Associated Press stories, Page 1712
State House advances 2-year child sex abuse lawsuit window
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House approved a bill Wednesday to establish a two-year window for civil claims over childhood sexual abuse, part of a belt-and-suspenders approach that also includes a potential constitutional amendment. The proposal was sent to the state Senate by a vote of 149 to 52, two weeks...
Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna diagnosed with dementia
Celebrity zookeeper and animal TV show host Jack Hanna has been diagnosed with dementia and will retire from public life, his family said. In a news release Wednesday, his family added that it’s believed he now has Alzheimer’s disease that has quickly progressed in the last few months. The 74-year-old...
Biden open to compromise on infrastructure, but not inaction
President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay for the package but inaction is unacceptable. The president turned fiery in an afternoon speech, saying that the United States is failing to build, invest and...
Arizona parts ways with Sean Miller amid NCAA investigation
Arizona had stuck by men’s basketball coach Sean Miller through an NCAA infractions investigation that stretched nearly four years. When the school didn’t extend his contract beyond next season, it became clear a decision would need to be made. The wait came to an end Wednesday when the school announced...
Stocks close mixed; S&P 500 notches another record high
Wall Street capped another choppy day of trading Wednesday with a mixed finish for stock indexes and another all-time high for the S&P 500. The benchmark index inched up 0.1% after spending much of the day wavering between small gains and losses. Technology, communication and financial companies helped lift the...
Tiger Woods was driving about 85 mph when he crashed SUV near LA
Tiger Woods was driving nearly 90 mph — twice the posted speed limit — on a downhill stretch of road when he lost control of an SUV outside Los Angeles and crashed in a wreck that left the golf superstar seriously injured, authorities said Wednesday. Sheriff Alex Villanueva blamed the...
CDC says British covid variant is now the most common strain in U.S.
WASHINGTON — A variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain is now the most common strain circulating in the United States. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, says the strain, formally known as B.1.1.7, is “now the most common lineage circulating in...
The Weeknd is top nominee for May’s iHeartRadio Music Awards
The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch are among the top nominees for next month’s iHeartRadio Music Awards. The Weeknd’s eight nominations include male artist of the year, competing with Ricch, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Post Malone, and song of the year for “Blinding Lights.” Ricch and Megan...
U.S. trade deficit jumps 4.8% to $71.1 billion in February
The U.S. trade deficit grew to a record $71.1 billion in February as a decline in exports more than offset a slight dip in imports, with severe weather taking much of the blame from analysts, who were expecting a slightly lower gap. The coronavirus pandemic has stifled global trade for...
Cratering Blues running out of time to salvage season
Craig Berube stood back and watched his St. Louis Blues practice battle drills so he could see how players handled the situation amid a seven-game losing streak. Anyone looking in from the outside can spy a team in deep trouble. Berube’s Blues have lost 12 of their last 14 games...
Snub in EU-Turkey meeting highlights gender equality issue
BRUSSELS — Gender equality issues took center stage Wednesday in Brussels a day after Ursula von der Leyen, one the EU’s most powerful executives, was treated like a second-rank official during a visit to Ankara. Von der Leyen — the European Commission president — and European Council chief Charles Michel...
U.S. Treasury says 156 million coronavirus relief payments issued
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Wednesday it has issued more than 156 million payments as part of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan, including 25 million payments that were primarily to Social Security beneficiaries who hadn’t filed 2019 or 2020 tax returns. The direct payments of as much as...
Target to spend over $2 billion on Black-owned businesses
NEW YORK — Target will spend a total of more than $2 billion at Black-owned businesses by 2025 as part of its effort to advance racial equity. That’s a significant increase in overall spending on Black-owned businesses, according to Target, though it declined be more specific Wednesday. The Minneapolis retailer...
U.S. military cites rising risk of Chinese move against Taiwan
WASHINGTON — The American military is warning that China is probably accelerating its timetable for capturing control of Taiwan, the island democracy that has been the chief source of tension between Washington and Beijing for decades and is widely seen as the most likely trigger for a potentially catastrophic U.S.-China...
This date in sports history: April 7
1940 — Jimmy Demaret wins the Masters with a four-stroke triumph over Lloyd Mangrum. Mangrum shoots an opening-round 64, a course record by two strokes, which stands for 46 years. Demaret parred the first 14 holes, added a two-putt birdie at the 15th, then parred the final three holes to...
Police official: Derek Chauvin trained to avoid neck pressureVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police are taught to restrain combative suspects with a knee on their back or shoulders if necessary but are told to “stay away from the neck when possible,” a department use-of-force instructor testified Tuesday at former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial. Lt. Johnny Mercil became the latest...
NRA executive Wayne LaPierre sheltered on borrowed yacht after mass shootings
DALLAS — After school shootings that left dozens dead in recent years, National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre said the resulting outrage put him in such danger that he sought shelter aboard a borrowed 108-foot yacht. During a deposition, the head of the powerful gun-rights group’s acknowledged sailing in The...
Vote signals support for child sex abuse window in bill form
HARRISBURG — The state House of Representatives showed solid support Tuesday for enacting a two-year lawsuit window for child victims of sexual abuse as a regular bill, two weeks after the Legislature gave its first round of approval to a similar constitutional amendment. The 148 to 53 vote set the...
Nearly half of new U.S. virus infections are in just 5 statesVideo
Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the...
Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson seek exclusive company at Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy stopped by to encourage Tiger Woods as he recovers from multiple leg injuries and might have come away with some inspiration of his own. “In his family room he’s got this trophy cabinet, and it’s his 15 major trophies,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “I said, ‘That’s...
Iowa’s Luka Garza adds John R. Wooden Award to trophy haul
LOS ANGELES — Luka Garza of Iowa won the John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s top men’s college basketball player. The award presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club was announced Tuesday on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” It was Garza’s fourth player-of-the-year award. He collected honors from the Associated Press as...
DeChambeau probing for formula that adds up to green jacketVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bryson DeChambeau let his bravado get the best of him the last time he was at Augusta National. He lost a ball, barely made the cut and finished a whopping 18 strokes behind Masters champion Dustin Johnson. As with all things DeChambeau, he chalks it up as...
NCAA may consider single site for part of future tourneys
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA used the single-site concept for its marquee championship out of necessity. Now it could become part of the tournament’s future. A day after crowning a national champion for the first time since 2019, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told reporters the successful men’s...
Guards stayed at Baylor, paving way for Scott Drew’s dream NCAA championshipVideo
Becoming national champion was a far-fetched dream when Scott Drew first uttered that possibility during his introduction as Baylor’s coach after taking over a decimated and scandal-plagued program nearly 18 years ago. Yet a title felt oh-so-reachable for All-American guard Jared Butler and his backcourt mates MaCio Teague and Davion...
Masters notes: Phil Mickelson is a Masters champion and Anna Pavlova expertVideo
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson has a confession to make: He often is full of nonsense. Except, as it turns out, when it comes to pavlova. Augusta National has a rule banning cellphones on the course, and it also applies to the Champions dinner. So when Adam Scott got to...
