Associated Press stories, Page 2114

SEATTLE — Staff members who worked while sick at multiple long-term care facilities contributed to the spread of COVID-19 among vulnerable elderly in the Seattle area, federal health officials said Wednesday. Thirty-five coronavirus deaths have been linked to Life Care Center in Kirkland. A report Wednesday from the U.S. Centers...

NEW YORK — A tiny fossil skull nicknamed “Wonderchicken” is giving scientists a rare glimpse at early ancestors of today’s birds. It may be the oldest known fossil from this group. With a face like those of today’s chicken-like birds and a back portion like that of living duck-like birds,...

From finding ways to help others cope to sheltering in place to canceling events, here’s a look at some of the ways the entertainment industry is reacting to the spread of the coronavirus, which most people recover from but can cause severe illness in the elderly and those with preexisting...

TEHRAN — Iran on Wednesday reported its single biggest jump in fatalities from the coronavirus as another 147 people died, raising the country’s overall death toll to 1,135. The nearly 15% spike in deaths — amid a total of 17,361 confirmed cases in Iran — marks the biggest 24-hour rise...

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s fastest-rising cartel, the Jalisco New Generation gang, has a reputation for ruthlessness and violence unlike any since the fall of the old Zetas cartel. In parts of the country it is fighting medieval-style battles, complete with fortified redoubts, to expand nationwide, from the outskirts of Mexico...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama is postponing a closely watched Republican primary runoff between former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions and a formidable rival because of the coronavirus, the governor announced Wednesday. The Senate runoff between Sessions and former football coach Tommy Tuberville will now be held on July 14 instead of...

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s role in responding to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States began to rapidly expand Wednesday as officials announced that two Navy hospital ships and two Army field hospitals were preparing to deploy to help overburdened regions. The latest moves are aimed at taking the pressure...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Stuck at home this week? The planets and our moon are providing some early morning entertainment. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and a crescent moon will be clustered together in the southeastern sky just before daybreak. Mercury will peek above the horizon. All this is happening amid the...

NEW YORK —Stocks tumbled more than 5% on Wall Street Wednesday, and the Dow erased virtually all its gains since President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration. Even prices for investments seen as safe during downturns fell as the coronavirus outbreak chokes the economy and investors rush to raise cash. Markets have...

NEW YORK — Coronavirus has become a “get out of jail” card for hundreds of low-level inmates across the country, and even hard-timers are seeking their freedom with the argument that it’s not a matter of if but when the deadly illness sweeps through tightly packed populations behind bars. Among...

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A recent surge in white nationalism in the U.S. has led to a growing threat of violence by factions that embrace bloodshed and advocate for a race war, according to a report released Wednesday by an organization that tracks far-right extremists. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s...

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump on Wednesday moved to invoke a federal law that allows the government to marshal the private sector to deal with the coronavirus epidemic, as the economic damage mounted with word that Detroit’s Big Three automakers agreed to shut down all their factories to protect workers....

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched 60 more of its internet satellites into orbit Wednesday despite an engine failure shortly after liftoff on a recycled rocket flying a record five times. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said one of the nine main engines shut down prematurely during liftoff, a rare...

Apple’s new iPad brings PC-like trackpad capabilities for the first time, as the company seeks to make its tablet even more like a laptop computer. Apple says the trackpad will offer more precision than fingers in selecting text and switching between apps. Older iPads will also be able to get...

DETROIT — Detroit’s three automakers have agreed to close all of their factories because of worker fears about the coronavirus, two people briefed on the matter said Wednesday. Automakers are expected to release details of the closure later in the day. The United Auto Workers union has been pushing for...

COSHOCTON, Ohio — Two people have been charged in Ohio after a toddler fell from a pickup truck, was struck by another vehicle and was critically injured. A 15-month-old child fell from the rear passenger side of the pickup and landed in the road in Coshocton on Monday morning, according...

LAUREL, Miss. — An Ohio woman who killed her 11-year-old son and left his body in a Mississippi hotel was arrested in New Orleans on Wednesday, police said. Latina Marie Oates, 33, of Powell, Ohio, was arrested about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Laurel, Miss., Police Chief Tommy Cox told the Associated...

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is creating a special task force to address criminal misconduct by federal Bureau of Prison officers at several correctional facilities after a loaded gun was found at the same jail where wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press....

DETROIT — Volvo is recalling more than 736,000 vehicles worldwide because the automatic emergency braking system may not detect obstacles and stop the vehicles as designed. The recall covers certain 2019 and 2020 S60, V60, S90L and V90 models. The company says in government documents that a software-hardware incompatibility glitch...