Associated Press stories, Page 2540
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...
Brooks and Dunn, Ray Stevens to join Country Hall of FameVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country hit-making duo Brooks and Dunn, comedic singer Ray Stevens and industry veteran Jerry Bradley will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year. The newest inductees were announced Monday in Nashville, Tenn. The Grammy-winning duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn...
Pennsylvania prisons to implement system-wide tobacco ban
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s prison system is banning all tobacco products inside every facility’s secure perimeter, starting July 1. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel announced the new policy Monday, citing the success of existing tobacco prohibitions in three state correctional institutions and Quehanna Boot Camp. After July 1 all tobacco products in...
Orangutan blinded after being shot 74 times with air gun
SIBOLANGIT, Indonesia — An endangered orangutan with a young baby on Indonesia’s Sumatra island was blinded after being shot at least 74 times with an air gun, an official and veterinarian said Monday. An X-ray showed at least 74 air gun pellets in its body, including four in its left...
Trump says media trying to blame him for New Zealand massacre
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he is unfairly being blamed for the New Zealand mosque massacre. Trump tweeted Monday that the media “is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand.” He adds: “They will have to work very hard to prove that one.” The...
Apple refreshes iPad lineup, with larger entry-level model
NEW YORK — Apple has unveiled a new iPad that’s thinner and slightly larger than its current entry-level tablet. The new iPad Air will cost $499 and sport a screen that measures 10.5 inches diagonally. That compares with the standard, 9.7-inch iPad at $329. Apple has a higher-end Pro model...
U.S., Russia to hold talks on Venezuela in Rome
ROME — U.S. and Russian officials are meeting in Rome this week to discuss the crisis in Venezuela. The U.S. State Department says Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, will hold talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and other Russian officials on Monday and Tuesday. Ryabkov...
Crews work to control fire at Texas petrochemicals plant
DEER PARK, Texas — Emergency crews worked Monday to control a large fire burning at a Houston-area petrochemicals terminal that has spread to eight storage tanks. Firefighters used foam to battle the blaze, which started Sunday morning at Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park, about 15 miles southeast of Houston....
Gunman kills 3 on Dutch tram, mayor says terror likely
UTRECHT, Netherlands — A gunman killed three people and wounded nine others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht, sparking a manhunt that saw heavily armed officers with sniffer dogs zero in on an apartment building close to the shooting. Authorities immediately raised the terror alert for...
Ryan Fitzpatrick agrees to $11 million, 2-year deal with Dolphins
MIAMI — Ryan Fitzpatrick will become the Miami Dolphins’ caretaker quarterback. The well-traveled veteran agreed to terms Sunday on an $11 million, two-year contract as a replacement to Ryan Tannehill and a placeholder until the Dolphins can draft their franchise quarterback. That could happen next month, but is more likely...
Beto O’Rourke says he raised $6.1M online in 1st 24 hours
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke raised more than $6 million online during the first 24 hours after he announced his White House bid, the highest 24-hour number reported by any candidate, his campaign said Monday. The “record-breaking” $6.1 million came “without a dime” from political action committees, corporations...
Facebook says service hindered by lack of local news
NEW YORK — Facebook’s effort to establish a service that provides its users with local news and information is being hindered by the lack of outlets where the company’s technicians can find original reporting. The service, launched last year, is currently available in some 400 cities in the United States....
Group with consumer-friendly vibe pushes drugmakers’ message
WASHINGTON — As ominous music plays in the background, the narrator of a radio ad echoes objections from drugmakers by warning that a Trump administration proposal to apply international pricing to certain Medicare drugs would be a nightmare for seniors. The one-minute spot is the handiwork of the Alliance for...
Christchurch gun shop sold rifles online to accused shooter
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A Christchurch gun shop on Monday acknowledged selling guns online to the 28-year-old white supremacist accused of killing 50 people in mosque shootings that have upturned New Zealand’s reputation as among the world’s most tolerant and safe nations. At a news conference, Gun City owner David...
Kansas hopes to resurrect proof-of-citizenship voting law
SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court will hear arguments Monday over the constitutionality of a struck-down Kansas statute that had required people to provide documents proving their U.S. citizenship before they could register to vote. In a case with national implications for voting rights, Kansas faces an uphill...
Iran’s Rouhani urges Iranians to ‘put all your curses’ on U.S.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s president on Monday urged Iranians to put a curse on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, reiterating his long-standing charge that the U.S. and its allies are responsible for the country’s ailing economy. President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks were meant to deflect criticism of his administration’s...
Japan to make crater on asteroid to get samples from inside
TOKYO — Japan’s space agency said Monday that its Hayabusa2 spacecraft will follow up last month’s touchdown on a distant asteroid with another risky mission — to drop an explosive to make a crater and collect underground samples to get possible clues to the origin of the solar system. Hayabusa2...
R. Kelly case spotlights abuse of girls in #MeToo era
NEW YORK — The girls, a dozen of them 15 to 18 years old, file into a conference room in a Brooklyn office building, taking seats in chairs carefully arranged in a circle. On the floor is a makeshift altar of comforting objects: A string of Christmas lights, plastic toys,...
McIlroy overcomes slow start to win The Players Championship
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — His best swing was followed by his biggest drive, both setting up birdies, and from there Rory McIlroy knew how to finish. Suddenly staked to a one-shot lead, McIlroy had a 125-yard walk along the water to the 17th hole to face an island that...
Serbia president vows to defend law and order amid protests
BELGRADE — Serbia’s president pledged Sunday to defend the country’s law and order a day after opposition supporters stormed the national TV station, protesting what they called his autocratic rule and biased grip on the country’s media. The opposition clashes with police on Saturday and Sunday in Belgrade, the capital,...
