Associated Press stories, Page 2620
Saints rally past Eagles to reach NFC title game
NEW ORLEANS — When the New Orleans Saints finally found their rhythm, they marched one step closer to the Super Bowl. Using a dominant ball-control offense and a few gambles that paid off, the Saints got two touchdown passes from Drew Brees and two interceptions from Marcus Lattimore in a...
Rams run past Cowboys into NFC championship
LOS ANGELES — C.J. Anderson rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Todd Gurley rushed for 115 more yards and another TD in the Los Angeles Rams’ first playoff victory in 14 years, 30-22 over the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round Saturday night. Gurley and Anderson punished the...
Shirley Boone, wife of Pat Boone and philanthropist, dies
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Shirley Boone, the longtime wife of singer Pat Boone as well as a philanthropist, has died. She was 84. She passed away Friday surrounded by her four daughters, Cherry, Lindy, Debby and Laury, who sang to her, Milt Suchin, Pat Boone’s manager, said in a statement....
Coal mine collapses in China, killing at least 21
BEIJING — Twenty-one coal miners were killed when a mine collapsed in northern China, state media reported Sunday. The disaster occurred Saturday in Shenmu in Shaanxi province in the heart of the country’s coal-mining belt, according to state TV and the Xinhua News Agency. Sixty-six other miners were rescued, the...
Joe Gibbs’ eldest son dies at 49 from neurological disease
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — J.D. Gibbs, eldest son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, was remembered as the visionary behind the stellar career of several NASCAR stars following his death from complications a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease. He was 49. Joe Gibbs Racing announced Gibbs’...
Ready Freddie: Kitchens hired by Browns after offensive run
CLEVELAND — Freddie Kitchens had something on his coaching resume no other candidate could match. He made Baker Mayfield a better quarterback. Kitchens, who helped Mayfield turn his rookie season into a record-breaking one during an impressive eight-game stint as the Browns offensive coordinator, on Saturday was named Cleveland’s 17th...
Ex-Cardinal McCarrick accuser cooperates with NYC prosecutors on Catholic Church sex abuse
VATICAN CITY — The key accuser in the sex abuse case against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has met with New York City prosecutors, evidence that the scandal that has convulsed the papacy is now part of the broader U.S. law enforcement investigation into sex abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church....
Jeannette’s Batts helps LIU Brooklyn top Robert Morris
NEW YORK — Raiquan Clark scored 24 points, Jashaun Agosto added 21 with nine assists and Jeannette graduate Julian Batts hit a big 3-pointer as LIU Brooklyn beat Robert Morris, 80-73, on Saturday. Tyrn Flowers scored 16 points with eight rebounds and the trio of Blackbirds (8-8, 2-2 Northeast Conference)...
Duquesne rallies then holds off St. Joseph’s
PITTSBURGH — Michael Hughes had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Duquesne overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Saint Joseph’s, 85-84, on Saturday at Palumbo Center. The Dukes (11-5, 2-1 Atlantic 10) went on an 11-2 run to lead 82-75 on Hughes’ pair of free throws with 44 seconds left...
Chiefs roll past Colts, reach AFC title gameVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes picked apart the Colts in his postseason debut, the Chiefs defense answered their chorus of critics with a stout performance, and Kansas City rolled to a 31-13 victory over Indianapolis in the divisional round Saturday to end 25 years of playoff frustration. Mahomes threw...
Storm moves to Mid-Atlantic; at least 5 dead in crashes
ST. LOUIS — A massive winter snowstorm that blanketed several Midwest states was a factor in at least five road deaths on Saturday and forced the grounds crew to scramble to clear snow from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City ahead of the NFL divisional playoff game. The storm moved into...
Requests to bring in child brides OK’d; legal under U.S. laws
WASHINGTON — Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. In one case, a 49-year-old man applied for admission for a 15-year-old girl. The approvals...
