Associated Press stories, Page 2615
Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte among those honored at jazz gala
NEW YORK — Tony Bennett had few words to say, but many more to sing. Bennett was among the honorees Thursday night at “A Great Night in Harlem,” the annual fundraiser for the Jazz Foundation of America. Introduced by Ben Stiller to a capacity audience at the Apollo Theater, Bennett...
Teens get weekends in jail for racist, anti-Semitic graffiti
GLENELG, Md. — Two Maryland teens have been sentenced to jail for racist and anti-Semitic graffiti that was found at their former high school in Glenelg. News outlets report 19-year-olds Matthew Lipp and Tyler Curtiss were sentenced Thursday to 16 consecutive weekends in jail and eight consecutive weekends, respectively. Curtiss...
2 seen in surveillance at Gerald Ford grave come forward
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Police say two people suspected of defacing the gravesite of former President Gerald Ford and first lady Betty Ford have come forward and are cooperating. Grand Rapids, Michigan, police say the results of the investigation will be forwarded to a prosecutor for review when it is...
Environmental groups to sue Shell over climate change
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Climate activists are planning to deliver a court summons to Shell in a court case aimed at forcing the energy giant to do more to rein in carbon emissions. The summons is being delivered to Shell’s headquarters in The Hague on Friday afternoon. The move comes...
Pope’s Good Friday meditation to focus on human trafficking
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is dedicating this year’s Good Friday meditations to victims of human trafficking. The Vatican said Friday that Francis had asked an Italian nun who rescues migrant women forced to work as prostitutes to compose the meditations. They will be read aloud at the torch-lit ritual...
EU investigates video game companies over antitrust concerns
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s competition watchdog is stepping up its investigation of a U.S. video game platform and five game makers over concerns they blocked players from buying cheaper versions of games in other countries. The EU’s competition commissioner said Friday it issued a statement of objections to Valve...
Lawsuit: Teacher sexually abused child, birthed his kids
WHEELING — A West Virginia man says his middle school teacher sexually abused him for years, gave birth to his children and threatened to take them away if he left her. The Intelligencer reports 28-year-old Christopher Birch is suing former Bridge Street Middle School science teacher and track coach, Elizabeth...
Chief: Family DNA leads police to mother who abandoned baby
COLUMBIA, S.C. — When a dead baby was found abandoned in a box in a vacant South Carolina field 29 years ago, every single detective on Greenville’s force poured themselves into the case. There were solid leads — the vacuum cleaner box where the girl was found was traced back...
Suspect held in 4 slayings at North Dakota business
MANDAN, N.D. — A 44-year-old man was arrested Thursday in the slayings of four people who were shot or stabbed earlier this week at a property management business, police said. Chief Jason Ziegler said surveillance video identified a vehicle of interest and helped lead them to the suspect, who lived...
Washington wolf census finds more packs, breeding pairs
SPOKANE, Wash. — The number of gray wolves in Washington state kept growing last year and for the first time the state documented a pack living west of the Cascade Range, wildlife officials said Thursday. The state has a minimum of 126 wolves in 27 packs with 15 successful breeding...
A year later, Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ border policy frays
SAN DIEGO — As the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy hits its anniversary, the promise to criminally prosecute everyone who crosses the Mexico border illegally has been forced to evolve. Today the reality is families come first. A surge in family arrivals, largely from Guatemala and Honduras, has led Border...
Biologists: Killing hungry sea lions saving imperiled fish
PORTLAND, Ore. — A plan to kill California sea lions to save an endangered run of fish on a river that cuts through Portland, Oregon, appears to be working just months after wildlife officials began euthanizing the giant marine mammals, biologists said Thursday. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife...
Attorneys, judge keep winnowing jury pool for ex-cop’s trial
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge and attorneys have excused seven more people from the jury pool for the murder trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman who had called 911 to report a possible rape near her home. Mohamed Noor is charged with murder in...
2 Georgia officers shot; police deal with hostage situation
ATLANTA — A gunman suspected of shooting two Georgia police officers remain barricaded in a home Thursday with a teenager who was considered a hostage, police said. Both officers were in serious condition at an Atlanta hospital as police negotiated with the gunman in a bid to get him to...
Mormons ease opposition to same-sex couples and their kids
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday repealed rules that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and that labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion — marking a reversal of policies condemned as jarring detours from a push by the faith...
Investigator details events preceding California SUV crash over cliff
SAN FRANCISCO — Before her wife drove an SUV off a Northern California cliff, Sarah Hart spent hours searching on her phone for overdosing options and whether it was relatively painless to die by drowning, a highway patrol investigator testified Thursday. California Highway Patrol investigator Jake Slates said despite the...
Man charged with killing Nipsey Hussle pleads not guilty
LOS ANGELES — The man charged with killing rapper Nipsey Hussle was ordered held on $5 million bail after pleading not guilty Thursday to murder and attempted murder charges. Eric R. Holder Jr., 29, making his first court appearance after Sunday’s shooting and subsequent two-day manhunt, spoke only to say...
Final Four runs don’t mask problems in college sports
MINNEAPOLIS — One team’s coach got kicked out of the sport for three years, and two of his assistants have been named in bribery scandals. Another team’s coach is the most high-profile name in an athletic department scarred by its handling of a massive sex-abuse scandal. Few would argue Auburn’s...
Judge rejects lawsuit over Pennsylvania turnpike toll hikes
HARRISBURG — A federal judge is dismissing a lawsuit over Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increases that are financing payments to help fund transit agencies. U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane ruled Thursday that a truckers’ organization didn’t adequately argue that the scheme violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution or the...
Amid rising anxiety, colleges tell students it’s OK to fail
WALTHAM, Mass. — Bentley University has plenty of success stories among its faculty and alumni. But one recent evening, the school invited students to hear about the failures. Speaking to a crowded auditorium, one professor recounted the time he sank a $21 million company. Another recalled failing her college statistics...
San Diego County sues U.S. over asylum-seeking family releases
SAN DIEGO — San Diego County sued Wednesday to overturn the Trump administration’s cancellation of an immigration program because the move has led to the quick release of families after they cross the border without allowing time for travel arrangements. The county on the Mexican border said the decision to...
Cardi B leads with 21 Billboard Awards nominations
Cardi B is the leading contender at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards with 21 nominations. NBC and dick clark productions announced Thursday the 26-year-old rapper is up for honors including top artist, top female artist and top Billboard 200 album for her Grammy-winning release, “Invasion of Privacy.” Drake and Post...
CVS expands same-day prescription deliveries to 36 states
CVS Health is expanding same-day prescription deliveries nationwide in the latest push by drugstores to keep customers who don’t want to wait and are doing more shopping online. The drugstore chain says it can deliver medications and other products within a few hours to homes or offices from 6,000 locations....
Meow hear this: Study says cats react to sound of their name
NEW YORK — Hey Kitty! Yes, you. A new study suggests household cats can respond to the sound of their own names. No surprise to you or most cat owners, right? But Japanese scientists said Thursday that they’ve provided the first experimental evidence that cats can distinguish between words that...
Slash’s ex-wife auctioning items from marriage
The former wife of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is selling off exotic and erotic items from their 14 years of marriage. Julien’s Auctions announced Thursday the collection from Slash and Perla Hudson’s Beverly Hills estate will be part of next month’s Music Icons auction. The items feature Slash’s signature...
