Associated Press stories, Page 1903
Retired NYC firefighter surrenders in U.S. Capitol riot sweep
NEW YORK — A retired New York City firefighter and a state court employee were swept up Tuesday in the federal investigation of the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Former firefighter Thomas Fee surrendered to face charges in Washington of disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building without permission during...
NCAA announces tighter schedule for March MadnessVideo
INDIANAPOLIS— That much-anticipated opening Thursday of March Madness will belong to the play-in teams, part of a scrambled and modestly condensed schedule for the 2021 tournament released Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic forced the NCAA to move the entire 67-game tournament to Indiana, which means the schedule doesn’t have to be...
Self-described ‘Oath Keepers’ militia members jailed on riot charges
CINCINNATI — Federal authorities said Tuesday that they’ve charged a leader in a paramilitary group with conspiracy and related counts after he and some of the group’s members helped storm the U.S. Capitol. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 65, of Virginia, was the first person to be charged with conspiracy as a...
Ravens release RB Mark Ingram, who lost starting job in 2020
Three-time Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram was released by the Baltimore Ravens, who used the 10-year veteran as a starter for the first seven games this season before dropping him deep on the depth chart. The 31-year-old Ingram was on the inactive list for four of Baltimore’s last five...
QB Chad Henne ready as Chiefs look toward AFC title gameVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 35-year-old journeyman quarterback who made the two plucky plays in the final minutes of regulation that helped get the Kansas City Chiefs into the AFC championship game was fortunate to even be on the team. Chad Henne had spent nearly a decade with Miami and...
Mike Pence won’t attend Trump’s presidential sendoff
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence is among those who will not be attending President Donald Trump’s sendoff event at Joint Base Andrews. A person familiar with Pence’s schedule cited “logistical challenges” in getting from the air base to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremonies on Wednesday. The person spoke on...
Biden marks nation’s covid grief before inauguration pompVideo
WASHINGTON — Hours from inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden paused on what might have been his triumphal entrance to Washington Tuesday evening to mark instead the national tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic with a moment of collective grief for Americans lost. His arrival coincided with the awful news that the U.S....
2 National Guard members made extremist statements about inaugurationVideo
WASHINGTON — Twelve U.S. National Guard members have been removed from securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration after vetting by the FBI, including two who made extremist statements in posts or texts about the Wednesday event, Pentagon officials said. There were no specific threats to Biden. Two U.S. officials told The...
Pharmacist accused of destroying vaccine charged
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Prosecutors have charged a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of intentionally spoiling covid-19 vaccine with misdemeanor property damage. Online court records indicate Steven Brandenburg was charged Tuesday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. Police arrested him on Dec. 31 as part of an investigation into 57 spoiled vials of...
5 charged, 4 wounded in shootings in Poconos areaVideo
COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP — A series of shootings in a community in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains that left four people wounded led to charges against five people, authorities said. The shootings occurred Monday night in different areas of Coolbaugh Township, and authorities said some of the people injured apparently were victims of...
Monarch butterfly population moves closer to extinction
SAN FRANCISCO — The number of western monarch butterflies wintering along the California coast has plummeted precipitously to a record low, putting the orange-and-black insects closer to extinction, researchers announced Tuesday. An annual winter count by the Xerces Society recorded fewer than 2,000 butterflies, a massive decline from the tens...
GM teams up with Microsoft on driverless cars
SILVER SPRING, Md. — General Motors is teaming up with Microsoft to accelerate its rollout of electric, self-driving cars. In the partnership announced Tuesday, the companies said Microsoft’s Azure cloud and edge computing platform would be used to “commercialize its unique autonomous vehicle solutions at scale.” Microsoft joins General Motors,...
Big Ten reprimands interim Penn State coach Jim Ferry, fines school $10,000
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Big Ten Conference reprimanded interim Penn State basketball coach Jim Ferry and fined the university $10,000 for comments Ferry made following a loss to Purdue. Ferry, named interim coach last fall after Patrick Chambers resigned following an internal investigation into inappropriate conduct, was called out by...
U.S. soldier arrested in plot to blow up NYC 9/11 Memorial
A U.S. Army soldier was arrested Tuesday in Georgia on terrorism charges after he spoke online about plots to blow up New York City’s 9/11 Memorial and other landmarks and attack U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, authorities said Tuesday. Cole James Bridges of Stow, Ohio, was in custody on...
Kyrie Irving rejoins Nets, says he ‘just needed a pause’
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving rejoined the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, saying he took a leave of absence because he “just needed a pause.” Irving practiced with the team and could play Wednesday in Cleveland. He has missed the last seven games — five while away from the team and...
Sarah Thomas to be 1st female to officiate at Super Bowl
NEW YORK — Sarah Thomas will cap her sixth NFL season by becoming the first female to officiate the Super Bowl in NFL history. Thomas, a down judge, is part of the officiating crew announced Tuesday by the NFL. “Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super...
Jets make hiring of Robert Saleh as head coach official
NEW YORK — Robert Saleh left no doubt for the New York Jets that he was their guy. And he knew this is exactly where he wanted to be. The team officially announced Tuesday they hired the former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator as their head coach after agreeing to...
‘Shameful’: U.S. covid deaths top 400K as Trump leaves officeVideo
As President Donald Trump entered the final year of his term last January, the U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of covid-19. Not to worry, Trump insisted, his administration had the virus “totally under control.” Now, in his final hours in office, after a year of presidential denials of reality...
Trump expected to issue flurry of pardons on last full day
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was expected to spend his last full day in office issuing a flurry of pardons and bidding farewell to the American public from a near-deserted White House and surrounded by an extraordinary security presence outside. In one of his final acts as president, Trump was...
Trump in final parting shot hits Venezuela with sanctions
CARACAS, Venezuela — The Trump administration issued a parting shot to Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, announcing a sweeping round of stiff financial sanctions that target a network accused of moving oil on behalf of the president’s alleged frontman. The U.S. Treasury Department hit three individuals, 14 business entities...
Georgia certifies Democrats Warnock and Ossoff’s Senate wins
ATLANTA — Georgia’s secretary of state has certified the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections, paving the way for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Democrats to take control of the chamber. They’ll take office just as the Senate considers whether to convict...
SAT doing away with optional essay, subject tests
NEW YORK — The College Board said Tuesday it will eliminate the optional essay from the SAT and do away with subject tests amid a changing college admissions landscape. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of being innovative and adaptive to what lies ahead,” according to a statement from the...
Oklahoma judge orders ‘Tiger King’ zoo to turn over big cats
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A federal judge in Oklahoma has ordered the new owners of an Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary to turn over all the lion and tiger cubs in their possession, along with the animals’ mothers, to the federal government. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil...
Janet Yellen pushes GOP senators on $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice as Treasury secretary, said Tuesday that the incoming administration would focus on winning quick passage of its $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan, rejecting Republican arguments that the measure is too big given the size of U.S. budget deficits. “More must be done,” Yellen told...
McConnell: Trump ‘provoked’ Capitol siege, mob ‘fed lies’
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly placed blame on President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden’s election. McConnell’s remarks as he opened the Senate were...
