Associated Press stories, Page 2512
Groom accused of sexually assaulting wedding waitress to stand trial
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — A judge in Pennsylvania has upheld all charges against a groom accused of forcing himself on a teenage waitress at his wedding reception before he was taken from the hall in handcuffs over a drunken brawl. Matthew Aimers, of Willingboro, New Jersey, arrived at a Bucks County...
Homeless ‘good Samaritan’ gets probation in GoFundMe scam
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — The homeless veteran who admitted to conspiring with a New Jersey couple in a GoFundMe scam that raised more than $400,000 was sentenced Friday to five years’ probation in a case the prosecutor said preyed on a trusting public. Johnny Bobbitt pleaded guilty last month in...
Man angry about virginity pleads guilty to threatening women
SALT LAKE CITY — A man has pleaded guilty to a felony terroristic threat charge after authorities said he threating to target women in a mass shooting because he couldn’t get a girlfriend. Utah prosecutor Chad Grunander tells the Deseret News that 27-year-old Christopher W. Cleary of Denver was in...
Cops: Pa. grandma tied 9-year-old to bed, made her eat off floor
PLYMOUTH, Pa. — Police say a Pennsylvania grandmother tied her 9-year-old granddaughter to a bunk bed with a belt, forced her to eat off the floor and wear urine-soaked clothing, and the child’s father and his fiancée failed to intervene. The Plymouth Borough Police Department says in a Facebook post...
Swallowed toys, coins, batteries spark rise in child ER visits
CHICAGO — The number of young kids who went to U.S. emergency rooms because they swallowed toys, coins, batteries and other objects has nearly doubled, a new study says. In 2015, there were nearly 43,000 such visits among kids under 6, compared with 22,000 in 1995, according to the study...
Finns to vote on how best to save their welfare state
HELSINKI — Finns will be voting Sunday in a parliamentary election shaped by debates on how best to preserve their generous welfare model despite having one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations. And in this Nordic nation, which has one-third of its territory above the Arctic Circle, anxieties over...
As cashless stores grow, so does the backlash
NEW YORK — Hembert Figueroa just wanted a taco. So he was surprised to learn the dollar bills in his pocket were no good at Dos Toros Taqueria in Manhattan, one of a small but growing number of establishments across the U.S. where customers can only pay by card or...
German police say gold Porsche is too shiny to drive
BERLIN — German authorities have ordered a blinged-out golden Porsche off the road for being too shiny. Hamburg’s Morgenpost reported Friday the 31-year-old driver was stopped in the northern city last week and told his Porsche Panamera, sporting a reflective gold foil finish, might blind other drivers and was a...
Mysterious bowls of mashed potatoes confuse Mississippians
JACKSON, Miss. — Residents of a neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, are confused by the bowls of mashed potatoes they’re finding on their cars, porches and mailboxes. Resident Jordan Lewis described the Belhaven neighborhood as a quirky one, with residents decorating road signs and putting Christmas trees in potholes. “So we...
Rain delay can’t save Pirates in road loss to Cubs
CHICAGO — Jose Quintana struck out 11 in seven innings of four-hit ball, and the Chicago Cubs blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0, on Thursday night. Daniel Descalso and Victor Caratini each had two hits and an RBI in a game that was delayed 69 minutes by rain before the eighth....
Warriors start NBA playoff road without LeBron James at the end
The Golden State Warriors are set to begin their quest for a third straight NBA title, and this time it’s up to someone else to try to stop them. With LeBron James gone to the West and this year gone entirely from the postseason, the Eastern Conference headquarters for the...
Police again step in as Texas lawmaker halts abortion billVideo
AUSTIN — A Texas sheriff’s department said Thursday it had “security concerns” over social media posts targeting a Republican lawmaker, who has come under fire by some conservative activists as a result of blocking a bill that could lead to a woman being charged with homicide if she has an...
