Associated Press stories, Page 2616
Mike McCarthy: Firing from Packers ‘couldn’t have been handled any worse’
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy says he was surprised and stunned at the timing of his firing last December and believes his dismissal was handled poorly. McCarthy told ESPN in a story posted Wednesday he knew it might be in trouble if the Packers...
14-year-old says he is Illinois boy who went missing in 2011
In 2011, 6-year-old Timmothy Pitzen’s mother picked him up at school in Illinois, took him to the zoo and a water park, and then killed herself at a hotel, leaving a note in which she said her son was fine but that no one would ever find him. On Wednesday,...
Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
DALLAS — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him. Effective immediately, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will...
Yabba dabba don’t: California town rejects Flintstones house
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — Towering dinosaurs stand among fanciful mushrooms in the sloping backyard. A life-sized Fred Flintstone welcomes visitors near the front door. And by the driveway on the lawn is a giant “Yabba Dabba Do” sign in orange, purple and red. The latest battle in the war between government...
Arrest revives security concerns at Trump’s Florida estate
PALM BEACH, Fla. — As palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, Yujing Zhang approached Secret Service agents in the Mar-a-Lago parking lot. She said she was going to the swimming pool at the Palm Beach presidential estate and presented agents with two Chinese passports in her name. That raised...
Search finds no evidence of student’s 2004 disappearance
HAVERHILL, N.H. — Authorities who searched a home and dug up a basement in northern New Hampshire said Wednesday they found no evidence of a college student who disappeared after crashing her car nearby 15 years ago. Maura Murray, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts-Amherst nursing student, left campus on Feb....
Britney Spears says she’s taking a little ‘me time’
LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears says she’s decided to focus on self-care as she goes through a rough stretch. Spears posted an image on Instagram Wednesday with the words, “Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Mind. Body. Spirit.” In the caption she wrote that everyone needs “a little...
Los Angeles police say bike-riding face slasher arrested
LOS ANGELES — A man who rode around on a bicycle and slashed the faces and necks of at least nine people in Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. One victim said the man laughed after he cut her. Lenrey Briones was tracked down...
Texas bans clergy from executions after Supreme Court ruling
DALLAS — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him. Effective immediately, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will...
Michigan State’s Cassius Winston has chance to join Magic JohnsonVideo
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cassius Winston is already in elite company. The crafty point guard is among a handful of Michigan State players to win Big Ten player of the year honors and earn a spot on the Associated Press All-America team. And if he can help the Spartans win...
Trump signs memorandum to stem counterfeit goods traffickingVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Wednesday to rein in what the administration calls the “Wild West” of online trafficking in counterfeit goods. The memorandum is aimed at stopping the sale of counterfeit products on sites like Amazon, Ebay and China’s e-commerce leader, Alibaba. “This president...
Police: Black woman charged following beating by white man
DALLAS — A black woman who Dallas police say was beaten by a white man over a parking dispute now has been charged with a felony for later shattering a windshield on the man’s pickup. Police said Tuesday that 24-year-old L’Daijohnique Lee is charged with criminal mischief following last month’s...
Justice Department finds ‘severe’ problems in Alabama prisons
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Justice Department issued a scathing report on Alabama’s prisons on Wednesday, saying the state is violating the Constitution by failing to protect inmates from violence and sexual abuse and by housing them in unsafe and overcrowded facilities. The department gave Alabama 49 days to correct the...
Polish priest apologizes for burning of ‘Harry Potter’ books
WARSAW, Poland — A priest in northern Poland who led a public burning of books that included titles from the “Harry Potter” series and other items parishioners wanted destroyed has apologized, saying the ritual was not intended to condemn specific authors, religions or social groups. The Rev. Rafal Jarosiewicz called...
Creepy cargo: Philippines seizes 757 tarantulas from Poland
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine customs officials were astonished when they opened nicely gift-wrapped boxes of cookies and oatmeal flown in all the way from Poland and found a hair-raising contraband: hundreds of live tarantulas. Bureau of Customs personnel seized the 757 tarantulas at a mail exchange center near Manila’s international...
3 ex-Penn State frat members get jail in pledge’s death
BELLEFONTE — Three ex-Penn State fraternity brothers have been sentenced to jail on hazing charges in connection to the February 2017 death of a student pledging the fraternity. The Centre Daily Times reports that sentences handed down Tuesday to the three former Beta Theta Pi members range from 30 days...
Angelina Jolie not ruling out public office
LOS ANGELES — Angelina Jolie is not ruling out running for public office. The 43-year-old actress and U.N. special envoy tells People magazine “never say never!” However, Jolie says she’s “looking to others for leadership.” In her role with the U.N.’s High Commission for Refugees, Jolie recently urged nations to...
Car being chased by police crashed into Taylor Swift’s gate
WESTERLY, R.I. — A stolen car crashed into the gates of Taylor Swift’s beachfront Rhode Island home Tuesday morning following a police chase that started in a neighboring town, police said. The chase started around 1 a.m. Tuesday when a Hopkinton officer on patrol noticed the car had no license...
U.S. investigates seizure risk with electronic cigarettes
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials are investigating whether electronic cigarettes may trigger seizures in some people who use the nicotine-vaping devices. The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has reviewed 35 reports of seizures among e-cigarettes users, particularly young people. Regulators stressed it’s not yet clear whether vaping is...
Indians give manager Terry Francona extension through 2022
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians may have some injury issues, bullpen worries and payroll problems. They’re set at manager. The club signed New Brighton native Terry Francona to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday through the 2022 season, giving him more security and a chance to become the longest tenured...
Thousands of chickens killed in Pa. barn fire
UPPER BERN, Pa. — Thousands of chickens have died after a fast-moving fire ripped through a barn in Pennsylvania. Authorities say the fire at A&L Farms in Upper Bern broke out around 7 p.m. Tuesday and tore through a 300-foot-long chicken house. It’s believed that roughly 28,000 chickens died in...
Woman buys out Payless shoe store for Nebraska flood victims
HAYS, Kan. — A Kansas woman donated 204 pairs of shoes to Nebraska flood victims after buying everything that was left at a closing Payless store. The Hays Post reports the shoes were part of a flood relief shipment taken to farmers in Nebraska by Fort Hays State’s agriculture sorority,...
Alabama bill would outlaw abortion as lawmakers aim at Roe
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama is the latest Republican-leaning state seeking to enact a strict abortion ban as conservatives take aim at the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Energized by new conservatives on the Supreme Court, abortion opponents in multiple states hope to ignite new legal battles that...
Trump urges even more defense spending by NATO allies
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump praised NATO countries for increasing their financial contributions to the Western alliance, but he hounded them to pay even more, saying America still shoulders a disproportionate share of the cost of protecting Europe. The president met Tuesday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was in...
Trump pivots on pledges, exploring the art of the climb-down
WASHINGTON — His border shutdown went from imminent to uncertain. A major health care push was declared and then delayed. Funding cuts were inserted in his proposed budget and just as quickly taken out. President Donald Trump has been exploring the art of the climb-down. Trump pivoted on two big...
