Associated Press stories, Page 2134

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge has ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency and, as a result, lacked authority to give asylum seekers less time to prepare for initial screening interviews. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and an immigration...

DOYLESTOWN — A man shot and wounded by police during a standoff near Philadelphia last month has died, authorities said. The Bucks County district attorney’s office said Thomas Edward Zeller, 61, was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health. The Montgomery County coroner’s office was scheduled to do an...

NEW YORK — New York confirmed Sunday the state’s first positive test of the new virus that has sickened tens of thousands of people across the globe. A woman in her late 30s contracted the virus while traveling in Iran, according to a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. She...

WASHINGTON — Pete Buttigieg, who rose from relative obscurity as an Indiana mayor to a barrier-breaking, top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Sunday. The decision by the first openly gay candidate to seriously contend for the presidency — and among the youngest ever — came...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The president of West Virginia University released a letter Sunday emphasizing the university’s commitment to safety after two recent shootings near the Morgantown campus, one of them involving a fatality. WVU President Gordon Gee wrote to the community that the campus of more than 26,000 students is...

NEW YORK — As stocks around the world tumble on worries about a fast-spreading coronavirus, investors have been clamoring for the superheroes of the financial world to ride to the rescue once again. Yet this time, there are doubts: Can central banks really fix this crisis as they have so...

JERUSALEM — For the third time in under a year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking reelection, and once again the Israeli leader is on the ropes. After two inconclusive elections last year, opinion polls forecast another stalemate — a troubling scenario for Netanyahu, who will go on trial on...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s peace deal with the Taliban opens the door for an initial American troop withdrawal that Defense Secretary Mark Esper sees as a step toward the broader goal of preparing for potential war with China. Esper has his eye on “great power competition,” which means staying...

LOS ANGELES — Joe Coulombe envisioned a new generation of young grocery shoppers emerging in the 1960s, one that wanted healthy, tasty, high-quality food they couldn’t find in most supermarkets and couldn’t afford to buy in the few high-end gourmet outlets. So he found a new way to bring everything...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — For nearly a quarter-century, the old bus abandoned in Alaska’s punishing wilderness has drawn adventurers seeking to retrace the steps of a young idealist who met a tragic death in the derelict vehicle. For many, Christopher McCandless’ legend was cemented in the 1996 “Into the Wild” book...

TOKYO — Amid fears about where the next outbreak of a fast-spreading new virus would appear, infections and deaths continued to rise across the globe Sunday, emptying streets of tourists and workers, shaking economies and rewriting the realities of daily life. Panic-buying of daily necessities emerged in Japan, tourist sites...

PARIS — The spreading coronavirus epidemic shut down France’s Louvre Museum on Sunday, with workers who guard its trove of artworks fearful of being contaminated by the museum’s flow of visitors from around the world. “We are very worried because we have visitors from everywhere,” said Andre Sacristin, a Louvre...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden said Sunday he can “unite this country, the whole country” after scoring a thundering victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary that could force moderate rivals out of the race and blunt the rise of progressive leader Bernie Sanders. Biden vowed he would improve his campaign...

VATICAN CITY — A coughing Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered for the traditional Sunday blessing that he is canceling his participation at a week-long spiritual retreat in the Roman countryside because of a cold. It is the first time in his seven-year papacy that he has missed the spiritual exercises...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is about to tell President Donald Trump whether he has more power to use a favorite phrase: “You’re fired.” A case being argued at the high court on Tuesday could threaten the structure of agencies that form an enormous swath of the federal government. It...

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sidney Crosby takes full responsibility for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ current rut. Evander Kane had a goal and an assist, Martin Jones made 30 saves in his 24th career shutout and the San Jose Sharks sent the Penguins to their first six-game losing streak in eight years...