Associated Press stories, Page 1720
Pressley, Warren push Biden to nix $50,000 in student debt
BOSTON — President Joe Biden should help those struggling under crushing student loan debt by immediately canceling up to $50,000 of debt for federal student loan borrowers, Democratic elected officials said Thursday. Biden can make the move by using existing authority granted to him under the Higher Education Act, said...
NFL considering changing onside kick and overtime rulesVideo
NEW YORK — The NFL is considering a rule change that would allow teams to maintain possession of the ball after a score by substituting one offensive play for an onside kickoff attempt. The proposal submitted by the Philadelphia Eagles is among 11 that will be voted on at the...
Mitch McConnell urges fellow Republicans to get covid-19 vaccines
LOUISVILLE, Ky — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his fellow Republicans to be vaccinated against covid-19 during a visit to a western Kentucky hospital Thursday. “As a Republican man, I wasn’t reluctant to get it when I was eligible and I would encourage everybody to do that,” he said....
Colorado is latest to weigh ban on Native American mascots
DENVER (AP) — Colorado lawmakers are considering a proposal that would ban Native American mascots in public schools and colleges amid a nationwide push for racial justice that gained new momentum last year following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the NFL team in Washington changing its name....
PBS Kids celebrates Autism Awareness Month with new friends
NEW YORK — A new child is introduced this month on the animated TV show “Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum” who is a little different. He’s sensitive to loud noises and he likes doing things his way, in his time. Ben is autistic and he helps teach the show’s...
Biden launches community corps to boost covid vaccinations
WASHINGTON — Seeking to overcome vaccine hesitancy, the Biden administration on Thursday stepped up its outreach efforts to skeptical Americans, launching a coalition of community, religious and celebrity partners to promote covid-19 shots in hard-hit communities. The administration’s “We Can Do This” campaign features television and social media ads, but...
Mets-Nats opener delayed after positive covid test, tracing
WASHINGTON — The opening day baseball game between the Nationals and Mets was postponed hours before it was scheduled to begin Thursday night because of coronavirus concerns after one of Washington’s players tested positive for covid-19. The Nationals issued a statement saying “ongoing contact tracing involving members of the Nationals...
Egypt expects $1 billion in damages over stuck ship in Suez
CAIRO — Egypt is expecting more than $1 billion in compensation after a cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, according to the top canal official. He also warned the ship and its cargo will not be allowed leave Egypt if the issue of damages goes to...
U.S. allows 2 more over-the-counter covid-19 home tests
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials have authorized two more over-the-counter covid-19 tests that can be used at home to get rapid results. The move by the Food and Drug Administration is expected to vastly expand the availability of cheap home tests that many experts have advocated since the early days...
George Floyd’s girlfriend recalls 1st time they met during Chauvin’s trial
MINNEAPOLIS — George Floyd’s girlfriend cried on the witness stand Thursday as she told the story of how they first met in 2017 at a Salvation Army shelter where Floyd was a security guard with “this great Southern voice, raspy.” She also recounted how they both struggled with opioid addiction....
Ancient coins may solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate
WARWICK, R.I. — A handful of coins unearthed from a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in rural Rhode Island and other random corners of New England may help solve one of the planet’s oldest cold cases. The villain in this tale: a murderous English pirate who became the world’s most-wanted criminal after plundering...
Wall Street moves higher, pushing S&P 500 over 4,000 level
Stocks were moderately higher Thursday, helped by a rise in technology companies as well as smaller companies, which would benefit from a quickly growing economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 11:44 a.m. Eastern, crossing the 4,000-point mark for the first time. The benchmark index is coming off its...
Justices uphold FCC’s easing of local media ownership limits
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously upheld federal regulators’ decision to ease ownership limits on local media, rejecting a claim that the change would hurt minority and female ownership. The court said the Federal Communications Commission acted reasonably in 2017 when it modified rules that predated the internet....
Senators object to proposed Nebraska sex education standards
LINCOLN, Neb. — Twenty-eight Nebraska lawmakers are objecting to proposed state education standards that include lessons on gender identity and gender stereotypes, with lessons starting as early as the first grade. The senators sent an open letter to the Nebraska State Board of Education, which is expected to consider the...
Donald Trump Jr. buys mansion 20 miles from Mar-a-Lago
JUPITER, Fla. — Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle are now Florida home owners. The Palm Beach Post reports that the couple spent $9.7 million this week to buy a 11,000-square-foot, six-bedroom, 11-bath mansion in the town of Jupiter, about 20 miles from the Mar-a-Lago compound where former...
North Carolina Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams retiring
The last time Roy Williams left North Carolina, he was a virtually unknown assistant who was getting his first shot as a college head coach at tradition-rich Kansas. Now Williams is leaving the Tar Heels again with a resume chock full of honors — as a retiring Hall of Famer...
High court: Charlottesville can remove Confederate statues
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s highest court ruled Thursday that the city of Charlottesville can take down two statues of Confederate generals, including one of Robert E. Lee that became the focus of a violent white nationalist rally in 2017. The state Supreme Court overturned a Circuit Court decision in favor...
U.S. hunger crisis persists, especially for kids, older adults
PHOENIX — America is starting to claw its way out of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but food insecurity persists, especially for children and older adults. Food banks around the U.S. continue giving away far more canned, packaged and fresh provisions than they did before the virus outbreak...
In AP survey, ADs raise worries about women’s college sports
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — To hear many of those in charge of Division I programs tell it, the state of play for women’s sports could get worse, not better, under proposals that would put more money in the pockets of some college athletes. Via a new Associated Press survey of athletic...
World trade body chief says vaccine inequity ‘unacceptable’
GENEVA — The head of the World Trade Organization called Thursday for expanded capability in developing countries to manufacture vaccines, saying the gaping imbalance in access to coronavirus vaccines that mostly favors rich, developed countries was unacceptable. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she supports the creation of a framework that...
New GOP-led voting restrictions move forward in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans advanced a slate of proposed new voting restrictions Thursday that would reduce options to cast ballots, limit polling hours and hand more power to partisan poll watchers. All those efforts are rolled into a single bill that cleared the GOP-controlled state Senate — a key...
Beijing begins to test venues for 2022 Winter Olympics
BEIJING — The organizers of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics started 10 days of testing Thursday for the hockey and other indoor venues. A curling mixed doubles competition was held at the refashioned “Water Cube,” where an ice surface has been laid over the pool that hosted the swimming events...
Covid world update: Germany’s president receives AstraZeneca vaccine; vaccine requirements in Italy
BERLIN — Germany’s president has been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot, a signal of confidence in the vaccine after the country restricted its use in people under 60. The presidential office said in a statement that President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is 65, received his first shot at a hospital in...
Sarah Palin confirms covid-19 diagnosis, urges steps like masks
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she tested positive for covid-19 and is urging people to take steps to guard against the coronavirus, such as wearing masks in public. “Through it all, I view wearing that cumbersome mask indoors in a crowd as not only allowing the...
Gunman in Southern California mass shooting knew his victims
ORANGE, Calif. — The gunman who killed four people and critically wounded a fifth at a Southern California office building knew all the victims and apparently before opening fire chained shut the gates to two entrances, delaying police from getting inside, authorities said Thursday. Among the victims of the “horrific...
