Associated Press stories, Page 2528
Where are the happiest people? In Finland
HELSINKI — Finland has topped an index of the happiest nations for the second consecutive year, with researchers saying the small Nordic country of 5.5 million has succeeded in generating a happiness recipe for a balanced life not simply dependent on economic and material wealth. The World Happiness Report, produced...
Italy: Driver abducts schoolchildren, sets bus ablaze
MILAN — A bus driver in northern Italy abducted 51 schoolchildren and their chaperones Wednesday and took them on an hour-long drive, then set the vehicle on fire when he was stopped by a Carabinieri blockade, officials said. Officers broke the glass in the back door of the bus and...
Baltimore mayor sues to block move of Preakness Stakes from Pimlico
BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has sued the owners of Pimlico Race Course in an effort to seize the horse racetrack and block the move of the Preakness Stakes out of the city. News outlets report that on behalf of the city, Pugh is also trying to prevent the...
Coroner says ‘Young and Restless’ star died of heart disease
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Young and the Restless” star Kristoff St. John died of heart disease, with excessive drinking at the time of his death a contributing factor, according to a coroner’s report released Tuesday. Investigators listed “hypertrophic heart disease” as the cause of the 52-year-old’s death on Feb....
Labrador retriever most pup-ular U.S. dog breed for 28th year
NEW YORK — Labrador retrievers aren’t letting go of their hold on U.S. dog lovers, but German shorthaired pointers are tugging on the top ranks of doggy popularity, according to new American Kennel Club data. Labs topped the list for the 28th year in a row. Yet there’s been plenty...
Trump escalates feud with Kellyanne Conway’s husband
WASHINGTON — Kellyanne Conway’s husband is a “husband from hell!” President Donald Trump declared Wednesday, escalating his awkward public fight with the spouse of a top aide. Trump’s feud with George Conway has played out with ever more heated rhetoric on social media. Conway, who has questioned Trump’s mental health,...
Songs by Jay-Z, Lauper being added to National Recording RegistryVideo
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Songs performed by Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper and a Robert F. Kennedy speech are among 25 recordings being inducted to the National Recording Registry. The Library of Congress announced Wednesday that “La Bamba,” ”Gunsmoke” and “Hair” are some of the titles tapped for preservation this year. The...
World’s last Blockbuster
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A Blockbuster Video in Oregon is the last one on the planet after the only other Blockbuster video rental shop, in Australia, announced it is closing on March 31. Employees of the dated franchise in Bend say running the store has its challenges. The computers must...
Report: Worker who died at Epcot fell off cherry picker
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Authorities say a man who died in an industrial accident at Disney World’s Epcot theme park fell from the elevated basket of a cherry picker. The Orlando Sentinel reports witnesses told investigators that 58-year-old George Grimes was in the elevated basket of the small cherry...
Trump keeps a sharp focus on Ohio for 2020 campaign
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is returning to the state that foretold his 2016 victory and serves as the linchpin of his re-election effort. Trump’s visit to Ohio on Wednesday marks his first trip to the state since last year’s midterm election campaign , when the state was a rare...
Shifting hopes as Republicans and Democrats await Mueller
WASHINGTON — It’s a witch hunt, a vendetta, the worst presidential harassment in history. That’s what President Donald Trump has shouted for two years about the special counsel’s Russia probe. Now, barring an eleventh-hour surprise, Trump and his allies are starting to see it as something potentially very different: a...
California man, 96, found in home with hundreds of rats
OJAI, Calif. — A Southern California woman is in custody after deputies discovered her 96-year-old father and multiple pets living in a home stinking of feces and infested with up to 700 rats, authorities said Tuesday. Catherine Ann Vandermaesen, 65, was arrested on suspicion of felony elder abuse and misdemeanor...
What Disney gets as its $71.3B buy of Fox assets closes
It’s finally complete. Disney closed its $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets on Wednesday, more than a year after the mega merger was proposed . Disney gets far ranging properties ranging from Fox’s film studios, including “Avatar” and X-Men, to its TV productions such as “The Simpsons” and networks...
