Associated Press stories, Page 1415
Governors in 4 states plan for end to school mask mandatesVideo
TRENTON, N.J. — The governors of four states announced plans Monday to lift statewide mask requirements in schools by the end of February or March, citing the rapid easing of covid-19′s omicron surge. The decisions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon were announced as state and local governments grapple...
U.S. warns midterms could spark calls for extremist violence
WASHINGTON — The upcoming midterm elections are emerging as a rallying point for domestic extremists and foreign adversaries seeking to disrupt the U.S. and incite violence, the Department of Homeland Security warned Monday. Unsubstantiated fraud claims, which have haunted the country since the 2020 presidential election, may be used to...
Police: 1 killed in shooting at Washington state grocery store
RICHLAND, Wash. — Police say one person was killed and another injured Monday morning in a shooting at a Fred Meyer store in Richland, Wash. Police said the suspect is a white man with a handgun who is believed to have fled the store after the 11:04 a.m. shooting. Richland...
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he regrets his campaign’s tweet attacking teen
RICHMOND — Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Monday that he regrets what he called an “unauthorized” tweet sent from his campaign account over the weekend that attacked a high school student and invoked a scandal previous Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam faced. “On Saturday night, an unauthorized tweet came from...
IRS to end use of facial recognition to identify taxpayers
WASHINGTON — The IRS said Monday it will suspend the use of facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice was criticized by privacy advocates and lawmakers. The agency said it would no longer use a third-party service, called ID.me, for facial recognition. Critics of...
Analysis: Bengals provide hope, blueprint for lowly teams
The Cincinnati Bengals were downright dreadful at this time two years ago. They were the worst team in the NFL, coming off a 2-14 season with a first-year head coach and facing the franchise-shaping decision of who to take with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Things worked...
AP source: Texans expected to hire Lovie Smith as new head coach
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are expected to hire Lovie Smith as their head coach, a person familiar with the process told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity Monday because the team had not announced that Smith would be hired. The same...
MLB, players stop drug testing during lockout
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has stopped testing players for steroids for the first time in nearly 20 years due to the expiration of the sport’s drug agreement, two people familiar with the sport’s Joint Drug Program told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Monday...
Muscogee dismayed by nearly naked statue of Georgia ancestor
ATLANTA — There’s a problem with putting someone on a pedestal: Exposed on all sides, a hero to some can be seen as a traitor to others. Atlanta plans to install a statue of a Native American man atop a 110-foot column in its new Peace Park, where it will...
Review: The long-delayed ‘Death on the Nile’ runs agroundVideo
Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptation “Death on the Nile” begins with a flashback to the trenches of World War I before shifting to 1930s London two decades later, but that’s nothing compared to the time that’s passed since Branagh’s preceding 2017 whodunit “Murder on the Orient Express.” That film, which...
Florida enters AP women’s hoops poll; South Carolina No. 1
Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley has the Gators playing their best basketball in years, with wins over four ranked teams in their past five games. Buoyed by that success, the Gators jumped into The Associated Press women’s basketball poll at No. 19 on Monday, the team’s first ranking since 2016....
Black colleges alarmed by bomb threats, but undeterred
From her office in Birmingham, Alabama, DeJuana Thompson looks across the street and sees a daily reminder of terror. Her window overlooks the 16th Street Baptist Church, where a bomb in 1963 killed four young Black girls. “Living in the era of bomb threats is not new to people of...
Temple professor asks court to reinstate lawsuit against FBI
A Temple University physicist who was charged with sharing scientific technology with China only for the case to collapse before trial and be dismissed by the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Monday to reinstate his lawsuit against the U.S. government. Lawyers for Xiaoxing Xi and his wife...
Auburn, Gonzaga stay 1-2 in AP Top 25; Texas Tech up to 9th
Auburn remained No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week, while Texas Tech cracked the top 10 and Murray State joined the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers earned 48 of 61 first-place votes to stay ahead...
Ukraine crisis talks move to Moscow and Washington
MOSCOW — International efforts to defuse the standoff over Ukraine intensified Monday, with French President Emmanuel Macron holding talks in Moscow and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington to coordinate policies as fears of a Russian invasion mounted. The buildup of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fueled...
Bicyclist falls to her death from rising Florida drawbridge
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A bicyclist fell to her death when a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to the Florida mainland began rising before she could reach the other side. A bystander tried to pull her to safety but lost his grip, officials said. The woman was walking her bicycle...
For food lovers, Valentine’s Day is a time for indulgences
Pandemic Valentine’s Day No. 2… are we having fun yet? Some folks will be heading to restaurants for romantic, socially distanced dinners (oh, life these days is filled with oxymorons). But many of us will be hunkering down at home, celebrating our partnerships (or friends or roommates) as best we...
Cyclone kills 20 in Madagascar but quickly weakens on land
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Cyclone Batsirai is blamed for the deaths of 20 people in Madagascar and for making more than 55,000 people homeless victims after slamming into the island’s eastern coast, officials said Monday. The tropical storm weakened quickly as it moved southwest across the island, missing the capital Antananarivo...
Iraqi lawmakers fail to elect new president amid boycott
BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers failed to elect a new head of state Monday, as key factions foiled the attempt by boycotting the parliament session. A two-thirds quorum of the legislature’s 329 members is required for an electoral session. Monday’s vote could not be held as lawmakers, many of them allied...
Taylor Greene faces GOP challengers in changing Ga. district
HIRAM, Ga. — In her pitch to voters, Jennifer Strahan introduces herself as a mother, a Christian and a conservative. She usually skips over the fellow Republican she hopes to topple later this spring: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. That’s because virtually everyone in this northwest Georgia congressional district already has...
White House: Top scientist resigns over treatment of staff
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s top science adviser Dr. Eric Lander resigned Monday, hours after the White House confirmed that an internal investigation found credible evidence that he mistreated his staff. An internal review last year, prompted by a workplace complaint, found evidence that Lander, the director of the Office...
Peng Shuai emerges at Olympics, gives controlled interview
BEIJING — Nothing to see here, move on. That was the message that Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai delivered Monday in a controlled interview in Beijing that touched on sexual assault allegations she made against a former high-ranking member of China’s ruling Communist Party. Her answers — delivered in front...
Miserable day on slopes for American stars Mikaela Shiffrin, Red Gerard
BEIJING — It was a miserable day on the mountains outside Beijing for American stars Mikaela Shiffrin and Red Gerard. Shiffrin’s opening race in the Beijing Olympics ended quickly with a rare mistake and a rare DNF — Did Not Finish. Favored to defend her gold medal in the giant...
Canada, ROC women mask up on Olympic ice amid covid concerns
BEIJING — It’s hard enough facing a deep and talented hockey powerhouse such as Canada in normal circumstances. Try doing it wearing a mask, Russian forward Alexandra Vafina joked. “Against Canada with the mask on? It was an experience,” she said following a 6-1 loss in a Group A preliminary...
Biden task force releasing report to strengthen labor unions
A Biden administration task force on organized labor is issuing a set of recommendations that could make it easier for federal workers and contractors to unionize. The report submitted to President Joe Biden included 70 distinct policy proposals, according to a release by the White House. Biden created the task...
