Associated Press stories, Page 828
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell can continue with his work schedule, congressional physician says
WASHINGTON — The attending physician to Congress said Thursday that he had cleared Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to continue with his planned schedule after evaluating an incident in which McConnell appeared to freeze up at an event in Kentucky. But the health episode — his second in public this...
Vikings agree to terms with Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson on contract extension
EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms on a contract extension Thursday with tight end T.J. Hockenson. Hockenson was the eighth overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2019 draft out of Iowa. The two-time Pro Bowl pick was acquired in a deadline-day trade last year by...
ACC sets presidents meeting with expansion unresolved
ACC university leaders are set to meet Friday morning as the league tries to come to a decision on expanding west with Stanford, California and SMU, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told the Associated Press. It was unclear if the presidents will take a decisive vote on...
Browns QB Deshaun Watson selected as 1 of 5 team captains
CLEVELAND — Deshaun Watson is one of the Cleveland Browns’ captains. The quarterback, who was suspended 11 games last season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, was one of five players elected by their teammates. Watson was banned by the league after more than two dozen women accused him...
Gil Brandt, who helped build Cowboys into ‘America’s Team,’ dies at 91
DALLAS — Gil Brandt, overshadowed by coach Tom Landry and general manager Tex Schramm as part of the trio that built the Dallas Cowboys into “America’s Team” in the 1970s, has died. He was 91. The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Brandt died Thursday morning. No cause of death...
Elon Musk says X, formerly Twitter, will have voice and video calls, updates privacy policy
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk said Thursday that his social network X, formerly known as Twitter, will give users the ability to make voice and video calls on the platform. Musk, who has a history of making proclamations about coming features and policies that have not always come to fruition,...
Squeezing in one last summer trip over Labor Day weekend? Expect crowded airports and full flights
DALLAS — By some measures, air travelers have enjoyed a less stressful summer than last year, but canceled flights remain elevated as airlines face their last big test of the prime vacation season: Labor Day weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that this will be the third busiest holiday weekend...
Texas high court allows law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors to take effect
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court allowed a new state law banning gender-affirming care for minors to take effect Friday, setting up Texas to be the most populous state with such restrictions on transgender children. Legal advocates who sued on behalf of the families and doctors, including the American...
Canada issues U.S. travel advisory warning LGBTQ+ community about laws that may affect them
TORONTO — Canada this week updated its travel advisory to the U.S., warning members of the LGBTQ+ community that some American states have enacted laws that may affect them. The country’s Global Affairs department did not specify which states, but is advising travelers to check the local laws for their...
Election workers have gotten death threats and warnings they will be lynched, the U.S. government says
WASHINGTON — More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a Justice Department unit trying to stem the tide of violent and graphic threats against people who count and secure the vote. Government employees are being bombarded with threats even in normally quiet periods...
Ex-Proud Boys organizer sentenced to 17 years in prison for plot to keep Trump in power
WASHINGTON — A former organizer of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Thursday to 17 years in prison for spearheading an attack on the U.S. Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election. Federal prosecutors had...
Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert film coming to theaters in October
NEW YORK — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to movie theaters. Swift announced Thursday that the concert film “Taylor Swift — The Eras Tour” will open in North American theaters Oct. 13. The theater chain AMC, anticipating high demand from Swift fans, said the film will play at least...
Some U.S. airports strive to make flying more inclusive for those with dementia
PHOENIX — Andrea Nissen is trying to prepare her 65-year-old husband, who has Alzheimer’s disease, for a solo flight from Arizona to Oklahoma to visit family. She worries about travelers and airport officials misinterpreting his forgetfulness or habit of getting in people’s personal space, and feels guilty about not being...
Groups seek to use Constitution’s ‘insurrection’ clause to block Trump from 2024 ballots
As former President Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican presidential primary, some liberal groups and a growing number of legal experts contend that a rarely used clause of the Constitution prevents him from being president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The 14th Amendment bars...
Texas AG Ken Paxton pursued perks beyond impeachment allegations, ex-staffers say
AUSTIN, Texas — Unexplained Caribbean and European trips that cost taxpayers more than $90,000. A $600 sports coat paid for by an event organizer. A $45 office Christmas cake taken as his own. These are among the perks that Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ‘s former employees say he...
Nissan is reusing batteries from old Leaf electric vehicles to make portable power sources
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Batteries in older Nissan Leaf electric vehicles are getting a new life as portable power sources that can be used to run gadgets on the go or deliver emergency power in disasters. Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. has sold more than 650,000 Leaf EVs. Their batteries often...
Train slams into a group of workers on the tracks at an Italian station, killing 5
ROME — A speeding out-of-service train slammed into a group of workers doing nighttime track maintenance in northern Italy on Thursday, killing five of them, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly after midnight at a station in Brandizzo, a town in Italy’s Piedmont region. Piedmont Gov. Alberto Cirio provided the...
North Korea says it simulated nuclear attacks on South Korea and rehearsed occupation of its rival
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it’s also been rehearsing an occupation of its rival’s territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them...
Building fire in Johannesburg leaves at least 73 dead, many homeless, authorities say
JOHANNESBURG — A nighttime fire ripped through a rundown five-story building in Johannesburg that was occupied by homeless people and squatters, leaving at least 73 people dead early Thursday, emergency services in South Africa’s biggest city said. Some of the people living in a maze of shacks and other makeshift...
Tropical Storm Idalia descends on North Carolina after pounding Florida, Georgia, South Carolina
PERRY, Fla. — Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction throughout the Southeast that stretched back to its landfall as a hurricane in Florida. Rescue and repair efforts continued in the areas the...
Trey Lance starts over at ‘square zero’ with Cowboys
FRISCO, Texas — Trey Lance didn’t have a nameplate in the locker room the first day it was open to reporters after the quarterback’s trade to the Dallas Cowboys. His new No. 15 was there the second day, without Lance’s name. Baby steps for the player who, in his own...
Realignment prompts fresh look at number of automatic bids in 12-team CFP
IRVING, Texas — The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff met Wednesday for the first time since a wave of realignment tore apart the Pac-12, raising the possibility that the number of automatic bids in the 12-team postseason format to be implemented next year could be tweaked. With...
Nebraska volleyball match sets women’s world attendance record
LINCOLN, Neb. — The University of Nebraska laid claim to the world record for largest attendance at a women’s sporting event with 92,003 filling Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night for the Cornhuskers’ volleyball match against Omaha. The university took aim at the record last spring when it announced it would...
Bodies of 3 U.S. Marines killed in Australian aircraft crash retrieved from crash site
CANBERRA, Australia — The bodies of three U.S. Marines killed in a tiltrotor aircraft crash during a training exercise in Australia were retrieved from the crash scene while another Marine remained in critical condition, the Marine Corps said Tuesday. Those killed were from Illinois, Virginia and Colorado. The Marine V-22B...
Big Ten is ready for maximum exposure with games on NBC, CBS and Fox
Big Ten football is used to grabbing the spotlight on Saturdays during the fall. However, it is putting a new spin on maximum exposure and going prime time. The Big Ten’s seven-year deal with Fox, CBS and NBC begins this week, marking the first time a college conference sold its...
