Associated Press stories, Page 369

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania judge has blocked Penn State’s Board of Trustees from voting to remove a member who is suing the board over access to financial information, calling the vote potentially “retaliatory.” Board member Barry Fenchak, an investment advisor, believes the board has been paying unusually high advisory fees...

NEW YORK — A May 5 trial date was set Thursday in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking case, and a prosecutor argued that the jailed hip-hop mogul’s lawyers were trying to exclude a “damning piece of evidence” by claiming it was leaked by the government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson...

IRVING, Texas — Big 12 coaches tabbed Kansas as the preseason favorite to win a conference that had nine of its current teams make the NCAA Tournament last season. The Jayhawks were picked ahead of Houston, Iowa State, Baylor and league-newcomer Arizona in a vote by the conference’s 16 coaches...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge for a preliminary injunction Wednesday so they can compete next season under the charter system they are challenging as their antitrust case moves through federal court. 23XI Racing, which is owned by Michael Jordan, veteran driver Denny Hamlin and...

LONDON — The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to arrive in London later than expected Friday because of Hurricane Milton, the team confirmed ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. A team spokesperson said on Thursday that the Jaguars’ departure time has been “slightly” delayed. The hurricane smashed into Florida, making...

LOS ANGELES — Southern Cal’s season is on the verge of slipping away. Penn State’s season is starting to look awfully special. The Trojans’ desperation and the Nittany Lions’ opportunity appear to be the main motivators when No. 4 Penn State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) travels more than 2,500 miles...

The Tampa Bay Rays said it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida. The team said no one was injured when...

Taylor Swift has donated $5 million to Feeding America to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The nonprofit announced the pop star’s donation Wednesday with a “Thank You” graphic resembling a friendship bracelet, a favorite accessory that Swift’s fans trade at her concerts. Feeding America...

NEW YORK — Thousands of flights in and out of the U.S. have been canceled this week as Hurricane Milton barreled into the Gulf of Mexico and plowed across Florida — causing many airports to close their doors in the path of destruction. And airlines across the country grounded flights...

The mayor in St. Petersburg, Florida, warned residents cranes at several construction projects across the city might fall in Hurricane Milton and at the storm’s peak on Wednesday night, one came crashing down. No one was injured when the crane working on a 46-story condominium and office budling — which...

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. surged to 6.32% this week, adding pressure on home buyers facing sky-high prices and a limited supply of houses for sale. The rate ticked up from 6.12% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate...

NEW YORK — Even in an election year, most seem to agree on one aspect about Ali Abbasi’s much-debated Donald Trump film “The Apprentice”: Sebastian Stan is a remarkably good Trump and Jeremy Strong is chillingly riveting as the New York power broker Roy Cohn. One reviewer recently wrote that...

Communities in Florida still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Helene are now also grappling with the still-unfolding damage from Hurricane Milton. The storm crashed into a community south of Tampa, drenching counties with torrents of rain, downing power lines and bridges and kicking up dangerous storm surges. Here is...

BOSTON, Mass. — Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96. Kennedy had been hospitalized after suffering a...

MAYS LANDING, N.J. — The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife, who is the seaside gambling resort’s schools superintendent, pleaded not guilty Thursday to beating and abusing their teenage daughter, with a lawyer saying that “parenting struggles are not criminal events.” Mayor Marty Small Sr. and La’Quetta Small, who...

WINTER PARK, Florida — Many Jews worldwide will mark Yom Kippur in fasting and prayer at their synagogues this weekend. But for the faithful in Florida, destructive Hurricane Milton has disrupted plans for observing the Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith —...

WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 2.5% cost-of-living increase to their monthly checks beginning in January, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees translates to an average increase of more than $50 for retirees every month, agency officials said. About...

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumped to its highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene — and the Boeing machinist strike — than a broader softening in the labor market. The Labor Department reported Thursday...

WASHINGTON — Inflation in the United States dropped last month to its lowest point since it first began surging more than three years ago, adding to a spate of encouraging economic news in the closing weeks of the presidential race. Consumer prices rose just 2.4% in September from a year...

SCRANTON, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump hurled insults at his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other women Wednesday — saying he had no interest in stopping his attacks even if they turn off female voters — as Hurricane Milton made landfall, lashing Florida with rain, tornadoes and tropical-storm-force...

STOCKHOLM — The Nobel Prize in literature was awarded Thursday to South Korean author Han Kang for what the Nobel committee called “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” Nobel committee chairman Anders Olsson praised Han’s “physical empathy for the vulnerable, often...

The Tampa Bay Rays said it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida. The team said no one was injured when...

PHILADELPHIA — Twin brothers who were born conjoined recently celebrated their first birthday after undergoing successful separation surgery. Amari and Javar Ruffin, whose family lives in Philadelphia, were born via cesarean section on Sept. 29, 2023. The brothers — who shared part of their sternum, diaphragm, abdominal wall and liver...