Associated Press stories, Page 2628
Iowa communities mourn death of firefighter
CLINTON, Iowa — A firefighter who died while battling a blaze at a grain storage facility over the weekend is being remembered in the eastern Iowa communities he served. Mourners lined the streets of Clinton on Sunday as the procession transporting the body of 33-year-old fire Lt. Eric Hosette rolled...
Amazon emerges as most valuable U.S. firm amid market turmoil
SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon has eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S. as a see-sawing stock market continues to reshuffle corporate America’s pecking order. The shift occurred Monday after Amazon’s shares rose 3 percent to close at $1,629.51 and lifted the e-commerce leader’s market value...
Commission hears dispute over school’s ‘Redskins’ nickname
LANGHORNE — A long-running dispute over a Pennsylvania school district’s “Redskins” nickname for its sports teams has been taken up by a state commission. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission attorney Lisa Knight argues the Bucks County district wouldn’t use a nickname based on any other racial group, so they should not...
NFL wild-card round ratings up 12 percent over last year
The NFL’s strong regular season of TV ratings continued into its opening weekend of the postseason. The league said on Monday that there was an average of 28.4 million viewers for the four wild-card round games, which is a 12 percent increase over last year. The Philadelphia Eagles game against...
NFL officially rules Parkey’s missed FG as block; Penn Hills grad gets hand on it
PHILADELPHIA — Cody Parkey got an excuse he probably won’t use. Parkey’s missed 43-yard field goal in the final seconds that gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 16-15 upset win over the Chicago Bears in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game officially was ruled a block by the NFL. Video showed Philadelphia’s Treyvon...
Cyntoia Brown, sentenced to life as a teen in killing, wins clemency
NASHVILLE — A woman who says she was a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim when she killed a man in 2004 was granted clemency Monday by Tennessee’s governor and soon will be released from prison. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam granted clemency to Cyntoia Brown, who had been serving a life sentence...
‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ gets directors guild nominationVideo
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Popular documentaries about Fred Rogers and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have each snagged another key nomination from the Directors Guild of America. The DGA announced its five documentary selections Monday including ”Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “RBG,” as well as the climbing documentary “Free...
Jefferson Township woman escapes captors by popping car trunk, running to home
DRY TAVERN — Police say two men kidnapped a woman from her Jefferson Township apartment, hogtied her with electrical tape and threw her into the trunk of a car, but she managed to pop the trunk and run to a nearby home. State police tell the Observer-Reporter 40-year-old Demitrius Davis...
1 dead, others hospitalized in Canonsburg carbon monoxide leak
Officials say a carbon monoxide leak in a multiple-family home left a man dead and several people hospitalized. Police were called to the home in Canonsburg just after 7 a.m. Monday. Officers responding reported a strong odor of natural gas and called the fire department. When crews went inside, they...
Troy Polamalu, Vince Young, Goodyear Blimp part of 2019 College Football Hall class
Texas quarterback Vince Young and Notre Dame speedster Raghib Ismail have been selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, along with 11 other players and two coaches. Young was the Heisman Trophy runner-up and led the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship with a memorable performance in...
Michigan man pleads guilty to 6 murders in 2016
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Michigan man charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber pleaded guilty to murder on Monday, just before attorneys were set to interview jurors for his trial. Jason Dalton’s surprise move came more than three years after shootings, which occurred over the course...
Home items are getting smarter and creepier, like it or not
NEW YORK — One day, finding an oven that just cooks food may be as tough as buying a TV that merely lets you change channels. Internet-connected “smarts” are creeping into cars, refrigerators, thermostats, toys and just about everything else in your home. CES 2019, the gadget show opening Tuesday...
Baby’s body found in portable cooler in Georgia
LAGRANGE, Ga. — Authorities say a baby’s body was found in a portable cooler bag on the side of a Georgia road. News outlets report the newborn’s body was found Sunday afternoon. According to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, witnesses said the cooler had been on the side of a...
Kevin Spacey ordered to stay away from accuser
NANTUCKET, Mass. — Kevin Spacey must stay away from the young man who accused him of groping him at a Massachusetts bar in 2016, a judge ordered Monday. The disgraced actor was arraigned on a charge of felony indecent assault and battery during a hearing at Nantucket District Court. He...
U.S. stocks edge higher after huge swings in recent trading
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are edging higher in early trading on Wall Street Monday after enormous swings the previous two days. Representatives from the U.S. and China began a round of trade negotiations, and investors’ hopes that the two sides will finally make progress in talks have sent stocks...
Ginsburg missing Supreme Court arguments for 1st time
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing arguments for the first time in more than 25 years as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month, the Supreme Court said. Ginsburg was not on the bench as the court met Monday to hear arguments. It was not clear when she...
No words: Mastercard to drop its name from logo
NEW YORK — Mastercard is at a loss for words. The digital payment company says it is dropping its name in some contexts, opting to let its familiar interlocking yellow and red circles represent the company at retail locations and online. The Purchase, New York-based company said Monday that the...
U.S., Turkey set for negotiations on fate of Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey — U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is set to press Turkey for assurances that it won’t attack the Kurdish fighters in Syria, which he said is now a condition for the withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria. Bolton arrived Monday for negotiations with the NATO ally...
New England kidnapping, sex suspect caught in Pennsylvania
HARTFORD, Vt. — A man forced a woman and her child into a car in New Hampshire, drove to Vermont, sexually assaulted the woman, and was apprehended in Pennsylvania after a manhunt and car chase, authorities said. Everett Simpson, 41, forced a woman and her child into their car outside...
Democrats plan more pressure on Trump to reopen government
WASHINGTON — With no weekend breakthrough to end a prolonged partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump is standing firm in his border wall funding demands and newly empowered House Democrats are planning to step up pressure on Trump and Republican lawmakers to reopen the government. Trump showed no signs of...
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ upsets ‘A Star Is Born’ at Golden Globes
NEW YORK — Thunder bolt and lightning rocked the 76th Golden Globes where a string of upsets culminated with the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” winning best picture, drama, over another movie about musicians: Bradley Cooper’s much more heavily favored “A Star Is Born.” “A Star Is Born” came into...
Chesapeake Bay health grade falls to ‘D-plus’
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — An annual report on the Chesapeake Bay says pollution from unusually heavy rains last year contributed to the first decline in a decade in the overall health of the nation’s largest estuary. Chesapeake Bay Foundation President Will Baker said Monday the bay “suffered a massive assault last...
Michigan family of 5 killed in wrong-way crash in Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 75 in Kentucky struck a vehicle carrying five family members from Michigan early Sunday, killing all six people, authorities said. The southbound pickup truck being driven in the northbound lanes struck the family’s sport utility vehicle at...
Browns interview Colts’ Matt Eberflus after wild-card playoff win
CLEVELAND — Matt Eberflus has a past with the Browns. Maybe he’ll have a future as well. One day after his Indianapolis defense held quarterback Deshaun Watson and Houston’s offense to just seven points in an AFC wild-card win, Eberflus became the sixth candidate to interview for Cleveland’s open coaching...
Nick Foles leads Eagles to 16-15 upset of Bears
CHICAGO — Nick Foles hit Golden Tate with a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 56 seconds remaining against the NFL’s stingiest defense, lifting the Philadelphia Eagles past the Chicago Bears 16-15 on Sunday in the final wild-card game. Former Eagles kicker Cody Parkey hit the left upright and...

