Associated Press stories, Page 1003
New covid origins data suggests pandemic linked to raccoon dogs
International scientists who examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a market close to where the first human cases of covid-19 were detected in China said they found suggestions the pandemic originated from animals, not a lab. Other experts have not yet verified their analysis, which also has...
Ford recalls 1.5M vehicles to fix brake hoses, wiper arms
DETROIT — Ford is recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in two actions to fix leaky brake hoses and windshield wiper arms that can break. The largest of two recalls covers nearly 1.3 million 2013 through 2018 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKX midsize cars. The company says...
Protests erupt in France over Macron’s retirement age push
PARIS — Protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to force a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote disrupted traffic, garbage collection and university campuses in Paris as opponents of the change maintained their resolve to get the government to back down....
Penn State takes wrestling lead after Day 1; Spencer Lee advances
TULSA, Okla. — Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis and Iowa’s Spencer Lee remain on track to win their fourth Division I wrestling titles, and Penn State leads the team race after the opening day of action at the national championships on Thursday. Lee, a Franklin Regional grad, pinned Air Force’s Tucker Owens...
Russia to award pilots involved in U.S. drone incident
MOSCOW — Russian fighter pilots involved in an incident with a U.S. drone that resulted in its crash will be given state awards, the Defense Ministry announced Friday. The move appears to signal Moscow’s intention to adopt a more aggressive stance toward future U.S. surveillance flights. The U.S. military said...
Arizona, Virginia add to reputations for March sadness
Arizona and Virginia rightfully lay claim to proud college basketball traditions, whether you’re talking about the Wildcats winning the national championship in 1997, the Cavaliers doing it 22 years later or the many stars the programs have sent to the NBA and overseas. They also have developing reputations for NCAA...
Biden hosting Irish prime minister on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to host Ireland’s prime minister on Friday, after the covid pandemic scuttled the longstanding St. Patrick’s Day meetup two years in a row. Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner, Matthew Barrett, will attend a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris...
Death toll rises, locals pick up pieces after Cyclone Freddy
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Authorities are still getting to grips with the scale of Cyclone Freddy’s destruction in Malawi and Mozambique since late Saturday, with over 370 people confirmed dead, several hundreds still missing and tens of thousands displaced. On Friday, Malawi authorities said Freddy killed at least 326 people, with...
Prince Harry sues tabloid for defamation over security story
LONDON — Lawyers for Prince Harry asked a judge Friday to rule that a tabloid newspaper libeled the British royal with an article about his quest for police protection when he and his family visit the U.K. Harry is suing Mail on Sunday publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article...
Somerset County DA convicted of sex assault
SOMERSET — A Western Pennsylvania county prosecutor was in jail Friday after jurors convicted him of six charges for an attack on a woman while acquitting him of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault. The verdict against suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas was issued Thursday after less...
Penn State dominates Texas A&M for 1st NCAA Tournament win since ’01
DES MOINES, Iowa — Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State’s biggest stage in more than two decades. Funk went 8 of 10 on 3-pointers and scored 27 points Thursday night in a 76-59 win over Texas A&M for the Nittany Lions’ first NCAA Tournament...
MLB umpires will have a new view this season — on Zoom
NEW YORK — Umpires will have a new view this season: on Zoom. Major League Baseball struck a deal with Zoom Video Communications Inc. allowing on-field umpires to watch the replay operations center evaluating contested calls. MLB first adopted instant replay in September 2008 for home boundary calls and expanded...
California to overhaul San Quentin prison, emphasizing rehab
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The infamous state prison on San Francisco Bay that has been home to the largest death row population in the United States will be transformed into a lockup where less-dangerous prisoners will receive education, training and rehabilitation, California officials announced Thursday. The inmates serving death sentences at...
BNSF trains derail in Washington, Arizona; no injuries
ANACORTES, Wash. — Two BNSF trains derailed in separate incidents in Arizona and Washington state on Thursday, with the latter spilling diesel fuel on tribal land along Puget Sound. No injuries were reported. It wasn’t clear what caused either derailment. The derailment in Washington occurred on a berm along Padilla...
NFL wants judge to send discrimination claims to arbitrator
NEW YORK — NFL lawyers are urging a New York judge to change her mind and agree to let racial discrimination claims against the league and its teams go to arbitration rather than trial. In written arguments late Wednesday, the lawyers said Judge Valerie E. Caproni in Manhattan should reverse...
Princeton stuns Arizona 59-55 in March MadnessVideo
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tosan Evbuomwan and Princeton used a late-game run to earn the school’s first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, topping No. 2 seed Arizona, 59-55, on Thursday. The 15th-seeded Tigers (22-9) scored the final nine points to finish the upset, holding the Pac-12 Tournament champion scoreless over...
Fed lent $300B in emergency funds to banks in the past week
WASHINGTON — Cash-short banks have borrowed about $300 billion from the Federal Reserve in the past week, the Fed announced Thursday. Nearly half the money — $143 billion — went to holding companies for two major banks that failed over the past week, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, triggering...
Covid-19 pill Paxlovid moves closer to full FDA approval
WASHINGTON — Pfizer’s covid-19 pill Paxlovid won another vote of confidence from U.S. health advisers Thursday, clearing the way for its full regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration. The medication has been used by millions of Americans since the FDA granted it emergency use authorization in late 2021....
Bengals running back Joe Mixon armed in shooting but fired no shots
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was armed with a legal weapon when a teenage boy was shot near the player’s home earlier this month but he did not fire the gun or do anything illegal, authorities said Thursday as they announced the indictments of Mixon’s sister and...
Yellen tells Congress U.S. banking system ‘remains sound’
WASHINGTON — A week after the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday that the nation’s banking system “remains sound” and Americans “can feel confident” about their deposits. Her remarks, coming against the backdrop of deepening concerns about the health...
Poland to be 1st NATO member to give Ukraine fighter jets
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s president said Thursday that his country plans to give Ukraine around a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfill the Ukrainian government’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes. President Andrzej Duda said Poland would hand over four of the Soviet-made...
Military moves to cut suicides, but defers action on guns
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care on Thursday to reduce suicides in the military, but held off on endorsing more controversial recommendations to restrict gun and ammunition purchases by young troops, sending them to another panel for study. An...
AP sources: Banks working on rescue plan for First Republic
NEW YORK — A group of Wall Street banks is planning a rescue package of around $30 billion for First Republic Bank, sources told The Associated Press on Thursday. The rescue package comes as San Francisco-based First Republic has been battered by investors and worries have grown that the midsized...
JP Pegues’ 3 gives No. 13 seed Furman upset win over Virginia
ORLANDO, Fla. — JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia another first-round NCAA Tournament loss, 68-67, on Thursday. Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, the Paladins...
Maryland edges West Virginia in NCAA Tournament’s 1st round
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a game that began before lunchtime, Maryland sleepwalked through the first 10 minutes of its NCAA Tournament opener. Coach Kevin Willard wasn’t concerned. He knew there was still time for a wake-up call. Julian Reese and Maryland topped West Virginia, 67-65, on Thursday after Kedrian Johnson...
