Associated Press stories, Page 2174
Jimmie Johnson prepares for future by entering IndyCar iRaceVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson joined the field for IndyCar’s inaugural online race as he contemplates driving in that series following his retirement from full-time stock car racing. IndyCar followed NASCAR, IMSA and Formula One in setting up a virtual racing series to give fans content during...
Gov. Wolf vetoes petrochemical plant tax break bill
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday followed through on his threat to veto a bill to provide potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks for petrochemical plants that use natural gas extracted in Pennsylvania. In his veto message, Wolf said he could support awarding an incentive like the one...
NCAA weighs more eligibility for sports cut short by virusVideo
The NCAA Division I Council is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to allow another year of eligibility for spring sport athletes such as baseball, softball and lacrosse players, who had their seasons wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. Providing similar relief to winter sport athletes, such as basketball and...
The story of the NFL draft, from extravaganza to unadorned
An NFL draft handled remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic is the latest twist to an event that has become as popular as any pro football happening short of the Super Bowl. Roger Goodell alerted NFL teams in a memo Thursday night that the dates of this year’s draft would...
As virus toll mounts in New York, more hospitals sought
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump and elected leaders in New York are clashing again over the depth of the state’s coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, the outbreak is taking its toll on the state’s civil servants, with the virus claiming the lives of bus and train workers and a civilian employee...
Canada to cover up to 75% of salaries for businesses
TORONTO — The Canadian government is increasing a payroll subsidy to small- and medium-sized businesses to now cover up to 75% of salaries amid the pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the major increase over the original 10 percent subsidy plan. Trudeau said it became clear they needed to do...
Pope to mark Holy Week ceremonies in shelter of St. Peter’s
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Week ceremonies in the confines of Vatican City, including a Good Friday Way of the Cross service on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica instead of at Rome’s Colosseum as customary. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican on Friday announced that...
2 Olympic champions among 4 Russians with new doping chargesVideo
MONACO — Two Olympic gold medalists were among four Russian track and field athletes charged with doping offenses. Andrei Silnov, the 2008 Olympic high jump champion, and Natalya Antyukh, the 2012 champion in the 400-meter hurdles, are facing charges of using a prohibited substance or method. The Athletics Integrity Unit...
Lack of social distancing leads to closure of parks, trails
OAK PARK, Ill. — It was a sunny day, the first in about a week when temperatures had climbed past the 50-degree mark, and people in Chicago did what they always do on such a day: They flocked to the shores of Lake Michigan. Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not consider...
Stocks move lower on Wall Street following a big 3-day rallyVideo
Stocks are lower Friday on Wall Street, remaining little changed after Congress voted to pass a big financial rescue package aimed at cushioning ailing businesses and households from the coronavirus crisis. The selling erased some of the market’s gains after a strong three-day rally that has the major stock indexes...
Venezuela’s only telecoms satellite is lost in spaceVideo
BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuela’s only telecommunications satellite has veered off its orbit and stopped working, creating a logistical headache for the cash-strapped South American nation. The Chinese-built satellite was launched among much fanfare in 2008 under the watch of former President Hugo Chavez, who said that the six-ton machine would...
R. Kelly seeks release from jail, cites coronavirus risk
R&B singer R. Kelly cited the novel coronavirus in asking a federal judge Thursday to free him from a federal jail in Chicago as he awaits trial on child pornography and other charges, a court filing by his lawyers saying scant precautions to stem the spread of the virus behind...
Couples in quarantine: Stress, anxiety, fear of the unknown
The 60-something husband works in the food industry and still insists upon leaving every day for work, saying he needs to keep his business afloat. His frightened wife desperately wants him to stay home. For another couple, in the midst of a separation, the bitterly fought issue is the kids...
Mark Blum, actor in ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ dies from covid-19 complications
Mark Blum, the actor known for roles in “Crocodile Dundee” and “Desperately Seeking Susan,” has died from complications of covid-19. He was 69. Blum died at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday after being diagnosed last week with the coronavirus, said Janet Zarish, his wife of 15 years. The couple...
British Prime Minister Johnson tests positive for virusVideo
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first leader of a major nation to contract covid-19, but he insisted Friday that he remains in charge of the United Kingdom’s response to the outbreak. Johnson, 55, said he was tested Thursday on the...
Italy hopes virus is easing but fears new onslaught in southVideo
ROME — Doctors and nurses in Italy’s overwhelmed northern hospitals have welcomed a slight stabilizing in the number of coronavirus infections but fear the virus is still silently spreading in the south two weeks into the West’s most extreme nationwide shutdown. As the dead in Italy keep piling up, virologists...
House passes $2.2T rescue package, rushes it to TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Acting with unity and resolve unseen since the 9/11 attacks, the House of Representatives gave near-unanimous approval Friday to historic legislation designed to prevent the economy from collapsing and rush resources to overburdened health care providers and struggling families during the deepening coronavirus epidemic. The unprecedented $2.2 trillion...
Tourists stranded in Asia by canceled flights, shut bordersVideo
PHUKET, Thailand — From the sun-soaked beaches of Thailand to the foothills of Mount Everest in Nepal, tourists across Asia are finding their dream vacations have turned into travel nightmares as airlines cancel flights and countries close their borders in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of tourists escaping...
Pedestrian bridge falls onto Detroit freeway; no injuries
DETROIT — A portion of a pedestrian bridge fell early Friday onto a Detroit freeway, blocking traffic, police said. No one was injured in the collapse onto westbound Interstate 94, Lt. Mike Shaw, a Michigan State Police spokesman, said in an email. State police reported on Twitter that the agency...
In Iran, false belief a poison fights virus kills hundredsVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Standing over the still body of an intubated 5-year-old boy wearing nothing but a plastic diaper, an Iranian health care worker in a hazmat suit and mask begged the public for just one thing: Stop drinking industrial alcohol over fears about the new coronavirus. The boy, now...
Appeals grow to close U.S. national parks during pandemicVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is sticking with its crowd-friendly waiver of entrance fees at national parks during the coronavirus pandemic, as managers at some parks try and fail to keep visitors a safe distance apart and communities appeal for a shutdown at other parks that are still open. While...
If you don’t laugh, you cry: Coping with virus through humor
BOSTON — Neil Diamond posts a fireside rendition of “Sweet Caroline” with its familiar lyrics tweaked to say, “Hands … washing hands.” A news anchor asks when social distancing will end because “my husband keeps trying to get into the house.” And a sign outside a neighborhood church reads: “Had...
Bill Bartholomay, who moved Braves to Atlanta, dies at 91Video
ATLANTA — Bill Bartholomay, the former baseball owner who moved the Braves from from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966 to become MLB’s first team in the South, has died. He was 91. Bartholomay died Wednesday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, according to his daughter, Jamie. Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron...
NFL keeping draft in April as scheduledVideo
NEW YORK — Commissioner Roger Goodell told NFL teams Thursday that the draft will go on as originally scheduled for next month. The draft will still take place April 23-25. It was originally scheduled for a big outdoor production in Las Vegas, but those plans were scrapped because of the...
Florida’s number of coronavirus cases jumps sharplyVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Miami-area hospitals were treating about a dozen crew members from two cruise ships and Florida’s second-largest county ordered residents to stay home as the state’s number of coronavirus cases jumped sharply on Thursday. The state health department said more than 2,350 people had tested positive for...
