Associated Press stories, Page 615
Judge rejects defense efforts to dismiss Hunter Biden’s federal gun case
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Delaware refused Friday to throw out a federal gun case against Hunter Biden, rejecting the president’s son’s claim he is being prosecuted for political purposes as well as other arguments. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika denied defense efforts to scuttle the prosecution charging Hunter...
Max Homa is among a group of Masters contenders who are vying for their first major titleVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Max Homa figures if he can conquer the mental task of playing well in a group with Tiger Woods for 36 holes at the Masters, he can accomplish pretty much anything in golf. That includes winning his first major championship. Homa was at 6-under midway through the...
‘HELP’ on beach points rescuers to men stuck 9 days on Pacific atoll
Three men stranded on an uninhabited Pacific island survived for more than a week and used palm fronds to spell out HELP on the beach — leading to rescue by Navy and Coast Guard aviators who spotted the sign from several thousand feet in the air. They had embarked March...
Police: 1 dead, 13 injured after tractor-trailer rams Texas public safety office
BRENHAM, Texas — A Texas tractor-trailer driver rammed a stolen 18-wheeler through the front of a public safety building where his renewal for a commercial driver’s license had been rejected, killing one person and injuring 13 others, authorities said Friday. The crash into the single-story brick building off a highway...
Masters notebook: Just being able to play eases pain of late bogey for ’16 champ WillettVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Danny Willett was right in the mix in the second round of the Masters until taking two shots to get out of a bunker on the 18th and three putts on the green. It added up to a triple bogey that ruined a hard day of work,...
Rockies pitcher Daniel Bard needs elbow surgery, will miss rest of season
TORONTO — Colorado right-hander Daniel Bard needs surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow and will not pitch again this season, Rockies manager Bud Black said Friday. Bard is in the final season of a $19 million, two-year deal. He has not pitched in 2024 after surgery...
More history for Tiger Woods. He makes the Masters cut for a record 24th time in a rowVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — A howling gust — the kind that created havoc at Augusta National all day long — struck the 18th green just as Tiger Woods was lining up yet another testy putt. Fine particles of sand stirred from the pearl-white bunkers, whipping across the slick green surface. One...
Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain declare for NBA Draft
DURHAM, N .C. — Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain, Duke’s top two scorers, are both off the NBA. The two announced their decisions on social media Friday. Filipowski, a 7-foot sophomore from Westtown, N.Y., was named a second-team AP All-American after averaging a team-high 16.4 points. He also led the...
Donovan Clingan leaving UConn for NBA after 2 seasons, 2 national titles
STORRS, Conn. — Donovan Clingan is leaving UConn after two seasons and entering the NBA Draft, the 7-foot-2 center announced Friday, four days after he helped lead the Huskies to a second straight national title. Clingan, a sophomore from Bristol, Conn., posted his decision on social media, saying that playing...
New York county loses bid to prevent state legal challenge of its ban on female transgender athletes
NEW YORK — A county outside New York City has lost its bid to block the state from taking legal action against its ban on women’s and girls teams that include female transgender players, state Attorney General Letitia James said Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury dismissed Nassau County’s...
Guardians ace Shane Bieber has Tommy John surgery; future uncertain
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber had Tommy John surgery Friday and will start a long recovery. The 2020 Cy Young Award winner made two strong starts this season before pain in his elbow became too overwhelming and surgery was recommended. Bieber will be sidelined for the rest of...
MLB batting average down 7 points to .242 in 1st 2 weeks, game time up 2 minutes
NEW YORK — The major league batting average dropped seven percentage points to .242 in the first two weeks of the season, while the average time of a nine-inning game rose two minutes to 2:39 in the second season of the pitch clock. Major League Baseball implemented restrictions on defensive...
Judge in sports betting case orders ex-interpreter for Ohtani to get gambling addiction treatment
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Friday ordered the former longtime interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani released on $25,000 bond and mandated he undergo gambling addiction treatment. Ippei Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder $16 million from the two-way player’s bank...
