Associated Press stories, Page 1502
Stocks rise on Wall Street, extending their weekly gainsVideo
Another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street ended with more gains for stocks Wednesday, as the latest batch of company earnings reports kept investors in a buying mood. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% after having briefly dipped into the red in the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Spieth, Cantlay carry load of limited star power at PebbleVideo
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Patrick Cantlay was 12 when his father first brought him to Pebble Beach, and it remains one of his favorite golf courses in the world. “Every time I’m here I feel lucky and no different this week,” he said. Jordan Spieth feels the same way. He...
FBI confirms it bought spyware from Israel’s NSO Group
WASHINGTON — The FBI has confirmed purchasing NSO Group’s powerful spyware tool Pegasus, whose chronic abuse to surveil journalists, dissidents and human rights activists has long been established. It suggested its motivation was to “stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft.” The agency added in a statement Wednesday that it...
Media barred from Justice Gorsuch talk to Federalist Society
WASHINGTON — Justice Neil Gorsuch is speaking this weekend to the conservative legal group that boosted his Supreme Court candidacy, in a session at a Florida resort that is closed to news coverage. Gorsuch is billed as the banquet speaker Friday at the Florida chapter of the Federalist Society’s annual...
4 charged in overdose death of actor Michael K. WilliamsVideo
NEW YORK — Four men face charges that they were members of the drug distribution crew that supplied a deadly mix of narcotics to Michael K. Williams, the renowned actor from “The Wire” who overdosed just hours after buying fentanyl-laced heroin in a deal recorded on security camera video. The...
Army to immediately start discharging vaccine refusers
WASHINGTON — The Army said Wednesday it will immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory covid-19 vaccine, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon. The Army’s announcement makes it the final military service to lay out its discharge policy for...
Wolf, Democrats outline proposal for $1.7B in pandemic funds
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s governor and his Democratic allies in the Legislature on Wednesday laid out a proposal to spend federal pandemic relief money on workers, environmental and climate change programs as well as a one-time property tax subsidy for lower-income homeowners and renters. The plan was announced less than a...
Pennsylvania high court to decide congressional district map
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Democratic-majority Supreme Court wrested control Wednesday of choosing new district lines for the state’s shrinking congressional delegation, a process that deadlocked the governor and Legislature. The five Democratic justices issued an order directing a lower judge to give them a report by Monday that recommends a new...
America East bans Stony Brook from conference tournaments
Stony Brook’s basketball teams will need to receive at-large bids to the NCAAs if the Seawolves want to make it to the tournament this year. The America East announced Wednesday that the school is ineligible for conference postseason tournaments because it’s leaving for the Colonial Athletic Association next year. Stony...
Review: Journey to the origins of the Earth
“Otherlands: Journeys in Earth’s Extinct Ecosystems,” by Thomas Halliday (Random House) If there is one uncertainty that has persisted since the beginning of time, it’s our planet’s impermanence. Thomas Halliday ventures into the vastness of this predicament in his book “Otherlands: Journeys in Earth’s Extinct Ecosystems,” a compendium on Earth’s...
Winter storm packing snow, freezing rain moves across U.S.
CHICAGO — A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path brought a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to the middle section of the United States on Wednesday as airlines canceled hundreds of flights, governors urged residents to stay off roads and schools closed campuses. The...
Slow down: States get infrastructure cash for speed cameras
WASHINGTON — Drivers, beware: Speed cameras could be on their way to a location near you thanks to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law. Under new federal guidance issued Wednesday, states can now tap billions of federal highway dollars for roadway safety programs such as automated traffic enforcement. They are being...
Trump son, allies sued by witness from 1st impeachment case
WASHINGTON — A retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a pivotal witness in the first impeachment case against Donald Trump has sued the oldest son of the former president and other Trump allies, accusing them of participating in an “intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and retaliation” over his decision...
Taliban reopen universities for Afghan women in 6 provinces
ISLAMABAD — The Taliban on Wednesday said they have reopened public universities for women students in six of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, a move marking a major concession to international demands by the country’s new rulers. Since they swept into power in mid-August, the international community has watched to see whether...
Longest lightning bolt record: 477 miles over 3 states
A bolt of lightning that stretched nearly 500 miles across three U.S. states is the new world record holder for longest flash. The single flash extended 477.2 miles across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi in April 2020, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday. That beat the old record set in 2018...
Shortened Olympic torch relay starts for Beijing Games
BEIJING — The three-day torch relay for the Beijing Olympics, shortened considerably because of concerns about the coronavirus, started Wednesday with an 80-year-old former speedskater carrying the flame. The relay opened at the Olympic Forest Park. Luo Zhihuan, the country’s first internationally competitive speedskater, ran the first leg. The torch...
Brian Flores says he won’t drop lawsuit even if hired as NFL coach
Brian Flores says his lawsuit against the NFL over alleged racist hiring practices will continue even if he becomes a head coach again this offseason. Flores interviewed with the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints, who have yet to fill their coaching vacancies. If they call, Flores will listen, but...
Tom Brady bids football adieu, thanks everyone — except Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The greatness of Tom Brady’s NFL career can’t be exaggerated. He took the New England Patriots to the upper echelon of the league during his 20-year run with the team, filling the franchise’s trophy case with six Lombardi trophies while cementing his own status as possibly the...
Biden sending more troops to Europe amid Ukraine tension
BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting roughly 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania as demonstrations of American commitments to NATO allies amid fears of a possible Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday. In announcing the moves,...
Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie among Rock Hall nominees
NEW YORK — Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran and A Tribe Called Quest are among this year’s first-time nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Cleveland-based institution announced 17 artists and groups being considered for Rock Hall induction, including Rage Against the Machine,...
Biden aims to reduce cancer deaths by 50% over next 25 years
President Joe Biden is committing to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% — a new goal for the “moonshot” initiative against the disease that was announced in 2016 when he was vice president. Biden has set a 25-year timeline for achieving that goal, part of his broader effort to...
Miami agrees to do something about its peacock problem
MIAMI — Peacocks could be on the outs in some South Florida neighborhoods after the Miami-Dade commission agreed to loosen a law protecting the birds. While the 20-year-old law still protects peacocks from harm, commissioners agreed Tuesday to allow cities to opt out if they present appropriate plans to humanely...
Washington’s NFL team unveils new name as Commanders
Washington’s NFL team is now known as the Commanders. The new name unveiled Wednesday comes 18 months after the once-storied franchise dropped its old moniker following decades of criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans and under fresh pressure from sponsors. The organization committed to avoiding Native American imagery...
Turkey: 12 migrants freeze to death after Greece pushback
ANKARA, Turkey — The bodies of 12 migrants who froze to death were found near Turkey’s border with Greece, the Turkish interior minister said Wednesday, accusing Greek border guards of pushing them back over the frontier. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said tweeted that the 12 were among 22 migrants who...
ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg over Holocaust race remarks
NEW YORK — Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended for two weeks as co-host of “The View” because of what the head of ABC News called her “wrong and hurtful comments” about Jews and the Holocaust. “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about...
