Associated Press stories, Page 1867
No. 1 Gonzaga pulls away from West Virginia in second halfVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Joel Ayayi matched his career high with 21 points, and Andrew Nembhard and Corey Kispert had 19 each, and No. 1 Gonzaga rallied to beat No. 11 West Virginia, 87-82, on Wednesday night in the Jimmy V Classic. The Bulldogs (3-0) struggled to get in sync early and...
Search persists for parents of 628 kids separated at border
SAN DIEGO — A court-appointed committee has yet to find the parents of 628 children separated at the border early in the Trump administration, according to a court filing Wednesday that also said the government last week provided additional phone numbers to aid the long-running search. Parents of 333 children...
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree turns on, with coronavirus rules
NEW YORK — Rockin’ around the Christmas tree looks different for visitors at Rockefeller Center this year, starting with the tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday. What’s normally a chaotic, crowded tourist hotspot during the holiday season was instead a mask-mandated, time-limited, socially distanced locale because of the coronavirus pandemic. The...
Seth Lundy scores 32, Myles Dread hits 3 at buzzer in Penn State win
UNIVERSITY PARK — Seth Lundy hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 32 points, Myles Dread made a 3 at the buzzer and Penn State beat VCU, 72-69, on Wednesday night. Dread was scoreless and 0 for 4 from the field, all 3-point shots, before he took a pass...
Gary Bettman: NHL players have to decide to pay now or later
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman warned players Wednesday they are likely going to have to pay one way or another to make up for the league’s projected lost revenue whenever the 2020-21 season gets underway. Speaking on a Sports Business Journal panel, Bettman stressed the NHL is not attempting to reopen...
In video, Trump recycles unsubstantiated voter fraud claimsVideo
WASHINGTON — Increasingly detached from reality, President Donald Trump stood before a White House lectern and delivered a 46-minute diatribe against the election results that produced a win for Democrat Joe Biden, unspooling one misstatement after another to back his baseless claim that he really won. Trump called his address,...
Agency: LeBron James inks 2-year extension with Lakers
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. James’ agency, Klutch Sports, confirmed the deal Wednesday during the first week of training camp for the NBA champions. The Lakers still are finalizing their new contract with Anthony Davis, who is also represented...
Police: Officer in West Virginia shooting unlikely to surviveVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia police officer who was shot by a suspect is unlikely to survive, a police chief said Wednesday. Charleston officer Cassie Johnson was shot Tuesday while responding to a parking complaint. She was sworn in as a police officer in January 2019. Charleston Police Officer...
Stock indexes shake off a weak start and end mostly higherVideo
Stocks shook off a sluggish start to finish with modest gains Wednesday, nudging the S&P 500 index to an all-time high for the second straight day. The benchmark index rose 0.2% after spending much of the day drifting between small gains and losses. About 54% of the stocks in the...
Nurses wanted: Swamped hospitals scramble for pandemic helpVideo
OMAHA, Neb. — U.S. hospitals slammed with covid-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement, recruiting students and new graduates who have yet to earn their licenses and offering eye-popping salaries in a desperate bid to ease staffing shortages. With the virus surging from coast to...
Judge refuses to block ban on Michigan indoor dining
DETROIT — Bars and restaurants lost a challenge Wednesday to Michigan’s ban on indoor dining and immediately warned about business failures and deep job losses if the restriction linked to the coronavirus is extended past next week. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney turned down a request for an injunction with...
Fed reports slowing economic activity because of coronavirus surge
WASHINGTON — A Federal Reserve survey of business conditions around the country found that economic activity in several regions slowed in November as coronavirus cases surged. The Fed report released Wednesday said that overall, the Fed’s 12 regional banks characterized the economic expansion as “modest or moderate.” But it noted...
Restaurant jaunts create credibility issue for politiciansVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Their messaging has been clear: wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart from others, and most importantly: stay home! But their actions aren’t living up to the rhetoric, creating a real political problem for some of the most vocal leaders in California’s fight to contain the coronavirus....
Goodell: NFL committed to finishing regular season on time
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday the league remains committed to finishing the regular season as scheduled. Goodell also said on a conference call that while the NFL is considering a bubble format for the playoffs, it wouldn’t necessarily resemble what the NHL and NBA used in successfully in completing...
San Francisco bans smoking inside apartments; pot smoking OK
City officials in San Francisco have banned all tobacco smoking inside apartments, citing concerns about secondhand smoke. But lighting up a joint inside? That’s still allowed. The Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 Tuesday to approve the ordinance making San Francisco the largest city in the country to ban tobacco smoking...
Rafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic decathlon champion, dies at 86
LOS ANGELES — Rafer Johnson, who won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin in 1968, died Wednesday. He was 86. He died at his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, according to family friend Michael Roth. No cause of...
‘My God, we’re scared’: Serial attacks put Boston suburb on edge
WALTHAM, Mass. — The attacks come after dark, without warning, usually from behind. The victims, all men, are hit so hard on the head with some sort of blunt object that they are often knocked to the ground and require medical attention. The apparently random string of at least 10...
UN agency removes cannabis from strictest drug category
The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted Wednesday to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, which could impact the global medical marijuana industry. The Vienna-based U.N. agency said in a statement that it had voted 27-25, with one abstention, to remove cannabis...
Stay home for the holidays or get tested twice, CDC urges
Don’t travel over the upcoming holidays. But if you must, consider getting coronavirus tests before and after, U.S. health officials urged Wednesday. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the best way to stay safe and protect others is to stay home. The agency also announced new...
NYC bar owner who defied coronavirus restrictions arrested
An owner of a New York City bar that was providing indoor service in defiance of coronavirus restrictions was arrested after a sting in which plainclothes officers went inside and ordered food and beverages, the city sheriff’s office said. Protesters shouted as deputies arrested Danny Presti, the co-owner of Mac’s...
Putin orders ‘large-scale’ vaccination of doctors, teachers
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered the start of a “large-scale” covid-19 vaccination of doctors and teachers late next week with the Sputnik V shot, which has yet to complete advanced studies needed to ensure its effectiveness and safety. Putin’s statement comes hours after Britain, which became...
Pakistani court declares ex-PM Sharif fugitive from justice
ISLAMABAD — A top Pakistani court on Wednesday declared the country’s ailing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who lives in exile in London, a fugitive from justice after he failed to return home to face additional corruption charges. The move by the Islamabad High Court comes months after Sharif was...
Transportation Department tightens definition of service animals allowed on planes
The days of pets flying with their owners in airplane cabins for free are coming to an end. The Transportation Department issued a final rule Wednesday covering animals on airlines. It decided that only dogs can fly as service animals, and companions that passengers use for emotional support don’t count....
All Mariah Carey wants is you to enjoy her Christmas special
Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Mariah Carey is already orchestrating her dinner menu. “I do my father’s linguini with white clam sauce every Christmas Eve,” says the legendary songstress. “Then we do that traditional, more of a Southern-style Christmas dinner.” But is the woman known for her...
Man pleads guilty to killing woman after remains found
LANCASTER, Ky. — A Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to killing a woman whose remains were found six months after she disappeared, according to court records. David Sparks, 25, entered the plea Monday in Garrard County Circuit Court, news outlets reported, citing court records. He was indicted last year on...
