Associated Press stories, Page 834
Ukraine marks Independence Day, vows to keep fighting Russia as it remembers fallen
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine on Thursday marked its second Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with officials vowing to keep up their fight to drive out the Kremlin’s forces and local people remembering their fallen loved ones. The national holiday coincided with the war’s 18-month milestone, giving a somber mood...
College football preview: Can USC’s Caleb Williams become 2-time Heisman Trophy winner?Video
Here we are again. Just like last year, college football has a returning Heisman Trophy winner — this time, USC quarterback Caleb Williams — trying to join the sport’s most exclusive club: Two-time winners of the most prestigious player of the year award. Ohio State running back Archie Griffin stands...
QB-coordinator reunions could spark offenses at schools such as Alabama, N.C. State
RALEIGH, N.C. — Brennan Armstrong arrived at N.C. State trying to get a feel for new teammates as a graduate transfer from Virginia. As for the offense? No problem. That’s because Armstrong thrived under first-year coordinator Robert Anae at his previous stop, making this one of multiple passer-playcaller reunions nationally...
Trump surrenders at Atlanta jail on election charges, then is quickly released on $200,000 bondVideo
ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump surrendered Thursday on charges that he illegally schemed to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, a brisk 20-minute booking that yielded a historic first: a mug shot of a U.S. ex-president. He was released on $200,000 bond and headed back to the airport for...
North Carolina QB Drake Maye welcomes high expectations after rapid rise to stardomVideo
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The first preseason practice had wrapped up, and North Carolina players gathered around coach Mack Brown for final on-field instructions. Drake Maye dropped to his left knee among them, resting his left hand on the facemask of his helmet laying next to him. Fittingly, he centered...
College football 2023: Cal’s Jackson Sirmon among nation’s under-the-radar players
Besides his fumble return for the go-ahead touchdown against rival Stanford, California star linebacker Jackson Sirmon didn’t have much to celebrate last season. Still, Sirmon said it wasn’t a difficult decision to return and use the sixth year of eligibility granted to players whose careers were disrupted by the pandemic....
College football 2023: Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman heads list of impact transfers
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman won’t get a chance to add to his ACC record for career touchdown passes in his final season. But the former Wake Forest star’s new stop will allow him to face plenty of familiar foes. Hartman opted to use his final season of college eligibility...
With super conferences, CFP expansion on horizon, 2023 is end of an era in college footballVideo
Welcome to the final season of college football as we know it. Extreme? Maybe, but 2023 has an end-of-an-era feel. Texas and Oklahoma are taking their last lap in the Big 12. The Pac-12 is still a Power Five conference. Will it even be a conference in 2024 after the...
Authorities say at least 4 dead in shooting at California biker bar
TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. — Three people were killed in a shooting Wednesday at a Southern California biker bar and the shooter also died, Orange County Sheriff’s officials said. The shooting was reported at around 7 p.m. at Cook’s Corner in rural Trabuco Canyon in Orange County. Another six people were...
GOP candidates tangle in Milwaukee as they vie to be the leading alternative to front-runner TrumpVideo
MILWAUKEE — Nearly all of the Republican presidential candidates vying to be the leading alternative to front-runner Donald Trump said they would support the former president if he is the party’s nominee even if he is convicted in a court of law as they gathered on stage for the first...
Jason Kelce center of attention in offseason, center of Eagles’ Super Bowl hopes
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce spent an offseason striking drums, pounding beers, fighting off retirement and knocking out podcasts with his NFL tight end brother. From elite center for the Philadelphia Eagles to center of attention from Sea Isle City to Saturday Night Live, Kelce has reveled in the man-of-the-people touches...
Trump praises Jan. 6 crowd, repeats election lies in online interview while skipping GOP debateVideo
NEW YORK — Donald Trump skipped the debate stage typically relished by presidential candidates on Wednesday and instead appeared in an online interview peppered with his election lies, attacks on his rivals and lavish praise for the crowd of supporters he spoke to before they stormed the U.S. Capitol on...
