Associated Press stories, Page 2612
Ex-inmate hired to lead Pennsylvania Board of Pardons
HARRISBURG — A former legislative aide who did prison time for drug and weapons offenses has taken over as secretary to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons amid efforts to streamline the clemency process, officials said Monday. Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced the appointment of Brandon Flood to the $89,000-a-year...
Historic Pennsylvania barn’s ban on same-sex weddings prompts outcry
ELIZABETHTOWN — A county tourism group is sticking by its decision to hold a meeting at a historic venue in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, despite an outcry of the locale’s policy banning same-sex weddings. The Star Barn is a top wedding spot in Elizabethtown, surrounded by farmland, orchards and vineyards in...
U.S. labels Iran Revolutionary Guard ‘terrorist organization’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. is designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a “foreign terrorist organization,” in an effort to increase pressure on the country. It is the first time that the U.S. has designated a part of another country as a terrorist organization. The designation imposes...
Spacewalking astronauts tackle battery, cable work
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts tackled battery and cable work outside the International Space Station on Monday. It was the third spacewalk in just 2 ½ weeks for the space station crew. NASA astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques hustled through their part in battery swap-outs that...
Trump’s choice to replace Nielsen focuses on southern border
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has resigned amid President Donald Trump’s growing frustration and bitterness over the number of Central American families crossing the southern border. Trump announced on Sunday in a tweet that U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan would be taking over as acting...
Bernie Sanders finds himself in a new role as front-runner
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is quieting critics who questioned whether he could recapture the energy of his upstart 2016 campaign, surpassing his rivals in early fundraising and establishing himself as an indisputable front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Less than two months into his second White House...
Following Grammy win, Dan + Shay victorious at ACM Awards
There’s more liquid in Dan + Shay’s cup of tequila: The country music duo followed their first Grammy win for “Tequila” with multiple wins at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Dan + Shay won duo of the year and single of the year for the crossover hit at the...
Virginia Tech hires former Wofford coach to replace Buzz Williams
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech has hired former Wofford men’s basketball coach Mike Young to replace Buzz Williams. The school announced the decision Sunday night, just four days after Williams left to take the same job at Texas A&M. Young, a native of Radford, Va., about 10 miles from the...
Virginia basketball known for upsets, and maybe a national title
MINNEAPOLIS — It is not Duke, North Carolina or UCLA. Yet, when sorting through all the games, personalities and events that helped shape college basketball into the billion-dollar colossus it is today, it’s hard to look past the name “Virginia.” It’s the program that gave us one of the sport’s...
Pennsylvania man gets 3 to 6 years in Russian roulette death
LOCK HAVEN — A man has been sentenced to three to six years in prison on charges related to a game of Russian roulette that killed another man in central Pennsylvania. Fifty-five-year-old Randy Hill was sentenced last week after pleading guilty in Clinton County to reckless endangering and drug counts...
Corey Conners wins Valero days after qualifying, will play MastersVideo
SAN ANTONIO — His first PGA Tour victory in the bag and his ticket punched for next week’s Masters, Corey Conners’ primary concern was a big change to his work weeks going forward. “No more Monday qualifying,” Conners said. “That’s the best deal from this. Amazing. It’s a dream come...
NHL playoff matchups set for ‘best time of year’
The team expected to win it all faces an opponent that loaded up for the same thing, the defending champions go up against a playoff newcomer and the wild West is wide open in the quest for the Stanley Cup. The NHL playoffs open Wednesday when the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa...
Inside the life of the Capitals’ Tom Wilson, hockey’s most hated man
ARLINGTON, Va. — Tom Wilson tries not to read everything about him on social media. You’d think being on the receiving end of endless tweets and messages that are, well, not suitable for work would be reason enough to skip them. But Wilson can’t just ignore it all because sometimes...
2 South Carolina men charged with killing, burying women
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Two South Carolina men have been charged with murder after sheriff’s deputies found two bodies buried at a house just outside Spartanburg, authorities said. The arrests were made after one of the suspects shot himself in the head in front of deputies, survived, and subsequently told deputies...
Baylor women hold off Notre Dame to win title
TAMPA, Fla. — Baylor recovered after blowing a 17-point lead and losing a star player, beating Notre Dame, 82-81, for the NCAA women’s basketball championship Sunday night when 2018 tournament hero Arike Ogunbowale missed a foul shot in the final seconds. Chloe Jackson made a layup to put Baylor ahead...
Netflix teases upcoming Beyonce special ‘Homecoming’
NEW YORK — It took just one word for Netflix to send Beyonce fans into a full-on freak out. The streaming giant on Sunday posted on its social media channels a yellow image with the word “Homecoming” across it. The only other information was a date: April 17. pic.twitter.com/gzR6I3atHz— Netflix...
Tim Dahlberg: At Masters, it’s not the players who are stars
The not-quite-ready-for-prime-time Thanksgiving exhibition with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson produced such bad golf that Mickelson and country singer Jake Owen traded barbs about it a day later at Jordan Spieth’s wedding. Owen said it was so bad he deserved a refund. He told Barstool Sports’ “Fore Play” podcast that...
Uganda police say kidnapped U.S. woman and driver are freed
KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan police said on Sunday they had rescued an American woman and her driver who had been kidnapped by gunmen in a national park. The two “are in good health” and “in the safe hands” of security officials, police said in a Twitter update. Although authorities provided...
Belief systems working for NCAA finalists Virginia, Texas Tech
MINNEAPOLIS — For Virginia and Texas Tech, doing something that had never been done before took hard work, dedication, determination — and vision. The Cavaliers and Red Raiders meet in the NCAA Tournament championship game Monday night. Neither program has ever been this close to a title, making it a...
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned on Sunday amid the administration’s growing frustration and bitterness over the number of Central American families crossing the southern border, two people familiar with the decision said. President Trump thanked her for her work in a tweet and announced U.S. Customs and...
Kyle Busch fends off brother to win NASCAR race at BristolVideo
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Kyle Busch was in the race Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, so of course, he won. Busch grabbed his third Cup win of the season, eighth overall at Bristol, and 10th this year spanning all three of NASCAR’s national series. The victory Sunday came at the expense...
4 adults, 2 kids shot and wounded at Chicago baby shower
CHICAGO — Two men who opened fire on a crowd of people gathered for a baby shower, wounding six people, including two children, may have acted in retaliation for an earlier gang conflict, police said Sunday. Authorities have only “shards of information” about what happened at the family gathering in...
Chief of staff says Dems will ‘never’ see Trump tax returns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats will “never” see President Donald Trump’s tax returns, said White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday, as a new front opened in the confrontation between the administration and Congress. Mulvaney accused Democrats of engaging in a “political stunt” and wanting “attention” after the chairman...
Smoking pot vs. tobacco: What science says about lighting up
NEW YORK — As more states make it legal to smoke marijuana, some government officials, researchers and others worry what that might mean for one of the country’s biggest public health successes : curbing cigarette smoking. Though there are notable differences in health research findings on tobacco and marijuana, the...
Reba McEntire: Female country stars being overlooked at ACMs
Kacey Musgraves made history when she won the 2019 Grammy for album of the year and swept the country music categories, but there’s one award she won’t win: entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. That’s because no women are nominated for the show’s top award...
