Associated Press stories, Page 2032
AP sources: ACC, Notre Dame eye 2020 football membership
The Atlantic Coast Conference and Notre Dame are considering whether the Fighting Irish will give up their treasured football independence to play as a member of the league for the 2020 season that has been thrown into question by the coronavirus pandemic. Two people involved in the ACC’s discussions about...
Mandatory masks becoming the rule amid Europe’s virus uptick
ROME — New rules on wearing masks in England came into effect Friday, with people entering shops, banks and supermarkets now required to wear face coverings, while Romania reported a record for daily infections and new cases nearly doubled in France. People in England can be fined as much as...
Denny Hamlin holds off Brad Keselowski for 5th Cup victory of season
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Three straight finishes outside the top 10 for Denny Hamlin these days counts as a rough patch. He was once again smooth as they get Thursday night. Hamlin hung around the front of the pack all night, avoiding trouble that cost several playoff contenders in the...
Barack Obama to appear on Michelle Obama’s podcast debut
LOS ANGELES — The first guest of Michelle Obama’s new podcast will have a familiar presidential voice: Barack Obama. The former United States president is expected to appear on “The Michelle Obama Podcast” on Spotify, the Obama’s Higher Ground and streaming service announced Friday. The podcast will debut Wednesday. In...
New poll shows optimism fading that jobs lost to virus will returnVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced a layoff during the coronavirus pandemic now believe those jobs are lost forever, a new poll shows, as temporary cutbacks give way to shuttered businesses, bankruptcies and lasting payroll cuts. It’s a sharp change after initial optimism the jobs would return....
China tells U.S. to close consulate in Chengdu in growing spat
BEIJING — China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for...
Christopher Columbus statues taken down at 2 Chicago parks
CHICAGO — A statue of Christopher Columbus in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park was taken down early Friday, a week after protesters trying to topple the monument to the Italian explorer clashed with police. Crews used a large crane to remove the statue from its pedestal as a small crowd gathered...
Garmin fitness tracking service goes down, frustrating users
LONDON — GPS device-maker Garmin’s online fitness tracking service has gone down, leaving runners and cyclists struggling to upload data from their latest workouts. Garmin Connect, an app and website that works with the company’s popular line of fitness watches, remained out of service on Friday. The U.S. company had...
Vietnam bans wildlife imports, markets amid new health fears
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam announced Friday that it was banning wildlife imports and would close wildlife markets in response to renewed concerns about the threat from diseases that can jump from animals to humans, such as the virus that causes covid-19. An order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc...
German curator kidnapped in Iraq freed in security operation
BAGHDAD — A German arts curator who was kidnapped earlier this week was freed Friday by Iraqi security forces, security and government officials said. Hella Mewis was freed at 6:25 a.m. local time (11:25 p.m. Thursday) in an operation southeast of the capital Baghdad in which security forces raided a...
Florida Walmart shopper charged with pulling gun during mask dispute
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— A Florida man is facing felony charges for pointing a gun at another Walmart shopper who had told him to wear a mask, officials said Thursday. Vincent Scavetta, 28, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and improper exhibition of a firearm after surrendering Wednesday to...
Mookie Betts will not receive all money from Dodgers until 2044Video
Mookie Betts will not receive all of his money from his $365 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers until he is approaching his 52nd birthday in 2044, according to contract details obtained by The Associated Press. He has a $65 million signing bonus that is guaranteed against work...
Pending free agents confront injury risk in NHL playoffsVideo
Alex Pietrangelo and his wife had ongoing discussions about whether he should return when the NHL season resumes. In addition to wanting to keep the couple’s infant triplets safe during the pandemic, the 30-year-old captain of the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues is heading into free agency while in...
Florida lawmaker tests positive amid 173 coronavirus deathsVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A second Florida lawmaker said Thursday he has tested positive for the coronavirus as the state reached a new milestone with 173 reported coronavirus deaths and pushed the total number of cases in the state past 389,000. State Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican who represents the...
Yankees, Nationals kneel in Black Lives Matter salute; Fauci tosses 1st pitchVideo
WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals and New York Yankees knelt in unison before the first game of the baseball season as part of an Opening Day ceremony Thursday night that featured references to the Black Lives Matter movement, the coronavirus pandemic — including an off-the-mark first pitch by Dr. Anthony...
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw to miss Thursday’s opener with back issueVideo
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw went on the injured list because of a back issue hours before he was scheduled to start Thursday night for Los Angeles against the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day of the shortened season. Manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw’s back stiffened up in...
Richy Werenski leads 3M Open; Dustin Johnson withdraws after 78Video
BLAINE, Minn. — Richy Werenski made a short birdie putt on the par-5 18th for an 8-under 63 and the first-round lead Thursday in the 3M Open, while Dustin Johnson withdrew because of a back injury after a 78. The 24-year-old Werenski is winless on the PGA Tour and ranked...
Indians to meet with Native Americans on potential new nameVideo
CLEVELAND — Before the Cleveland Indians make a definitive decision on changing their name, they’ll listen to those they may have most offended over the past 105 years. Owner Paul Dolan said the team will speak to Native American groups as one of the preliminary steps in the potential name...
Trump calls off Florida segment of GOP National ConventionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s hopes to salvage a four-night celebration for his reelection campaign have been thwarted by spiking coronavirus cases across the Sun Belt, with the president announcing Thursday that he was calling off the public events of the Republican National Convention scheduled to be held in Florida....
Congress defies Trump veto threat on Confederate base names
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday joined the House in defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump to approve defense legislation that would remove the names of Confederate officers from American military bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. The Senate approved the annual policy measure, 86-14, a...
Pepcid as a coronavirus remedy? Trump administration’s $21M gamble fizzled
A nearly $21 million government-funded study to see if a popular, over-the-counter heartburn medication could be a covid-19 remedy has fizzled amid allegations of conflicts of interest and scientific misconduct, according to interviews, a whistleblower complaint and internal government records obtained by The Associated Press. In mid-April, the Trump administration...
MLB expanding playoffs to 16 teams for this seasonVideo
NEW YORK — MLB and the players’ union agreed Thursday to expand the playoffs from 10 teams to 16 for the pandemic-delayed season, a decision that makes it likely teams with losing records will reach the postseason. The agreement was reached hours before the season opener between the New York...
Lawsuit alleges former Cardinal McCarrick, others abused youth at beach house
A new lawsuit alleges former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and several other clerics sexually abused a teenage boy at a New Jersey beach house in the 1980s. The suit filed this week in state Superior Court in New Jersey claims the youth, who is not named, was first abused...
AOC admonishes Rep. Ted Yoho in fiery speech on House floor: ‘I am someone’s daughter’Video
WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s outrage over a Republican lawmaker’s verbal assault broadened into an extraordinary moment on the House floor Thursday as she and other Democrats assailed a sexist culture of “accepting violence and violent language against women” whose adherents include President Donald Trump. A day after rejecting an...
Watchdog to review conduct of federal agents in Portland, D.C.Video
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department inspector general said Thursday that it will conduct a review of the conduct of federal agents who responded to unrest in Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., following concerns from members of Congress and the public. The watchdog investigation will examine use-of-force allegations in Portland, where...
