Associated Press stories, Page 1495
Ohio Supreme Court again scraps GOP-drawn Statehouse maps
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday rejected a second set of Ohio Statehouse district maps that retained strong Republican majorities as gerrymandered — and sent them back for a third try. In yet another 4-3 ruling, the high court found the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission’s second attempt at...
AP: Saints pick Dennis Allen to replace Sean Payton as coachVideo
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints have promoted defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach, two people familiar with the decision said Monday. The people spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Saints have not announced their chosen replacement for Sean Payton, who resigned nearly...
U.S., Japan reach deal to make most steel imports tax-free
U.S. government officials said Monday that they reached an agreement to essentially lift the 25% tariff that former President Donald Trump imposed on imported Japanese steel. The deal with Japan would exclude the first 1.25 million metric tons of imported steel from the tax. That amount of steel is equal...
Trial set for ex-Angels employee over role in pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ deathVideo
A former Los Angeles Angels employee accused of providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs with the drugs that caused his overdose death is set to go on trial in Texas, where Skaggs died in 2019. Eric Prescott Kay faces charges of drug distribution and drug conspiracy in Skaggs’ death. Jury selection...
World Cup doubts see Britain-Ireland drop 2030 bid, target EurosVideo
Doubts and disputes over FIFA’s push for biennial World Cups contributed to Britain and Ireland dropping plans for a joint bid to host the 2030 edition and opting Monday to pursue the 2028 European Championship instead. A potential rival also moved aside when Italy switched its focus on bidding for...
Supreme Court sides with GOP in Alabama election map caseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold a lower court ruling that Alabama must draw new congressional districts before the 2022 elections, boosting Republican chances to hold six of the state’s seven seats in the House of Representatives. The court’s action, by a 5-4 vote, means the...
Peter Thiel leaving board of Facebook parent Meta
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire and advisor to former President Donald Trump, is leaving the board of directors of Facebook parent company Meta. The company said Monday that Thiel will stay on until Meta’s next shareholder meeting later this year, where he will not stand...
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...
