Associated Press stories, Page 981
Tennessee’s House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over gun protestVideo
NASHVILLE — In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest that called for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. The banishment of Reps. Justin Jones and...
China vows ‘forceful’ measures after U.S.-Taiwan meeting
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China vowed reprisals against Taiwan after a meeting between the United States House speaker and the island’s president, saying Thursday that the U.S. was on a “wrong and dangerous road.” Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday in a show of U.S. support for...
China’s Xi calls for Ukraine peace talks to resume
BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping called Thursday for peace talks over Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to him to “bring Russia to its senses,” but Xi gave no indication Beijing would use its leverage as Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic partner to press for a settlement. Xi gave no...
Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members missing
TOKYO — Japan’s coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. The coast guard said it received information that a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on a mission Thursday evening in...
Snake on a plane! South African pilot finds cobra under seat
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A pilot in South Africa made a hasty emergency landing after discovering a highly venomous cobra hiding under his seat. Rudolf Erasmus had four passengers on board the light aircraft during Monday’s flight when he felt “something cold” slide across his lower back. He glanced...
LIV golfers add betting dynamic to Masters
LAS VEGAS — The addition of LIV golfers to this week’s Masters field has created betting options for those wanting to wager on golf’s first major of the year. Westgate SuperBook golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said his company’s properties have taken quite a bit of money on whether one of...
Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. challenging Biden in 2024
NEW YORK — Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country’s most famous political families, is running for president. Kennedy filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission. The 69-year-old’s campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the Democratic...
Jury in defamation suit against Fox won’t hear about Jan. 6
DOVER, Del. — The upcoming trial in a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News for airing false allegations of vote fraud in the 2020 presidential election will not include testimony about the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, a judge ruled Wednesday. Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems claims...
Kansas bans transgender athletes from women’s, girls’ sports
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas is banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college, the first of several possible new laws restricting the rights of transgender people pushed through by Republican legislators over the wishes of the Democratic governor. The Legislature on Wednesday overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s...
Masters Tournament Tee Times
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tee times for Thursday’s first round of the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club 8 a.m. — Kevin Na, Mike Weir 8:12 a.m. — Matthew McClean, Vijay Singh, Scott Stallings 8:24 a.m. — Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Sandy Lyle 8:36 a.m. — Fred Couples, Russell...
Mike Pence won’t appeal order compelling grand jury testimonyVideo
WASHINGTON — A spokesman for Mike Pence said Wednesday that the former vice president will not appeal a judge’s order compelling him to testify in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The decision sets up a...
Maryland AG releases report on Catholic Church sex abuse
BALTIMORE — More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused more than 600 children over the past 80 years, according to a state report released Wednesday that accused church officials of decades of cover-ups. The report, issued by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office,...
TikTok’s parent has a new app: What to know about Lemon8
NEW YORK — As lawmakers debate whether to ban TikTok nationwide, its Chinese parent company has introduced a new app that’s already getting some traction. The app, called Lemon8, is likely to face some of the same scrutiny as TikTok, which has been dogged by claims the Chinese government could...
Trump’s bravado tested as legal woes overlap with campaign
NEW YORK — When Donald Trump stepped into a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday afternoon, his usual bravado was replaced with palpable anger and notable silence as the former president was reduced to a criminal defendant in custody. By the time he returned to his Mar-a-Lago club hours later, he was ready...
Review: Arty movie ‘Showing Up’ about artists fails to sparkVideo
Michelle Williams plays a sculptor whose hot water heater has irritatingly busted in the languid “Showing Up.” That’s about it, plot-wise. Talk about nobody showing up. Director Kelly Reichardt, who also penned the film with her regular screenwriter, Jonathan Raymond, has created a tiresome bubble inside a bubble, focusing their...
Man kills 4 children with hatchet at daycare center in BrazilVideo
RIO DE JANEIRO — A man with a hatchet jumped over a wall and invaded a daycare center Wednesday in Brazil, killing four children and wounding at least five others, authorities said. The assailant turned himself in at a police station and did not appear to have any connection with...
Bob Lee, Cash App founder and MobileCoin exec, slain at 43
SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, was fatally stabbed early Tuesday in San Francisco, according to the cryptocurrency platform and police. Officers responded to a report of a stabbing on Main Street at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday...
Catan board game creator, Klaus Teuber, dies at 70
Klaus Teuber, creator of the hugely popular Catan board game in which players compete to build settlements on a fictional island, has died after a brief illness, according to a family statement. He was 70. The board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995 and based...
New Ram electric pickup can go up to 500 miles on a chargeVideo
DETROIT — An electric Ram pickup truck with up to 500 miles of range per charge and a battery-powered people-hauling Kia SUV are among the new vehicles being introduced Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show. The two debuts in New York on Wednesday are among only nine automaker...
DOJ tentatively settles over Texas church shooting for $144M
AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department announced Wednesday a tentative $144 million settlement with families and victims of a 2017 mass shooting at a Texas church that was carried out by a former U.S. airman who was able to purchase firearms despite a criminal history. More than two dozen people...
Patrol: Missouri tornado kills at least 4, sows destruction
ST. LOUIS — A large tornado tore through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, causing widespread destruction and killing at least four people as a broad swath of the Midwest and South braced for further storm s that could spawn additional twisters and hail. A twister in Illinois also caused...
Blinken says Wall Street Journal reporter ‘wrongfully detained’ by Russia
BRUSSELS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was arrested last week on spying allegations. However, Blinken said a formal determination of Evan Gershkovich’s wrongful detention has not yet been...
Scottie Scheffler looks primed for rare Masters double
AUGUSTA, Ga. — There are plenty of perks that come from being the reigning Masters champion. You have a year to don that cherished green jacket wherever you want. You can nab a tee time at Augusta National without any hassles. You get to select the menu for the champions...
ITF resumes tennis in China with no word on Peng Shuai
TOKYO — The International Tennis Federation will play tournaments this year in China with no word of a resolution to the case of Chinese doubles player Peng Shuai. Peng disappeared from public view shortly after accusing a former high-ranking Communist Party official — in a web posting in November of...
Violence at Jerusalem holy site raises fears of escalation
JERUSALEM — Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City early Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinians who hurled stones and firecrackers in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season. Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes. The...
