Associated Press stories, Page 1716
Logano takes the checkered flag in a haze of Bristol dirtVideo
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Somewhere under the thick red haze floating over Bristol Motor Speedway, Joey Logano took the checkered flag for NASCAR’s first Cup Series race on a dirt track in 50 years. He couldn’t see much — visibility was next to nothing during this Monday dust storm — but...
AP source: VW plans brand-name change to ‘Voltswagen’ in U.S.
DETROIT — Volkswagen plans to change its brand name in the United States to “Voltswagen” as its shifts its production increasingly toward electric vehicles and tries to distance itself from an emissions cheating scandal. A person briefed on the plan said a formal announcement is planned for Tuesday. The person...
Not just offense: Gonzaga trusts defense entering USC gameVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Gonzaga has spent its entire season pushing tempo, knocking down shots and rolling to comfortable wins with one of the best offenses college basketball has seen in two decades. The Zags’ push for perfection hasn’t ignored the other end of the court, either. The No. 1 overall seed...
More than a dozen states to open vaccines to all adultsVideo
More than a dozen states will open vaccine eligibility to all adults this week in a major expansion of covid-19 shots for tens of millions of Americans amid a worrisome increase in virus cases and concerns about balancing supply and demand for the vaccines. Meanwhile, the director of the Centers...
UCLA-Michigan matchup brings back more memorable images of MarchVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The names UCLA and Michigan can’t help but conjure up some of the most memorable images of March. There’s the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, slapping his rolled up game program in his hands. The grace of Lew Alcindor and the funky persona of Bill Walton. The blur...
All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo cuts off contract talks with CubsVideo
MESA, Ariz. — Anthony Rizzo is cutting off talks with the Chicago Cubs on a new contract and is prepared to play the season as free agency looms after the World Series. The first baseman, who in 2016 helped the Cubs win their first title in 108 years, agreed in...
Pennsylvania schools to get $4.9B in federal pandemic aid
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania schools will get nearly $5 billion from the federal covid-19 aid package, the Wolf administration announced Monday. School districts must use at least 20% of the money to address learning loss from the pandemic as well as support the “social, emotional, and academic needs of underrepresented students,”...
Sex trafficking crimes brought against Epstein ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell
NEW YORK — Sex trafficking charges and another alleged victim were added to a superseding indictment returned Monday in the criminal case against financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend as prosecutors alleged that a conspiracy to sexually abuse girls stretched over a decade. The charges contained in a rewritten indictment returned by...
Some West Virginia schools see spike in coronavirus outbreaks
CHARLESTON — Schools in West Virginia’s capital and surrounding Kanawha County reported the most coronavirus outbreaks since the start of the pandemic on Monday. A total of 41 students and three staff members have been affected by outbreaks across seven schools, according to the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. And in northern...
What’s ahead? NFL owners to meet about upcoming seasonVideo
What’s ahead for the NFL in 2021? Not even the teams know. They will begin finding out this week when the 32 team owners hold virtual meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. Two items top the agenda: increasing the regular season to 17 games and decreasing preseason games to three per team....
Capitol riot suspect wore ‘I Was There’ shirt when arrested
Garret Miller didn’t speak to the law enforcement officers who arrested him on charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, but the T-shirt he was wearing at his Dallas home that day sent a clear and possibly incriminating message. Miller’s shirt had a photograph of former President Donald Trump,...
AP sources: SolarWinds hack got emails of top DHS officials
Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned. The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad...
Police: ‘No idea’ why Maryland man shot 5 people before killing selfVideo
Investigators have “no idea” why a Maryland man fatally shot his parents at their home and gunned down two other people at a convenience store before setting fire to his apartment and killing himself, a police official said Monday. A gun that Joshua Green, 27, used in Sunday’s deadly shooting...
Ex-Browns coach Hue Jackson says team lied about rebuildVideo
CLEVELAND — Former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson said owner Jimmy Haslam gave him a contract extension midway through a winless 2017 season, and he was lied to from the start about the team’s rebuilding plans. During a wide-ranging radio interview Monday with ESPN 850, Jackson said the Browns’ efforts...
South Park native Randy Dobnak, Twins agree to 5-year dealVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins signed right-hander Randy Dobnak to a $9.25 million, five-year contract that includes three club options to extend and increase the deal with the overachieving former ride-share driver. Dobnak went 6-4 with a 4.05 ERA in 10 starts last season, before hitting a slump and being...
New Mexico sues U.S. over proposed nuclear waste storage plans
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico sued the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday over concerns that the federal agency hasn’t done enough to vet plans for a multibillion-dollar facility to store spent nuclear fuel in the state, arguing that the project would endanger residents, the environment and the economy. New...
Tolls going up on several spans connecting NJ, Pennsylvania
The bistate agency that operates river crossings connecting New Jersey and Pennsylvania announced Monday that it will raise tolls next month and again in 2024, the first such increases in 10 years. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission cited the decline in passenger car traffic and toll revenue caused...
Infant son of former Steelers WR Ryan Switzer stable after surgery in Boston
CLEVELAND — Browns wide receiver Ryan Switzer said his infant son is recovering after undergoing surgery in a Boston hospital. Switzer tweeted an update Monday following the procedure on his 9-month-old, Christian. “Our sweet baby boy is stable and out of surgery,” he said in the posting that included a...
Canadian panel recommends AstraZeneca pause for under 55
TORONTO — Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending a pause on AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccinations for people under 55 for safety reasons, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Monday. The person confirmed the recommendation on condition on anonymity as they were not authorized to...
Ban on renter evictions during covid-19 pandemic is extended
The Biden administration is extending a federal moratorium on evictions of tenants who have fallen behind on rent during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is now extended...
CDC director has feeling of ‘impending doom’ amid new covid spike
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made an impassioned plea to Americans Monday not to let their guard down in the fight against covid-19, warning of a potential fourth wave of the virus and saying she has a recurring feeling “of impending doom.” Speaking during a...
Judge orders 3 to trial in plot to kidnap Michigan governor
JACKSON, Mich. — A Michigan judge on Monday ordered three men to stand trial in a plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her coronavirus restrictions. Jackson County District Court Judge Michael Klaeren ruled there was enough evidence and bound over Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico...
Mars man pleads guilty in DNA-testing kickback scheme
A fourth defendant pleaded guilty Monday in a fraud scheme involving kickbacks for genetic testing. The U.S. attorney’s office in Newark, New Jersey said Jeremy Richey pleaded guilty by videoconference to one count of conspiracy to violate anti-kickback statutes. The 40-year-old Mars, Pennsylvania resident was one of six people indicted...
U.S. offers $10 million reward for info on Hezbollah operative
WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday offered a $10 million reward for information on a Hezbollah operative who was convicted last year in the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The State Department said the reward will be given to anyone who provides information preventing Salim Jamil...
N.Y. to expand covid-19 vaccine eligibility to those over 30
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state residents over 30 will be eligible for covid-19 vaccinations starting Tuesday, and everyone over 16 will be eligible starting April 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. Vaccine eligibility had previously been restricted to people over 50, people in certain job categories and those with...
