it probes whether the NRA broke laws governing its nonprofit status. The powerful gun lobby...
Roy Moore defamation lawsuit against accusers is paused
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A judge has paused a defamation suit filed by Roy Moore against women who accused him during his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid of past misconduct. Circuit Judge Albert Johnson ruled last month case will be held on the administrative docket until a related defamation case against Moore...
Country’s largest tribal nation seeks congressional delegate
OKLAHOMA CITY — The newly elected chief of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation plans to appoint the tribe’s first-ever delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is outlined in a nearly 200-year-old treaty with the federal government. In a letter Thursday to the speaker of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council,...
Father of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart comes out as gay
SALT LAKE CITY — The father of Utah kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart has come out as gay in a heartfelt letter that reveals he has struggled throughout his life with pain and guilt. “The decision to be honest and truthful about my orientation comes with its own set of challenges,...
Charles Santore, illustrator of children’s books, dies at 84
PHILADELPHIA — Charles Santore, an illustrator known for his richly detailed and whimsical interpretations of classic children’s books has died, his daughter said Friday. Christina Santore said her father died Sunday after a brief illness in Philadelphia, where he was born, raised and worked. He was 84. He spent over...
Shoppers panic as security officer fires at man with knife
LOS ANGELES — A man who robbed an armored car guard at a Southern California shopping plaza was captured Friday after the guard fired gunshots that sent panicked shoppers fleeing, police said. No one was injured but the exchange caused chaos and fears of a mass shooting at the Third...
NFL conditionally reinstates Patriots WR Josh Gordon
BOSTON — Josh Gordon’s winding career has included several second chances following a trail of multiple drug suspensions that cast doubt whether the talented but troubled playmaker would ever get on an NFL field again. He’s getting yet another opportunity. The NFL conditionally reinstated the Patriots wide receiver Friday. Commissioner...
‘Easy Rider’ star and writer Peter Fonda dies at age 79
LOS ANGELES — Actor Peter Fonda, the son of a Hollywood legend who became a movie star in his own right after both writing and starring in the counter-culture classic “Easy Rider,” has died. His family said in a statement that Fonda died Friday morning at his home in Los...
