Associated Press stories, Page 1049
NFL infuses Pro Bowl with points system, flag football
LAS VEGAS — The NFL finally stopped pretending its all-star game was an actual game and is breathing life into the exhibition with Sunday’s Pro Bowl Games. There will be no tackle football played for the first time — not that there was much tackling in recent years, more like...
New-look Joey Logano leads NASCAR back to the L.A. ColiseumVideo
LOS ANGELES — Joey Logano arrived at the first event of the season with a jet black shock of thick hair and a banner in the grandstands advertising the company that treated NASCAR’s reigning champion for alopecia and early baldness. “Ask Joey!” the company Hairclub urged on a banner draped...
Strong wind suspends 3rd round at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — A strong wind was more than just a menace at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It brought the tournament to a halt Saturday because of two holes on one of the courses and set up a Monday finish without the amateurs. Keith Mitchell made it through...
MVP Matthew Tkachuk lifts Atlantic to NHL All-Star Game winVideo
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk was right at home at the NHL All-Star Game. Again. Detroit’s Dylan Larkin had a hat trick, Toronto’s Mitch Marner had three assists and the Atlantic Division topped the Central Division, 7-5, in the All-Star Game final on Saturday. All-Star Game MVP Tkachuk —...
Super Bowl-bound Chiefs are built around Patrick Mahomes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are built around their half-billion dollar All-Pro quarterback, and for the past five years, Super Bowl-bound Patrick Mahomes has made everyone else around him all the more valuable. He’s taken marginal wide receivers and turned them into stars. Mediocre offensive linemen became...
U.S. downs Chinese balloon over ocean, moves to recover debris
WASHINGTON — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing. An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters to recover debris from the...
Tesla hikes price of Model Y after U.S. alters tax credit rule
DETROIT — Tesla has raised prices on its Model Y in the U.S., apparently due to rising demand and changes in U.S. government rules that make more versions of the small SUV eligible for tax credits. The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle company bumped up the price of the Model Y...
Dangerously cold temperatures envelop Northeast
BOSTON — Arctic air descended into the Northeast on Saturday morning, bringing dangerously cold sub-zero temperatures and wind chills that dropped to minus 45 to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 43 to minus 45 C) in many areas. Atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the overnight wind chill...
Route to Super Bowl is long, dangerous for Mexican avocados
SANTA ANA ZIROSTO, Mexico — It is a long and sometimes dangerous journey for avocados destined for guacamole on tables and tailgates in the United States during the Super Bowl. It starts in villages like Santa Ana Zirosto, high in the misty, pine-clad mountains of the western Mexico state of...
Super Bowl-bound Eagles are built around QB Jalen Hurts
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020 came with as much hand-wringing as intrigue regarding how to use the talented Heisman Trophy finalist. The Eagles already had quarterback Carson Wentz locked into a $128 million contract. They certainly had more pressing needs at the time...
‘Died suddenly’ posts twist tragedies to push vaccine lies
Results from 6-year-old Anastasia Weaver’s autopsy may take weeks. But online anti-vaccine activists needed only hours after her funeral this week to baselessly blame the covid-19 vaccine. A prolific Twitter account posted Anastasia’s name and smiling dance portrait in a tweet with a syringe emoji. A Facebook user messaged her...
Q&A: Shania Twain talks rebuilding confidence with new album
LOS ANGELES — Shania Twain felt the need on her new album to empower herself the same way she has uplifted listeners with hits like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face.” So she set aside all feelings of self consciousness — appearing braless...
Why a new Alzheimer’s drug is having a slow U.S. debut
The first drug to show that it slows Alzheimer’s is on sale, but treatment for most patients is still several months away. Two big factors behind the slow debut, experts say, are scant insurance coverage and a long setup time needed by many health systems. Patients who surmount those challenges...
Electronic pollbook security raises concerns going into 2024
ATLANTA — They were blamed for long lines in Los Angeles during California’s 2020 presidential primary, triggered check-in delays in Columbus, Ohio, a few months later and were at the center of former President Donald Trump’s call for supporters to protest in Detroit during last November’s midterms. High-profile problems involving...
Disney World unions vote down offer covering 45,000 workers
ORLANDO, Fla. — Union members voted down a contract proposal covering tens of thousands of Walt Disney World service workers, saying it didn’t go far enough toward helping employees face cost-of-living hikes in housing and other expenses in central Florida. The unions said that 13,650 out of 14,263 members who...
State of the Union: Biden sees economic glow, GOP sees gloom
WASHINGTON — Going into Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden sees a nation with its future aglow. Republicans take a far bleaker view — that the country is beset by crushing debt and that Biden is largely responsible for inflation. And the GOP now holds a House...
Democrats set to shake up start of 2024 presidential primary
PHILADELPHIA — Democrats are poised to reorder their presidential primary schedule beginning next year, replacing Iowa with South Carolina in the leadoff spot as part of a major overhaul meant to empower Black and other minority voters critical to the party’s base of support. The Democratic National Committee has worked...
Sidney Crosby dunked, Alex Ovechkin’s son takes ice at NHL skills competitionVideo
SUNRISE, Fla. — Sidney Crosby got dunked into a tank of water, Nick Suzuki holed a golf ball with a hockey stick and the NHL made hockey an outdoor sport for its skills showcase in South Florida. Two new events outside in the sun highlighted the league’s annual skills competition...
50-car train derailment causes big fire, evacuations in Ohio
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below. About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine as a train...
A surprising burst of U.S. hiring in January: 517,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — For nearly a year, the Federal Reserve has been on a mission to cool down the job market to help curb the nation’s worst inflation bout in four decades. The job market hasn’t been cooperating. Consider what happened in January: The government said Friday that employers added a...
Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs
WASHINGTON — Navy ships are getting fewer steaming hours because of growing maintenance delays and costs, a troubling trend that comes as at time when the U.S. is struggling to keep pace with China’s growing fleet. Operating and support costs grew by about $2.5 billion across 10 ship classes while...
Biden sounds ready to seek 2nd term while rallying Democrats
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden sounded like a candidate making his case for a second term Friday night as he rallied a raucous meeting of national Democrats who chanted, “Four more years!” The only thing missing was an official announcement — that’s not expected for at least several weeks. Speaking...
Feds say cyberattack caused suicide helpline’s outage
WASHINGTON — A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials told The Associated Press Friday. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. “On December 1, the voice calling functionality...
From Reid to Super Bowls, Eagles 4 stalwarts done it allVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce felt the pull of retirement after the Eagles slogged through a miserable 2020 season and a second Super Bowl any time soon seemed like a joke. He considered walking away at the end of last season. His future was one of the more pressing offseason questions,...
Ex-prosecutor’s new book details fight over indicting Trump
NEW YORK — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office again ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor who once led the probe details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new D.A. that...
