Associated Press stories, Page 972
20 hurt when inmate sets fire at N.Y.’s Rikers Island jail
NEW YORK — A fire set by an inmate at New York City’s troubled Rikers Island injured 20 people on a day that lawmakers visited the jail complex, authorities said. Fifteen staff members and five inmates were injured in the fire that started about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the city Correction...
3 new ‘Star Wars’ movies coming, including Rey’s return
LONDON — For “Star Wars” lovers, new entertainment is a little less far, far away — Lucasfilm announced three new live-action films in the franchise Friday. The news, which includes the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey in one of the films, was revealed at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023...
Tesla cuts prices on all models, 3rd cut this year
DETROIT — Tesla cut prices on its entire U.S. electric vehicle model lineup for the third time this year in an apparent effort to lure more buyers amid rising interest rates. The cuts that appeared Friday on Tesla’s website ranged from $5,000 per vehicle for Tesla’s slower-selling more expensive models,...
Going, going, gone: Study says climate change juicing homers
Climate change is making major league sluggers into even hotter hitters, sending an extra 50 or so home runs a year over the fences, a new study found. Hotter, thinner air that allows balls to fly farther contributed a tiny bit to a surge in home runs since 2010, according...
GM Cruise recalls 300 robotaxis after crash involving bus
DETROIT — General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has recalled 300 robotaxis to update software after one of them rear-ended a municipal bus in San Francisco. Cruise says in government documents posted Friday that the robotaxi inaccurately predicted how the bus would move as it pulled out of a bus...
U.S. adds 236,000 jobs in March despite Fed’s rate hikes
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March, reflecting a resilient labor market and suggesting that the Federal Reserve may see the need to keep raising interest rates in the coming months. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, not far above the 53-year low of 3.4% set...
Suspect shoots 2 hostages after wounding California officer
ROSEVILLE, Calif. — A man fleeing police in Northern California took two hostages at a public park on Thursday, killing one of them and wounding a California Highway Patrol officer before surrendering, authorities said. The events played out in Roseville, a city of about 150,000 northeast of Sacramento, in the...
China sanctions Reagan library, others over Tsai’s U.S. trip
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China is imposing sanctions against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and other U.S.- and Asian-based organizations in retaliation for the closely watched meeting this week between the U.S. House Speaker and Taiwan’s president. The Reagan library in Simi Valley, Calif., was the site of the rare high-level,...
Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday laid the blame on his predecessor, President Donald Trump, for the deadly and chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that brought about some of the darkest moments of Biden’s presidency. The White House publicly released a 12-page summary of the...
Champion LSU women accepting Biden invitation to White House
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU’s national champion women’s basketball team will accept an invitation from President Joe Biden to visit the White House. University spokesman Michael Bonnette confirmed LSU’s intentions on the matter Thursday, a day after Tigers star forward Angel Reese suggested during a podcast interview that her team...
Israel hits Gaza as Netanyahu vows to extract ‘heavy price’Video
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military struck targets in the Gaza Strip while Palestinian militants fired barrages of rockets rockets into southern Israel early Friday, with the region edging closer toward war following two days of unrest at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site and a rare rocket attack from neighboring Lebanon....
Minor-league pitcher calls Padres’ Fernando Tatis ‘cheater’ after monster HRVideo
A San Francisco Giants minor leaguer called Fernando Tatis Jr. a “cheater” on Twitter after the suspended San Diego Padres superstar hit a mammoth home run Wednesday night in a Triple-A game while on a rehab assignment. Kade McClure of the Sacramento River Cats responded to a tweet that included...
The Modern Masters? On-course interviews a change at Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National has taken another surprising step toward modernization: The Masters allowed for a walk-and-talk during the opening round when Rory McIlroy answered questions for the ESPN telecast while playing the ninth fairway. Then, Max Homa later joined the fun, making a live guest appearance during his...
Masters 13th hole goes from relative gimme to hardest par 5Video
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The 13th hole at Masters went from the easiest of the four par 5s a year ago to the most difficult in Thursday’s first round after modifications at Augusta National. “I birdied it today, so I didn’t not like it today,” defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler said...
Mark Cuban says keeping Kyrie Irving is priority, supports Jason Kidd
DALLAS — Though Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team’s top offseason priority, he doesn’t view it as a “Kyrie or bust” scenario. The billionaire businessman who has stayed mostly silent on Mavericks matters this season also is showing support for coach Jason Kidd with...
Brooks Koepka living large at Masters, leads with Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka shared the lead Thursday in the Masters, and that’s about all they had in common. Not the way they started their rounds at Augusta National. Certainly not the tours they represent — Rahm a loyalist on the PGA Tour, Koepka a surprise...
EPA proposal takes on health risks near chemical plants
In what could prove a significant move for communities facing air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Thursday that chemical plants nationwide measure certain hazardous compounds that cross beyond their property lines and reduce them when they are too high. The proposed rules would reduce cancer risk and other...
New world order: LIV looks to make its mark at MastersVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Phil Mickelson walked to the first tee — his LIV loyalties prominent on his cap, shirt and bag — he fist-bumped with a young girl hanging along the ropes before acknowledging the familiar cheers that have followed him throughout his career. “Go Phil!” “Go get ‘em,...
‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio’s death fentanyl-caused
LOS ANGELES — Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died last year because of fentanyl, his manager said. Coolio’s former longtime manager Jarez Posey told The Associated Press Thursday that Coolio’s cause of death was fentanyl...
Tiger Woods’ painful Masters walk results in opening 74Video
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods split the fairway with his opening shot Thursday, confidently plucking his tee from the ground before his ball had even landed, and set off with grim-faced determination for a steamy trek around Augusta National. The rest of his day at the Masters was mostly just...
European tour wins case with LIV Golf after panel rulingVideo
The DP World (European) Tour was within its rights to sanction members who competed on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf without permission, an independent tribunal ruled Thursday. An appeal panel at Sport Resolutions found that a number of players, including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, committed “serious breaches” of the European...
House Republicans subpoena former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz in Trump case
WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday subpoenaed one of the former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ordered Mark Pomerantz to testify...
Garcia chastises Masters media to stop talking about LIV-PGAVideo
Sergio Garcia is tired of talking about the LIV-PGA Tour feud. After opening the Masters with a 2-over-par 74, Garcia shot back at reporters who asked Thursday if this felt like a normal event with all that’s going on away from the course. “Totally normal,” Garcia said. “You guys need...
U.S. would bar full ban on trans athletes but allow exceptions
WASHINGTON — Schools and colleges across the U.S. would be forbidden from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes under a proposal released Thursday from the Biden administration, but teams could create some limits in certain cases — for example, to ensure fairness. The proposed rule sends a political counterpunch toward...
Civil rights probe launched as a result of fatal Park Police shootingVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation after a U.S. Park Police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old who drove off with an officer in the back seat after the teenager was found asleep in a suspected stolen car. The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office...