Judge declines to delay Trump’s N.Y. hush money trial over complaints of pretrial publicity
NEW YORK — The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case on Friday turned down the former president’s request to postpone his trial because of publicity about the case. It’s the latest in a string of delay denials Trump has gotten from various courts this week as he fights...
Trump pushes Arizona lawmakers to ‘remedy’ abortion ruling he says ‘went too far’
TUCSON, Ariz. — Former President Donald Trump urged Arizona lawmakers Friday to swiftly “remedy” the state Supreme Court ruling allowing prosecutors to enforce a near-total abortion ban that he declared anew “went too far.” Trump repeatedly has expressed pride in his role in overturning the national constitutional right to an...
Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese headline one of most anticipated WNBA drafts in years
NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and others make this one of the most anticipated WNBA drafts in recent years. There are several impact players up for grabs, but their talent is nearly eclipsed by their popularity among basketball fans. “Caitlin is kind of in a world...
Prosecutors: South Carolina prison supervisor took $219,000 in bribes; got 173 cellphones to inmates
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A supervisor who managed security at a South Carolina prison accepted more than $219,000 in bribes over three years and got 173 contraband cellphones for inmates, according to federal prosecutors. Christine Mary Livingston, 46, was indicted earlier this month on 15 charges including bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud...
NBA Playoffs 2024: Playoff positioning fights continue, and see what games matter most
Sacramento, Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers are in the Western Conference play-in tournament. Chicago will host Atlanta in an Eastern Conference play-in game next week. Dallas will play the Los Angeles Clippers in Round 1. And Boston, as has known for a while, will have home-court advantage throughout...
In death, 3 decades after his trial verdict, O.J. Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides
For many people old enough to remember O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, his 1995 exoneration was a defining moment in their understanding of race, policing and justice. Nearly three decades later, it still reflects the different realities of white and Black Americans. Some people recall watching their Black coworkers and classmates...
Kentucky hires BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach to replace John Calipari
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky has hired BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach, bringing home a member of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari. The school announced the 51-year-old Pope’s hiring in a release Friday morning but did not mention any contract details. Pope replaces Calipari,...
Sudan’s war began a year ago. Children are among its most fragile survivors
METCHE CAMP, Chad — The war in Sudan began a year ago. Here in a remote camp for tens of thousands of people who have fled into neighboring Chad, the anniversary is marked by near starvation. Assadig Abubaker Salih is a 42-year-old mother of six. The family survived the hot,...
Project to shore up Pompeii yields stunning black banquet hall, with frescoes of Trojan War figures
ROME — Archaeologists excavating new sites in Pompeii have uncovered a sumptuous banquet hall decorated with intricately frescoed mythological characters inspired by the Trojan War, officials said Thursday. The hall, which features a mosaic floor, was uncovered as part of a project to shore up the areas dividing the excavated...
Kremlin says 2022 draft document could serve as starting point for future Ukraine peace talks
MOSCOW — A draft peace agreement that Russia and Ukraine negotiated in the early days of the war could serve as a starting point for talks to end the fighting, the Kremlin said Friday, reviving a proposal that Ukraine had rejected. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the draft document...
Bryson DeChambeau puts on a Masters clinic and takes a 1-shot lead over Scottie SchefflerVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The third iteration of Bryson DeChambeau might be the most daunting at the Masters. Once the mad scientist, then the incredible bulk, DeChambeau has entered what he called simply the “golf phase,” and it was enough to carry him to a 7-under-par 65 in a relentless wind...
Tiger Woods off to rousing start in pursuit of more Masters history, maybe another green jacketVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods can still draw a crowd. And the way he started the Masters on Thursday, there seems a good chance the patrons will get to cheer him on through the weekend. With a massive gallery hanging on his every swing at windy Augusta National, Woods recorded...

