Associated Press stories, Page 1852
This date in sports history: Dec. 17Video
1933 — The Chicago Bears win the first NFL championship with a 23-21 victory over the New York Giants. The Bears score the winning touchdown on a 36-yard play that starts with a short pass from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt, who then laterals to Bill Kerr for the score....
In ‘Ma Rainey,’ channeling the blues of August Wilson
NEW YORK — Like many of those involved in the making of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” it’s not easy for Viola Davis to summarize what playwright August Wilson has meant to her except to answer, “Everything.” Davis’ first stage role was in Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” She made...
Alabama, Ohio State add 5-stars while preparing for championship gamesVideo
As Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Florida prepared to play for conference championships, they signed top-10 recruiting classes for 2021 they hope to fuel their next title contenders. The most unusual college football season in memory brought the convergence Wednesday of the start of the early...
‘If not one thing, it’s another’: Storm rolls into Northeast
NEW YORK — A major snowstorm rolled into the Northeast on Wednesday at a key moment in the coronavirus pandemic, days after the start of the U.S. vaccination campaign and in the thick of a virus surge that has throngs of people seeking tests per day. Snow was falling from...
Chicago mayor apologizes to woman for wrongful police raid
CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologized Wednesday to a social worker whose home was wrongly raided by police officers who did not allow the woman to put on any clothes before handcuffing her. A civilian review board is investigating the 2019 incident at Anjanette Young’s home of which Chicago’s...
Texas oilman’s Ansel Adams photo gets $988,000 at auction
DALLAS — A West Texas oilman’s mural-sized print of an Ansel Adams photo has sold for nearly $1 million at an auction. Sotheby’s New York, the auction house, said Tuesday that “The Grand Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming” sold for $988,000, a record price for...
Texas AG announces multistate lawsuit against Google
DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday announced a multistate lawsuit against Google, accusing the search giant of “anti-competitive conduct” in the online advertising industry. Paxton said Google is using its “monopolistic power” to control pricing of online advertisements, fixing the market in its favor and eliminating competition....
For Northwestern, Big Ten title game vs. Ohio State comes after big turnaroundVideo
Pat Fitzgerald figures he will gain a few more gray hairs by the time No. 15 Northwestern steps on the field to face third-ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game Saturday. As the Wildcats coach, it’s his job to figure out a way to contain the Buckeyes. And...
IS widow convicted in Charlie Hebdo, kosher market attacks
PARIS — The fugitive widow of an Islamic State gunman and a man described as his logistician were convicted Wednesday of terrorism charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison in the trial of 14 people linked to the January 2015 Paris attacks against the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper and...
Tom Cruise unleashes rant about social distancing on ‘Mission: Impossible’ set
LONDON — Tom Cruise has launched an expletive-laden rant at colleagues on the set of his latest “Mission: Impossible” movie, after he reportedly spotted two workers failing to respect social distancing rules. In audio released by the Sun tabloid, the 58-year-old Hollywood star can be heard warning that anyone caught...
High court agrees to hear NCAA athlete compensation case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to review a court decision that the NCAA has said blurred “the line between student-athletes and professionals” by removing caps on education-related money certain football and basketball players can receive. The case will be argued in 2021 with a decision expected before...
Bitcoin surges past $20,000, erasing 3 years of deep losses
The price of bitcoin rose above $20,000 for the first time Wednesday, as the speculative digital currency topped its previous peak reached shortly after it became tradable on Wall Street three years ago this month. Like other instruments used to store value in times of uncertainty, bitcoin has benefited from...
Fed keeps rate near zero but sees brighter economy in 2021
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will keep buying government bonds until the economy makes “substantial” progress — a step intended to reassure financial markets and keep long-term borrowing rates low indefinitely. The Fed also reiterated after its latest policy meeting that expects keep its short-term benchmark interest rate...
U.S. plans new charges in 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department plans to unseal new charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. The bombing of Flight 103, whose victims included dozens...
ACC showdown: Notre Dame’s Book, Clemson’s Lawrence on center stageVideo
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wearing a mask and standing on the sideline, watched his Notre Dame counterpart, Ian Book, rally the Fighting Irish to a dramatic victory last month. Lawrence is expected to play a major role in what happens in the rematch when the second-ranked Fighting...
U.S. angling to secure more of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say they’re actively negotiating for additional purchases of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine after passing up a chance to lock in a contract this summer since it was still unclear how well the shots would work. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and special adviser Dr. Moncef...
Arizona ties, sets records for virus deaths, hospital usage
PHOENIX — Arizona on Wednesday tied a previous record of coronavirus deaths in one day during the current virus surge while its available hospital bed capacity dropped to a record-low since the start of the pandemic. As the state’s vaccination program began to ramp up, the state Department of Health...
MLB reclassifies Negro Leagues as major league
NEW YORK (AP) — Willie Mays will add some hits to his record, Monte Irvin’s big league batting average should climb over .300 and Satchel Paige may add nearly 150 victories to his total. Josh Gibson, the greatest of all Negro League sluggers, might just wind up with a major...
Kenyan man charged with plotting 9/11-style attack on U.S.
NEW YORK — Federal authorities have unsealed an indictment charging a Kenyan man with trying to stage a 9/11-style attack on the United States on behalf of the terrorist organization al-Shabab. Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, who was arrested in the Philippines in 2019, was transferred to U.S. custody Tuesday on...
Iran nuclear deal members urge Tehran return to compliance
BERLIN — World powers that are part of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran urged Tehran on Wednesday to roll back violations of the accord and return to full compliance during a virtual meeting in Vienna, a German official said. The meeting came as the signatories to the agreement...
Shoulder lands Bengals DT Geno Atkins on injured reserve
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday put defensive tackle Geno Atkins on injured reserve with a right shoulder injury. The 11-year veteran missed the first four games of the season with the injury suffered in training camp and has played sparingly since. Atkins has one tackle in seven games....
McConnell warns GOP off Electoral College brawl in Congress
WASHINGTON — Fending off a messy fight that could damage Republicans ahead of Georgia Senate runoffs, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned fellow GOP senators not to join President Donald Trump’s extended assault on the Electoral College results. In public remarks and private warnings on Tuesday, McConnell worked to push ahead...
S&P 500 nears record following stimulus progress, Fed moves
NEW YORK — The S&P 500 ticked up to the edge of its record Wednesday after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep buying bonds until the economy makes substantial progress from its virus-wracked state. In a mixed and muted day of trading, the S&P 500 rose 6.55 points, or 0.2%,...
Negotiators near agreement on long-delayed covid-19 aid bill
WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators closed in Wednesday on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that would deliver additional “paycheck protection” subsidies to businesses, $300 per week jobless checks, and $600 or so stimulus payments to most Americans. The long-delayed measure was coming together as Capitol Hill combatants finally fashioned difficult...
Turning the page? Republicans acknowledge Biden’s victory
WASHINGTON — More than a month after the election, top Republicans finally acknowledged Joe Biden as the next U.S. president, a collapse in GOP resistance to the millions of voters who decisively chose the Democrat. Foreign leaders joined the parade, too, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Speaking on Tuesday from the...

