Associated Press stories, Page 628
Hezbollah introduces new weapons and tactics against Israel as war in Gaza drags on
BEIRUT — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles. The attack wounded three soldiers, one of them seriously, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across the border with Israel over the past...
Slovak prime minister underwent another operation, remains in serious condition
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation after he was shot on Wednesday and remains in serious condition, the country’s deputy prime minister and defense minister said Friday. Fico, 59, was shot multiple times as he was greeting supporters after a government meeting in the...
McDonald’s plans $5 U.S. meal deal next month to counter customer frustration over high prices
McDonald’s plans to introduce a $5 meal deal in the U.S. next month to counter slowing sales and customers’ frustration with high prices. The deal would let customers get a four-piece McNugget, small fries, a small drink and either a McDouble burger or a McChicken sandwich for $5 in most...
Scottie Scheffler arrested at PGA Championship for traffic violation, returns to course hours later
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was taken to jail for not following police orders during a pedestrian fatality investigation. In a span of four hours, the top-ranked golfer in...
Latinos found jobs and cheap housing in a northeastern Pennsylvania city but political power has proven elusive
HAZLETON, Pa. — Latinos seeking jobs and affordable housing have transformed Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in recent decades, but a federal lawsuit argues the way representatives are elected to their local school board is unfairly shutting them out of power. Nearly two-thirds of students in the Hazleton Area School District are Hispanic,...
Annual rich list says Paul McCartney is Britain’s 1st billionaire musician
LONDON — Paul McCartney is a billionaire Beatle. According to figures released Friday, the former member of the Fab Four is the first British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion). The annual Sunday Times Rich List calculated that the wealth of the 81-year-old musician and his wife,...
Judge considers dismissing indictment against Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting of cinematographer
SANTA FE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge is considering Alec Baldwin’s request to dismiss a grand jury indictment against him at a scheduled court hearing Friday. The indictment in January charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, at a...
Trump will campaign in Minnesota after attending his son Barron’s graduation
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former President Donald Trump will head to Minnesota on a day off from his hush money trial for a Republican fundraiser Friday night in a traditionally Democratic state that he boasts he can carry in November. Trump will headline the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner,...
Report: Justice Alito’s home flew flag upside down after Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ claims
WASHINGTON — An upside-down American flag, a symbol associated with former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud, was displayed outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021, The New York Times reported Thursday. A photo obtained and published by the newspaper shows the flag...
West Virginia miner dies in state’s 1st reported coal fatality of the year
CHARLESTON — A coal miner died Thursday after being injured while operating an excavator at a southern West Virginia mine, Gov. Jim Justice said. Virgil Paynter, of Lynco, was operating an excavator at the CM Energy Operations LP surface mine in Wyoming County, Justice said in a news release. The...
Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston, knock out power in Texas and LouisianaVideo
HOUSTON — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. Officials urged residents to keep off roads following Thursday’s...
Breanna Stewart ruins Caitlin Clark’s home debut by leading Liberty past Fever 102-66Video
INDIANAPOLIS — Breanna Stewart ruined Caitlin Clark’s regular-season home debut by scoring 31 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 102-66 win in front of a sellout crowd of 17,247 on Thursday night. In Indianapolis’ most anticipated rookie debut since Peyton Manning in 1998, Clark did not deliver...
White House blocks release of Biden audio as Republicans move ahead with Garland contempt charge
WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday blocked the release of audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents, arguing that Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes. Hours later, the House...
Schauffele gets another major scoring record and sets the pace at PGA ChampionshipVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Xander Schauffele is playing some of his best golf without a trophy to show for it. He at least put his name in the PGA Championship record book Thursday with a 9-under-par 62 and gave himself another entry in the record book for all majors. Schauffele seized...
Irish interest in NFL heats up, league scouts more international cities
LONDON — Several hundred thousand Irish viewers got a tutorial from Charlie Smyth on the difference between lining up a kick in Gaelic football versus a field goal in American football. Smyth, who just had signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints, humbly told “The Late Late Show’s” national...
Louisville native Justin Thomas has work to do at PGA Championship, but 2-under 69 is good baselineVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Justin Thomas wished his score reflected how he felt he played. The Louisville native certainly didn’t complain after he birdied four of his final six holes for a 2-under-par 69 on Thursday in the PGA Championship. He was just hoping for a better start in his hometown...
Simone Biles better prepared for Olympic pressure
SPRING, Texas — Simone Biles is not “cured.” A cure implies finality. An ultimate and decisive victory. If the gymnastics superstar has learned anything in the three years since those strange, uncertain days in Tokyo when she put her mental health and personal safety ahead of her pursuit of more...
NFL distances itself from Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s comments
NEW YORK — The NFL is distancing itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, saying “his views are not those of the NFL as an organization.” Butker appeared as the commencement speaker last week at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school in Kansas, and said most of...
Lionel Messi’s $20.4M compensation with Miami exceeds all but 3 other MLS teams
NEW YORK — Lionel Messi’s annualized pay from his Major League Soccer contract with Inter Miami is just over $20.4 million in his first full season, exceeding the payrolls of all but three other teams in the league. Messi joined Inter Miami last summer and has a base salary of...
Rory McIlroy loves life inside the ropes, shoots 66 on first day at PGAVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rory McIlroy blasted a drive down the middle, this one onto the left side of the fifth fairway. As he headed off the tee box and toward the ball, a girl in the crowd shouted “I love you, Rory!” Still adored and still playing great, there was...
U.S. proposes ending new federal leases in nation’s biggest coal region
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration on Thursday proposed an end to new coal leasing from federal reserves in the most productive coal mining region in the U.S. as officials seek to limit climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel. The Bureau of Land Management proposal would affect millions...
Preakness is up next for Brian Hernandez after winning the Derby with a perfect trip on Mystik DanVideo
BALTIMORE — Brian Hernandez Jr. spent the leadup to the Kentucky Derby watching replays of winning rides by fellow jockeys to see what it would take to get the job done with Mystik Dan, particularly those of Hall of Famer Calvin Borel. The 2010 Derby Borel won with Super Saver...
Marcus Ericsson crashes in practice, no regrets headed into Indy 500Video
INDIANAPOLIS — Marcus Ericsson returned to the Indianapolis 500 with zero regrets but ended Thursday with a violent collision late in the first full day of practice. Ericsson hit a curb with about two hours remaining in the session, causing his car to spin and hit the wall three times....
A pair of late 3-putts sent Tiger Woods to a sluggish 1-over start at the PGA ChampionshipVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tiger Woods figures it took him three holes to get back into the “competitive flow” of tournament golf on Thursday at Valhalla. It might take more than familiar vibes for Woods to stick around for the weekend at the PGA Championship. Like birdies. Maybe a bunch of...
Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some...
