Associated Press stories, Page 395

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s sheriff on Thursday disputed a city controller report that determined that the sheriff’s office couldn’t account for 185 guns that the controller’s office says are missing. Sheriff Rochelle Bilal said at a news conference that the controller’s report released earlier this week contained “misleading statements,” and she...

MILWAUKEE — Some people seeking the newest covid-19 vaccine are running into high demand, insurance headaches and supply delays coast to coast. Millions of the newly formulated vaccines have shipped out since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on them last week for ages 6 months and...

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order Thursday that she says will make Massachusetts the first state to ban the purchase of single-use plastic bottles by state agencies. Massachusetts buys about 100,000 of the plastic water bottles each year. The order bars all executive offices and agencies in...

The Pennsylvania jail from which convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante brazenly escaped, eluding searchers for two weeks, plans to enclose its exercise yards with walls and a roof and make inmates wear brighter uniforms, along with other security improvements. The Chester County jail board unanimously approved plans Wednesday to fully enclose...

McALESTER, Okla. — Oklahoma executed an inmate Thursday for the 1996 killing of a University of Oklahoma dance student, in a case that went unsolved for years until DNA from the crime scene was matched to a man serving prison time for burglary. Anthony Sanchez, 44, was pronounced dead at...

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh did something Thursday he hasn’t done in the two years since his life of privilege and power started to unravel — plead guilty to a crime. Murdaugh admitted in federal court to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering. Murdaugh, 55, is...

NEW YORK — Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian media magnate whose creation of Fox News made him a force in American politics, is stepping down as leader of both Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings. Fox said Thursday that Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both companies,...

HARRISBURG — Republican David McCormick is expected to announce Thursday that he will enter Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race and make his second bid for the office, this time to take on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey after losing in last year’s crowded Republican primary. McCormick’s aides have sent invites to a...

WASHINGTON — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy worked to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine on a whirlwind visit to Washington on Thursday, delivering an upbeat message on the war’s progress while facing new questions about the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has helped keep his troops in the...

NEW YORK — A Las Vegas newspaper is being viciously attacked online for its coverage of an alleged murder of a retired police chief, either because of a misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to mislead. The “firehose of hatred” has led the Las Vegas Review-Journal to sift through email directed...

MINNEAPOLIS — What would Bob Ross think? The artist who brought painting to the people, with works completed for PBS viewers in less than a half-hour with little more than a large bristle brush, putty knife and plenty of encouragement, certainly wouldn’t have envisioned one of his works going up...

NEW YORK — John Grisham, Jodi Picoult and George R.R. Martin are among 17 authors suing OpenAI for “systematic theft on a mass scale,” the latest in a wave of legal action by writers concerned that artificial intelligence programs are using their copyrighted works without permission. In papers filed Tuesday...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Wednesday that it was granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country — quickly making them eligible to work — as it grapples with growing numbers of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to...

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders placed defensive end Chandler Jones on the reserve/non-football illness list Wednesday, meaning he will miss at least the next four games. Jones criticized owner Mark Davis, coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler in a series of social media posts, which he...

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Redistricting Commission tentatively adopted a new set of Republican-drawn Statehouse maps over Democrats’ objections Wednesday, a plan that again would deliver large legislative majorities to the GOP. A series of public meetings is expected over the next week to gather public input. The time-crunched panel seeks...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate approved a bill Wednesday to move up the state’s 2024 primary election by five weeks to March 19, aiming to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday of Passover and give voters more of a say in deciding presidential nominees. The bill passed, 45-2, although...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home covid-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases...

UNITED NATIONS — The head of the United Nations warned Wednesday that the “gates of hell” are at hand as climate change intensifies, and top international officials said the world’s leaders still aren’t doing nearly enough to curb pollution of heat-trapping gases. They pleaded with major emitting nations to do...

BEREA, Ohio — Kareem Hunt ran right back to the Browns. Desperate to find a quality running back after losing star Nick Chubb for the season, the Browns have reunited with Hunt, who was available as a free agent and is expected to be able to help Cleveland’s offense immediately....

LIBERTY, Mo. — A white 84-year-old homeowner who is accused of shooting a Black teenager after the high-schooler mistakenly came to his Kansas City home entered a not guilty plea Wednesday, and the judge scheduled his trial for next year. Andrew Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, is charged with first-degree...