Associated Press stories, Page 797
Pair of earthquakes kill at least 15 in western Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes have killed at least 15 and injured nearly 40 others in Herat province in Afghanistan, according to Mohammad Abdullah Jan, spokesman for the country’s national disaster authority. At least five powerful earthquakes struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said....
Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation
JERUSALEM — Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday, killing dozens and stunning the country. Israel said it is now at war with Hamas and launched...
Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara to miss 2024 after Tommy John surgery
MIAMI — Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara will miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Friday to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. “I give this game my all,” the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner said in a social media post. “I...
Simone Biles becomes most decorated gymnast in history
ANTWERP, Belgium — Not even a slight stumble near the end could stop Simone Biles. Less than three months after returning to competition, the American superstar is back at the top of world gymnastics once again. Biles overcame a late blip in her floor routine after an otherwise dominant performance...
Man accused of killing 10 at Colorado supermarket ruled competent to stand trial
BOULDER, Colo. — A judge ruled Friday the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in a 2021 rampage is mentally competent to stand trial. The decision allows the prosecution of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa to move forward. Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is...
Braves face Phillies in NLDS looking for payback after shocking playoff loss a year agoVideo
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves walked off the field a year ago a thoroughly beaten team, their defense of the World Series championship wiped out in less than a week. Now, they’ve got another shot at the team that delivered the playoff heartache. The 104-win Braves romped to their sixth...
Clayton Kershaw overcomes shoulder injury to will himself into another Dodgers postseasonVideo
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw has never been one for making excuses. Whether it’s his health or velocity, both of which have taken hits in recent years, he would rather gut out whatever is going on in silence. “He’s a survivor. He’s a competitor,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts...
Correa leads Twins in ALDS against his former team the Houston AstrosVideo
HOUSTON — Houston manager Dusty Baker admitted Carlos Correa is one of his favorite players. That goodwill toward the former Astros star turned Minnesota mainstay won’t extend into this weekend, when Houston hosts the Twins in the AL Division Series. “Personally, I don’t care if it’s my brother or my...
The Orioles and Rangers took different paths to recover after losing over 100 games in 2021Video
BALTIMORE — In two years, the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers went from triple-digit losses to the postseason. That’s about the extent of their similarities. Baltimore rebuilt through high draft picks and a loaded farm system. Texas was aggressive in free agency. The Orioles have the lowest payroll of any...
Some see presidential aspirations in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s school voucher support
HARRISBURG — In the partisan politics of education funding, the school choice movement has pressed states for decades to send taxpayer money to private and religious schools and long had to concentrate its efforts on states where a Republican governor was an ally. That suddenly changed over the summer. Pennsylvania...
Voter rolls are new battleground, including in Pa., as intimidation fears grow
SANTA FE, N.M. — A group has been impersonating government officials, harassing New York residents at their homes and falsely accusing them of breaking the law, state officials have warned. But what sounds like a scam aimed at people’s pocketbooks is actually part of a shakedown with a much different...
4 members of Fla. family sentenced for selling dangerous fake covid-19 cure
MIAMI — A Florida man and his three adult sons were sentenced Friday for selling a toxic industrial bleach as a fake covid-19 cure through their online church. A federal judge in Miami sentenced Jonathan Grenon, 37, and Jordan Grenon, 29, to 12 years and seven months in prison, while...
Bears trade former Steelers WR Chase Claypool to DolphinsVideo
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Chicago traded former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool to the Miami Dolphins on Friday, ending the fourth-year player’s brief and disappointing tenure with the Bears. The Dolphins will also receive a 2025 seventh-round pick in the trade in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick, the...
Nearly 1,000 migrating songbirds perish after crashing into windows at Chicago exhibition hall
David Willard has been checking the grounds of Chicago’s Lakefront Exhibition Center for dead birds for 40 years. On Thursday morning he found something horrible: Hundreds of dead songbirds, so thick they looked like a carpet. Nearly 1,000 songbirds perished during the night after crashing into the McCormick Place Lakeside...
Auto workers stop expanding strikes against Detroit 3 after GM makes battery plant concession
DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union said Friday it will not expand its strikes against Detroit’s three automakers after General Motors made a breakthrough concession on unionizing electric vehicle battery plants. Union President Shawn Fain told workers in a video appearance that additional plants could be added to the...
Amazon launches test satellites for its planned internet service to compete with SpaceX
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Amazon launched the first test satellites for its planned internet service on Friday as a rival to SpaceX’s broadband network. United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket blasted off with the pair of test satellites, kicking off a program that aims to improve global internet coverage with...
Georgia will be 1st state with medical marijuana in pharmacies
ATLANTA — Georgia soon will become the first state in the nation to offer medical marijuana products at independent pharmacies, state officials said. The Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications this week, and nearly 120 pharmacies have agreed to provide medication from Botanical Sciences, one of the state’s two...
Surge of hiring in September defies predictions, points to U.S. job market’s enduring resilience
WASHINGTON — An unforeseen burst of hiring last month has lifted hopes that the economy will prove durable once again, even as an array of threats lie ahead. Businesses across the U.S. economy ramped up their hiring in September, defying surging interest rates, financial market turmoil, the ongoing threat of...
Can a spotlight on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce help the NFL draw more Gen Z and female fans?
Eager as the National Football League has been to cater to the recent public fixation with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it’s certainly not taking any credit for creating the outsized storyline that has emerged around the pop superstar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. “Not orchestrated by the...
NY appeals court declines to halt Trump’s civil fraud trial while he contests a pretrial ruling
NEW YORK — A New York appeals judge declined Friday to halt Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, rebuffing the former president’s request to postpone it while he fights a pretrial ruling that could strip him of control of such assets as Trump Tower. The appellate judge agreed that control over...
Police find at least 115 bodies at Colorado ‘green’ funeral home under investigation
CAÑON CITY, Colo. — Police said Friday they have found at least 115 bodies at Colorado ‘green’ funeral home under investigation for improper handling of remains. Fremont County Sheriff Allen Cooper said they are coordinating with other agencies to determine if there is any wrongdoing. The Return to Nature Funeral...
A Texas killer says a prison fire damaged injection drugs. He wants a judge to stop his execution
HOUSTON — Attorneys for a condemned Texas killer have asked a federal judge to stop his execution, alleging the drugs he is to be injected with next week were exposed to extreme heat and smoke during a recent fire, making them unsafe. The Texas Attorney General’s Office says testing done...
Police issue arrest warrant for 19-year-old acquaintance in death of Philadelphia journalist
PHILADELPHIA — Police said Friday that they have issued an arrest warrant for a 19-year-old acquaintance in the death of a Philadelphia journalist who went from sleeping on the street to working for the mayor to writing urgent columns on the city’s most pressing social issues. Josh Kruger, 39, was...
Police bodycam video shows arrest of suspect in 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur
LAS VEGAS — Newly released police body camera video shows officers arresting Duane “Keffe D” Davis on suspicion of murder in the 1996 shooting of Tupac Shakur off the Las Vegas Strip. Davis, 60, was walking near his home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson on Sept. 29 when...
Expanding Big Ten weighs competition, rivalries, TV ratings and road trips to make football schedule
Weighing competitive balance, traditional rivalries, television ratings and some very long road trips, the Big Ten produced 262 versions of a football schedule to find the one that best fit its soon-to-be 18-team, bicoastal conference. The Big Ten released five seasons’ worth of football opponents for each of its schools...
