Associated Press stories, Page 622
Graceland foreclosure sale halted as Presley estate’s lawsuit moves forward
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A judge on Wednesday said Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland is fraudulent as he halted a foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction. Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed auction...
Disgruntled worker fatally shoots 2, wounds 3 at linen company near Philadelphia
CHESTER — A disgruntled employee opened fire at a linen company near Philadelphia on Wednesday, killing two coworkers and injuring three others, authorities said. The shooting took place at the Delaware County Linen at about 8:30 a.m. in the city of Chester, about 18 miles south of Philadelphia. The shooter...
For some digital detox, look to the latest in craft kits
Digital diversions may have us tethered to tech, but screen fatigue is real. Even my digitally native, young-millennial kids prefer printed books these days. And a recent weekend together at home had us busting out some craft kits. There might have been Netflix in the background, but everybody’s hands were...
Use of Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs soars among kids and young adults
At 17, Israel McKenzie was so burdened by obesity that he stopped going to high school in person and was embarrassed to speak to people at his restaurant job. “I was in a really dark place,” says McKenzie, whose weight had climbed to 335 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame, despite...
Average U.S. vehicle age hits record 12.6 years as high prices force people to keep them longer
DETROIT — Cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. keep getting older, hitting a record average age of 12.6 years in 2024 as people hang on to their vehicles largely because new ones cost so much. S&P Global Mobility, which tracks state vehicle registration data nationwide, said Wednesday that the...
Lawsuits claim 66 people were abused as children in Pennsylvania’s juvenile facilities
HARRISBURG — Dozens of children who were sent to juvenile detention centers and similar facilities in Pennsylvania suffered physical and sexual abuse including violent rapes, according to four related lawsuits filed Wednesday. The lawsuits describe how 66 people, now adults, say they were victimized by guards, nurses, supervisors and others....
How is the violent unrest in New Caledonia impacting global nickel prices?
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Global nickel prices have soared since deadly violence erupted in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia last week. The overseas territory, which has been under French rule for over 170 years, is a major global producer of the critical material that is needed to make electric...
Aviation experts to begin probe of Singapore Airlines turbulence incident that left British man dead
BANGKOK — Aviation investigators arrived in Bangkok Wednesday to learn how and why severe turbulence sent a Singapore Airlines plane into a sudden dive that tossed passengers and crew around the cabin, leaving a British man dead and dozens others injured. Twenty people remained in intensive care in hospital after...
Baltic Sea nations react warily to a reported Russian proposal to revise its maritime border
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Leaders around the Baltic Sea reacted warily Wednesday to reports that Russia could revise the borders of its territorial waters in the region, with Lithuania’s foreign minister calling it an “obvious escalation” that must be met with an “appropriately firm response.” In a draft proposal reported by...
Using AI, Mastercard expects to find compromised cards quicker, before they get used by criminals
NEW YORK — Mastercard said Wednesday that it expects to be able to discover that your credit or debit card number has been compromised well before it ends up in the hands of a cybercriminal. In its latest software update rolling out this week, Mastercard is integrating artificial intelligence into...
Daily marijuana use outpaces daily drinking in the U.S., a new study says
Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, according to an analysis of national survey data, and those people now outnumber those who say they are daily or nearly-daily drinkers of alcohol. Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time...
Trump says he is open to restrictions on contraception before backing away from the statement
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was open to supporting regulations on contraception and that his campaign would release a policy on the issue “very shortly,” comments that he later said were misinterpreted. The comments, made during an interview with a television station, suggested that a future Trump...
Lawsuit says ex-Officer Chauvin kneeled on woman’s neck, just as he did when he killed George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS — A former employee sued the city of Minneapolis on Tuesday, alleging ex-police Officer Derek Chauvin hauled her from her minivan and pinned her to the ground with his knee in January 2020, just as he did four months later when he killed George Floyd. Patty Day, then employed...
What is in-flight turbulence, and when does it become dangerous for passengers and crews?
NEW YORK — The death of a British man and injuries impacting dozens of other people aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence Tuesday highlighted the potential dangers of flying through unstable air. The exact cause of the 73-year-old man’s death is under investigation. Authorities said he may...
Weather forecasters warn Pakistanis to stay indoors ahead of new heat wave
ISLAMABAD — Authorities in Pakistan on Tuesday urged people to stay indoors as the country is hit by an extreme heat wave that threatens to bring dangerously high temperatures and yet another round of glacial-driven floods. Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, is shutting all schools for a week because of...
German author Jenny Erpenbeck wins International Booker Prize for tale of tangled love affair
LONDON — German author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the International Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for “Kairos,” the story of a tangled love affair during the final years of East Germany’s existence. Erpenbeck said she hoped the book would help readers learn there was more to life...
No more cute snaps of Mount Fuji over a convenience store. A screen was built to stop tourist crowds
TOKYO — Sorry, the screen is now up — no more snapping cute photos of Mount Fuji from a popular sidewalk spot in the Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko. Known as a place that offers some of the best views of the iconic Japanese mountain, the town last month started erecting...
Matthew Perry’s death under investigation in connection with ketamine level found in actor’s blood
LOS ANGELES — Authorities have opened an investigation into how Matthew Perry received the supply of ketamine that killed him, police said Tuesday. Los Angeles police are working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with a probe into why the 54-year-old “Friends” star had...
Oscar-winning composer of ‘Finding Neverland’ music, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, dies at age 71
WARSAW, Poland — Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for the musical score of “Finding Neverland,” died Tuesday. He was 71. Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation which had been informed of his passing by the composer’s wife. Kaczmarek had suffered from MSA, a...
Family says Alaska photographer killed in moose attack knew the risks, died doing what he loved
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The family of an Alaska man fatally attacked by an enraged moose trying to protect her newborn twin calves said he was a nature photographer who knew the risks of taking photos in the wild and died doing what he loved. Even though there have been some...
Thailand welcomes home trafficked 1,000-year-old statues returned by New York’s Metropolitan Museum
BANGKOK — Thailand’s National Museum hosted a welcome-home ceremony Tuesday for two ancient statues that were trafficked illegally from Thailand by a British collector of antiquities and were returned from the collection of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The objects — a tall bronze figure called the Standing Shiva...
Defrocked in 2004 for same-sex relationship, a faithful Methodist is reinstated as pastor
Twenty years ago, Beth Stroud was defrocked as a United Methodist Church pastor after telling her Philadelphia congregation that she was in a committed same-sex relationship. On Tuesday night, less than three weeks after the UMC repealed its anti-LGBTQ bans, she was reinstated. In a closed meeting of clergy from...
NFL’s accelerator program gives minority coaches optimism that new system worksVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Getting lessons on how to manage a crisis and deal with the media will help Houston quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka when and if they interview for NFL head coaching jobs. That’s exactly what the NFL’s coach accelerator program is...
NFL limits interviews to 3 hours for coaches still busy in playoffs
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — NFL owners voted Tuesday to limit interviews with coaches whose clubs remain alive in the playoffs to no more than three hours per team at a time. Teams wanting to talk to prospective head coaches in person also will have to chat at a spot approved by...
It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees
MEXICO CITY — It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are falling dead from the trees. At least 83 of the midsize primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. Others were rescued by residents, including five that...
