Associated Press stories, Page 1518
Astros open ALDS with convincing win against White SoxVideo
HOUSTON — Lance McCullers Jr. was terrific. Yordan Alvarez delivered, and Jose Altuve scored on a nifty slide. The Houston Astros sure love October. McCullers pitched scoreless ball into the seventh inning, and the Astros beat Lance Lynn and the Chicago White Sox, 6-1, in Game 1 of their AL...
Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater returns to practice, could play vs. SteelersVideo
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Teddy Bridgewater’s chances of playing at Pittsburgh this weekend improved dramatically Thursday when he returned to practice four days after suffering a concussion against the Baltimore Ravens. Bridgewater worked with the starters and was listed as limited on the injury report. He remains in the NFL’s concussion...
Titans’ Bud Dupree says he rushed back from knee injury suffered while with SteelersVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Outside linebacker Bud Dupree said his mind, and pride, got ahead of his body in his recovery from a torn right ACL. Blame the eagerness of wanting to make a good impression with his new team, the Tennessee Titans, and introduce himself the right way to a...
NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney given key role in search for new crew chiefVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Blaney wanted a leadership role at Team Penske, a request granted when Roger Penske invited the driver to participate in interviews for Blaney’s new crew chief. Discussions were underway on who would replace Todd Gordon as leader of the No. 12 Ford when he retires at...
Big Ten welcomes changes, ‘normalcy’ as new basketball era beginsVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — When Big Ten basketball returned to Indianapolis on Thursday, it seemed like a whole new world. Coaches openly embraced the branding power and benefits players received from the name, image and likeness rules changes. Players talked about how the extra money has helped. Transfer talk was no longer...
Browns’ Baker Mayfield has torn labrum in left shoulderVideo
BEREA, Ohio — For now, Baker Mayfield is going to play through the pain — and maybe some painful-looking passes. Cleveland’s quarterback has a partially torn labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder that does not require surgery at this time, a person familiar with the injury told the Associated Press...
New Hampshire legislator leaves panel leadership over false covid claims
CONCORD, N.H. — Republican state Rep. Ken Weyler on Wednesday stepped down as chairperson of the House Finance and Joint Legislative Fiscal committees after Gov. Chris Sununu said he should be removed because he continued to spread covid-19 misinformation. “Representative Weyler and I spoke about my deep concerns of the...
Packers appear on verge of adding ex-Cowboys LB Jaylon SmithVideo
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Jaylon Smith appears to be on his way to the Green Bay Packers, one day after the Dallas Cowboys released the veteran linebacker. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday that “nothing’s official yet,” but added that he believes Smith is in Green Bay while discussing how...
Report details Trump’s all-out bid to undo election resultsVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat brought the Justice Department to the brink of chaos, and prompted top officials there and at the White House to threaten to resign, a Senate Judiciary Committee report found. The report released Thursday by the Democratic-run committee offers...
Trump to invoke executive privilege in Jan. 6 House investigation
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump intends to assert executive privilege in a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, a move that could prevent the testimony of onetime aides, according to a letter sent by lawyers for the former president. The letter went to at least some witnesses...
Student arrested in Texas school shooting released from jail
ARLINGTON, Texas — An 18-year-old student accused in a shooting at a Texas high school was released from jail Thursday after posting bond. Police accuse Timothy George Simpkins of opening fire in a classroom Wednesday at Timberview High School in Arlington. Two people were shot and two others suffered unspecified...
Ghost towns: Nursing home staffing falls amid pandemic
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — When Natalie Walters arrived at her father’s nursing home, the parking lot was nearly empty and, inside, the elevator made no stops. On the 13th floor, the lights were off and the TVs silent. The last time she was allowed inside, nine months earlier, aides passed in...
Alabama swamped, 4 killed in floods from slow-moving front
PELHAM, Ala. — Terrified drivers climbed out of swamped cars and muddy floodwater flowed through neighborhoods after a stalled weather front drenched Alabama for hours, leaving entire communities under water Thursday and killing at least four people with still more drenching storms to come. Dozens of people had to be...
U.S. health experts urge flu shots to avoid ‘twindemic’
The U.S. is gearing up in case of a bad flu season on top of the continuing covid-19 crisis, with a plea Thursday for Americans to get vaccinated against both. “I get it: We are all tired of talking about vaccines,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for...
18 ex-NBA players charged in $4M health care fraud scheme
NEW YORK — Eighteen former NBA players were charged Thursday with pocketing about $2.5 million illegally by defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan in a scam that authorities said involved claiming fictitious medical and dental expenses. “The defendants’ playbook involved fraud and deception,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss told...
Africa welcomes new malaria vaccine as a ‘game-changer’
LAGOS, Nigeria — African health officials are optimistic that the world’s first malaria vaccine endorsed by the World Health Organization will “dramatically change” the way the continent of 1.3 billion people fights the disease. The new malaria vaccine is “a game-changer” in combating the disease which accounts for hundreds of...
Microsoft: Russia behind 58% of detected state-backed hacks
Russia accounted for most state-sponsored hacking detected by Microsoft over the past year, with a 58% share, mostly targeting government agencies and think tanks in the United States, followed by Ukraine, Britain and European NATO members, the company said. The devastating effectiveness of the long-undetected SolarWinds hack — it mainly...
Tanzanian Abdulrazak Gurnah awarded Nobel literature prize
STOCKHOLM — U.K.-based Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, whose experience of crossing continents and cultures has fed his novels about the impact of migration on individuals and societies, won the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. The Swedish Academy said the award was in recognition of Gurnah’s “uncompromising and compassionate penetration...
Baylor, West Virginia trying to get run games going again
Baylor wants to regain its swagger in the run game. West Virginia would be satisfied with any progress. The Bears and Mountaineers meet Saturday in Waco, Texas, after both lost games in which they failed to score in the first half. Baylor had averaged 272 rushing yards in its first...
Stocks close higher as receding debt fears spur rally
Technology companies helped lift stocks Thursday on Wall Street broadly higher as investors welcomed the end of a standoff in Congress over extending the federal debt ceiling. An agreement to temporarily extend the government’s borrowing authority into December gives lawmakers more time to reach a permanent solution, averting for now...
Oklahoma schools leader switches parties to run for governor
OKLAHOMA CITY — State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who has clashed repeatedly with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and his appointees over the state’s response to covid-19 in schools, said Thursday she will switch parties and run as a Democrat against him next year. A longtime Republican first elected in 2014, Hofmeister...
Senate dodges debt disaster, votes to extend borrowing
WASHINGTON — The Senate dodged a U.S. debt disaster Thursday night, voting to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December and temporarily avert an unprecedented federal default that experts warned would devastate the economy and harm millions of Americans. The vote of 50-48 in support of the bill to raise...
Canada’s NHL teams embrace return to normal divisions
TORONTO — Tyler Toffoli had just filled the net on back-to-back nights against his former team. The Montreal winger registered a hat trick in a 6-5 shootout loss to Vancouver and followed that up with two goals and an assist 24 hours later in a 7-3 victory. Toffoli then spent...
State TV says Iranian speedboats intercepted U.S. Navy vessel
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state TV reported Thursday that speedboats belonging to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted a U.S. vessel in the Persian Gulf. A U.S. Navy spokesman said he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past days. The region remains on edge...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 326,000, first drop in 4 weeks
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, another sign that the U.S. job market and economy continue their steady recovery from last year’s coronavirus recession. Unemployment claims fell by 38,000 to 326,000, the first drop in four weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday. Since...
