Associated Press stories, Page 894
U.S. citizenship test changes are coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency. The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship — a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years...
Ransomware criminals are dumping kids’ private files online after school hacks
The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts. “Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser...
Secondary test of powder found in West Wing lobby shows it’s cocaine, Biden briefed on investigation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been briefed on the investigation into the discovery of cocaine on the lobby floor of the White House West Wing, and thinks it is “incredibly important” for the Secret Service to determine how it got there, officials said Wednesday. U.S. Secret Service agents found...
Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized
STAR, Idaho — Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself. Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin...
9 people, including 2 kids, are shot and wounded in the nation’s capital as violence mars July 4
WASHINGTON — Nine people outside enjoying the Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital were shot and wounded early Wednesday, police said, as a spate of violence marred the holiday. Officers responding around 1 a.m. to the mass shooting in a neighborhood about a 20-minute drive east of the White...
Trinity Rodman could be poised for breakout in World Cup debut for U.S.Video
Trinity Rodman collected the ball just outside the penalty area and needed just one more touch to send it into the lower-left corner of the net. About a month shy of her 20th birthday, she’d scored her first goal for the U.S. women’s national team. That was April 2022 in...
Brazil soccer star Neymar fined $3.3M for illegal artificial lake at mansion outside RioVideo
SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer star Neymar was fined more than $3.3 million for violating local environmental rules during renovations at his mansion in the city of Mangaratiba outside Rio de Janeiro. The Mangaratiba city hall said in a statement Monday night it had issued four fines totalling about 16...
West Virginia AD Wren Baker looks for ‘smoother waters’ after challenging first 7 monthsVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Wren Baker couldn’t have imagined the challenges he would face over his first seven months as West Virginia’s athletic director. Baker has earned his keep — and then some — by making multiple hiring decisions since coming from North Texas. There will be at least a few...
Andy Murray gets a win at rainy Wimbledon and a thumbs-up from Roger FedererVideo
WIMBLEDON, England — On a day filled with far more rain drops than drop shots at Wimbledon — light, but persistent, showers prevented the completion, or even start, of dozens of matches — Roger Federer and Andy Murray provided the highlights. The retired Federer, who won a men’s-record eight of...
Joey Chestnut shakes off rain delay and defends title at Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog contest
Eating superstar Joey “Jaws” Chestnut shook off a rain delay and gobbled his way to another win at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, downing 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut out ate runner-up Geoffrey Esper and the rest of an international field of 15...
Now a mom, Alex Morgan riding Wave heading into 4th Women’s World CupVideo
SAN DIEGO — Her night’s work on the pitch finished, Alex Morgan walks into the post-match news conference in her San Diego Wave uniform, barefoot and with her left ankle still taped up, with 3-year-old daughter Charlie in tow. Morgan veers from soccer superstar to mom and back to soccer...
Angels’ Mike Trout placed on 10-day injured list with broken left wrist
All-Star outfielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels said he anticipates returning this season despite a broken left wrist suffered when he fouled off a pitch Monday night. “Of course,” Trout said Tuesday, a few hours after the Angels announced he was placed on the 10-day injured list with...
Shots fired into a crowd of hundreds after a holiday festival in Texas leaves 3 dead, 8 injured
DALLAS — Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighborhood, authorities said. The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed...
Meta takes aim at Twitter with the launch of rival app Threads
LONDON — Meta unveiled an app to rival Twitter on Thursday, appearing to target users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned — and frequently changed — by Elon Musk. Called Threads, the new offering is billed as a text-based version of Meta’s photo-sharing app Instagram that...
The world’s tallest flagpole. A tiny Maine town. An idea meant to unite people is dividing them
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — Lobster boat engines rumble to life in quiet coves. Lumberjacks trudge deep into the woods. Farmers tend expanses of wild blueberries. Maine’s Down East region is where the sunlight first kisses the East Coast of the United States each day, where the vast wilderness and ocean...
Retailers, beware: Resumption of student loan payments could lead some buyers to pull back
WASHINGTON — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires...
ThunderShirts, dance parties and anxiety meds can help ease dogs’ July Fourth dread
PHOENIX — On the Friday before the Fourth of July, more than a dozen dog owners waited in triple-digit temperatures in south Phoenix to get into a microchipping event inside a shelter. It didn’t hurt that Maricopa County was offering a discount. But, several were there because they knew having...
In a polarized U.S., how to define a patriot increasingly depends on who’s being asked
Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks and other Independence Day events on Tuesday, celebrating the courage of the nation’s 18th century patriots who fought for independence from Great Britain and what they considered an unjust government. Those events also will honor the military and those who sacrificed in other...
The American flag wasn’t always revered as it is today. At the beginning, it was an afterthought
PHILADELPHIA — In the bedroom of the Betsy Ross House, a reconstruction of where the upholsterer worked on her most famous commission, a long flag with a circle of 13 stars hangs over a Chippendale side chair and extends across the floor. Over the weeks in 1776 needed to complete...
NASCAR thinking big after exciting finish to Cup Series’ 1st street race in its 75th season
CHICAGO — Moments after NASCAR’s daring adventure was over — a soggy day in downtown Chicago rescued by a compelling Cup Series race — they were all thinking big. Shane van Gisbergen pondered a move from Australia’s Supercars to a regular NASCAR ride. Justin Marks contemplated the promising future of...
5 dead in Philadelphia-area shooting spree that’s nation’s worst violence yet around July 4Video
PHILADELPHIA — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, a bulletproof vest, extra magazines and a police scanner fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the...
Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic...
Churchill Downs extends trainer Bob Baffert’s ban through 2024
Churchill Downs is extending Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s suspension through 2024, keeping the two-time Triple Crown winner from entering horses in the Kentucky Derby and other races for an additional year. Churchill Downs Inc. announced Monday it was continuing Baffert’s ban at least through the 2024 calendar year,...
Price of a stamp rises to 66 cents, the second hike this year and the 5th increase since 2019
NEW YORK — Stamps prices are on the rise, again — one of several changes the U.S. Postal Service is rolling out this month. Starting Sunday, the cost of the first-class “forever” stamps will jump from 63 to 66 cents. The latest price comes just months after forever stamps climbed...
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parksVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions throughout the summer. Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular...
