Associated Press stories, Page 1701
Michigan extends mask order, capacity limits amid surge
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan on Friday extended by five weeks a pandemic order that limits business capacity and requires masks in public, even for young children in day care, as the state battles the country’s highest daily coronavirus infection rate. The measure, which was expected and replaces one that had...
House GOP Minority Leader takes cash from casino mogul accused of misconduct
WASHINGTON — A major House Republican fundraising committee overseen by GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy received over $770,000 from Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas casino mogul who stepped down from his company in 2018 after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. The donation, which Wynn made in late March,...
Georgia governor gets GOP primary challenge from former Dem
ATLANTA — Former Democrat Vernon Jones crowd-surfed across adoring Trump supporters in October after speaking at one of the former president’s campaign rallies. Now the scandal-plagued politician hopes to surf their discontent to a Republican primary victory over Gov. Brian Kemp. Jones announced Friday that he would challenge the incumbent...
Retired Ohio sheriff and tiny K-9 partner die the same day
CLEVELAND — The Ohio county sheriff and his tiny police dog were inseparable, their lives unwaveringly intertwined. It thus seems fitting that retired Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland, 67, and his crime-fighting partner Midge, 16, would both die on Wednesday — McClelland, at a hospital after a lengthy battle with...
SpaceX’s next crew arrives in Florida for Earth Day launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s most international crew of astronauts yet arrived at their launch site Friday. By coincidence, their flight to the International Space Station is set for next Thursday — Earth Day. It’s a reminder of NASA’s core mission of studying the home planet, the space agency’s acting...
Biden speeds refugee admissions but doesn’t lift Trump cap
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday signed an emergency determination to speed refugee admissions to the U.S., but kept his predecessor’s historically low cap of 15,000 refugees for this year, triggering an outcry from advocates for refugees and even Biden allies. Many were surprised Biden has not replaced the...
Human composting legislation considered in Delaware
DOVER, Del. — Democratic lawmakers in Delaware have introduced a measure that would allow composting of human bodies as an alternative to burial or cremation. The bill introduced Thursday would permit a practice that is called “natural organic reduction” but also referred to as “human composting.” The process involves putting...
AP study: MLB salary down 4.8% in 2 years; top 100 earn half
NEW YORK — The average major league salary dropped 4.8% to just under $4.17 million on opening day from the start of the previous full season in 2019. The average has fallen 6.4% since the start of the 2017 season, when it peaked at $4.45 million, according to a study...
Russia to expel 10 U.S. diplomats in response to Washington
MOSCOW — Russia on Friday responded to a barrage of new U.S. sanctions by saying it would expel 10 U.S. diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will add eight U.S. officials to its sanctions list and move...
Heavy metal guitarist is 1st suspect to plead guilty in Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — A heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer, the frontman of the band Iced Earth, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence,...
Liberty sues Jerry Falwell Jr., seeking millions in damages
RICHMOND, Va. — Liberty University has filed a civil lawsuit against its former leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., seeking millions in damages after the two parted ways acrimoniously last year. The complaint, filed Thursday in Lynchburg Circuit Court, alleges Falwell crafted a “well-resourced exit strategy” from his role as president and...
As America embraces voting early, GOP moves to restrict it
Nearly seven of every 10 voters cast their ballots before Election Day in 2020. Republicans are moving to make it harder for that to happen again, potentially affecting the voting preferences of millions of Americans. The GOP’s campaign to place new restrictions on mail-in and early voting in certain states...
Pennsylvania sounds alarm on vaccine hesitancy
A growing number of unfilled appointments and low uptake among nursing home workers are early signs that vaccine hesitancy is becoming an issue in Pennsylvania, prompting state officials to sound the alarm Friday and urge residents to get their covid-19 shots as quickly as possible. After months of demand outstripping...
Coast Guard: 2 more capsize victims recovered off Louisiana
PORT FOURCHON, La. — Divers searching the site of a capsized lift boat off Louisiana recovered two more unresponsive crewmembers late Friday, the Coast Guard said after another day of frantic waiting by family members worried for the fate of those who went missing earlier this week. Petty Officer Jonathan...
U.S. has been wracked with several mass shootings in 2021
a significant drop in mass shootings in the United States during a pandemic-hit 2020, this year has already seen several deadly cases. Police in Indianapolis say eight people were shot and killed in a shooting late Thursday at a FedEx facility. The shooter also killed himself. It follows a lull...
Daunte Wright family demands more severe charges for Minn. ex-cop
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Daunte Wright’s family joined community leaders in demanding more severe charges against the white former police officer who fatally shot the young Black man in a Minneapolis suburb, where hundreds of protesters again filled the streets in front of the police station. The protesters — shouting...
California woman says she drowned 3 children to protect them
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A woman suspected of killing her three children in the midst of a bitter custody battle said Thursday that she drowned them to keep them away from their father, a California television station reported. In a jailhouse interview, Liliana Carrillo, 30, told KGET-TV that she wanted to...
FBI says it interviewed FedEx mass shooter last year
INDIANAPOLIS — The FBI says that last year it questioned the man who fatally shot eight people at a FedEx plant in Indianapolis. Paul Keenan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis field office, said Friday that agents questioned 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole after his mother called police...
Patrick Marleau poised to break Gordie Howe’s games record
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Growing up on a farm as a hockey-loving kid in Saskatchewan, the knowledge that players like Gordie Howe had made the journey from that remote province to the NHL gave Patrick Marleau belief that he could one day follow that same path. Marleau has done far...
New Hampshire’s governor will lift mask mandate on Friday
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire will lift its mask mandate Friday, though individual communities and businesses will be allowed to continue the requirement, Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday. New Hampshire was the last state in New England to adopt a statewide mask mandate in November and with Friday’s change, will...
Charli Collier, Awak Kuier taken 1-2 by Dallas Wings in WNBA Draft
NEW YORK — Charli Collier said she wrote down goals with her late father when he was hospitalized with cancer five years ago, and being selected No. 1 in the WNBA Draft was one of them. She checked off that goal Thursday night when the Dallas Wings took her with...
Colorado man to remain jailed after attack on U.S. Capitol
DENVER — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has denied bail for a Colorado geophysicist accused of dragging a police officer down steps to be beaten by an American flag outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Wednesday that Jeffrey Sabol, 51, is a flight risk...
Cameron Smith leads RBC Heritage after career-low 62Video
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Cameron Smith birdied the difficult 17th and 18th holes at Harbour Town to shoot a 9-under-par 62, his career low on the PGA Tour, and take a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage on Thursday. Cink finished his 63 around lunchtime, and...
NHL delays Canucks’ return to play after covid-19 outbreakVideo
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The NHL delayed the Vancouver Canucks’ return to competition. The Canucks, who have not played since March 24 because of a covid-19 outbreak, had been scheduled to host the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. The league announced Thursday the team would not play that game and...
House GOP leader: Won’t punish Rep. Matt Gaetz unless charges filedVideo
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz, under federal investigation for sex trafficking allegations, is “innocent until proven guilty” and Republicans don’t plan to punish him unless charges are filed, the House GOP leader said Thursday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also told reporters that in a private conversation, the Florida...
