Associated Press stories, Page 947
What to know about Trump’s CNN town hall: Lies about election and abortion, attacks on accuser
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s primetime return to CNN Wednesday for the first time since 2016 felt like a throwback: Trump with the long, twisting answers; the interviewer at times struggling to fact-check him or return his focus to the question at hand; and then, eventually, both talking over each...
‘Now or never’: Migrants rush to U.S. border ahead of Title 42 expiration
MATAMOROS, Mexico — Migrants rushed across the border hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions were to expire Thursday, fearing that new policies would make it far more difficult to gain entry into the United States. In a move to clear out overwhelmed holding facilities, Border Patrol agents were told Wednesday to...
As public health emergency ends, pandemic-era support programs have already been fading away
WASHINGTON — The formal end of the national Public Health Emergency on Thursday is largely a symbolic and psychological step, representing the country’s formal emergence from the covid-19 pandemic. But behind the scenes, several core aspects of America’s pandemic-era emergency safety net are also coming to a close, from extra...
Georgia coach Smart says declining invitation for White House visit was not political
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart insisted Wednesday there was no political motivation behind the decision for his national championship football team to decline an invitation to visit the White House in June. Instead, Smart says scheduling issues, including a youth camp in June at the Georgia football facility,...
Jacklyn Zeman, veteran ‘General Hospital’ cast member, has died
Jacklyn Zeman, who played Bobbie Spencer for 45 years on ABC’s “General Hospital” has died at 70. Zeman died after a short battle with cancer, her family confirmed Wednesday. News of her death was first announced by the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini. “I am heartbroken to announce the passing...
Real-life ‘The Queen’s Gambit’: Custodian leads school chess teams in Maine
HAMPDEN, Maine — David Bishop spends the school day as a mild-mannered custodian, but before the final bell rings, he grabs his chess boards and pieces and begins his second role. “The Queen’s Gambit” is playing out in real life in Maine, where this custodian is coaching his schools’ chess...
Figuring out Texas: From guns to immigration, here’s how one state’s challenges echo the country’s
HOUSTON — Thirteen people dead in two mass shootings. Eight immigrants killed when an SUV slams into a crowded bus stop. The likely approval of legislation that would let the Republican governor overturn elections in the most populous county, a Democratic stronghold. All in the past two weeks. These issues...
Rape, incest exceptions to Louisiana abortion ban rejected by GOP lawmakers
BATON ROUGE — Republican lawmakers in Louisiana rejected legislation Wednesday that would add exceptions in cases of rape and incest to one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. This legislative session, there is a package of bills aimed at loosening Louisiana’s near-total abortion ban by adding exceptions, clarifying...
Dutch suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance will be sent from Peru to U.S. to face fraud charges
MEXICO CITY — Peru’s government issued an executive order Wednesday allowing the extradition to the United States of the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba. The Peruvian Embassy in Washington told The Associated Press the order allows...
Why Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg, other celebrities want to buy the Ottawa Senators
OTTAWA, Ontario — While some hockey fans may be surprised by multiple celebrities facing off for a minority ownership stake in the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, experts who study the business of sport say the prospect stands to lift the team’s profile to new heights. It is also seen as a...
NHL playoffs a showcase for savvy stickwork on offense, defenseVideo
Alec Martinez remembers a time in his career when teams kept track of a stat less celebrated than goals and assists but arguably just as valuable. “They called them ticks,” the veteran Vegas defenseman said. “How many plays you break up with your stick.” Keeping the puck out of the...
Judge who presided over Parkland school shooting trial announces resignation
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida judge who gained a national profile while presiding over the Parkland school shooting trial announced Wednesday that she is resigning June 30 to pursue unspecified career opportunities. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rose in prominence when she oversaw the televised penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz....
With Jackson, WR additions, Monken has high hopes for RavensVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Todd Monken took a leap of faith when he left Georgia to become the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. At that point, it wasn’t clear if Lamar Jackson would still be the quarterback. “I was imagining that, planning on him being here,” Monken said Wednesday....
