NEW YORK (AP) — UConn is in a familiar spot to start the season — No. 1 in the poll. The Huskies were a unanimous choice in the top spot of The Associated Press women’s basketball preseason poll on Thursday. It’s the 12th time in school history that UConn has been No. 1 in the … Continue reading
Notre Dame cracked the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 9, and Michigan fell out of the rankings for the first time in two years. A week after a rash of upsets gave the poll a shake-up, the first eight teams in … Continue reading
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The suicide bombing in the city of Lahore on Easter underscores how Pakistan’s Christian minority has become an easy target for the country’s Islamic militants, although Muslims also were among the victims. There are barely 2.5 million Christians in the mostly Muslim country of 180 million, and they say they worry about … Continue reading
BANGKOK (AP) — In a single-party communist state one would expect the process of picking the country’s new leaders to be a smooth-sailing affair with no dramas. Not so this time. Despite the veil of secrecy that the party pulls around its inner workings, it is clear that the Communist Party’s eight-day Congress set to … Continue reading
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks sank Friday, extending a sell-off in world markets after Europe’s central bank unveiled plans to stimulate the continent’s ailing economy that fell short of investor expectations. KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.9 percent to 19,556.50 and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 1,975.27. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng … Continue reading
Hello! Here’s a look at how AP’s general news coverage is shaping up today in Virginia. Questions about today’s coverage plans are welcome, and should be directed to the Richmond bureau at 804-643-6646 or aprichmond@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Internet users of the Yik Yak social media app popular among college students aren’t nearly as anonymous as they believe: Missouri police within hours arrested a student accused of threatening violence, the latest in a string of such arrests at colleges in recent months involving threats of mass violence posted online using … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — An exceptionally large blue diamond sold Wednesday for 48.6 million Swiss francs ($48.5 million) — a record price for any jewel at auction, Sotheby’s said, culminating two Geneva auctions in which a convicted Hong Kong tycoon bought rare colored diamonds for his daughter. The 12.03-carat ‘Blue Moon’ diamond, set in a ring, … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — It’s no fun being in the middle. Heineken, Molson Coors and Carlsberg are storied brewers that trace their roots back hundreds of years and have loyal drinkers around the world. But the merger of their two biggest competitors leaves such mid-size brewers without a clear way forward. They find themselves squeezed between … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — An aging mobster who stayed mostly in the shadows for decades by adhering to the Mafia’s strict code of silence was acquitted Thursday of charges he helped plan a legendary 1978 Lufthansa heist retold in the hit film “Goodfellas.” A federal jury reached the surprising verdict at a Brooklyn racketeering trial … Continue reading
Hello! Here’s a look at how AP’s general news coverage is shaping up today in Virginia. Questions about today’s coverage plans are welcome, and should be directed to the Richmond bureau at 804-643-6646 or aprichmond@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — British and U.S. officials said Wednesday they have information suggesting the Russian jetliner that crashed in the Egyptian desert may have been brought down by a bomb, and Britain said it was suspending flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula as a precaution. Intercepted communications played a role in the tentative conclusion … Continue reading
HABANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Parading across a desert base, hundreds of Sunni tribesmen who graduated a crash training course stood ready to take on the Islamic State group on behalf of a government that many believed left them to die at the hands of the extremists. Among them were tribesmen who watched as Iraqi forces … Continue reading
ESKI MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Inside the Islamic State’s realm, the paper testifying that you have “repented” from your heretical past must be carried at all times. Many people laminate it just to be safe. It can mean the difference between life and death. Bilal Abdullah learned that not long after the extremists took over … Continue reading
BALTIMORE (AP) — RaShid Gaston posted a double-double, scoring a career-best 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, as Norfolk State beat Coppin State 99-81 on Saturday. Gaston finished with 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 from the line for the Spartans (17-11, 10-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). D’Shon Taylor added 23 points and eight rebounds, Malik Thomas had 21 points … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 