Associated Press stories, Page 2645
Manafort case sparks conversation about sentence disparities
A judge’s decision to sentence President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman to less than four years in prison — a fraction of the penalty called for in government guidelines — sparked widespread anger Friday and opened up a conversation about whether the justice system treats different crimes and criminals fairly....
Trump surveys devastation, pays respects to tornado victims
BEAUREGARD, Ala. — Standing near the slab that’s all that is left of one family’s garage, President Donald Trump on Friday surveyed the devastation wrought by a powerful tornado that ripped through a rural Alabama town, uprooting trees, tearing homes from their foundations and killing nearly two dozen people. “We...
‘He said, he said’ – Who can you trust in Cohen-Trump saga?
NEW YORK — It’s a “he said, he said” where the “he” — no matter who he is — has a credibility problem. The latest White House legal drama — whether or not the president’s former legal fixer asked him for a pardon — has pulled back the curtain on...
Smollett indicted on 16 counts stemming from reported attack
CHICAGO — A grand jury in Chicago indicted “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts related to making a false report that he was attacked by two men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs. The Cook County grand jury indictment dated Thursday and made public on Friday gives details...
New Mexico moves toward legalizing recreational marijuana
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico took a step toward legalizing recreational marijuana when its House approved a bill that would allow state-run stores and require customers to carry a receipt with their cannabis or face penalties. The measure, narrowly approved Thursday following a late-night debate, mixes major provisions of...
California man learns he’s dying from doctor on robot video
FREMONT, Calif. — A California family is devastated that their relative was told he didn’t have long to live by a doctor appearing on a robot’s video screen. San Francisco Bay Area news station KTVU reported Thursday that 79-year-old Ernest Quintana went Sunday to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center’s emergency department...
Quirky moments from China’s annual Congress
BEIJING (AP) — The annual meeting of China’s legislature is a highly scripted affair, but quirky moments and offbeat details lurk around the edges and behind the scenes. Hundreds of military officers serving as delegates march to the event in formation, carrying identical navy satchels, their red name tags dangling...
Philly man accused of stealing homes, empty plots from the dead
Authorities say a man forged deeds to steal six properties and homes, including some from the deceased, in a burgeoning Philadelphia neighborhood. Robert Stokes was charged Friday with theft, forgery and tampering with records. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office says the 50-year-old Stokes transferred bogus deeds that had forged signatures....
Elizabeth Warren says tech giants have ‘too much power,’ need breakup
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Friday rolled out a proposal to break up the biggest U.S. technology companies, saying they have too much control over the economy and Americans’ lives. In her pitch to rein in the influence of tech giants, the Massachusetts senator envisions legislation targeting...
Leaked text messages reveal Maine mayor’s racist remark
LEWISTON, Maine — Text messages made public by a woman who said she had an affair with a mayoral candidate who was later elected in Maine’s second-largest city reveal a racist remark he sent her while the two were working to undermine a political opponent. Heather Berube Everly has called...
Kate’s pregnancy takes center stage in wildly different episode of ‘This Is Us’
LOS ANGELES — “This Is Us” routinely brings viewers to tears. Next week, it’s taking them to the theater. The hit NBC series will air an episode modeled on a one-act play and confined almost entirely to a hospital waiting room and to a single day, a sharp detour from...
Police: Puppy stabbed during house break-in
MIDDLETON, N.H. — Police in New Hampshire say a 3-month-old puppy was stabbed during a break-in at a home. WMUR-TV reports police said no one was home during the burglary on Thursday in Middleton. When the residents came home, they found the puppy, named Jax, with stab wounds to his...
‘Simpsons’ producers pull iconic Michael Jackson episode
LOS ANGELES — The producers of “The Simpsons” are removing a classic episode that featured the voice of Michael Jackson. Executive producer James L. Brooks told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday “it feels clearly the only choice to make.” He said fellow executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean...
U.S. housing starts climbed 18.6 percent in January
WASHINGTON — U.S. housing starts jumped 18.6 percent in January, as builders ramped up construction of single-family houses to the fastest pace in eight months. The Commerce Department said Friday that January ground breakings occurred at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million. Home construction rebounded sharply from December,...
U.S. wages rise by most in decade even as hiring tumbles
WASHINGTON — The pace of hiring in the United States fell last month to its lowest point in nearly a year and a half, a surprise drop likely reflecting harsh weather and other temporary factors that led most economists to see the slowdown as a temporary blip. Employers added just...
Judge OKs wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of aborted embryo
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama judge has approved a wrongful death lawsuit filed by a 21-year-old man on behalf of an aborted embryo. Al.com reported Wednesday that Ryan Magers is calling the 6-week-old embryo “Baby Roe” in his suit seeking damages from the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives. Magers...
Sheriff: Girl buried in backyard had been caged and starved
GUYTON, Ga. — An investigator with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia says a girl whose body was buried in the backyard had been beaten, bound, starved and shocked with a stun gun. The Savannah Morning News reports Investigator Abby Brown testified Tuesday that 14-year-old Mary Crocker also was...
Bloodied man walks into Pennsylvania hospital, says he killed boyfriend
MANHEIM — Authorities say a man covered in blood walked into a Pennsylvania hospital and told staffers there he had just fatally stabbed his boyfriend. Manheim Township police say 30-year-old Matthew Van Zandt is charged with homicide in the death of 31-year-old Ian Shannon, whose body was found Wednesday in...
Ohio cheese wins U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
GREEN BAY, Wis. — A cheese from Ohio has captured the top spot at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin. The baby Swiss made by Guggisberg Cheese in Millersburg, Ohio, barely edged out a Gouda made by Marieke Penterman in Thorp, who won the contest in 2013. Penterman was...
Pope denounces ‘depraved’ antisemitism and urges dialogue
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis denounced the “depraved hatred” behind a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in parts of the world and said interfaith dialogue can help counter it. Francis met Friday with a delegation of the American Jewish Committee and praised their longstanding good relations. He lamented that their meeting...
Cleveland suburb to pay $1M to estate of man fatally shot by police
CLEVELAND — A city outside Cleveland has agreed to pay $1 million to the estate of an unarmed man fatally shot by a police officer after a vehicle chase in 2017. Cleveland.com reports an attorney for the estate of Roy Evans Jr. confirmed Thursday that Strongsville has agreed to settle...
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson is resigning
WASHINGTON — Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, once seen as a candidate to succeed Jim Mattis as defense secretary, said Friday she is resigning to become president of the University of Texas at El Paso. A former U.S. House Republican member from New Mexico and graduate of the U.S. Air...
Pa. Lottery machines spent most of the day down due to outage
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lottery officials say many machines around Pennsylvania had been offline for most of the day due to a service outage. Department of Revenue spokesman Jeffrey Johnson said the outage Friday was due to connectivity issues with Verizon’s cellular service at some terminals throughout the state. It only...
Holocaust survivor says teens in swastika photo apologized
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The high school party took an ugly turn. Drink cups were used to form a crude swastika. Nazi salutes flashed. Cameras clicked. What appears to have been a woefully misguided attempt at humor turned into a national embarrassment for the Southern California city of Newport Beach,...
Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim deemed ‘not reckless’ in fatal crash
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim will not be charged in last month’s fatal highway accident, and the case is closed. Boeheim was “not reckless,” Onondaga County district attorney William Fitzpatrick said Thursday. Fitzpatrick added his decision came after reviewing the police accident report. Boeheim declined to comment,...
