Associated Press stories, Page 1740
EU regulator approves J&J’s one-shot covid vaccine
AMSTERDAM — The European Medicines Agency has authorized Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose coronavirus vaccine, giving the European Union’s 27 nations a fourth licensed vaccine to try to curb the pandemic amid a stalled vaccination drive in the bloc. In a decision issued Thursday, the EU medicines regulator said it was...
U.S. jobless claims fall to 712,000 as pace of layoffs eases
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 712,000, the lowest total since early November, evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs amid a decline in confirmed coronavirus cases and signs of an improving economy. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for unemployment aid...
Prince William defends U.K. royal family against racism claims
LONDON — Prince William on Thursday defended Britain’s royal family against accusations of racism made by his brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan, saying the royals are “very much not a racist family.” In comments made during a visit to an east London school, William became the first royal to...
Still recovering, Japan marks 10 years since tsunami hit
TOKYO — Japan fell quiet at 2:46 p.m. Thursday to mark the minute that an earthquake began 10 years ago, setting off a tsunami and nuclear crisis that devastated the country’s northeast coast in a disaster that one survivor said he fears people are beginning to forget. Carrying bouquets of...
Turkey detains 13 for ‘insulting’ Erdogan on Women’s Day
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish police have detained 13 people who participated in a Women’s Day march for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, officials and news reports said Thursday. Thousands of protesters had walked along a street in central Istanbul on Monday to denounce violence against women in Turkey, where...
It was 1 year ago that WHO declared covid-19 a pandemic
GENEVA — When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top...
Penn State rallies past Nebraska in Big Ten first-round game
INDIANAPOLIS — Jamari Wheeler scored a career-high 19 points, and No. 11 seed Penn State pulled away inside the last four minutes to beat No. 14 seed Nebraska 72-66 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament. Penn State (11-13) has won four of its...
This date in sports history: March 11Video
1922 — Cornell wins the first IC4A indoor track meet held at the 2nd Regiment Armory in New York. 1947 — Harry Boykoff of St. John’s sets a Madison Square Garden scoring record with 54 points in the Redmen’s 71-52 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) 1958 — Manhattan upsets top-ranked...
Newly signed Cowboys QB Dak Prescott healthy, happyVideo
Dak Prescott walked briskly and bounced up the couple of steps onto the stage for the announcement of the richest contract in the storied history of the Dallas Cowboys for their latest star quarterback. It was five months almost to the day Wednesday since the gruesome ankle injury that ended...
Attorneys in ex-cop’s trial probe jurors’ views about police
MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death questioned potential jurors Wednesday about their attitudes toward police, trying to determine whether they’re more inclined to believe testimony from law enforcement over evidence from other witnesses to the fatal confrontation. Judge Peter...
Police groups endorse Biden’s pick for civil rights chief
WASHINGTON — Some of the largest law enforcement groups in the U.S. are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the Justice Department’s civil rights division. The support for Kristen Clarke, who is nominated to be assistant attorney general for civil rights, includes some of the nation’s...
Report: Cuomo groped female aide in governor’s residence
ALBANY, N.Y. — An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he groped her in the governor’s residence, a newspaper reported Wednesday, in the most serious allegation made yet by a series of women against the embattled Democrat. The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, who it...
Teams need only 5 players to be eligible for NCAA TournamentVideo
All a team needs to play in this year’s NCAA Tournament is five healthy players. How about a coach? The NCAA will get back to you on that. The fluid nature of a March Madness played amid the coronavirus pandemic was spelled out Wednesday, hours before the NCAA selection committee...
Nursing home residents can get hugs again, feds say
WASHINGTON — Nursing home residents vaccinated against covid-19 can get hugs again from their loved ones, and all residents may enjoy more indoor visits, the government said Wednesday in a step toward pre-pandemic normalcy. The policy guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, comes as coronavirus...
Biden immediately begins selling virus aid plan to public
WASHINGTON — The White House began highlighting the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill immediately after it gained final congressional approval on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the public on President Joe Biden’s first legislative victory. The West Wing began an ambitious campaign to showcase the bill’s contents while looking...
No fans? Some? A mix? Odd sights, sounds of pandemic sportsVideo
Sports amid the pandemic became a whole different sort of spectacle, especially when it came to spectators — often with zero, sometimes with some and, in at least one instance at a Grand Slam tennis tournament, starting a match with fans in the seats yet finishing it with none present....
Unfinished work at a Players Championship that didn’t startVideo
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Hideki Matsuyama made a 25-foot eagle putt on his final hole of the first round at The Players Championship and earned a spot in the record book as the ninth player to post a 63 at the TPC Sawgrass. And then it was gone. The...
Reds star Joey Votto out after positive covid-19 testVideo
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto is out indefinitely after testing positive for covid-19 at spring training, the team said Wednesday. The Reds put Votto on the injured list, and he gave the team permission to announce he was sidelined because he had tested positive for the...
U.S. budget deficit hits record $1.05 trillion after 5 months
The U.S. government’s budget deficit through February hit an all-time high of $l.05 trillion for the first five months of this budget year, as spending to deal with the coronavirus pandemic surged at a pace far above an increase in tax revenue. The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that the October...
Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools
Hackers aiming to call attention to the dangers of mass surveillance said they were able to peer into hospitals, schools, factories, jails and corporate offices after they broke into the systems of a security-camera startup. That California startup, Verkada, said Wednesday it is investigating the scope of the breach, first...
Artemi Panarin rejoins Rangers after 2-week leave of absence
Artemi Panarin rejoined the New York Rangers for practice in Boston on Wednesday after taking a two-week leave of absence. Coach David Quinn said Panarin won’t play Thursday night against the Bruins and his timeline for getting back to game action is unclear. But there’s a buzz around the Rangers...
Senate confirms Merrick Garland to be U.S. attorney general
WASHINGTON — The Senate has confirmed Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. attorney general with a strong bipartisan vote, placing the widely-respected, veteran judge in the post as President Joe Biden has vowed to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for independence. Democrats have praised Garland, a federal appeals court...
Texas Rangers in line to be 1st team back to full capacity
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers could have a full house for their home opener next month after debuting their new 40,518-seat stadium without fans in the stands for their games last season. If that happens, the Rangers could be the first team in Major League Baseball or any major...
Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, Dems
A Congress riven along party lines approved a landmark $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a triumph on a bill that marshals the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. The House gave final congressional approval...
160 years later, Confederate constitution an ignoble relic
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With the nation locked in debates over Confederate symbols, the very document that laid out the legal framework of a government built to preserve slavery will spend its 160th anniversary where it spends nearly every other day: tucked away in a university archive. The Confederate Constitution is...
