Associated Press stories, Page 1730

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa has suspended plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn’t effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country. South Africa received its first 1 million doses of...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Republican lawmaker in West Virginia who resigned after posting an anti-gay slur but then was re-elected is drawing fresh criticism for an extended online diatribe opposing protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. House Delegate John Mandt said in a now-deleted Facebook post...

NORTH OGDEN, Utah — A charter school in northern Utah that is allowing parents to opt students out of its Black History Month curriculum has sparked a debate over if parents should have the option. Maria Montessori Academy Director Micah Hirokawa said on the school’s Facebook page on Friday that...

SALT LAKE CITY — Four backcountry skiers in their 20s died when one of the deadliest avalanches in Utah history hit a popular backcountry skiing area, police said Sunday. Four other people were also buried in the Saturday slide but managed to dig themselves out and didn’t suffer serious injuries,...

More than the youth of Patrick Mahomes or the agelessness of Tom Brady, the most compelling story surrounding this year’s Super Bowl was that it was happening at all. It took nearly 1 million covid tests, thousands of Zoom meetings, a dozen or so rescheduled games and an untold amount...

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, a titan of American academia, business and diplomacy who spent most of the 1980s trying to improve Cold War relations with the Soviet Union and forging a course for peace in the Middle East, has died. He was 100. Schultz died...

MISSION, Kan. — Mortuary owner Brian Simmons has been making more trips to homes to pick up bodies to be cremated and embalmed since the pandemic hit. With covid-19 devastating communities in Missouri, his two-person crews regularly arrive at homes in the Springfield area and remove bodies of people who...

PORTLAND, Maine — The U.S. Postal Service’s stretch of challenges didn’t end with the November general election and tens of millions of mail-in votes. The pandemic-depleted workforce fell further into a hole during the holiday rush, leading to long hours and a mountain of delayed mail. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy...

BOSTON — A man is warning people against using headphones while falling asleep after health care workers had to remove a wireless earbud from his esophagus. Worcester resident Brad Gauthier, who detailed his bizarre experience in a Facebook post, went to bed Monday listening to music. He woke up Tuesday,...

For turning around a moribund Cleveland Browns franchise, overcoming injuries and covid-19 concerns, Kevin Stefanski was the Associated Press Coach of the Year on Saturday. The Browns snapped their postseason drought going back to the 2003 season by going 11-5 in the rugged AFC North, then beating the Pittsburgh Steelers...

SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Saturday it will issue revised guidelines for indoor church services after the Supreme Court lifted the state’s ban on indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but left in place restrictions on singing and chanting. In the most significant legal victory against...

HONOLULU — A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with murder after his wife was found dead at Hawaii’s Schofield Barracks. Army Spc. Raul Hernandez Perez of Florida was charged in the killing of 25-year-old Selena Roth. Roth was found dead in a trash can on Jan. 13 after concerned...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A day after saying he needed to be patient about results, Jordan Spieth shot a 10-under-par 61 on Saturday for a share of the lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He then repeated himself. “What I’m looking forward to is just staying the course, trusting it,”...

LAS VEGAS — Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks Jr. died after battling prostate and other cancers. He was 67. Spinks died Friday night, according to a release from a public relations firm. His wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, and a few close friends and other family members were by his side...

Elvis is leaving Texas. Veteran infielder Elvis Andrus was traded to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, just over two months after the Texas Rangers said the only player remaining from their only two World Series appearances no longer would be the starting shortstop after 12 seasons in that role. Texas...