Associated Press stories, Page 1589
Biden at Vatican to talk climate, poverty with Pope Francis
VATICAN CITY — Declaring it’s “good to be back,” President Joe Biden on Friday opened a five-day European trip at the Vatican, where he and Pope Francis — the world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics — planned to discuss the covid-19 pandemic, climate change and poverty. A dozen Swiss Guards...
New York City braces for fewer cops, more trash as vaccine deadline looms
NEW YORK — Mounting trash. Closed firehouses. Fewer police and ambulances on the street. That’s the possibility New York City is bracing for come Monday as a covid-19 vaccine mandate looms and thousands of municipal workers remain unwilling to get the shots. Police officers, firefighters, garbage collectors and most other...
Legal experts see strong self-defense claim for Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha shootings
When Kyle Rittenhouse goes on trial Monday for shooting three men during street protests in Wisconsin that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer, he’ll argue that he fired in self-defense. Legal experts say under Wisconsin law he has a strong case. What’s less clear is whether prosecutors...
Virginia Beach confronts inescapable costs of rising seas
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Voters in the sprawling coastal city of Virginia Beach will decide whether to approve one of the larger municipal bonds in the U.S. that would be used to protect against rising seas and intensifying hurricanes. If it passes Tuesday, the $568 million would fund anything from...
‘Everything is at stake’ as world gathers for climate talks
More than one world leader says humanity’s future, even survival, hangs in the balance when international officials meet in Scotland to try to accelerate efforts to curb climate change. Temperatures, tempers and hyperbole have all ratcheted up ahead of the United Nations summit. And the risk of failure looms large...
Amid scandal, Joel Quenneville resigns as Florida Panthers coach
SUNRISE, Fla. — Joel Quenneville resigned as coach of the Florida Panthers on Thursday, two days after the second-winningest coach in NHL history was among those implicated for not swiftly responding to allegations by a Chicago Blackhawks player of being sexually assaulted by another coach during the 2010 Stanley Cup...
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr under investigation again for pandemic stock sales
WASHINGTON — North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and his brother-in-law are being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for potential insider trading, a case that stems from their abrupt sales of financial holdings during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, according to recent federal court filings. Burr, a...
Packers edge Cardinals after Kyler Murray throws late interceptionVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes to Randall Cobb and the Green Bay Packers knocked off the previously unbeaten Arizona Cardinals 24-21 after Kyler Murray’s stunning late interception on Thursday night. The Cardinals looked like they were going to rally to win their eighth straight game but...
NFL enhances Rooney Rule to help interviewing processVideo
The NFL has instituted some policy changes to the Rooney Rule designed to further enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring practices. The rule has been expanded to require teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for general manager/executive of football operations positions and all coordinator roles. Beforehand,...
Reasons abound for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ strugglesVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Turn on the TV or listen to talk radio, and just about everyone has an opinion on why Patrick Mahomes is playing so poorly. He’s a sleep-deprived new dad who spent too much time doing commercials and endorsements in the offseason. He was galivanting around the...
Jose Altuve packs punch for Astros as drama-free World Series shifts to AtlantaVideo
ATLANTA — His day on the diamond almost done, Jose Altuve walked over to a clutch of Astros fans clustered behind the netting down the right-field line at Minute Maid Park. For five minutes, he autographed World Series programs, No. 27 jerseys and other items, many of them for kids....
U.S. cites ‘crisis’ as road deaths rise 18% in first-half 2021
DETROIT — The number of U.S. traffic deaths in the first six months of 2021 hit 20,160, the highest first-half total since 2006, the government reported Thursday, a sign of growing reckless driving during the coronavirus pandemic. The estimated number was 18.4% higher than the first half of last year,...
American Airlines plane diverted after passenger assaults flight attendantVideo
NEW YORK — An American Airlines flight from New York to California was diverted to Denver after a passenger assaulted a flight attendant, authorities said. Flight 976 was heading Wednesday from John F. Kennedy International Airport to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana when it landed at Denver International Airport...
East Texas ex-nurse gets death penalty for killing patients
TYLER, Texas — A jury sentenced a former Texas nurse to death for killing four patients by injecting air into their arteries after heart surgery. The Smith County jury deliberated about two hours before condemning William George Davis to death. The 37-year-old Hallsville man’s sentence will be automatically appealed. The...
Andrew Cuomo accused of forcible touching in criminal complaint
ALBANY, N.Y. — A criminal complaint filed by a police investigator with a court in Albany has accused former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of committing a misdemeanor sex crime, though there were reports Thursday that the document might have been submitted in error. The brief complaint, filed by an...
Broad gains for stocks push S&P 500, Nasdaq to record highsVideo
A broad rally for stocks on Wall Street sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs Thursday, as the market more than made up for modest losses a day earlier. The S&P 500 rose 1%, posting its third all-time high this week. More than 80% of the stocks in...
Browns’ Baker Mayfield practices again, still unclear if he faces SteelersVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Browns starting quarterback Baker Mayfield practiced for the second straight day — and tested his injured shoulder while wearing pads and a new harness — as he tries to get ready to play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mayfield sat out last week’s win over Denver with...
Wisconsin sheriff seeks investigation of nursing home voting
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin sheriff who supports former President Donald Trump accused the bipartisan state Elections Commission of breaking the law during last year’s election, taking the unusual step Thursday of detailing the allegations publicly even though no charges have been filed. Racine County Sheriff Charles Schamling called on...
Big Ten preview: A showdown in Michigan tops loaded slateVideo
Game of the week No. 6 Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State It’s the first time since 1964 that these teams have met when both are in the top 10. Both are 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten, and the winner remains at least tied for first in...
Boston doctor fined $6,000 for missing surgery for sleeping in car during lunch
BOSTON, Mass. — Massachusetts’ medical board has reprimanded and fined the head of spine surgery at Boston Medical Center after he left an operating room to eat lunch in his car and then fell asleep and missed an emergency surgery in 2016. According to a consent order released Monday by...
Kentucky high school event included lap dances, Hooters costumesVideo
HAZARD, Ky. — Disciplinary action has been taken at a high school in eastern Kentucky for homecoming activities that included male students giving lap dances to staff and girls dressing like Hooters waitresses. Hazard High School said in a Facebook post that a “Man Pageant” and “Costume Day” were held...
Merck envisions billions from covid-19 treatment sales
Merck fell out of the race to develop covid-19 vaccines earlier this year but could vault to head of the pack for treatments in 2022. The drugmaker’s potential antiviral, molnupiravir, may generate $5 billion to $7 billion in sales through next year, company executives told analysts Thursday morning. That could...
In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself MetaVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Like many companies in trouble before it, Facebook is changing its name and logo. Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “...
Biden announces ‘historic’ deal — but still must win votes
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he and Democrats in Congress have reached a “historic” framework for his sweeping domestic policy package. But he still needs to lock down votes from key colleagues for what’s now a dramatically scaled-back bill. Eager to have a deal in hand before...
$88 million settlement reached with families of victims in Charleston church mass shootingVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Families of nine victims killed in a racist attack at a Black South Carolina church have reached a settlement with the Justice Department over a faulty background check that allowed Dylann Roof to purchase the gun he used in the 2015 massacre. The Justice Department will pay...
