Associated Press stories, Page 881
Explosion destroys Lancaster County road crew’s building, equipment
A Wednesday morning explosion destroyed a Lancaster County government building, spewed black smoke and sent earthquake-like shakes through homes miles away. The explosion stemming from a propane leak also led emergency responders to evacuate six homes on the 900 block of North Colebrook Road in Rapho Township, where the explosion...
Tuesday set unofficial record for hottest day on Earth — Wednesday may break it
The planet’s temperature spiked Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of climate-change extremes that alarm but don’t surprise scientists. The globe’s average temperature...
Rip currents prompted 200 rescues in Virginia and Outer Banks over the Fourth weekend
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Strong rip currents prompted lifeguards to pull about 200 swimmers from the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia and the Outer Banks area of North Carolina over the holiday weekend. Tom Gill, chief of the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service, told The Virginian-Pilot that the city’s more than 180...
Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of planning to attack Europe’s biggest nuclear plant
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and Russia accused each other Wednesday of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims of an imminent threat to the facility in southeastern Ukraine that is occupied by Russian troops. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear...
Suicide bomber attacks security post in Pakistan, killing 3 soldiers and 10-year-old boy
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber riding in a vehicle targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least three soldiers and a 10-year-old boy and wounding 14 other civilians, officials said. The bombing occurred in Miran Shah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan...
Exonerated member of ‘Central Park Five’ wins primary, nearly assuring seat on NYC Council
NEW YORK — Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” has won the Democratic primary, all but assuring him a seat on the New York City Council. It’s an improbable feat for a political novice who was wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned as a teenager for the rape...
Ohio abortion rights backers submit nearly double needed signatures for fall ballot measure
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Groups hoping to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution delivered nearly double the number of signatures needed to place an amendment on the fall statewide ballot, aiming to signal sweeping widespread support for an issue that still faces the threat of needing a significantly increased victory margin....
Mass shootings claim lives at gatherings over the July Fourth holiday
SHREVEPORT, La. — Mass shootings broke out at festivals, block parties and other gatherings in a handful of cities this week as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July. Gun violence that flared in Washington, D.C, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Texas and Florida left more than a dozen dead and almost...
Philadelphia suspect left a will and was acting agitated days before shootings, prosecutors sayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The man accused in the fatal shooting spree in Philadelphia that left five people dead and four others wounded Monday night left a will at his house, and according to a roommate had acted agitated and wore a tactical vest around his house in the days before the...
Rose Zhang is making everyone look in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Rose Zhang set the women’s course record at Pebble Beach and hardly anyone noticed outside of her local caddie, Stanford teammates and college golf enthusiasts. Ten months later, Zhang walked toward the 17th green at Pebble Beach with three amateurs in the U.S. Women’s Open and...
Morgan Pressel makes transition from 18th green to 18th tower for NBC
Morgan Pressel considered extending her playing career so she would have the opportunity to play in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. Even though she stopped playing two years ago, Pressel will still have an excellent vantage point for all four rounds of the first Women’s Open at...
Rain, environmental activists affect Wimbledon play on Day 3Video
WIMBLEDON, England — Rain is again affecting play at Wimbledon on Day 3 of the grass-court tournament, and two environmental activists halted one match as well. Intermittent showers Wednesday forced matches on the outside courts to be suspended twice, while play in the main stadiums was also stopped for a...
U.S. citizenship test changes are coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency. The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship — a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years...
Ransomware criminals are dumping kids’ private files online after school hacks
The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts. “Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser...
Secondary test of powder found in West Wing lobby shows it’s cocaine, Biden briefed on investigation
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been briefed on the investigation into the discovery of cocaine on the lobby floor of the White House West Wing, and thinks it is “incredibly important” for the Secret Service to determine how it got there, officials said Wednesday. U.S. Secret Service agents found...
Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized
STAR, Idaho — Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself. Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin...
9 people, including 2 kids, are shot and wounded in the nation’s capital as violence mars July 4
WASHINGTON — Nine people outside enjoying the Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital were shot and wounded early Wednesday, police said, as a spate of violence marred the holiday. Officers responding around 1 a.m. to the mass shooting in a neighborhood about a 20-minute drive east of the White...
Trinity Rodman could be poised for breakout in World Cup debut for U.S.Video
Trinity Rodman collected the ball just outside the penalty area and needed just one more touch to send it into the lower-left corner of the net. About a month shy of her 20th birthday, she’d scored her first goal for the U.S. women’s national team. That was April 2022 in...
Brazil soccer star Neymar fined $3.3M for illegal artificial lake at mansion outside RioVideo
SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer star Neymar was fined more than $3.3 million for violating local environmental rules during renovations at his mansion in the city of Mangaratiba outside Rio de Janeiro. The Mangaratiba city hall said in a statement Monday night it had issued four fines totalling about 16...
West Virginia AD Wren Baker looks for ‘smoother waters’ after challenging first 7 monthsVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Wren Baker couldn’t have imagined the challenges he would face over his first seven months as West Virginia’s athletic director. Baker has earned his keep — and then some — by making multiple hiring decisions since coming from North Texas. There will be at least a few...
Andy Murray gets a win at rainy Wimbledon and a thumbs-up from Roger FedererVideo
WIMBLEDON, England — On a day filled with far more rain drops than drop shots at Wimbledon — light, but persistent, showers prevented the completion, or even start, of dozens of matches — Roger Federer and Andy Murray provided the highlights. The retired Federer, who won a men’s-record eight of...
Joey Chestnut shakes off rain delay and defends title at Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog contest
Eating superstar Joey “Jaws” Chestnut shook off a rain delay and gobbled his way to another win at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, downing 62 franks and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut out ate runner-up Geoffrey Esper and the rest of an international field of 15...
Now a mom, Alex Morgan riding Wave heading into 4th Women’s World CupVideo
SAN DIEGO — Her night’s work on the pitch finished, Alex Morgan walks into the post-match news conference in her San Diego Wave uniform, barefoot and with her left ankle still taped up, with 3-year-old daughter Charlie in tow. Morgan veers from soccer superstar to mom and back to soccer...
Angels’ Mike Trout placed on 10-day injured list with broken left wrist
All-Star outfielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels said he anticipates returning this season despite a broken left wrist suffered when he fouled off a pitch Monday night. “Of course,” Trout said Tuesday, a few hours after the Angels announced he was placed on the 10-day injured list with...
Shots fired into a crowd of hundreds after a holiday festival in Texas leaves 3 dead, 8 injured
DALLAS — Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighborhood, authorities said. The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed...
