Associated Press stories, Page 1329
Will Smith gets 10-year Oscars ban over Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES — The motion picture academy on Friday banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. The move comes after a meeting of the academy’s Board of Governors to discuss a response...
2 acquitted, jury hung on 2 more in Michigan governor kidnap plot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two of four men were acquitted Friday in a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, motivated by fury at the Democrat’s tough covid-19 restrictions early in the pandemic. The jury’s verdicts against Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were read in the federal court...
Aaron Judge, Yankees fail to agree to long-term contract
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge began what could be his last season with the New York Yankees after failing to agree to a long-term contract by the slugger’s opening-day deadline to reach a deal. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team offered an eight-year contract worth $230.5 million to...
Musk says Tesla will build vehicle designed to be a robotaxi
Tesla will build a vehicle dedicated for use as a robotaxi, and it will start making three new vehicles next year, CEO Elon Musk told fans at a party celebrating the opening of a Texas factory. Musk didn’t give details of the robotaxi other than to say it will “look...
Suspected extremist attack kills 16 soldiers in Burkina Faso
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — An attack by suspected Islamic extremist rebels on a military unit in Burkina Faso Friday has killed at least 16 security forces and injured many others, the army announced. A dozen military soldiers and four volunteer fighters who work alongside the army died when their military...
Cheers for Jackson as Biden declares ‘moment of real change’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday celebrated the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to reach the Supreme Court, hailing “a moment of real change in American history.” It was a moment 46 days — and more than two centuries — in the making....
Washington state to preserve 10,000 forest acres as carbon reserve
SEATTLE — Washington state has launched a new program to save 10,000 acres of forest land as a carbon reserve. The Seattle Times reports the state intends to lease the trees as carbon credits to emitters of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The DNR is partnering with Finite Carbon,...
Puerto Rico struggles to emerge from outage as anger builds
Shuttered businesses. Sleepless nights. Canceled classes. Hundreds of thousands of people across Puerto Rico remained without power on Friday, nearly two days after a fire at a main power plant sparked an island-wide outage. Crews have restored power to some 650,000 customers out of nearly 1.5 million, but people in...
SpaceX launches 3 visitors to space station for $55M each
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched three rich businessmen and their astronaut escort to the International Space Station on Friday for more than a week’s stay, as NASA joins Russia in hosting guests at the world’s most expensive tourist destination. It’s SpaceX’s first private charter flight to the orbiting lab...
Parole revoked for Iowa man convicted of lottery rigging
DES MOINES, Iowa — A man serving a 25-year prison sentence for rigging computers to win lottery jackpots has had his parole revoked after he got into trouble in prison just before his scheduled release. Eddie Tipton was approved for release by the Iowa Board of Parole on Jan. 20...
Jury deadlocked on some charges in Whitmer kidnap plot trial
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Jurors say they’ve reached decisions on some charges and are deadlocked on others in the trial of four men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker told the jury Friday to keep working on the unresolved charges. Decisions to...
Mass shooting suspect served less time due to California law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A suspect arrested in connection with last weekend’s mass shooting outside bars in Sacramento served less than half his 10-year sentence because of voter-approved changes to state law that lessened the punishment for his felony convictions and provided a chance for earlier release. Smiley Allen Martin was...
U.S. ends probe of Fiat Chrysler minivans, won’t seek recall
DETROIT — The U.S. government is ending an investigation into complaints of USB charging port fires in some Fiat Chrysler minivans without seeking a recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began the probe covering about 170,000 minivans in August of 2020 after getting reports of three fires and one...
Missile kills at least 52 at crowded Ukrainian train station
KYIV, Ukraine — A missile hit a train station in eastern Ukraine where thousands had gathered Friday, killing at least 52 and wounding dozens more in an attack on a crowd of mostly women and children trying to flee a new, looming Russian offensive, Ukrainian authorities said. The attack that...
Major outage forces Puerto Rico to shutter schools, offices
SAN JUAN — More than a million customers in Puerto Rico remained without electricity on Thursday after a fire at a main power plant caused the biggest blackout so far this year across the U.S. territory, forcing it to cancel classes and shutter government offices. The blackout also left nearly...
Minnesota State beats Minnesota to reach Frozen Four final
BOSTON — Reggie Lutz scored to break a second-period tie and Minnesota State scored three times in the third in the Frozen Four semifinal on Thursday night to beat big-city rival Minnesota 5-1 and advance to the national championship game. Minnesota State will play for its first NCAA hockey title...
Right at home: Sungjae Im grabs Masters lead on Day 1
AUGUSTA, Ga. — With all eyes on Tiger Woods, Sungjae Im quietly turned in the round of the day at Augusta National. Not a surprise, really. The 24-year-old South Korean feels right at home. A runner-up 17 months ago in his Masters debut, Im posted a 5-under-par 67 on Thursday...
NCAA Frozen Four: Denver beats Michigan in overtimeVideo
BOSTON — Denver knocked Michigan out of the Frozen Four. Next comes a chance to match the Wolverines as the most decorated team in college hockey history. Carter Savoie scored with 14:53 gone in overtime, converting on his own rebound Thursday night to lead the Pioneers past Michigan 3-2 and...
Israeli forces kill Palestinian attacker; third victim diesVideo
A third Israeli has died following the attack by a Palestinian man who opened fire into a crowded bar in central Tel Aviv. Israeli security forces said they hunted down and killed the attacker early Friday. The shooting on Thursday evening in a downtown area packed with people in bars...
Tiger Woods is back at Masters, and it already felt like a victory
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods playing the Masters again, his shirt as pink as the azaleas at Augusta National, would have been enough reason to celebrate Thursday. It felt that way to him, too. Woods twirled his club after good shots, and there were enough. He pumped his fist after...
Clemente Award winners wear ’21’ on caps
WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz pulled his gameday hat off a hook by his clubhouse locker Thursday to show a “21” patch was stitched onto the back to honor Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. Like other winners of the humanitarian award named in memory of Clemente, Cruz...
Tiger Time: Woods thrills patrons with Masters comebackVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — He walked among the azaleas with just the slightest hint of a limp. He couldn’t quite bend over to read the putts on Augusta National’s tricky greens. Otherwise, there was nothing to indicate that Tiger Woods nearly lost his right leg 14 months ago in a devastating...
Appeals court OKs Biden federal employee vaccine mandate
NEW ORLEANS — President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against covid-19 was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court. In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the mandate. The...
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg: Trump criminal investigation is continuing
NEW YORK — Refuting suggestions that he’s lost interest in going after Donald Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday a criminal investigation into the former president and his business practices is continuing “without fear or favor” despite a recent shakeup in the probe’s leadership. In a rare public...
Congress votes to suspend Russia trade status, enact oil banVideo
WASHINGTON — Congress voted overwhelmingly Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities. House action came after the Senate approved the two bills with 100-0 votes. The measures now...
