Associated Press stories, Page 1545
NHL shuts down 2 more teams for a week amid covid surgeVideo
Postponements and coronavirus problems for the NHL are coming at a dizzying and disquieting pace not seen since earlier in the pandemic. The league shut down two more teams through the Christmas holiday break Friday, eager to avoid putting all 32 on pause amid worsening covid-19 conditions across North America....
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson listed as questionable against PackersVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens listed Lamar Jackson as questionable for Sunday’s game against Green Bay because of his sprained ankle. Jackson missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, and the team listed him as having sat out Friday as well. The listing Friday was an estimate since the Ravens...
Tiger Woods returns at PNC Championship, still ‘long way’ from tournament golfVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiger Woods walked onto the tee for a routine pro-am round Friday and felt an unexpected dose of nerves, realizing how long it had been since he had an audience on the golf course. The small grandstand behind the tee was packed, everyone on their feet. Spectators...
Middle Tennessee tops Toledo in Bahamas to begin bowl seasonVideo
NASSAU, Bahamas — Freshman Nick Vattiato threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard scoring pass to Jarrin Pierce with 6 minutes, 24 seconds left, and Middle Tennessee beat Toledo, 31-24, on Friday in the Bahamas Bowl. Two plays after Toledo’s 32-yard punt, Vattiato connected with a wide-open...
Trickle-down economics at heart of MLB labor disputeVideo
NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor’s $341 million contract with the New York Mets was supposed to be a boon for other shortstops. Same for pitchers when aces Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer signed megadeals. Baseball players long have benefited from trickle-down economics, where stars set a market that leads to...
Ghislaine Maxwell declines to testify as defense rests case
NEW YORK — After 12 days of testimony over three weeks, jurors heard from the final witnesses Friday in the sex trafficking trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who told the judge she wouldn’t testify because she was confident prosecutors hadn’t proved their case. Closing arguments are now set for...
California governor boosts efforts to combat smash-and-grabs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stung by recent headline-grabbing smash-and-grab robberies, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said he will seek more than $300 million in state funding over three years to boost law enforcement efforts to combat retail theft. “The issue of crime and violence is top of mind all throughout...
Labor board certifies first union at a U.S. Starbucks store
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The National Labor Relations Board confirmed a vote Friday to form a union at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, meaning the coffee retailer, for the first time, will have to bargain with organized labor at a company-owned U.S. store. “We don’t want to fight Starbucks — we’re...
Browns-Raiders game pushed by NFL to Monday amid covid cases
CLEVELAND — The Browns got a welcomed reprieve on Friday after days of positive covid-19 tests. The NFL moved Cleveland’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders to Monday as the Browns grappled with a virus outbreak that sidelined coach Kevin Stefanski, quarterback Baker Mayfield and more than a dozen regulars....
Up, up and they pay: $2.6M winning bid for Superman #1 comic
NEW YORK — A rare copy of a Superman #1 comic book that sold on newsstands for a dime in 1939 was purchased for $2.6 million in an auction. The comic showing Superman leaping over tall buildings on the cover was sold Thursday night to a buyer who wishes to...
Pfizer study tests extra covid vaccine dose for kids under 5
Pfizer said Friday it was changing plans and testing three doses of its covid-19 vaccine in babies and preschoolers instead of the usual two. The addition of an extra dose came after a preliminary analysis found 2- to 4-year-olds didn’t have as strong an immune response as expected to special...
Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice resigns; Dave Lowry gets interim job
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice has resigned in a surprise move in his ninth year with the team. The team announced Maurice’s decision on Friday, and said it was effective immediately. Dave Lowry was elevated to interim coach. The Jets (13-10-5) have dropped three of four heading...
Typhoon leaves 12 dead, traps people on roofs in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — A powerful typhoon that battered the central Philippines left at least 12 people dead in massive floods that trapped residents on roofs and damaged buildings including a hotel and an airport, officials said. Typhoon Rai slightly weakened after slamming ashore Thursday on the country’s southeastern coast but...
Denmark seeks to close public venues to curb coronavirus
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s prime minister said Friday that his government is moving to close theaters, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and art galleries as part of new restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the proposed measures also would require stores smaller...
Covid-19 fears dash hopes for the holiday season — again
Lines again stretch around blocks at some covid-19 testing sites. Refrigerated mobile morgues are on order, and parts of Europe are re-tightening borders amid a winter spike in coronavirus infections. This year’s holiday season was supposed to be a do-over for last year’s subdued celebrations. Instead it’s turning into a...
Suspected arson in downtown Osaka building leaves 24 dead
OSAKA, Japan — A fire that spread from a fourth-floor mental clinic in an eight-story building in downtown Osaka in western Japan on Friday left 24 dead in what police were investigating as a possible case of arson and murder. Police were searching for a man in his 50s to...
Officials: 22 die in Istanbul from bootleg alcohol poisoning
ANKARA, Turkey — At least 22 people have died in Istanbul and 16 others have been hospitalized and are in serious condition after drinking bootleg alcohol, the local governor’s office said Friday, as authorities intensified a crackdown on counterfeit drinks across Turkey ahead of New Year’s celebrations. Eleven of the...
This date in sports history: Dec. 17
1933 — The Chicago Bears win the first NFL championship with a 23-21 victory over the New York Giants. The Bears score the winning touchdown on a 36-yard play that starts with a short pass from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt, who then laterals to Bill Kerr for the score....
Travis Kelce’s OT touchdown gives Chiefs win over ChargersVideo
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Travis Kelce scored on a 34-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes in overtime and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied for a 34-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night. Kelce caught a tying 7-yard touchdown pass with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter, then ended the...
Chris Noth accused of sexual assaults; actor denies claims
LOS ANGELES — Actor Chris Noth has been accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate encounters that took place in 2004 and 2015, according to a report Thursday. The women’s identities were withheld by The Hollywood Reporter in order to protect their privacy, said the trade publication, which used...
Senate parliamentarian deals Democrats blow on immigration
WASHINGTON — Democrats must drop an effort to let millions of immigrants remain temporarily in the United States from their expansive social and environment bill, the Senate parliamentarian decided Thursday, dealing the latest blow to a longtime priority of the party, migrant advocates and progressives. The opinion by Elizabeth MacDonough,...
Judge rejects Purdue Pharma’s sweeping opioid settlement
A federal judge rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic Thursday because of a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from facing litigation of their own. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found that federal bankruptcy law...
Ravens’ Lamar Jackson misses practice again with ankle injuryVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson missed another practice for the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday because of his sprained ankle. Jackson also missed practice Wednesday because of the ankle injury that knocked him out of last weekend’s loss at Cleveland. The Ravens have remained hopeful Jackson can play Sunday against...
Browns backup QB Case Keenum tests positive for covid-19Video
CLEVELAND — Case Keenum’s expected start for the Browns took an unexpected turn. Cleveland’s veteran backup quarterback tested positive Thursday for covid-19, possibly leaving the Browns without their top two quarterbacks for Saturday’s vital game against the Las Vegas Raiders, a person familiar with the situation tells the Associated Press....
Kellogg’s reaches tentative agreement with striking workers
OMAHA, Neb. — Kellogg’s has reached a new tentative agreement with its 1,400 striking cereal plant workers that could bring an end to the strike that began Oct. 5. Members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union will vote on the new offer that includes cost-of-living...