Disney closes $71B deal for Fox entertainment assets
Disney has closed its $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business, putting “Cinderella,” ”The Simpsons,” ”Star Wars” and “Dr. Strange” under one corporate roof. The deal is likely to shake up the media landscape. Among other things, it paves the way for Disney to launch its streaming service, Disney Plus,...
School official sorry for calling Hitler a ‘good leader’
MADISON, N.J. — A New Jersey sports official is apologizing for telling student athletes that Adolf Hitler was a “good leader” with “bad moral character and intentions.” Nutley High School athletic director Joe Piro made the remark while addressing Madison High School students Saturday during an assembly aimed at promoting...
Respect your artichokes by pairing them with a vinaigrette
Though we often stir artichokes into dips laden with sour cream and cheese, they deserve a healthier treatment that pays respect to their unique flavor and strong nutrient makeup, including fiber, minerals and antioxidants. We trimmed and dropped them in lemon water to prevent oxidation before tossing them with seasoned...
Ex-Pitt star Cameron Johnson part of powerful North Carolina offense
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Cameron Johnson swears there’s no deals among North Carolina’s top three scorers determining who gets to lead the offense in each game. It sure seems that way sometimes, though. The graduate wing, freshman point guard Coby White and senior Luke Maye have proven capable of carrying...
Stories of the victims of the New Zealand mosque attack
Fifty people were killed in a terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. Some information about the victims: HUSNA AHMED Farid Ahmed refuses to turn his back on his adopted home, despite losing his 45-year-old wife, Husna Ahmed, in the Al Noor mosque attack. They had...
Belmont tops Temple for 1st NCAA Tournament victory
DAYTON, Ohio — Kevin McClain scored 29 points and led the decisive second-half run as Belmont got its first NCAA Tournament win, pulling away to an 81-70 victory Tuesday night and ending Temple coach Fran Dunphy’s career in the First Four. The 11th-seeded Bruins (27-5) play Maryland on Thursday in...
Fairleigh Dickinson rallies for 1st NCAA Tournament win
DAYTON, Ohio — Eleven months ago, Fairleigh Dickinson coach Greg Herenda was seriously ill with life-threatening blood clots. On Tuesday night, he danced on the court and hugged his players after they secured the first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Senior guard Darnell Edge scored a career-high 33 points,...
Floodwaters threaten millions in crop and livestock losses
DES MOINES — Farmer Jeff Jorgenson looks out over 750 acres of cropland submerged beneath the swollen Missouri River, and he knows he probably won’t plant this year. But that’s not his biggest worry. He and other farmers have worked until midnight for days to move grain, equipment and fuel...
Jay-Z, Dead & Co, the Killers to perform at Woodstock 50
NEW YORK — Jay-Z, Dead & Company and the Killers will headline one of the 50th anniversary shows commemorating the groundbreaking Woodstock festival this summer. Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang announced Tuesday that Miley Cyrus, Santana, Imagine Dragons, Robert Plant, the Black Keys and Chance the Rapper will also perform at...
Single-bid leagues feature standouts, upset possibilities
Vermont’s Anthony Lamb is among several players from one-bid conferences capable of leading their teams to major upsets in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-6 junior forward scored 24 points against Kansas and 25 points against Louisville in the NIT Season Tip Off in November. Although Vermont lost both games, Lamb...
Jury: Roundup weed killer major factor in man’s cancer
SAN FRANCISCO — Roundup weed killer was a substantial factor in a California man’s cancer, a jury determined Tuesday in the first phase of a trial that attorneys said could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits. The unanimous verdict by the six-person jury in federal court in...
Fish in Cuyahoga River that famously caught fire now OK’d for consumption
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fish in the Cuyahoga River, which became synonymous with pollution when it caught fire in Cleveland in 1969, are now safe to eat, federal environmental regulators say. The easing of fish consumption restrictions on the Cuyahoga was lauded Monday by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine as an important...
