Associated Press stories, Page 1647
U.S. jobless claims reach a pandemic low as hiring strengthens
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 340,000, a pandemic low, another sign that the job market is steadily rebounding from the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Jobless claims dropped by 14,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The weekly count has mostly...
Joe Burrow, Bengals healthy and hopeful after 2020 debacleVideo
CINCINNATI — Plagued by injuries to key players — including franchise quarterback Joe Burrow — on top of all the pandemic-related disruption, last season was a special kind of mess for the Cincinnati Bengals. There is plenty of reason to believe this season will be better than that 4-11-1 result...
Raiders seek to make strides on defense in Jon Gruden’s 4th year
The improvement the Las Vegas Raiders showed offensively in Year 3 under Jon Gruden was negated by the lack of progress on defense. The end result was another season without a winning record or playoff berth. That prompted an offseason of change for the Raiders, who brought in energetic new...
Ida’s remnants blanket Pennsylvania, New Jersey in rain, stir tornadoesVideo
HARRISBURG — Soaking rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida prompted the evacuations of thousands of people Wednesday after water reached dangerous levels at a dam near Johnstown, a Pennsylvania town nicknamed Flood City. The storm moved east in the evening, with the National Weather Service confirming at least one...
New-look U.S. opens World Cup qualifying, 4 years after flopVideo
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — They landed on a charter flight, just three veterans of the devastating defeat four years earlier along with 20 fresh faces and a new coaching staff. Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen were left behind. Rebuilding over, the U.S. opens 2022 World Cup qualifying Thursday night...
Intel shows extremists to attend Capitol rally
WASHINGTON — Far right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are planning to attend a rally later this month at the U.S. Capitol that is designed to demand “justice” for the hundreds of people who have been charged in connection with January’s insurrection, according to three people...
Rookie QB Mac Jones ushers in new era for revamped PatriotsVideo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mac Jones has the keys to his first NFL offense. The rookie quarterback won’t be the only one tasked with steering the New England Patriots back into relevance in the AFC East after a fiasco of a first season without Tom Brady. Bill Belichick spent a lot...
High expectations again for Lamar Jackson, Ravens
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — In 2 1/2 seasons as a starter, Lamar Jackson has been an offensive threat unlike any in the NFL. He won an MVP and eventually a playoff game, blending efficient passing with a running ability rarely seen in a quarterback. About all that’s left for the...
Nationals VP Bob Boone resigns over vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals Vice President Bob Boone has informed the club he’s resigning rather than comply with the organization’s covid-19 vaccine mandate, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because nothing was announced by the team....
Keeping score and taunting players, golf unlike other sportsVideo
ATLANTA — The PGA Tour has reached its Super Bowl or its Game 7, an appropriate analogy only because the Tour Championship is the final event of the FedEx Cup season. That’s where any comparison ends. The loudest message emanating from East Lake this year: Golf is different from other...
Penn State WR Jahan Dotson still focused on improvementVideo
UNIVERSITY PARK — When he lines up to cover teammate Jahan Dotson, Penn State cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields goes through a mental checklist. Dotson is faster now. He is stronger. He has always been intelligent. And after an offseason fueled by last season’s disappointment, Dotson believes he has improved in all...
1 student killed in shooting at North Carolina high schoolVideo
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A suspect was taken into custody Wednesday after one student was fatally shot at a North Carolina high school, officials said. Winston-Salem police Chief Catrina Thompson, fighting back tears, told a news conference that Mount Tabor High School went into immediate lockdown as emergency responders, sheriff’s deputies...
Judge conditionally approves Purdue Pharma opioid settlement
A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday gave conditional approval to a sweeping, potentially $10 billion plan submitted by OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to settle a mountain of lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis that has killed a half-million Americans over the past two decades. Under the settlement reached...
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ flies to 2022 due to coronavirus surge
NEW YORK — Paramount Pictures on Wednesday postponed the release of “Top Gun: Maverick,” sending another of the fall’s top movies out of 2021 due to the rise in coronavirus cases and the delta variant. Instead of opening Nov. 19, the “Top Gun” sequel, starring Tom Cruise, will instead debut...
Firefighters report progress against flames near Lake TahoeVideo
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Firefighters reported progress Wednesday in the battle to save communities on the south end of Lake Tahoe from an approaching forest fire after the stiff winds they had feared failed to materialize in the California-Nevada alpine region. “We lucked out a little bit yesterday with...
Misspelling of Moderna leads to tourist’s arrest in Hawaii
HONOLULU — A 24-year-old Illinois woman submitted a fake covid-19 vaccination card to visit Hawaii with a glaring spelling error that led to her arrest: Moderna was spelled “Maderna,” according to court documents. In order to bypass Hawaii’s 10-day traveler quarantine, she uploaded a vaccination card to the state’s Safe...
5 missing and 6 hurt after Navy helicopter crashes in PacificVideo
SAN DIEGO — Rescue crews were still searching Wednesday for five missing sailors a day after a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in the ocean off Southern California near an aircraft carrier, military officials said. One sailor was rescued shortly after the crash of the MH-60S helicopter Tuesday afternoon and was...
After Ida, small recovery signs amid daunting destructionVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Lights came back on for a fortunate few, some corner stores opened their doors, and crews cleared fallen trees and debris from a growing number of roadways Wednesday — small signs of progress amid the monumental task of repairing the damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida. Still, suffering...
Saints’ opener vs. Packers moved to Jacksonville because of Hurricane IdaVideo
The New Orleans Saints will play their season opener in Jacksonville after being displaced by Hurricane Ida. Instead of playing in the Superdome for the Sept. 12 opener against the Green Bay Packers, the Saints will host the game at the home of the Jaguars, the NFL announced Wednesday. While...
Michigan State names Alan Haller as new athletic director
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State named football alumnus and deputy athletic director Alan Haller as its 20th athletic director on Wednesday. Haller served as deputy athletic director since 2019, having been with the athletic department since 2010. He was a lieutenant for the university police department for 13 years. Haller...
Texas school system shuts down after 2 teachers die of covid-19Video
WACO, Texas — A Central Texas school district closed its schools until after the Labor Day holiday Tuesday after two teachers died last week of covid-19. Connally Independent School District officials closed its five suburban Waco schools for the rest of the week after the covid-19 death of Natalia Chansler,...
9-year-old boy killed in fire blamed on scooter charger
NEW YORK — A 9-year-old boy was killed and more than a dozen people were injured Wednesday in a fire caused by an electric scooter that was charging overnight, New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. Firefighters worked “heroically” to remove 14 people from the three-story Queens building where...
R. Kelly accuser says he kept gun nearby while berating her
NEW YORK — One of R. Kelly’s accusers testified on Wednesday that he kept a gun by his side while he berated her as a prelude to forcing her to give him oral sex in a Los Angeles music studio. “He had a weapon, so I wasn’t going to step...
Officers, paramedics charged in Elijah McClain’s 2019 death
DENVER — Colorado’s attorney general said Wednesday that a grand jury indicted three officers and two paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago in suburban Denver. The 23-year-old’s death gained widespread attention...
Pennsylvania’s carbon-pricing plan at last regulatory hurdle
The centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change was confronting its last regulatory hurdle Wednesday, in a bid to make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy. The plan to impose a price on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired power...
