Associated Press stories, Page 1884

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to a still-high 840,000, evidence that job cuts remain elevated seven months into the pandemic recession. The latest sign of a flagging recovery comes two days after President Donald Trump cut off talks over a new rescue...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vowed Thursday not to participate in next week’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden after organizers announced it will take place virtually because of the president’s diagnosis of covid-19. “I’m not going to do a virtual debate” with Biden, Trump told Fox News, moments after...

WASHINGTON — The second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will take place virtually amid the fallout from the president’s diagnosis of covid-19. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates debates made the announcement Thursday morning, a week before the two were scheduled to face on...

STOCKHOLM — The Nobel Prize for literature was awarded to American poet Louise Glück on Thursday “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” The prize was announced in Stockholm by Mats Malm, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy. New York-born Glück (pronouced “Glick”),...

SAN DIEGO — Randy Arozarena homered for the third straight game and Kevin Kiermaier and Michael Perez also went deep for the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat the New York Yankees 8-4 Wednesday night to move within one victory of reaching the AL Championship Series for the first time in...

NEWARK, N.J. — A postal employee in New Jersey dumped more than 1,800 pieces of mail, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny, faced arraignment later in the day on charges of delay, secretion or detention of mail and obstruction of mail. It was not known if he...

SALT LAKE CITY — Vice President Mike Pence defended the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans Wednesday night, while his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, condemned “the greatest failure of any presidential administration” during a largely civil debate dominated by the coronavirus. With...

WASHINGTON — The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after he and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were in a Pentagon meeting with a Coast Guard leader who was infected with the virus. The Marine Corps said Wednesday that Gen. Gary...

LOS ANGELES — Chad Pinder tied the score with a three-run homer in the seventh inning, Sean Murphy hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth and the Oakland Athletics rallied past the Houston Astros, 9-7, on Wednesday to avoid elimination in their AL Division Series. Houston leads the best-of-five...

OAKLAND, Calif. — Facebook said it’s readied new safeguards for the 2020 U.S. elections that have it better prepared to deal with candidates who prematurely declare victory or contest official results and the possibility of voter intimidation by alleged — and potentially armed — “poll watchers.” In the former case,...

HOUSTON — Rookie Ian Anderson pitched like an October veteran. Old pro Nick Markakis threw the best strike of the game. And just like that, the Atlanta Braves are on the verge of something they haven’t done since the days of Chipper, the Big Three and Bobby Cox. Anderson blanked...

PARIS — The first obvious sign of trouble for Novak Djokovic came when he stepped out into Court Philippe Chatrier with a rather large square of beige athletic tape on the back of his neck. The next indication came on the very first point of his French Open quarterfinal against...

Dwayne Haskins is going from starting quarterback to out of uniform. Ron Rivera benched Haskins for Washington’s next game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams and turned to Kyle Allen as the new starter with the team 1-3 and at what the coach believes is a crucial moment of the...

NEW YORK — New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold will sit out against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday with his sprained right shoulder. Coach Adam Gase said Wednesday that veteran Joe Flacco will get the start at home in Darnold’s place. “We’re just making sure we do the right thing,...

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin health officials announced Wednesday that a field hospital is opening in the coming days at the state fairgrounds near Milwaukee as a surge in COVID-19 cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals. Wisconsin has become a hot spot for the disease over the last month, ranking third nationwide...

MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd posted bail on Wednesday and was released from prison. According to court documents, Derek Chauvin posted $1 million bond, and the Department of Corrections confirmed he was no longer in custody at the state’s...

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A city council in North Carolina has approved a resolution which apologizes for the shooting deaths of five demonstrators at a 1979 rally against the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party. The Greensboro City Council voted 7-2 on Tuesday night to approve the resolution, which says...

NEW YORK — A New York City neighborhood erupted in protests after Gov. Andrew Cuomo moved to shut down schools and businesses and restrict capacity at houses of worship in areas where coronavirus cases are spiking. Many areas that stand to be affected are home to large enclaves of Orthodox...