Associated Press stories, Page 502
Big Ten media days provide formal welcome to USC, UCLA and other former Pac-12 schools
INDIANAPOLIS — Southern California coach Lincoln Riley strolled across the Lucas Oil Stadium stage for the first time Wednesday, greeted by a familiar tune — “Fight On.” He was nowhere near the only newcomer to this week’s Big Ten Media Days. Riley’s remarks were preceded by those of first-year UCLA...
Boston College’s Bill O’Brien, Duke’s Manny Diaz make quick push to connect with players after taking new jobs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bill O’Brien arrived at Boston College with a high-profile resume that included a stint as an NFL head coach, as well as work with some of college football’s biggest brand names in Penn State and Alabama. Manny Diaz was in similar position as the former Miami head...
Kirk Ferentz still committed to Iowa after watching friends Bill Belichick, Nick Saban move on
INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz watched two of his best coaching friends, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, leave football after last season. So, naturally, college football’s longest-tenured coach smiles and nods as he reflects on his own potential exit. “All of us have to do that,” the 68-year-old Ferentz...
With big goals and gambles, Paris aims to reset the Olympics with audacious Games and a wow opening
PARIS — Paris long has been a city of dreamers: Just look at the Eiffel Tower, for decades the world’s loftiest structure. Audacity also underpins the French capital’s plans for its first Olympic Games in a century, which open Friday with an opening ceremony for the ages. The most sprawling...
Melania Trump to tell her story in memoir, ‘Melania,’ scheduled for this fall
NEW YORK — Former first lady Melania Trump has a memoir coming out this fall, “Melania,” billed by her office as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.” It’s the first memoir by Trump, who has been...
Southwest Airlines plans to start assigning seats, breaking with a 50-year tradition
DALLAS — Goodbye, cattle call. Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it plans to drop the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years and will start assigning passengers to seats, just like all the other big airlines. The airline said it has been studying seating options, running tests...
A year has passed since Niger’s dramatic coup. Life has become more dangerous and desperate
ABUJA, Nigeria — When a group of military officers appeared on state television in Niger one year ago to announce a dramatic coup, they said they deposed the West African nation’s elected government for two key reasons: its security and economic crises. But those challenges have persisted, even worsened. The...
NORAD says it tracked Chinese and Russian long-range bombers off AlaskaVideo
BEIJING — In the first such flights, two Chinese strategic bombers and two Russian long-range bombers were spotted flying together in a patrol near Alaska, prompting a joint U.S. and Canadian command to track and intercept the warplanes. The Chinese H-6 bombers and the Russian Tupolev Tu-95s were flying over...
NATO member Romania says more Russian drone debris from the Ukraine war has landed on its territory
BUCHAREST, Romania — Debris from what is believed to be a Russian drone landed in a rural area of Romania, the country’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, in the latest apparent incident of drone wreckage from the war in neighboring Ukraine falling onto the NATO member’s soil. Since the war started...
Jim Harbaugh’s first practice, new facility give Chargers a feeling of rebirthVideo
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers’ first practice of training camp had elements of a rebirth. Not only was it the first practice under coach Jim Harbaugh, it was the team’s first workout in their new practice facility. The Chargers held a ceremonial ribbon cutting for “The Bolt”...
House votes to form task force to investigate shooting at Trump rally, recommend legislative fixes
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to form a task force to investigate the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on July 13. The vote underscores the bipartisan outrage over the shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump came within inches of losing...
Biden uses Oval Office address to explain his decision to quit 2024 race, begins to shape legacyVideo
Insisting that “the defense of democracy is more important than any title,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday will explain in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and to throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. The address offered the public their first chance...
Browns place star RB Nick Chubb on PUP list as he recovers from serious knee injury and surgeriesVideo
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list Wednesday as he continues to recover from a season-ending left knee injury and two surgeries. The team made the expected move with Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowler, one day before opening training camp in West...
With hair newly cut and dyed, Bengals QB Joe Burrow says his wrist feels good as training camp opensVideo
CINCINNATI — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow showed up for the first day of training camp Wednesday with a new close-cropped, blond haircut and, more important to Cincinnati, a right wrist he said is ready for the rigors of the season. Burrow took part in drills, threw accurately and looked good...
Vikings’ Addison contrite and remorseful following DUI arrest, finding respite in start of campVideo
EAGAN, Minn. — Jordan Addison relished the start of training camp as much as anyone with the Minnesota Vikings, finding a sunny space to set aside for a few hours his non-football stress. Addison, after walking off the fields following the first full-team practice Wednesday afternoon, said he had been...
Hurts, Sirianni say all is peaceful between QB and Coach at Eagles’ training campVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts got to the point faster than he gets into the end zone on a tush push. Before a reporter could finish the first question to Hurts on the first day of Eagles training camp about the franchise QB’s seemingly complicated dynamic with coach Nick Sirianni, Hurts...
Democrats poised to virtually nominate Harris — and her running mate — by Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — Democratic National Convention delegates can make Vice President Kamala Harris their presidential nominee — and even start approving her yet-to be-named running mate — in online voting beginning next week, as the party races to coalesce around a new top of its ticket heading into November. The convention’s...
DOJ files Boeing’s plea deal in 737 Max crashes
The Justice Department submitted an agreement with Boeing on Wednesday in which the aerospace giant will plead guilty to a fraud charge for misleading U.S. regulators who approved the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The detailed plea agreement was filed in federal district...
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is here to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Shawn Levy is no novice when it comes to rumors around his projects. Years on “Stranger Things” taught him how to tune out the noise. Yet even he’s found himself astonished by the sheer volume of speculation around “Deadpool & Wolverine.” “The rumors around this movie are overwhelming,” Levy told...
IOC awards Utah 2034 Winter Games, pushes to end FBI investigation
PARIS — What was expected to be a simple coronation of Salt Lake City as the 2034 Winter Olympic host turned into complicated Olympic politics Wednesday, as the IOC pushed Utah officials to end an FBI investigation into a suspected doping cover-up. The International Olympic Committee formally awarded the 2034...
Andrew Tate’s defamation lawsuit against human trafficking accuser can proceed, judge says
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A judge says controversial social media personality Andrew Tate‘s defamation lawsuit against a Florida woman who accused him of imprisoning her in Romania can move forward, but he threw out Tate’s allegations against her parents and some allegations against the woman. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge...
Ford’s Q2 net income falls 4.7% as pretax profits drop at combustion engine unit
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.’s second-quarter net income fell 4.7% from a year ago as the company’s combustion engine unit posted a pretax loss due to higher warranty costs. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker said Wednesday it made $1.83 billion from April through June, compared with $1.92 billion a year ago....
NBA says it has entered deal with Amazon, not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery’s offer
The NBA said Wednesday that it is not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery’s $1.8 billion per year offer to continue its longtime relationship with the league and therefore has entered into a deal with Amazon Prime Video, a move that would mean this coming season would end a nearly four-decade run...
Hiker falls to death during storm on Yosemite’s iconic Half Dome
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — A bucket-list climb to the top of Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome turned to tragedy for a young Arizona woman who fell to her death during a descent forced by a sudden storm that pounded the iconic granite monolith this month. Grace Rohloff, 20, an...
Wall Street wipeout: S&P 500 falls 2% as Big Tech skids
NEW YORK — A wipeout on Wednesday sent U.S. stock indexes to their worst losses since 2022 after profit reports from Tesla and Alphabet helped suck momentum from Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. The S&P 500 tumbled 2.3% for its fifth drop in the past six days. The Dow...
