Associated Press stories, Page 939
Justice Department announces charges against hundreds of alleged covid fraudsters
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people have been charged with the theft of more than $830 million in covid-19 emergency aid following a nationwide operation conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday. More than 60 of the defendants have alleged connections to organized...
ACC progressing toward westward expansion with Stanford, Cal, SMU potential targetsVideo
The Atlantic Coast Conference is making progress toward an expansion that could grab Stanford and California from the sinking Pac-12, a person with direct knowledge of the ACC’s potential move told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was not making its...
At least 1 dead, 1 missing as Tropical Storm Franklin batters Dominican RepublicVideo
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Tropical Storm Franklin unleashed heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after making landfall in the country’s southern region, killing at least one person and injuring two others. The storm began to slowly spin away late Wednesday afternoon from the island of...
Sam Darnold wins backup QB job for 49ers, putting Trey Lance’s status in doubtVideo
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Sam Darnold has won the backup quarterback job in San Francisco, putting Trey Lance’s status with the 49ers in doubt less than three years after the team traded three first-round picks to draft him. Coach Kyle Shanahan told flagship radio station KNBR on Wednesday that Darnold...
Maple Leafs sign star center Auston Matthews to 4-year, $53 million extensionVideo
TORONTO — Auston Matthews has put pen to paper on a deal that is set to make him the NHL’s highest-paid player. And the Toronto Maple Leafs — and their fans — can finally exhale. The star center signed a four-year, $53 million extension on Wednesday that ties him to...
Woman pleads guilty to fatally shoving Broadway singing coach, age 87, avoiding a long prison stay
NEW YORK — A woman who killed an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach by shoving her onto a Manhattan sidewalk has avoided a lengthy prison sentence by pleading guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday, and will instead serve eight years behind bars. Lauren Pazienza, 28, teared up in court as she admitted...
North Dakota Gov. Burgum will participate in the GOP primary debate stage after injuring leg
MILWAUKEE — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he plans to participate in the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday after he was injured playing basketball on Tuesday and his campaign wasn’t sure he would be able to appear on stage. The Burgum campaign posted a photo on X, formerly known...
Jets WR Corey Davis announces he’s stepping away from football
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis announced Wednesday he is stepping away from football. The 28-year-old was entering his third season with the Jets after beginning his career with the Tennessee Titans as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 draft. “I’ve been searching...
Police officer who shot driver sitting in car is being suspended, will be fired, commissioner saysVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s police commissioner says a police officer who shot and killed a driver who was sitting in his car last week in north Philadelphia is being suspended and will be fired. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Wednesday that Officer Mark Dial will be suspended with intent to dismiss...
Russian agency says mercenary leader Prigozhin was aboard plane that crashed, leaving no survivorsVideo
MOSCOW — Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard the plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, killing everyone on board, according to Russia’s civil aviation agency. Rosaviatsia posted a list of seven passengers and three crew members who it said were aboard the plane “according to the airline.”...
Who takes advantage of Donald Trump’s absence and other things to watch in the Republican debate
NEW YORK — Eight Republican candidates will meet on the debate stage for the first time Wednesday night in what may be the biggest moment in the GOP’s young 2024 presidential primary so far. The overwhelming front-runner in the contest, former President Donald Trump, won’t participate. He says he’s so...
Rudy Giuliani turns himself in on Georgia 2020 election charges after bond is set at $150,000Video
ATLANTA — Rudy Giuliani turned himself in at a jail in Atlanta on Wednesday on charges related to efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The former New York mayor, was indicted last week along with Trump and 17 others. Fulton County District...
Colorado man accused of killing 10 at supermarket in 2021 is competent for trial, prosecutors say
DENVER — A Colorado man charged with killing 10 people at a Boulder supermarket in 2021 is competent to proceed toward a trial, prosecutors said Wednesday. The district attorney’s office announced Wednesday that experts at the state mental hospital say Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa no longer has a mental disability...
Judge clears the way for a civil case to proceed against Alec Baldwin and ‘Rust’ producers
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge on Wednesday rejected a request by Alec Baldwin ‘s attorneys to dismiss a civil lawsuit by three “Rust” crew members who allege cost-cutting endangered the cast and crew as the actor-producer skipped his own safety training. Chief District Judge Bryan Biedscheid also declined...
Prosecutor: 3 men accused in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer wanted to start civil war
BELLAIRE, Mich. — Three men accused of aiding a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were anarchists who considered themselves “the new founding fathers” and were preparing for bloodshed, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday. “They didn’t like the U.S. government. They didn’t like the state government. They all desired...
Pakistani children rescued from broken cable car say they repeatedly feared they would die
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Children who were rescued from a broken cable car dangling high above a valley in Pakistan said Wednesday they repeatedly feared they were about to die during the 16-hour ordeal despite attempts by their parents to reassure them over cellphones. Several of the children, who had been...
India lands spacecraft near moon’s south pole, a first for the world as it joins elite club
NEW DELHI — India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole on Wednesday — a historic voyage to uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water, and a technological triumph for the world’s most populous nation. After a failed attempt...
U.S. Open 2023: With Serena and Federer retired, Alcaraz-Djokovic symbolizes a transition in tennis
Based on the reactions on social media, it seems everyone in the world of tennis was riveted by Novak Djokovic’s victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the last tournament for both ahead of the U.S. Open. It was a titanic, 3½-hour-plus showdown between the two titans of the...
Climate change may force more farmers and ranchers to consider irrigation — at a steep cost
The Texas ranch where Gilda Jackson trains and sells horses has been plagued by grasshoppers this year, a problem that only gets worse when the hatch quickens in times of heat and drought. Jackson watched this summer as the insects chewed through a 35-acre pasture she badly needs for hay;...
Climate change may force more farmers and ranchers to consider irrigation — at a steep cost
The Texas ranch where Gilda Jackson trains and sells horses has been plagued by grasshoppers this year, a problem that only gets worse when the hatch quickens in times of heat and drought. Jackson watched this summer as the insects chewed through a 35-acre pasture she badly needs for hay;...
Prosecutors say witness in Trump’s classified documents case retracted false testimony
WASHINGTON — A witness in the criminal case against Donald Trump over the hoarding of classified documents retracted “prior false testimony” after switching lawyers last month and provided new information that implicated the former president, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The statements from the witness, a Trump staffer identified in...
Spotless arrival: Rare giraffe without coat pattern is born at Tennessee zooVideo
A giraffe without spots at a Tennessee zoo may be plain, but she’s definitely not ordinary. The female reticulated giraffe was born July 31 at the family-owned Brights Zoo in Limestone, a rural community in northeastern Tennessee. David Bright, one of the zoo’s owners, said the plain brown animal is...
Seahawks rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba to miss 3-4 weeks with wrist injury
SEATTLE — Seattle Seahawks rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will undergo surgery for a wrist fracture and miss approximately three to four weeks, coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday. Smith-Njigba was injured in the second quarter of Seattle’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, when he was tackled at...
Tropical Storm Franklin nears Dominican Republic and Haiti, bringing ‘life-threatening flooding’Video
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities in the Dominican Republic shut schools and government offices Tuesday as Tropical Storm Franklin took aim at the island of Hispaniola that it shares with Haiti and threatened to unleash landslides and heavy floods. The storm was expected to make landfall on the island...
Woman gets 15 years to life in deaths of boyfriend, friend after 100 mph car crash into brick wall
CLEVELAND — An Ohio woman convicted of murder in the death of her boyfriend and a friend after authorities said she deliberately slammed her car into a brick wall at 100 mph has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Mackenzie Shirilla, 19, who was 17 at the...
