Associated Press stories, Page 646
‘What do we got to pay for this?’ Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call
NEW YORK — Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president. A visibly irritated Trump...
Police in Fort Worth say 4 children among 6 people wounded in drive-by shooting
FORT WORTH, Texas — Four children are among six people wounded in a drive-by shooting at a Fort Worth, Texas, apartment complex, according to police. The six were shot about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and five were taken to a hospital while one refused treatment, according to Officer Brad Perez of...
New form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo’s biggest outbreak
KINSHASA, Congo — Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form of the disease detected in a mining town might more easily spread among people. Since January, Congo has reported more than 4,500 suspected mpox cases and nearly 300 deaths, numbers that have...
Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progressVideo
BEIRUT — Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza. After months of stop-and-start negotiations,...
Kyiv’s forces are up against a concerted Russian push in eastern Ukraine, a military official says
KYIV, Ukraine — The situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine is worsening but local defenders are so far holding firm against a concerted push by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped forces, a senior Ukrainian military official said Thursday. Russia has amassed troops in the Donetsk region in an effort...
Police move in and begin dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ encampment at UCLAVideo
LOS ANGELES — Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the UCLA campus after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave, about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked a tent encampment on the campus. Police detained a handful of people on campus, tying...
Pending free agent Steven Stamkos wants to stay with Lightning
TAMPA, Fla. — Steven Stamkos wants to hoist the Stanley Cup again with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 34-year-old captain, who can become a free agent this summer, reiterated Wednesday that he’d like to remain with the only franchise he’s played for in a stellar 16-season career. And general manager...
Ex-Nickelodeon producer Schneider sues ‘Quiet on Set’ makers for defamation, sex abuse implications
LOS ANGELES — Former Nickelodeon producer and writer Dan Schneider sued the makers of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Wednesday, alleging the makers of the documentary series wrongly implied he sexually abused the child actors he worked with. Schneider filed the defamation suit against Warner...
Appeals court rejects climate change lawsuit by young Oregon activists against U.S. government
SEATTLE — A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ordered the case dismissed in 2020, saying the job of...
West Virginia GOP County Commissioners removed from office after arrest for skipping meetings
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A three-judge panel ordered Wednesday that two county commissioners in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle be removed from office over a month after they were arrested for purposefully jilting their duties by skipping public meetings. Circuit Court Judges Joseph K. Reeder of Putnam County, Jason A. Wharton of...
Caitlin Clark’s presence draws comparisons to 2 Birds
Just a few minutes into the Indiana Fever’s media day, general manager Lin Dunn was asked to compare Caitlin Clark to a pair of Birds — Sue, whom Dunn drafted No. 1 overall in 2002, and Larry, who turned the NBA’s Boston Celtics into an instant contender in 1979. Whether...
Over 500 baby sea turtles washed ashore in a big storm off South Africa. Here’s the rescue effort
CAPE TOWN, South Africa ) — An aquarium in South Africa is stretched beyond capacity after more than 500 baby sea turtles were washed up on beaches by a rare and powerful storm and rescued by members of the public. The little turtles are mostly endangered loggerheads and should be...
Police kill student outside Wisconsin school after reports of someone with a weapon, official saysVideo
MOUNT HOREB, Wis. — Police shot and killed a student Wednesday outside a Wisconsin middle school after receiving a report of someone with a weapon, the state’s attorney general said in the first law enforcement briefing on gunshots that sent children fleeing and prompted an hourslong lockdown of local schools....
Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens must remain jailed, appeals court rules
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a bid to release from jail a former FBI informant who is charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family. Alexander Smirnov’s lawyers had urged the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower...
Big 12 out to prove bigger bank accounts don’t mean better football
SCOTTDALE, Ariz. — Before the realigned Big 12 — sans Oklahoma and Texas —even kicks off, the expanded College Football Playoff’s new revenue structure has created a perception that the conference is no longer the equal of the Big Ten and SEC. Instead of a Power Five, college football now...
Duane Eddy, twangy guitar hero of early rock, dead at age 86
NEW YORK — Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, has died at 86. Eddy died of cancer Tuesday...
Tourists evacuated from Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve amid flooding and heavy rains
NAIROBI, Kenya — Tourists were evacuated by air from Kenya’s Maasai Mara national reserve Wednesday after more than a dozen hotels, lodges and camps were flooded as heavy rains battered the country. Tourist accommodation facilities were submerged after a river within the Maasai Mara broke its banks early Wednesday. The...
Mexican volunteers search for clandestine crematorium on outskirts of Mexico City
MEXICO CITY — Trailed by search dogs and police, María de Jesús Soria Aguayo and more than a dozen volunteers Wednesday walked carefully through fields of weeds and dry earth with their eyes fixed on the ground. On the fringes of Mexico City, the group began to search for human...
House passes bill to expand definition of antisemitism amid growing campus protests over Gaza war
WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Wednesday that would establish a broader definition of antisemitism for the Department of Education to enforce anti-discrimination laws, the latest response from lawmakers to a nationwide student protest movement over the Israel-Hamas war. The proposal, which passed 320-91 with some bipartisan support, would codify...
WNBA ticket sales on StubHub are up 93%. Aces, Caitlin Clark and returning stars fuel rise
The wave of incoming rookies such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso and the return of popular players A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces have led to unprecedented demand for WNBA games on one of the world’s largest ticket resale platforms. StubHub...
Kentucky Derby has survived world wars, controversies of all kinds
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a record crowd cheered, American Pharoah rallied from behind and took aim at his remaining two rivals in the stretch. The bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza surged to the lead with a furlong to go and thundered across the finish line a length ahead in...
Federal Reserve says interest rates will stay at 2-decade high until inflation further coolsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday emphasized that inflation has remained stubbornly high in recent months and said it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2% target. The Fed issued its decision in a statement after...
Charges revealed against former Trump chief of staff in Arizona fake elector case
PHOENIX — The chief of staff for former President Donald Trump faces the same conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges as the other named defendants in Arizona’s fake elector case, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday. Mark Meadows wasn’t named in a grand jury indictment last week because he hadn’t...
Democrats advance election bill in Pennsylvania long sought by counties to process ballots faster
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill long sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state and to avoid a repeat of 2020’s drawn-out vote count. The bill comes barely six months before Pennsylvania could...
National 3-point shooting leader Koby Brea transfers from Dayton to Kentucky
Koby Brea, who led the nation in 3-point shooting for Dayton, will play his final season at Kentucky. Brea announced his decision on social media Wednesday and is the fifth player this week and sixth overall to be signed out of the transfer portal by new coach Mark Pope. Brea...
