Associated Press stories, Page 1214
White House: Falling gas prices mean more than OPEC numbers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia last month on the possibility that he could get some additional oil production out of OPEC+ in coming weeks, but the cartel and other nations announced a scant increase Wednesday. The White House responded by stressing that what matters is the...
UN nuclear chief: Ukraine nuclear plant is ‘out of control’Video
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. nuclear chief warned that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine “is completely out of control” and issued an urgent plea to Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the sprawling complex to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear accident. Rafael Grossi,...
Judge: West Virginia Medicaid must cover transgender care
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Medicaid program must provide coverage for gender-confirming care for transgender residents, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers in Huntington made the ruling Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal over treatments for gender dysphoria. Chambers said the Medicaid...
U.S.-China ties on a precipice after Pelosi visit to TaiwanVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S.-China relations are teetering on a precipice after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Pelosi received a rapturous welcome in Taipei and was applauded with strong bipartisan support in Washington, despite the Biden administration’s misgivings. But her trip enraged Beijing and Chinese nationalists and will complicate already...
Trump ally Navarro sued for alleged unofficial email account
NEW YORK — The Justice Department filed suit Wednesday against Peter Navarro, claiming the former adviser to Donald Trump used an unofficial email account while working in the White House and wrongfully retained presidential records. The lawsuit in federal court in Washington claims Navarro used at least one “non-official” email...
Paul Pelosi pleads not guilty to DUI misdemeanor charges
SAN FRANCISCO — The husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pleaded not guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor driving under the influence charges related to a May crash in Northern California wine country. Paul Pelosi, 82, did not appear in person at Napa County Superior Court Wednesday. His attorney, Amanda Bevins,...
EPA: Chemical in medical-device cleanser poses cancer risk
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is warning residents who live near medical sterilizing plants in 13 states and Puerto Rico about potential health risks from emissions of ethylene oxide, a chemical widely used in their operations. Laredo, Texas; Ardmore, Okla.; and Lakewood, Colo., are among the communities facing the...
Indiana Rep. Walorski, 2 staffers killed in head-on crashVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski was killed Wednesday in a car crash in her northern Indiana district along with two members of her congressional staff and another person, police said. The crash happened about 12:30 p.m. when a car crossed the center line on state highway and collided...
UConn’s Paige Bueckers suffers torn ACL, will miss upcoming season
STORRS, Conn. — UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers tore the ACL in her left knee during a pickup game and will miss the entire 2022-23 season, the school announced Wednesday. UConn said in a statement that Bueckers suffered the injury Monday and underwent an MRI that evening. It did...
Once a club for men, Muirfield hosts Women’s British OpenVideo
MUIRFIELD, Scotland — Catriona Matthew had reason to believe she was in a great place at Muirfield, or at least as good as it could get for women in 1992. Matthew was 21, a rising amateur star from just up the road at North Berwick, when she was a walking...
NFL appeals 6-game suspension for Browns quarterback WatsonVideo
The NFL is appealing a disciplinary officer’s decision to suspend Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson for six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, giving Commissioner Roger Goodell or someone he designates authority to impose a stiffer penalty. Former federal judge Sue L. Robinson issued her ruling Monday after...
Phil Mickelson, others sue PGA Tour over LIV Golf suspensionsVideo
Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and nine other players who defected to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against the PGA Tour, the first step in a legal fight that could define the boundaries of where players can compete. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San...
Long days grind on search teams in flood-ravaged AppalachiaVideo
HINDMAN, Ky. — For days, a search-and-rescue team led by Phillip Dix has combed debris-clogged creekbanks looking for survivors in flood-ravaged eastern Kentucky. His crew is used to the stifling heat and humidity but is laboring under the grind of 12-hour days spent pulling people from danger. The scope of...
Record amount of seaweed is choking shores in the Caribbean
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Near-record amounts of seaweed are smothering Caribbean coasts from Puerto Rico to Barbados, killing fish and other wildlife, choking tourism and releasing stinky, noxious gases. More than 24 million tons of sargassum blanketed the Atlantic in June, shattering the all-time record, set in 2018, by...
A look at buyers and sellers from busy MLB trade deadline
This is quite a time to be a season ticket holder for the San Diego Padres. Great weather, a jewel of a ballpark — and perhaps the most exciting lineup in baseball for the near future. The Padres landed the biggest prize of this year’s trade deadline — and maybe...
Covid cases drop 9% globally last week, deaths stable
LONDON — New coronavirus cases fell 9% globally last week while deaths remained stable, according to the latest weekly assessment of the pandemic released Wednesday by the World Health Organization. The U.N. health agency said there were 6.5 million cases reported last week with more than 14,000 deaths. WHO said...
UN chief criticizes ‘grotesque greed’ of oil companies
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief sharply criticized the “grotesque greed” of oil and gas companies on Wednesday for making record profits from the energy crisis on the back of the world’s poorest people, “while destroying our only home.” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was “immoral” that the largest...
Chicago-area July 4 parade attack suspect pleads not guilty
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — The man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more in a shooting at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, a week after prosecutors announced he faces 117 felony counts in the attack. Robert E. Crimo III appeared for a...
Alex Jones concedes Sandy Hook attack was ‘100% real’Video
AUSTIN, Texas — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones testified Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was “100% real.” Speaking a day after the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed...
Splendid Byzantine churches head Thessaloniki’s holy sites
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Under fluttering strings of Greek and Byzantine flags, three men raised a party tent on the terrace of the 5th century Osios David church one recent Saturday, hoping it would shelter festivalgoers from the heat that already shrouded the view of Mount Olympus across the gulf. That’s...
Inflation weighs on back-to-school buying for many families
NEW YORK — To understand the impact of surging inflation on this year’s back-to-school spending, look no further than children’s rain boots with motifs like frogs and ladybugs made by Washington Shoe Co. Spending held steady for these evergreen items even after the Kent, Washington-based business was forced to pass...
How to recession-proof your life amid economic uncertainty
NEW YORK — Prices for gas, food and rent are soaring. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to the highest level since 2018. The U.S. economy has shrunk for two straight quarters. Economists are divided over whether a recession is looming. What’s clear is that economic uncertainty isn’t going...
Dolly Parton among Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy winners
NEW YORK — Country superstar Dolly Parton, who made a big donation to help fund coronavirus vaccine research in 2020, is among this year’s Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients. Also being honored are Dallas entrepreneur Lyda Hill, Kenyan industrialist Manu Chandaria, and Lynn and Stacy Schusterman, from the Oklahoma investment...
Pelosi says U.S. will not abandon Taiwan as China protests
TAIPEI, Taiwan — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after a visit that heightened tensions with China, saying Wednesday that she and other members of Congress in her delegation showed they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island. Pelosi, the first U.S. speaker to visit the island...
New crypto oversight legislation arrives as industry shakes
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday proposed a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, the latest attempt by Congress to formulate ideas on how to oversee a multibillion-dollar industry that has been racked by collapsing prices and lenders halting operations. The regulations offered by Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie...
