Roller coaster with big crack has a second structural issue, inspectors say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Another structural issue has been located with a large roller coaster that's been closed for weeks since a large crack in a support column was discovered, a North Carolina agency confirmed on Friday. A Swiss-based engineering company that designed and built the Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds, which sits along the North Carolina-South Carolina border, replaced that steel support column earlier this month, news outlets

DeSantis win in Disney lawsuit could embolden actions against journalists

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A legal advocacy group for journalists wants to get involved in Disney's free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says a win by the Florida governor could embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights. The group on Friday asked a judge for

A North Carolina budget is a month late, but Republicans say they are closing in on a deal

BY GARY D. ROBERTSON RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina Republicans say they are closing in on a state budget deal, with top House and Senate leaders acknowledging an income tax agreement has been reached that would lower rates on individuals more deeply than current law directs. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said that a tax deal and other unnamed key differences have been worked out after

Yellow is shutting down and headed for bankruptcy, the Teamsters Union says. Here’s what to know

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS NEW YORK (AP) - Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports. After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week - as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the

As work begins on the largest US dam removal project, tribes look to a future of growth

BY ADAM BEAM SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The largest dam removal project in United States history is underway along the California-Oregon border - a process that won't conclude until the end of next year with the help of heavy machinery and explosives. But in some ways, removing the dams is the easy part. The hard part will come over the next decade as workers, partnering with Native American tribes, plant and

Brain fog and other long COVID symptoms are the focus of new small treatment studies

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition that afflicts millions. Monday's announcement from the NIH's $1.15 billion RECOVER project comes amid frustration from patients who've struggled for months or even years with sometimes-disabling health problems - with no proven treatments and only a

‘God willing, we will meet again in Libya.’ A migrant family’s tale shows chaos at the Tunisian border

BY RENATA BRITO, ELAINE GANLEY AND SAMY MAGDY When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin regained consciousness after collapsing in the desert, the sun had already set. Tunisian authorities had violently forced him, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter across the border to Libya by foot without water, in the blazing heat, he said. Nyimbilo crumpled to the ground, exhausted and dehydrated, but urged his wife to carry on with little Marie and catch

The Biden administration proposes new rules to push insurers to boost mental health coverage

BY ZEKE MILLER AND CHRIS MEGERIAN WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that his administration is moving forward with new rules meant to push insurance companies to increase their coverage of mental health treatments. The new regulations, which still need to go through a public comment period, would require insurers to study whether their customers have equal access to medical and mental health benefits and to take remedial action, if necessary. The Mental Health

With affirmative action out, North Carolina’s flagship school bars use of race, sex in admissions

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down their school's race-conscious admissions plan as violating the Constitution, the board of North Carolina's flagship public university has voted to strictly bar the use of "race, sex, color or ethnicity" in admissions and hiring decisions. The Board of Trustees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill approved the resolution Thursday, The News & Observer of

Biles, Ledecky, McLaughlin-Levrone all look for Olympic encores in Paris

BY EDDIE PELLS The city itself will be one of the brightest stars at the Paris Olympics, with ceremonies on the Seine, beach volleyball by the Eiffel Tower, and a marathon route that passes through Versailles. In the end, though, it will be the 10,500 athletes who will grab the spotlight once the festivities begin one year from Wednesday (July 26). Simone Biles is on a comeback, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone never left. A