DeChambeau, Koepka blister back 9 to lead at Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — No need to wait until Sunday for the Masters to come to life. Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson delivered enough excitement over the final two hours Thursday for quite an opening act at Augusta National. Koepka, a winner in two of the last three majors,...
Toddler survives 60-foot fall from apartment, lands on carVideo
REDMOND, Wash. — A 20-month-old boy survived a six-story fall from a suburban Seattle apartment window after the toddler landed on the roof of a parked car that cushioned the impact of the plunge, authorities said. The toddler “landed in a way where the car absorbed enough of the impact...
After winning small events, Justin Harding makes most of big stage at Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Harding of South Africa spent most of his Masters debut Thursday atop the leaderboard, and that’s not an unusual position for him over the past year. No one else at Augusta National can claim five victories and three runner-up finishes since the last Masters. Then again,...
Deputy’s son arrested in connection with arsons at Louisiana black churches
OPELOUSAS, La. — The suspect in a string of fires that destroyed three black churches in rural Louisiana is the white son of a sheriff’s deputy whose father helped arrange for his arrest, authorities said Thursday. Holden Matthews, 21, was jailed without bail on arson charges in connection with the...
Boeing makes 96 flights to test software on troubled Max jet
DALLAS — Boeing has made 96 flights to test a software update for its troubled 737 Max jet, according to the company’s CEO. Dennis Muilenburg said Thursday that more test flights are planned in the coming weeks as Boeing attempts to convince regulators that the plane is safe. The Max...
Mistrial declared for man who snapped $4.5M statue’s thumb
PHILADELPHIA — A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a Delaware man who admitted he broke a thumb off a $4.5 million statue at a Philadelphia museum. Michael Rohana was attending a Christmas-themed ugly sweater party at the Franklin Institute in December 2017 when he...
Ohio governor signs ban on abortion after 1st heartbeat
COLUMBUS — A bill imposing one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the nation was signed into law in Ohio. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the heartbeat bill Thursday, breaking with his predecessor, Republican John Kasich, who had vetoed the measure twice. Ohio’s closely divided politics had slowed the...
90-year-old Powerball winner sues son, says money invested poorly
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 90-year-old Florida woman who took home $278 million from a winning Powerball ticket six years ago is suing her son and his financial advisers, claiming the money was put into low-return investments while she was being charged $2 million in fees. The lawsuit filed by Gloria...
Police: Firefighter went into store nude on dare to buy soda
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — A firefighter who police say walked naked into a Rhode Island convenience store on a dare has been placed on leave. Police responded to a 7-Eleven in Middletown the afternoon of April 3 for a report of a naked customer. The owner said the man with a...
Ex-students file lawsuit alleging abuse at Pa.reform school
PHILADELPHIA — Four former students at the nation’s oldest reform school have filed a class-action lawsuit against the suburban Philadelphia facility, alleging they were abused and denied an education. The Juvenile Law Center says the suit against Glen Mills Schools was filed in federal court on Wednesday. An investigation by...
Michael Avenatti charged with embezzlement, fraud, cheating on taxes
LOS ANGELES — Attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged in a 36-count federal indictment alleging he stole millions of dollars from clients, did not pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings. Avenatti, 48, was indicted late Wednesday by a Southern California grand jury on a raft...
‘Hannah Montana’ costumes, props going up for charity auctionVideo
LOS ANGELES — Costumes, props and tour items from the Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana” TV series are going up for auction. The teen sitcom featured Miley Cyrus, who portrayed schoolgirl Miley Stewart by day and international pop star Hannah Montana by night. It helped launched Cyrus’ career and the franchise...
Toddler survives 60-foot fall from apartment, lands on car
REDMOND, Wash. — Authorities say a 20-month-old boy survived a six-story fall from suburban Seattle apartment window after the toddler landed on the roof of a parked car that cushioned the impact of the plunge. Redmond police spokesman James Perry told the KIRO television station Wednesday that the toddler “landed...
