Associated Press stories, Page 1917
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence leads midyear honors in ACC with mistake-free playVideo
Trevor Lawrence has been at his best from the start for top-ranked Clemson. The junior is again putting up big numbers but avoiding interceptions that plagued him early last season, which has the Tigers offense humming at a pace difficult to match. That’s why the Heisman Trophy candidate and potential...
Police: 43 bank hostages freed in ex-Soviet republic Georgia
TBILISI, Georgia — Police in the ex-Soviet nation of Georgia said 43 people were freed after an armed assailant took them hostage in a bank Wednesday, an announcement that came shortly after local media reported the gunman escaped and remained at large still holding three hostages. An armed man took...
Rudy Giuliani caught in hotel bedroom scene in new ‘Borat’ film
NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani is shown with his hand down his pants after flirting with an actress playing a young woman pretending to be a television journalist in a scene in Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest mockumentary, a sequel to his hit “Borat” film. The scene shot in a New...
5 questions as Trump, Biden prepare for final debate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, meet on the debate stage for the second and final time Thursday night in Tennessee. The 90-minute prime-time meeting comes just 12 days before Election Day. Some key questions heading into the debate: CAN TRUMP CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY...
Ireland focuses on Christmas as it enters new lockdown
DUBLIN — Ireland is already focused on Christmas. It’s a major national priority. Unless the country can get the COVID-19 pandemic under control, there won’t be much Christmas cheer this year in Galway, Cork or Dublin. With infections on the rise, the government has imposed a tough new lockdown that...
Virus spikes nationwide have officials looking to shore up hospitals
BOISE, Idaho — Hospitals across the United States are starting to buckle from a resurgence of covid-19 cases, with several states setting records for the number of people hospitalized and leaders scrambling to find extra beds and staff. New highs in cases have been reported in states big and small...
Le’Veon Bell ready to roll with Chiefs for first time
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Le’Veon Bell once carried the ball a league-leading 321 times in a single season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He doesn’t figure to get nearly as many chances with the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s just fine with the two-time All-Pro running back, though. Bell has been the...
After explosive growth at Square, Chase launches own version
NEW YORK — After watching the explosive growth at electronic payment start-ups like Jack Dorsey’s Square, JPMorgan Chase has launched its own version to lure small business owners increasingly relying on technology during the pandemic. Chase Business Complete Banking with QuickAccept will allow businesses to process card payments almost instantly...
Browns’ Mayfield says he’s ignoring outside critics
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield’s ignoring the blitzes coming from all directions. Cleveland’s quarterback has been under attack this week following a dreadful performance in Pittsburgh, which has brought out his critics and fueled the argument that he’s not the one to lead the Browns back to the playoffs or NFL...
Review: ‘Borat’ is back, and this time he fits right in
Since Sacha Baron Cohen first appeared as his Kazakh journalist on “Da Ali G Show,” Borat Sagdiyev has been remarkably consistent. The accent is the same. The gray suit is still rumpled. “Nahce” and “Mah Wahfe” regularly exude from him with a mangled melody. Borat hasn’t changed in the last...
Worsening opioid crisis overshadowed in presidential race
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Like millions of Americans, Diane Urban watched the first presidential debate last month at home with her family. When it was over, she turned off the television and climbed into the bed her 25-year-old son Jordan used to sleep in. It was where she found Jordan’s lifeless...
Man accused of threatening Biden, Harris in note to neighbor
BALTIMORE — A Maryland man was charged Wednesday with making death threats against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in a letter left on the doorstep of a neighbor who had yard signs supporting the candidates. James Dale Reed, 42, of Frederick, told investigators...
Mission impossible? Kristen Welker on tap to moderate 2nd debate
NEW YORK — This fall’s presidential debates have chewed up moderators. President Donald Trump steamrolled Chris Wallace with constant interruptions in the first one, a performance that cost the Republican incumbent support in the polls. Susan Page struggled to make the vice presidential candidates adhere to time limits their campaigns...
Longtime Pennsylvania courts clerk in Schuylkill County gets 27 months for fraud
SCRANTON — A longtime Pennsylvania clerk of courts has been sentenced to 27 months in prison on federal charges that he stole public money and then tried to hide his tracks by forging records. Former Schuylkill County Clerk of Courts Stephen Lukach Jr., was sentenced Tuesday in Scranton after pleading...
UK-EU trade talks back on after the bloc’s olive branch
BRUSSELS — The British government and the European Union will resume stalled trade negotiations in London, the U.K. government said — days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared the talks over. Johnson declared the talks at an end last week, accusing the bloc of expecting Britain to make all the...
Police: 3 dead, 1 critically hurt in Houston club shooting
HOUSTON — Three people were killed in a shooting at a Houston nightclub where about 30 people had gathered for an open mic night and authorities were searching early Wednesday for suspects, police said. Police had been called to the DD Sky Club at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday on reports...
Amy Coney Barrett was trustee at private school with anti-gay policies
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of private Christian schools that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom. The policies that discriminated against LGBTQ people and...
U.S. officials: OxyContin maker to plead to 3 criminal charges
WASHINGTON — Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials told The Associated Press. The company will...
U.S. surgeon general to be in court on Hawaii virus citation
HONOLULU — The U.S. surgeon general is set to be arraigned Wednesday in a virtual court hearing in Hawaii on charges he illegally entered a public park that was closed because of the coronavirus. The criminal complaint against Jerome Adams, who was on Oahu in August helping with surge testing...
Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions in new documentary film
ROME — Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. The papal thumbs-up came midway through the film that delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment, poverty,...
Stocks slip on Wall Street as virus aid deal remains elusive
Stocks are closing lower on Wall Street as negotiations continue to drag on in Washington over delivering more aid for the economy. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% Wednesday after spending much of the day wobbling between gains and losses. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s made progress with the White...
Poll: Many in U.S. distrust campaign info
In a presidential election year that has thrown the country’s divisions into stark relief, Americans can agree on this: Misinformation about government and politics is a major problem. A new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research and USAFacts finds that while voters say it’s pretty easy...
CMT Music Awards to feature trio of hosts, outdoor stagesVideo
A trio of new hosts will lead fans through a new look at this year’s CMT Music Awards, which replaced the live arena audience with performances in scenic outdoor locations around Nashville, Tenn. Country singers Kane Brown and Ashley McBryde join “Modern Family” actor Sarah Hyland as co-hosts during Wednesday...
Barack Obama to hold his first in-person event for Biden in Philadelphia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama is returning to Philadelphia on Wednesday for his first in-person 2020 campaign event for Joe Biden. In 2016, the man known as one of the Democratic Party’s strongest orators delivered Hillary Clinton’s closing argument in the same place — at a rally for...
Trump tends to his electoral map, Biden prepping for debate
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is hopping from one must-win stop on the electoral map to the next in the leadup to a final presidential debate that may be his last, best chance to alter the trajectory of the 2020 campaign. Democrat Joe Biden has been taking the opposite approach,...
