Associated Press stories, Page 1993
Missouri election judge worked despite covid-19 diagnosis, then died
O’FALLON, Mo. — A suburban St. Louis election official who worked at a polling place on Election Day despite a positive test for the coronavirus has now died, raising concerns for the nearly 2,000 people who voted there. St. Charles County, Missouri, spokeswoman Mary Enger said in a news release...
Dept. of Justice sues to block Visa’s $5.3B purchase of Plaid
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Department of Justice sued payment processing giant Visa on Thursday to block the company’s purchase of financial technology startup Plaid, calling it a monopolistic takeover of a potential competitor to Visa’s ubiquitous payments network. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, seeks to stop...
ESPN announces 300 layoffs, citing ‘disruption’ amid virus
ESPN announced Thursday it is eliminating about 500 jobs worldwide, including about 300 through layoffs. The cuts amount to about 10% of the employees at the sports network and are due largely to the impact of the pandemic on its business and the “tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports.”...
Danish farmers lament decision to cull all Denmark’s minks
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish fur farmers say they’ve been dealt a major blow after the world’s largest mink fur exporter decided to cull all 15 million minks in Denmark’s farms, to minimize the risk of them re-transmitting the coronavirus to humans — a decision that has also raised eyebrows among...
Judges in Michigan, Georgia dismiss Trump campaign lawsuits
WASHINGTON — Judges in Georgia and Michigan quickly dismissed Trump campaign lawsuits Thursday, undercutting a campaign legal strategy to attack the integrity of the voting process in states where the result could mean President Donald Trump’s defeat. The rulings came as Democrat Joe Biden inched closer to the 270 Electoral...
Officials clarify military role in coronavirus vaccination amid wariness
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has often touted the role of the military in distributing a covid-19 vaccine, but health officials close to the process who are concerned about public distrust are taking pains to say the federal government won’t actually be handling vaccines. The president said at the final...
How 2 blind brothers became Two Blind Brothers for a cause
Would you buy something you can’t see? That’s the question posed by two New York brothers who’ve lost much of their vision to a rare degenerative eye disorder and have dedicated their lives — and livelihoods — to raising money for a cure. Bradford Manning, 35, and his 30-year-old brother,...
Wall Street rallies again as stocks ride post-election wave
Stocks are still riding Wall Street’s post-election wave Thursday, as markets bet on the continuation of several business-friendly policies, and the S&P 500 is rallying 2.3% toward its biggest weekly jump since April. Markets are banking on Tuesday’s election leading to split control of Congress, which could mean low tax...
New kids’ series ‘Pikwik Pack’ puts spotlight on deliveries
The studio behind the kids’ mega-hit TV show “Paw Patrol” has a new animated series that arrives timed perfectly for a global pandemic: It celebrates delivery people. “Pikwik Pack,” which airs on Disney Junior and DisneyNOW, stars four animal friends working together to deliver packages in their community. In the...
France reinforcing its border controls following attacks
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France is reinforcing its border controls after a series of attacks that hit the country in recent weeks. Macron said the number of police and troops in charge of border controls will double from 2,400 now to 4,800. They will...
Is it safe to stay in hotels during the pandemic?
Is it safe to stay in hotels during the pandemic? In a recent travel update, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes it clear: Staying home is the best way to protect yourself against the coronavirus. If you do travel, the CDC says, sharing a rental home with...
Waiting for Pa.: Biden closing quickly on Trump as counting continues
HARRISBURG — Joe Biden is closing quickly in Pennsylvania. The former vice president and Democratic challenger pulled to within about 22,000 votes of President Donald Trump as of 6 a.m. Friday. Trump leads 3,285,048 (49.6%) to 3,262,575 (49.26%), but the lead precipitously dropped throughout the day Thursday as mail ballots...
751,000 seek U.S. jobless benefits as virus hobbles economy
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting jobs in the face of the accelerating pandemic. A surge in viral cases and Congress’ failure so far to provide more aid for struggling...
Alaska search for 7 missing boaters indefinitely postponed
BETHEL, Alaska — Searchers in western Alaska have indefinitely postponed their effort to find seven missing seal hunters. Quinhagak Tribal Police Chief John Peter said he put the search on hold last Saturday for the missing and the boat they were traveling on, KYUK-AM reported Wednesday. “Due to the cold,...
UK extends wage support scheme until March amid new lockdown
LONDON — The British government and the Bank of England joined forces Thursday to provide further support to an economy that is set for a difficult winter following the imposition of new coronavirus lockdown measures. Hours after the central bank increased its monetary stimulus by a bigger than anticipated $195...
With another Florida loss, Democrats begin second guessing
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Perhaps only in Florida is a loss by fewer than 4 percentage points considered a public drubbing. In a state famous for razor-thin margins, the size of former Vice President Joe Biden’s loss to President Donald Trump was humiliating for Democrats and sent many searching for answers...
GM puts up a booming third quarter
DETROIT — General Motors is posting huge third quarter numbers, pulling in $4 billion in profit over three months after losing money because of the virus outbreak. GM’s adjusted earnings were $2.83 per share, easily outpacing Wall Street’s per-share projections of $1.72, according to a survey by FactSet. Revenue of...
Tanzania’s leader sworn in for 2nd term after troubled vote
DODOMA, Tanzania — Tanzania’s populist President John Magufuli took the oath of office for a second five-year term amid tight security Thursday after the opposition called for a fresh election, the disbandment of the electoral commission and an “endless peaceful demonstration” over the Oct. 28 vote. Magufuli over the weekend...
Biden pushes closer to victory in race for the White House
Democrat Joe Biden was pushing closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to carry the White House, securing victories in the “blue wall” battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Michigan and narrowing President Donald Trump’s path. With just a handful of states still up for grabs, Trump tried to press his...
Trump backers converge on vote centers in Michigan, Arizona
Dozens of angry supporters of President Donald Trump converged on vote-counting centers in Detroit and Phoenix as the returns went against him Wednesday in the two key states, while thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete tally of the ballots in the still-undecided election took to the streets in cities...
Ivory Coast’s Soro calls on military to disobey president
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Prominent dissident Guillaume Soro, a former prime minister who was blocked from running in Ivory Coast’s presidential election, called Wednesday on the country’s military to disobey President Alassane Ouattara after he was allowed to win a controversial third term. Soro’s comments via his Facebook account put...
Odell Beckham Jr.’s knee surgery next week, Browns GM sees him as long fit
CLEVELAND — Odell Beckham Jr. has knee surgery scheduled next week. For now, the Browns have him penciled into their plans well beyond that. The star receiver, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in an Oct. 25 game at Cincinnati, will have his torn anterior cruciate ligament repaired and likely...
Antonio Brown practices, excited for opportunity with BuccaneersVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Antonio Brown says he is grateful to be back in the NFL and reunited with Tom Brady. “Tom is my boy, one of the greatest leaders to be around,” the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver — back after missing most of last season and then serving an eight-game...
Democrats win big in Arizona, now a former GOP stronghold
PHOENIX — Democrats have been asking the question for a long time: Is this the year Arizona turns blue? In 2020, the answer was “yes.” Joe Biden won Arizona’s 11 electoral votes for president and Mark Kelly won a seat in the U.S. Senate, ushering in an era of Democratic...
Claim that Sharpie pens ruin Arizona ballots misses the mark
As states across the U.S. release vote totals for the presidential election, some social media users are falsely claiming that ballots are being invalidated in Arizona. The supposed culprit: Sharpie markers. In what’s come to be known as #Sharpiegate, social media posts suggest that election officials in Maricopa County provided...
