Associated Press stories, Page 1994
England readies for new lockdown with retail therapy, final pints
LONDON — Last-minute shoppers in England came out in force Wednesday and thirsty drinkers planned their final freshly poured pints in a pub for the next month as Britain prepared to join large swaths of Europe in a coronavirus lockdown designed to save its health care system from being overwhelmed....
San Francisco voters approve taxes on CEOs, big businesses
SAN FRANCISCO — Addressing economic disparity laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved several tax measures targeting landlords and big businesses whose CEOs earn far higher than their average workers. Under the new law, any company that pays its top executive 100 times more than their...
Federal Reserve confronts shaky economy that likely needs more help
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials are meeting this week with the economy facing growing threats from a resurgence of the coronavirus and from Congress’ failure to provide any further aid for struggling individuals and businesses. Yet the Fed will likely end its latest policy meeting Thursday by deciding to wait...
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine’s kidnapper is sentenced to 24 years
NEW YORK — A man convicted in the kidnapping of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to 24 years in prison Wednesday by a judge who cited his leadership role in a gang active nationwide. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer announced the sentence for Anthony Ellison, 33, who has been...
AG: North Dakota governor can’t fill dead candidate’s seat
BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has no authority to appoint a coal company executive to fill a state House seat won by a Republican candidate who died before the election, the attorney general said Wednesday. Burgum announced Wednesday that he was appointing BNI Energy President Wade Boeshans...
In blue and red states, milestone wins for LGBTQ candidates
NEW YORK — Across the nation, LGBTQ candidates achieved milestone victories in Tuesday’s election, including the first transgender person elected to a state Senate, and the first openly gay Black men to win seats in Congress. The landmark wins came not in only blue but also red states such as...
After federal judge’s order, Postal Service sweep finds 13 ballotsVideo
U.S. Postal Service inspectors found just 13 ballots — all in Pennsylvania — during an Election Day sweep of mail processing centers ordered by a federal judge. The ballots were found in two separate mail processing facilities and were expedited for delivery to local election offices, according to court records...
Jittery public turns to liquor, news as presidential race’s fate hangsVideo
PHILADELPHIA — They clung to their cocktails and proclaimed themselves sick with dread. They relentlessly checked the news and went outdoors for fresh air. They bemoaned a wipeout wave that never came and held out hope their favored candidate would still eke out a win. With the fate of the...
Trump sues in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, laying ground for contesting outcome
WASHINGTON — As Democrat Joe Biden inched closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, President Donald Trump’s campaign put into action the legal strategy the president had signaled for weeks: attacking the integrity of the voting process in states where the result could mean...
Before playing Steelers, Cowboys bench Pine-Richland’s Ben DiNucci
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb stammered briefly when asked about his first practice with Cooper Rush and Garrett Gilbert as those two quarterbacks compete to start against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “We recently got Coop … Cooper … Rush. Cooper Rush,” Lamb said, the rookie finally putting the...
Maine GOP Sen. Collins beats Sara Gideon in hard-fought race in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine — Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has won the hardest-fought race of her career, turning back a challenge by Democrat Sara Gideon. Collins survived to serve a fifth term following a costly race that was viewed as pivotal to control of the Senate. Collins, one of...
Public health may be U.S. election loser as coronavirus surges
Regardless of the presidential election outcome, a vexing issue remains to be decided: Will the U.S. be able to tame a perilous pandemic that is surging as holidays, winter and other challenges approach? Public health experts fear the answer is no, at least in the short term, with potentially dire...
Puerto Rico awaits final result in tight gubernatorial race
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — People across Puerto Rico awaited final results Wednesday of elections that saw long lines of voters and produced a tight gubernatorial race in the U.S. Caribbean territory. Pedro Pierluisi of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party held a slight lead over Carlos Delgado of the Popular...
Democrats’ Senate drive halted by GOP, but control teeters
WASHINGTON — Democrats faced increasingly long odds in the the battle for Senate control as Republicans brushed back multiple challengers to protect their majority. Still, it was too soon for the GOP to declare victory. In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins won the hardest-fought race of her career, securing a...
Mind games: ACC schools ramping up mental health services
Tre Tipton felt off. Yet the Pitt wide receiver spent years wrestling with his inner demons in silence, assuming it was up to him to sort things out on his own because, well, that’s just how things worked. “We have to be the manliest of men,” Tipton said. “From a...
World waits nervously, impatiently for U.S. vote count
From Ford Model T cars that popped off the assembly line in just 90 minutes to 60-second service for burgers, the United States has long had a major hand in making the world a frenetic and impatient place, primed and hungry for instant gratification. So waking up to the news...
Flash of luck: Astronomers find cosmic radio burst source
A flash of luck helped astronomers solve a cosmic mystery: What causes powerful but fleeting radio bursts that zip and zigzag through the universe? Scientists have known about these energetic pulses — called fast radio bursts — for about 13 years and have seen them coming from outside our galaxy,...
Scattered protests in U.S. cities, but no wide unrest seen
WASHINGTON — Scattered protests took place from Washington, D.C. to Washington state in the hours after polls closed, but there were no signs of widespread unrest or violence linked to the U.S. election. The outcome of the hard-fought contest for the presidency remained undecided Wednesday, stirring worries that prolonged uncertainty...
Voters in pivotal Pennsylvania keep nation on edge of seat
HARRISBURG — Legal challenges and a mountain of uncounted ballots promised a long watch Wednesday to find out who the people of Pennsylvania chose as president, even as a host of other major races in the state — including for several congressional seats, statewide officers and the Legislature — remained...
Trade deficit falls to $63.9 billion in September
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The U.S. trade deficit fell in September after hitting a 14-year high in August as exports outpaced imports. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys abroad fell to $63.9 billion in September, a decline of 4.7%...
Stocks shake off election night wobbles to rally; tech leads
Technology and health care companies drove stocks sharply higher Wednesday as Wall Street embraced the upside of more gridlock in Washington. The S&P 500 was up 2.4% and on pace for its best day in more than five months, as of 3:26 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Xi promises Chinese development plans won’t hurt trade
BEIJING — President Xi Jinping tried to allay fears the ruling Communist Party’s latest development strategy might hamper trade, promising Wednesday that China will open wider and become “the world’s market.” Plans that call for Chinese industry to pursue self-reliance in technology and focus on domestic markets and suppliers will...
Shelling in Syria rebel enclave kills 7, including children
BEIRUT — Syrian government on Wednesday shelled the last rebel last enclave in the country’s northwest, killing at least seven people, including three children, rescuers and activists reported. The attack came during a day of heavy rain, and targeted the city of Idlib city and two towns, to the north...
Coronavirus cause of Algeria president’s hospitalization
ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria’s secretive presidency confirmed Wednesday that the mysterious illness that caused President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to be hospitalized in Germany last month was the coronavirus. The presidency said that the state of 74-year-old Tebboune’s health is “gradually improving” and he “continues to receive treatment in a specialized German...
Calm returns to Vienna as police probe gunman who killed 4
VIENNA — Life in Vienna returned to something like normal Wednesday as Austrian authorities investigated whether a 20-year-old man who fatally shot four people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group had any accomplices. Officials say the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Kujtim Fejzulai, had a previous conviction for...
