Associated Press stories, Page 849
Top-seeded William Byron looks to kickoff championship chances at DarlingtonVideo
DARLINGTON, S.C. — William Byron understands, with five wins and a high seed for the NASCAR playoffs, the wonderful opportunity he has for a series championship. Byron also knows he doesn’t want to miss his chance to enjoy the ride. He starts the 10-race title chase tied with Martin Truex...
Bill Richardson, a former governor and UN ambassador who worked to free detained Americans, dies
WASHINGTON — Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and an American ambassador to the United Nations who also worked for years to secure the release of Americans detained by foreign adversaries, has died. He was 75. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led,...
GOP lawmakers take aim at LGBTQ+ ‘safe places’ program in small Florida town
MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Some central Florida lawmakers said they were considering “all legislative, legal and executive options available” to stop business owners in a small town from voluntarily displaying rainbow decals in their windows indicating that they are “safe place” for LGBTQ+ people who feel threatened. Four Republican lawmakers...
Killer who escaped suburban Philadelphia prison is spotted on surveillance cameras
WEST CHESTER — A recently convicted murderer who’s been on the run for days after escaping a suburban Philadelphia prison was spotted shortly after midnight Saturday by residential security cameras in an area not far from the prison, authorities said. Authorities haven’t disclosed the circumstances of how Danelo Cavalcante, 34,...
Biden is surveying hurricane’s toll from the sky and ground in Florida
LIVE OAK, Fla. — President Joe Biden got a look Saturday from the sky at Hurricane Idalia’s impact across a swath of Florida before setting out on a walking tour of a city recovering from the storm. Notably absent from his schedule was any time with Gov. Ron DeSantis, a...
Children hit hardest by the pandemic are now the big kids at school. Many still need reading help
They were the kids most disrupted by the pandemic, the ones who were still learning to write their names and tie their shoes when schools shut down in the spring of 2020. Now, they’re the big kids at elementary schools across the United States. Many still need profound help overcoming...
Coach who lost his job for praying on field kneels again in first game after years of legal battles
BREMERTON, Wash. — An assistant high school football coach in Washington state who lost his job during a controversy over his public post-game prayers was back on the field Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court held his practice was protected by the Constitution. Joe Kennedy strode alone to midfield, knelt...
India launches a spacecraft to study the sun after successful landing near the moon’s south pole
NEW DELHI — India launched its first space mission to study the sun on Saturday, less than two weeks after a successful uncrewed landing near the south polar region of the moon. The Aditya-L1 spacecraft took off on board a satellite launch vehicle from the Sriharikota space center in southern...
‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into an empire, dies at 76
NEW YORK — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded...
SMU celebrates entrance into ACC, contrast from death penalty days
DALLAS — SMU athletic director Rick Hart shot a small batch of red and blue confetti from a fake champagne bottle before machines showered the stage with plenty more. The scene celebrating the university’s acceptance into the ACC on Friday was quite the contrast to the somber, and eerily silent,...
No spider bite or fainting spell at U.S. Open for Tommy Paul and his family. Just another winVideo
NEW YORK — When Tommy Paul was a kid growing up in Greenville, N.C., his family would drive the 500 or so miles up to New York the week before the U.S. Open to watch qualifying matches — “It was free,” he notes — and catch a glimpse of some...
Spain opens case against soccer chief for World Cup kiss; Luis Rubiales breaks week-long silence
MADRID — Spain’s government began a move to oust suspended soccer chief Luis Rubiales, who ended a week of silence Friday by insisting he was the victim of a smear campaign. Rubiales has come in for a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation for his behavior during and...
Ahead of big sports weekend, dispute with Disney leaves millions of cable subscribers in the dark
A company representing nearly 15 million cable subscribers and The Walt Disney Co. blamed each other Friday for a dispute that has cut off Disney-owned stations to viewers on the eve of a big sports weekend for U.S. Open tennis and college football fans. The dispute between Disney and Charter...
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says number missing from Maui fire could drop from 388 to less than 100
HONOLULU — The number of people listed as missing from Maui’s devastating wildfire could drop from nearly 400 to fewer than 100 when authorities provide an update Friday on their efforts to locate them, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said. “We think the number has dropped down into the double digits,...
Rudy Giuliani pleads not guilty in Georgia election case, won’t attend arraignment hearing
ATLANTA — Rudy Giuliani on Friday pleaded not guilty to Georgia charges that accuse him of trying, along with former President Donald Trump and others, to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. In filing his not guilty plea with the court, the former New York...
Russia deploys ICBM that Putin says will make enemies ‘think twice’
MOSCOW — The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said Friday that the country has deployed an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that President Vladimir Putin once said will make Russia’s enemies “think twice.” Agency head Yuri Borisov said Sarmat missiles have been placed on combat duty, according to Russian news...
Hugs from MJ: Bubba Wallace eager to show just reaching playoffs not enoughVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bubba Wallace got a big hug from team owner Michael Jordan in the pits at Daytona last week after the racer clinched his first career NASCAR playoff appearance. Now, Wallace is primed to show he and his 23XI Racing team have even more in the tank this...
Column: As Georgia goes for 3-peat, those who’ve done it before provide perspectiveVideo
ATHENS, Ga. — When Larry Farmer walked into UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion for the first time, his gaze quickly turned toward the rafters. It was impossible to miss all those championship banners. “I immediately knew that was the standard,” Farmer recalled Friday. “It was right there in plain sight. Second or...
Ravens GM Eric DeCosta excited to see J.K. Dobbins play, staying quiet on RB’s contractVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta had plenty of nice things to say about J.K. Dobbins. He was also pretty reticent about the possibility of a new contract for the running back. “I try to keep that stuff in house,” DeCosta said. “We’re excited to see what...
Oregon State, Washington State face uncertainty in what’s left of Pac-12
Just like that, the Pac-12 has been reduced to the Pac-2. Oregon State and Washington State will be the last two standing in the conference after Stanford and California announced Friday they are bolting for the ACC in 2024. There’s speculation the Beavers and Cougars may join the Mountain West...
MLB won’t extend pitch clock for postseason
NEW YORK — MLB is keeping the pitch clock the same for the postseason as it was for the regular season, brushing aside complaints from some players. Following an MLB executive council meeting this week, the commissioner’s office informed the competition committee there will be no change, a decision first...
Cal and Stanford believe move to ACC was needed
The move by Stanford and California to the ACC was one born out of need not convenience. After watching seven fellow Pac-12 schools follow conference flagships Southern Cal and UCLA to new homes last month, the success-rich programs at Stanford and Cal had no viable options left other than joining...
Proud Boy who smashed Capitol window on Jan. 6 gets 10 years in prison, then declares, ‘Trump won!’
WASHINGTON — A former member of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group who smashed a window at the U.S. Capitol in the building’s first breach of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot was sentenced on Friday to 10 years in prison — and then defiantly declared as he walked out of...
Schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in 1881 found intact, miles off Wisconsin coastline
ALGOMA, Wis. — Shipwreck hunters have discovered the intact remains of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in 1881 and is so well-preserved it still contains the crew’s possessions in its final resting spot miles from Wisconsin’s coastline. Wisconsin maritime historians Brendon Baillod and Robert Jaeck found the 156-year-old...
Biden approves Medal of Honor for Army helicopter pilot who rescued soldiers in a Vietnam firefight
WASHINGTON — As an Army first lieutenant and Cobra helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, Larry Taylor flew hundreds of missions and saved countless lives. But no rescue flight was as daring, or as meaningful to Taylor, as the one for which he will receive the Medal of Honor from...
