Associated Press stories, Page 1844
NBA fines Heat’s Meyers Leonard $50,000 for anti-Semitic slur
MIAMI — The NBA has fined Meyers Leonard $50,000, the maximum allowed by league policy, and suspended him from using all Miami Heat facilities and activities for one week in response to his use of an anti-Semitic term. Commissioner Adam Silver, in announcing those sanctions, also said that he believes...
Greek protesters attack police with firebombs at rally
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Extensive clashes broke out between police and protesters Thursday in Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, after authorities ended an occupation by students and other demonstrators at the city’s main university building. Protesters threw firebombs at police after street clashes erupted near the city center. Police responded with tear...
March 11, 2020: The night that sports, as we knew them, ended
Nobody knew exactly what to say in Oklahoma City around 7:10 p.m. local time on March 11, 2020. That was an issue for Mario Nanni, whose job as the Oklahoma City Thunder public-address announcer is to tell fans exactly what’s happening. He had just introduced the starting lineups. The Thunder...
Resignation demands grow as police get Cuomo groping report
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s grip on power appeared increasingly threatened Thursday as a majority of state legislators called for his resignation, Democrats launched an impeachment investigation and police in the state capital said they stood ready to investigate a groping allegation. The firestorm around the Democrat...
Duke pulls out of ACC Tournament after positive covid test; NCAA tourney streak ends
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Duke arrived at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament hoping to make an unprecedented run to extend its long NCAA Tournament streak. Instead, the Blue Devils abruptly had to pull out of the tournament and end its season due to a positive covid-19 test and the resulting quarantining...
More records for stock indexes as stimulus bill becomes law
Broad gains in stocks pushed several major indexes to all-time highs on Wall Street. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a measure of small-company stocks all closed at record levels on Thursday. The S&P 500 added 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.5%, but remains below the record...
House renews push to expand background checks for guns
WASHINGTON — Emboldened by their majorities in the House and Senate, Democrats are making a new push to enact the first major new gun control laws in more than two decades — starting with stricter background checks. The House is poised to pass two bills on Thursday that would require...
IOC and China make vaccine deal for Tokyo, Beijing Olympians
GENEVA — The International Olympic Committee and China have teamed up to offer vaccines to athletes and teams preparing for the upcoming games in both Tokyo and Beijing. The collaboration with Chinese Olympic officials was announced Thursday during an online IOC meeting. “We are grateful for this offer, which is...
Former presidents, first ladies urge Americans to get covid shots
WASHINGTON — Four former presidents are urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as covid-19 doses are available to them, as part of a campaign to overcome hesitancy about the shots. Two public service announcements from the Ad Council and the business-supported covid Collaborative feature Presidents Barack Obama, George W....
Judge OKs 3rd-degree murder charge for ex-cop in George Floyd death
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge on Thursday granted prosecutors’ request to add a third-degree murder count against a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, offering jurors an additional option for conviction and resolving an issue that might have delayed his trial for months. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill...
EU regulator approves J&J’s one-shot covid vaccine
AMSTERDAM — The European Medicines Agency has authorized Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose coronavirus vaccine, giving the European Union’s 27 nations a fourth licensed vaccine to try to curb the pandemic amid a stalled vaccination drive in the bloc. In a decision issued Thursday, the EU medicines regulator said it was...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 712,000 as pace of layoffs eases
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 712,000, the lowest total since early November, evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs amid a decline in confirmed coronavirus cases and signs of an improving economy. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for unemployment aid...
Prince William defends U.K. royal family against racism claims
LONDON — Prince William on Thursday defended Britain’s royal family against accusations of racism made by his brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan, saying the royals are “very much not a racist family.” In comments made during a visit to an east London school, William became the first royal to...
Still recovering, Japan marks 10 years since tsunami hit
TOKYO — Japan fell quiet at 2:46 p.m. Thursday to mark the minute that an earthquake began 10 years ago, setting off a tsunami and nuclear crisis that devastated the country’s northeast coast in a disaster that one survivor said he fears people are beginning to forget. Carrying bouquets of...
Turkey detains 13 for ‘insulting’ Erdogan on Women’s Day
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish police have detained 13 people who participated in a Women’s Day march for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, officials and news reports said Thursday. Thousands of protesters had walked along a street in central Istanbul on Monday to denounce violence against women in Turkey, where...
It was 1 year ago that WHO declared covid-19 a pandemic
GENEVA — When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top...
Penn State rallies past Nebraska in Big Ten first-round game
INDIANAPOLIS — Jamari Wheeler scored a career-high 19 points, and No. 11 seed Penn State pulled away inside the last four minutes to beat No. 14 seed Nebraska 72-66 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament. Penn State (11-13) has won four of its...
This date in sports history: March 11Video
1922 — Cornell wins the first IC4A indoor track meet held at the 2nd Regiment Armory in New York. 1947 — Harry Boykoff of St. John’s sets a Madison Square Garden scoring record with 54 points in the Redmen’s 71-52 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) 1958 — Manhattan upsets top-ranked...
Newly signed Cowboys QB Dak Prescott healthy, happyVideo
Dak Prescott walked briskly and bounced up the couple of steps onto the stage for the announcement of the richest contract in the storied history of the Dallas Cowboys for their latest star quarterback. It was five months almost to the day Wednesday since the gruesome ankle injury that ended...
Attorneys in ex-cop’s trial probe jurors’ views about police
MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death questioned potential jurors Wednesday about their attitudes toward police, trying to determine whether they’re more inclined to believe testimony from law enforcement over evidence from other witnesses to the fatal confrontation. Judge Peter...
Police groups endorse Biden’s pick for civil rights chief
WASHINGTON — Some of the largest law enforcement groups in the U.S. are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the Justice Department’s civil rights division. The support for Kristen Clarke, who is nominated to be assistant attorney general for civil rights, includes some of the nation’s...
Report: Cuomo groped female aide in governor’s residence
ALBANY, N.Y. — An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he groped her in the governor’s residence, a newspaper reported Wednesday, in the most serious allegation made yet by a series of women against the embattled Democrat. The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, who it...
Teams need only 5 players to be eligible for NCAA TournamentVideo
All a team needs to play in this year’s NCAA Tournament is five healthy players. How about a coach? The NCAA will get back to you on that. The fluid nature of a March Madness played amid the coronavirus pandemic was spelled out Wednesday, hours before the NCAA selection committee...
Nursing home residents can get hugs again, feds say
WASHINGTON — Nursing home residents vaccinated against covid-19 can get hugs again from their loved ones, and all residents may enjoy more indoor visits, the government said Wednesday in a step toward pre-pandemic normalcy. The policy guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, comes as coronavirus...
Biden immediately begins selling virus aid plan to public
WASHINGTON — The White House began highlighting the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill immediately after it gained final congressional approval on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the public on President Joe Biden’s first legislative victory. The West Wing began an ambitious campaign to showcase the bill’s contents while looking...
