Associated Press stories, Page 889
Canadian wildfires are causing unhealthy air quality again in Chicago and other parts of the U.S.Video
CHICAGO — Drifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region, and in parts of the central and eastern United States. In Minnesota, a record 23rd air quality alert was issued Tuesday through late Wednesday night...
Ryan Seacrest to take over ‘Wheel of Fortune’ after Pat Sajak retires
LOS ANGELES — The category? “Proper Name.” The answer? Ryan Seacrest, who will become the new “Wheel of Fortune” host after Pat Sajak’s retirement next year. Seacrest and Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that Seacrest has signed a multiyear deal to host the long-running game show starting with Season 42....
Georgia elections official to speak to federal prosecutors probing Trump’s efforts to undo 2020 loss
ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is scheduled to speak to federal prosecutors from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss. In a rambling phone call on Jan. 2, 2021,...
NHL, players unveil inclusion coalition they hope will help make hockey more diverse and welcoming
The NHL and NHLPA are launching a new inclusion committee made up of current and former men’s and women’s players, with minority and LGBTQ+ representation, aimed at diversifying hockey and making the sport more welcoming. The NHL Player Inclusion Coalition unveiled Tuesday is the latest step in a process started...
A wall painting found in Pompeii doesn’t depict Italy’s iconic dish
MILAN — A still-life fresco discovered recently in the Pompeii archaeological site looks like a pizza, but it’s not, experts at the archaeological site said Tuesday. They noted that key ingredients needed to make Italy’s iconic dish — tomatoes and mozzarella — were not available when the fresco was painted...
Wagner ex-convict returned from war and a Russian village lived in fear
TALLINN, Estonia — When Ivan Rossomakhin returned home from the war in Ukraine three months ago, his neighbors in the village east of Moscow were terrified. Three years ago, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to a long prison term but was freed after volunteering to fight with the...
Column: So many candidates for the U.S. team, so few Ryder Cup spots
Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson still has time on his side, just not as much. He also keeps getting more candidates for his U.S. team, which isn’t making the job any easier. And it’s no longer about Brooks Koepka or anyone else from LIV Golf. “There’s still a lot of...
Paul McCartney’s rediscovered photos show Beatlemania from the insideVideo
LONDON — Is there really a new way to look at The Beatles, one of the most filmed and photographed bands in history? Yes, says Britain’s National Portrait Gallery, which is providing a fresh perspective with an exhibition of band’s-eye-view images that Paul McCartney captured as the group shot to...
Jay Johnson made all the right moves to quickly build LSU into a national champion again
OMAHA, Neb. — Jay Johnson was a West Coast guy and doing just fine coaching at Arizona when the opportunity to take over at LSU presented itself. The Tigers were long established as college baseball bluebloods, and Johnson would have been lying if he said he wasn’t at least interested...
Defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, 2-time winner Tadej Pogacar meet for next chapter of rivalry
One rider, two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar, was so strong at the start of the season that he was compared to the great Eddy Merckx before an injury stopped his seemingly unstoppable rise. The other, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, dethroned Pogacar last year and arrives in top form...
Players returning from LIV Golf is part of Saudis’ agreement with PGA Tour
The PGA Tour and European tour have agreed to work with Saudi backers of LIV Golf to decide how defectors to the rival league can return and what kind of punishment they should face, according to a framework agreement obtained by The Associated Press. The agreement also said the for-profit...
Victims confront Colorado Springs gay nightclub killer, calling shooter a monster and a coward
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One-by-one, nearly two dozen victims stood in a courtroom to confront the person who pleaded guilty to murdering five people and injuring 17 others in an attack last year on a nightclub that served as a sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs. Some cried,...
Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law is upheld again, as court rules against Republican challenge
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state court on Tuesday rejected the latest Republican effort to throw out the presidential battleground state’s broad mail-in voting law that has become a GOP target following former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about election fraud. It is the latest of several refusals by a state...
Ford cutting several hundred white-collar jobs to reduce cost amid transition to electric cars
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. is going through another round of white-collar job cuts as the company continues to reduce costs amid a transition to electric vehicles. The company confirmed Tuesday that it was starting to notify several hundred engineers and other salaried employees that their jobs are being...
Supreme Court makes it more difficult to convict someone of making a threat
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to make it more difficult to convict a person of making a violent threat. The case could make it harder for prosecutors to convict certain people who threaten elected officials, including the president. The high court ruled in a case that involves a...
Supreme Court rules state courts can play role in policing federal elections
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that North Carolina’s top court did not overstep its bounds in striking down a congressional districting plan as excessively partisan under state law. The justices by a 6-3 vote rejected the broadest view of a case that could have transformed elections for...
U.S. consumer confidence jumps to highest level since early 2022
WASHINGTON — The American consumer’s confidence jumped in June to its highest level in 18 months as a strong labor market continues to buoy the U.S. economy. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 109.7 in June from 102.5 in May. That’s the highest the...
Justice Department blames Jeffrey Epstein suicide on jail guard negligence, misconduct
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Epstein, despite his high profile and a jail suicide attempt two weeks earlier, was left alone in his cell with a surplus of bed linens. Nearly all the surveillance cameras on his unit didn’t record. One worker was on duty for 24 hours straight. The Justice Department’s...
Court date postponed for Trump valet Walt Nauta in classified documents case
MIAMI — A court appearance has been postponed for a valet for Donald Trump charged with helping the former president hide classified documents that the Justice Department wanted back. A lawyer for Walt Nauta told a judge Tuesday that Nauta had not yet been able to find a Florida-based attorney...
Italy seeks man in viral video carving names into Rome’s ColosseumVideo
ROME — Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have vowed to find and punish a tourist who was filmed carving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, a crime that resulted in hefty fines in the past. Video of the incident went...
U.K. was ill-prepared for pandemic because resources were diverted to Brexit, ex-health chief says
LONDON — Britain was ill-prepared for a pandemic partly because government resources had been diverted away from pandemic planning to brace for a possibly chaotic exit from the European Union without a deal, the U.K.’s former health secretary told an inquiry Tuesday. Matt Hancock also said officials had to scramble...
UN report: Russia tortured, executed civilians in Ukraine
BERLIN — Russian forces carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians who were detained in connection with its attack on Ukraine, summarily executing dozens of them, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday. The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than...
Philippine police raid alleged cybercrime buildings, rescue 2,700 workers
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine police backed by commandos staged a massive raid Tuesday and said they rescued more than 2,700 workers from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and more than a dozen other countries who were allegedly swindled into working for fraudulent online gaming sites and other cybercrime groups. The...
Lordstown Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Commercial electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection nearly two months after it warned that it was in danger of failing. In early May electronics company Foxconn wavered on a $170 million investment in Lordstown. The Ohio company said in a regulatory filing at...
LSU wins 1st College World Series title since 2009, beating Florida
OMAHA, Neb. — LSU went from its low point of the season to the ultimate high in a span of 24 hours. A day after it gave up the most runs ever in a College World Series game, LSU cranked up its offense and won its first national title since...
