Associated Press stories, Page 1722
‘Super-hero’ in Spider-Man outfit meets pope at Vatican
VATICAN CITY — While Pope Francis is usually the star at Vatican gatherings, Spider-Man, or at least an Italian who dresses up like the character, was the attention-grabber among the public lined up in rows during the pontiff’s weekly Wednesday audience. Matteo Villardita, 28, dons the comic-book and movie super-hero...
Unvaccinated Missourians fuel covid: ‘We will be the canary’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the U.S. emerges from the covid-19 crisis, Missouri is becoming a cautionary tale for the rest of the country: It is seeing an alarming rise in cases because of a combination of the fast-spreading delta variant and stubborn resistance among many people to getting vaccinated....
Supreme Court limits when police can enter home without warrant
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday put limits on when police officers pursuing a fleeing suspect can enter a home without a warrant. The high court ruled that when officers are pursuing someone suspected of a misdemeanor, a less serious crime, they cannot always enter a home without a...
Justices rule for cursing Pennsylvania cheerleader over Snapchat postVideo
WASHINGTON — In the case of the cursing cheerleader in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court notched a victory for the free speech rights of students Wednesday, siding with a high school student whose vulgar social media post got her kicked off the junior varsity squad. The court voted 8-1 in favor...
R. Kelly jailed in New York City as he awaits sex-trafficking trial
NEW YORK — R&B singer R. Kelly has been jailed in New York City in anticipation of his sex-trafficking trial later this summer. A federal prison website on Wednesday listed Kelly as an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He arrived there Tuesday afternoon from Chicago, where he...
Stocks end listless day on Wall Street mixed as calm returns
A listless day on Wall Street ended with indexes mixed on Wednesday, as nervousness continues to wash out of the market following last week’s jolt by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 slipped 4.60 points, or 0.1%, to 4,241.84 after earlier meandering between very modest gains and losses. It’s 0.3%...
Tokyo shapes up to be No-Fun Olympics with many rules, tests
TOKYO — The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by the pandemic, are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public. They are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians who hope...
Until golf’s Olympic return, Bryson DeChambeau didn’t dare dream it
Bryson DeChambeau grew up watching the Olympics and wishing that someday he would be able to take part. As a golfer, he knew that was a bit of a stretch. Although the sport was a part of the Olympic program early in the 20th Century, it was dropped from 1904...
Report confirms hockey great Bob Plager died of ‘cardiac event’
ST. LOUIS — The final report on the cause of death of former St. Louis Blues defenseman Bob Plager has confirmed that he died of a “cardiac event” before crashing his SUV in March. St. Louis Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Graham revealed the final report on Tuesday, confirming his preliminary...
Biden faces growing pressure from the left over voting bill
WASHINGTON — When New York Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones was at the White House for the signing of the proclamation making Juneteenth a national holiday last week, he told President Joe Biden their party needed him more involved in passing voting legislation on the Hill. In response? Biden “just sort...
Russia says warning shots deter U.K. warship; London denies it
MOSCOW — The Russian military said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs Wednesday to force a British destroyer away from an area in the Black Sea near Crimea that Moscow claims as its territorial waters, but Britain denied that account and insisted its ship...
Warren Buffett resigns from Gates Foundation
NEW YORK — Warren Buffett resigned Wednesday as trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which says it will announce plans in July to answer questions raised about its leadership structure as it deals with the divorce of its two founders. The announcement from Buffett comes weeks after Bill...
This Date in Sports History: June 23
1917 — In baseball’s greatest relief effort, Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox retires 26 batters for a 4-0 victory over Washington. Shore relieves Babe Ruth with nobody out and a man on first, who was cut down stealing. 1917 — Molla Bjurstedt wins the women’s U.S. Lawn Tennis...
Carey Price, Montreal push Vegas to brink of elimination
LAS VEGAS — Carey Price made 26 saves to lead Montreal to 4-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, putting the Canadiens one win away from the Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens lead Vegas 3-2 in the their best-of-seven series, with Game 6 scheduled for the Bell...
Voting ends, wait for results begins in New York City mayoral primaryVideo
NEW YORK — The votes are in. The polls are closed. But the top contenders may have a long, anxious wait ahead of them for accurate results in New York City’s mayoral primary, the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting. Several candidates in the race to succeed Mayor...
Pistons win lottery, receive No. 1 pick in 2021 NBA Draft
The Detroit Pistons did a lot of losing this season, finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA and the franchise’s worst record in nearly 30 years. It paid off. The Pistons won the NBA Draft lottery Tuesday night, grabbing the No. 1 pick in the July 29 event and...
GOP voting law bill clears state House amid Wolf veto threat
HARRISBURG — A Republican rewrite of Pennsylvania election law that would mandate voter IDs, alter registration and ballot counting deadlines and give conservatives auditing procedures they have clamored for passed the state House on Tuesday despite the Democratic governor’s veto threat. The lengthy and complex bill, crafted after 10 committee...
Sabres ‘French Connection’ winger, former Penguin Rene Robert dies at 72Video
Rene Robert, a member of the Buffalo Sabres’ famed “French Connection Line,” died Tuesday at a Florida hospital less than a week after suffering a heart attack. He was 72. The Sabres confirmed Robert’s death in a statement released by the team. Robert had been on life support since being...
Golf notes: KPMG provides LPGA Tour with fuller range of statistics
Along with raising the profile of one of the LPGA Tour’s oldest majors, KPMG this week is launching a program that has been sorely lacking in women’s golf. “KPMG Performance Insights” essentially gives the LPGA Tour a wide array of data and statistics that will give players a better understanding...
Doug Ferguson: Torrey Pines deserves another Open for men and womenVideo
SAN DIEGO — Torrey Pines has staged two U.S. Opens, and it would be hard to find any flaws. The public course along the Pacific bluffs gave us Tiger Woods going 91 holes over five days on one good leg to win his third U.S. Open, and Jon Rahm returning...
Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Kevin Love commit to play for U.S. in OlympicsVideo
Jrue Holiday is planning to try to follow in his wife’s footsteps and win an Olympic gold medal. Holiday has committed to USA Basketball for next month’s Tokyo Games, along with his Milwaukee teammate Khris Middleton and Cleveland forward Kevin Love, said a person with knowledge of the decisions. Holiday...
Bucs’ Antonio Brown completes probation a year early, lawyer saysVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — The most significant portion of Antonio Brown’s legal issues stemming from his alleged assault of a moving truck driver has been resolved, according to an attorney for the Bucs receiver. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, citing attorney Sean Burstyn, reported Tuesday that Brown, 32, has completed the two years’...
Jim Litke: Carl Nassib’s video shatters decades-old sports barrier
All it took was an Instagram post. In a 59-second video Monday, Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib became the first active player in the NFL’s 101-year history to publicly declare he is gay and in the bargain, burst through a barrier that went unchallenged for decades. The end...
Delta variant represents 20% of U.S. infections
WASHINGTON — The so-called covid-19 delta variant which was first detected in India now represents more than 20% of coronavirus infections in the U.S. in the last two weeks, or double what it was when the Centers for Disease Control last reported on the variant’s prevalence. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the...
Houston hospital workers fired, resign over covid-19 vaccine
HOUSTON — More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get a covid-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement. A spokesperson for Houston Methodist Hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension...
