Associated Press stories, Page 2016
White House rejects Putin response to U.S. arms control offer
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Russia on Friday rejected each other’s proposals for potentially salvaging the last remaining legal constraint on their strategic nuclear forces. President Vladimir Putin called for an unconditional extension of the soon-to-expire New START treaty, and the White House called that a “non-starter.” Adding an edginess...
GOP, Dems hope Supreme Court fight bolsters Senate prospects
WASHINGTON — For Republicans, the nomination fight over Amy Coney Barrett is a chance to seal conservative control of the Supreme Court for decades. For some GOP senators, it’s also a lifeline they hope will preserve their political careers and their party’s control of the chamber in November’s elections. The...
FBI probing if Russia involved in Hunter Biden email story
WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating whether emails that were published by the New York Post related to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, are connected to a possible Russian influence operation to spread disinformation, according to a person familiar with the matter. The newspaper said in its story Wednesday that it...
Awash in red ink: U.S. posts record $3.1T 2020 budget deficit
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3.1 trillion in the 2020 budget year, more than double the previous record, as the coronavirus pandemic shrank revenues and sent spending soaring. The Trump administration reported Friday that the deficit for the budget year that ended on Sept....
Browns’ Odell Beckham sits again; Baker Mayfield getting better entering Steelers gameVideo
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield finally fired some passes Friday — none to Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham missed another practice with the Browns because of covid-19 protocols, but Mayfield, who has been slowed this week by sore ribs, appears ready to play in Sunday’s hyped AFC North matchup against the unbeaten...
Trump on defense, courting voters in 2 must-win states
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Backed into a corner and facing financial strains, President Donald Trump fought to defend his sagging reelection bid Friday in a state Republicans haven’t lost in nearly three decades. With Election Day looming, Democrat Joe Biden pushed to keep voters focused on health care in the...
First lady Melania Trump lashes out at reports about friend who tell-all
DORAL, Fla. — Melania Trump lashed out Friday at “self-serving adults” for focusing on her falling out with a friend and adviser, writing that the attention paid to “salacious claims” about the broken relationship comes at the expense of her work on behalf of children. Mrs. Trump also sharply criticized...
Judge finds cases against 5 in Gov. Whitmer plot can move forward
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Prosecutors provided enough evidence to move toward trial for five Michigan men accused of plotting to kidnap the state’s governor, a federal judge ruled Friday in Grand Rapids. A two-day preliminary hearing this week featured testimony by one of the FBI agents who ran the investigation,...
Thousands arrive in Hawaii on 1st day pre-travel testing
About 8,000 people landed in Hawaii on the first day of a pre-travel testing program that allowed travelers to come to the islands without quarantining for two weeks if they could produce a negative coronavirus test. Angela Margos was among the first passengers in San Francisco to get on a...
France: Teacher decapitated, suspect shot dead by police
A history teacher who opened a discussion with students on caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was beheaded in a French street on Friday and police have shot dead the suspected killer, authorities said. The French anti-terrorism prosecutor opened an investigation for murder with a suspected terrorist motive, the prosecutor’s office...
FBI searches headquarters of labor union in Philadelphia
Federal agents have searched two sites connected to a Philadelphia-based union, apparently as part of an ongoing investigation of an indicted powerful labor boss. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the FBI served search warrants Friday at the headquarters of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and its...
Biden out-raises Trump $383M to $248M in September
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was out-raised by Democrat Joe Biden in September and is being outgunned financially by his rival with just weeks to go until Election Day. Trump’s campaign, along with the Republican National Committee and associated groups, raised $247.8 million in September, well short of the $383...
U.S. stocks head higher at the end of another bumpy week
Stocks are broadly higher in afternoon trading Friday, placing the market on track to close out a choppy week on Wall Street with modest gains. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%, clawing back all its losses from a day earlier. If the gains hold, the benchmark index would mark its...
Deadline looms to defuse Pennsylvania’s budget time bomb
HARRISBURG — Months after passing a partial budget that avoided some hard decisions, Pennsylvania’s Legislature and governor face a deadline at the end of November to finish the job and plug a multibillion-dollar deficit. The partially funded budget that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signed in May was incomplete by design....
Virus at ‘turning point’ in Europe, hitting at-risk groups
MILAN — Doctors are warning that Europe is at a turning point as the coronavirus surges back across the continent, including among vulnerable people, and governments try to impose restrictions without locking whole economies down. With newly confirmed cases reaching records, the Czech Republic has shut schools and is building...
U.K. says EU trade talks ‘over’ after EU says they’ll continue
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that the U.K. must prepare for a no-deal break with the European Union unless there is a “fundamental” change of position from the bloc, as the two sides swapped blame for failing to strike a deal with just weeks until the...
Colts’ retests for covid-19 come back as negative
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts closed their practice facility Friday after “several individuals” tested positive for covid-19, then the retests came back negative. “Earlier this morning, we were informed that four individuals within the organization tested positive for covid-19,” the team said in a late-morning statement. “The four positive samples...
WHO: Study finds 4 drugs have little to no effect on covid
GENEVA — The U.N. health agency says the world’s largest randomized trial of covid-19 treatments found “conclusive evidence” that remdesivir, a drug used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump when he fell ill, has little or no effect on severe cases. The World Health Organization announced Friday the long-awaited results...
U.S. retail sales grow for 5th month in a row
NEW YORK — Retail sales rose in September for the fifth month in a row, as Americans spent more on clothing, cars and sporting goods. The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales grew 1.9% last month. That’s up from August’s increase of 0.6%. Retail sales have been recovering...
3 men die, 1 injured at Florida motorcycle club shooting
ORLANDO, Fla. — Three men died and one man was injured in an early Friday shooting sparked by a confrontation at a Florida warehouse used by a motorcycle club, officials said. The Orange County Sheriff’s office says deputies are looking for suspects who may have fled the area in Orlando,...
Cops: Cleveland teen fatally shoots mom’s fiance in domestic dispute
CLEVELAND — A 13-year-old boy shot and killed his mother’s fiance as the man argued with other children inside a Cleveland home, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities have not said what spurred the argument in the home or how many people were involved, but they...
Thai PM rejects calls to resign, faces renewed protests
BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister rejected calls for his resignation Friday, while his government failed to stop student-led protesters from rallying again in the capital in defiance of a strict state of emergency. More than 1,000 protesters gathered in torrential monsoon rains to push their core demands, including that Prime...
U.S. testing 3 drugs to tamp down coronavirus
WASHINGTON — U.S. government officials are launching a new study testing three drugs to tamp down an overactive response by the immune system that can cause severe illness or death in people with covid-19. The U.S. National Institutes of Health says the study will enroll 2,100 hospitalized adults with moderate...
Twitter changes hacked content rules after Biden story furor
Twitter said late Thursday it was changing its policy on hacked content after an outcry about its handling of an unverified political story that prompted cries of censorship from the right. The social media company will no longer remove hacked material unless it’s directly shared by hackers or those working...
AP-NORC poll: Voters see the nation as fundamentally divided
NEW YORK — The overwhelming majority of voters believe the nation is deeply divided over its most important values, and many have doubts about the health of the democracy itself. And supporters of President Donald Trump and Joe Biden alike think the opposing candidate will make things even worse if...
