Associated Press stories, Page 1698

FLORIDA CITY, Fla. — A Florida vaccination site had so few eligible takers Saturday that is started inoculating any adult who wanted a shot rather than let the vaccine on hand go to waste. Word spread and on Sunday the Florida City site was overwhelmed, particularly after local state Sen....

ALBANY, N.Y. — The two top Democrats in New York’s legislature withdrew their support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment and undercounting covid-19 deaths in nursing homes. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins became the first senior Democrat in the state to say the three-term...

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis police officer was swiftly fired and charged with murder after bystander video showed him pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck, ignoring the Black man’s cries that he couldn’t breathe. But even with that powerful footage, legal experts say the case isn’t a slam dunk. Jury...

JACKSON, Mississippi — Leo Carney worries that bigger crowds and mask-less diners could endanger workers at the Biloxi, Mississippi, seafood restaurant where he manages the kitchen. Maribel Cornejo, who earns $9.85 an hour as a McDonald’s cook in Houston, can’t afford to get sick and frets co-workers will become more...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air. Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many wildlife managers. In Montana,...

QARAQOSH, Iraq — Pope Francis urged Iraq’s Christians on Sunday to forgive the injustices committed against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ecstatic crowds in the community’s historic heartland, which was nearly erased by the Islamic State group’s horrific...

BOSTON — The SolarWinds hacking campaign blamed on Russian spies and the “grave threat” it poses to U.S. national security are widely known. A very different — and no less alarming — coordinated series of intrusions also detected in December has gotten considerably less public attention. Nimble, highly skilled criminal...

WASHINGTON — A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access. His plan was being announced...

BOSTON — Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo was released from the hospital Saturday after spending the night following a head hit from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson. Later Saturday, Wilson was suspended for seven games by the NHL without pay after an Zoom hearing to discuss the incident. Wilson is...

MILAN — The Milan fashion house Dolce&Gabbana has filed a defamation suit in an Italian court seeking over $600 million in damages from two U.S. fashion bloggers who reposted anti-Asian comments attributed to one of the designers that led to a boycott by Asian consumers. The suit was filed in...

MEXICO CITY — In a camp at the U.S.-Mexico border, some asylum seekers were told by officials that the U.S. government may reopen their cases and they would eventually be able to enter the U.S. to wait out the asylum process. The new opening for people previously denied came as...

STOCKHOLM — Swedish police on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people who had gathered in central Stockholm to protest coronavirus restrictions set by the Swedish government. Swedish authorities said the demonstration — the first major protest against the country’s coronavirus restrictions — was illegal as it was held without permission. Stockholm...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sophomore Avery Anderson III scored a career-high 31 points to lead No. 17 Oklahoma State to an 85-80 victory over No. 6 West Virginia on Saturday in their Big 12 regular-season finale. The Cowboys (18-7, 11-7 Big 12) made up for the loss of two starters by...

PHOENIX — One day after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted capacity restrictions at restaurants, gyms and other businesses, the state reported 1,735 confirmed coronavirus cases. Arizona doesn’t have a statewide mask mandate. With 54 more confirmed deaths on Saturday, the totals rose to 825,119 cases and 16,323 deaths. The number...

CLEVELAND — Michael Stanley, a Cleveland-based rocker who with his namesake band reached the Top 40 in the 1980s with the hits “He Can’t Love You” and “My Town” before going on to a long career as a radio disc jockey, has died. He was 72. Stanley died Thursday after...

PLAINS OF UR, Iraq — Pope Francis walked through a narrow alley in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf for a historic meeting with the country’s top Shiite cleric Saturday, and together they delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence in a country still reeling from back-to-back conflicts over the past...

NEW YORK — Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who captured hearts at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, posted to social media that she was followed home by a security guard who demanded to know where she lived because she “looked suspicious.” “I showed my keys & buzzed myself into...

WASHINGTON — An exhausted Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill Saturday as President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums. After laboring all night on a mountain of amendments — nearly...

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats came out with their version of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. A look at some of the major changes in the bill now being considered by the Senate versus what passed the House last week. Who gets a check? President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats...

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin struck a deal late Friday over emergency jobless benefits, breaking a nine-hour logjam that had stalled the party’s showpiece $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill. The compromise, announced by the West Virginia lawmaker and a Democratic aide, seemed to clear the...