Associated Press stories, Page 711
Russia accuses Kyiv of downing a military transport plane, killing all 74 aboard, including POWs
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday accused Ukrainian forces of shooting down a military transport plane, killing all 74 people aboard, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war being swapped. Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm or deny Russia’s claims about the crash in Russia’s Belgorod border region, although they said they...
A blast of cold lets gators show off a special skill to survive icy weather
The recent blast of cold weather has given alligators a chance to show off their way of coping with freezing temperatures. The Swamp Park Outdoor Adventure Center in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, posted eerie videos on social media on Sunday showing alligators suspended in frozen ponds with just the...
Heavy fighting in Gaza’s 2nd-largest city leaves hundreds of patients stranded in main hospital
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants on Wednesday near the main hospital in Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis, where medics said hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced people were unable to leave because of the fighting. Israel has ordered residents to leave a swath of...
Americans’ economic outlook brightens as inflation slows and wages outpace prices
WASHINGTON — After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel better about inflation and the economy — a trend that could sustain consumer spending, fuel economic growth and potentially affect President Joe Biden’s political fortunes. A measure of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan has jumped...
UCF beats West Virginia 72-59 behind Ibrahima Diallo’s double-doubleVideo
ORLANDO — Jaylin Sellers scored 18 points, Ibrahima Diallo had 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks and UCF beat West Virginia, 72-59, on Tuesday night. UCF scored the opening eight points and added a 9-0 run for a 19-7 lead. The Knights led by double digits for the final...
Rampant public drug use forces Oregon to backpedal on decriminalization law
SALEM, Ore. — Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measure amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis. The bill would recriminalize...
Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting key hurdle
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish legislators on Tuesday endorsed Sweden’s membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country’s entry into the military alliance. Lawmakers ratified Sweden’s accession protocol 287 to 55, with ruling party members saying the Nordic country’s tougher stance on Kurdish militants was key to...
Chiefs’ winning formula: Surround immense star power with draft steals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had not even made it through two plays against Buffalo in the divisional round of the playoffs when Mike Edwards, already playing in place of injured safety Bryan Cook, clashed helmets with Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs and had to leave their...
Led by Chiefs-Bills thriller, NFL divisional round averages record 40 million viewers
LOS ANGELES — Last weekend’s four NFL divisional round playoff games averaged 40.0 million viewers on television and digital platforms, the highest on record dating back to 1988. The viewer average is a 7% increase over last year and a 5% jump from two years ago. Sunday night’s game between...
Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson suspended 25 games for violating NBA’s drug policy
CLEVELAND — Tristan Thompson has given the Cavaliers another issue to manage. Cleveland’s backup center was suspended 25 games without pay by the NBA on Tuesday for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, a penalty that will keep him out of the rotation and off the floor for two months. According...
49ers look to get over NFC title game hurdle after losing past 2 years
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The most taxing part of getting to the precipice of the Super Bowl only to fall short might be the long journey just to return to that stage for another shot. Offseason workouts, followed by training camp, a 17-game season and then the early rounds of...
Flyers goaltender Carter Hart is taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasonsVideo
Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart is taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons. General manager Daniel Briere announced Tuesday that Hart had requested and been granted time away from the team. He added that the Flyers will have no further comment. Messages sent to Hart’s agent, Judd Moldaver,...
Appeals court rejects Trump’s bid to reconsider gag order in the election interference case
WASHINGTON — Washington’s federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s request to reconsider a gag order restricting the former president’s speech in the case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Lawyers for the Republican presidential front-runner had asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
Pennsylvania state police, pension agency lost some online records, officials say
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania State Police is working to recover access to online records of how it handled evidence, state officials said, blaming the loss of the records on a mistake during routine server maintenance The same mistake also affected the State Employees Retirement System, which said online users temporarily...
‘Doomsday Clock’ signals existential threats of nuclear war, climate disasters and AIVideo
WASHINGTON — Earth, for the second year running, is nearing apocalypse, a science-oriented advocacy group said, pointing to its famous “Doomsday Clock” that shows 90 seconds till midnight. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement Tuesday rating how close humanity is from ending. It cited nuclear threat in...
Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Joe Mauer elected to Baseball Hall of FameVideo
NEW YORK — Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday, while Billy Wagner and Gary Sheffield fell short. Beltre was picked on 366 of 385 ballots from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his first ballot appearance for 95.1%. Helton...
IRS to simplify its notices to taxpayers in push for modernization
WASHINGTON — The IRS wants to rewrite its complicated letters to taxpayers and speak to people in plain English. The federal tax collector is rewriting and sending out commonly received notices ahead of the 2024 tax filing season as part of its new “Simple Notice Initiative.” “Redesigned notices will be...
New York man convicted of murdering woman who wound up in his backcountry driveway after wrong turn
FORT EDWARD, N.Y. — A man was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday for fatally shooting a young woman when the SUV she was riding in mistakenly drove up his rural driveway in upstate New York. A jury found Kevin Monahan, 66, guilty of second-degree murder for shooting 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis...
NFL selects veteran referee Bill Vinovich to lead officiating crew for Super Bowl
NEW YORK — Veteran referee Bill Vinovich will lead the officiating crew for the Super Bowl next month in Las Vegas. The NFL announced Tuesday that Vinovich will work his third Super Bowl and be joined by a crew that includes umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, line judge...
Martin Luther King’s daughter recalls late brother as strong guardian of their father’s legacy
ATLANTA — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter remembered her late brother on Tuesday as a fierce and visionary steward of their father’s legacy. The Rev. Bernice King choked back tears at times as she shared memories of her childhood and recent visits with Dexter Scott King, who died...
Charles Osgood, CBS host on TV and radio and network’s poet-in-residence, dies at age 91Video
NEW YORK — Charles Osgood, a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for more than two decades, hosted the long-running radio program “The Osgood File” and was referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, has died. He was 91. CBS reported that Osgood died Tuesday at his home...
Bucks fire coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games despite one of NBA’s top records, AP source says
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have fired Adrian Griffin as coach after just 43 games despite having one of the league’s top records midway through the season, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because...
Los Angeles Times to lay off one-fourth of newsroom staff starting this week, union head says
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 newsroom employees — one-fourth of its newsroom staff — starting Tuesday, a number that is substantial but less than feared, the head of the journalists union said. The announcement comes after the LA Times Guild walked off the...
Oscar nomination for ’20 Days in Mariupol’ is a first for the 178-year-old Associated Press
NEW YORK — “20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing chronicle of the besieged Ukrainian city and the international journalists who remained there after Russia’s invasion, has been nominated for best documentary at the Academy Awards, handing The Associated Press its first Oscar nomination in the 178-year-old news organization’s history....
George Santos says he doesn’t plan to vote in the special election to fill his former seat
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos says he doesn’t plan to vote in next month’s special election to fill his now vacant seat in Congress. The disgraced New York Republican, who became only the sixth lawmaker in history to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives...
