Associated Press stories, Page 620
MLB says robot home plate umpires unlikely for 2025
NEW YORK — MLB says robot home plate umpires are unlikely for 2025. “We still have some technical issues,” baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday at a news conference following an owners meeting. “We haven’t made as much progress in the minor leagues this year as we sort of hoped...
NFL closer to filling every day of the week with a game as league’s reach keeps growingVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NFL hasn’t scheduled a game for every day of the week. Yet. “We’re going to be the new 7-Eleven,” New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “NFL, 24 hours, you can watch them play any given day.” The veteran preparing for his 14th season has...
Baltimore’s former top prosecutor spared prison for mortgage fraud and perjuryVideo
GREENBELT, Md. — A former Baltimore city prosecutor who achieved a national profile for charging police officers in a Black man’s death was spared any prison time in her sentence Thursday for perjury and mortgage fraud. Marilyn Mosby’s sentence includes 12 months of home confinement, 100 hours of community service...
Supreme Court finds no bias against Black voters in a South Carolina congressional district
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ‘s conservative majority on Thursday preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district, rejecting a lower-court ruling that said the district discriminated against Black voters. In dissent, liberal justices warned that the court was insulating states from claims of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. In a 6-3 decision,...
Movie review: The ‘Mad Max’ saga treads (hard-to-find) water with frustrating ‘Furiosa’Video
At the beginning of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” we are introduced to a kick-ass woman who rides a horse, then a motorbike, nails a few bad guys with sharpshooting finesse and fights off a mob. But it’s not Furiosa — it’s her mom. That’s one of the oddities of...
Independent booksellers continued to expand in 2023, with more than 200 new stores opening
NEW YORK — Three years ago, Erin Decker was a middle school librarian in Kissimmee, Florida, increasingly frustrated by the state’s book bans and worried that she couldn’t make a difference remaining in her job. So, she and fellow librarian Tania Galiñanes thought of a way to fight back. “We...
Remember last year’s Memorial Day travel jams? Chances are they will be much worse this year
You didn’t think summer travel would be easy, did you? Highways and airports are likely to be jammed the next few days as Americans head out for Memorial Day weekend getaways and then return home. AAA predicts this will be the busiest start-of-summer weekend in nearly 20 years, with 43.8...
Louisiana Legislature approves bill classifying abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances
BATON ROUGE — Two abortion-inducing drugs could soon be reclassified as controlled and dangerous substances in Louisiana under a first-of-its-kind bill that received final legislative passage Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor. Supporters of the reclassification of mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly known as “abortion...
Political consultant behind fake Biden robocalls faces $6 million fine and criminal charges
CONCORD, N.H. — A political consultant who sent artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice to voters ahead of New Hampshire’s presidential primary faces a $6 million fine and more than two dozen criminal charges. The Federal Communications Commission said the fine it proposed Thursday for Steven Kramer is...
Norfolk Southern will pay $15 million fine as part of federal settlement over Ohio derailment
The federal government agreed to a modest $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad promised to pay more than $300 million to complete the efforts to improve safety that it announced after the crash and address community health concerns....
Government sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company’s monopoly on live events
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans. Filed in federal court in Manhattan, the sweeping...
Buy now, pay later companies must adhere to credit card standards, consumer agency says
NEW YORK — Buy now, pay later companies must provide consumers with the same legal rights and protections as credit card lenders do, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday in a new rule. That includes the right to demand a refund and to dispute transactions. The agency began an...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fall as labor market continues to thrive
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remained historically low despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to loosen the labor market. Jobless claims for the week ending May 18 fell by 8,000 to 215,000, down from 223,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday....
Wind towers crumpled after Iowa wind farm suffers rare direct hit from powerful twister
OKLAHOMA CITY — A wind farm in southwest Iowa suffered a direct hit from a powerful tornado that crumpled five of the massive, power-producing towers, including one that burst into flames. But experts say fortunately such incidents are rare. Video of the direct hit on the wind farm near Greenfield,...
Pro-Palestinian protesters leave after Drexel University decides to have police clear encampment
PHILADELPHIA — Protesters packed up their belongings and left a pro-Palestinian encampment at Drexel University on Thursday after the school announced a decision to have police clear the encampment. University President John Fry said in a statement that he decided to have campus police and public safety officers join Philadelphia...
Russian missiles kill 7 in Ukraine’s 2nd-largest city where Moscow’s troops are pressing
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. At least 16 people were injured...
Charlie Colin, founding member of the pop-rock band Train, dies at 58
NEW YORK — Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of the American pop-rock band Train, best known for their early-aughts hits like “Drops of Jupiter” and “Meet Virginia,” has died. He was 58. Colin’s sister Carolyn Stephens confirmed her brother’s death to The Associated Press Wednesday. He died after slipping...
Strong winds topple stage at a campaign rally in northern Mexico, killing at least 9 people
SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, Mexico — A strong gust of wind toppled the stage at a campaign rally Wednesday evening in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, killing at least nine people — including a child — and injuring 63, the state’s governor said. The collapse occurred during an...
U.S. intelligence agencies’ embrace of generative AI is at once wary and urgent
ARLINGTON, Virginia — Long before generative AI’s boom, a Silicon Valley firm contracted to collect and analyze non-classified data on illicit Chinese fentanyl trafficking made a compelling case for its embrace by U.S. intelligence agencies. The operation’s results far exceeded human-only analysis, finding twice as many companies and 400% more...
How does this end? With Hamas holding firm and fighting back in Gaza, Israel faces only bad options
JERUSALEM — Diminished but not deterred, Hamas is still putting up a fight after seven brutal months of war with Israel, regrouping in some of the hardest-hit areas in northern Gaza and resuming rocket attacks into nearby Israeli communities. Israel initially made tactical advances against Hamas after a devastating aerial...
Bobrovsky makes 23 saves for first shutout of the postseason, Panthers beat Rangers in Game 1
NEW YORK — Sergei Bobrovsky had a long stretch without seeing a shot on goal in the middle of the game, and then there was a flurry in the third period. No matter, he stopped everything that came his way. Bobrovsky had 23 saves for his first shutout of the...
Nvidia’s profit soars, underscoring dominance in chips for artificial intelligence
SAN FRANCISCO — Nvidia on Wednesday overshot Wall Street estimates as its profit skyrocketed, bolstered by the chipmaking dominance that has made the company an icon of the artificial intelligence boom. Its net income rose more than sevenfold compared to a year earlier, jumping to $14.88 billion in its first...
Iowa tornado killed 4 people, officials say
GREENFIELD, Iowa — Four people died and at least 35 were hurt in a tornado that devastated a small town in Iowa on Tuesday, officials said. It’s believed that the number of people injured is likely higher, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday. The names of those killed...
Rick Tocchet voted NHL’s coach of the year for guiding Vancouver Canucks to Pacific Division titleVideo
NEW YORK — Rick Tocchet was honored as the NHL’s coach of the year Wednesday after guiding the Pacific Division champion Vancouver Canucks to their second playoff berth in nine years. Tocchet appeared on 109 of 114 ballots for the Jack Adams award submitted by members of the NHL Broadcasters’...
Uncertainty about Colorado with $2.8B NCAA settlement in sight
As the NCAA moves toward a $2.8 billion settlement that could resolve three antitrust lawsuits — with the Big Ten the latest conference to give its approval — it is uncertain whether a fourth case will also be part of the agreement. Attorneys in Fontenot v. the NCAA said Wednesday...
