Associated Press stories, Page 1908
Gang member who says he beat up R. Kelly sentenced in deaths
HAMMOND, Ind. — A convicted gang member who said he beat up jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in a Chicago cell in August has been sentenced to life in prison for a racketeering conviction that involved two 1999 murders. A federal judge in Hammond, Ind., sentenced Jeremiah Farmer, 39, on...
Florida man charged with changing governor’s voting address
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis couldn’t initially cast his ballot this week because someone illegally changed his address online, a complication that resulted in a suspect’s arrest on felony charges and raised questions about the security of the state’s online registration system. DeSantis went to an early...
FanDuel to open sports book in Bally’s Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The online sports betting company FanDuel will open an in-person sports book at Bally’s casino in Atlantic City once the casino’s sale to a Rhode Island company is finalized. When that happens, all nine Atlantic City casinos will have on-location sports books as New Jersey vies...
MLB says Dodgers 3B Justin Turner violated protocols when he returned to fieldVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Justin Turner violated coronavirus protocols when he celebrated on the Globe Life field with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates and he refused instructions from security to leave the field, behavior that Major League Baseball said risked the safety of others. The commissioner’s office said Wednesday that it...
Social media CEOs get earful on bias, warning of new limits
WASHINGTON — With next week’s election looming, the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google received a hectoring from Republicans at a Senate hearing Wednesday for alleged anti-conservative bias in the companies’ social media platforms — and were warned of coming restrictions from Congress. Lawmakers of both parties, citing the companies’...
S&P 500 sinks 3.5% as surging coronavirus cases threaten shutdownsVideo
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 943 points Wednesday as surging coronavirus cases forced more shutdown measures in Europe and raised fears of more restrictions in the United States. The S&P 500 slid 3.5%, its third straight loss and its biggest drop since June. The benchmark index is already down...
60 charged in $300M phone scam targeting elderly victims
MINNEAPOLIS — Sixty people have been charged in a widespread magazine telemarketing scam that authorities say netted $300 million from more than 150,000 elderly and vulnerable people nationwide, the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota announced Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald called the scam the largest elder fraud scheme in the...
Justice Department charges 8 in Chinese harassment plot in U.S.Video
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has charged eight people with working on behalf of the Chinese government in a pressure campaign aimed at coercing a New Jersey man who was wanted by Beijing to return to China to face charges, officials said Wednesday. The defendants participated in a Chinese government...
Police: 7 taken to hospitals after Trump Omaha airport rally
OMAHA, Neb. — At least seven people were taken to hospitals after an Omaha airport rally for President Donald Trump that drew thousands, many of whom were left stranded miles from their parked cars in freezing weather. Omaha police said in a written statement that first responders dealt with 30...
Former DHS official says he wrote ‘Anonymous’ Trump critique
WASHINGTON —A former Trump administration official who penned a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name “Anonymous” revealed himself Wednesday as a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security. The official, Miles Taylor, said in a tweet six days before Election Day that Donald Trump...
Germany, France look to more limits to curb rebounding virus
BERLIN — French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a second lockdown in France from Friday, to try to combat a strong resurgence of the coronavirus. With over 520 deaths recorded Tuesday, the French leader said that a new nationwide lockdown would be the only possible way to successfully fight covid-19....
Breonna Taylor grand jurors: Louisville officers deserved more chargesVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky man who served on the Breonna Taylor grand jury said he felt police actions on the night of her death were “criminal” but grand jurors were not given the chance to explore charges related to her shooting death by officers. Two grand jurors, one a...
Pennsylvanians urged to drop off mail-in ballots in person
HARRISBURG — With six days until Election Day, Pennsylvania’s top elections official on Wednesday urged voters in the presidential battleground state who have a mail-in ballot to drop it off in person rather than mail it. In addition to concerns over Postal Service delays, litigation in front of the U.S....
No. 4 Notre Dame, others look to end No. 1 Clemson’s ACC runVideo
CLEMSON, S.C. — Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly doesn’t try to hide it: The Fighting Irish are looking directly at No. 1 Clemson and the chance to end the Tigers’ domination of the league. And maybe believing is the the first step in knocking off Clemson. “You’ve got to have...
2021 Boston Marathon postponed, ‘at least’ until the fall
BOSTON — Next year’s Boston Marathon has also been postponed. The Boston Athletic Association said Wednesday that it won’t hold the race as scheduled in April because of the covid-19 pandemic. Organizers say it will be put off “at least until the fall of 2021.” This year’s marathon was initially...
German officials agree on partial lockdown to curb virus
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel says German officials have agreed to a four-week shutdown of restaurants, bars, cinemas, theaters and other leisure facilities in a bid to curb a sharp rise in coronavirus infections. Merkel and the country’s 16 state governors, who are responsible for imposing and easing restrictions, agreed...
No. 9 Wisconsin cancels Nebraska game; Chryst tests positive
No. 9 Wisconsin has canceled its game at Nebraska on Saturday and paused all team activities for at least seven days after a dozen people within the program, including coach Paul Chryst, tested positive for covid-19. School officials said Wednesday that athletic director Barry Alvarez and Chancellor Rebecca Blank made...
All about Section 230, a rule that made the modern internet
OAKLAND, Calif. — Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today. Those are the words President Donald Trump’s administration has challenged directly via executive order, one that would strip those protections if online...
Lockdowns, business rollbacks threatened amid surging virus
The alarming surge in coronavirus cases in Europe and the U.S. is wiping out months of progress against the scourge on two continents, prompting new business restrictions, raising the threat of another round of large-scale lockdowns and sending a shudder through financial markets. “We are deep in the second wave,”...
‘We need you’: GOP hunts for new Trump voters in Pennsylvania
SLIPPERY ROCK — President Donald Trump’s campaign has a bold theory for how he will win reelection: It can tap a universe of millions of supporters who did not vote for him in 2016 but will do so this time. Supposedly, these voters are overlooked by polls that show Trump...
QAnon’s ‘Save the Children’ morphs into popular slogan
MORRIS, Ill. — At a busy intersection in this small Illinois town, Lynn Vermillion smiles at passing drivers who honk their support for the colorful posters she and friends wave: “Save Our Children. Save their Children. Save ALL the Children.” As the U.S. presidential campaign heated up in recent months,...
Dodgers’ Justin Turner tests positive for covid-19, pulled during World Series clincher
ARLINGTON, Texas — No large dogpile, no champagne and a mask on nearly every face — the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their first World Series title since 1988 in a manner no one could have imagined prior to the coronavirus pandemic. They started the party without Justin Turner, too, after...
Philadelphia victim’s family sought ambulance, not police
PHILADELPHIA — The family of a Black man killed by Philadelphia police officers in a shooting caught on video had called for an ambulance to get him help with a mental health crisis, not for police intervention, their lawyer said. Police said Walter Wallace Jr., 27, was wielding a knife...
Anxiety 2020: Voters worry about safety at the polls
WASHINGTON — Gary Kauffman says he does not scare easily. So when men waving President Donald Trump flags drive by his house in downtown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he stands on his front steps and waves a banner for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. “Sometimes I yell at them. They yell...
The late Whitney Houston makes history with 3rd diamond albumVideo
The late Whitney Houston has earned her third diamond-certified album, becoming the first Black artist to achieve the feat. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Legacy Recordings announced Wednesday that Houston’s 1987 sophomore album, “Whitney,” has reached diamond status, which is equivalent to selling 10 million albums. Her...
