Associated Press stories, Page 543
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s latest demand to step aside from hush money criminal case
NEW YORK — Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month. In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s...
FTC ban on noncompete agreements comes under legal attack
NEW YORK — The federal government wants to make it easier for employees to quit a job and work for a competitor. But some companies say a new rule created by the Federal Trade Commission will make it hard to protect trade secrets and investments they make in their employees....
Seeds are gifts from nature, says a major organic producer. Now it’s going to give them away
NAPLES, New York — A multimillion-dollar organic seed company has surprised its supporters by announcing it will end sales and give hundreds of varieties away, declaring “we can no longer commodify our beloved kin, these seeds, or ourselves.” The Cocozelle zucchini, now $14.25 per 100 seeds? No charge. Catnip, kale,...
Annual U.S. inflation falls to 3-year low, clearing the way for the Fed to begin cutting rates
WASHINGTON — Year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading and setting up the Federal Reserve for an interest rate cut in September. Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer...
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the progressive ‘Squad,’ wins Democratic primary in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad” and a sharp critic of how Israel has conducted the war in Gaza, has won her primary race in Minnesota. Omar successfully defended her Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a repeat challenge from...
Longest-held Russian dissident freed in swap says ‘colors get brighter by the day’ in his new life
BERLIN — Andrei Pivovarov knows there are about 1,000 hours in 42 days. Doing the math in his head and quietly marking milestones left in his sentence helped the Russian opposition politician survive more than three years in prison, much of it spent in complete isolation. “You have no one...
Ernesto becomes a hurricane after pummeling northeast Caribbean and knocking out power in the region
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left half of all customers in the U.S. territory without power as it threatened to become a major storm en route to Bermuda. The storm was located about 180 miles...
Americans give Harris an advantage over Trump on honesty and discipline, an AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration. Nearly half...
U.S. approves $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel amid threat of wider Middle East war
WASHINGTON — The United States has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the State Department announced Tuesday. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs,...
Death Valley’s scorching heat kills 2nd man this summer
LOS ANGELES — California’s Death Valley National Park has claimed another life in its second heat-related death of the summer, park officials said Monday. On Aug. 1, a day where temperatures reached nearly 120 degrees, bystanders saw a man stumble back from the Natural Bridge Trailhead, a one-mile roundtrip trail,...
Bills place receiver Chase Claypool on injured reserve and sign 3 players to restock rosterVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills placed receiver Chase Claypool and third-string quarterback Shane Buechele on injured reserve Tuesday and made several other moves to restock their injury-depleted roster. The Bills signed quarterback Ben DiNucci (Pine-Richland) and receivers Damiere Byrd and Deon Cain to one-year contracts. Buffalo also released...
Browns rookie DT Mike Hall Jr. arrested on domestic violence charge after fight with fianceeVideo
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was arrested Tuesday and charged with domestic violence after police said he threatened his fiancee with a gun during a fight. Hall was booked and arraigned at Avon Lake Municipal Court, said James M. Drozdowski, a public information officer with...
Michigan’s Sherrone Moore looks forward to release of text messages in sign-stealing investigationVideo
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan coach Sherrone Moore is taking over college football’s winningest program and all the scrutiny that comes with it. Moore spoke with reporters Tuesday for the first time since the NCAA alleged in a notice relating to its sign-stealing investigation that he violated rules as an...
Tropical Storm Ernesto batters northeast Caribbean, aims at Puerto Rico as it strengthensVideo
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Ernesto battered the northeast Caribbean on Tuesday as it took aim at Puerto Rico, where officials closed schools, opened shelters and moved dozens of the U.S. territory’s endangered parrots into hurricane-proof rooms. Ernesto is expected to become a hurricane overnight Tuesday as the...
Wall Street rallies to one of its best days of the year as a result of inflation report
NEW YORK — Stocks rallied to one of their best days of the year Tuesday after the first of several highly anticipated reports on the economy this week came in better than expected. The S&P 500 jumped 1.7% for its third-best day of 2024 after the U.S. government reported inflation...
Biden announcing $150 million in research grants as part of his ‘moonshot’ push to fight cancerVideo
NEW ORLEANS — President Joe Biden is zeroing in on the policy goals closest to his heart now that he’s no longer seeking a second term, visiting New Orleans on Tuesday to promote his administration’s “moonshot” initiative aiming at dramatically reducing cancer deaths. The president and first lady Jill Biden...
Auto workers union seeks NLRB investigation of Trump, Musk comments about firing striking workersVideo
DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the two discussed on social media about Musk supposedly firing striking workers. In documents filed Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board, the union alleges...
Raiders bring back former Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman
HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders signed backup free-agent quarterback Nathan Peterman on Tuesday, rejoining an organization in which he was on the roster for three seasons. Peterman, who played for the Raiders from 2018-21, likely would be the backup to Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew, who are competing...
Trial begins in case of Florida woman who fatally shot Black neighbor during dispute
OCALA, Fla. — A Florida jury will determine whether a 60-year-old white woman was justified when she fired through the door of her central Florida apartment a year ago, killing a Black mother during an ongoing dispute over neighborhood children. In opening statements on Tuesday, jurors were told that shortly...
West Virginia dentist charged with invasion of privacy after camera found in employee bathroom, police say
WEIRTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia dentist faces charges after police said a concealed camera allegedly was found in his office’s employee bathroom. Dr. Jeremy Michael Crow turned himself in at the Weirton Police Department on Monday. Crow, 45, of Washington, Washington County, was charged with 39 counts of misdemeanor...
Initiative to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri constitution qualifies for November ballot
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri voters will decide in November whether to guarantee a right to abortion with a constitutional amendment that would reverse the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. The secretary of state’s office certified Tuesday that an initiative petition received more than enough signatures from registered voters...
Fraud trial of George Santos to begin next month with an anonymous jury
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — The federal fraud trial against former U.S. Rep. George Santos, slated to start in a matter of weeks, is coming into focus after a federal judge ruled Tuesday that jurors will have their identities kept secret from the public. They won’t, however, be required to fill...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom nudges school districts to restrict student cellphone use
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California and South Carolina could become the next states to limit cellphone use in schools, with state officials taking up the issue Tuesday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending letters to school districts, urging them to restrict students’ use of smartphones on campus. South Carolina’s State Board...
Premier League will have different look when the season starts. Here’s what’s changed
The Premier League rarely stands still. For the 2024-25 season starting on Friday, there are five newly hired managers, around $1.6 billion worth of new players (and counting), new offside technology, updated financial regulations and a tweaked match schedule. Coaching changes A quarter of the coaches will be taking charge...
Why seeding for the expanded College Football Playoff isn’t as simple as counting from 1 to 12
The College Football Playoff expands from four to 12 teams this season, a massive change that will profoundly impact the sport and how success is defined. The system is also kind of quirky. The second-best team in the country by the selection committee’s rankings could conceivably be the fifth seed....
