Associated Press stories, Page 1426
Nadal, Medvedev to meet in history-making Australian final
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal is within one victory of a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title. He’ll have to beat second-seedeed Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final on Sunday to make history. And Medvedev is chasing a piece of history of his own after beating Stefanos Tsitispas...
‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic resentenced to 21 years in prison
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge resentenced “Tiger King” Joe Exotic to 21 years in prison on Friday, reducing his punishment by just a year after an appeals court ordered a new sentence. Joe Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — was convicted in a murder-for-hire case involving...
Russia says U.S. ignored its security demands over Ukraine
MOSCOW — Russia said Friday it will not start a war in Ukraine but warned that the U.S. and NATO have ignored its demands and left little room for compromise in the crisis. President Vladimir Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron that the West has failed to consider Russia’s key...
Ex-cop’s trial for Breonna Taylor raid offers new chance for justice
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The only criminal trial to arise from the botched police raid that left Breonna Taylor dead gets underway Friday as hundreds of potential jurors gather at a Louisville courthouse in what activists see as a chance for justice. The former Louisville officer facing trial, Brett Hankison, was...
Young, hungry Bengals off to Kansas City to face grizzled Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have been in this position before. Walking across the cold Arrowhead Stadium parking lot, dressing in their revamped locker room, strolling through the narrow tunnel and spilling onto the field for the AFC title game. In fact, the Chiefs have done it...
Star-studded LA Rams host surging 49ers in NFC title game
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Aaron Donald has been around long enough to know he might not get this chance again. The same goes for everybody in the Los Angeles Rams’ constellation of stars around him. Late in his eighth NFL season as the best defensive lineman of his generation, Donald’s career...
WWE star Becky Lynch balances motherhood, beatdowns nearing Royal Rumble
Becky Lynch may have met her match for her toughest foe yet. Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan? Nah, defeated and dumped down the depth chart. Ric Flair? Not quite, largely because it’s a one-sided, old man yelling-at-the-clouds rivalry on the Nature Boy’s part. OK, Ronda Rousey? Hey, if the former...
Former Penn State kicker Robbie Gould shining in ‘Goulden’ years with 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When the San Francisco 49ers placed the franchise tag on Robbie Gould three years ago, the kicker had a decision to make. He could re-sign or hang up his cleats after a long, successful career and head back home to the Chicago area to be with...
Mike Macdonald returning to Ravens as defensive coordinator
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens hired Mike Macdonald as their defensive coordinator, bringing him back from the college ranks after a season at Michigan. The Ravens announced the move Thursday night. The 34-year-old Macdonald was Michigan’s defensive coordinator last season, when the Wolverines won the Big Ten and...
Sarah Palin dines out again in New York days after positive virus test
NEW YORK — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was spotted dining out at a New York City restaurant two days after testing positive for the coronavirus. The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee’s visit Wednesday to the upscale Manhattan eatery Elio’s drew attention from photo-snapping bystanders. It came shortly after she...
No. 1 Rahm shares lead with Thomas, Schenk at Torrey PinesVideo
SAN DIEGO — Top-ranked Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas made the birdies they needed to keep pace on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines on Thursday and shared the lead with hard-charging Adam Schenk after two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open. Schenk made eight straight birdies to shoot...
Key Pennsylvania Dems to miss Biden visit, cite scheduling conflicts
HARRISBURG — President Joe Biden will appear Friday in Pittsburgh as an opening step in a broader campaign to promote the White House’s achievements in key states before the midterm elections. But two of the three leading Democrats on Pennsylvania’s statewide ballot this spring who were invited to appear with...
Economy grew 5.7% in 2021 in rebound from 2020 recessionVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew last year at the fastest pace since Ronald Reagan’s presidency, bouncing back with resilience from 2020’s brief but devastating coronavirus recession. The nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — expanded 5.7% in 2021. It was the strongest calendar-year...
LeBron James, Ja Morant, Andrew Wiggins named All-Star starters
NEW YORK — LeBron James will return to Cleveland as an All-Star Game captain, and Ja Morant and Andrew Wiggins are headed there as first-time selections. MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry joined them Thursday as the other players voted as starters from the...
Hot streak: Nevada casinos win record $13.4 billion in 2021
LAS VEGAS — Nevada casinos continued a hot streak in December, tallying a 10th straight month of $1 billion or more in house winnings and propelling end-of-year figures to a record $13.4 billion. A Nevada Gaming Control Board report released Thursday provided more evidence that gambling recovered last year after...
Coast Guard to suspend search for migrants off FloridaVideo
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — The Coast Guard said Thursday that it had found four additional bodies in its search for dozens of migrants lost at sea off Florida but would suspend its rescue operations at sunset if it doesn’t receive any new information. Homeland Security Investigations officials said they were...
2 powerful drugs now adding to U.S. overdose crisis
NEW YORK — Emerging reports show that two little-known drugs are making lethal new contributions to America’s drug overdose crisis. Para-fluorofentanyl and metonitazene are being seen more often by medical examiners looking into overdose deaths, according to a government report published Thursday. They often are taken with — or mixed...
Alabama police chief quits amid questions over improper ticketingVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The police chief in a small Alabama town that received about half its municipal revenue from fines and forfeitures linked to aggressive traffic enforcement resigned this week as a result of a report about the practice. Mike Jones, chief of police in the Jefferson County town of...
Book about Holocaust banned in Tennessee school districtVideo
ATHENS, Tenn. — A Tennessee school district has voted to ban a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust due to “inappropriate language” and an illustration of a nude woman, according to minutes from a board meeting. The McMinn County School Board decided Jan. 10 to remove “Maus” from its...
AP source: Broncos finalizing deal with Packers OC Hackett
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos are finalizing a deal to hire Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was...
AP source: Bears hire Colts DC Matt Eberflus as head coach
CHICAGO — Indianapolis defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press, tasked with turning around a franchise mired in mediocrity for much of the past decade. The person confirmed the move to the...
Biden: 1st Black woman justice on high court ‘long overdue’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday affirmed his pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying it was “long overdue.” He praised retiring Justice Stephen Breyer as a model public servant and promised a nominee by the end of February. Breyer joined Biden at...
Michigan school shooting suspect to pursue insanity defense
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — A teenager charged with killing four students at Michigan high school will pursue an insanity defense, his lawyers said in a notice filed Thursday as he, his parents and school officials faced a new lawsuit over the attack at Oxford High School that killed four students....
Vaccine mandate for 1st wave of health care workers to kick in
Health care workers in Pennsylvania and about half the states face a Thursday deadline to get their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine under a Biden administration mandate that will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the coming weeks. While the requirement is welcomed by some,...
Kellyanne Conway memoir ‘Here’s the Deal’ coming out in May
Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has a memoir out May 24: “Here’s the Deal” is billed by her publisher as a look beyond the headlines of the Trump administration and her family life, including her husband and prominent Trump detractor, George Conway. “Not just the story of the White...
