Associated Press stories, Page 540
Haitian leaders oust police chief and appoint a new one as gang violence claims officers’ lives
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian leaders on Saturday ousted Frantz Elbé, the beleaguered director of Haiti’s National Police, following months of criticism that he wasn’t doing enough to protect officers under assault by gangs. Former Haitian police chief Normil Rameau, who also was dismissed from the post nearly four years ago...
U.S. military targets Houthi radar sites in Yemen after a merchant sailor goes missing
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. military unleashed a wave of attacks targeting radar sites operated by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after one merchant sailor went missing and the vessel he was on caught fire in the latest Houthi strike on shipping in the crucial Red Sea corridor, authorities said...
Divers find remains of Finnish WWII plane that was shot down by Moscow with a U.S. diplomat aboard
HELSINKI — The World War II mystery of what happened to a Finnish passenger plane after it was shot down over the Baltic Sea by Soviet bombers appears to finally be solved more than eight decades later. The plane was carrying American and French diplomatic couriers in June 1940 when...
Police in Maine cancel shelter-in-place order after explosions and fire are reported
AUBURN, Maine — Police in Maine have canceled a shelter-in-place order in the city of Auburn after reporting that an armed person was in an area where a series of explosions and a house fire erupted early Saturday. The Auburn Police Department said on Facebook that the situation had been...
Rookie WR Keon Coleman playfully embraces Buffalo while showing serious side
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Wide-eyed, engaging and athletic, Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman has much to offer, be it tips on when to land the best deals for winter coats to using his lean 6-foot-4 frame and long muscular arms to snatch balls thrown over his head or behind him....
Doncic scores 29, Mavericks roll past the Celtics 122-84 to avoid a sweep in the NBA FinalsVideo
DALLAS — Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks emphatically extended their season on Friday night, fending off elimination by beating the Boston Celtics, 122-84, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Mavs’ stars were...
Gerrit Cole strikes out 10 in Triple-A rehab start and could return to Yankees next weekVideo
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole struck out 10 in a Triple-A game Friday night, potentially the final step before he returns from an elbow injury and joins New York’s rotation for the first time this season. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed just two hits and...
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole fans 10 for Scranton-Wilkes Barre in 3rd rehab start
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Gerrit Cole struck out 10 in 4⅓ innings for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre on Friday night, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner’s third rehab start and the latest step toward returning to the New York Yankees’ rotation. The 33-year-old right-hander allowed a double in the first inning...
Crews rescue 30 people trapped upside down high on Oregon amusement park ride
PORTLAND, Ore. — Emergency crews in Oregon rescued 30 people Friday after they were stuck for about half an hour dangling upside down high on a ride at a century-old amusement park. Portland Fire and Rescue said on the social platform X that firefighters worked with engineers at Oaks Park...
Ludvig Aberg takes 1-shot lead into weekend at Pinehurst in U.S. Open debut
PINEHURST, N.C. — Ludvig Aberg and his machine-like game are proving to be a perfect fit for Pinehurst No. 2. The Swedish star methodically worked his way to a 1-under-par 69 on Friday and a one-shot lead going into the weekend of his U.S. Open debut. Aberg wasn’t flawless —...
MLB umpire Pat Hoberg appealing discipline after sports betting investigation
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball plans to discipline umpire Pat Hoberg after an investigation into a potential violation of sports gambling policies. In a statement Friday, the commissioner’s office said Hoberg has decided to appeal the penalty. MLB did not disclose the nature of the violation or the extent...
Woods misses the cut, extends majors run of over-par rounds in US Open at Pinehurst No. 2Video
PINEHURST, N.C. — Tiger Woods was unable to find the right mix of quality shots and timely breaks at Pinehurst No. 2 to extend his first U.S. Open appearance in four years into the weekend. He’s heading home. And he’s uncertain if he’ll be back. The three-time U.S. Open champion...
Speaker Johnson says House will go to court for Biden audio
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday the House will go to court to enforce the subpoena against Attorney General Merrick Garland for access to President Joe Biden’s special counsel audio interview, hours after the Justice Department refused to prosecute Republicans’ contempt of Congress charge. “It is sadly predictable that...
Scheffler goes without a birdie for a 74 and narrowly avoids an early exit from US OpenVideo
PINEHURST, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler chose iron off the tee for position Friday in the U.S. Open and sent it well right of the fairway toward trouble, whether that was a bunker or the dusty dunes or the native plants dotting the landscape. “What are you DOING?” he said to...
Atlanta’s former Coca-Cola museum demolished for parking lot
ATLANTA — Once a shrine to the world’s most popular soft drink, the building that housed the original World of Coca-Cola is going flat at the hands of Georgia’s state government. Crews continued Friday to demolish the onetime temple of fizz in downtown Atlanta near the state capitol, with plans...
Martin Truex Jr. announces retirement from full-time racing in NASCAR’s Cup SeriesVideo
NEWTON, Iowa — Martin Truex Jr. announced Friday he will retire from full-time racing at the end of the season, saying it was time to live by his own schedule after 19 years in NASCAR’s Cup Series. “I mean, it’s as simple as just not having a crazy schedule where,...
Yellowstone visitors hope to catch a glimpse of rare white buffalo
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Standing at the edge of a bluff overlooking the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park, TJ Ammond stared through binoculars at hundreds of buffalo dotting the verdant valley below. Tan-colored calves frolicked near their mothers while hulking bulls wallowed in mud. As his wife and...
Florida Panthers are calm and businesslike on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup in a sweepVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — One win away from a championship, the Florida Panthers seem to be treating Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final like Game 44 of the regular season. “Our whole mindset right now is recovering and getting prepared for the next game,” forward Sam Bennett said after beating...
Astros release José Abreu with $30.8 million remaining on his contractVideo
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros released José Abreu on Friday, cutting ties with the former AL MVP less than halfway through a three-year, $58.5 million contract. The 37-year-old Abreu was batting .124 (14 for 113) with two homers and seven RBIs this season, during which he spent time in the...
The RNC is launching a massive effort to monitor voting. Critics say it threatens to undermine trust
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — The Republican National Committee on Friday launched a swing state initiative to mobilize some 100,000 polling place monitors, poll workers and attorneys to serve as “election integrity” watchdogs in November — an effort that immediately drew concerns that it could lead to harassment of election workers...
Justice Department won’t prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn’t crime
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress because his refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case “did not constitute a crime,” the Justice Department said Friday. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a...
Kate, Princess of Wales, says she’s making ‘good progress’ in cancer treatment
LONDON — The Princess of Wales says she is “making good progress” in her cancer treatment and will attend Saturday’s royal Trooping the Color ceremony, Kate’s first public appearance since her diagnosis. The 42-year-old wife of Prince William has not made any public appearances this year. She announced in March...
Alex Jones’ assets to be sold to pay Sandy Hook debt; company bankruptcy dismissed
HOUSTON — A federal judge on Friday ordered the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ′ personal assets but dismissed his company’s separate bankruptcy case, leaving the future of his Infowars media platform uncertain as he owes $1.5 billion for his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting...
Worst rainfall that triggered floods in Florida is over as affected residents clean up
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Although more rain could trigger additional isolated Florida flooding on Friday, forecasters say the strong, persistent storms that dumped up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) in southern parts of the state appear to have passed. Some neighborhood streets in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas still...
Demolition of the Parkland classroom building where 17 died in 2018 shooting begins
PARKLAND, Fla. — A large excavator stretched to the top floor of the three-story building where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, punching its first hole Friday into the classroom where teacher Scott Beigel perished saving students. Beginning a weekslong demolition, the...
