Associated Press stories, Page 2539
Need an edge for your NCAA bracket? Geek out over these stats
At this time of year, everyone’s in search of a system — some way of simplifying the brackets and making it a little easier to pick one champion out of all those contenders. You could go with the most experienced coaches or perhaps the teams playing the best defense. Or...
James Corden returns to host the 2019 Tony AwardsVideo
James Corden is returning to host the 73rd annual Tony Awards. The American Theatre Wing on Tuesday announced that the host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” will preside over Broadway’s biggest night which honors the season’s best plays and musicals. Corden previously hosted the 70th annual Tonys. Corden won...
Chicago police union wants federal probe in Smollett case
The Chicago police union’s president alleges that the county’s top prosecutor interfered with the investigation of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett before recusing herself and wants the Justice Department to determine if she broke any laws. WLS-TV in Chicago reports that Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham wrote the Justice...
Facebook says no one flagged New Zealand mosque shooting livestream
LONDON — Facebook says none of the 200 or so people who watched live video of the New Zealand mosque shooting flagged it to moderators, underlining the challenge tech companies face in policing violent or disturbing content in real time. The social media giant released new details about its response...
Statue of Liberty climber gets 5 years’ probation
NEW YORK — A woman who climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty last July 4 to protest the separation of families at the Mexican border has been sentenced to five years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. Therese Okoumou entered the Manhattan federal courthouse on Tuesday with...
Sen. Edward Markey to give away campaign donations from Robert Kraft
BOSTON— U.S. Sen. Edward Markey planned to donate campaign contributions he received from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida, to an organization that works to end human trafficking. Markey received $3,600 in donations from Kraft during the Massachusetts Democrat’s first campaign for...
Mike Pence heads to flooded Midwest amid concerns about levees
OMAHA, Neb. — Vice President Mike Pence is headed to the Midwest to view flood damage as farmers raise concerns that busted levees won’t be fixed before the traditional spring flood season. Pence is scheduled to visit Omaha, Nebraska, late Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of homes are damaged, and tens of...
Trump’s 2 Supreme Court picks on opposite sides in 2 cases
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s two Supreme Court appointees were on opposite sides of two of three cases that the justices decided Tuesday. The two new justices have solidified conservative control of the Supreme Court, but they do not march in lockstep, at least in the small corners of the...
Tyler Perry steps in to help 4 children of slain single mom
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Less than a day after the family of a slain single mother of four launched a fundraising appeal, actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry has lent his support. News outlets report Perry offered to take care of the family’s rent to stave off eviction, arrange for 45-year-old Tynesha...
High profile arrest led Alabama police to genealogy testing
OZARK, Ala. — A truck-driving preacher accused of killing two teenage girls from Alabama nearly 20 years ago was found with the same genealogy database techniques used to apprehend the suspected “Golden State Killer” last year. Law enforcement interest in using genetic genealogy to crack cold cases has ballooned since...
Filmmaker David Lynch teaching a class on creativity
LOS ANGELES — According to filmmaker David Lynch, all it takes are 70 ideas to make a feature film. The visionary mind behind “Blue Velvet,” ”Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks” is imparting this and other wisdom, like never giving up final cut, in a new MasterClass on creativity and filmmaking...
Dartmouth professor wins top religion prize
HANOVER, N.H. — A Dartmouth College professor of physics and astronomy was awarded one of the world’s leading religion prizes for blending hard science and deep spirituality in his work, a foundation announced Tuesday. The John Templeton Foundation is awarding its 2019 prize to Marcelo Gleiser, who has written books...
Sharpton, family seek change a year after Stephon Clark died
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Standing beside the family of a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot by police a year ago Monday, the Rev. Al Sharpton called for California to make it easier to prosecute officers who kill civilians and to require that all cases go before a grand jury....
Spoilers! Baylor tops women’s NCAA field as bracket leaks
NEW YORK — One of the joys of March Madness is the surprising things that can happen during the NCAA Tournament. For the women, there was an unpleasant surprise before the tournament even began when the field was revealed early thanks to a production error. The bracket was mistakenly broadcast...
Judge: Feds can post info on FBI raid of Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen
NEW YORK — A judge directed prosecutors Monday to publicly release documents related to the search warrant for last year’s FBI raids on the home and office of President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III ordered that redacted versions of the documents be released...
Ex-officer says she had sex while child was dying in hot car
BILOXI, Miss. — A former Mississippi Gulf Coast police officer told a judge Monday that she had sex with her supervisor and then fell asleep while her 3-year-old daughter was dying inside an overheated patrol car. Cassie Barker pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter in a plea bargain after being indicted...
Pentagon lists possible project cuts to pay for border wall
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon sent a 20-page list of military construction projects to Congress on Monday that might be slashed to pay for President Trump’s wall along the Mexican border. Democrats expressed hope that by knowing which local projects could be targeted, lawmakers would be likelier to override Trump’s veto...
Pennsylvania lawmaker Brian Ellis facing sex assault claim quits House
HARRISBURG — A Western Pennsylvania state lawmaker resigned Monday, two months after being stripped of a chairmanship over allegations he had sex with a woman against her will while she was blacked out. Republican state Rep. Brian Ellis, who has not been charged with any crime, wrote in a letter...
Suspect in mob boss hit flashes pro-Trump slogans on hand
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — The man charged with killing the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family wrote pro-Donald Trump slogans on his hand and flashed them to journalists before a court hearing Monday. Anthony Comello, 24, was arrested Saturday in New Jersey in the death of Francesco “Franky Boy”...
Over 1,000 feared dead as cyclone slams into Mozambique
JOHANNESBURG — More than 1,000 people were feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages and leaving bodies floating in the floodwaters, the nation’s president said. “It is a real disaster of great proportions,” President Filipe Nyusi said. Cyclone Idai could prove...
Johnstown pediatrician gets at least 79 years for assaulting patients
EBENSBURG — A former Pennsylvania pediatrician was sentenced Monday to at least 79 years in prison for sexually assaulting 31 children, most of them patients, as his now-adult victims blasted not only their abuser but the system that let him get away with it for so long. Dr. Johnnie Barto...
Man accused of throwing pancake batter faces battery charge
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A 45-year-old Florida man is accused of throwing a bowl of pancake batter at a woman who was making dinner. An arrest report says Dwayne Zimmerman was drunk on Friday night when he went onto the porch of a home where the woman was making pancakes. The...
U.S. drug czar says border wall will reduce influx of drugs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — President Donald Trump’s drug czar says the president’s plan for a U.S.-Mexico border wall would save American lives by helping stem the flow of illegal drugs into the country. Jim Carroll said in Kentucky on Monday that Trump’s long-promised border wall would help stop drug smugglers looking...
DNA match leads to arrest in 1999 Alabama slaying, rape case
OZARK, Ala. — A DNA match found through genealogy testing led to the arrest of a truck-driving preacher in the killings of two teen girls who were found shot to death in a car trunk nearly 20 years ago, authorities said Monday. Coley McCraney, 45, of Dothan is charged with...
Fox News hires Donna Brazile as political contributor
NEW YORK — Fox News says it has hired former Democratic National Committee chief Donna Brazile as a political commentator. Brazile had been let go from a similar role at CNN in 2016 after it was revealed that she had shared material about topics that would be addressed at a...
