Associated Press stories, Page 1812
Pharmacist accused of destroying vaccine charged
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Prosecutors have charged a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of intentionally spoiling covid-19 vaccine with misdemeanor property damage. Online court records indicate Steven Brandenburg was charged Tuesday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. Police arrested him on Dec. 31 as part of an investigation into 57 spoiled vials of...
5 charged, 4 wounded in shootings in Poconos areaVideo
COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP — A series of shootings in a community in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains that left four people wounded led to charges against five people, authorities said. The shootings occurred Monday night in different areas of Coolbaugh Township, and authorities said some of the people injured apparently were victims of...
Monarch butterfly population moves closer to extinction
SAN FRANCISCO — The number of western monarch butterflies wintering along the California coast has plummeted precipitously to a record low, putting the orange-and-black insects closer to extinction, researchers announced Tuesday. An annual winter count by the Xerces Society recorded fewer than 2,000 butterflies, a massive decline from the tens...
GM teams up with Microsoft on driverless cars
SILVER SPRING, Md. — General Motors is teaming up with Microsoft to accelerate its rollout of electric, self-driving cars. In the partnership announced Tuesday, the companies said Microsoft’s Azure cloud and edge computing platform would be used to “commercialize its unique autonomous vehicle solutions at scale.” Microsoft joins General Motors,...
Big Ten reprimands interim Penn State coach Jim Ferry, fines school $10,000
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Big Ten Conference reprimanded interim Penn State basketball coach Jim Ferry and fined the university $10,000 for comments Ferry made following a loss to Purdue. Ferry, named interim coach last fall after Patrick Chambers resigned following an internal investigation into inappropriate conduct, was called out by...
U.S. soldier arrested in plot to blow up NYC 9/11 Memorial
A U.S. Army soldier was arrested Tuesday in Georgia on terrorism charges after he spoke online about plots to blow up New York City’s 9/11 Memorial and other landmarks and attack U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, authorities said Tuesday. Cole James Bridges of Stow, Ohio, was in custody on...
Kyrie Irving rejoins Nets, says he ‘just needed a pause’
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving rejoined the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, saying he took a leave of absence because he “just needed a pause.” Irving practiced with the team and could play Wednesday in Cleveland. He has missed the last seven games — five while away from the team and...
Sarah Thomas to be 1st female to officiate at Super Bowl
NEW YORK — Sarah Thomas will cap her sixth NFL season by becoming the first female to officiate the Super Bowl in NFL history. Thomas, a down judge, is part of the officiating crew announced Tuesday by the NFL. “Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super...
Jets make hiring of Robert Saleh as head coach official
NEW YORK — Robert Saleh left no doubt for the New York Jets that he was their guy. And he knew this is exactly where he wanted to be. The team officially announced Tuesday they hired the former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator as their head coach after agreeing to...
‘Shameful’: U.S. covid deaths top 400K as Trump leaves officeVideo
As President Donald Trump entered the final year of his term last January, the U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of covid-19. Not to worry, Trump insisted, his administration had the virus “totally under control.” Now, in his final hours in office, after a year of presidential denials of reality...
Trump expected to issue flurry of pardons on last full day
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was expected to spend his last full day in office issuing a flurry of pardons and bidding farewell to the American public from a near-deserted White House and surrounded by an extraordinary security presence outside. In one of his final acts as president, Trump was...
Trump in final parting shot hits Venezuela with sanctions
CARACAS, Venezuela — The Trump administration issued a parting shot to Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, announcing a sweeping round of stiff financial sanctions that target a network accused of moving oil on behalf of the president’s alleged frontman. The U.S. Treasury Department hit three individuals, 14 business entities...
Georgia certifies Democrats Warnock and Ossoff’s Senate wins
ATLANTA — Georgia’s secretary of state has certified the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections, paving the way for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Democrats to take control of the chamber. They’ll take office just as the Senate considers whether to convict...
SAT doing away with optional essay, subject tests
NEW YORK — The College Board said Tuesday it will eliminate the optional essay from the SAT and do away with subject tests amid a changing college admissions landscape. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of being innovative and adaptive to what lies ahead,” according to a statement from the...
Oklahoma judge orders ‘Tiger King’ zoo to turn over big cats
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A federal judge in Oklahoma has ordered the new owners of an Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary to turn over all the lion and tiger cubs in their possession, along with the animals’ mothers, to the federal government. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil...
Janet Yellen pushes GOP senators on $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice as Treasury secretary, said Tuesday that the incoming administration would focus on winning quick passage of its $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan, rejecting Republican arguments that the measure is too big given the size of U.S. budget deficits. “More must be done,” Yellen told...
McConnell: Trump ‘provoked’ Capitol siege, mob ‘fed lies’
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly placed blame on President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden’s election. McConnell’s remarks as he opened the Senate were...
Hurricanes-Predators game becomes 1st postponed NHL contest
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NHL has postponed its first game since the league’s season began, calling off Tuesday night’s game between the Hurricanes and the Predators hours after Carolina won the first of a two-game set in Nashville. “The decision was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure...
Jazmine Sullivan, Eric Church, H.E.R. to sing at Super Bowl
NEW YORK — R&B star Jazmine Sullivan and country singer Eric Church will join forces to sing the national anthem at the next month’s Super Bowl, where Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. will perform “America the Beautiful.” The performances will take place Feb. 7 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa before...
12 National Guard members removed from Biden inauguration for ties to fringe groups
Twelve U.S. Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views online, according to two U.S. officials. There was no threat to President-elect Joe Biden, they said. The officials, a senior...
EU commission urges member states to speed up vaccination
BRUSSELS — The European Union is urging member states to speed up the pace of covid-19 vaccinations to ensure that at least 80% of the most vulnerable people to the virus — those over age 80 — are vaccinated by March. In nonbinding recommendations published Tuesday, the European Commission also...
Mega Millions jackpot now $865M; Powerball up to $730M
DES MOINES, Iowa — Lottery players will have another shot Tuesday night at the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history. The Mega Millions top prize climbed to an estimated $865 million, the biggest jackpot in more than two years. Powerball, the other lottery game offered in most of the U.S., isn’t...
NASCAR to hold pre-race Daytona 500 concert with Luke Combs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR will attempt some normalcy at the season-opening Daytona 500 with a live pre-race concert — the first big performance at a track during the pandemic — featuring country music star Luke Combs. Combs, who performed virtually for NASCAR’s season finale in November, has not done a...
Wall Street’s momentum swings back as stocks, yields tick up
Wall Street kicked off a holiday-shortened week with broad gains for stocks Tuesday, as the market recovered most of its losses from last week. The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, pulling to within 1% of its record high set earlier this month. About 60% of the companies in the benchmark index...
Biden to attend Mass with congressional leaders
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden will strike a unity theme before his inauguration as president Wednesday by worshipping with Congress’ top Republican and Democratic leaders. The Democratic president-elect has talked throughout the campaign and the post-election period about his goal of uniting a sharply divided country. Biden’s incoming chief of...
