Associated Press stories, Page 2221
Pennsylvania Senate President Joe Scarnati will not seek re-election
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati will not seek re-election, he told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. Scarnati, 58, a fifth-term Republican from Jefferson County in northwestern Pennsylvania, said he wrestled with the decision to step down after 14 years in a job steering a Republican...
Mookie Betts, David Price arrive in Los Angeles eager for new startsVideo
LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts and David Price finally turned up in Dodgers jerseys Wednesday, completing the journey from Boston to Los Angeles, where they’re expected to help end a World Series title drought dating to 1988. Neither seemed fazed by the trade that dragged out for more than a...
NASCAR drivers anticipate changes to Speedweeks next yearVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Speedweeks is facing a significant shakeup. The Daytona 500 is scheduled for Valentine’s Day in 2021, a week earlier than usual and putting NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl seven days after the actual Super Bowl. The revised date could cause changes to Speedweeks, the opening...
Iowa Democratic Party chairman Troy Price resigns after caucus chaos
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party announced his resignation Wednesday after a disastrous caucus process beset by technical glitches led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner. The embarrassing episode also threatened Iowa’s cherished status as the first...
AG William Barr agrees to testify as Democrats question his leadershipVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next month, appearing for the first time before the panel as questions swirl about whether he intervened in the case of a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.,...
Blue Jays catcher, former Pirates’ 1st-rounder Reese McGuire charged with indecency in FloridaVideo
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire is facing an indecent exposure charge in Florida. Deputies were dispatched to a shopping center parking lot in Dunedin on Friday afternoon following reports that a man sitting inside an SUV was exposing himself, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office...
MLB goes ahead with 3-batter minimum, roster changes
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball went ahead with its planned rules changes for this season, including the requirement a pitcher must face at least three batters or end the half-inning, unless he is hurt. The changes were agreed to by MLB and the players’ association last March 8, subject...
Solid earnings send stock indexes higher on Wall Street
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, driving the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to more record highs. Technology stocks powered much of the rally as investors focused on the latest batch of mostly solid company earnings reports. The latest gains came as worries about the economic impact...
Tampon tax break faces resistance in Tennessee
NASHVILLE — A proposal to include feminine hygiene products during Tennessee’s annual sales-tax holiday faced resistance this week from lawmakers concerned about the lack of limit on on such purchases. The legislation is the latest evolution of a push to eliminate the so-called “tampon tax” on items such as tampons...
‘Canned’ lions still on offer at U.S. trophy hunting conventionVideo
WASHINGTON — An undercover video recorded by animal welfare activists shows vendors at a recent trophy-hunting convention promoting trips to shoot captive-bred lions in Africa, despite past public assurances by the event’s organizers that so-called canned hunts wouldn’t be sold. Investigators for the Humane Society of the United States captured...
Trump expected to attend Daytona 500 race Sunday in Florida
WASHINGTON — Daytona International Speedway is going to be a little more crowded than usual for the annual Daytona 500 on Sunday. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a flight restriction for Sunday indicating that President Donald Trump is expected to attend the NASCAR race. The U.S. Secret Service, which is...
Lawmakers want Ivanka Trump’s women’s program to become law
WASHINGTON — Two senators — one Republican and one Democrat — are leading a legislative effort to have a global women’s initiative spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka written into law. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., are behind the effort, the senior White House adviser announced...
2 officers injured, suspect dead in Baltimore shootingVideo
BALTIMORE — Two law enforcement officers with a fugitive task force were injured and a suspect died in a shooting Wednesday in Baltimore, the U.S. Marshals Service said. One officer was injured in the leg and the other in the stomach, U.S. Marshals Service spokesman David Lutz said in an...
Jury finds Mar-a-Lago intruder not guilty of trespassingVideo
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida jury acquitted a Chinese woman Wednesday of trespassing at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after she testified she didn’t understand a security guard who told her to leave. However, jurors did find Jing Lu, 56, guilty of resisting a police officer without violence...
Coronavirus has many U.S. firms waiting for products to ship
NEW YORK — When the factory in China that makes Romy Taormina’s anti-nausea wristbands closed for the Lunar New Year in late January, she expected production to resume by early this month. But many factories across China are still closed to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus, leaving...
2 Ohio State football players accused of rape, kidnapping
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two Ohio State University football players have been accused of rape and kidnaping, according to Columbus police. The Columbus Dispatch reports that police charged defensive players Amir I. Riep and Jahsen L. Wint, both 21, late Tuesday and warrants have been issued for their arrests. In an...
Transgender felons seek to ease Pennsylvania rules on name changes
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court this week will consider a legal challenge by three transgender women to a two-decade-old state law that prohibits people who have committed serious felonies from ever changing their names. Commonwealth Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in the lawsuit brought by plaintiffs who live as...
Pope avoids question of married priests in Amazon document
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis declined Wednesday to approve the ordination of married men to address a shortage of priests in the Amazon, sidestepping a fraught issue that has dominated debate in the Catholic Church and even involved retired Pope Benedict XVI. Francis, in an eagerly awaited document, did not...
Analysis: Bernie Sanders’ narrow New Hampshire win ups pressure on moderatesVideo
WASHINGTON — For Bernie Sanders, not all victories are created equal. In 2016, Sanders carried New Hampshire by 22 points, pummeling Hillary Clinton and setting the stage for a protracted fight over the Democratic presidential nomination. On Tuesday, he won the state’s primary by less than 2 points, raising questions...
Siba the poodle wins best in show at Westminster; Ligonier Township golden retriever Daniel falls shortVideo
NEW YORK — Primped and poised, Siba the standard poodle owned the ring. Even with the crowd at Madison Square Garden chanting for a popular golden retriever, the statuesque Siba strutted off with best in show Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club. Adorned with black puffs and pompoms, the...
Record-setting astronaut feels good after near year in space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s new record-setting astronaut said Wednesday that aside from sore muscles and trouble with balance, she’s readjusting well to gravity after nearly 11 months in space. Christina Koch met with reporters in Houston six days after returning to Earth from the International Space Station. Her 328-day...
A victory, a caution: Takeaways from New Hampshire’s primary
New Hampshire Democrats gave Bernie Sanders a win, but also a warning. Sanders’ durability, based both on his 2016 campaign and the first two contests this year, cannot be questioned. What remains unanswered is how moderates will now come at him and whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be able to...
Sanders edges Buttigieg in New Hampshire, cementing Dem front-runnersVideo
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire’s presidential primary election Tuesday night, narrowly edging moderate rival Pete Buttigieg and scoring the first clear victory in the Democratic Party’s chaotic 2020 nomination fight. In his win, the 78-year-old Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, beat back a strong challenger from the...
No. 13 Penn State uses 3-point flurry to win at PurdueVideo
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Seth Lundy delivered a flurry of first-half scoring punches. Mike Watkins capitalized with a quick second-half knockout blow. Watkins matched a season high with 19 points, Lundy added a career-high 18 and No. 13 Penn State pulled away with a rare 88-76 victory at Purdue on...
Michael Bennet ends 2020 bid after poor showing in New Hampshire
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet ended his long-shot presidential bid Tuesday, failing to break out of a crowded Democratic field dominated by other moderate candidates, including Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. Bennet, 55, was a late entrant to the race who staked his bid largely on trying to win...
