Associated Press stories, Page 1987
Guatemala calls off search at site of massive landslide
GUATEMALA CITY — The Guatemalan government on Tuesday called off the search for victims of a massive landslide set off by the rains of Hurricane Eta that was believed to have entombed more than 100 people. Guatemala’s National Disaster Reduction Coordinator said it was suspending the search for bodies due...
Republican wins back U.S. House seat in Southern California
LOS ANGELES — Republican Michelle Steel defeated first-term Rep. Harley Rouda on Tuesday in a Southern California district, only the second time in more than two decades that a GOP candidate in the state has defeated an incumbent Democrat. Rouda captured Orange County’s 48th District in 2018 from longtime Republican...
South Carolina No. 1 in AP preseason women’s basketball poll
NEW YORK — Dawn Staley already has accomplished so much at South Carolina. Now she can add the first preseason No. 1 ranking in school history to the list of achievements. The Gamecocks received 29 of the 30 first-place votes in The Associated Press preseason women’s Top 25 released Tuesday....
Bride and groom from New York drown on Caribbean honeymoon
A newly married couple from New York drowned on their honeymoon at a Caribbean resort, family members said. Corporate attorney Mohammad Malik, 35, and his bride, Dr. Noor Shah, 29, were swimming near their Turks and Caicos Islands resort on Oct. 28 when they were pulled under by strong riptides,...
Mental health workers to take lead in some NYC 911 calls
NEW YORK — Mental health workers will replace police officers in responding to some 911 calls under a pilot program announced Tuesday by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The program, to be rolled out next year in two neighborhoods, will give mental health professionals the lead role when...
Census Bureau denies fake data allegations by census workers
The U.S. Census Bureau denied any attempts to systemically falsify information during the 2020 head count used to determine the allocation of congressional seats and federal spending, even as more census takers told The Associated Press they were pressured to do so. The Census Bureau statement was issued Monday night...
U.S. bankruptcy court approves sale of J.C. Penney
NEW YORK — J.C. Penney is on course to emerge from bankruptcy by Thanksgiving, after a U.S. bankruptcy court approved the sale of the ailing 118-year-old retailer to its two largest landlords and its primary lenders. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved a purchase agreement,...
U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to leave health care law in place
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Tuesday to leave in place the bulk of the Affordable Care Act, including key protections for pre-existing health conditions and subsidized insurance premiums that affect tens of millions of Americans. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, among the conservative justices, appeared...
U.S.: WHO not sharing enough info about China virus probe
GENEVA — A senior U.S. government official complained Tuesday that the World Health Organization has not shared enough information about its planned mission to China to investigate the animal origins of the coronavirus. On Tuesday, Garrett Grisby of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services griped that the criteria...
Oklahoma state senator charged with manslaughter in crash
CHANDLER, Okla. — An Oklahoma state senator from Tulsa was charged with first-degree manslaughter after authorities say she was speeding and driving recklessly when her vehicle skidded off a rain-slickened road and crashed into a man’s disabled vehicle, killing him. Democratic Sen. Alison Ikley-Freeman, 29, who was seriously injured in...
Rolling with it, Keith Richards is chilling in the garden
NEW YORK — Keith Richards is so old-school that when he does his interviews — he’ll do so from a landline. The Rolling Stones icon isn’t a fan of technology. Years ago he admitted to not owning an iPod when the device was most popular. He’s one of the few...
Review: Bromance ‘The Climb’ a triumph of quirky filmmaking
Three-quarters through “The Climb” comes a scene we’ve all come to expect in a romantic comedy: A wedding is interrupted by the best man who rushes into a church during a marriage ceremony and screams “I object!” He turns to the shocked bride and groom kneeling at the altar and...
Man accused in Toronto van attack pleads not guilty
TORONTO — A man who allegedly used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto pleaded not guilty guilty Tuesday and his lawyer said he will argue he is not criminally responsible because of his state of mind at the time. Alek Minassian faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and...
Walmart teams with GM to test autonomous deliveries
Walmart is teaming up with the General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit to test driverless delivery in Arizona. The companies say battery powered Chevrolet Volt vehicles will begin deliveries in Scottsdale early next year. At first they’ll have human backup drivers who will monitor the cars and help to deliver packages...
EU to buy up to 300 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
BRUSSELS — The European Commission will sign a deal to secure up to 300 million doses of the experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU’s executive arm, said the commission will authorize the deal on Wednesday after “working tirelessly to...
EU puts tariffs on U.S. but hopes for change with Biden
BRUSSELS — The European Union said Monday it would impose tariffs on up to $4 billion worth of U.S. goods and services over illegal aid for plane maker Boeing — but expressed hope that trade ties would improve once President Donald Trump leaves office. European trade ministers agreed on the...
Global rally fades, but investors’ hopes remain for economy
NEW YORK — Stocks downshifted on Tuesday, a day after their powerful worldwide rally, but optimism remained high that the global economy may still be headed for a return to normal. It was the second straight day that rising hopes for a covid-19 vaccine pushed investors to reorder which stocks...
Hawaii island group aims to reduce feral rabbit population
HILO, Hawaii — A Hawaii island group has launched an effort to reduce the number of feral rabbits, which the campaigners say are wreaking havoc on yards and burrowing under homes. The Big Island Invasive Species Committee has asked for reports from residents who have seen the wild bunnies, The...
Female banded mongooses lead battle for chance to find mates
When families of banded mongooses prepare to fight, they form battle lines. Each clan of about 20 animals stands nose to nose, their ears flattened back, as they stare down the enemy. A patch of scrubby savannah separates them, until the first animals run forward. “Then they bunch up into...
Cat at Northeast’s highest peak dies after 12 years on duty
NORTH CONWAY, N.H. — A cat who patrolled the highest peak in the northeast U.S. for a dozen years as its weather observatory’s mascot has died. Marty, a black Maine coon cat, succumbed to “an unforeseen illness,” Mount Washington Summit Operations Manager Rebecca Scholand said in a news release Monday....
EU files antitrust charges against Amazon over use of data
LONDON — European Union regulators filed antitrust charges Tuesday against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using its access to data to gain an unfair advantage over merchants using its platform. The EU’s executive Commission, the bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, issued the charges after it started looking into the company...
Ulta to open beauty shops at 100 Target stores in 2021
NEW YORK — The nation’s largest beauty store chain, Ulta Beauty, has a deal to place shops in more than 100 Target stores by mid-2021. The shops, which will each be about 1,000 square feet and carry makeup, skincare, and fragrance, will operate beside existing beauty sections in Target stores,...
Halted Brazil trials of Chinese-made vaccine cause surprise
SAO PAULO — Brazil’s health regulator has halted clinical trials of the potential coronavirus vaccine CoronaVac, citing an “adverse, serious event.” The decision posted on Anvisa’s website Monday night elicited immediate surprise from parties involved in producing the vaccine. The potential vaccine is being developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac...
Ford adding 350 jobs at 2 plants to make electric vehicles
DETROIT — Ford plans to add 350 jobs at two factories to meet expected demand for electric vehicles that haven’t gone on sale yet. The automaker says it will add 150 workers at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Mo., to build the new E-Transit full-size van that will...
Vatican faults many for McCarrick’s rise but spares pope
ROME — A Vatican investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has found that a series of bishops, cardinals and popes downplayed or dismissed reports that he slept with seminarians, and determined that Pope Francis merely continued his predecessors’ naive handling of the predator until a former altar boy alleged abuse. The...
