Associated Press stories, Page 1721
Biden leaves door open for Senate changes to advance agendaVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden at his first news conference Thursday left the door open to backing fundamental changes in Senate procedure to muscle key parts of his agenda like immigration and voting rights past Republican opposition “if there’s complete lockdown and chaos.” The 78-year-old president also for the first...
Mass shooters exploited gun laws, loopholes before carnage
The suspect in the shooting at a Boulder, Colo., supermarket was convicted of assaulting a high school classmate but still got a gun. The man accused of opening fire on three massage businesses in the Atlanta area bought his gun just hours before the attack — no waiting required. They...
Biden: ‘My plan is to run for reelection’ in 2024
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would likely seek reelection in 2024, but the 78-year-old Democrat left open the possibility of stepping aside after one term. “My plan is to run for reelection. That’s my expectation,” Biden told reporters in a wide-ranging news conference, the first...
Tornadoes pummel Alabama, killing at least 5Video
Deadly tornadoes roared through Alabama on Thursday, toppling trees, demolishing homes and knocking out power to thousands, part of a broad swath of violent weather sweeping across the Deep South. At least five fatalities and an unknown number of injuries were reported. All of the deaths happened in eastern Alabama’s...
West Virginia House passes transgender athlete bill
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Transgender athletes in West Virginia middle and high schools would be banned from competing on teams relating to their preferred sexual identity under a bill passed Thursday by the House of Delegates. The bill passed on a 78-20 vote with two delegates absent. It now goes to...
U.S. beats Jamaica in exhibition in AustriaVideo
Sergiño Dest scored his first international goal with a spectacular 25-yard shot, Sebastian Lletget added a pair of second-half goals and the United States beat Jamaica 4-1 in an exhibition Thursday night at Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Brenden Aaronson scored for the U.S. in the 53rd minute. Jamal Lowe got Jamaica’s...
In shift, oil industry group backs federal price on carbon
WASHINGTON — The oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding industry policy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change. The American Petroleum Institute, whose...
‘Arrested Development’ actor Jessica Walter dies at 80
LOS ANGELES — Jessica Walter, who played a scheming matriarch in TV’s “Arrested Development,” has died. She was 80. Walter’s death was confirmed Thursday by her daughter, Brooke Bowman. The actor’s best-known film role included playing the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 thriller, “Play Misty for Me.” Walter’s daughter said...
Rep. Greene agrees not to block critics from Twitter account
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and a Los Angeles-based political action committee have reached a settlement that bars the Georgia Republican from blocking anyone from her public Twitter account or other social media while she’s in office. Greene also agreed to pay $10,000 to cover legal fees...
Rare Van Gogh masterpiece sells for $15.4 million in Paris
PARIS — A rare painting by Vincent Van Gogh was sold at auction Thursday by Sotheby’s Paris for 13.1 million euros ($15.4 million). The sale of “Street Scene in Montmartre” was highly anticipated as it was one of the few paintings by the Dutch Impressionist master to still have been...
An NCAA hockey tourney first: All 5 Minnesota teams are in
MINNEAPOLIS — For all Herb Brooks accomplished in the world of hockey, the Hall of Fame coach of the heralded “Miracle on Ice” team long held a localized goal of growing the college game in his home state. The NCAA Tournament bracket this year would’ve made Brooks proud. For the...
NCAA hires law firm to evaluate potential equity issues
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA is hiring a law firm to review potential equity gender issues related to how it conducts its men’s and women’s championship events. The NCAA has been criticized the past two weeks for not providing equal amenities to the teams in the men’s and women’s Division I...
Biden leaves door open for U.S. to stay longer in AfghanistanVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday left the door open for U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan through the end of the year, and one of his top generals told Congress that Afghanistan’s military forces need American assistance to successfully counter the Taliban. Biden, at his first news conference...
Stocks pull mostly higher, shaking off some early wobblesVideo
Stocks regained their footing after an early slide and closed broadly higher Thursday, led by gains in financial and industrial companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% after having been down 0.9% in the early going. The gain is the benchmark index’s first in three days after a recent stretch of...
Few Black women coaches lead Power Five basketball programs
Dawn Staley and Joni Taylor embraced before and after the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship, savoring a historic moment in women’s basketball. It took 41 years for two Black women head coaches to meet in a tournament championship of a Power Five conference. For it to happen quicker was statistically improbable...
Lawyer: Colorado shooting suspect needs mental health review
BOULDER, Colo. — The suspect in the Colorado supermarket shooting appeared in court for the first time Thursday, and a defense attorney immediately asked that he receive a mental health evaluation before the case against him proceeds. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, did not speak during the brief hearing except...
Ga. man receives final paycheck in 90,000 pennies
ATLANTA — A Georgia man said his former employer owed him a pretty penny, $915 to be exact, after leaving his job in November. But Andreas Flaten said he was shocked to see his final payment: 90,000 oil or grease covered pennies, at the end of his driveway earlier this...
Chrissy Teigen deletes Twitter account, citing negativity
LOS ANGELES — Chrissy Teigen has deleted her popular Twitter account, saying the site no longer plays a positive role in her life. “For over 10 years you guys have been my world,” Teigen wrote to her 13.7 million followers Wednesday night. “But it’s time to say goodbye. This no...
This date in sports history: March 25Video
1934 — Horton Smith wins the first Masters golf tournament by one stroke over Craig Wood. 1947 — Holy Cross, led by George Kaftan, beats Oklahoma, 58-47, in the NCAA basketball championship. 1958 — Sugar Ray Robinson regains the middleweight title for a record fifth time with a 15-round decision...
AstraZeneca confirms strong vaccine protection after U.S. riftVideo
AstraZeneca insisted Wednesday that its covid-19 vaccine is strongly effective even after counting additional illnesses in its disputed U.S. study, the latest in an extraordinary public rift with American officials. In a late-night press release, AstraZeneca said it had recalculated data from that study and concluded the vaccine is 76%...
Son of former Steeler Ryan Switzer going to Boston hospital for care
CLEVELAND — Browns wide receiver Ryan Switzer said his 9-month-old son is being transferred to a Boston hospital specializing in rare children’s illnesses. Switzer provided an update Wednesday with a live video on his Instagram account from his son Christian’s hospital room at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina....
Ruling upholds Hawaii limits on carrying guns in public
HONOLULU — Hawaii’s strict limit on openly carrying firearms is lawful, a panel of federal appeals court judges ruled Wednesday in a lawsuit by a man who tried unsuccessfully several times to obtain a license to carry a loaded gun in public. George Young’s lawyer said he will ask the...
Police: Florida mom attacked student while wearing boxing glove
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida woman was wearing a boxing glove as she attacked a student on a middle school campus, police said. Edith Riddle, of Jacksonville, was arrested on a child abuse charge on March 18 by Duval County School Police, First Coast News reported. Police said a school...
Gas driller to pay Pennsylvania $1.9M for damage to wetlands, waterways
HARRISBURG — One of the most active natural gas exploration firms in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $1.9 million after it disclosed in 2014 that its construction work had damaged waterways and wetlands, without proper permits, according to paperwork filed in federal court on Wednesday. Officials from Chesapeake Energy Corp....
White headmaster of N.Y. school who made Black student kneel resigns
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The white headmaster of a New York Catholic school who made a Black student kneel as part of an apology to a teacher has resigned, the school said Wednesday. The St. Martin de Porres Marianist school on Long Island posted a statement on its website saying it...
