Associated Press stories, Page 1843
Michigan canvasser still afraid after threat, suspect arrest
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — The Republican chair of a county canvassing board in Michigan who initially refused to certify local election results that favored Vice President Job Biden over President Donald Trump said Thursday that she doesn’t know a woman charged with sending her threatening text messages. Wayne County Canvasser...
Online store stops selling Rittenhouse family’s merchandise
KENOSHA, Wis. — An online sales company has stopped selling merchandise supporting an Illinois teen who killed two people and wounded a third during a protest in Wisconsin this summer. The Kenosha News reported Thursday that Kyle Rittenhouse’s family began selling “Free Kyle” merchandise through Printify last week. Printify creates...
U.S. military confirms pandemic won’t sideline Santa Claus
DENVER — The U.S. military is tracking an elderly man with a white beard and a large belly who goes by the name of Saint Nicholas. There’s no reason for alarm though, Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck said. In fact, this is a Christmas tradition going on its 65th...
Protesters call for justice in police killing of Andre Hill
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Demonstrators gathered in a cold Christmas Eve drizzle Thursday to call for justice in the death of Andre Hill, a Black man who was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer this week. Chants of “Whose street? Our street!” rang out from the crowd, which gathered...
College basketball teams fend off holiday loneliness
MINNEAPOLIS — Eric Curry texted his mom last week. He needed a headshot of her and his sister. The photo request was not for a social media post or a scrapbook project, but rather an effort by the fifth-year senior forward to give his closest family members the chance, virtually,...
Italy enters Christmas lockdown amid signs of coronavirus resurgence
ROME — Police in Italy enforced new covid-19 travel restrictions aimed at limiting Christmas get-togethers involving far-flung family members as public health officials appealed Thursday for a “drastic reduction” in social contacts to prevent new infections over the holidays. A modified nationwide lockdown went into effect on Christmas Eve with...
Truckers finally leave U.K. after days of virus gridlock
DOVER, England — Truckers and travelers stuck in a days-long gridlock at the English port of Dover started heading to France on Thursday after the country partially reopened its borders with Britain following international concern over a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant. However, thousands of stranded truck drivers still awaited...
Dark days: Experts fear the holidays will fuel the U.S. crisis
LOS ANGELES — Hard-hit California eclipsed 2 million coronavirus cases on Christmas Eve as the U.S. headed into a holiday season of travel and family gatherings that threaten to fuel the deadly outbreak across the nation. Despite warnings from public health experts to stay home, over 1.19 million travelers passed...
Judge in Pa. rejects restaurants’ challenge of Wolf’s indoor dining ban
HARRISBURG — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has rejected a bid to block one of Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest orders to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a three-week shutdown of indoor dining at restaurants through Jan. 4, as Wolf went to court to sue restaurants defying the...
Police: Couple steals $300 albino python from Massachusetts pet store
PEABODY, Mass. — Police in Peabody, Massachusetts, are looking for a couple who slithered away with a snake worth $300 from a city pet store. The couple entered the Petco store around 4:30 p.m. Monday, police told The Salem News on Wednesday. The man asked an employee if he could...
Pair of Nazi headstones removed from Houston Cemetery
SAN ANTONIO — Two German WWII graves bearing Nazi swastikas have been removed from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery and replaced with new headstones. The pair of headstones had become a long controversy over whether they were historical artifacts worth preserving or emblems of hate that should be destroyed, according...
Nurses fear what’s to come: ‘Walk down our unit for a day’
LOS ANGELES — The nurses of California are afraid. It’s Christmas Eve, and they aren’t home with their families. They are working, always working, completely gowned up — and worn down. They’re frightened by what people are doing, or not doing, during a coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more...
U.S. stocks tick higher in quiet pre-Christmas trading
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes are closing modestly higher Thursday after drifting through an abbreviated session. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% before trading shut on Wall Street for the Christmas holiday, trimming its small loss for the week. Markets will reopen Monday. The majority of stocks in the S&P...
Attempt to recall Lincoln, Neb., mayor, council falls short
LINCOLN, Neb. — A campaign to recall Lincoln’s mayor and four city council members has failed after petition circulators could not to gather enough signatures to trigger a recall election, organizers said Wednesday. The group LNK Recall said it came up thousands of signatures short in their quest to recall...
Melted fuel removal at Fukushima delayed by pandemic
TOKYO — Japan’s government and the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said Thursday that the removal of melted reactor fuel planned to start in 2021 will have to be postponed by about one year due to the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The economy and industry ministry and Tokyo Electric...
Coronavirus dampens Christmas joy in Bethlehem and elsewhere
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — A stream of marching bands joyously paraded through Bethlehem on Thursday, but few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Similar subdued scenes were repeated across the world as...
Presidential election hostilities may fuel fight over Pa. courts
HARRISBURG — The angst, anger and hostility over Pennsylvania’s presidential election result will flow past New Year’s Day. Republicans who control the state Legislature could use the first weeks of 2021 to fast-track a constitutional amendment that would remake the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court after Republicans and President Donald Trump...
‘We are struggling’: A bleak Christmas for America’s jobless
NEW YORK — Last Christmas, Shanita Matthews cooked up a feast for her family of three: Roast chicken, barbecue spareribs, spinach, macaroni and cheese. This year? They’ll stick with tuna fish and crackers, among the few items she can afford at the supermarket. “We’re not really doing Christmas — I...
House Republicans block $2,000 virus checks despite Trump demand
WASHINGTON — House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump’s longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans before signing a long-overdue covid-19 relief bill. The made-for-TV clash came as the Democratic-controlled chamber convened for a pro forma session scheduled in anticipation...
U.K., EU reach post-Brexit trade deal
BRUSSELS — Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough came Thursday with just over a week to go until the U.K.’s split...
This date in sports history: Dec. 24Video
1950 — Cleveland’s Otto Graham throws four touchdown passes, despite icy footing in Municipal Stadium, and Lou Groza kicks a 16-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to give the Browns a 30-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and the NFL title in their first year in the league....
Top-ranked Rams defense not bothered by only 2 Pro Bowl picksVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams have the NFL’s No. 1 total defense, No. 1 pass defense and No. 2 rushing defense. Aaron Donald’s group is second in the NFL in sacks and third-down conversion percentage, third in points allowed and fifth in takeaways. By almost any collective measure,...
Browns to face Jets team that finally has achieved liftoff
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are heading back to the New York area for their second visit around Christmastime. There won’t be any holiday-season sightseeing in Manhattan this time, either. And suddenly, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be any kind of vacation. After shocking the Los Angeles Rams,...
Penn State starts fast, fades quickly against No. 18 IllinoisVideo
STATE COLLEGE — Illinois coach Brad Underwood isn’t going to change his mind or his tune all season, especially if Ayo Dosunmu keeps playing like this. Dosunmu scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half to lead the No. 18 Fighting Illini past Penn State, 98-81, on Wednesday...
A child so sick his parents feared the worst, now they urge changeVideo
MONTPELIER, Idaho — Kale Wuthrich watched doctors surround his son in the emergency room, giving him fluids though IV tubes, running a battery of tests and trying to stabilize him. He was enveloped by the confusion and fear that had been building since his 12-year-old suddenly fell ill weeks after...
