Associated Press stories, Page 641
Woods misses the cut, extends majors run of over-par rounds in US Open at Pinehurst No. 2Video
PINEHURST, N.C. — Tiger Woods was unable to find the right mix of quality shots and timely breaks at Pinehurst No. 2 to extend his first U.S. Open appearance in four years into the weekend. He’s heading home. And he’s uncertain if he’ll be back. The three-time U.S. Open champion...
Speaker Johnson says House will go to court for Biden audio
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday the House will go to court to enforce the subpoena against Attorney General Merrick Garland for access to President Joe Biden’s special counsel audio interview, hours after the Justice Department refused to prosecute Republicans’ contempt of Congress charge. “It is sadly predictable that...
Scheffler goes without a birdie for a 74 and narrowly avoids an early exit from US OpenVideo
PINEHURST, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler chose iron off the tee for position Friday in the U.S. Open and sent it well right of the fairway toward trouble, whether that was a bunker or the dusty dunes or the native plants dotting the landscape. “What are you DOING?” he said to...
Atlanta’s former Coca-Cola museum demolished for parking lot
ATLANTA — Once a shrine to the world’s most popular soft drink, the building that housed the original World of Coca-Cola is going flat at the hands of Georgia’s state government. Crews continued Friday to demolish the onetime temple of fizz in downtown Atlanta near the state capitol, with plans...
Martin Truex Jr. announces retirement from full-time racing in NASCAR’s Cup SeriesVideo
NEWTON, Iowa — Martin Truex Jr. announced Friday he will retire from full-time racing at the end of the season, saying it was time to live by his own schedule after 19 years in NASCAR’s Cup Series. “I mean, it’s as simple as just not having a crazy schedule where,...
Yellowstone visitors hope to catch a glimpse of rare white buffalo
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Standing at the edge of a bluff overlooking the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park, TJ Ammond stared through binoculars at hundreds of buffalo dotting the verdant valley below. Tan-colored calves frolicked near their mothers while hulking bulls wallowed in mud. As his wife and...
Florida Panthers are calm and businesslike on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup in a sweepVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — One win away from a championship, the Florida Panthers seem to be treating Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final like Game 44 of the regular season. “Our whole mindset right now is recovering and getting prepared for the next game,” forward Sam Bennett said after beating...
Astros release José Abreu with $30.8 million remaining on his contractVideo
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros released José Abreu on Friday, cutting ties with the former AL MVP less than halfway through a three-year, $58.5 million contract. The 37-year-old Abreu was batting .124 (14 for 113) with two homers and seven RBIs this season, during which he spent time in the...
The RNC is launching a massive effort to monitor voting. Critics say it threatens to undermine trust
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — The Republican National Committee on Friday launched a swing state initiative to mobilize some 100,000 polling place monitors, poll workers and attorneys to serve as “election integrity” watchdogs in November — an effort that immediately drew concerns that it could lead to harassment of election workers...
Justice Department won’t prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn’t crime
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress because his refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case “did not constitute a crime,” the Justice Department said Friday. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a...
Kate, Princess of Wales, says she’s making ‘good progress’ in cancer treatment
LONDON — The Princess of Wales says she is “making good progress” in her cancer treatment and will attend Saturday’s royal Trooping the Color ceremony, Kate’s first public appearance since her diagnosis. The 42-year-old wife of Prince William has not made any public appearances this year. She announced in March...
Alex Jones’ assets to be sold to pay Sandy Hook debt; company bankruptcy dismissed
HOUSTON — A federal judge on Friday ordered the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ′ personal assets but dismissed his company’s separate bankruptcy case, leaving the future of his Infowars media platform uncertain as he owes $1.5 billion for his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting...
Worst rainfall that triggered floods in Florida is over as affected residents clean up
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Although more rain could trigger additional isolated Florida flooding on Friday, forecasters say the strong, persistent storms that dumped up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) in southern parts of the state appear to have passed. Some neighborhood streets in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas still...
Demolition of the Parkland classroom building where 17 died in 2018 shooting begins
PARKLAND, Fla. — A large excavator stretched to the top floor of the three-story building where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, punching its first hole Friday into the classroom where teacher Scott Beigel perished saving students. Beginning a weekslong demolition, the...
Bird flu is highly lethal to some animals, but not to others. Scientists wants to know why
NEW YORK — In the last two years, bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide. It’s killed legions of seals and sea lions, wiped out mink farms, and dispatched cats, dogs, skunks, foxes and even a polar bear. But it seems...
Microsoft delays controversial AI Recall feature on new Windows computers
REDMOND, Wash. — New laptops equipped with Microsoft Windows start shipping to customers next week without a flagship feature called Recall that drew concerns about privacy and cybersecurity. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella touted the new Recall feature at a showcase event last month, describing it as a step toward artificial...
Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks, gun accessories used in 2017 massacre
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in a ruling that threw firearms back into the nation’s political spotlight. The high court’s conservative majority found that the Trump...
Illinois is hit with cicada chaos. This is what it’s like to see, hear and feel billions of bugs
RIVERWOODS, Ill. — The ground had seemed to undulate at night, alive with bugs. Crawling cicada nymphs, striving to get higher after 17 years underground, marched en masse toward and up trees, pausing to shed their skin and emerge as adults. And then the fun began. Cicada chaos is flourishing...
How do cicadas make their signature sound, so eerie and amazingly loud?
WHEATON, Ill. — The most noticeable part of the cicada invasion blanketing the central United States is the sound — an eerie, amazingly loud song that gets in a person’s ears and won’t let much else in. “It’s beautiful chaos,” said Rebecca Schmidt, a U.S. Department of Agriculture research entomologist....
Ready to renew your U.S. passport? You can now apply online
WASHINGTON — There’s an easier way to renew your passport — online. The State Department has opened a trial run allowing a limited number of people to apply for their updated travel documents with a few clicks. You can’t just start anytime — windows will open at midday Eastern time...
Make mine medium-rare: Men really do eat more meat than women, study says
CHICAGO — Vacationing in Chicago this week from Europe, Jelle den Burger and Nirusa Naguleswaran grabbed a bite at the Dog House Grill: a classic Italian beef sandwich for him, grilled cheese for her. Both think the way their genders lined up with their food choices was no coincidence. Women,...
Swedish officials say weak replacement parts caused a fatal roller coaster derailment last year
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Swedish accident investigators on Friday said the country’s oldest amusement park didn’t properly test new parts for a roller coaster that derailed last year and sent some passengers plunging to the ground, killing one and injuring nine others, one seriously. The June 25 derailment at the Grona...
Putin offers truce if Ukraine exits Moscow-occupied areas and drops NATO bid — a nonstarter for Kyiv
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to “immediately” order a cease-fire in Ukraine and begin negotiations if Kyiv started withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounced plans to join NATO. Such a deal appears a nonstarter for Kyiv, which wants to join the military...
NATO approves a plan to speed security aid and training to Ukraine’s beleaguered armed forces
BRUSSELS — NATO defense ministers on Friday approved a plan to provide reliable long-term security aid and military training for Ukraine after delays in Western deliveries of funds, arms and ammunition helped invading Russian forces to seize the initiative on the battlefield. Kyiv’s Western backers have mostly concentrated their efforts...
Pope Francis meets more than 100 comedians at the Vatican: ‘You also make God smile’
VATICAN CITY — Before flying to Italy’s southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the Group of Seven summit, Pope Francis hosted a very different audience at the Vatican on Friday celebrating the importance of humor. The pontiff welcomed more than 100 comedians from 15 nations, including U.S. celebrities...
