Associated Press stories, Page 1930
U.K. is 1st to authorize easy-to-handle AstraZeneca vaccine
LONDON — Britain became the first country to authorize AstraZeneca’s inexpensive, easy-to-handle covid-19 vaccine Wednesday, gaining another weapon against the virus amid a resurgence so severe that the government extended lockdowns to three-quarters of England’s population. The country also changed course by deciding to dispense the first dose of its...
Canada to require negative test for people entering country
TORONTO — The Canadian government said Wednesday that travelers must have a negative covid-19 test taken within three days before they arrive in the country. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the measure will be implemented in the next few days. Canada already requires those entering the country to self-isolate...
GOP-led Senate rejects vote on Trump’s push for $2K checksVideo
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shut the door Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s push for $2,000 covid-19 relief checks, declaring Congress has provided enough pandemic aid as he blocked another attempt by Democrats to force a vote. The GOP leader made clear he is unwilling to budge, despite...
Sports in 2020: Disruptions aplenty, only constant was loss
2020 reminded us that the show mustn’t always go on. Disrupted by the coronavirus, sports stopped cold three months in and then started up again in emptied-out stadiums, stumbling, skidding and finally staggering across the finish line — all the while shadowed by loss. Celebrations were muted, crowd noise was...
U.S. bomber mission over Persian Gulf aimed at cautioning Iran
WASHINGTON — The U.S. flew strategic bombers over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday for the second time this month, a show of force meant to deter Iran from attacking American or allied targets in the Middle East. One senior U.S. military officer said the flight by two Air Force B-52...
Pelosi says Iowa Republican in contested race will be seated
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Majority Democrats in the U.S. House will allow an Iowa Republican to take office while they review her opponent’s contest claiming the six-vote race was wrongly decided, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. Pelosi said “yes” when asked at a news conference whether Mariannette Miller-Meeks will be...
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley to contest Biden’s Electoral College winVideo
WASHINGTON — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Wednesday he will raise objections next week when Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the election, forcing House and Senate votes that are likely to delay — but in no way alter — the final certification of Biden’s win. President...
West Virginia gets challenge of playing Army in Liberty Bowl
Count West Virginia coach Neal Brown among those wanting to see Army play a bowl game. He will get the chance when his Mountaineers take on Army in the Liberty Bowl after the Black Knights were tapped as a covid-19 replacement for Tennessee. Brown sees this as a big opportunity...
U.S. sanctions Venezuelan judge for conviction of oil managers
MIAMI — The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan judge and prosecutor behind the conviction on corruption charges of six American oil executives. The six employees of Houston-based Citgo were lured to Caracas just before Thanksgiving in 2017 on the pretense of attending a business meeting. Once there,...
Hunter charged with homicide in fatal shooting at Pa. state park
BEDMINSTER — A hunter who fatally shot a man he apparently mistook for an animal at a state park has been charged with homicide and weapons counts, authorities said. Kenneth Troy Heller, 52, of Warminster made his initial court appearance Wednesday and was jailed after the judge denied him bail....
U.K. puts millions more under tight restrictions as cases soar
LONDON — The British government on Wednesday extended its toughest coronavirus restrictions to more than three-quarters of England’s population, saying a fast-spreading new variant of the virus has reached most of the country. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that at midnight the government’s top infection-warning level, Tier 4, would be...
Stocks hold on to modest gains, marking another Dow record
Stocks eked out modest gains Wednesday, keeping the major stock indexes on Wall Street at or near record highs. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1%, recovering some of its losses from a day earlier. It’s hovering within 0.1% of the record high it set on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial...
Yemeni officials: Blast at Aden airport kills 25, wounds 110Video
SANAA, Yemen — A large explosion struck the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Wednesday, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed cabinet landed there, security officials said. At least 25 people were killed and 110 wounded in the blast. Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Iran-backed...
Being Judy Garland won Zellweger an Oscar — is a Grammy next?Video
Renée Zellweger is known for acting but you could easily write a thesis about her love for music. The entertainer won her second Academy Award for portraying Judy Garland in last year’s “Judy,” for which Zellweger did her own singing in front of live audiences. She was praised for her...
British lawmakers approve post-Brexit trade deal with EU
Britain’s House of Commons voted resoundingly on Wednesday to approve a trade deal with the European Union, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the U.K.’s years-long Brexit journey. With just a day to spare, lawmakers voted 521-73 in favor of the agreement...
Jeff Monken’s run at Army still going strong
WEST POINT, N.Y. — When Army came calling at Jeff Monken’s door, departing for the north was not on his mind. He was content as head coach at Georgia Southern, fresh from pulling off one of the biggest college football upsets in recent memory — 26-20 over the Florida Gators...
The Gap: Superpowers hoard talent, leaving Notre Dame, others behind
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is clearly tired of the question: Do the Fighting Irish have something to prove as they again prepare to take on one of college football’s elite teams in the College Football Playoff? “No, I mean, we’re knocking on the door every year playing really good...
Principal Joe Clark who inspired film ‘Lean on Me’ has died
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said. He was 82....
Joe and Jill Biden to appear on ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’
NEW YORK — Ryan Seacrest will have a special pair of guests alongside the music stars at this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration on ABC — the president-elect and the future first lady. President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden are scheduled to give “their last interview of the year”...
Texas overcomes Sam Ehlinger injury, routs Colorado in Alamo Bowl
SAN ANTONIO — Texas has been tested all year, but losing senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger to a shoulder injury was an obstacle the Longhorns never anticipated. The same spirit that pushed the team through this entire chaotic season helped the Longhorns thrive without him. Sophomore signal-caller Casey Thompson came off...
EU, China leaders meet to seal investment deal
BRUSSELS — Top European Union officials and Chinese President Xi Jinping will conclude a business investment deal Wednesday that will open big opportunities to European companies, but has the potential to irk the new American administration. Amid concerns about the human rights situation in China, the EU said the seven-year-long...
Nashville man’s girlfriend warned he was building bombs
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — More than a year before Anthony Warner detonated a bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas, officers visited his home after his girlfriend told police that he was building bombs in an RV trailer at his residence, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. But they were...
Convicted U.S. spy Pollard arrives in Israel, welcomed by PM
JERUSALEM — Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in U.S. prison for spying for Israel, arrived in Israel early Wednesday with his wife, triumphantly kissing the ground as he disembarked from the aircraft in the culmination of a decades-long affair that had long strained relations between the two close allies....
This date in sports history: Dec. 30Video
1956 — The New York Giants win the NFL title with a 47-7 rout of the Chicago Bears. 1962 — The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants, 16-7, to win the NFL title for the second straight year. 1973 — The Minnesota Vikings beat the Dallas Cowboys, 27-10,...
Louisiana congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies from covid-19
BATON ROUGE — Luke Letlow, Louisiana’s incoming Republican member of the U.S. House, died Tuesday night from complications related to covid-19 only days before being sworn into office. He was 41. Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport. “The family appreciates the numerous prayers and...
