Associated Press stories, Page 1077
Judges weigh GOP bid to delay 2 Pa. House special elections
HARRISBURG — Preparations are far along for two Pittsburgh-area special elections that the Republican leader of the Pennsylvania House has filed a lawsuit to delay past their scheduled date in early February. With Democrats and Republicans nearly even in the state House, the two special elections could determine partisan control...
Pennsylvania Senate bill aims to undo 2023 gas tax increase
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Wednesday voted to undo an automatic wholesale tax increase on gasoline and diesel that kicks in this year in an effort to prevent motorists from paying more per gallon. The vote, 29-19, sent the bill to the state House of Representatives, where a partisan...
Jeff Beck, guitar god who influenced generations, dies at 78
NEW YORK — Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, has died. He was 78. Beck died Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis,” his representatives...
Can U.S. avoid a recession? As inflation eases, optimism rises
WASHINGTON — For months, the outlook for the U.S. economy has been a mostly bleak one: Inflation hitting a four-decade high, consumer spending weakening, interest rates surging. Most economists penciled in a recession for 2023. An economic downturn is still possible. Yet in recent weeks, with inflation showing widespread signs...
Flight delayed or canceled? Experts share some advice
Thousands of travelers were stranded at U.S. airports Wednesday due to an hours-long computer outage. More than 1,100 U.S. flights were canceled and nearly 8,000 flights were delayed as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Even though the Federal Aviation Administration was at fault for the outage,...
Haitians seizing on legal path to U.S. rush to secure passport
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hundreds of Haitians are flocking daily to the sole immigration office in Port-au-Prince, pressing against the bright blue gate as they strain to hear whether their name is called, hoping they will soon be chosen to live legally in the U.S. under a new immigration plan. The...
Tatjana Patitz, supermodel of ’80s and ’90s, dies at 56
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and ’90s and appeared in George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90” music video, has died at age 56. Patitz’s death in the Santa Barbara, California, area was confirmed by her New...
6 stabbed in Paris train station, attacker shot by police
PARIS — An attacker wounded six people in an unprovoked blade attack in Paris’ busy Gare du Nord train station Wednesday morning before being shot and wounded by police, France’s interior minister said, praising the swift intervention of police for helping prevent any fatalities. The suspect attacked several people, including...
Russia will launch new capsule to return space station crew
MOSCOW — Russia will send up a new capsule next month to bring back three space station crew members whose original ride home was damaged, officials said Wednesday. The two Russians and one American will stay several extra months at the International Space Station as a result of the capsule...
U.S., Japan to boost security, military cooperation
WASHINGTON — The United States and Japan plan to boost military and security cooperation as their top national security officials hold talks on Wednesday. The U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers are set to agree to adjust the American troop presence on the island of Okinawa. And, as they...
Naomi Osaka says she’s pregnant, plans tennis return in 2024
Naomi Osaka is pregnant and plans to return to competition in 2024, the tennis star announced Wednesday. The former world No. 1 posted what she called “a little life update for 2023” on social media, including a picture of an ultrasound. The 25-year-old Osaka has been dating Cordae, a rapper,...
Montgomery, Brind’Amour, DeBoer, Cassidy to coach NHL All-Stars
Boston’s Jim Montgomery will coach the Atlantic Division, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour the Metropolitan, Dallas’ Peter DeBoer the Central and Vegas’ Bruce Cassidy the Pacific at NHL All-Star Weekend. They were chosen because each of their teams is atop the division at the midway point of the season. The league announced...
Electric vehicles win truck, utility of the year awards
PONTIAC, Mich. — Electric vehicles took two of three categories for the first time in this year’s North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards. Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup won the truck category, while Kia’s EV6 battery-powered EV was named the top SUV. The Integra, a small...
Oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor marks 105th birthday
NEW ORLEANS — Flag-waving admirers lined the sidewalk outside the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on Wednesday to greet the oldest living survivor of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor as he marked his upcoming 105th birthday. “It feels great,” Joseph Eskenazi of Redondo Beach, California, told...
Tua Tagovailoa ruled out of Dolphins’ playoff game vs. Bills
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has not been cleared to return to football activities and has been ruled out for Sunday’s playoff game against the Buffalo Bills as he remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol, coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday. The Dolphins are preparing for rookie...
NFL Pro Bowl skills competitions announced
LAS VEGAS — The NFL announced all eight skills competitions for its revamped Pro Bowl week on Wednesday. Five of the events will be Feb. 2 at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, the headquarters for the Las Vegas Raiders. Those will be televised but not open to the public. The rest...
Bills safety Damar Hamlin released from the hospital
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills safety Damar Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday, more than a week after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated during a game at Cincinnati, after his doctors said they completed a series of tests. A news release from...
George Santos refuses to resign despite political pressureVideo
NEW YORK — State and local Republican leaders in New York on Wednesday called for the immediate resignation of their new GOP congressman George Santos, who is facing multiple investigations by prosecutors over his personal and campaign finances and lies about his resume and family heritage. “His lies were not...
NFL offseason a mental, physical reboot process for players
Aaron Rodgers hits the beach and has even hosted a TV game show. Alvin Kamara has snowboarded in the mountains of Montana. Quinton Jefferson takes his kids to school and runs errands. Sheldon Rankins catches up on cooking and traveling. Game plans and practices are replaced in the NFL offseason...
CES 2023: 10 tech innovations that caught our eye
LAS VEGAS — From electric cars and boats to wireless TVs to the latest phones and tablets, there was a wide range of innovations on display at the CES tech show in Last Vegas last week. Some of it aimed to solve big real world problems. Some of it aimed...
Ukraine says mining town holding out against Russian assault
KYIV, Ukraine — The fate of a devastated salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine hung in the balance Wednesday as Ukraine said its forces were holding out against a furious Russian onslaught in one of the fiercest and costliest recent ground battles of the nearly 11-month war. Soledar was under heavy...
Record 5 1st-year coaches lead teams into NFL postseason
Coaching changes paid off in a big way for several NFL teams this season. From impressive turnarounds for Jacksonville and the New York Giants to big boosts for Minnesota and Miami, a record-setting five of the 10 teams that hired new coaches for the 2022 season made the playoffs. Doug...
Supreme Court lets New York enforce gun law during lawsuit
WASHINGTON — New York can for now continue to enforce a sweeping new law that bans guns from “sensitive places” such as schools, playgrounds and Times Square, the Supreme Court said Wednesday, allowing the law to be in force while a lawsuit over it plays out. The justices turned away...
Oil price cap takes small slice of Russia’s revenue
FRANKFURT, Germany — A price cap and European Union embargo on most Russian oil have cut into Moscow’s revenue from fossil fuels, but the Kremlin is still earning substantial cash to fund its action in Ukraine because the $60-per-barrel cap was “too lenient,” researchers said Wednesday. The combination of the...
Japan, South Korea protest China visa stoppage in covid spat
TOKYO — Japan and South Korea defended their public health restrictions on travelers from China on Wednesday, a day after China stopped issuing new visas in both countries in apparent retaliation. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said he finds it “significantly regrettable” that China stopped issuing short-term visas to...
