Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs
WASHINGTON — Navy ships are getting fewer steaming hours because of growing maintenance delays and costs, a troubling trend that comes as at time when the U.S. is struggling to keep pace with China’s growing fleet. Operating and support costs grew by about $2.5 billion across 10 ship classes while...
Biden sounds ready to seek 2nd term while rallying Democrats
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden sounded like a candidate making his case for a second term Friday night as he rallied a raucous meeting of national Democrats who chanted, “Four more years!” The only thing missing was an official announcement — that’s not expected for at least several weeks. Speaking...
Feds say cyberattack caused suicide helpline’s outage
WASHINGTON — A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials told The Associated Press Friday. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. “On December 1, the voice calling functionality...
Ex-prosecutor’s new book details fight over indicting Trump
NEW YORK — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office again ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor who once led the probe details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new D.A. that...
Jupiter’s moon count jumps to 92, most in solar system
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92. That’s more than any other planet in our solar system. Saturn, the one-time leader, comes in a close second with 83 confirmed moons. The Jupiter moons were added recently to...
Jury clears Musk of wrongdoing related to 2018 Tesla tweets
SAN FRANCISO — A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn’t deceive investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla in a proposed deal that quickly unraveled and raised questions about whether the billionaire had misled investors. The nine-member jury reached its verdict after less that two hours of...
Biden, Cabinet visiting 20 states after State of the Union
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his Cabinet will embark on a post-State of the Union “blitz” to at least 20 states next week to discuss his economic agenda after his Tuesday night address to Congress, the White House announced Friday. Biden is expected to devote much of his second...
Police: Bodies are those of 3 rappers missing nearly 2 weeks in Detroit area
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday. Michigan State Police said Friday afternoon on Twitter that investigators identified the bodies as those of Armani Kelly,...
Authorities: 2 arrested in California shooting that killed 6
VISALIA, Calif. — Two gang members were arrested early Friday, one after a gunbattle, in the January massacre of six people including a baby at a central California home associated with a rival gang, the Tulare County sheriff said. Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said Noah David Beard, 25, was taken into...
Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics
KYIV, Ukraine — With next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join. Such...
Maid’s son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took $4M for her death
For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man — but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over $4 million from his housekeeper’s relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son...
Vision loss, 1 death possibly linked to brand of artificial tears, CDC investigation shows
ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a multistate cluster of bacterial infections linked to a brand of over-the-counter eyedrops. One person has died and at least three people have suffered permanent vision loss after using preservative-free EzriCare Artificial Tears, the CDC announced in a...
Olympic flame to take seaborne journey to 2024 Paris Games
MARSEILLE, France — The Olympic flame is going for a sail. Instead of arriving overland, the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece, arriving aboard a three-mast tall ship in the French port of Marseille. Paris organizers announced the flame’s...
Elon Musk surprise appearance as Tesla tweet trial wraps up
SAN FRANCISO — A high-profile trial focused on a 2018 tweet about the financing for a Tesla buyout that never happened drew a surprise spectator Friday — Elon Musk, the billionaire accused of misleading investors with his usage of the Twitter service he now owns. Musk, the CEO of both...
Missing Florida Lyft driver’s car found with slaying suspect
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The car owned by a missing 74-year-old Florida Lyft driver was found in North Carolina and the man who was driving it is wanted in connection with a homicide last week in southwest Florida, authorities said Friday. Lyft driver Gary Levin hasn’t been heard from since...
$700M Powerball prize latest in string of giant jackpots
DES MOINES, Iowa — No, it’s not lottery deja vu. There really is another giant lottery jackpot up for grabs Saturday night, the latest in a string of big prizes enticing players to plunk down $2 and try to beat formidable odds. This time, it’s an estimated $700 million Powerball...
New rules would limit sugar in school meals for 1st time
U.S. agriculture officials on Friday proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, with a focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries. The plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to significantly decrease sodium in the...
Olympic bans and boycotts go back a century
Ukraine and the three Baltic countries, all former Soviet republics, moved a step closer Friday to boycott next year’s Paris Olympics because of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The International Olympic Committee plans to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” despite their invasion of Ukraine,...
Chinese balloon now over central U.S. as Blinken cancels visit
WASHINGTON — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions. The cancelation came despite China’s claim...
California weighs making flag football a school sport for girls
California officials are considering a plan to make flag football a girls high school sport amid soaring popularity of the game and a push to get more female athletes on the field. The federated council of the California Interscholastic Federation — the statewide body that governs high school athletics —...
New Mexico legislators may block local abortion ordinances
SANTA FE, N.M. — A standoff over abortion in politically conservative regions of New Mexico is looming as Democratic state legislators present a bill that would prohibit local governments from interfering with women’s access to reproductive health care. The initiative from state House Democrats responds to abortion restrictions recently adopted...
U.S. may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in several states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the governors of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming provided “substantial”...
Frontier Airlines, which flies out of 3 Pa. cities, cuts price on unlimited summer pass
It is still chilly outside and summer is still a few months away, but no doubt there are plenty of folks in Pennsylvania already dreaming of taking that summer vacation. But, heck, why not go ahead and make that plural? Vacations. If that sounds dreamy, Frontier Airlines might have a...
Baltic leaders warn Olympic boycott possible if Russians compete
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian athletes from next year’s Paris Games because of the war in Ukraine, saying Friday a boycott was a possibility. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said athletes from her country could be...
Companies pledge millions in Fed effort to stem road deaths
WASHINGTON — Nearly 50 businesses and nonprofits — including rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, industrial giant 3M and automaker Honda — are pledging millions of dollars in initiatives to stem a crisis in road fatalities under a new federal effort announced Friday. It’s part of the Department of Transportation’s “Call...
