Associated Press stories, Page 1477
SpaceX crew launch marks 600 space travelers in 60 yearsVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket carried four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years. The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there...
Man to plead guilty in rapper Mac Miller’s drug death
LOS ANGELES — An Arizona man accused of supplying the dealer who sold Mac Miller the drugs that killed the rapper has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge, prosecutors said Wednesday. Ryan Michael Reavis, 38, will admit to a single count of distribution of fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s...
Dixie State name change passed by GOP-controlled Utah House
SALT LAKE CITY — Southern Utah’s Dixie State University is one step closer to changing a name often associated with the Deep South and slavery after the Utah House approved a renaming plan Wednesday over local backlash. The bill that now moves to the state Senate would rename the school...
Hot inflation report slams bond market, sends stocks lowerVideo
NEW YORK — An eye-opening report on inflation that was hotter than expected slammed into the bond market on Wednesday, sending yields jumping, and helped knock stocks lower. Prices for beef, electricity and other items that consumers paid in October surged from year-ago levels at the fastest overall pace since...
Crew member sues Alec Baldwin, others over ‘Rust’ shooting
LOS ANGELES — The head of lighting on the film “Rust” filed a lawsuit Wednesday over Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western, alleging negligence that caused him “severe emotional distress” that will haunt him forever. Serge Svetnoy said in the...
Hershey goes salty, buys Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels for $1.2B
Hershey is expanding its salty snack portfolio with the purchase of Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels. The Hershey Co. said Wednesday it will spend $1.2 billion for North Dakota-based Dot’s Pretzels LLC as well as Pretzels Inc., an Indiana-based manufacturer of Dot’s Pretzels that operates three plants. The deal is expected to...
‘Strong’ start to kids vaccine campaign, but challenges loomVideo
WASHINGTON — The campaign to vaccinate elementary school age children in the United States is off to a strong start, health officials said Wednesday, but experts say there are signs that it will be difficult to sustain the initial momentum. About 900,000 kids aged 5 to 11 will have received...
Judge OKs $626 million settlement in Flint water litigation
DETROIT — A judge on Wednesday approved a $626 million deal to settle lawsuits filed by Flint residents who found their tap water contaminated by lead following disastrous decisions to switch the city’s water source and a failure to swiftly acknowledge the problem. Most of the money — $600 million...
Agent Scott Boras: MLB cancer of trading veterans helped Braves win SeriesVideo
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Baseball’s most influential agent said the sport was the victim of a “competitive cancer” caused by teams unloading veterans to accumulate draft picks and said the Atlanta Braves’ World Series title was a direct result of tanking. In an outdoor news conference in front of a steakhouse...
Chiefs appear open to adding Odell Beckham Jr. to wide receiver group
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs coach Andy Reid wouldn’t say Wednesday whether the reigning AFC champs were pursuing Odell Beckham Jr. Then again, he didn’t say they weren’t. Beckham became a free agent Tuesday after the wide receiver’s acrimonious split with the Browns, and the Chiefs — with star quarterback...
Former Philadelphia priest pleads guilty to lying to investigators
PHILADELPHIA — A defrocked priest pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of making false statements to FBI agents investigating clergy abuse. Former Philadelphia priest Robert Brennan, 83, changed his plea to guilty Wednesday in federal court, according to court documents. The charges stem from a federal investigation undertaken after Pennsylvania...
Capitol rioter who hit officer gets over 3 years in prisonVideo
A New Jersey gym owner who punched a police officer during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison, a likely benchmark for dozens of other rioters who engaged in violence that day. Scott Fairlamb, 44, was the first person...
Gerrymandering surges as states redraw maps for House seats
North Carolina Republicans are well positioned to pick up at least two House seats in next year’s election — but it’s not because the state is getting redder. The state remains a perennial battleground, closely split between Democrats and Republicans in elections. In the last presidential race, Republican Donald Trump...
Rittenhouse murder case thrown into jeopardy by mistrial bidVideo
KENOSHA, Wis. — Kyle Rittenhouse testified Wednesday he was under attack when he killed two men and wounded a third with his rifle during a chaotic night of protests in Kenosha, saying: “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself.” In a high-stakes gamble, the 18-year-old took the stand at...
Police suspect Germans were killed for Stradivarius violins
Paraguayan police said Wednesday they have detained two Germans and a Chilean suspected of killing a German man and his daughter while trying to get documents proving the authenticity of valuable violins. Bernard Raymond von Bredow, a museum owner and luthier, was slain along with his 14-year-old daughter Lydia last...
Inmate who sued for gender surgery seeks $2.8M in legal fees
BOISE, Idaho — A former Idaho inmate who became the first person to receive court-ordered gender confirmation surgery after suing the state Department of Correction is asking a judge to order the state to pay more than $2.8 million in attorney fees and other costs associated with the case. The...
U.S. presses Russia over troop buildup along Ukraine border
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is stepping up pressure on Russia over a buildup of troops along its frontier with Ukraine. As Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to meet his Ukrainian counterpart in Washington on Wednesday, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe said the administration is watching the border...
Billy Crystal plans his Broadway return in a familiar role
NEW YORK — Billy Crystal is not ready to say goodbye to “Mr. Saturday Night.” The comic icon has turned his comedy film into a Broadway-bound musical and hopes to open it next year with him reprising his film role as Buddy Young Jr., a bitter, old insult comic chasing...
White House: About 900,000 kids got covid shots in 1st week
WASHINGTON — About 900,000 kids ages 5 to 11 will have received their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said Wednesday, providing the first glimpse at the pace of the school-aged vaccination campaign. Final clearance for the shots was granted by...
Taliban urge ex-Afghan military pilots to stay, serve nation
ISLAMABAD — A top Taliban official on Wednesday urged former Afghan military pilots to remain in the country, saying they were protected by a national amnesty and would not face arrest. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid’s assurances came after dozens of U.S.-trained Afghan pilots left Tajikistan in a U.S.-brokered evacuation Tuesday,...
Alabama boy named world’s most premature infant to survive
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama boy who weighed less than a pound at birth after his mother went into labor at only 21 weeks and one day of gestation has been certified as the world’s most premature baby to survive. Guinness World Records and UAB Hospital announced Wednesday that Curtis...
GOP state Sen. Jake Corman to run for governor
HARRISBURG — Jake Corman, the ranking Republican in Pennsylvania’s state Senate, will run for governor in next year’s election, a political adviser said Wednesday, entering a huge and wide-open GOP field of candidates that is unlike anything party officials have seen in at least decades. For weeks, Corman has been...
Father gets 28 years for leaving girl to die in burning car
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A South Carolina man who left his 19-month-old daughter to die in a burning car during a police chase was given 28 years in prison after pleading guilty. Imhotep O. Norman of Spartanburg was sentenced Tuesday, according to the office of 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette. News...
Prince Harry says he warned Twitter CEO of U.S. Capitol riot
LONDON — Britain’s Prince Harry has sharply attacked the failure of social media companies to challenge hate online, revealing that he warned the chief executive of Twitter ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots that the site was being used to stage political unrest. Harry made the comments Tuesday in...
U.S. consumer prices soared 6.2% in past year, most since 1990
WASHINGTON — Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, gas and housing left Americans grappling with the highest inflation rate since 1990. The year-over-year increase in the consumer price index exceeded the 5.4% rise in September, the Labor Department...
