Associated Press stories, Page 1881
Former football coach Lou Holtz tests positive for covid-19
COLUMBIA. S.C. — Lou Holtz has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 83-year-old former college football coach confirmed the test Thursday to Columbia TV station WOLO. “I don’t have a lot of energy right now,” Holtz told the ABC station. Holtz led Notre Dame to the 1988 national title in...
Expect hectic, brief NBA free agency sprintVideo
NBA free agency usually is a weeklong frenzy. Deals get struck, then teams and players must wait a few days before they can sign those contracts. And from there, a few more months often pass before the player goes to work with his new club. Not this year. What promises...
Biden wins Georgia, ending long losing streak for Democrats
ATLANTA — Joe Biden has won Georgia, scoring a rare win in a Southern state that hadn’t backed a Democrat for president in nearly 30 years. The Associated Press declared Joe Biden the winner of Georgia and its 16 Electoral College votes on Thursday, after state election officials there said...
GM: New batteries cut electric car costs, increase range
DETROIT — General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those powered by gasoline within five years. The technology also will increase the range per charge to as much as 450 miles. The company’s product development chief promised...
U.S. adult smoking rate looks unchanged, vaping rate higher
NEW YORK — The U.S. decline in cigarette smoking could be stalling while the adult vaping rate appears to be rising, according to a government report released Thursday. About 14% of U.S adults were cigarette smokers last year, the third year in a row the annual survey found that rate....
Mossimo Giannulli reports to prison in college bribery case
BOSTON — Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli reported to prison on Thursday to begin serving his five-month sentence for bribing his daughters’ way into college, officials said. Giannulli’s wife, “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin, is already behind bars for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme involving prominent parents and...
Trump’s election lawsuits plagued by elementary errorsVideo
When President Donald Trump sends lawyers to court, it seems he’s not sending his best. Fighting to challenge an election he lost to President-elect Joe Biden, Trump has launched a barrage of lawsuits across the country. Top Republicans have stood behind him and said they will wait for those cases...
President Trump invites Michigan GOP leaders to White House
DETROIT — President Donald Trump summoned Michigan’s Republican legislative leaders to the White House for a meeting Friday amid a longshot GOP push to overturn the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the battleground state. Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Trump invited Senate...
Defense still matters in rugged Big TenVideo
As the Big Ten prepares to have its version of “Separation Saturday,” it already is clear what trait distinguishes the league’s top four teams. Both division leads are at stake Saturday when No. 3 Ohio State (3-0) hosts No. 9 Indiana (4-0) and No. 10 Wisconsin (2-0) visits No. 19...
Isolated for months, island crew sees pandemic for 1st time
HONOLULU — Just as the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold, in February, four people set sail for one of the most remote places on Earth — a small camp on Kure Atoll, at the edge of the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. There, more than 1,400 miles from Honolulu, they...
Tyson suspends Iowa plant managers amid virus betting claim
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tyson Foods suspended top officials at its largest pork plant on Thursday and launched an investigation into allegations that they bet on how many workers would get infected during a widespread coronavirus outbreak. The company’s president and CEO, Dean Banks, said he was “extremely upset” about...
Anomalies found in data put census deadline in jeopardy
The director of the Census Bureau said Thursday that irregularities have been found during the numbers-crunching phase of the 2020 census, a development that jeopardizes the statistical agency’s ability to meet a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats. The Census Bureau already was facing...
CDC pleads with Americans to not travel for Thanksgiving
NEW YORK — With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation’s top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. It was some of the firmest guidance yet from the government on...
Astronaut: SpaceX Dragon beats shuttle, Soyuz for launching
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The most experienced astronaut on SpaceX’s newly launched crew said Thursday that riding a Dragon capsule to orbit is like being inside the actual mythical beast, and a lot more fun than NASA’s shuttles or Russian flights. As for the crew’s space rookie, he pulled more...
Medical associations urge scaled-back U.S. holiday
WASHINGTON — U.S. doctors, nurses and hospital officials joined forces Thursday to urge scaled-back holiday gatherings to help keep Americans and overburdened hospitals safe during the coronavirus surge. “In the strongest possible terms, we urge you to celebrate responsibly,” the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association...
Polish police criticized for using tear gas on protesters
WARSAW, Poland — Polish police came under criticism on Thursday for using tear gas and force on mostly female and young protesters during the latest in a string of women-led protests against a top court ruling restricting abortion. Political tensions have been extremely high in Poland since the constitutional court...
Illinois man, 81, uses antique walking stick to beat thieves
NILES, Ill. — An 81-year-old retired Marine from suburban Chicago used his grandfather’s antique Irish walking stick to chase off three burglars and deliver one a thump in the head for his trouble. Dan and Barbara Donovan told the Pioneer Press newspaper group that a man in a reflective vest...
GM says new batteries cut electric car costs, increase range
DETROIT — General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those powered by gasoline within five years. The technology also will increase the range per charge to as much as 450 miles. The company’s product development chief promised...
Huge Puerto Rico radio telescope to close in blow to science
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will close the huge telescope at the renowned Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in a blow to scientists worldwide who depend on it to search for planets, asteroids and extraterrestrial life. The independent, federally funded agency said...
Stocks rise amid investors’ tug of war between hope, fear
NEW YORK — Wall Street capped a day of choppy trading with modest gains for stocks Thursday, as the market’s tug of war continues between worries about the worsening pandemic in the present and optimism that a vaccine will rescue the economy in the future. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%...
Brexit trade talks suspended because of covid-19 case
BRUSSELS — The Brexit trade negotiations have been suspended at a crucial stage because an EU negotiator has tested positive for the coronavirus, adding new uncertainty to the talks as a deadline looms. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that together with his U.K. counterpart, David Frost, “we have decided...
Trump summons Michigan GOP leaders for extraordinary meeting
DETROIT — President Donald Trump summoned Michigan’s Republican legislative leaders to the White House for an extraordinary meeting Friday amid a long shot GOP push to subvert the democratic process that handed the battleground state to Democrat Joe Biden. Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that...
WHO: Slight slowing of virus cases in Europe
LONDON — The World Health Organization’s Europe director says there is a “small signal” the latest resurgence of coronavirus cases in the region is slowing. There were 1.8 million coronavirus cases last week, a slight dip from more than 2 million cases the previous week. Dr. Hans Kluge says, “we...
U.S. jobless claims increase to 742,00 as pandemic worsens
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week to 742,000, the first increase in five weeks and a sign that the resurgent viral outbreak is likely slowing the economy and forcing more companies to cut jobs. The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that applications for benefits...
Kansas man accused of illegal autopsies faces fraud charges
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas man accused of performing illegal autopsies has been indicted on 10 counts of federal wire fraud and the government wants to recover more than $1 million in fees paid to him by clients. The indictment accuses Shawn Parcells, 41, of Leawood of falsely leading people...