Browns’ Deshaun Watson knows he must prove he still belongs among NFL’s elite QBsVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson still has so much to prove — on and off the field. While he tries to repair an image marred by sexual misconduct allegations, Watson is attempting to move back among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, a status he once held but has since relinquished. Watson...
Ezekiel Elliott says time in free agency left him ‘anxious’ and ‘ready to ball’ with Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Ezekiel Elliott’s diminishing output and price tag helped hasten the end to his Dallas Cowboys tenure. After spending the spring and most of the summer in the NFL’s free agency wilderness, he landed with the New England Patriots, a team calling on him to be a complementary...
Lionel Messi converts PK, assists on 2 goals, leading Miami past MLS-best CincinnatiVideo
CINCINNATI — Lionel Messi had two assists and converted a penalty kick as Inter Miami rallied from a two-goal deficit and beat MLS-leading Cincinnati 5-4 in penalties in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday night. Cincinnati jumped to a 2-0 lead before Messi set up a pair of goals...
Justice Department announces charges against hundreds of alleged covid fraudsters
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people have been charged with the theft of more than $830 million in covid-19 emergency aid following a nationwide operation conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday. More than 60 of the defendants have alleged connections to organized...
ACC progressing toward westward expansion with Stanford, Cal, SMU potential targetsVideo
The Atlantic Coast Conference is making progress toward an expansion that could grab Stanford and California from the sinking Pac-12, a person with direct knowledge of the ACC’s potential move told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was not making its...
At least 1 dead, 1 missing as Tropical Storm Franklin batters Dominican RepublicVideo
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Tropical Storm Franklin unleashed heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after making landfall in the country’s southern region, killing at least one person and injuring two others. The storm began to slowly spin away late Wednesday afternoon from the island of...
Sam Darnold wins backup QB job for 49ers, putting Trey Lance’s status in doubtVideo
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Sam Darnold has won the backup quarterback job in San Francisco, putting Trey Lance’s status with the 49ers in doubt less than three years after the team traded three first-round picks to draft him. Coach Kyle Shanahan told flagship radio station KNBR on Wednesday that Darnold...
Maple Leafs sign star center Auston Matthews to 4-year, $53 million extensionVideo
TORONTO — Auston Matthews has put pen to paper on a deal that is set to make him the NHL’s highest-paid player. And the Toronto Maple Leafs — and their fans — can finally exhale. The star center signed a four-year, $53 million extension on Wednesday that ties him to...
Woman pleads guilty to fatally shoving Broadway singing coach, age 87, avoiding a long prison stay
NEW YORK — A woman who killed an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach by shoving her onto a Manhattan sidewalk has avoided a lengthy prison sentence by pleading guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday, and will instead serve eight years behind bars. Lauren Pazienza, 28, teared up in court as she admitted...
North Dakota Gov. Burgum will participate in the GOP primary debate stage after injuring leg
MILWAUKEE — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he plans to participate in the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday after he was injured playing basketball on Tuesday and his campaign wasn’t sure he would be able to appear on stage. The Burgum campaign posted a photo on X, formerly known...
Jets WR Corey Davis announces he’s stepping away from football
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis announced Wednesday he is stepping away from football. The 28-year-old was entering his third season with the Jets after beginning his career with the Tennessee Titans as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 draft. “I’ve been searching...
Police officer who shot driver sitting in car is being suspended, will be fired, commissioner saysVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s police commissioner says a police officer who shot and killed a driver who was sitting in his car last week in north Philadelphia is being suspended and will be fired. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Wednesday that Officer Mark Dial will be suspended with intent to dismiss...
Russian agency says mercenary leader Prigozhin was aboard plane that crashed, leaving no survivorsVideo
MOSCOW — Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard the plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, killing everyone on board, according to Russia’s civil aviation agency. Rosaviatsia posted a list of seven passengers and three crew members who it said were aboard the plane “according to the airline.”...
