Associated Press stories, Page 2004
U.S. approves oil, gas leasing plan for Alaska Wildlife refuge
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Trump administration on Monday took another step to opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil and gas, potentially fulfilling a decades-long dream for Republicans. Environmentalists, however, promised to fight opening up the coast plain of the refuge, a 1.56-million acre swath of land...
Trump motivates Democrats to rally behind Biden, Harris
ATLANTA (AP) — For the second time in four years, the Democratic presidential primary pitted the expanding progressive movement against an eventually victorious establishment. But as the party gathers virtually this week to nominate Joe Biden for the presidency, the possibility of President Donald Trump’s reelection has become Democrats’ unifying...
Wimbledon champion Simona Halep opts out of playing at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Wimbledon champion Simona Halep will skip the U.S. Open, saying Monday she is putting her health first and prefers to stay in Europe amid the coronavirus pandemic. Halep, a former top-ranked player who is currently No. 2, won the title in Prague on Sunday. “After weighing up...
Hit-and-run crash involving SUV, buggy leaves 4 hurt
GREENWICH TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A hit-and-run crash in northeastern Ohio involving a car and a horse-drawn buggy left two adults and two children injured, authorities said. The crash happened Sunday night on Route 250 in Greenwich Township, when the southbound car driven by Renold Workman, 58, of Vermilion, rear-ended the...
Politics slows flow of U.S. virus funds to local public health
As the novel coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring, Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis. Money for test kits. Money to administer tests. Money to hire contact tracers. And yet even more money for a service that helps tracers...
Virus pandemic reshaping air travel as carriers struggle
In a bid to survive, airlines are desperately trying to convince a wary public that measures like mandatory face masks and hospital-grade air filters make sitting in a plane safer than many other indoor settings during the coronavirus pandemic. It isn’t working. Surveys indicate that instead of growing comfortable with...
As the NBA playoffs begin, here are 10 things to know
The NBA playoff pool is deeper than ever this season. Playoff teams will split a record $23,287,266 for making the NBA postseason, a figure that’s up about $1.6 million from last year. And the Milwaukee Bucks stand to grab the biggest share of a pool ever, if they win the...
Brayden Schenn scores in OT, Blues beat Canucks in Game 3
EDMONTON, Alberta — Brayden Schenn scored 15:06 into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night. Schenn, circling in the neutral zone, took a stretch pass, raced in and fired a shot high past Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom for the defending...
Carter Hart shuts out Canadiens in Flyers’ 1-0 Game 3 victory
TORONTO — Jake Voracek scored and Carter Hart stopped 23 shots to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night and grab a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series. Game 4 is Tuesday. The top-seeded Flyers got another sensational performance from...
Corey Crawford leads Blackhawks past Golden Knights to stay in seriesVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Corey Crawford made 46 saves in a stellar performance, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 on Sunday night to stay alive in their first-round playoff series. Drake Caggiula and Matthew Highmore scored first-period goals for the Blackhawks, and Alex DeBrincat added an empty-netter...
Former Pitt assistant Aubrey Hill dies at 48 after cancer battleVideo
MIAMI — FIU said Sunday night that wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill, a standout player at Florida before becoming a longtime coach at Miami, Pitt and other stops, died after a lengthy bout with cancer. He was 48. “Aubrey was loved and adored by so many who saw him not...
Chase Elliott wins at Daytona for 3rd straight road-course victoryVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Make it three in a row on the road for Chase Elliott. NASCAR’s most popular driver won the Cup Series road course race Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin after a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals....
Hostage situation after Texas officers shot ends peacefully
CEDAR PARK, Texas — A hostage situation ended peacefully Monday morning when a man and his mother exited a home near Austin, Texas, where a day earlier three police officers had been shot and wounded. Cedar Park Police said on Twitter that the man and his mother “had come out...
NCAA’s top doctor: Covid-19 testing needs to improve to play
The NCAA’s chief medical officer says there is a narrow path to playing college sports during the coronavirus pandemic and if testing nationwide does not improve, it cannot be done. Dr. Brian Hainline told CNN late Saturday that “everything would have to line up perfectly” for college sports to be...
Stars win 5-4 in OT to even series with FlamesVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Dallas scored 16 minutes, 5 seconds into overtime after Joe Pavelski forced the extra period by completing a hat trick in the final seconds of regulation, and the Stars beat the Calgary Flames, 5-4, on Sunday to even their Western Conference playoff series. John Klingberg’s hard shot...
Another covid-19 cluster reported in UNC-Chapel Hill housing
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Another cluster of positive covid-19 cases within student housing was announced Sunday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The disclosure of cases within the Hinton James dormitory building marks the fourth such cluster — defined as five or more cases in close proximity...
Islanders beat Capitals 2-1 in OT, take 3-0 lead in seriesVideo
TORONTO — Mathew Barzal slipped behind the defense, swooped in front of the net and beat Braden Holtby with a backhander that put the 2018 Stanley Cup champions on the brink of another early exit. Barzal scored 4 minutes, 28 seconds into overtime shortly after Semyon Varlamov made two saves...
Cardinals RHP Ramirez becomes 1st pitcher to allow 4 straight HRs in major league debutVideo
CHICAGO — St. Louis Cardinals reliever Roel Ramirez became the first pitcher to allow four straight home runs in his major league debut when the Chicago White Sox hit him around in the fifth inning Sunday. Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez connected during a six-run inning,...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp allows local mask mandates, with limits
ATLANTA — Georgia’s governor, who has opposed local mask mandates and even sued over one in Atlanta, has signed a new executive order that allows local governments to enact mask requirements to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. As with previous orders, the one issued Saturday says residents and visitors of...
Lightning sparks new wildfires across CaliforniaVideo
LOS ANGELES — A rare summer thunderstorm brought lightning that sparked several small blazes in Northern California on Sunday and stoked a huge forest fire that has forced hundreds of people from their homes north of Los Angeles. More than 4,500 buildings remained threatened by the wildfire, which was burning...
White House’s Mark Meadows says he accepts Kamala Harris eligible for VPVideo
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday he accepts that Sen. Kamala Harris is eligible to serve as vice president, rejecting a false and racist conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump had promoted. “Sure,” said Meadows, when asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether he...
Police: At least 18 shot, with 4 dead, across CincinnatiVideo
CINCINNATI — At least 18 people were shot, including four killed, as gunfire erupted in several places around the city overnight, authorities said Sunday. Officers responded just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday to the Avondale neighborhood and found 21-year-old Antonio Blair with gunshot wounds, police said in a statement. He was...
Lindblom joins Flyers for playoffs after cancer treatmentVideo
Oskar Lindblom heard the sound of his Philadelphia Flyers teammates tapping the ice with their sticks as he returned to practice and knew — after months of fear and fight in his battle with bone cancer — he was home. Lindblom turned 24 on Saturday, and a day later he...
An Andretti wins Indy 500 pole for 1st time in 33 yearsVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Marco Andretti won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in a lightning-fast first step toward snapping the infamous “Andretti Curse” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Andretti logged a four-lap average of 231.068 mph in Sunday qualifying, and an Andretti will lead the field to green for the first time...
Pelosi to call House back into session to vote on USPS bill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service. The action comes amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine...
