Associated Press stories, Page 2493
Pa. cash welfare program ends, court rejects injunction request
HARRISBURG — A state program that provided $205 a month in cash payments to poor or disabled Pennsylvanians has ended. The program known as general assistance ceased Thursday under a month-old law, while state Commonwealth Court rejected an injunction request that would have kept it operating during a legal challenge....
Mexico gas pipeline leak causes evacuation of 2,000
MEXICO CITY — A gas leak apparently caused by an illegal pipeline tap led authorities to evacuate about 2,000 people Friday in a rural community just north of Mexico City. The leak sent large plumes of gas billowing into the air and into the surrounding fields. The civil defense office...
3 arrested in killing of off-duty Los Angeles police officer
LOS ANGELES — Three suspects were arrested Friday in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer, officials said. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti described those arrested as the “primary suspects responsible for the murder of Officer Juan Diaz” and said they were taken into custody in the...
FedEx to invest additional $450 million to modernize hub
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — FedEx Corp. is investing an additional $450 million to improve operations at its busy hub in Memphis, Tenn. The shipping giant’s announcement Friday at Memphis International Airport increases its investment toward modernizing its Memphis hub to about $1.5 billion. The company announced in March 2018 a $1.1...
2 Florida panthers killed by vehicles last week
LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Two female Florida panthers, including one pregnant with two babies, have died after being hit by cars. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says an 11-month-old panther died last week in Lee County and 5-year-old panther died just a few days before that in Collier...
Freedom sought for U.S. teen jailed in Rome police slaying
ROME — A lawyer for one of two American teens jailed in the investigation of an Italian police officer’s slaying has petitioned for his client’s release. Francesco Petrelli said Friday he didn’t know when a tribunal would hear the appeal, filed a day earlier, on behalf of Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth,...
R. Kelly pleads not guilty to sexually abusing women, girls
NEW YORK — R&B singer R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges he sexually abused women and girls who attended his concerts. The 52-year-old Kelly was denied bail in a New York City courtroom packed with his supporters. He appeared sullen as prosecutors told Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione...
Illinois state senator indicted on embezzlement charges
CHICAGO — An Illinois state senator has been indicted on federal charges that he took more than $250,000 in salary and benefits over a three-year period from the Teamsters while doing little or no work, prosecutors announced Friday. In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said Thomas...
Police investigating reported burglary of ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’-owned business
EDGEWATER, Colo. — Police in Colorado are investigating a reported burglary of a business owned by “Dog the Bounty Hunter” reality TV star Duane “Dog” Chapman. Police in the Denver suburb of Edgewater say a passer-by early Tuesday discovered a broken glass door of a business that stocks merchandise that’s...
China threatens retaliation for Trump’s planned tariff hike
BEIJING — China on Friday threatened retaliation if U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned tariff hikes go ahead, while the renewed acrimony between the two biggest global economies sent stock markets tumbling. China’s government accused Trump of violating his June agreement with President Xi Jinping to revive negotiations aimed at ending...
Minivan sales keep falling, but experts say they’ll live on
DETROIT — They were the suburban vehicle of choice in the 1990s and early 2000s, but ever since, minivans appeared to be riding the slow lane to extinction. The soccer moms who once made the boxy people-haulers ubiquitous have shunned them for car-based SUVs with three rows of seats. Many...
Endangered list sought for firefly with double-green flash
BETHANY BEACH, Del. — Peering through the darkness under the faint light of a peach-colored moon, wildlife biologist Jason Davis spots a telltale green flash in the bushes. Quick as a flash himself, Davis arcs a long-handled mesh net through the humid coastal air, ensnaring his tiny target. Ignoring the...
Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter Saoirse Hill dies at 22
A granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while running for president, has died. Saoirse Kennedy Hill was 22. The Kennedy family confirmed the death in a statement Thursday night following reports that a person had been found unresponsive that day at the storied Kennedy compound in...
Police: Electric scooter rider fatally hit by car in Atlanta
ATLANTA — Another electric scooter rider has been fatally hit by a vehicle in Atlanta, the third such death since the e-scooters arrived in the city last year. News outlets report Atlanta police say 34-year-old Amber Ford died Thursday after being hit by a car over the weekend. A witness...
Ed Sheeran sets all-time highest-grossing tour record
LOS ANGELES — Ed Sheeran’s Divide Tour is one for the record books. Pollstar confirms the 28-year-old British singer’s tour will set the all-time highest-grossing tour record with Friday’s show in Hannover, Germany. Pollstar forecasts the total gross to this point of $736.7 million will top the previous record of...
Fangio coaches after kidney stone issue, Denver wins
CANTON, Ohio — For a while Thursday, Vic Fangio didn’t know if his long-awaited debut as a head coach would happen in the Hall of Fame game. Fangio finished team meetings, then headed to a hospital because of a kidney stone. Though determined to lead his new team, the Denver...
Creativity, functionality both matter in playroom decor
Go bold. Stay practical. Think long-term. These are among the tips offered by interior decorators for creating a fresh, fun — even inspiring — playroom for kids. Foster creativity “I love bold choices in a playroom,” says Mel Bean, a designer in Tulsa, Okla. In one client’s theater room, for...
Yasiel Puig eager to get off on good foot with Indians
CLEVELAND — Yasiel Puig was so eager to make his Cleveland Indians debut, he forgot to check out his footwear before walking around the clubhouse. The slugger was wearing Reds flip-flops with his Cleveland workout gear Thursday, two days after being acquired from Cincinnati in a three-team trade that also...
Texas Rep. Will Hurd, lone black House Republican, won’t run again
SAN ANTONIO — U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, an ex-CIA undercover officer and the lone black Republican in the House of Representatives, says he won’t seek a third term next year. The San Antonio Republican’s announcement came in a statement Thursday posted on his House web page. He’s the third Texas...
Ex-Olympian Ashley Wagner says she was sexually assaulted
Former Olympian Ashley Wagner says she was sexually assaulted by another figure skater in 2008 when she 17. The three-time national champion wrote in USA Today on Thursday that John Coughlin climbed into her bed after a party at a skating camp and began kissing and groping her. Coughlin was...
Jets’ Le’Veon Bell feels ‘a million times better’ than Day 1 of camp
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Le’Veon Bell firmly believes he made the right decision, refusing to second-guess missing a season while in a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New York Jets star running back is sorry about only one thing: for letting down the fantasy football owners who expected...
Justice Department declines to prosecute James Comey over memosVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has declined to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey over his handling of a series of memos he wrote that documented personal interactions with President Trump, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The memos, some of which Justice Department officials later determined contained...
Hall of Famer Ed Reed ‘made the impossible possible’Video
BALTIMORE — Combining instinct and tireless film study with an unyielding urge to be a difference-maker, Ed Reed established himself as one of the greatest safeties in NFL history. What he did with a football after plucking it from the air set him apart from anyone who ever played. Reed...
Kicker Phil Dawson, 44, retiring with Browns after 20 years
BEREA, Ohio — Kicker Phil Dawson has retired from the NFL at age 44 after 20 seasons. He spent his first 14 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and will sign a one-day contract to retire ceremonially with the franchise. Dawson played in 305 games, the seventh most in league history,...
Delay in grand jury action in death of twins left in car
NEW YORK — Prosecutors need more time to investigate the heatstroke deaths of twin 1-year-olds left in a parked car before deciding whether to proceed with charges against the children’s father, a New York City judge was told on Thursday. An assistant Bronx district attorney said at a court hearing...