PGA Championship has 99 of top 100 in the field for Oak Hill, no Sergio GarciaVideo
The PGA Championship stuck to its mission of getting the strongest field of the four majors, announcing a field Wednesday that includes 99 of the top 100 in the world ranking no matter what tour they play. Missing from the 155-player list is Sergio Garcia, the former Masters champion who...
Fed’s Tom Barkin: Inflation still ‘stubbornly high’ and isn’t easing fast enough toward 2% targetVideo
Inflation remains “stubbornly high” and is no longer making much progress toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, a top Fed official said Wednesday, hours after price data for April were released. In an interview, Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said he is also seeing some...
Mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, known as Dooce to fans, dead at 47
NEW YORK — The pioneering mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, who laid bare her struggles as a mother and her battles with depression and alcoholism on her site Dooce.com and on social media, has died at 47. Armstrong died by suicide, her boyfriend Pete Ashdown told The Associated Press, saying he...
Army sergeant who fatally shot BLM protester in Texas sentenced to 25 years as governor seeks pardonVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — A U.S. Army sergeant who fatally shot an armed protester at a Black Lives Matter march in Texas was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday, after prosecutors used his social media history and text messages to portray him as a racist who may commit violence again....
Passenger charged with hiding camera in cruise ship restroom
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A passenger on a Caribbean cruise has been arrested after a hidden camera with video of dozens of people, including children, was discovered in a public restroom, officials said. Jeremy Froias was arrested last Wednesday in Puerto Rico and charged with video voyeurism and attempted...
West Virginia’s Huggins agrees to $1M pay cut, 3-game suspension for homophobic slur
Bob Huggins has agreed to a three-game suspension, a $1 million salary reduction and sensitivity training for using a homophobic slur during a radio interview, the university announced Wednesday. The agreement allows Huggins to keep his job as the school’s basketball coach, but the blunder will leave a lasting mark...
Ex-Raider Henry Ruggs pleads guilty to driving drunk, causing fatal crash
LAS VEGAS — Ex-Las Vegas Raiders player Henry Ruggs pleaded guilty Wednesday to driving his sports car drunk at speeds up to 156 mph on a city street before causing a fiery crash that killed a woman and her dog. “Guilty,” said the former first-round NFL draft pick, 24, who...
Google is giving its dominant search engine an artificial-intelligence makeover
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google on Wednesday disclosed plans to infuse its dominant search engine with more advanced artificial-intelligence technology, a drive that’s in response to one of the biggest threats to its long-established position as the internet’s main gateway. The gradual shift in how Google’s search engine runs is...
Pennsylvania GOP puts clout back on line in primary after losing ’22 Senate, governor races
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican Party is trying to learn from internal strife over last year’s failure to endorse in premier primary contests and, this year, it is putting its clout on the line by issuing endorsements ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. Republicans are now putting up big bucks to try...
FDA panel backs over-the-counter birth control pill
WASHINGTON — Federal health advisers said Wednesday that a decades-old birth control pill should be sold without a prescription, paving the way for a likely U.S. approval of the first over-the-counter contraceptive medication. The panel of FDA advisers voted unanimously in favor of drugmaker Perrigo’s request to sell its once-a-day...
Daughters without moms find support in each other’s grief
When my mother died suddenly 30 years ago, I was 13. I’d spend the next 20 years attempting to understand what it means not to have a mother. And I did this basically alone. Mostly, this was because my mother’s parents, who raised me, were old-fashioned folks who lived through...
Federal bank records emerge as focus of GOP’s Biden probes
WASHINGTON — Facing growing pressure to show progress in their investigations, House Republicans on Wednesday detailed what they say are concerning new findings about President Joe Biden’s family and their finances. The smoking gun, according to the GOP, is recently obtained financial records connected to the president’s son Hunter Biden,...
