Associated Press stories, Page 2502
Man dies 3 days after lightning strike on Clearwater Beach
CLEARWATER, Fla. — A Florida man struck by lightning over the weekend has died. Clearwater police say 32-year-old Garry Perks of New Port Richey died on Wednesday, three days after he and seven other people were injured by a lightning strike on Clearwater Beach. Witnesses said people were moving off...
MGM to remove six-pointed star from security uniforms
CLEVELAND — Casino operator MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that an inquiry by a weekly Cleveland newspaper has prompted the company to begin removing a six-pointed star logo from the yellow shirts of security guards that a casino guest said “screams” the Jude star Nazi Germany forced Jews to wear....
Police: Bystander shoots robbers at Virginia Beach 7-Eleven, 1 dies
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Police in Virginia say a bystander shot two males as they robbed a convenience store and one of them has died. Virginia Beach police said in a statement that the shooting occurred early Thursday at a 7-Eleven. They said they believe three people tried to rob...
Ukraine seizes Russian tanker in Black Sea
MOSCOW — The Ukrainian Security Service said Thursday it had seized a Russian tanker in a Black Sea port, a move that could undermine an anticipated prisoner swap between the two countries. The security service said it detained the Russian tanker in a Ukrainian port on Wednesday. Authorities said the...
Book by soccer star Megan Rapinoe to be published next year
NEW YORK — Soccer star Megan Rapinoe has scored again, this time with a book deal. Penguin Press announced Thursday that Rapinoe’s book, currently untitled, will be published in Fall 2020. Penguin is calling the book a “perfect vehicle” for an “honest, thoughtful, unapologetic” take on everything from soccer to...
Jeffrey Epstein reportedly found injured in NYC jail cell
NEW YORK — Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein was found on the floor of his jail cell with bruises on his neck early this week while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. It was not clear whether the injuries were self-inflicted or from...
Air-board inventor crashes halfway in attempt to cross English Channel
SANGATTE, France — Looking like a superhero, the French inventor of an airborne hoverboard glided partway over the English Channel on his personal flying machine then crashed in the sea Thursday. Unharmed and undeterred, 40-year-old Franky Zapata said he plans to try again. Perhaps within days. The inventor collided with...
New British PM Johnson urges EU to renegotiate Brexit deal
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the European Union on Thursday to rethink its refusal to renegotiate the Brexit deal, setting himself on a collision course with both the bloc and his own lawmakers over his vow to leave the EU by Oct. 31. Addressing a rowdy session...
Justice Department to restart federal executions for 1st time in 16 years
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department says it will carry out executions of federal death row inmates for the first time since 2003. The department says five inmates will be executed, starting in December. In 2014, President Barack Obama directed the department to conduct a review of capital punishment and issues...
Paris hits new heat record, London boils in Europe heat wave
PARIS — Record temperatures are being set across Europe, including Paris, as the continent swelters Thursday in what is its second heat wave this summer. Climate scientists warn this could become the new normal in many parts of the world. But temperate Europe — where air conditioning is rare —...
Oklahoma marijuana dispensary owner arrested for meth sales
SPIRO, Okla. — The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in eastern Oklahoma is under arrest after being accused of selling methamphetamine from his business. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says 38-year-old Jeffrey Peregrino was arrested Wednesday at his store, Left Handed Okies, in Spiro, about 165 miles east of...
Trump encourages Republicans to back bipartisan budget bill
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is encouraging Republican lawmakers to back a sweeping bipartisan budget deal his administration struck with Democrats. Trump tweeted on Thursday morning that “House Republicans should support the TWO YEAR BUDGET AGREEMENT which greatly helps our Military and our Vets.” He adds in a note of...
Philippine president offers bounty for ‘head’ of lead killer of 4 police
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president has offered a bounty to anybody who can deliver to him the head of the communist insurgent leader behind the killings of four police intelligence officers last week in an insurgency-hit central province. President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he raised a reward of 3...
Study: Home-delivered meals could save money for Medicare
WASHINGTON — Medicare could save $1.57 for every dollar spent delivering free healthy meals to frail seniors after a hospitalization, according to a new study that comes as lawmakers look to restrain costs by promoting patients’ well-being. The report Thursday from the Bipartisan Policy Center addresses ways that Medicare can...
What’s next after Mueller? Lawsuits, investigations and more
WASHINGTON — After months of anticipation, Congress finally heard testimony from former special counsel Robert Mueller. So what now? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mueller’s appearance was “a crossing of a threshold,” raising public awareness of what Mueller found. And Democrats after the hearing said they had clearly laid out...
Trump celebrates at W.Va. fundraiser after Mueller hearings
WHEELING, West Virginia — A triumphant President Donald Trump celebrated Wednesday evening after Robert Mueller’s testimony, telling attendees at a closed-door fundraiser in West Virginia that the former special counsel’s appearance was a dud. Trump, who arrived at the fundraiser energized and excited, told a crowd at the WesBanco Arena...
Puerto Rico governor says he is resigning Aug. 2
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said late Wednesday that he will resign Aug. 2 after nearly two weeks of furious protests and political upheaval touched off by a leak of crude and insulting chat messages between him and his top advisers. A crowd of...
AP Photos: Nepal woman spends her day feeding temple monkeys
KATHMANDU, Nepal — In the forests of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu near the revered Hindu temple of Pahsupatinath, some 300 monkeys eagerly await their pieces of roti, or flat bread. For the past four years, Saraswati Dangol has been bringing the bread every day to feed the monkeys. She buys some...
S. Korea says N. Korea fires 2 short-range missiles into sea
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two short-range missiles into the sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, the first weapons launches in more than two months as North Korean and U.S. officials struggle to restart nuclear negotiations. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles fired from...
Sharks under threat because of global fisheries, study says
CANBERRA, Australia — About a quarter of shark habitats are actively targeted by global commercial fishing fleets, leaving the predators with limited places to hide from the longlines, or baited hooks, on which they frequently get caught, according to study published Wednesday. The researchers found areas frequented by protected species...
Schools that warned about lunch debt now accepting donation
A Pennsylvania school district that warned parents behind on their lunch bills that their children could end up in foster care, and then rejected a businessman’s offer to pay the overdue charges, is apologizing and says it wants to accept the donation after all. The Wyoming Valley West school board...
HBO’s ‘Dark Materials,’ ‘Gemstones’ both grapple with faithVideo
HBO’s forthcoming fantasy series “His Dark Materials” and its new televangelist comedy “The Righteous Gemstones” bring wildly different worlds to the screen, yet both grapple with the same central problem: How to take on religion without degrading and demeaning viewers’ beliefs. “His Dark Materials” is based on the novel series...
Trump vetoes congressional effort to block Saudi arms sales
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a trio of congressional resolutions aimed at blocking his administration from bypassing Congress and selling billions of dollars in weapons and maintenance support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month cited threats from Iran...
Dustin Johnson, Thomas both with titles to defend at WGC event in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dustin Johnson made it clear. Even though he won the last time the PGA Tour visited TPC Southwind, he is not the defending champion. That would be Justin Thomas, who is looking to become the first repeat winner at this World Golf Championships event since Tiger Woods...
Patriots adjust to life without Rob GronkowskiVideo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots are back at work, and things are already a lot quieter. Rob Gronkowski has retired, and the locker room is a more serious place without the fun-loving tight end who once declared himself the life of the party — in...
