Associated Press stories, Page 948
House Republicans push through defense bill limiting abortion access, halting diversity efforts
WASHINGTON — The House passed a sweeping defense bill Friday that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care that deeply divided the chamber. Democrats voted against the package,...
How DOJ made different death penalty decisions in the Pittsburgh synagogue and Texas mall massacres
CHICAGO — Two separate shootings 2,000 miles apart. One killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The other killed 23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Both were motivated by hate. Both involved gunmen who later claimed mental illness. But earlier this year, the Justice Department authorized the death penalty...
Trump asks top Georgia court to disqualify election probe prosecutor and toss grand jury report
ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are asking Georgia’s highest court to prevent the district attorney who has been investigating his actions in the wake of the 2020 election from prosecuting him and to throw out a special grand jury report that is part of the inquiry. Fulton...
Brittney Griner surprised herself with making the WNBA All-Star Game
LAS VEGAS — Brittney Griner didn’t know what to expect when the WNBA season began, how she would respond after the trauma she experienced of being incarcerated in Russia that also forced her off the court for many months. Griner surprised herself, playing well enough to become a starter in...
Jesse Jackson to step down as head of civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH
CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse Jackson plans to step down from leading the Chicago civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded in 1971, his son’s congressional office said Friday. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson confirmed the long-time civil rights leader would be retiring from the organization. The...
New Jersey gambling revenue up nearly 14%, but most casinos still trail pre-pandemic levels
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey’s casinos, horse tracks that take sports bets, and the online partners of both those types of gambling won more than $457 million in June, an increase of nearly 14% from a year earlier. But the key metric for Atlantic City’s nine casinos — the...
The story behind Barbenheimer, the summer’s most online movie showdown
The very online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: July 21. It’s not uncommon for studios to counterprogram films in different genres on a big weekend, but the stark differences between an intense, serious-minded picture about the man who oversaw the development...
GOP White House hopefuls face mounting pressure to stop Trump in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — As the six-month sprint to the Iowa caucuses begins, the sprawling field of Republican presidential candidates is facing growing pressure to prove they can become serious challengers to former President Donald Trump. The urgency is particularly acute for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who entered the race...
Disney asks judge to toss a lawsuit from board of DeSantis appointees
ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney asked a Florida judge on Friday to toss out a lawsuit against the company’s efforts to neutralize a takeover of Disney World’s governing district by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees. The case in state court in Orlando is one of two stemming from the takeover,...
Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a key witness at Jan. 6 hearings, has book deal
NEW YORK — A former White House aide to President Donald Trump who became a prominent congressional witness against him and his allies in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol has a book deal. Cassidy Hutchinson’s “Enough” will be released Sept. 26 by Simon &...
IRS says it collected $38 million from more than 175 high-income tax delinquents
WASHINGTON — The IRS is showcasing its new capability to aggressively audit high-income tax dodgers as it makes the case for sustained funding and tries to avert budget cuts sought by Republicans who want to gut the agency. IRS leaders said they collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more...
Biden and Democrats raised $72 million-plus for his 2024 race
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $72 million for his reelection in the 10 weeks since he announced his 2024 candidacy, his campaign announced Friday, in a strong but not record performance by an incumbent. That is all the money raised between April...
Kevin Spacey denies that crotch-grabbing was his ‘trademark’ pickup move
LONDON — Kevin Spacey denied that grabbing men by the crotch was his “trademark” pickup move as he got increasingly testy under questioning Friday by the prosecutor who accused him of sexually assaulting four men. In a heated exchange that required the intervention of the judge, Spacey was asked about...
The term ‘unalive’ is a way that kids can safely discuss and understand serious matters
When Emily Litman was in middle school, kids whose parents grounded them would blithely lament: “I just want to die.” Now she’s a middle school teacher in New Jersey, and when her students’ phones and TikTok access are taken away, their out-loud whining has a 21st-century digital twist: “I feel...
Long Island architect charged in 3 of the Gilgo Beach serial killings
NEW YORK — A Long Island architect was charged Friday with murder in the deaths of three of the 11 victims in a long-unsolved string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders after detectives pursuing a new lead say they matched DNA from a pizza he ate to genetic...
Crowds cheer as India launches a lander and rover to explore the moon’s south pole
SRIHARIKOTA, India — An Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface, the country’s space agency said. Chandrayaan-3, the word for “moon craft” in...
One-third of Americans under heat alerts as blistering weather spreads from Southwest to CaliforniaVideo
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — More than a third of Americans were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings Thursday as a blistering heat wave that’s been baking the nation spread further into California, forcing residents to seek out air conditioning or find other ways to stay cool in triple-digit temperatures....
Byeong Hun An opens with 61 at Scottish Open
GULLANE, Scotland — Byeong Hun An played well enough in the Scottish Open on Thursday that he had reason to hope he can stick around for more links golf next week. An ran off four straight birdies early in his round at The Renaissance Club and closed with a 25-foot...
Rioter who hurled bow like a spear at police during Jan. 6 attack gets more than 7 years in prison
WASHINGTON — A professional butcher whose bloody, wild-eyed face became one of the most memorable images of the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in prison for hurling a bow like a spear at police and attacking several other officers. Kyle Fitzsimons, 39, of Maine,...
Soda sweetener aspartame now listed as possible cancer cause. But it’s still considered safe
The World Health Organization’s cancer agency has deemed the sweetener aspartame — found in diet soda and countless other foods — as a “possible” cause of cancer, while a separate expert group looking at the same evidence said it still considers the sugar substitute safe in limited quantities. The differing...
Secret Service: No fingerprints, DNA sample or leads from cocaine found at the White House
WASHINGTON — No fingerprints or DNA turned up on the baggie of cocaine found in a lobby at the White House last week despite a sophisticated FBI crime lab analysis, and surveillance footage of the area didn’t identify a suspect, according to a summary of the Secret Service investigation obtained...
Justice Department urges judge to not postpone Trump’s classified documents trial
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department urged a judge Thursday to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to postpone his classified documents trial, saying there was no basis for an “open-ended” delay sought by his lawyers. Federal prosecutors last month proposed a Dec. 11 trial for Trump, who is charged with 37 felony...
First over-the-counter birth control pill gets FDA approvalVideo
U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first...
Vermont braces for more rain in wake of historic floodingVideo
Vermont prepared for the next round of storms — and possibly a tornado — as people took advantage of calm weather Thursday to clean up from historic flooding that damaged thousands of homes, businesses and roads, and left some residents stranded. As floodwaters receded, the good news was that there...
Legal headaches just starting at Northwestern, West Virginia with Fitzgerald, Huggins, experts say
The legal headaches could only be starting for Pat Fitzgerald and Bob Huggins — and their schools. Fitzgerald was fired this week as Northwestern’s football coach following hazing allegations — but after the school had first announced a two-week suspension. West Virginia said Huggins had resigned after the Hall of...
