Associated Press stories, Page 497
Lightning strike damages Rome’s ancient Constantine Arch
ROME — Workers mounted a crane Wednesday to secure Rome’s Constantine Arch near the Colosseum after a lightning strike loosened fragments from the ancient structure. A violent thunder and lightning storm that felled trees and flooded streets in the Italian capital damaged the honorary arch late Tuesday afternoon. Fragments of...
Nordstrom family offers to take department store private for $3.76B with Mexican retail group
NEW YORK — Members of the Nordstrom family with the help of a Mexican retail group are offering to take the century-old department store private for $3.76 billion per share cash, months after first expressing interest in a buyout. In a letter to the board of directors dated Tuesday, Erik...
‘Fake heiress’ Anna Sorokin will compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ amid deportation battle
LOS ANGELES — Anna Sorokin, the con artist who was convicted of swindling banks, hotels and friends in 2019 after falsely building a reputation as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, has found her newest venture: “Dancing With the Stars.” Described as the “notorious ankle bracelet fashionista” in a...
Even dollar store chains are seeing a pullback by customers as higher prices squeeze the vulnerable
Dollar Tree is slashing its full-year earnings and sales forecasts as its customers continue to struggle with higher prices and spend less. Shares tumbled more than 12% before the opening bell Wednesday after hitting a 52-week low on the prior day. Less than a week ago, shares of rival bargain...
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba resigns as Russian strikes kill 7 people in Lviv
KYIV, Ukraine — Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine’s most recognizable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation Wednesday ahead of an expected major government reshuffle. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed seven people in a western Ukraine city, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the...
South Korea says North Korea has again launched suspected trash-carrying balloons across the border
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it has detected suspected trash-carrying balloons launched by North Korea, in the latest round of a Cold War-style psychological warfare between the war-divided rivals. The metropolitan government of Seoul, South Korea’s capital, issued text alerts Wednesday saying that objects likely to be North...
Grenfell Tower was a ‘death trap’ due to failures by UK government and industry, inquiry finds
LONDON — A damning report on a deadly London high-rise fire said Wednesday that decades of failures by government, regulators and industry turned Grenfell Tower into a “death trap” where 72 people lost their lives. The years-long public inquiry into the 2017 blaze concluded that there was no “single cause”...
Pittsburgh man arrested at Trump rally wanted to hang protest banner, police say
HARRISBURG — A man arrested last week at a Pennsylvania rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had hoped to hang a banner to protest Trump’s policies, Johnstown’s police chief said Tuesday. Authorities announced that misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were filed against Stephen A. Weiss, 36,...
New rules led to more kickoff returns, no hip-drop tackle penalties in preseason
The early returns on the NFL’s new kickoff rules are in from the preseason, and the result is a significant increase in returns. Owners voted this spring to overhaul the kickoff, hoping to revive a play that had little action last season after most kicks resulted in no returns while...
At least 7 cars hit, 6 people injured in gunfire on interstate near Seattle
SEATTLE — At least seven vehicles traveling along Interstate 5 just south of Seattle were hit by gunfire overnight, leaving at least six people injured before a suspect was taken into custody, officials said Tuesday. The state patrol did not release any information on the suspect in the shooting that...
Falcons add 3rd QB ahead of season opener, signing Nathan Peterman to practice squadVideo
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons added a third quarterback ahead of their season opener, signing former Pitt standout Nathan Peterman to the practice squad Tuesday. Peterman provides some insurance behind starter Kirk Cousins and backup Michael Penix Jr. after the Falcons dealt third-stringer Taylor Heinicke to the Los...
Police say 11-year-old used 2 guns to kill former Louisiana mayor and his daughter
MINDEN, La. — An 11-year-old boy is suspected of using two guns to fatally shoot a woman and her father, an 82-year-old man who once served as mayor, city council member and deputy sheriff in Louisiana, police said Tuesday. A 911 caller told police on Sunday morning that there were...
Brandon Aiyuk returns to 49ers practice with a new contract after making the process ‘difficult’Video
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brandon Aiyuk’s first choice during his lengthy contract dispute with the 49ers that featured social media outbursts, a trade request and an awkward “hold in” was to remain in San Francisco. The 49ers never wanted to part ways with their star receiver, either. So what took...
Mongolia ignores an international warrant for Putin’s arrest, giving him a red-carpet welcome
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome Tuesday to Mongolia, as the country ignored calls to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The trip, which concluded Tuesday night, was Putin’s first to a member nation of...
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to intervene in wake of hush money conviction
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, thwarting the former president’s latest bid to overturn his felony conviction and delay his sentencing. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that Trump had not satisfied the burden...
U.S. charges Hamas leader, others in connection with Oct. 7 massacre in Israel
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants in connection with the Oct. 7, 2023, rampage in Israel, marking the first effort by American law enforcement to formally call out the masterminds of the attack. The seven-count criminal complaint filed...
Wall Street tumbles on worries about economy, Dow drops more than 600
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday to their worst day since an early August sell-off, as a week full of updates on the economy got off to a discouragingly weak start. The S&P 500 sank 2.1% to give back a chunk of the gains from a three-week winning streak...
Phoenix weathers 100 days of 100-plus degree temps as heat scorches the West
PHOENIX — Cam Ferguson gets to his spot on the street adjacent to Chase Field — home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks — about four hours before first pitch to set up his usual display of cold water, sports drinks, peanuts and candy. By game time, it’s about 103...
Former aide to 2 New York governors charged with being an agent of the Chinese governmentVideo
A former aide to two New York governors was charged Tuesday with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government who used her state positions to subtly advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars. Linda Sun, who held numerous posts in New York state...
RFK Jr. must remain on the Michigan ballot, judge says
LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must remain on the November presidential ballot, dealing a blow to his crusade to strategically remove his ticket from the battleground state. Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump in August. Since then, he has...
The Chiefs seek the 1st Super Bowl threepeat after 8 previous back-to-back champs fell short
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will try to do what Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw couldn’t during their Hall of Fame careers. After winning back-to-back Super Bowls, Mahomes and the Chiefs now are aiming to become the first team ever to win three straight. Kansas City...
Florida State drops out of AP Top 25 after 0-2 start; Texas up to No. 3 behind Georgia, Ohio State
Florida State fell out of The Associated Press college football poll on Tuesday after starting the season 0-2, becoming just the third team to go from preseason top-10 to unranked in the first regular-season poll since the rankings expanded to 25 in 1989. Georgia remained No. 1, receiving 57 first-place...
The Fed welcomes a ‘soft landing’ even if many Americans don’t feel like cheering
WASHINGTON — When Jerome Powell delivered a high-profile speech last month, the Federal Reserve chair came the closest he ever had to declaring that the inflation surge that gripped the nation for three painful years was now essentially defeated. And not only that. The Fed’s high interest rates, Powell said,...
Prosecutors balk at Trump’s bid to delay post-conviction hush money rulings
NEW YORK — Manhattan prosecutors balked Tuesday at Donald Trump ‘s effort to delay post-trial decisions in his New York hush money criminal case while he seeks to have a federal court intervene and potentially overturn his felony conviction. However, they said they could be OK with postponing the former...
China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway U.S. political debate
WASHINGTON — When he first emerged on social media, the user known as Harlan claimed to be a New Yorker and an Army veteran who supported Donald Trump for president. Harlan said he was 29, and his profile picture showed a smiling, handsome young man. A few months later, Harlan...