WVU loses to Oklahoma State, remains winless in Big 12
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Oklahoma State’s Isaac Likekele is having fun. West Virginia’s players, not so much. Likekele scored a career-high 23 points with nine rebounds to lead the Cowboys to their first true road win, beating West Virginia, 85-77, on Saturday. The loss gives the Mountaineers their first 0-4 start...
Sean Payton: Playoff stakes more important than perceived slightsVideo
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton dismisses the premise the Philadelphia Eagles could derive extra motivation from the widespread perception New Orleans ran up the score on them when they met in November. “My question would be: We’re all playing hard in these divisional playoff games, right?”...
Philip Rivers, Chargers look to end dominance by Tom Brady, PatriotsVideo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady typically shrugs off any mention of records or milestones he sets. But even he had to chuckle at the one he and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers will mark when they meet in Sunday’s divisional playoffs. Brady, who will be 41 years and 163...
Previewing Sunday’s NFL divisional playoff games
Is this the year Philip Rivers finally gets past the New England Patriots? Is the speculation of the Patriots’ demise premature? Can Nick Foles continue his Cinderella story with the Philadelphia Eagles in their matchup at New Orleans? Here’s a look at Sunday’s NFL divisional playoff games: LOS ANGELES CHARGERS...
Tide change: Top of golf now belongs to youth
HONOLULU — Leave it to the oldest rookie to best illustrate how the PGA Tour has become such a young man’s game. Chris Thompson tried for 19 years to reach the highest level of golf, and he finally earned a PGA Tour card when he was 42. With every year...
Nadal: Andy Murray will be big loss but show must go on
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal knew it was inevitable that sooner or later the Big Four would become the Big Three. That Andy Murray is the first of the longtime leading four in men’s tennis to signal the end of his career is something Nadal has to keep in perspective....
Ferro Corp. to shut down Washington County plant, affecting 210 jobs
WASHINGTON, Pa. — An international chemical company has announced plans to shut down a western Pennsylvania plant, cutting about 160 jobs and relocating 50 more. Ferro Corp. said Friday the Canton Township plant in Washington County that produces functional coatings and color solutions will close in late 2019 or early...
Pitt gives undermanned N.C. State scare in ACC loss
RALEIGH, N.C. — No. 15 North Carolina State lost both a starting big man and its point guard. Good thing for the Wolfpack their depth is the envy of most teams. DJ Funderburk scored 12 of his career-high 18 points in the second half, and N.C. State beat Pitt, 86-80,...
Stephen King complaint spurs newspaper subscription drive
PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine newspaper that horrified author Stephen King by dropping its local book review coverage used his complaint to boost digital subscriptions. King, who lives in Bangor, complained Friday about the Portland Press Herald’s decision to stop publishing freelance-written reviews of books about Maine or written by...
GOP rejected Obama’s executive reach, but accepts Trump’s
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama stunned Republicans when he bypassed Congress and — relying on what he called his pen and his phone — used executive powers to enact his agenda, including protecting millions of young immigrants from deportation. Now, with President Donald Trump proposing an even more dramatic end-run...
In states, Democrats start delivering on health care pledges
SEATTLE — Riding the momentum from November’s elections, Democratic leaders in the states are wasting no time delivering on their biggest campaign promise — to expand access to health care and make it more affordable. The first full week of state legislative sessions and swearings-in for governors saw a flurry...
Bare-handed surgeries as Zimbabwe’s health system collapses
HARARE, Zimbabwe — A doctors’ strike in Zimbabwe has crippled a health system that was already in intensive care from neglect. It mirrors the state of affairs in a country that was full of promise a year ago with the departure of longtime leader Robert Mugabe but now faces economic...
Former Obama housing chief Julian Castro joins 2020 campaign
SAN ANTONIO — Assailing President Donald Trump for “a crisis of leadership,” former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro joined the 2020 presidential race Saturday as the rush of Democrats making early moves to challenge the incumbent accelerates, while anticipation grows around bigger names still considering a White House run. Castro,...
