Associated Press stories, Page 799
U.S., Israel discuss when to scale back Gaza combat, agree fight will take months, envoy says
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The U.S. and Israel have discussed a timetable for scaling back intense combat operations in the war against Hamas, even though they agree the overall fight will take months, an envoy said Friday, amid growing American unease about the mounting death toll in Gaza. U.S. national...
Man, daughter find remains of what could be a ship that ran aground during Peshtigo Fire in 1800s
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Wisconsin archaeologists are crediting a man and daughter with discovering the remains of what could be a ship that ran aground during the deadly Peshtigo Fire more than 150 years ago. Tim Wollak and his 6-year-old daughter, Henley, of Peshtigo, were fishing on Lake Michigan in...
Jurors deciding how much Rudy Giuliani must pay for lies in a Georgia election workers’ case
WASHINGTON — Jurors began deliberating Thursday to decide how much Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about them that led to a barrage of racist threats and upended their lives. The jury left for the day without announcing a decision and were expected to...
Shohei Ohtani dodges Tommy John questions in 1st Dodgers news conference
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani opened his first news conference with the Los Angeles Dodgers by dodging questions about whether he had a second Tommy John surgery. “It was a procedure. I’m not sure what it was called,” Ohtani said Thursday. Speaking to media for the first time since Aug....
Former Michigan GOP spokesperson testifies fake elector defendants were misled
A former communications director for the Michigan GOP testified Thursday that he believes an attorney for then-President Donald Trump’s campaign “took advantage” of some of the 15 Republicans who face forgery and another charges for allegedly serving as false electors. Anthony Zammit testified during the second day of a preliminary...
Pennsylvania passes laws to overhaul probation system, allow courts to seal more criminal records
HARRISBURG — More criminal records in Pennsylvania can be sealed from public view and fewer people might be kept on probation or in county jails, under legislation signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday. Both bills passed the House and Senate with large majorities Wednesday amid a flurry of end-of-year...
Students treated after eating gummies from bag with fentanyl residue, sheriff’s office says
AMHERST, Va. — A group of Virginia elementary school students sought medical attention this week after eating gummy bears from a bag that contained residue that tested positive for fentanyl, according to the county sheriff’s office. Seven students at Central Elementary School experienced a reaction after eating the gummy bears...
QB Joe Flacco signs 1-year, $4.05M deal with Browns
BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco is officially signed and sealed with Cleveland. He has already delivered. Flacco got a one-year, $4.05 million contract — loaded with incentives — on Thursday from the Browns, who brought in the veteran quarterback last month while in emergency mode after losing starter Deshaun Watson...
Against the odds, European Union agrees to open membership negotiations with Ukraine
BRUSSELS — The European Union decided Thursday to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, a momentous moment and stunning reversal for a country at war that had struggled to find the backing for its membership aspirations and long faced obstinate opposition from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. European Council President Charles...
Ohio boy, 13, charged after allegedly planning mass shooting in a synagogue
CANTON, Ohio — A 13-year old boy from Canton, Ohio, has been charged with allegedly planning a mass shooting of a local Jewish synagogue. The teenager, who is unnamed in court documents because he is a minor, is charged with inducing panic and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. He’s accused of...
Pennsylvania House back to a 101-101 partisan divide with the resignation of a Democratic lawmaker
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is back to a 101-101 partisan split with the resignation of a Democratic lawmaker Thursday, teeing up another special election to determine the chamber’s majority early next year. The resignation of Rep. John Galloway, of Bucks County, had been expected for months after...
Men charged with killing 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, to sell on black market
Two men killed about 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, during a “killing spree” on Montana’s Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere, then sold eagle parts on a black market that has been a long-running problem for U.S. wildlife officials, a federal grand jury indictment says. The men worked with...
EPA begins formal review of vinyl chloride, toxic chemical that burned in Ohio train derailment
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has initiated a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following a fiery train derailment earlier this year in eastern Ohio. The Environmental Protection Agency said it will review risks posed...
The Republican leading the probe of Hunter Biden has his own shell company and complicated friends
WASHINGTON — Rep. James Comer boasts of being one of the largest landholders near his rural Kentucky hometown, and he has meticulously documented nearly all of his holdings on congressional financial disclosure documents — roughly 1,600 acres in all. But there are 6 acres that he bought in 2015 and...
Bull on tracks disrupts trains between Newark and New YorkVideo
NEWARK, N.J. — A loose bull in New Jersey’s largest city found its way onto train tracks, snarling rail traffic for a while Thursday before it was captured, authorities said. The ruddy brown bull with long, dark-tipped horns stood on the tracks at Newark Penn Station, prompting a police response...
Ex-FBI counterintelligence official gets over 4 years in prison for aiding Russian oligarch
NEW YORK — A former top FBI counterintelligence official was ordered Thursday to spend over four years in prison for violating sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch seeking dirt on a wealthy rival after he finished his government career. Charles McGonigal, 55, was sentenced to...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans hit gas rather than brakes on spending
NEW YORK — Americans picked up their spending from October to November unexpectedly as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring the power of shoppers despite elevated prices. Retail sales rose 0.3%, in November from October, when sales were down a revised 0.2% according to the Commerce Department on Thursday....
Dak Prescott, Maxx Crosby, Khalil Mack among 8 finalists for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award
NEW YORK — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Los Angeles Chargers three-time All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack and Las Vegas Raiders two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby are among the eight finalists for the ninth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Each NFL team nominated one of its players for...
Amazon won’t have to pay hundreds of millions in back taxes after winning EU case
LONDON — Amazon won’t have to pay about 250 million euros ($273 million) in back taxes after European Union judges ruled in favor of the U.S. e-commerce giant Thursday, dealing a defeat to the 27-nation bloc in its efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance. The ruling by the EU’s top...
U.S. applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to thrive
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite high interest rates and elevated costs. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Analysts were expecting around 224,000....
U.S. Coast Guard and cruise line save 12 passengers after boat sinks near Dominican Republic
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A boat carrying 12 passengers sank north of the Dominican Republic during inclement weather, and all have been rescued, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Six of the passengers who were aboard a raft were rescued Wednesday by a Carnival Cruise Line ship in the...
Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until his goals, still unchanged, are achieved
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there would be no peace in Ukraine until the Kremlin realizes its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting that has sent tensions soaring between Moscow and the West. Speaking at a year-end news conference that offered him an...
Putin says Russia is in dialogue with the U.S. on exchanging jailed Americans Gershkovich, Whelan
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Moscow is in dialogue with with the United States on the issue of bringing home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even though “it’s not easy.” Putin spoke about Whelan and Gershkovich during...
Pennsylvania is in its Taylor Swift era, her home state decides
HARRISBURG — She’s Time magazine’s person of the year. She’s the most-played artist globally on Spotify. She’s helmed the first tour to gross more than $1 billion and then the highest-grossing concert film of all time. And now Taylor Swift can add one more accolade: A state House of Representatives...
Pennsylvania lawmakers defeat funding for Penn amid criticism over school’s stance on antisemitism
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday night defeated legislation to send more than $33 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school after the university’s president resigned amid criticism that the school has tolerated antisemitism. The legislation won a majority in two different votes, but it failed to...
