Associated Press stories, Page 852
Texas AG Ken Paxton pursued perks beyond impeachment allegations, ex-staffers say
AUSTIN, Texas — Unexplained Caribbean and European trips that cost taxpayers more than $90,000. A $600 sports coat paid for by an event organizer. A $45 office Christmas cake taken as his own. These are among the perks that Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ‘s former employees say he...
Nissan is reusing batteries from old Leaf electric vehicles to make portable power sources
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Batteries in older Nissan Leaf electric vehicles are getting a new life as portable power sources that can be used to run gadgets on the go or deliver emergency power in disasters. Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. has sold more than 650,000 Leaf EVs. Their batteries often...
Train slams into a group of workers on the tracks at an Italian station, killing 5
ROME — A speeding out-of-service train slammed into a group of workers doing nighttime track maintenance in northern Italy on Thursday, killing five of them, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly after midnight at a station in Brandizzo, a town in Italy’s Piedmont region. Piedmont Gov. Alberto Cirio provided the...
North Korea says it simulated nuclear attacks on South Korea and rehearsed occupation of its rival
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it’s also been rehearsing an occupation of its rival’s territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them...
Building fire in Johannesburg leaves at least 73 dead, many homeless, authorities say
JOHANNESBURG — A nighttime fire ripped through a rundown five-story building in Johannesburg that was occupied by homeless people and squatters, leaving at least 73 people dead early Thursday, emergency services in South Africa’s biggest city said. Some of the people living in a maze of shacks and other makeshift...
Tropical Storm Idalia descends on North Carolina after pounding Florida, Georgia, South Carolina
PERRY, Fla. — Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction throughout the Southeast that stretched back to its landfall as a hurricane in Florida. Rescue and repair efforts continued in the areas the...
Trey Lance starts over at ‘square zero’ with Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — Trey Lance didn’t have a nameplate in the locker room the first day it was open to reporters after the quarterback’s trade to the Dallas Cowboys. His new No. 15 was there the second day, without Lance’s name. Baby steps for the player who, in his own...
Realignment prompts fresh look at number of automatic bids in 12-team CFP
IRVING, Texas — The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff met Wednesday for the first time since a wave of realignment tore apart the Pac-12, raising the possibility that the number of automatic bids in the 12-team postseason format to be implemented next year could be tweaked. With...
Nebraska volleyball match sets women’s world attendance record
LINCOLN, Neb. — The University of Nebraska laid claim to the world record for largest attendance at a women’s sporting event with 92,003 filling Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night for the Cornhuskers’ volleyball match against Omaha. The university took aim at the record last spring when it announced it would...
Bodies of 3 U.S. Marines killed in Australian aircraft crash retrieved from crash site
CANBERRA, Australia — The bodies of three U.S. Marines killed in a tiltrotor aircraft crash during a training exercise in Australia were retrieved from the crash scene while another Marine remained in critical condition, the Marine Corps said Tuesday. Those killed were from Illinois, Virginia and Colorado. The Marine V-22B...
Big Ten is ready for maximum exposure with games on NBC, CBS and Fox
Big Ten football is used to grabbing the spotlight on Saturdays during the fall. However, it is putting a new spin on maximum exposure and going prime time. The Big Ten’s seven-year deal with Fox, CBS and NBC begins this week, marking the first time a college conference sold its...
Head-and-neck restraints and soft walls top list of NASCAR’s biggest safety improvementsVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Chris Buescher caught a glimpse of a mangled car in the infield grass at Daytona International Speedway. He didn’t think much about it at first. Then, as he circled the track under caution, he saw a slow-motion replay of the crash on a giant video board....
Alex Murdaugh loses prison phone privileges after lawyer records phone call for documentary
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has lost his phone privileges and his prison tablet computer after his lawyer recorded him reading his journal entries on a call for a documentary about his case, South Carolina Corrections Department officials said Wednesday. Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the...
Chiefs GM hopeful All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones reports by opener next week
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have picked up communication with Chris Jones and his representatives in recent days, and general manager Brett Veach is optimistic the All-Pro defensive tackle will be on the field when the Super Bowl champions kick off the NFL regular season against Detroit...
Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek roll; Stefanos Tsitsipas falls at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek rolled to straight-set victories to move into the third round at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, fighting not only their opponents but sticky, 85-degree weather on the hottest day at the tournament so far. “That’s why we train several hours a day...
Former Penguins winger Carl Hagelin retires because of eye injury
Carl Hagelin, a speedy winger who was one-third of the fabled HBK Line during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Stanley Cup runs of 2016-17, announced his retirement from the NHL on Wednesday due to an eye injury. Hagelin, 35, has not played since taking an errant stick to his left eye during...
Ravens’ John Simpson has gone from practice squad to starting LG
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — John Simpson started every game of the 2021 season for the Las Vegas Raiders. Less than a year later, he was cut. It was understandable for the third-year offensive lineman to feel a few doubts about his future. “I lacked confidence, and I just didn’t really...
Dolphins GM Chris Grier calls talks with Colts about RB Jonathan Taylor ‘exploratory’Video
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Wednesday that conversations with the Indianapolis Colts about 2021 All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor were “exploratory,” and no official offers were exchanged between the two teams. The Dolphins had been linked to Taylor in recent weeks as the Colts...
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow back at practice for 1st time since July 27Video
CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow was back at practice Wednesday, more than a month after he was sidelined by a strained right calf muscle. The Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl quarterback put on the pads and participated for the first time since he pulled up limping and then went down during a...
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell appears to freeze up againVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday, weeks after he had a similar episode in Washington. According to video from a local news station, the 81-year-old McConnell was...
Revelers hurl tomatoes at each other as streets are awash in red pulp in Spanish town’s Tomatina party
BUÑOL, Spain — Some 15,000 people, including many tourists, pasted each other with tomatoes Wednesday as Spain’s annual Tomatina street battle took place in the eastern town of Buñol. Workers on trucks tipped 120 tons of overripe tomatoes into the main street of the town for participants to throw. The...
Judge holds Rudy Giuliani liable in Georgia election workers’ defamation case, orders him to pay fees
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday held Rudy Giuliani liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who say they were falsely accused of fraud, entering a default judgment against the former New York City mayor and ordering him to pay tens of thousands of dollars...
Pennsylvania is considering an earlier 2024 presidential primary, partly to avoid voting on Passover
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is considering changing the state’s 2024 presidential primary to an earlier day, although the proposed move may do little to give the state’s voters more say in deciding presidential nominees. State lawmakers plan to vote on legislation Wednesday that would change Pennsylvania’s primary from late April to...
New women’s pro hockey league provides sneak peek on its 6 markets: 3 in U.S. and 3 in Canada
The newly established Professional Women’s Hockey League provided a sneak peek as to where it’s six franchises will be based Monday night, a day before it is scheduled to make the news official. According to the PWHL’s newly launched account on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter,...
Neurosurgeon investigating patient’s mystery symptoms plucks worm from woman’s brain
CANBERRA, Australia — A neurosurgeon investigating a woman’s mystery symptoms in an Australian hospital says she plucked a wriggling worm from the patient’s brain. Surgeon Hari Priya Bandi was performing a biopsy through a hole in the 64-year-old patient’s skull at Canberra Hospital last year when she used forceps to...
