Associated Press stories, Page 1011
What to Watch: Shapiro will pitch first budget as Pa. governor
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver his first budget to the Legislature on Tuesday, as the Democrat aims in his first months to remake the state’s public school funding system and to put Pennsylvania on competitive footing with other states to attract major companies. Shapiro has been touring...
Olympic ticket sales for Paris Games get off to rocky start
PARIS — Organizers of next year’s Paris Olympics promised relatively modest prices and egalitarian access to events, thanks to an online system meant to revolutionize ticket sales and bring the masses to stadiums and arenas for as little as $26. As the month-long opening round of sales winds down, however,...
Chris Rock to finally have his say in new stand-up special
A year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock is poised to finally have his say. The 58-year-old comedian on Saturday night will perform his first stand-up special since last year’s Oscars. He’s doing it in “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” streaming live on Netflix at...
First evidence for horseback riding dates back 5,000 years
WASHINGTON — Archaeologists have found the earliest direct evidence for horseback riding — an innovation that would transform history — in 5,000 year old human skeletons in central Europe. “When you get on a horse and ride it fast, it’s a thrill — I’m sure ancient humans felt the same...
Election conspiracies fuel dispute over voter fraud system
ATLANTA — A bipartisan effort among states to combat voter fraud has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election and now faces an uncertain future. One state has dropped out, a second is in the process of doing...
Rangers, Bruins among winners at close of NHL trade deadline
The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins loaded up for a potential Stanley Cup run, making bold moves to add talented players in the days leading up to the NHL trade deadline. Coincidentally, the contenders face off Saturday afternoon in Boston. The Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers were not...
Kurt Kitayama handles a windy Bay Hill as Jon Rahm faltersVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Kurt Kitayama is chasing his first PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a world-class group of contenders right behind him. Kitayama should be used to that. Last year alone, he fell one shot sort of Jon Rahm in Mexico, Xander Schauffele in Scotland and...
Defense lawyers in Idaho stabbing case say gag order needed
BOISE, Idaho — Defense attorneys for a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death asked the Idaho Supreme Court on Friday to keep a gag order in place, saying a challenge to the order filed by 30 news organizations is premature and that media coverage of...
The implications of Walgreens’ decision on abortion pills
Walgreens says it will not start selling an abortion pill in 20 states that had warned of legal consequences if it did so. The drugstore chain’s announcement Thursday signals that access to mifepristone may not expand as broadly as federal regulators intended in January, when they finalized a rule change...
Officials: Person dies after brain-eating amoeba infection
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — A person in southwest Florida has died after being infected with an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba, health officials said. The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County confirmed the death Thursday. The agency had previously issued an alert last month, warning residents about the Naegleria fowleri...
Doctor: Lesion removed from Biden’s chest was cancerous
WASHINGTON — A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer — his doctor said Friday, adding that no further treatment was required. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Biden’s longtime...
Zelenskyy tells U.S., Europe law chiefs Russia must face court
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Friday with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and top European legal officials, and called for Russia to face international prosecution for war crimes. Zelenskyy announced the meetings in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, hundreds of kilometers from the war’s front lines, during his evening...
U.S. to focus bison restoration on expanding tribal herds
DENVER — U.S. officials will work to restore more large bison herds to Native American lands under a Friday order from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland that calls for the government to tap into Indigenous knowledge in its efforts to conserve the burly animals that are an icon of the American...
Medvedev beats Djokovic, to face Rublev in Dubai final
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Daniil Medvedev ended Novak Djokovic’s 20-match winning streak by beating the world’s top-ranked player 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final at the Dubai Championships on Friday. The third-seeded Medvedev will face defending champion Andrey Rublev in an all-Russian final of the hard-court tournament. The former...
Paris Olympics sports bodies seek IOC clarity on Russia
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Ongoing uncertainty about letting Russian athletes try to qualify for the Paris Olympics affects “less than half” of its 32 sports, the umbrella group of Summer Games governing bodies said on Friday. Those sports have an urgent need for more clarity from the International Olympic Committee with...
Christian Thielemann leads Vienna Philharmonic U.S. tour
NEW YORK — During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in November 2020, when Vienna was shut down and people were allowed outside mainly to walk their dogs, Christian Thielemann was stopped by a police officer in the Heldenplatz. “What are you doing?’” he recalled the officer asking. “I said...
At NFL combine, college experience seen as a winning play
INDIANAPOLIS — Linebacker Ochaun Mathis went all-in by betting an extra year of college football could help him make an NFL roster. He knew entering the league at age 24 was a risky proposition, given most players’ careers end at about 25. He knew scouts and team decision-makers would likely...
Stocks rise and are on pace for first winning week in last 4
NEW YORK — Stocks are climbing Friday and on pace to close out their first weekly gain in the last four. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in midday trading as relaxing yields in the bond market took some pressure off Wall Street. It’s on track for a gain of...
Businessman Perry Johnson announces 2024 presidential bid
OXON HILL, Md. — Republican businessman Perry Johnson has announced his long-shot bid for president. Johnson, who tried to run for Michigan governor last year but was deemed by the state’s elections bureau to have filed thousands of fraudulent nominating signatures, announced his White House candidacy to a group of...
Abortion clinics crossing state borders not always welcome
BRISTOL, Va. — The pastors smiled as they held the doors open, grabbing the hands of those who walked by and urging many to keep praying and to keep showing up. Some responded with a hug. A few grimaced as they squeezed past. Shelley Koch, a longtime resident of southwest...
Alex Murdaugh’s fall from grace ends in life sentence for murder
WALTERBORO, S.C. — In the culmination of the once-prominent lawyer’s fall from grace, Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday after being convicted of murdering his wife and son. Judge Clifton Newman asked Murdaugh if he had anything he wanted to say before sentencing him to...
King Charles III picks France, Germany for 1st state visits
LONDON — King Charles III will travel to France and Germany for his first state visits since becoming monarch, Buckingham Palace said Friday, underscoring Britain’s efforts to build bridges with its European neighbors following years of strained relations caused by Brexit. Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, are set to...
U.S., South Korea announce largest field exercises in 5 years
SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean and U.S. militaries announced Friday they will hold their biggest joint field exercises in five years later this month, as the U.S. flew a long-range B-1B bomber to the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against North Korea. The North has threatened...
2 Americans arrested on charges of selling tech to Russia
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday arrested two Kansas men on allegations that the pair illegally exported aviation-related technology to Russia and provided repair services for the equipment. Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky and Douglas Robertson are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file...
Pentagon Papers leaker Ellsberg says he has terminal cancer
WASHINGTON — Daniel Ellsberg, who copied and leaked documents that revealed secret details of U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War and became known as the Pentagon Papers, said he has terminal cancer and months to live. Ellsberg posted on his Facebook page Thursday that doctors diagnosed the 91-year-old with inoperable...

