Associated Press stories, Page 2517
Labor Secretary Acosta resigning amid Epstein deal scrutiny
WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Friday he is resigning following renewed scrutiny of his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Esptein , who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. President Donald Trump, with Acosta at his side, made the announcement...
Device leads to shutdown of Philadelphia airport’s baggage room
PHILADELPHIA — The Transportation Security Administration says officers closed the checked baggage room at Philadelphia International Airport after finding a device that resembled a pipe bomb. The room was evacuated and closed for about 40 minutes on Wednesday after officers spotted the device in a checked bag. The TSA says...
Man fatally beaten after stealing car with kids inside, Philadelphia cops say
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say a man who stole a car with three young children inside was fatally beaten by their father and other men. Philadelphia police say the car was parked at a pizza restaurant with its engine running when the man drove off around 9:15 p.m. Thursday. The children’s...
Volkswagen investing $2.6B in Ford-owned, Pittsburgh-based Argo AI
DETROIT — Volkswagen will sink $2.6 billion into a Pittsburgh autonomous vehicle company that’s mostly owned by Ford as part of a broader partnership on electric and self-driving vehicles, the companies confirmed Friday. The two automakers will become equal owners of Argo AI, a robocar firm that was majority-owned by...
R. Kelly arrested in Chicago on federal sex charges
CHICAGO — Singer R. Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested in Chicago Thursday on a federal grand jury indictment listing 13 counts including sex crimes and obstruction of justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick said the R&B singer was taken into custody about...
AP source: Russell Westbrook going to Rockets for Chris Paul
LAS VEGAS — Russell Westbrook and James Harden are together again, and Chris Paul is leaving Houston to make that reunion happen. A person with knowledge of the situation says the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Paul in a swapping of top point guards....
As Democrats debate busing, southern schools slowly desegregate
CLEVELAND, Miss. — This small Mississippi Delta town serves as a reminder that fierce debates over the integration of black and white students are not a thing of the past. Two rival high schools in Cleveland, one historically black and the other historically white, had to be merged just two...
Court: ‘Extreme bias’ in sending pregnant woman to prison
DETROIT — A woman who was sentenced to prison because a judge believed she would use drugs while pregnant has been released after the Michigan appeals court accused him of “extreme bias.” Samantha Hughes gave birth to a boy on July 2. The appeals court on Tuesday threw out a...
US growing largest crop of marijuana for research in 5 years
The U.S. government is growing the largest crop of research marijuana in five years, responding to interest in varieties with high levels of THC and CBD. The government is the only source of pot for nearly all research in the U.S., while it still considers it illegal and dangerous. Scientists...
AP Explains: How do immigration authorities make arrests?
After postponing an immigration-enforcement operation late last month, the Trump administration plans to go ahead with the raids as soon as this weekend. The sweep is expected to be similar to others that authorities have done regularly since 2003 and often netted hundreds of arrests. This one is different because...
Newer buildings show little damage after California quakes
LOS ANGELES — The two Southern California desert communities rocked by last week’s powerful earthquakes may have sustained as little damage as they did because they have no tall buildings and many of the homes in one are fairly new and were built to stricter earthquake standards. California’s Seismic Safety...
LA police chief aims to wipe out minor warrants for homeless
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said he is working to eliminate thousands of homeless people’s old warrants for minor offenses in the coming weeks as part of a solution to help get people off the streets. “This is a humanitarian crisis of our generation,” Moore said...
Trump administration plans immigration enforcement operation
CHICAGO — The Trump administration is moving forward with a nationwide immigration enforcement operation targeting migrant families, despite loud opposition from Democrats and questions over whether it’s the best use of resources given the crisis at the border. The operation could happen as soon as this weekend after being postponed...
Dialed-in Serena Williams rolls into Wimbledon finals, gets Halep next
WIMBLEDON, England — Hours before her Wimbledon semifinal, Serena Williams spent some time deep in thought and arrived at a couple of conclusions. For one thing, she shouldn’t focus too much on trying to raise her Grand Slam title total to 24, a number achieved by just one other player...
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal renew rivalry in Wimbledon semifinals
WIMBLEDON, England — After going more than 1½ years without playing each other, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be meeting at a second consecutive Grand Slam tournament when they face off in Wimbledon’s semifinals. Last month, Nadal got his shot at Federer on red clay, winning their wind-whipped French...
Gay square dancers add new spin to centuries-old dance style
PHILADELPHIA — There wasn’t a crinoline in sight as 850 square dancers at the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs opened its annual convention last week in a Philadelphia hotel, bringing their best promenades and do-si-dos to a slightly sped-up version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Correction: There was...
Pa. adds anxiety to qualifying conditions for medical pot
The Pennsylvania Health Department is adding anxiety disorders and Tourette’s syndrome to the list of conditions that can qualify people to obtain legal medical marijuana. The heath secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, announced Thursday she’ll be adding them as of July 20. Levine says her decision was based on the recommendation...
Rattlesnake, uranium, whiskey found during traffic stopVideo
GUTHRIE, Okla. — Police in Oklahoma say they found a rattlesnake, a canister of radioactive powdered uranium and an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey during a traffic stop of a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The traffic stop happened June 26 in Guthrie, about 30 miles north of...
Pennsylvania must get tough on crime guns, prosecutor says
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office says it wants to improve the management and use of firearms-sales databases so that law enforcement can better clamp down on gun violence. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that he wants police departments to enter serial numbers from every crime gun into a law-enforcement...
Expect another huge blob of algae on Lake Erie this summer
TOLEDO, Ohio — Scientists are likely to warn that another massive harmful algae bloom will blanket western Lake Erie this summer when they release their forecast. It will be released Thursday. Researchers are expecting that record-setting rains in Ohio and neighboring states in recent months will fuel a large mass...
Prosecutors go to court in support of Philly drug injection site
PHILADELPHIA — More than 60 prosecutors and other law enforcement officials have filed a court brief in support of a proposed supervised drug injection site that Philadelphia’s top federal prosecutor is trying to block from opening. The officials say that Safehouse’s proposed injection site would prevent overdose deaths and help...
Court: Risks justify redacting Pa. abortion clinic worker names
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court says security risks for people who work in abortion clinics justify a decision to redact their names and license numbers before making government records available to the public. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said Thursday the state Health Department acted properly when it removed professional...
Democrats acknowledge questioning Robert Mueller ‘will not be easy’
WASHINGTON — Some are watching old video of his previous testimony. Others are closely re-reading his 448-page report. And almost all are worrying about how they’ll make the most of the short time they’ll have for questioning. Robert Mueller, the Democrats know, will be tough to crack. The stern, reticent...
Diplomats shaken by resignation of Britain’s ambassador to U.S.
WASHINGTON — The abrupt resignation of Britain’s ambassador to the United States over leaked cables critical of the Trump administration may have jolted official Washington, but it’s unlikely to have a lasting impact on the U.S.-British relationship or diplomatic practice. Current and former diplomats say the leak of Ambassador Kim...
McGrath flip-flops on Kavanaugh confirmation after backlash
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. Senate candidate Amy McGrath said she would have voted to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and then just hours later she changed her mind. The Courier Journal reports that the reversal came after her comments were slammed on social media by both...
