Associated Press stories, Page 122
Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary: Here’s a look at the park then and now
Disneyland is celebrating 70 years of being “The Happiest Place on Earth.” The summerlong festivities in southern California include the opening of “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” a show featuring a lifelike animatronic of the company’s founder that debuts Thursday and also marks Disneyland’s official anniversary. Walt Disney’s vision...
Keeping animals of all sizes — from cats to horses — cool during record heat
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With record temperatures hitting the U.S., pet owners have to protect their four-legged family members from dangers like heat stroke and dehydration. But keeping an animal the size of a small car cool isn’t as easy as bringing it inside to the air conditioning. That’s...
Zelenskyy shakes up Ukrainian Cabinet, appointing a new prime minister to reinvigorate war effort
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s economy minister and the key negotiator in the mineral deal with the U.S, Yuliia Svyrydenko, was appointed as its new prime minister Thursday, becoming the country’s first new head of government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Svyrydenko is one of a group...
2 killed and several injured in Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of Gaza’s only Catholic church on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding several others, according to witnesses and church officials. Among the injured was the parish’s priest, who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final...
Britain will lower its voting age to 16 in a bid to strengthen democracy
LONDON — Britain will lower the voting age from 18 to 16 by the next national election as part of measures to increase democratic participation, the government announced Thursday. The center-left Labour Party pledged before it was elected in July 2024 to lower the voting age for elections to Britain’s...
Legendary singer Connie Francis dead at 87
Connie Francis, the wholesome pop star of the 1950s and 1960s whose hits include “Pretty Little Baby” and who would later serve as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy, has died at age 87. Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist,...
Simone Biles, Penn State volleyball coach among those honored at ESPY Awards
LOS ANGELES — NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles won as best male and female athletes at the ESPYS on Wednesday night. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship last month while piling up hardware as league MVP and scoring champion. “It’s...
Army veteran and American citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone
A U.S. Army veteran who was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last week said Wednesday he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. George Retes, 25, who works...
Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and daughter of ex-FBI director
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. There was no...
Judge won’t rule this week on releasing Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail
NASHVILLE — Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Wednesday tried to poke holes in the human smuggling case the government is pursuing against him in Tennessee, while a federal judge said he won’t rule this week on freeing Abrego Garcia from jail, a decision that could precipitate his deportation. Abrego...
Astronomers capture the birth of planets around a baby sun outside our solar systemVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. It’s an unprecedented snapshot of “time zero,” scientists reported Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel....
Kalen DeBoer is looking to escape Nick Saban’s shadow and lead Tide back to playoffs in 2nd season
ATLANTA — Four years without a national championship feels like a severe drought for veteran Alabama players. Similarly, one year of missing the College Football Playoff has second-year coach Kalen DeBoer feeling the pressure to restore the Crimson Tide’s status as one of the nation’s top teams in 2025. When...
Trump says Coca-Cola will use real sugar in its U.S. flagship drink. The company isn’t confirming that
WASHINGTON — Make American Coke Great Again? President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the U.S. at his suggestion — though the company didn’t confirm such a move. Any switch from high-fructose corn syrup in Coke sold...
Alaska tsunami warning had residents scrambling for high ground after 7.3 magnitude earthquake
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Communities along a 700-mile stretch of Alaska’s southern coast ordered residents to higher ground after a powerful offshore earthquake Wednesday, but officials quickly downgraded and then canceled a tsunami warning for the region. There were no reports of significant damage. The earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of...
Gulf Coast braces for flooding as storm system builds into possible tropical depression
The weather system moving across the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday was showing a greater chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression as it moves west over...
First the shoes went back on. Now, at airport security, more liquid in carry-ons may be at hand
WASHINGTON — Travelers giddy about being able to keep their shoes on while walking through TSA checkpoints at the airport again may have something else to look forward to: changes to how much liquid they can carry. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday during a conference hosted by “The...
NCAA fines Memphis $30K, places it on probation after softball players did hoops player’s schoolwork
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The University of Memphis’ athletic department has been put on probation for two years and fined $30,000 by the NCAA after an investigation found an academic counselor paid two softball players to help a men’s basketball player with schoolwork. The NCAA announced the mutually-agreed-to punishment Wednesday, saying...
20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters
Twenty Democratic-led states filed suit Wednesday against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, challenging the elimination of a long-running grant program that helps communities guard against damage from natural disasters. The lawsuit contends President Donald Trump’s administration acted illegally when it announced in April that it was ending the Building Resilient...
Pete Davidson and Elsie Hewitt are expecting their first child
Pete Davidson is going to be a dad. His girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, announced their baby news Wednesday on Instagram with an ultrasound preview. The model and actor posted photos of herself and the “Saturday Night Live” alum with the caption: “welp now everyone knows we had sex.” She included a...
Bradley Beal, 3-time All-Star, agrees to buyout with the Phoenix Suns
Three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns agreed to a buyout on the two years remaining on his contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP about Beal’s buyout on condition of anonymity because the deal...
Jill Biden aide invokes Fifth to decline testimony in Republican investigation
WASHINGTON — A former senior aide to Jill Biden on Wednesday became the second person to invoke the Fifth Amendment and decline to answer questions from House Republicans who are investigating President Joe Biden’s mental state and use of the autopen while in office. Anthony Bernal, who previously served as...
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify in $8 billion Facebook privacy lawsuit
An $8 billion class action investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company leaders — current and former — begins Wednesday, with claims stemming from the 2018 privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. Investors allege in their lawsuit that Meta did not fully disclose the risks...
JD Vance touts tax breaks in Pennsylvania as he makes White House’s 1st big pitch on Trump’s new law
WEST PITTSTON — Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday made the Trump administration’s first big pitch to sell the public on President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package in the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania. The vice president, whose tiebreaking vote got the bill through the Senate, touted the legislation’s...
U.S. stocks swing as Trump says he ‘talked about the concept’ of firing the Federal Reserve’s chair
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are shaky on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he had “talked about the concept of firing” the head of the Federal Reserve. Such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates that it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed...
Justin Rose, nearly 45, not yet wilting in quest for dream win at British Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Justin Rose has been dreaming of winning the British Open since the age of 8. He is approaching 45 now and has yet to lift the claret jug. He knows the clock is ticking. “Obviously, later in your career, you’re never quite sure how many chances...
