Associated Press stories, Page 707
Alabama man shook violently on gurney during first-ever nitrogen gas execution
ATMORE, Ala. — A man put to death using nitrogen gas shook and convulsed for minutes on the gurney as Alabama carried out the first-of-its-kind execution that has ignited debate over the humaneness of the method. Breathing through a nitrogen-filled mask that deprived him of oxygen, 58-year-old convicted killer Kenneth...
NFL reaches ‘major milestone’ with record 9 minority head coaches in place for the 2024 season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The National Football League has urged teams for years to hire more minority head coaches. That mission finally seems to be paying off. Four minority head coaches have been hired this year, including Atlanta’s Raheem Morris, New England’s Jerod Mayo, Las Vegas’ Antonio Pierce and Carolina’s Dave...
Former President Donald Trump walks out of court during closing arguments of defamation trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump abruptly walked out on closing arguments at his defamation trial Friday as a lawyer for writer E. Jean Carroll urged a jury to award her client at least $12 million damages, saying Trump had shattered her reputation and her world by unleashing a...
Ukrainians worry after plane crash that POW exchanges with Russia will end
KYIV, Ukraine — As Russia and Ukraine trade accusations over this week’s crash of a Russian military transport plane, one thing is clear: families fears that future prisoner exchanges may be in danger and loved ones could stay imprisoned. Even the basic facts are being debated. Russian officials accused Kyiv...
Airstrikes in central Gaza kill 15 overnight while fighting intensifies in the enclave’s south
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat urban refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 15 people, including a 5-month-old baby, as health authorities in the besieged territory said the death toll since the start of the war has surpassed 26,000. In southern...
Sinner ends 10-time champion Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open streak, faces Medvedev for the title
MELBOURNE, Australia — Jannik Sinner ended one of Novak Djokovic’s perfect streaks in an Australian Open upset and then got to relax while Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev after midnight to secure the other place in the final. For a self-described tennis fan, just...
Top UN court stops short of ordering cease-fire in Gaza and demands Israel contain deaths
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ top court stopped short Friday of ordering a cease-fire in Gaza in a case accusing Israel of genocide in the tiny coastal enclave, but demanded that Israel try to limit deaths and damage caused by its military offensive there. South Africa brought the...
Melanie, singer-songwriter of ‘Brand New Key’ and other ’70s hits, dies at 76Video
Melanie, the singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene, performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits including the enduring cultural phenomenon “Brand New Key,” has died. Her publicist Billy James told The Associated Press that Melanie died Tuesday. She was 76 and lived in central...
Final 4 NFL playoff teams not afraid to invest at less-coveted positions
In a season full of satisfying moments for Detroit Lions fans, an amusing one occurred in mid-December, when coach Dan Campbell had a chance to gloat a bit about the team’s most recent draft. The players in question were running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta, both of...
Playoffs give Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown chance to shine
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown wrote goals in a notebook before the season started and reads them daily. How’s he doing on the list? “Good,” St. Brown said Thursday. “Great, actually.” He accomplished at least two goals, having at least 1,500 yards receiving and...
Florida House passes a bill to ban social media accounts for children under 16
TALLAHASSEE — Florida children under the age of 16 would be banned from popular social media platforms regardless of parent approval under a bill passed by the House on Wednesday, a measure that is the top priority for the chamber’s speaker. The bill doesn’t list which platforms would be affected,...
Prosecutor tells jury that mother of Michigan school shooter is at fault for 4 student deaths
PONTIAC, Mich. — A school shooting that killed four students in Michigan could have been prevented if the mother of the armed teen had removed him after seeing his violent drawings that same day, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday in an uncommon trial about parental responsibility. Jennifer Crumbley is charged...
Stephan Jaeger eagles final hole for lead in Farmers Insurance Open
SAN DIEGO — Stephan Jaeger of Germany made a 35-foot eagle putt on his final hole for an 8-under-par 64 and a one-shot lead over Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark after the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on Thursday. Jaeger was at 12-under halfway through the...
LeBron James makes NBA All-Star team for record 20th time
LeBron James joined yet another exclusive club, and he’ll have plenty of familiar faces alongside him at this season’s NBA All-Star Game. James is now an All-Star — and an All-Star starter — for the 20th time, with the league unveiling the results of this season’s starter balloting Thursday night....
Just 58 single-team players among 273 in Hall of Fame after addition of Todd Helton and Joe Mauer
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Todd Helton and Joe Mauer will become only the sixth pair of players inducted together into the Hall of Fame after spending their big league careers with one organization. “A lot of things had to go right,” Helton said Thursday during a news conference in the Hall’s...
2nd wave of college football’s hiring cycle produces some unprecedented movement
After a relatively quiet primary hiring cycle in college football in November and December, the coaching carousel revved up again in January, starting with the sudden retirement of maybe the greatest head coach of all time. Since Nick Saban stepped down at Alabama on Jan. 10, seven major college football...
49ers out to avenge title game losses; Lions seek 1st Super Bowl spot
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers have been waiting a year to get back to the NFC championship game after last season’s disappointing loss. The wait for the Detroit Lions and their fans has been far longer, with the success-starved franchise one step away from its first Super...
Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte charged in illegal sports gambling scheme
BATON ROUGE, La. — New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was arrested Thursday on charges related to illegal online gaming while he was underage and played at LSU, authorities said. Boutte is accused of creating an online betting account under a fake name and then placing more than 8,900...
Falcons hire Raheem Morris as coach, pass over Bill Belichick
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons have hired Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their head coach after an exhaustive search that included six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because...
Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, Dak Prescott lead NFL awards finalists
Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Dak Prescott are finalists for the Associated Press 2023 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards. The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 8. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the...
Senate deal on border and Ukraine at risk of collapse as Trump calls it ‘meaningless’Video
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid faced potential collapse Thursday as Senate Republicans grew increasingly wary of an election-year compromise that Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, says is “meaningless.” Senate negotiators have been striving for weeks to finish a carefully...
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beats Coco Gauff in Australian Open semifinals
MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka has taken her Australian Open title defense all the way back to the championship match because she has applied a crucial lesson from her U.S. Open final loss to Coco Gauff. She kept reminding herself the next point is often more important than the one...
Trump accuses DA Fani Willis of inappropriately injecting race into Georgia election case
ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump said the district attorney in the Georgia election interference prosecution should be removed from the case, claiming she “inappropriately injected race into the case and stoked racial animus” in response to allegations of misconduct against her. Defense attorneys Steve Sadow and Jennifer...
Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap joining PGA Tour after breakthrough win
Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap is turning pro after becoming the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour. Dunlap announced his decision Thursday in a campus news conference, four days after the reigning U.S. Amateur champion won The American Express. He secured the one-shot victory with a...
Bengals promote QBs coach Dan Pitcher to offensive coordinator
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t need to search far and wide to find their next offensive coordinator. The franchise simply promoted quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher. Pitcher formally was handed the job Thursday, one day after Brian Callahan left to take the head coaching gig with the Tennessee Titans. The...
