Associated Press stories, Page 2590
Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion clinic law
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court stopped Louisiana from enforcing new regulations on abortion clinics in a test of the conservative court’s views on abortion rights. The justices said by a 5-4 vote late Thursday that they will not allow the state to put into effect a law that requires...
Penn State misses upset chance at Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kyle Young scored the go-ahead basket with 63 seconds left and Ohio State held off Penn State 74-70 in a Big Ten game on Thursday night. Penn State’s Josh Reaves stole the ball from Andre Wesson in the backcourt and scored on a slam with 1:34 left...
Former Rep. John Dingell, U.S.’s longest-serving lawmaker, dies
DETROIT — Former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in American history who mastered legislative deal-making and was fiercely protective of Detroit’s auto industry, has died. The Michigan Democrat was 92. Dingell, who served in the U.S. House for 59 years before retiring in 2014, died Thursday...
Robert Morris powers past Bryant to snap 2-game skid
Yannis Mendy scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting that included a dozen in the second half, and Robert Morris caught fire in the second half, racing past Bryant for a 72-59 Northeastern Conference victory on Thursday night. The Colonials snapped a tough, two-game losing streak that saw them fall to...
Jeff Bezos says National Enquirer threatened to publish revealing photos
LOS ANGELES — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday he was the target of “extortion and blackmail” by the publisher of the National Enquirer, which he said threated to publish revealing personal photos of him unless he stopped investigating how other private photos and messages were obtained by the tabloid....
MLB renames disabled list as injured list
ORLANDO, Fla. — MLB is changing the name of its disabled lists to injured lists. Deputy commissioner Dan Halem said Thursday the change is being made at the suggestion of advocacy groups for the disabled, including the Link20 Network. Clubs were notified of the change in a Dec. 20 memo...
NBC’s Mike Tirico will call first NHL game on Feb. 20 in Detroit
Mike Tirico’s advice to young announcers has been to take chances and get out of their comfort zone. He will be practicing what he preaches in a couple of weeks. The NBC Sports Group announced Thursday that Tirico will call his first NHL game on Feb. 20 when Detroit hosts...
Matthew Whitaker refuses to testify unless Dems drop subpoena threat
WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Thursday that he won’t appear before Congress unless a House committee drops its threat of a subpoena for his testimony, calling the Democratic-led move an act of “political theater.” The statement from Whitaker came soon after the House Judiciary Committee approved a...
Apple releases update to prevent FaceTime eavesdropping
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has released an iPhone update to fix a software flaw that allowed people to eavesdrop on others while using FaceTime. The bug enabled interlopers to turn an iPhone into a live microphone while using Group FaceTime. Callers were able to activate another person’s microphone remotely even...
Vet sentenced for implanting heroin in puppies as drug mules
NEW YORK — A veterinarian who surgically implanted liquid heroin in puppies on behalf of Colombian drug traffickers was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday. One of the puppies went on to become a drug-detection dog named Heroina. The sentence for Andres Lopez Elorez was announced in Brooklyn by...
Hall of Famer, pioneering manager Frank Robinson dies at 83
LOS ANGELES — Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, the first black manager in Major League Baseball and the only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, died Thursday. He was 83. Robinson had recently been in hospice care at his home in Bel Air. MLB confirmed his death....
Pa. Supreme Court justice denies benefit from alleged stolen union funds
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice who is the brother of an indicted Philadelphia labor leader is denying that he knowingly benefited from any money allegedly embezzled from the union. The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday cited five unidentified people familiar with the investigation as confirming Justice Kevin Dougherty is...
‘The View’ host Joy Behar under fire for use of blackface
NEW YORK — Joy Behar and ABC were silent Thursday after an old photo resurfaced of “The View” co-host using makeup to darken her skin for a Halloween costume, the latest flashpoint in a series of blackface scandals making national headlines. The 76-year-old didn’t mention the clip on Thursday’s show,...
Democrats seek Green New Deal to address climate change
WASHINGTON — Democrats are calling for a Green New Deal intended to transform the U.S. economy to combat climate change and create thousands of jobs in renewable energy. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is teaming up with veteran Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts on the plan, which aims to...
Rob Gronkowski hit by beer can during Patriots’ Super Bowl parade
BOSTON — Gronk got bonked. Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots’ star tight end, says he got hit in the face by a can of beer thrown during Tuesday’s Super Bowl victory parade in Boston. Gronkowski told “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” the can drew blood, and he showed...
Pedestrian run over when he takes shortcut underneath truck
EDISON, N.J. — Authorities say a pedestrian who tried to take a shortcut by scooting underneath a parked tractor-trailer was critically injured when the driver started up the vehicle and drove away. Edison police say the 30-year-old Princeton man and a friend were walking back to a hotel around 9:30...
House Democrats turn focus to getting Trump’s tax returns
WASHINGTON — The new Democratic-controlled House is looking at proposals to compel presidents and presidential candidates to make public years of their tax returns. But the burning question is what Democrats might do more immediately to get such files from President Donald Trump. That goal has been high on their...
West Virginia deer kill up slightly in 2018
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State wildlife officials say the number of white-tailed deer killed in West Virginia during the recently completed hunting seasons rose slightly compared to a year ago. The Division of Natural Resources says in a news release that hunters killed 108,856 deer last year. That’s compared to 108,160...
Bill Cosby, 81, moved to general unit at Pennsylvania prison
COLLEGEVILLE — Bill Cosby has been moved to a general population unit as he serves three to 10 years in prison for sexual assault in Pennsylvania. The move last week comes after the 81-year-old actor spent about four months in special housing as he acclimated to the SCI-Phoenix in suburban...
Army aims for more combat-ready troops with new fitness testVideo
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Army soldiers struggle to haul heavy sleds backward as fast as they can down a grassy field at Fort Bragg, filling the brisk North Carolina morning air with grunts of exertion and the shouts of instruction from their coaches. Watching from the sidelines, Sgt. Maj. Harold...
New U.S.-Mexico border barrier charts tricky course near homes
ALONG THE SAN DIEGO-TIJUANA BORDER — For all practical purposes, the purple-and-white stucco shrine that Jose Arias built to celebrate his recovery from a heart attack and honor his family lies in Mexico. The only way in and out of his plywood shack is through one of Tijuana’s oldest neighborhoods,...
Netanyahu channeling Trump in Israel’s election campaign
JERUSALEM — Seeking re-election under a cloud of criminal investigations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks to be channeling his inner Donald Trump in an angry campaign against perceived domestic enemies. Drawing clear inspiration from Trump, Netanyahu’s Likud party has plastered huge billboards of the two leaders together and launched...
AAA: Cold weather can cut electric car range by 40 percent
DETROIT — Cold temperatures can sap electric car batteries, temporarily reducing their range by more than 40 percent when interior heaters are used, a new study found. The study of five electric vehicles by AAA also found that high temperatures can cut into battery range, but not nearly as much...
Democrats speechless as scandal engulfs Virginia’s leaders
RICHMOND, Va. — With Virginia’s top three elected officials engulfed in scandal, fellow Democrats were rendered practically speechless, uncertain of how to thread their way through racial and sexual allegations and their tangled political implications. Gov. Ralph Northam’s career was already hanging by a thread over a racist photo in...
Anti-abortion bills: Odds good in GOP states, not Congress
President Donald Trump’s call for a ban on late-term abortions is unlikely to prevail in Congress, but Republican legislators in several states are pushing ahead with their own tough anti-abortion bills that they hope can pass muster with the Supreme Court. Two bills proposing to outlaw abortions after a fetal...
