Associated Press stories, Page 1438
Omicron less likely to put you in the hospital, studies contend
Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version. Scientists stress that even if the findings of these early studies hold up, any reductions in severity need to be weighed against the fact omicron spreads much faster...
No new positive covid cases for Chiefs; Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill remain outVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs had no additional positive covid-19 tests Wednesday, a day after seven players were added to the reserve list, a promising sign that an outbreak that infected 16 players might have subsided. Now, the question facing the Chiefs — and many other teams...
NFL head coaches Robert Saleh, Nick Sirianni among latest positive casesVideo
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The Cleveland Browns got their coach back on the sideline. The New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles might be without theirs this weekend. The Buffalo Bills will be without wide receiver Cole Beasley, who has been among the NFL’s most outspoken critics of vaccinations. Browns...
$475M settlement proposed in longest-running U.S. oil spill
NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans-based oil company has agreed to turn over a $432 million cleanup trust fund and pay an additional $43 million to settle a federal lawsuit over cleaning up abandoned wells leaking since 2004, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. “This settlement represents an important down payment to...
9 days after tornado, cat found in rubble of building
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nine days after a tornado demolished his three-story office building in downtown Mayfield, Ky., Sonny “Hoot” Gibson was standing in the rubble when he thought he heard a faint meow. It instantly gave him hope that his office cat, Madix, who hadn’t been seen since before the...
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked in Philadelphia park, uninjured
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked in a south Philadelphia park, according to her office, which says she was uninjured. Communications Director Lauren Cox said Scanlon had attended a meeting in FDR Park and was carjacked at gunpoint in the park at about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. Cox...
Gov. Wolf vetoes GOP bill to post school course materials online
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have required school districts to post information about textbooks, course material and state academic standards online. The Democratic governor said the legislation “politicizes what is being taught in our schools” and that state regulations already require public...
Texas A&M won’t play in Gator Bowl because of covid-19 issuesVideo
No. 23 Texas A&M won’t play in the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest on Dec. 31 because of covid-19 issues and season-ending injuries, the team announced Wednesday. “It is unfortunate, but we just don’t have enough scholarship players available to field a team,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said in...
Browns’ Myles Garrett slowed by injury, status for Packers iffyVideo
CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett’s plans for Christmas remain murky. The Browns’ star defensive end, who has a career-high 15 sacks this season, is dealing with a groin injury and could miss Saturday’s game at Green Bay as Cleveland tries to boost its sagging playoff chances. Garrett got hurt in the...
ACC revises policy to avoid assigning forfeits because of rise in covid casesVideo
The ACC is changing its rescheduling policy to avoid assigning forfeits for teams unable to play because of covid-19 protocols. League athletic directors unanimously supported the change announced Wednesday. The decision comes amid the rise in covid-19 cases and the increase in cancellations and postponements of basketball games nationally. Games...
No makeups for CFP semis if team can’t play due to virusVideo
If a team is unavailable to play in College Football Playoff semifinals because of covid-19 issues, the game will be forfeited, and the available team will advance to the championship game. With covid-19 cases spiking across the country because of the omicron variant, the CFP announced Wednesday contingency plans for...
Phil Mickelson to play in Tournament of Champions, ending 21-year absenceVideo
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Phil Mickelson is headed back to Hawaii for golf, not a vacation, committing to play the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua for the first time in 21 years. Mickelson won the winners-only tournament at La Costa Resort in 1998, and then played only twice since it...
Gov. Mike DeWine signs measure legalizing sports gambling in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday signed legislation to legalize sports gambling in Ohio. Ohio lawmakers approved legislation earlier this month that will allow people to place sports bets online, at casinos, racinos, and at stand-alone betting kiosks in bars, restaurants and professional sports facilities. People will be...
Jan. 6 committee seeks interview with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection requested an interview and information from Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Wednesday, the second time this week the committee publicly sought to interview a sitting member of Congress. In a letter to Jordan, Mississippi Rep. Bennie...
White House: Biden negative for covid after close contact
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tested negative for covid-19, the White House said Wednesday. “This morning, President Biden received a PCR test and the test result was negative,” the White House press office said in a statement emailed to reporters, referring to a sensitive test used to detect the...
Pause on student loan payments is extended through May 1
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Wednesday extended a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through May 1. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and...
Pfizer pill becomes 1st U.S.-authorized home covid treatment
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against covid-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. The long-awaited milestone comes as U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all rising and health officials...
U.S. Treasury creates pathway to send aid to Afghanistan
The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced it was issuing special licenses to ensure that some international aid could flow to Afghanistan, which faces a crisis as its economy collapsed following the Taliban takeover in August. The licenses will enable the U.S. government, international organizations such as the United Nations and...
Biden and Dems scramble to salvage social, climate package
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, along with progressive and moderate Democrats, appears determined to return to the negotiating table with Sen. Joe Manchin, the holdout Democrat who effectively tanked the party’s signature $2 trillion domestic policy initiative. In the days since the West Virginia lawmaker gave a thumbs down on...
Yuengling accuses Bud Light of trampling on trademark
A trademark tiff between America’s oldest beer maker and America’s best-selling beer brand appears to be over before it really began. Last week, D.G. Yuengling & Son, the nearly 200-year-old Pennsylvania-based brewer, demanded that its much larger rival, Anheuser-Busch, stop using a tagline for its forthcoming Bud Light Next zero-carb...
Pennsylvania elections chief warns lawmakers about deadlines
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top statewide elections official warned legislative leaders that delays in drawing new General Assembly district lines may require them to push back next year’s spring primary election. Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid told the floor leaders Tuesday for both parties in the two chambers on the...
NHL officially pulls plug on Olympic participation
NHL players will not be allowed to participate in the Beijing Olympics after the league pulled the plug amid a rash of postponements caused by positive covid-19 test results. Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement Tuesday, making official what seemed inevitable in recent days when the list of postponed games...
Madagascar’s police chief swims to safety after copter crash
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Madagascar’s police minister and an air force mechanic succeeded in swimming for 12 hours to safety after their helicopter crashed in the Indian Ocean. Gen. Serge Gellé, 57, the Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie, was discovered in the water by a fisherman in a canoe who...
Gov. Brian Kemp backs Juneteenth as Georgia state holiday
ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is supporting a plan to add Juneteenth as a mandatory 13th holiday for Georgia state employees. Georgia law now mandates the observance of the 10 federal holidays set in 1984, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed. But a new federal law signed...
U.S. economy grew at 2.3% rate in Q3, up from earlier estimate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter, slightly better than previously thought, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. But prospects for a solid rebound going forward are being clouded by the rapid spread of the latest variant of the coronavirus. The third and final...
