Associated Press stories, Page 1172
Lawyer: Teen ‘highly troubled’ months before Michigan school shooting
DETROIT — Some teachers and a counselor at a Michigan high school were aware of a teen’s troubling interest in guns and violence months before he was accused of fatally shooting four students and wounding others, a lawyer representing victims’ families said Thursday. “From literally the beginning of school, Ethan...
AP: Celtics considering suspension of coach Ime UdokaVideo
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are planning to discipline coach Ime Udoka, likely with a suspension, because of an improper relationship with a member of the organization, two people with knowledge of the matter told the Associated Press on Thursday. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity...
NCAA gives LSU 1-year probation for James Cregg’s conduct
BATON ROUGE, La. — The NCAA placed LSU’s football program on one year of probation Thursday after determining former offensive line coach James Cregg violated recruiting restrictions during the 2020 football season. The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions found Cregg violated restrictions against in-person contact with prospective recruits during...
Passenger arrested after seen punching a flight attendantVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — A man who was apparently caught on video slugging a flight attendant in the back of the head during an American Airlines flight was arrested after the plane landed in Los Angeles. Authorities charged Alexander Tung Cuu Le on Thursday with interfering with a flight crew....
Canada to drop vaccine mandate at border Sept. 30
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signed off on Canada dropping the vaccine requirement for people entering the country at the end of September, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering...
Atlantic City smoking ban talk nixed, but workers get loud outside casinoVideo
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Irate that a session to discuss a proposed smoking ban during a major casino industry conference was snuffed out, casino workers and patrons opposed to smoking in the gambling halls held a noisy protest outside the meeting Thursday. About 100 people rallied in the rain underneath...
More consumers buying organic, but U.S. farmers still wary
CHURDAN, Iowa — In the 1970s when George Naylor said he wanted to grow organic crops, the idea didn’t go over well. Back then organic crops were an oddity, destined for health food stores or maybe a few farmers markets. “I told my dad I wanted to be an organic...
Mississippi agency ex-leader pleads guilty in welfare fraud
JACKSON, Miss. — A former director of Mississippi’s welfare agency pleaded guilty Thursday to federal and state charges in a conspiracy to misspend tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states in the U.S. — part of the largest public...
Explainer: Why a NASA spacecraft will crash into an asteroid
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away. A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph. The impact should be just enough to nudge...
Roger Federer: Tennis will withstand big-name retirements
LONDON — Roger Federer was paying attention right along with everybody else when Serena Williams played what is expected to be her last match three weeks ago at the U.S. Open. “Not surprised. Just very similar to me, in many ways. We were expecting it to come at some point,”...
Redrawn districts inject uncertainty in Pa. legislative contests
HARRISBURG — Democrats in Pennsylvania who have long blamed their party’s legislative minorities on Republican gerrymandering will find out in November whether friendlier district maps will edge them closer to retaking control of the House and Senate. Nearly 400 state legislative candidates will appear on ballots Nov. 8, hoping voters...
Review: Sidney Poitier documentary shows a constant strivingVideo
Sidney Poitier was not expected to live. He was born two months premature to uneducated tomato farmers in the Caribbean. His father planned to use a shoe box as a makeshift coffin. Poitier’s rise from that humble origin to become an Oscar-winning box office draw and civil rights figure who...
Neptune and rings shine in photos from new space telescope
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— Neptune and its rings haven’t looked this good in decades. NASA released new glamour shots of our solar system’s outermost planet Wednesday taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The pictures taken in July show not only Neptune’s thin rings, but its faint dust bands, never before...
Average long-term mortgage rates climb to 6.29% this week
WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped by more than a quarter-point this week to their highest level since 2008 as the Federal Reserve intensified its effort to tamp down decades-high inflation and cool the economy. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate climbed to 6.29%,...
Judge blocks Indiana abortion ban week after it took effect
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana judge on Thursday blocked the state’s abortion ban from being enforced, putting the new law on hold as abortion clinic operators argue that it violates the state constitution. Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon issued a preliminary injunction against the ban that took effect one week ago....
Hamas threatens violence over contested Jerusalem holy site
JERUSALEM — The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday threatened hostile actions against Israel over what it called “violations against Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque” ahead of the upcoming Jewish High Holidays. Hamas’s threats came just ahead of Sunday’s Jewish new year, and a day after a group of Jewish...
No let-up in hostilities in Ukraine despite prisoner swap
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged missile and artillery barrages that killed at least six people Thursday as both sides refused to concede any ground despite recent military setbacks for Moscow and the toll on the invaded country after almost seven months of war. Russian missile strikes in...
Puerto Rico struggles to reach areas cut off by Fiona
CAGUAS, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Fiona left hundreds of people stranded across Puerto Rico after smashing roads and bridges, with authorities still struggling to reach them four days after the storm smacked the U.S. territory, causing historic flooding. Government officials have been working with religious groups, nonprofits and others braving...
Czech government: Russian NHL players unwanted in Prague
PRAGUE — NHL teams playing in the Czech capital next month have been told their Russian players are not welcome. The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the NHL of its stance because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ministry declined to say whether the NHL has replied. The Nashville Predators...
Walmart, Target begin holiday early to ease inflation sting
NEW YORK — Walmart and Target plan to begin offering deals and price matching offers earlier this year to keep up with Americans pressed by soaring inflation and looking for ways to ease the potential sting of holiday shopping. For two years now, shoppers have started preparing for the holidays...
Thieves key on hack that leaves Hyundai, Kia cars vulnerable
DETROIT — Some Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs are missing a “key” anti-theft device, and thieves know. An insurance industry group says these cars are stolen at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the auto industry because their keys lack computer chips for theft “immobilizer” systems. The...
Powell’s stark message: Inflation fight may cause recession
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve delivered its bluntest reckoning Wednesday of what it will take to finally tame painfully high inflation: Slower growth, higher unemployment and potentially a recession. Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged what many economists have been saying for months: That the Fed’s goal...
Heckler who slapped Rudy Giuliani on back can have charge droppedVideo
NEW YORK — A man charged with assault after he was seen on a video slapping the back of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani accepted a deal Wednesday to have the charges dismissed. According to the Richmond County district attorney’s office, the case has been adjourned in contemplation of...
Florida highway covered in Coors Light beer after semi crashVideo
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — A Florida highway had to temporarily close Wednesday after a semitrailer carrying cases of Coors Light crashed and turned the roadway into a silver sea of beer cans. The multi-vehicle crash occurred shortly after 6 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 about 30 miles north...
ACC off to strong start in nonconference gamesVideo
BOSTON — All that talk about how the Big Ten and SEC are making the rest of college football irrelevant? Well, the ACC would like a word. Winner of two national championships in the past six years — the only league other than the SEC to claim even one —...
