Associated Press stories, Page 2210
South Dakota Smithfield pork plant will reopen Monday, according to union
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A South Dakota pork processing plant will partially reopen Monday after shuttering for more than two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak that infected hundreds of employees, a union that represents plant workers said Friday. Smithfield Foods asked about 250 employees to report to the plant...
Decline in critical coronavirus patients in Italy continues
ROME — The number of patients in Italy’s intensive care beds is continuing to decline. That’s allowing hospitals to better deal with the covid-19 outbreak, which when it began weeks ago had overwhelmed the national health care system, especially in heavily stricken northern regions. According to health ministry figures released...
New York schools staying closed through spring, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s schools and colleges will remain shut through the end of the academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. The order, which applies to 4.2 million students statewide, continues a shutdown that had been set to expire May 15. The Democratic...
California county defies governor’s coronavirus shutdown order
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A rural California county allowed nonessential businesses to reopen and diners to eat in restaurants on Friday, becoming the first to defy Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide orders barring such moves during the coronavirus pandemic. Modoc County is “moving forward with our reopening plan,” Modoc County Deputy Director...
Judge orders release of migrants in Florida as coronavirus measure
MIAMI — A federal judge ordered authorities to release hundreds of immigrants from three Florida detention centers to prevent a wider spread of the coronavirus and protect detainees with underlying conditions. U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Cooke issued an order late Thursday for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin...
Canada bans assault-style weapons after mass shootingVideo
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada is banning the use and trade of assault-style weapons immediately. Trudeau cited numerous mass shootings in the country, including the killing of 22 people in Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19. He announced the ban of over 1,500 models...
New White House press secretary McEnany to hold 1st briefing
WASHiNGTON — President Donald Trump’s new spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, is to face reporters for the first time in the White House Briefing Room on Friday, something her predecessor never did during a nine-month stint as press secretary. During past administrations, a White House press secretary holding a formal briefing would...
Exxon profits drop as most of world stays home, forgoes fuelVideo
NEW YORK — Profits fell at Exxon Mobil during the first quarter as the global pandemic began to erode oil demand. The Irving, Texas oil giant lost $610 million in the first quarter, down 126% from the same time last year, the company said Friday. Revenue was $56.16 billion, down...
Biden denies former staffer’s sexual assault allegationVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday categorically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, saying “this never happened.” Biden’s first public remarks on the allegation by former staffer Tara Reade come at a critical moment for the presumptive...
Ryan Murphy’s ‘Hollywood’ miniseries is a woke ’40s fantasy
Ryan Murphy has a clear-eyed fascination with the 20th-century Hollywood dream machine, so adroit at making stars and breaking the hearts of those who didn’t fit the mold. Among the casualties: Anna May Wong and Hattie McDaniel, gifted actresses of color consigned to play stereotypes, and closeted matinee idol Rock...
Kim Jong Un appears in public amid health rumors
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he was seriously ill. The North’s official Korean...
‘Unconscionable’ body overflow at Brooklyn funeral home prompts probeVideo
NEW YORK — It started with reports of a strange stench in Brooklyn. Police who investigated found another example of how the cornavirus has overwhelmed the city: A funeral home had resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in rented trucks. Now state officials say the funeral home could...
Major U.S. airlines to require passengers to wear face masksVideo
DALLAS — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said Thursday they will soon require passengers to cover their faces during flights, following the lead of JetBlue Airways. The move comes as airlines big and small contemplate how to comply with social-distancing recommendations in the midst of the coronavirus...
Big changes in AFC East, but Bill Belichick the constant for PatriotsVideo
NEW YORK — This could be the year. You know, when Buffalo, Miami or the New York Jets (finally) step up and (finally) overtake New England for supremacy in the AFC East — something the Patriots have had for most of the last two decades. Tom Brady brought his six...
Alain Vigneault, Flyers hope to continue Stanley Cup pursuitVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Gritty is the home school teacher the world needs right now. The furry Flyers mascot offers an education of sorts each weekday on Instagram with ” Gritty’s 1/4 Hour of Power,” and his top student one day this week was forward Joel Farabee. Gritty played charades with Farabee,...
Alabama high school student names NASA’s first Mars helicopterVideo
NORTHPORT, Ala. — An Alabama high school student named NASA’s first Mars helicopter that will be deployed to the red planet later this summer. Ingenuity, the name submitted by Vaneeza Rupani, was selected for the 4-pound solar-powered helicopter, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday. The name coined by the...
This time, Mike Pence wears mask as he tours Indiana plantVideo
WASHINGTON — This time, he wore a mask. Vice President Mike Pence donned a face covering Thursday as he toured a General Motors/Ventec ventilator production facility in Indiana after coming under fire for failing to wear one earlier this week in violation of Mayo Clinic policy. The facility in Kokomo...
California governor orders Orange County beaches to close
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom closed beaches in Orange County on Thursday, overriding some local officials who had rejected his pleas to limit access as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the state. A memo to the state’s police chiefs on Wednesday indicated Newsom was preparing to close...
Hall of Famer Andre Dawson deals with coronavirus as morticianVideo
MIAMI — The man consoling mourners and directing his staff at Paradise Memorial Funeral Home might look familiar if he wasn’t wearing a mask. It’s baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson. Owning a funeral home took some getting used to, Dawson said Thursday, and now he’s adjusting to life as...
Police: South Carolina woman drove car with her 5-year-old child on hood
Rock Hill, S.C. — A woman who allegedly recorded a video of herself driving a car while her 5-year-old child was sitting on the hood of the vehicle was arrested in South Carolina. Thrista Miquisha Johnson turned herself in Tuesday when Rock Hill police learned about the video and issued...
NFC East has a new look but success may be slow to achieveVideo
The NFL’s worst division has plenty of new kids — and coaches — on the block. It might not translate into much more success in 2020. After combining for only 24 wins last season, the NFC East got three new coaches: Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys), Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins) and...
Chiefs use 5th-year option on Patrick MahomesVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are exercising their fifth-year option on Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, a person familiar with their decision told the Associated Press, though both sides remain optimistic that they will agree on a long-term contract before the start of the season. The person...
NFLPA president, Browns center JC Tretter calls for CBA reviewVideo
NFL Players Association president JC Tretter is calling for a re-examination of a portion of the labor agreement with the league affecting disability coverage for former players. Tretter, a center with the Cleveland Browns, succeeded Eric Winston as union president earlier this year. Tretter wants the NFLPA’s executive board and...
‘Is my dad alive?’: Outrage as deaths mount at veterans homeVideo
Desperate for information as coronavirus deaths mounted at the Massachusetts veterans home where her father lived, Susan Kenney drove there with her question written in big letters on her car window: “Is my dad alive?” He was. But not for long. Kenney’s father and 69 others who served their country...
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says he tested positive for coronavirus
MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says he has tested positive for coronavirus and has told President Vladimir Putin he will self-isolate. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov will temporarily perform Mishustin’s duties. Mishustin, 54 was named prime minister in January. Also, the mayor of Moscow says he doesn’t...
