Associated Press stories, Page 1956
Michigan’s covid-19 outbreak cancels game against Ohio State
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan canceled its annual rivalry game at Ohio State on Tuesday because of the covid-19 outbreak within the Wolverines football program. “The number of positive tests has continued to trend in an upward direction over the last seven days,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said. “We...
Man linked to white supremacist group gets 5 years in prison
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A Maryland man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an FBI undercover investigation of a white supremacist group that espoused using violence to accelerate overthrowing the U.S. government. William Garfield Bilbrough IV was an “unabashed” member of...
House approves defense bill amid Trump veto threat
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House on Tuesday approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, even as President Donald Trump renewed his threat to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election. Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “the...
‘We messed up’: Ex-state senator in Alabama warns of virus before death
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Before his death from covid-19 last week, former Alabama state senator Larry Dixon spoke to his wife of 53 years from his hospital bed and asked her to relay a warning. “Sweetheart, we messed up. We just dropped our guard,” Dr. David Thrasher, a pulmonologist and friend...
Vast wildfires in Siberia linked to warming Arctic
WASHINGTON — This year’s vast wildfires in far northeastern Russia were linked to broader changes in a warming Arctic, according to a report Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wildfires are a natural part of many boreal ecosystems. But the extent of flames during the 2020 fire season...
Nursing home industry: Pennsylvania illegally withheld funds
The nursing home industry has filed suit against Pennsylvania, claiming the state illegally withheld more than $150 million that was intended to help long-term care facilities shoulder the financial burden of the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit, filed in state court and announced Tuesday, contended the Department of Human Services is...
Pittsburgh’s Billy Porter to join New Year’s Eve show from Times Square
Last New Year’s Eve, Billy Porter was working in New Orleans. This year he’ll still be working — but in New York City. The “Pose” star and Pittsburgh native will join Ryan Seacrest and Lucy Hale on ABC in Times Square on Dec. 31 for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’...
SiriusXM, Howard Stern sign 5-year contract extension
Howard Stern has reached a five-year deal with SiriusXM to continue making his show for the satellite radio company through the end of 2025. Terms were not disclosed. Forbes magazine has reported that Stern was already making $90 million a year. “Now that I can work from home, I simply...
Pfizer vaccine moves closer to getting the OK in the U.S.Video
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators Tuesday released their first scientific evaluation of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine and confirmed it offers strong protection, setting the stage for the government to green light the biggest vaccination effort in the nation’s history. The analysis by Food and Drug Administration scientists comes ahead of a Thursday...
FDA posts early positive review of Pfizer data
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators say in their initial review that the vaccine from Pfizer is 95% protective against covid-19. The review posted online Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration offers the world the first detailed look at the evidence behind the shot, which was co-developed with BioNTech. The...
Trump thought courts were key to winning. Judges disagreed.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his allies say their lawsuits aimed at subverting the 2020 election and reversing his loss to Joe Biden would be substantiated, if only judges were allowed to hear the cases. There is a central flaw in the argument. Judges have heard the cases and...
Avalanche kills 1 skier in Switzerland, snow pummels Austria
BERLIN — An avalanche killed one skier in Switzerland and Austrian authorities issued avalanche warnings Tuesday for the country’s mountainous east after days of heavy snow pummeled the region. In hard-hit East Tyrol and other parts in the Austrian Alps, several roads were still closed in Tyrol and some valleys...
Josh Allen throws for 4 TDs, Bills beat 49ers in Arizona
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The passes zipped through the air one by one, almost always finding their intended target right on the hands and in stride. By the time Josh Allen was done, the quarterback had finished one of the best games of his young NFL career, and the Buffalo Bills...
Christopher Nolan calls Warner’s streaming plan ‘a mess’Video
Christopher Nolan, one of Warner Bros.’ most important filmmakers, has come out strongly against the company’s decision to debut its films on HBO Max and in theaters in 2021. The “Tenet” filmmaker told The Associated Press Monday that it’s not a good business decision and criticized how the company handled...
Pope makes surprise early morning prayer visit in rainy Rome
ROME — Pope Francis on Tuesday made a surprise early morning visit to the Spanish Steps in Rome to pray for people worldwide struggling in the pandemic. The Vatican last week said that, because of social distancing concerns, Francis was canceling the traditional Dec. 8 afternoon visit to the square...
UK-EU talks near collapse ahead of Johnson trip to Brussels
LONDON — Britain and the European Union warned Tuesday that talks on a post-Brexit free-trade deal are teetering on the brink of collapse, with just over three weeks until an economic rupture that will cause upheaval for businesses on both sides of the English Channel. Officials downplayed the chances of...
‘Turning point’: UK giving 1st doses of covid-19 vaccine
LONDON — British health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed covid-19 vaccine Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval. The first shot was given to Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, at...
Trump questions Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler on electoral votes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is continuing his futile appeal to battleground state lawmakers to subvert the votes of their constituents. The president has reached out twice to Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler, a Republican, to see what might be possible for Trump to do about the state’s presidential vote....
Florida agents raid home of ousted covid-19 data curator Rebekah JonesVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida authorities investigating an alleged hack into the state’s emergency response system raided the home Monday of a woman fired earlier this year from her job as covid-19 data curator. Florida Department of Law Enforcement said that Rebekah Jones, who was fired for unauthorized public comments about the...
Biden to name retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as defense secretary
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Biden selected Austin over the longtime front-runner candidate,...
Trump administration passed up chance to lock in more Pfizer vaccine dosesVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration opted last summer not to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine contenders, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until manufacturer Pfizer fulfills other international contracts. The revelation,...
Pearl Harbor dead remembered in ceremony shrunk by pandemicVideo
HONOLULU — U.S. servicemen and women and National Park Service officials gathered at Pearl Harbor on Monday to remember those killed in the attack — but elderly survivors stayed home to pay their respects from afar to avoid health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. The USS Arizona battleship bell rang...
EPA overrides scientists’ calls for tougher pollutant limit
The Trump administration on Monday made final its decision to leave limits for a deadly kind of air pollutant unchanged, overriding scientific findings that tougher standards could save tens of thousands of lives yearly. Environmental groups and many scientists have condemned the decision, slated to be among the final actions...
Lawmakers who met with Rudy Giuliani scramble after covid newsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was “doing very well” after being hospitalized with the coronavirus as lawmakers in battleground states that Giuliani visited last week scrambled to make sure they did not contract the virus. The 76-year-old former New York mayor, hospitalized in...
3 years later, dog and Michigan owners reunited in Illinois
WHEATON, Ill. — A whiff of her old blanket was enough for Lola: The black Lab was back in her owners’ arms three years after the Michigan dog disappeared on a trip to suburban Chicago. “I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” Debra Mejeur said Saturday when she...
