Associated Press stories, Page 2599
33 reported dead in South Africa flooding, mudslides
JOHANNESBURG — South African media report that 33 people are dead from flooding and mudslides in the country’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province. State broadcaster SABC on Tuesday cites provincial authorities on the number of fatalities. The flooding has been caused by heavy rains that began on Monday. The report says hundreds...
Walgreens to hike minimum age for store tobacco sales
Walgreens has decided to raise its minimum age for tobacco sales several weeks after a top federal official chastised the drugstore chain for violating laws restricting access to cigarettes and other products. Walgreens said Tuesday that it will require customers to be at least 21 years old to purchase tobacco...
Proposal would require Maine students learn about Holocaust
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine lawmakers are considering a bill designed to require students to learn about the Holocaust. Democratic Sen. Louie Luchini of Ellsworth introduced the bill, which received a public hearing before a legislative committee Monday. Luchini says it’s time for Maine to join the less than a quarter...
Ex-USC coach, parent to plead guilty in college bribery scam
BOSTON — A former University of Southern California soccer coach and a California insurance executive became the latest people to agree to plead guilty in a college admissions cheating scandal that has netted prominent parents and Hollywood stars, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Laura Janke, who was an assistant women’s soccer...
Connecticut teen shot by police during traffic stop dies
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. — An 18-year-old Connecticut man shot by local police while allegedly driving toward an officer during a traffic stop died Monday, state police said. Anthony Jose Vega Cruz succumbed to injuries suffered Saturday, police said in an emailed statement. The announcement came hours after two dozen activists held...
Jared Kushner downplays Russia election interference
NEW YORK — Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, is downplaying Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Kushner, one of the most influential voices in the White House, minimized Russia’s involvement by describing it “as buying some Facebook ads” and trying to “sow dissent.” He...
$768M Wisconsin Powerball winner Manuel Franco ‘pretty much felt lucky’Video
MADISON, Wis. — A 24-year-old Wisconsin man stepped forward Tuesday to claim a $768 million Powerball prize, the nation’s third-largest lottery jackpot, saying he “pretty much felt lucky” the day he bought his tickets and has been worried that people want to steal his ticket. Manuel Franco, of West Allis,...
Hearing set over possible leak of Robert Kraft massage video
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Attorneys for two Florida massage parlor employees plan to ask a judge to hold police and prosecutors responsible for the possible unauthorized release of video that they say shows New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft paying for sex. The New York Daily News reported last...
Saudi Arabia beheads 37 citizens for terrorism crimes; pins bodies to poles
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia beheaded 37 Saudi citizens for what it said Tuesday were terrorism-related crimes, the Interior Ministry said, publicly pinning two of the bodies to a pole as a warning to others. The report said the executions were carried out by beheading and that two...
Back to Earth: Washington set to allow ‘human composting’
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington appears set to become the first state to allow a burial alternative known as “natural organic reduction” — an accelerated decomposition process that turns bodies into soil within weeks. The bill legalizing the process, sometimes referred to as “human composting,” has passed the Legislature and is...
U.S. expands probe into air bag failures to 12.3M vehicles
DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning air bag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths. Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Fiat...
Woman held for allegedly dumping puppies in California trashVideo
COACHELLA, Calif. — A woman has been arrested for allegedly throwing seven newborn puppies into a Southern California dumpster. Riverside County authorities arrested 54-year-old Deborah Culwell on Monday at her Coachella home. Surveillance video showed a woman get out of a car and drop a bag containing the pups into...
Palace: Trump to pay state visit to Britain in June
LONDON — U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to Britain in June as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday. Trump and his wife, Melania, have “accepted an invitation from Her Majesty The Queen to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom,” officials...
Sheryl Crow records ‘Redemption Day’ with Johnny Cash vocalsVideo
Sheryl Crow has released a political and spiritual song about war featuring vocals from the late Johnny Cash that will be featured on what she says is her last full-length album. Crow’s “Redemption Day” was originally included on her Grammy-winning 1996 self-titled album and later recorded by Cash and released...
Swole, buzzy, among new words in Merriam-Webster dictionary
BOSTON — Get swole, prepare a bug-out bag, grab a go-cup and maybe you’ll have a better chance of surviving the omnicide. Translation: Hit the gym and bulk up, put a bunch of stuff essential for survival in an easy-to-carry bag, grab a drink for the road, and perhaps you’ll...
New photos mark 1st birthday of Britain’s Prince Louis
LONDON — Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, have released new photos of their youngest child Prince Louis to celebrate his first birthday. Prince Louis reached the milestone on Tuesday. The photos, taken by Kate, show him playing in the garden of the family’s home in Norfolk, on England’s...
Wisconsin woman pleads guilty to terrorism charges
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin mother of seven pleaded guilty Monday to trying to plan terrorist attacks on behalf of the Islamic State group by distributing information online on how to make explosives and biological weapons. Waheba Issa Dais initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of providing material support to...
Mock NFL Draft predicts Steelers take CB Byron Murphy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — We learned during the 2018 season that offense is beloved by NFL teams (and fans). We also learned defense, as performed by the Patriots in the Super Bowl, carries away the Lombardi Trophy. This year’s draft, which begins Thursday night, is stocked with defenders who can be...
Officials say 6 people died in Texas small plane crashVideo
DALLAS — A man who was part-owner of a plane that crashed Monday in Texas, killing all six people aboard, said he and his friend who owned the plane regularly volunteered to fly sick people in remote parts of the country to hospitals in Houston and Dallas. Officials have not...
Supreme Court skeptical of paper’s argument over food stamp data
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday seemed inclined to rule against a South Dakota newspaper seeking data about the government’s food assistance program, previously known as food stamps. The high court was hearing arguments in a case originally brought by the Argus Leader newspaper, which is owned by USA...
House chair subpoenas former White House lawyer Don McGahn
WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Monday subpoenaed former White House Counsel Don McGahn for testimony following the special counsel’s report that said McGahn refused President Trump’s request to curb or cut off the Russia investigation. The New York Democrat announced his court action to compel McGahn...
Wisconsin woman pleads guilty to terrorism charges
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin mother of seven has agreed to plead guilty to trying to plan terrorist attacks on behalf of the Islamic State by distributing information on making explosives and biological weapons. Federal prosecutors said they’ll hold a news conference Monday to discuss the case of Waheba Issa Dais....
Teen charged with assault leaps from courthouse balcony
BOSTON — Massachusetts State Police say a teenager suffered severe injuries in an apparent leap from a Boston courthouse’s fourth-floor interior balcony. The teenager was facing domestic assault charges in juvenile court, but was not in custody. He had been released after his arrest and came to court Monday morning...
Wegmans to go plastic-bag free in N.Y. before state ban
ALBANY, N.Y. — Wegmans will eliminate single-use plastic grocery bags at its New York state stores by year’s end — just before a state ban on the packing takes effect, the grocery store chain announced Monday. The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain also said it will work to reduce the usage...
Mexico sees homicides rise by 9.7% in first quarter
MEXICO CITY — Homicides in Mexico rose by 9.7% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period of 2018, reaching 8,493 killings in the first three months of the year, the most on record for the period, according to figures released Monday by the nation’s Security Department....
