Associated Press stories, Page 1997
Column: NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson leaves lasting charitable mark
NASCAR’s nicest guy will run his final race this weekend and close a remarkable career that ranks among the best in history. The mark Jimmie Johnson has made off the track deserves equal celebration. Johnson widely is recognized for his record-tying seven Cup Series titles and 83 victories. That on-track...
Fast-growing hurricane threatens flooding in Central AmericaVideo
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Hurricane Eta erupted quickly into a potentially catastrophic major hurricane Monday as it headed for Central America, where forecasters warned of massive flooding and landslides across a vulnerable region. Eta had maximum sustained wind of 130 mph and was centered about 70 miles east of the Nicaragua-Honduras...
US judge blocks Trump immigration rule on public benefits
A federal judge in Chicago struck down a key immigration rule Monday that would deny green cards to immigrants who use food stamps or other public benefits, a blow to the Trump administration on the eve of the election. In a decision that applies nationwide, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman...
Ohio’s Republican Attorney General tweets inaccurate mail-in voting deadline
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s attorney general tweeted erroneously Monday that voters had until Tuesday to mail their absentee ballots, when Monday was actually the last day to vote by mail. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost’s mistake prompted rebukes from Democrats and others and a correction of the record by the...
Missouri hospital CEOs raise concerns; coronavirus claims boy, 13
O’FALLON, Mo. — Missouri hospital leaders are raising alarms about bed capacity as coronavirus cases continue to spike, with some urging Gov. Mike Parson to issue a statewide mask mandate. Meanwhile, an eastern Missouri eighth-grader died days after his covid-19 diagnosis, the state’s first child under age 14 to die...
Bail set at $2M for teen accused in Wisconsin shootings
Bail was set at $2 million on Monday for a 17-year-old from Illinois accused of killing two men and wounding a third during an August protest in Kenosha, after the father of one of the victims told the court the defendant “thinks he’s above the law” and would be a...
Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 Houston votesVideo
HOUSTON — A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic. The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County,...
Gunman who killed 4 in Vienna attack had sought to join ISVideo
A man who had previously tried to join the Islamic State group rampaged in Vienna armed with an automatic rifle and a fake explosive vest, fatally shooting four people before he was killed by police, Austrian authorities said Tuesday. Witnesses described dozens of screaming people fleeing the sounds of gunshots...
Principal in Holocaust controversy fired again in Florida
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida high school principal was fired again on Monday over a comment he made to a student’s parent last year regarding the Holocaust. The Palm Beach County School Board’s vote on Monday morning reversed an earlier decision to reinstate Spanish River High School Principal...
Trump promises court fight over Pennsylvania absentee votes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his reelection campaign are signaling they will pursue an aggressive legal strategy to try to prevent Pennsylvania from counting mailed ballots that are received in the three days after the election. The matter could find its way to the Supreme Court, especially if those...
Colonial-themed restaurant on site of 1773 tavern closes
PHILADELPHIA — A colonial-themed restaurant on the site of a 1773 tavern in Philadelphia’s Old City has closed because of decreased business stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that City Tavern’s longtime chef-proprietor, Walter Staib, called the closure “bittersweet” and said it followed months of slow business...
SEC fines Florida’s Dan Mullen $25K for role in brawl vs. Mizzou
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The SEC fined Florida coach Dan Mullen $25,000 on Monday for his role in a benches-clearing brawl against Missouri. The league also reviewed video of the fight and issued half-game suspensions for Missouri linebacker Chad Bailey, offensive lineman Dylan Spencer and defensive lineman Markell Utsey. Each of...
Legal armies ready if cloudy election outcome heads to court
WASHINGTON — Signature matches. Late-arriving absentee votes. Drop boxes. Secrecy envelopes. Democratic and Republican lawyers already have gone to court over these issues in the run-up to Tuesday’s election. But the legal fights could take on new urgency, not to mention added vitriol, if a narrow margin in a battleground...
Hospitals competing for nurses as US coronavirus cases surge
As the coronavirus pandemic surges across the nation and infections and hospitalizations rise, medical administrators are scrambling to find enough nursing help — especially in rural areas and at small hospitals. Nurses are being trained to provide care in fields where they have limited experience. Hospitals are scaling back services...
Wall Street rallies ahead of a potentially turbulent weekVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks notched broad gains on Wall Street Monday as investors looked ahead to Election Day and the potential for a turbulent stretch for markets. The S&P 500 climbed 1.2%, recouping some of its losses from a sharp sell-off last week, as more companies reported stronger profits for...
2 children pulled alive in dramatic Turkey quake rescues
IZMIR, Turkey — When firefighter Muammer Celik reached a 3-year-old girl trapped for three days under the rubble of a deadly earthquake in a Turkish coastal city, his heart sank. She was lying motionless, covered in dust, and he asked a colleague for a body bag. But as Celik extended...
U.S. construction spending up again, rises 0.3% in September
U.S. construction spending rose 0.3% in September, the fourth straight monthly gain after a coronavirus-caused spring swoon. The Commerce Department reported Monday that the September gain followed followed a revised gain of 1.3% in August. Spending on residential construction was strong yet again, with single-family home projects jumping 5.7%. Demand...
ISIS attack on Afghan university leaves 22 dead, 22 woundedVideo
KABUL, Afghanistan — Islamic State militants in Afghanistan stormed Kabul University on Monday as it hosted a book fair attended by the Iranian ambassador, sparking an hours-long gunbattle and leaving at least 22 dead and 22 wounded at the war-torn country’s largest school. Most of the casualties were students and...
Johnny Depp loses UK libel case over ‘wife-beater’ claims
LONDON — Johnny Depp lost his high-stakes libel case Monday against The Sun tabloid newspaper for labelling him a “wife beater,” as a British judge said he believed the actor had abused his ex-wife and that she frequently feared for her life. In a decision that has been cheered by...
Chef Marcus Samuelsson celebrates the variety of Black food
If anyone asks chef Marcus Samuelsson what African food taste like, he has a ready answer: Have you ever had barbeque? Rice? Collard greens? Okra? Coffee? “All of that food comes from Africa, has its roots in Africa,” says the Ethiopian Swedish writer and restaurateur. “Everyone has had African American...
Dutch whale tail sculpture catches metro trainVideo
SPIJKENISSE, Netherlands — This really was a fluke. The driver of a metro train escaped injury when the front carriage rammed through the end of an elevated section of rai e train was left perched upon one of two tail fins known as “flukes” several meters above the ground. It...
Police: Actor Eddie Hassell, 30, killed in Texas shooting
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — The actor Eddie Hassell, known for his roles in the NBC show “Surface” and the 2010 film “The Kids Are All Right,” has died after a shooting in Texas, police said. He was 30. The shooting happened early Sunday in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie,...
6 key questions going into the 2020 presidential election
Election Day is finally upon us. Or at least what we still call Election Day, since more than 93 million Americans have already cast ballots in an election that has been reshaped by the worst pandemic in more than a century, its economic fallout and a long-simmering reckoning with systemic...
Germany starts ‘wave-breaker’ shutdown as Europe locks down
BERLIN — Germany became the latest European country to embark on a partial shutdown Monday as authorities across the continent scramble to flatten a rapid rise in coronavirus infections that threatens to overwhelm their health care systems. In parts of Europe, the new restrictions — which vary in strictness —...
Moldova’s presidential election heads toward runoff
CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldova’s presidential election is heading to a runoff after no candidate earned a majority in a first round of weekend voting which, however, gave a narrow lead to a pro-Western candidate. The pro-Western former prime minister, Maia Sandu, will face the staunchly pro-Russian incumbent, Igor Dodon, in...
