Associated Press stories, Page 756
Attacks on officials could ‘kill’ soccer, top former ref says after latest incident
MANCHESTER, England — Attacked on the field by the president of a top Turkish soccer team, referee Halil Umut Meler desperately tried to cover his head to shield himself from the kicks of angry fans. Monday’s shocking scene at the end of a Turkish league game was an example of...
Shorter weeks, longer days? Pennsylvania poised to give schools flexibility on minimum requirements
HARRISBURG — A bill that would give Pennsylvania school districts greater flexibility to have shorter school weeks or longer days, as long as students meet an annual minimum of instructional time, is headed to the governor’s desk for his approval. The legislation passed both chambers unanimously. It changes Pennsylvania law...
Judge in Trump election case pauses court deadlines as appeal is heard on presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington will be put on hold while the former president further pursues his claims that he is immune from prosecution, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, agreed in a three-page order to pause...
College athletes who transfer twice can play, for now, after a judge sets aside NCAA transfer rule
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — College athletes who were denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time can return to competition — for now — after a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia...
NFL approves regular-season game for Brazil in 2024 in further international expansion
IRVING, Texas — The NFL is adding Brazil as its first regular-season destination in South America next year. An increase in the number of international games by 2025 means other new cities are on the way. The league said Wednesday at the owners meetings in the Dallas area the 2024...
Testimony ends in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, but the verdict isn’t expected until next month
NEW YORK — After 10 weeks, 40 witnesses and bursts of courtroom fireworks, testimony wrapped up Wednesday in former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial. But a verdict is at least a month away. Closing arguments are set for Jan. 11, and Judge Arthur Engoron has said he hopes...
Dow hits a record high and Treasury yields drop after the Fed signals rate cutsVideo
NEW YORK — A powerful rally across Wall Street sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated that the cuts to interest rates investors crave so much may be coming next year. The Dow jumped 512 points, or 1.4%, to top 37,000...
A common abortion pill will come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s how the drug works
Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs used — mifepristone — will now go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court next year. Demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol has grown as states have imposed bans or...
Appeals court denies Trump’s ‘presidential immunity’ argument in defamation lawsuit
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump gave up his right to argue that presidential immunity protects him from being held liable for statements he made in 2019 when he denied that he raped advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. A three-judge panel of...
The Supreme Court will rule on limits on a commonly used abortion medication
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and...
Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge
WASHINGTON — Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the U.S. Capitol that he will only testify in public. In a rare public statement, the Democratic president’s son slammed a...
Tesla recalls nearly all vehicles sold in U.S. to fix system that monitors drivers using Autopilot
DETROIT — Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., more than 2 million across its model lineup, to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot. Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company...
Hasbro cuts 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, prompted by the ongoing malaise in the toy business
NEW YORK — Toy maker Hasbro said Monday it is cutting about 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, as the malaise in the toy business extends through another holiday shopping season. The nearly century-old Rhode Island-based company behind Monopoly, Play-Doh and My Little Pony toys disclosed the layoffs in...
Al Michaels won’t call an NFL playoff game for NBC this season
Al Michaels won’t be calling an NFL playoff game for NBC for the first time since the network returned to televising the league in 2006. NBC confirmed to The Associated Press that Michaels won’t be working the playoffs. It was first reported by the New York Post. The 79-year-old Michaels...
Safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers and resources, experts say
WASHINGTON — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you’re getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that’s passed muster with health regulators. But repeated recalls involving over-the-counter drops are drawing new attention to just how little U.S. officials know about the conditions at...
House set for key vote on Biden impeachment inquiry as Republicans unite behind investigation
WASHINGTON — The House is pushing toward a vote Wednesday to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as Republicans rally behind the charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The vote...
Harvard board keeps president as leader of Ivy League school following antisemitism backlash
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard President Claudine Gay will remain leader of the prestigious Ivy League school following her comments last week at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, the university’s highest governing body announced Tuesday. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our...
Andre Braugher, Emmy-winning actor who starred in ‘Homicide’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ dies at 61
LOS ANGELES — Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor best known for his roles on the series “Homicide: Life on The Street” and “Brooklyn 99,” died Monday at age 61. Braugher’s publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed his death to the trade publication Variety. The Chicago-born actor had his breakthrough role in 1989’s...
Zelenskyy pleads for Ukraine aid at Capitol and White House, says to U.S.: Our fight is yoursVideo
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told America his country was fighting for “our freedom and yours” as he made an impassioned plea Tuesday for Congress to approve more assistance to fight Russia’s invasion. But prospects for additional U.S. aid to Ukraine appeared seriously delayed, if not in grave doubt,...
Donald Trump’s lawyers again ask for early verdict in civil fraud trial, judge says ‘no way’
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers rested his defense Tuesday and sought anew to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. The judge said “there’s no way I’m going to grant that.” Trump’s lawyers — thwarted in a similar bid last...
U.N. General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in a strong demonstration of global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. The vote also shows the growing isolation of the United States and Israel. The vote in the 193-member world body...
Auto union boss urges New Jersey lawmakers to pass casino smoking ban
ATLANTIC CITY — Shawn Fain, the international president of the United Auto Workers union who recently won large raises for his workers, is taking aim at a new target: New Jersey lawmakers who are delaying votes on a bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos. The head of the...
How rising prices for restaurants, car repair and other services kept inflation up last month
WASHINGTON — Held down by sinking gas prices, U.S. inflation was mostly unchanged last month. But underlying price pressures — from apartment rents, restaurant meals, auto insurance and many other services — remained stubbornly high. Last month’s inflation data arrived just a day before the Federal Reserve will end a...
Georgia election worker suing Rudy Giuliani tells jurors his lies made her fear for her life
WASHINGTON — Scared for her life after Rudy Giuliani and other Donald Trump allies falsely accused her of fraud, Georgia election worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss told jurors Tuesday she seldom leaves her home, suffers from panic attacks and battles nightmares brought on by a barrage of threatening and racist messages....
New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of U.S. House
ALBANY — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Democrats a potential advantage in what is expected to be a battleground for control of the U.S. House. The 4-3 decision from the New York Court of Appeals...
