Associated Press stories, Page 2534
Experts warn Midwest flood risk could persist for months
ST. LOUIS — Even as floodwaters receded in hard-hit places in in the Midwest, experts warned Saturday that with plenty of snow still left to melt in northern states, the relief may only be temporary. Rainfall and some snowmelt spurred flooding in recent weeks that’s blamed in three deaths so...
Man convicted of manslaughter in fatal post-Super Bowl fight
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — A man has been convicted of passion provocation manslaughter in the stabbing death of another man after a fight in New Jersey during celebrations over the Philadelphia Eagles’ victory in the Super Bowl last year. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that jurors acquitted 57-year-old Supreme Life of...
Cruise ship passengers hauled off ailing ship by helicopter
HELSINKI — A cruise ship with engine problems sent a mayday call off Norway’s western coast on Saturday, then began evacuating its 1,300 passengers and crew amid stormy seas and heavy winds in a high-risk helicopter rescue operation. The Norwegian newspaper VG said the Viking Sky cruise ship ran into...
Florida city dismantles, relocates Confederate statue
LAKELAND, Fla. — A statue of a Confederate soldier is being removed from a Florida park. The statue had stood at the center of Lakeland’s Munn Park for 109 years. City officials began dismantling the monument Friday. City commissioners voted in December 2017 to start the process to move the...
Ohio governor wants to raise age to buy tobacco to 21
DAYTON, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is proposing raising the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 as part of his two-year state budget. The Dayton Daily News reports the plan also would include vaping products, which are growing in popularity among high school students. About 20...
Dispute over refinery near national park heats up in court
BISMARCK, N.D. — Parties involved in a dispute over whether North Dakota regulators should be involved in the siting of an oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park are battling in state court. The dispute is over whether state regulators should have reviewed the site of the $800 million Davis...
U.S.-backed Syrian force says IS defeated in Syria
BAGHOUZ, Syria — A Kurdish commander has formally announced the “physical defeat” of the Islamic State group and appealed for continued assistance until the full eradication of the extremist group. General Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, says his forces have destroyed the group’s so-called caliphate...
Pope replaces Santiago bishop accused of sex abuse cover-up
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Saturday replaced Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, the embattled archbishop of Santiago, Chile, after he became embroiled in the country’s spiraling sex abuse and cover-up scandal. Francis accepted Ezzati’s resignation and named a temporary replacement to govern Chile’s most important archdiocese: the Spanish-born Capuchin friar and...
Georgia Senate OKs governor-backed ‘heartbeat’ abortion ban
ATLANTA — Amid protests and a heavy police presence, the Georgia Senate on Friday passed a bill banning almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The bill, backed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, passed on a 34-18 party-line vote and would be one of the nation’s strictest...
Kentucky-Wofford provides study in contrasts
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — They are the bluebloods of the Bluegrass, a storied program loaded with future NBA players who come to Kentucky with the very reasonable expectation of contending for a national championship during their brief tenure. Then there’s Wofford. Where is that exactly? Terriers standout Fletcher Magee can tell...
Oregon extends March run with upset over 5th-seeded Wisconsin
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Oregon was stumbling toward the end of a disappointing season until a strong turnaround led the Ducks to the Pac-12 title and an NCAA Tournament bid. Oregon is not looking to slow down any time soon. Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim...
California to waive environmental rules for fire season prep
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Friday to bypass environmental regulations to prepare for the next wildfire season, a move he said was necessary to prevent further loss of life even as it frustrated activists in a state viewed as a national environmental leader. “The increasing wildfire risks...
Robert Durst faces new lawsuit in death of first wife
NEW YORK — The legal saga surrounding real estate scion Robert Durst found yet another venue Friday, as a new lawsuit accused him of killing his first wife in New York and disposing of her body in 1982. The wrongful death claim, filed in state court, came two years after...
No. 13 seed UC Irvine upsets Kansas State
SAN JOSE, Calif. — When it comes to college basketball in California, UC Irvine is low on the totem pole. Now the program that sometimes feels like a little brother to Pac-12 powers like UCLA and USC is the only school from the state still standing in the NCAA Tournament...
Teen charged with making racist threats in Charlottesville
A 17-year-old boy was charged Friday with making online threats of “ethnic cleansing” against black and Hispanic students at the public high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, a city that was the site of a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017. The threats had shut down the city’s public schools on...
Robert Mueller concludes Russia probe, delivers report to AG Barr
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday turned over his long-awaited final report on the contentious Russia investigation that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency, entangled Trump’s family and resulted in criminal charges against some of the president’s closest associates. The report, still confidential, marks the...
NCAA Tournament roundup: Iowa rallies past Cincinnati
Iowa kept up the Big Ten’s blitz through its first six games in the NCAA Tournament. Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during the Hawkeyes’ closing surge, and the No. 10 seed in the South Region kept its league unblemished by rallying for a 79-72...
Top-seeded Louisville blows out Robert Morris in women’s NCAA Tournament
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville didn’t need its coach or starting point guard to roll past Robert Morris. And with the Colonials missing shots for much of the first half, the Cardinals didn’t really need that many baskets, either. Asia Durr and Sam Fuehring each had 19 points, and top-seeded Louisville...
Former Pa. Attorney General Kathleen Kane is disbarred
HARRISBURG — Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is losing her law license, a few months after she began a jail sentence for perjury, obstruction and other counts. The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a disbarment order Friday, based on paperwork voluntarily submitted and signed by...
Midwest flooding costs increasing, with $1.6B damage in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that recent flooding in the state has caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage, pushing the total costs from the devastating Midwest flooding to at least $3 billion. The ongoing flooding along the Missouri River has damaged thousands of homes...
Police: Man told Jewish co-worker she was in ‘gas chamber’
ALBANY, N.Y. — The arrest of a New York man on charges of harassing a Jewish co-worker at a health food store is the latest in a rising number of anti-Semitic episodes reported in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. The Democrat joined state police Superintendent Keith Corlett for...
Authorities: Lackawanna County worker was accessing child porn
SCRANTON — Authorities say a county worker in Pennsylvania used county-issued equipment to access child pornography. The Lackawanna County district attorney’s office says Theodore Karampilas faces nearly 100 counts of possessing and disseminating child porn. It wasn’t known if the 41-year-old Scranton man has retained an attorney. County officials say...
Indonesia’s top airline seeks to cancel order for 49 Boeing Max 8s
JAKARTA, Indonesia — In a blow for Boeing, Indonesia’s flag carrier is seeking the cancellation of a multibillion dollar order for 49 of the manufacturer’s 737 Max 8 jets, citing a loss of confidence after two crashes in the past six months. It is the first announcement of a cancellation...
Tyson recalls chicken strips due to metal fears
WASHINGTON — Arkansas-based Tyson Foods is recalling more than 69,000 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips because they may be contaminated with pieces of metal. The U.S. Agriculture Department said Thursday the products were produced on Nov. 30, 2018, and have a best if used by date of Nov. 30,...
Alabama prison shuts off water to cells, hunger strike ends
ATMORE, Ala. — The Alabama Department of Corrections says a hunger strike by inmates protesting solitary confinement at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility has ended after authorities shut off the water to their prison cells. Corrections spokesman Bob Horton told the Montgomery Advertiser on Thursday that the water was...
