Associated Press stories, Page 980
The Modern Masters? On-course interviews a change at Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National has taken another surprising step toward modernization: The Masters allowed for a walk-and-talk during the opening round when Rory McIlroy answered questions for the ESPN telecast while playing the ninth fairway. Then, Max Homa later joined the fun, making a live guest appearance during his...
Masters 13th hole goes from relative gimme to hardest par 5Video
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The 13th hole at Masters went from the easiest of the four par 5s a year ago to the most difficult in Thursday’s first round after modifications at Augusta National. “I birdied it today, so I didn’t not like it today,” defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler said...
Mark Cuban says keeping Kyrie Irving is priority, supports Jason Kidd
DALLAS — Though Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team’s top offseason priority, he doesn’t view it as a “Kyrie or bust” scenario. The billionaire businessman who has stayed mostly silent on Mavericks matters this season also is showing support for coach Jason Kidd with...
Brooks Koepka living large at Masters, leads with Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka shared the lead Thursday in the Masters, and that’s about all they had in common. Not the way they started their rounds at Augusta National. Certainly not the tours they represent — Rahm a loyalist on the PGA Tour, Koepka a surprise...
EPA proposal takes on health risks near chemical plants
In what could prove a significant move for communities facing air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Thursday that chemical plants nationwide measure certain hazardous compounds that cross beyond their property lines and reduce them when they are too high. The proposed rules would reduce cancer risk and other...
New world order: LIV looks to make its mark at MastersVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Phil Mickelson walked to the first tee — his LIV loyalties prominent on his cap, shirt and bag — he fist-bumped with a young girl hanging along the ropes before acknowledging the familiar cheers that have followed him throughout his career. “Go Phil!” “Go get ‘em,...
‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio’s death fentanyl-caused
LOS ANGELES — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died last year because of fentanyl, his manager said. Coolio’s former longtime manager Jarez Posey told The Associated Press Thursday that Coolio’s cause of death was fentanyl...
Tiger Woods’ painful Masters walk results in opening 74Video
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods split the fairway with his opening shot Thursday, confidently plucking his tee from the ground before his ball had even landed, and set off with grim-faced determination for a steamy trek around Augusta National. The rest of his day at the Masters was mostly just...
European tour wins case with LIV Golf after panel rulingVideo
The DP World (European) Tour was within its rights to sanction members who competed on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf without permission, an independent tribunal ruled Thursday. An appeal panel at Sport Resolutions found that a number of players, including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, committed “serious breaches” of the European...
House Republicans subpoena former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz in Trump case
WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday subpoenaed one of the former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ordered Mark Pomerantz to testify...
Garcia chastises Masters media to stop talking about LIV-PGAVideo
Sergio Garcia is tired of talking about the LIV-PGA Tour feud. After opening the Masters with a 2-over-par 74, Garcia shot back at reporters who asked Thursday if this felt like a normal event with all that’s going on away from the course. “Totally normal,” Garcia said. “You guys need...
U.S. would bar full ban on trans athletes but allow exceptions
WASHINGTON — Schools and colleges across the U.S. would be forbidden from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes under a proposal released Thursday from the Biden administration, but teams could create some limits in certain cases — for example, to ensure fairness. The proposed rule sends a political counterpunch toward...
Civil rights probe launched as a result of fatal Park Police shootingVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation after a U.S. Park Police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old who drove off with an officer in the back seat after the teenager was found asleep in a suspected stolen car. The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office...
Supreme Court: Trans girl can run girls track in West Virginia
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues. The justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky...
Are robot waiters the future? Some restaurants think so
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. — You may have already seen them in restaurants: waist-high machines that can greet guests, lead them to their tables, deliver food and drinks and ferry dirty dishes to the kitchen. Some have cat-like faces and even purr when you scratch their heads. But are robot waiters...
Ex-head of Michigan marijuana board admits he took bribes
The former head of a Michigan medical marijuana licensing board has agreed to plead guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes when he led the panel over a two-year period, authorities said Thursday. Rick Johnson acknowledged in a signed court filing that he acted “corruptly” when he accepted cash and other...
Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly took undisclosed luxury trips
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has for more than two decades accepted luxury trips nearly every year from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow without reporting them on financial disclosure forms, ProPublica reports. In a lengthy story published Thursday the nonprofit investigative journalism organization catalogs various trips Thomas has taken...
Average 30-year mortgage rate dips as spring season opens
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dipped for the fourth straight week, a good sign for potential home buyers and a real estate market that’s been mostly cold since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates more than a year ago. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average...
States and companies compete for billions to make hydrogen
As fossil fuel emissions continue warming Earth’s atmosphere, the Biden administration is turning to hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity. It’s offering $8 billion to entice the nation’s industries, engineers and planners to figure out how to produce and deliver clean hydrogen. States and businesses...
Arkansas lawmakers reject proposed affirmative action ban
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ Republican-led House has rejected and effectively killed legislation aimed at banning affirmative action by state and local governments after critics said it would have gone much further than its architects said it would and threatened a host of programs around the state. The bill rejected...
Authorities: Armed Ohio student planned to shoot classmates
CHESTERLAND, Ohio — A student who brought a gun and ammunition to a high school in northeastern Ohio and planned to shoot others there was arrested after a bullet was found in a bathroom and surveillance footage helped identify him, authorities said. The 18-year-old student was charged with attempted murder,...
Troubles shadow lingers as Northern Ireland marks 25 years of peace
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Peter Olphert was 14 when Irish Republican Army gunmen killed his father. Forty years later, he says it’s time to set aside the past. Mark Thompson lost his brother to British Army bullets, another victim of “the Troubles” that wracked Northern Ireland for three decades. He...
IMF head expects less than 3% global economic growth in 2023
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund chief said Thursday the world economy is expected to grow less than 3% this year, down from 3.4% last year, increasing the risk of hunger and poverty globally. Kristalina Georgieva said growth is expected to remain around 3% for the next five years, calling...
FDA forces unproven premature birth drug Makena off market
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered the immediate market withdrawal of a drug intended to prevent premature births, which has remained available for years despite data showing it doesn’t help pregnant women. The decision follows repeated efforts by Swiss drugmaker Covis Pharma to keep Makena on...
Panel affirms fines against coal mines owned by W.Va. governor
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal appeals panel has affirmed $2.5 million in penalties against Appalachian coal mines owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice over claims they violated a settlement meant to prevent pollution. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, made the...
