Associated Press stories, Page 2520
Attorneys, judge keep winnowing jury pool for ex-cop’s trial
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge and attorneys have excused seven more people from the jury pool for the murder trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman who had called 911 to report a possible rape near her home. Mohamed Noor is charged with murder in...
2 Georgia officers shot; police deal with hostage situation
ATLANTA — A gunman suspected of shooting two Georgia police officers remain barricaded in a home Thursday with a teenager who was considered a hostage, police said. Both officers were in serious condition at an Atlanta hospital as police negotiated with the gunman in a bid to get him to...
Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday repealed rules that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and that labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion — marking a reversal of policies condemned as jarring detours from a push by the faith...
Investigator details events preceding California SUV crash over cliff
SAN FRANCISCO — Before her wife drove an SUV off a Northern California cliff, Sarah Hart spent hours searching on her phone for overdosing options and whether it was relatively painless to die by drowning, a highway patrol investigator testified Thursday. California Highway Patrol investigator Jake Slates said despite the...
Man charged with killing Nipsey Hussle pleads not guilty
LOS ANGELES — The man charged with killing rapper Nipsey Hussle was ordered held on $5 million bail after pleading not guilty Thursday to murder and attempted murder charges. Eric R. Holder Jr., 29, making his first court appearance after Sunday’s shooting and subsequent two-day manhunt, spoke only to say...
Final Four runs don’t mask problems in college sports
MINNEAPOLIS — One team’s coach got kicked out of the sport for three years, and two of his assistants have been named in bribery scandals. Another team’s coach is the most high-profile name in an athletic department scarred by its handling of a massive sex-abuse scandal. Few would argue Auburn’s...
Judge rejects lawsuit over Pennsylvania turnpike toll hikes
HARRISBURG — A federal judge is dismissing a lawsuit over Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increases that are financing payments to help fund transit agencies. U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane ruled Thursday that a truckers’ organization didn’t adequately argue that the scheme violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution or the...
Amid rising anxiety, colleges tell students it’s OK to fail
WALTHAM, Mass. — Bentley University has plenty of success stories among its faculty and alumni. But one recent evening, the school invited students to hear about the failures. Speaking to a crowded auditorium, one professor recounted the time he sank a $21 million company. Another recalled failing her college statistics...
San Diego County sues U.S. over asylum-seeking family releases
SAN DIEGO — San Diego County sued Wednesday to overturn the Trump administration’s cancellation of an immigration program because the move has led to the quick release of families after they cross the border without allowing time for travel arrangements. The county on the Mexican border said the decision to...
Cardi B leads with 21 Billboard Awards nominations
Cardi B is the leading contender at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards with 21 nominations. NBC and dick clark productions announced Thursday the 26-year-old rapper is up for honors including top artist, top female artist and top Billboard 200 album for her Grammy-winning release, “Invasion of Privacy.” Drake and Post...
CVS expands same-day prescription deliveries to 36 states
CVS Health is expanding same-day prescription deliveries nationwide in the latest push by drugstores to keep customers who don’t want to wait and are doing more shopping online. The drugstore chain says it can deliver medications and other products within a few hours to homes or offices from 6,000 locations....
Meow hear this: Study says cats react to sound of their name
NEW YORK — Hey Kitty! Yes, you. A new study suggests household cats can respond to the sound of their own names. No surprise to you or most cat owners, right? But Japanese scientists said Thursday that they’ve provided the first experimental evidence that cats can distinguish between words that...
Slash’s ex-wife auctioning items from marriage
The former wife of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is selling off exotic and erotic items from their 14 years of marriage. Julien’s Auctions announced Thursday the collection from Slash and Perla Hudson’s Beverly Hills estate will be part of next month’s Music Icons auction. The items feature Slash’s signature...
Mike McCarthy: Firing from Packers ‘couldn’t have been handled any worse’
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy says he was surprised and stunned at the timing of his firing last December and believes his dismissal was handled poorly. McCarthy told ESPN in a story posted Wednesday he knew it might be in trouble if the Packers...
14-year-old says he is Illinois boy who went missing in 2011
In 2011, 6-year-old Timmothy Pitzen’s mother picked him up at school in Illinois, took him to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a hotel, leaving a note in which she said her son was fine but that no one would ever find him. On Wednesday,...
Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
DALLAS — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him. Effective immediately, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will...
Yabba dabba don’t: California town rejects Flintstones house
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — Towering dinosaurs stand among fanciful mushrooms in the sloping backyard. A life-sized Fred Flintstone welcomes visitors near the front door. And by the driveway on the lawn is a giant “Yabba Dabba Do” sign in orange, purple and red. The latest battle in the war between government...
Arrest revives security concerns at Trump’s Florida estate
PALM BEACH, Fla. — As palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, Yujing Zhang approached Secret Service agents in the Mar-a-Lago parking lot. She said she was going to the swimming pool at the Palm Beach presidential estate and presented agents with two Chinese passports in her name. That raised...
Search finds no evidence of student’s 2004 disappearance
HAVERHILL, N.H. — Authorities who searched a home and dug up a basement in northern New Hampshire said Wednesday they found no evidence of a college student who disappeared after crashing her car nearby 15 years ago. Maura Murray, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts-Amherst nursing student, left campus on Feb....
Britney Spears says she’s taking a little ‘me time’
LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears says she’s decided to focus on self-care as she goes through a rough stretch. Spears posted an image on Instagram Wednesday with the words, “Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Mind. Body. Spirit.” In the caption she wrote that everyone needs “a little...
Los Angeles police say bike-riding face slasher arrested
LOS ANGELES — A man who rode around on a bicycle and slashed the faces and necks of at least nine people in Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. One victim said the man laughed after he cut her. Lenrey Briones was tracked down...
Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
DALLAS — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him. Effective immediately, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will...
Michigan State’s Cassius Winston has chance to join Magic JohnsonVideo
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cassius Winston is already in elite company. The crafty point guard is among a handful of Michigan State players to win Big Ten player of the year honors and earn a spot on the Associated Press All-America team. And if he can help the Spartans win...
Trump signs memorandum to stem counterfeit goods traffickingVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Wednesday to rein in what the administration calls the “Wild West” of online trafficking in counterfeit goods. The memorandum is aimed at stopping the sale of counterfeit products on sites like Amazon, Ebay and China’s e-commerce leader, Alibaba. “This president...
Police: Black woman charged following beating by white man
DALLAS — A black woman who Dallas police say was beaten by a white man over a parking dispute now has been charged with a felony for later shattering a windshield on the man’s pickup. Police said Tuesday that 24-year-old L’Daijohnique Lee is charged with criminal mischief following last month’s...
