Associated Press stories, Page 2228
Demi Lovato to sing national anthem at Super Bowl
NEW YORK — Grammy-nominated pop singer Demi Lovato will perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl. NFL and Fox on Thursday announced the performance, which will take place ahead of the big game on Feb. 2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will headline the...
Rare video shows 5 mountain lions together in CaliforniaVideo
JACKSON, Calif. — Five California mountain lions were seen together on home surveillance video in a rare gathering of the notoriously solitary big cats. The footage was recorded at a rural residence at the edge of the El Dorado National Forest east of Sacramento, KTXL-TV reported Wednesday. “We shared the...
Senate expected to give Trump back-to-back trade victories
WASHINGTON — One day after signing a new trade deal with China, President Donald Trump is expected to get more good news on his trade agenda as the Senate considers a new North American pact. The House has already overwhelmingly approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The Senate is expected to...
Wrestler Rocky Johnson, Dwayne Johnson’s father, dead at 75
Rocky “Soulman” Johnson, a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler who became better known as the father of actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has died. He was 75. WWE issued a statement on Johnson’s death Wednesday night. Johnson and Tony Atlas became the first black world tag team champions in WWE...
Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas says Trump had knowledge of Ukraine pressureVideo
WASHINGTON — A close associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer says he delivered an ultimatum in May to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior U.S. officials would attend his inauguration and all American aid to the war-torn country would be withheld if an investigation into Joe Biden...
Cardinals WR, former Pitt star Larry Fitzgerald returning for 2020Video
TEMPE, Arizona — Larry Fitzgerald didn’t keep the Arizona Cardinals waiting for long. One of the most productive wide receivers in NFL history isn’t done yet, returning for his 17th season with the franchise that drafted him in 2004. After some speculation that the popular 36-year-old Fitzgerald might finally retire,...
LSU probing Odell Beckham’s apparent on-field payments to playersVideo
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU has contacted officials from the NCAA and SEC about Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s apparent cash payments to Tigers players on the field after the national championship game, a university spokesman said. LSU athletics spokesman Michael Bonnette said initial information suggested that Beckham handed...
House leaders march Trump impeachment articles to the SenateVideo
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic procession across the U.S. Capitol, Democratic House leaders marched the formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate late Wednesday, setting the stage for only the third trial to remove a president in American history. Trump complained anew it was all a...
Astronaut completes spacewalk without helmet camera, lights
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts had to make do with fewer lights and camera views from one helmet Wednesday while performing critical battery work outside the International Space Station. It was the second pairing of NASA’s Jessica Meir and Christina Koch outside the orbiting lab. In October, they teamed...
Pennsylvania House votes to stop drivers’ use of hand-held phones
HARRISBURG — A divided Pennsylvania House voted Wednesday to ban the use of hand-held phones for all drivers to make calls, although police would not be allowed to stop motorists for that reason alone. Representatives voted 120-74 for the proposal that would expand current law, which bans any texting and...
Virgin Islands suit alleges decades-long abuse by Jeffery Epstein
HAVANA — A lawsuit filed by prosecutors in the Virgin Islands says multimillionaire sex offender Jeffery Epstein used two private islands in the U.S. territory to engage in a nearly two-decade conspiracy to traffic and abuse girls. At one point, the suit filed Wednesday alleges, Epstein and associates organized a...
Fever chart: Earth had its hottest decade on record in 2010sVideo
WASHINGTON — The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, two U.S. agencies reported Wednesday. And scientists said they see no end to the way man-made climate change keeps shattering records. “If you think you’ve heard...
Michigan lawmakers push sexual harassment probe of colleague Pete Lucido
LANSING, Mich. — A Republican state lawmaker should be subject to a sexual harassment investigation for telling a young female reporter she could have “a lot of fun” with a group of high school boys visiting the Michigan Capitol, legislative leaders said Wednesday. State Sen. Pete Lucido, 59, of Macomb...
Key takeaways from Democratic presidential debate in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — Some key takeaways from Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, the final forum before the Iowa caucuses: Civility and substance over fighting and friction After the United States’ killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Democrats were bracing for fights over foreign policy. Instead, a whole...
Scranton man sentenced for online threat made to Ohio high school
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for sending an online message to a suburban Cleveland high school student in 2018 about a shooting he warned would occur the next day. That warning led hundreds of students to miss classes, authorities said. Russell...
‘OK, Boomer’ makes a Supreme Court appearance in age case
WASHINGTON — “OK, Boomer” made its first appearance in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, invoked by baby boomer Chief Justice John Roberts 12 days before he turns 65. The phrase is a favorite of younger generations and Roberts used it in questions in a case about age discrimination in the...
Authorities charge Florida man with killing wife, 3 children, dogVideo
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A physical therapist killed his wife, three young children and dog in an affluent Florida suburb near Walt Disney World and then left their bodies there for days, authorities said Wednesday. Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said at news conference that Anthony Todt faces homicide charges for...
Virginia House votes to ratify Equal Rights Amendment
RICHMOND, Va. — State lawmakers took a major step Wednesday toward making Virginia the critical 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution. The Virginia House advanced ratification of the gender equality measure in...
Tennessee Guard airbase on lockdown, reports of shots fired
ALCOA, Tenn — The McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base is on lockdown after receiving reports of shots being fired, Tennessee National Guard Sgt. First Class William Jones said Wednesday. He called it a developing situation. Officer Travers Hurst, a spokesman at the air base in Tennessee, said the Blount...
Democrats to investigate ‘profoundly alarming’ Ukraine texts
WASHINGTON — A House committee chairman said his panel will investigate what he says are “profoundly alarming” text messages that have raised questions about the possible surveillance of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before she was ousted by the Trump administration last spring. House Democrats on Tuesday night released...
Pelosi names Schiff, Nadler as prosecutors for Trump trial
WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday named two House chairmen who led President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry as prosecutors for Trump’s Senate trial. Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who led the probe, and Judiciary Chair Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose committee approved the impeachment articles, as among the managers of...
Nissan adds nearly 346K vehicles to Takata recall saga
DETROIT — Nissan is recalling nearly 346,000 vehicles worldwide to replace dangerous Takata air bag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel. The Nissan front passenger inflators are among 10 million from 14 automakers that Takata is recalling. It’s the last recall that the bankrupt Takata agreed to in a...
Russian prime minister submits resignation to Putin
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a constitutional overhaul Wednesday to boost the powers of parliament and the Cabinet, a move signalling Putin’s intention to carve out a new position for himself after his current term ends. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev submitted his resignation hours after Putin discussed the...
Theories persist about mystery drones seen in rural Western regions
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — People insist they have spotted fleets of large drones crisscrossing rural America’s night sky, their mission mysterious, raising questions that have veered into conspiracy theories and launching an investigation. Authorities in Colorado have tried to put those theories to rest, announcing that they have confirmed nothing unusual...
Bruce Springsteen attends son’s swearing-in as N.J. firefighter
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Bruce Springsteen’s son was sworn in Tuesday as a firefighter with the Jersey City Fire Department, along with 15 others. Sam Springsteen was joined by his famous father and mother, Patti Scialfa, at City Hall along with Mayor Steven Fulop and other city officials. The Boss...
