Associated Press stories, Page 2201
Wintry weather: Polar vortex brings rare May snow, low temps to Eastern US
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Mother’s Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in the Northeast on Saturday thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air down from the north. Some higher elevation areas in northern New York and New England reported snowfall accumulations of up to 10 inches, while...
US approves new coronavirus antigen test with fast results
U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of...
Belarus holds Victory Day parade, disregarding coronavirus concerns
MINSK, Belarus — The eastern European nation of Belarus held a full-fledged military parade Saturday to mark Victory Day, shrugging off safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic that led Russia to curtail its own long-planned 75th anniversary observances. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the parade route as some 3,000...
Little Richard, flamboyant rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, dead at 87
NASHVILLE — Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87. Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that...
Lawns are the new wedding venue in the age of coronavirus
NEW YORK — Love in the age of coronavirus sometimes requires a lawn. Couples with dashed wedding plans due to lockdown restrictions have been tying the knot on those tidy green spreads instead, including at least one loaner. Danielle Cartaxo and Ryan Cignarella were supposed to get married in West...
Court halts ban on mass gatherings at Kentucky churches
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A federal court halted the Kentucky governor’s temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Friday issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration from enforcing the...
‘It’s gone haywire’: When COVID-19 arrived in rural America
DAWSON, Ga. — The reverend approached the makeshift pulpit and asked the Lord to help him make some sense of the scene before him: two caskets, side by side, in a small-town cemetery busier now than ever before. Rev. Willard O. Weston had already eulogized other neighbors lost to COVID-19,...
Serbia protests EU description of Tesla as famous Croat
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia has protested to the European Union after one of its publications described inventor and electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla as a Croat. Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Saturday he has sent the protest note to Brussels after the EU’s Learning Corner site for children described Tesla...
Georgia man’s death raises echoes of US racial terror legacy
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead. The Feb. 23 shooting in coastal Georgia...
Bison transfers planned for US park, Indian reservation
BILLINGS, Mont. — Hundreds of wild bison would be transferred from federal lands to a South Dakota American Indian Reservation and a North Dakota national park as a first step in the latest initiative to restore the burly animals to Western U.S. lands that they once roamed by the millions,...
Stuck on cruise ships during pandemic, crews beg to go home
MIAMI — Carolina Vásquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body. On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on...
White father, son charged with murder in Ahmaud Arbery case
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The white father and son stood quietly Friday as the judge read murder and aggravated assault charges against them in the fatal shooting of a black man who was running through their Georgia neighborhood. In just a few minutes, their first court appearance was over. It was...
California Gov. Newsom formally endorses Biden for president
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom formally endorsed Joe Biden for president on Friday, praising the former vice president for his “deep compassion and empathy” during a virtual high-dollar fundraiser in partnership with the Democratic National Committee. “I just couldn’t be more proud of you and the prospects of...
Some NBA practice facilities re-open; some teams to begin testing players for coronavirusVideo
MIAMI — The NBA took tiny steps toward a return to normalcy Friday, as a small number of practice facilities reopened for workouts and at least one team received permission from the league to test players and staff for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, NBA commissioner Adam Silver took part in a...
Taiwan baseball fans allowed inside stadium but sit apartVideo
NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan — There were fans in the stands for baseball in Taiwan on Friday, albeit spaced far apart as a safeguard against the spread of the coronavirus. Up to 1,000 spectators are allowed at each ballpark in Taiwan, but they still are barred from bringing in food...
Brett Favre denies claim he was paid for no-show workVideo
MILWAUKEE — Brett Favre on Friday disputed a Mississippi state auditor’s report that said the Hall of Fame quarterback received $1.1 million in welfare money for multiple speaking engagements that he didn’t actually attend. Favre told ESPN Wisconsin’s “Wilde & Tausch” radio show he instead was being paid for his...
Report: MLB cutting this year’s draft to 5 rounds to save clubs bonus pool moneyVideo
NEW YORK — MLB will cuts its amateur draft from 40 rounds to five this year, a move that figures to save teams about $30 million. Clubs gained the ability to reduce the draft as part of their March 26 agreement with the players’ association, and MLB plans to finalize...
‘Slap Shot’ still iconic in hockey despite sport’s changesVideo
A few nights after one of their players was injured by a dirty hit, the Johnstown Jets plotted to exact some revenge on Buffalo’s Greg Neeld. An all-out brawl broke out during warm-ups, and the North American Hockey League game was postponed, much to the dismay of ownership and presumably...
Colts’ Philip Rivers named coach-in-waiting at Alabama high schoolVideo
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers has already lined up the first job of his post-playing career. Rivers was introduced Friday as the head coach-in-waiting at St. Michael Catholic High School in a news conference on campus. The 16-year veteran of the Los Angeles Chargers signed a one-year...
Big East considering not allowing sports on campuses that are closedVideo
The presidents of the 11 members of the Big East are leaning toward not allowing sports to be played at schools this season unless their campuses are open. Commissioner Val Ackerman disclosed the thinking of the presidents Friday in a wide-ranging virtual interview with members of the media about the...
SeaWorld develops plans for reopening; no official date set
ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld guests could be sitting in every other row of the stadium to watch orca shows when the parks eventually reopen, the company’s CEO said Friday. Interim CEO Marc Swanson gave an update Friday on a coronavirus safety plan under development, but no official reopening dates have...
IRS sets Wednesday deadline for direct deposit stimulus payments
WASHINGTON — The IRS said it will accept bank account information until noon Wednesday for people who want to receive stimulus payments by direct deposit. After that, the IRS will send the money by check to the address on file, with those payments expected to arrive in late May and...
WVU furloughing about 875 staffers as virus hits revenues
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University is furloughing around 875 staffers due to a possible $40 million loss from the coronavirus pandemic, the college said Friday. The school issued a statement saying the furloughs will start on May 24 and have staffers return to work either June 28 or July...
New Mexico town near vast US reservation shuts everyone out
GALLUP, N.M. — Like clockwork, payday arrives and tens of thousands of people from the Navajo reservation and other rural stretches along the New Mexico-Arizona border flood into Gallup, a freewheeling desert oasis of just 22,000 that can quickly quadruple in size with all the visitors. Not now. As the...
Mike Pence says lack of religious services has been ‘burden’
URBANDALE, Iowa — Vice President Mike Pence spoke Friday to a group of faith leaders in Iowa about the importance of resuming religious services, saying the cancellations in the name of slowing the spread of the coronavirus have “been a burden” for congregants. Pence spoke with the religious leaders and...
