Associated Press stories, Page 2546
Pennsylvania drug gang blamed for homicides; 8 indicted
READING — Prosecutors have announced the federal indictment of eight alleged members of a violent drug organization blamed for as many as eight homicides in one Pennsylvania community. U.S. Attorney William McSwain says a drug gang called “Trinidad DTG” distributed methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in the Reading area. McSwain...
Hate crimes unit investigates Ginsburg poster graffiti
NEW YORK — New York Police Department’s hate crimes unit is investigating after a poster of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was defaced with a swastika and an anti-Semitic insult. WNBC says a straphanger tweeted a photo of the defaced poster on a Brooklyn subway platform to the Metropolitan...
U.S. moves to lift remaining gray wolf protections
BILLINGS, Mont. — Gray wolves in the U.S. would be stripped of federal protection and subjected to hunting and trapping in more states under a proposal released Thursday that declares the predators recovered following a decades-long restoration effort. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to revoke the wolves’ endangered...
Charity used in fraudulent college donations, feds say
The mastermind of a wide-ranging college admissions scandal set up a charity that wove a deep web of deception and fraud to mask bribes and payoffs, funneling millions of dollars through the tax-exempt organization under the nose of U.S. officials, according to prosecutors and tax documents reviewed by The Associated...
GOP senators appear ready to block Trump border declaration
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate is set to deal President Donald Trump a rebuke on his declaration of a national emergency at the Mexican border, with the only remaining question how many GOP senators will join Democrats in defying him. Republicans are predicting that Thursday’s showdown vote will result in...
Colorado’s ‘bomb cyclone’ storm barrels toward Midwest
LONGMONT, Colo. — National Guard troops were using specialized vehicles with tank-like treads to rescue stranded drivers in Colorado in the wake of a massive late-winter storm that was expected to unleash heavy rain and snow on the Midwest plains on Thursday. Wednesday’s blizzard caused widespread power outages, forced the...
U.S. immigration agents find ways around ‘sanctuary’ policies
PHOENIX — Two years after New Mexico’s largest county barred local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration authorities, its leaders learned that the policy was being subverted from within. Staff members at the Bernalillo County jail in Albuquerque were still granting immigration authorities access to its database and, in some...
West Virginia beats Oklahoma in Big 12 Tournament on overturned call
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — West Virginia held on to beat Oklahoma, 72-71, in the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night when the Sooners’ Christian James, who appeared to knock down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime, was ruled to have had his foot on the line. The officials overturned their...
Singer Pink adopts pup named Nash while on tour in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The pop star Pink added another member to her family this week when she adopted a puppy while in Tennessee on her “Beautiful Trauma” tour. The Tennessean reports the pup has been named Nash, which the star says is short for Nashville. Pink posted a photo on...
Students file lawsuit against colleges in bribery scandal
SAN FRANCISCO — Two college students have filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern California, Yale University and other colleges where prosecutors have accused rich and famous parents paying bribes to ensure their children’s admission. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco and alleges the...
Malaysia backtracks on plan to abolish death penalty
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s government backtracked Wednesday on abolishing capital punishment, saying instead that the death penalty would no longer be mandatory for selected offenses. Rights groups slammed the reversal and urged it to reconsider. Deputy Law Minister Hanipa Maidin made the announcement in parliament but didn’t give any...
7 file papers to run for 2 Pennsylvania Superior Court seats
HARRISBURG — Four Democrats and three Republicans have filed petitions to get on primary ballots for a seat on Pennsylvania’s mid-level appellate court that handles civil and criminal appeals from county courts. Filings were due Tuesday for the May 21 primary for two open Superior Court seats. Democrats filing include...
Judge won’t let unvaccinated children back in New York school
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A federal judge, citing an “unprecedented measles outbreak” in suburban Rockland County, New York, has denied a request to let 44 unvaccinated children return to school. Parents of students in the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge have sued the county health department. They say...
Odell Beckham’s arrival makes Browns instant contenders
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns returned as an expansion team in 1999. They became a real one Tuesday night. It only took 20 mostly tortuous years — and one tremendous trade. With a shocking, blockbuster deal for superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns flipped the NFL on its...
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma considers bankruptcy as lawsuits loom
The company that has made billions selling the prescription painkiller OxyContin said Wednesday that it is considering legal options including bankruptcy, a move that could upend hundreds of lawsuits claiming it had a major role in causing the U.S. opioid drug crisis. “As the company has stated, it is exploring...
New Raiders WR Antonio Brown: No hard feelings toward SteelersVideo
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Rookie general manager Mike Mayock and coach Jon Gruden meticulously put together a plan to rebuild the Oakland Raiders with three first-round draft picks and a couple of smart free-agent signings when they suddenly got sent in a different direction last week. The Pittsburgh Steelers were willing...
As Brexit day nears, British lawmakers to vote on requesting delay from EU
LONDON — British lawmakers have gone on record saying they don’t want the U.K. to leave the European Union without a divorce agreement in place, increasing the odds that Brexit won’t take place as planned at the end of the month. With an approaching deadline intensifying fears that economic and...
‘Full House’ actress Lori Loughlin out on bond in bribery case
LOS ANGELES — Colleges and companies moved swiftly to distance themselves from employees swept up in a nationwide college admissions scheme, many of them coaches accused of taking bribes and others prominent parents accused of angling to get their children into top schools by portraying them as recruited athletes. That...
Arkansas lawmakers send governor 18-week abortion ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers have sent the governor legislation banning most abortions 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, a prohibition that could be the strictest in the country. The House on Wednesday gave final approval by an 86-1 vote to the bill, which Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has...
Trump: U.S. grounding Boeing 737 Max 8, 9 after Ethiopia crash
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the U.S. is issuing an emergency order grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people. Many nations in the world had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8...
Scientists back temporary global ban on gene-edited babies
NEW YORK — An international group of scientists and ethicists on Wednesday called for a temporary global ban on making babies with edited genes. It’s the latest reaction to last November’s announcement that gene-edited twins had been born in China, which was widely criticized. Mainstream scientists generally oppose making babies...
Israeli group honors Nikki Haley with coin
JERUSALEM — An Israeli organization has minted a coin emblazoned with the face of Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, to commemorate her defense of Israel in the world body. The Sanhedrin, a Jewish organization that dreams of restoring the Jewish Temple, where ancient temples...
Spotify files antitrust complaint to EU against Apple
LONDON — Swedish music site Spotify has complained to European Union regulators about Apple for allegedly abusing its dominant position in music streaming and stifling competition. Spotify founder Daniel Ek said Wednesday that the company has filed a formal antitrust complaint with the executive European Commission against Apple — a...
Italy outraged as court finds victim too ugly to be raped
ROME — Italy’s Justice Ministry has ordered a preliminary inquiry into an appeals court ruling that overturned a rape verdict in part by arguing that the woman who was attacked was too ugly to be a credible rape victim. The ruling has sparked outrage in Italy, prompting a flash mob...
NASA’s new rocket won’t be ready for moon shot next year
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s top official says the space agency’s new rocket won’t be ready for a moon shot next year. Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate committee Wednesday he’s considering switching to commercial rockets to preserve the June 2020 launch date. Bridenstine says two commercial rockets would be...
