Associated Press stories, Page 1458
Amazon settles with NLRB to give workers power to organize
NEW YORK — Amazon, under pressure to improve worker rights, has reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board to allow its workers to freely organize — and without retaliation. According to the agreement, the online behemoth said it would reach out to its warehouse workers — former and...
U.K. data suggest hospitalization is less likely with omicron
LONDON — Preliminary data suggest that people with the omicron variant of the coronavirus are between 50% and 70% less likely to need hospitalization than those with the delta strain, Britain’s public health agency said Thursday. The U.K. Health Security Agency findings add to emerging evidence that omicron produces milder...
Trump asks Supreme Court to block release of documents
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump turned to the Supreme Court on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to keep documents away from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol led by his supporters. Trump’s attorneys asked the Supreme Court to reverse lower court rulings against the...
‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski moved to prison medical facility
The man known as the “Unabomber” has been transferred to a federal prison medical facility in North Carolina after spending the past two decades in a federal Supermax prison in Colorado for a series of bombings targeting scientists. Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, 79, was moved to the U.S. Bureau of Prison’s...
Duck! Flying squirrels take to the air in Nebraska city
LINCOLN, Neb. — A crew cutting down a dying oak at the University of Nebraska made a surprising find — flying squirrels. A video shot by a member of the crew made its way to Larkin Powell, a conservation biology professor. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that he was surprised...
Jason Bateman named Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Jason Bateman was named the 2022 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals on Thursday, the first recipient of the award since 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Bateman, an actor, producer and director on the Netflix series “Ozark,” who also played a starring...
New home sales jump 12.4% in November, highest in 7 months
WASHINGTON — Sales of new single-family homes rose 12.4% in November, the fastest pace in seven months, as the housing industry continued to benefit from low mortgage rates and strong demand. The November increase pushed the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace to 744,000 last month, the best showing since reaching...
Actor who played ‘Home Alone’ brother arrested in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY — “Home Alone” actor Devin Ratray surrendered to authorities in Oklahoma on Wednesday after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, police said. Ratray, who played older brother Buzz McAllister in the 1990 Christmas movie, was released from jail shortly after his booking on two domestic assault and...
Army stuns Missouri in Armed Forces Bowl on last-second FG
FORT WORTH, Texas — Cole Talley kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired and Army rallied to beat Missouri, 24-22, in the Armed Forces Bowl on Wednesday night. After the Tigers took a 22-21 lead on a touchdown with 1:11 to play, third-string quarterback Jabari Laws led Army (9-4)...
U.S. adds Merck’s covid pill as 2nd easy-to-use drug against virus
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against covid-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections. The Food and Drug Administration authorization comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. That pill is likely to become the...
Consumer prices up 5.7% over past year, fastest in 39 years
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years, as a surge in inflation confronts Americans with the holiday shopping season under way. The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending in...
U.S. jobless claims unchanged at 205,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at a historically low level that reflects the job market’s strong recovery from the coronavirus recession last year. Jobless claims remained at 205,000. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, rose to just over...
Greece cancels Christmas events, brings back mask mandate
ATHENS, Greece — Christmas concerts and other events have been canceled in Greece under new restrictions announced Thursday that include a general mask mandate for outdoors and all public areas. Incoming travelers will also be required to have follow-up tests for covid-19 on the second and fourth days after their...
This date in sports history: Dec. 23
1933 — Montreal’s Howie Morenz scores his 251st goal to become the NHL’s career goal-scoring leader. Morenz’s goal caps the Canadiens’ 3-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. 1951 — Norm Van Brocklin’s 73-yard touchdown pass to Tom Fears in the fourth quarter gives the Los Angeles Rams a 24-17...
He wore a wire, risked his life to expose who was in the KKK
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For nearly 10 years, Joseph Moore lived a secret double life. At times the U.S. Army veteran donned a white robe and hood as a hit man for the Ku Klux Klan in North Florida. He attended clandestine meetings and participated in cross burnings. He even helped...
Kim Potter guilty of manslaughter in Daunte Wright’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser was convicted of manslaughter Thursday in the death of Daunte Wright, prompting tears from the young Black man’s parents and a jubilant celebration by supporters outside the courthouse who chanted “Guilty, guilty, guilty!” The...
Supreme Court will hear arguments on Biden vaccine requirements
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says it will hold a special session in just over two weeks to hear arguments on the Biden administration’s vaccine or testing requirement for large employers and a separate vaccine requirement for healthcare workers, an announcement that comes amid rising coronavirus cases. The high court...
Sean McNeil gets hot, sparks West Virginia to rout of Youngstown StateVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sean McNeil hit four 3-pointers in five minutes, two in a 14-0 run when he scored the last eight points, and West Virginia raced past Youngstown State in the second half for an 82-52 win on Wednesday night. McNeil, who only attempted one shot in the first...
AP: NFL discussed game cancellations because of covid-19Video
With a surge of covid-19 cases threatening to disrupt the NFL season last week, the league discussed canceling games for the first time since the pandemic began. In talks with the NFL Players Association, canceling games involving Washington, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Rams was considered because of coronavirus outbreaks...
Omicron less likely to put you in the hospital, studies contend
Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact omicron spreads much faster...
No new positive covid cases for Chiefs; Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill remain outVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had no additional positive covid-19 tests Wednesday, a day after seven players were added to the reserve list, a promising sign that an outbreak that infected 16 players might have subsided. Now, the question facing the Chiefs — and many other teams...
NFL head coaches Robert Saleh, Nick Sirianni among latest positive casesVideo
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The Cleveland Browns got their coach back on the sideline. The New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles might be without theirs this weekend. The Buffalo Bills will be without wide receiver Cole Beasley, who has been among the NFL’s most outspoken critics of vaccinations. Browns...
$475M settlement proposed in longest-running U.S. oil spill
NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans-based oil company has agreed to turn over a $432 million cleanup trust fund and pay an additional $43 million to settle a federal lawsuit over cleaning up abandoned wells leaking since 2004, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. “This settlement represents an important down payment to...
9 days after tornado, cat found in rubble of building
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nine days after a tornado demolished his three-story office building in downtown Mayfield, Ky., Sonny “Hoot” Gibson was standing in the rubble when he thought he heard a faint meow. It instantly gave him hope that his office cat, Madix, who hadn’t been seen since before the...
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked in Philadelphia park, uninjured
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked in a south Philadelphia park, according to her office, which says she was uninjured. Communications Director Lauren Cox said Scanlon had attended a meeting in FDR Park and was carjacked at gunpoint in the park at about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. Cox...
