Associated Press stories, Page 1764
Thousands of service members saying no to covid-19 vaccine
By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the covid-19 vaccine as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will persuade troops to get the shot. Some Army units are seeing as few as one-third agree to the vaccine. Military...
Police: 7 shot near transit station in north Philadelphia
At least seven people have been wounded by gunfire near a transit station in north Philadelphia, police said. Police said two people were shot in the back shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday near the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station in the Olney neighborhood. Three other people were hit in an...
Thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles being rescued in Texas
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Residents, some of whom lack heat or basic amenities in their own homes due to the unusually chilly weather, have been rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles and taking them to a convention center in a South Texas resort town. “Every 15 minutes or less there’s another...
Sicilian village cleans up ash, stones from Mt. Etna eruption
PEDARA, Sicily — Residents and municipal teams worked Wednesday to clean up a Sicilian village near Mount Etna after Europe’s most active volcano spewed lava, ashes and volcanic stones. The eruption, which featured spectacular displays of gushing lava, forced the temporary closure of Sicily’s Catania Airport, a frequent occurrence when...
Former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan hired as next CEO of USGAVideo
Mike Whan spent 11 years rebuilding the LPGA Tour to be strong enough to survive a pandemic. His next job is to keep the USGA at the forefront of golf in rapidly changing times. The USGA announced Wednesday it hired Whan as its next CEO, making him the eighth top...
McDowell hopes Daytona 500 win brings more success to teamVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Michael McDowell was best known for years as the guy who barrel-rolled eight times at Texas while trying to qualify for just the second race of his NASCAR Cup Series career. He had driven through the remnants of an oil spill when his car made a...
Government seizes more than 10M phony N95 masks in covid-19 probe
WASHINGTON — Federal agents have seized more than 10 million fake 3M brand N95 masks in recent weeks, the result of an ongoing investigation into counterfeits sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The most recent seizures occurred Wednesday when Homeland Security agents intercepted...
Man arrested in hit-and-run death of Nicki Minaj’s father
MINEOLA, N.Y. — A 70-year-old man arrested Wednesday in the hit-and-run death of rapper Nicki Minaj’s father stopped briefly to ask the injured man if he was OK but didn’t call for help, police said. Charles Polevich faces charges of leaving the scene of an incident and tampering with physical...
South Carolina House passes bill restricting abortions
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House on Wednesday passed a bill banning nearly all abortions, following the lead of other states with similar measures that would go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. The proposal passed the Senate on Jan. 28. It...
Fact check: Joe Biden and his shifting goalposts on reopening schools
WASHINGTON — How do you define success when it comes to reopening schools in the pandemic? President Joe Biden and his aides are having difficulty settling on an answer to that question. At his town-hall forum Tuesday night, Biden denied that his administration ever thought one day of classroom instruction...
Russia rejects European rights court’s order to free Navalny
MOSCOW — Europe’s top human rights court has ordered Russia to release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a ruling quickly rejected Wednesday by Russian authorities who are bent on isolating the Kremlin’s most prominent foe. The decision by the European Court of Human Rights had demanded that Russia free Navalny...
Rush Limbaugh, ‘voice of American conservatism,’ dies at 70
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who ripped into liberals, foretold the rise of Donald Trump and laid waste to political correctness with a merry brand of malice that made him one of the most powerful voices on the American right, died Wednesday. He was 70....
California lawmaker proposes ban on fracking by 2027
Heeding the call of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a state senator introduced legislation Wednesday that would ban all fracking in the nation’s most populated state by 2027 and halt the oil and gas extraction method around schools and homes by Jan. 1. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique used...
Detroit Lions hire former Steeler Antwaan Randle El to coach wide receivers
The Detroit Lions have hired wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. Detroit coach Dan Campbell added the former NFL receiver to his staff Wednesday after he was with the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past two seasons as an offensive assistant. Randle El was drafted by Pittsburgh in...
11 rescued from flooded Philadelphia streets following water main break
At least 11 people were rescued Tuesday evening after a large water main break in Philadelphia left cars submerged and the area completely flooded, authorities said. The 48-inch break occurred around 6 p.m. in the Nicetown area of North Philadelphia, news outlets reported. Flood waters consumed the streets, swamping cars...
British queen’s husband, Prince Philip, admitted to hospital
LONDON — Britain’s 99-year-old Prince Philip has been admitted to a London hospital after feeling unwell, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday. The palace said the husband of Queen Elizabeth II was admitted to the private King Edward VII Hospital on Tuesday evening. It called the admission “a precautionary measure” taken on...
Ford to go all electric in Europe by 2030
FRANKFURT, Germany — Ford announced a major push into electric vehicles in Europe, vowing to convert its entire passenger car lineup on the continent to electrics by 2030. Ford will spend $1 billion to revamp its factory in Cologne, Germany and make it a base for production of battery powered...
U.S. retail sales jumps 5.3%, thanks to $600 stimulus checks
NEW YORK — The $600 stimulus checks got Americans shopping again. After three months of declines, retail sales soared a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in January from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the biggest increase since June and much larger than the 1% rise Wall...
Japan starts covid vaccinations with eye on Olympics
TOKYO — Japan launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign Wednesday, months after other major economies started giving shots and amid questions about whether the drive would reach enough people quickly enough to save a Summer Olympics already delayed by the pandemic. Despite a recent rise in infections, Japan has largely dodged...
New York sues Amazon over worker safety during pandemic
New York is suing Amazon, claiming the company failed to provide workers with a safe environment at two warehouses in the state as covid-19 infections surged nationwide. The suit from New York Attorney General Letitia James landed just days after Amazon preemptively sued to block the suit over its coronavirus...
100 million Americans brace for more cold, ice and snow
The winter weather that has overwhelmed power grids unprepared for climate change and left millions without electricity in record-breaking cold kept its grip on the nation’s midsection Wednesday. At least 20 people have died, some while struggling to find warmth inside their homes. In the Houston area, one family succumbed...
This date in sports history: Feb. 17Video
1923 — Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators becomes the NHL’s career scoring leader. He scores his 143rd goal to surpass Joe Malone in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens. 1924 — Johnny Weissmuller sets a world record in the 100-yard freestyle swim with a time of 52.4 seconds....
Biden reframes his goal on reopening of elementary schoolsVideo
MILWAUKEE — President Joe Biden is promising a majority of elementary schools will be open five days a week by the end of his first 100 days in office, restating his original goal after his administration came under fire when aides said schools would be considered open if they held...
Seattle woman, 90, walks 6 miles through snow for vaccine
SEATTLE — A rare winter storm that dumped a foot of snow on Seattle couldn’t keep a 90-year-old woman from her first appointment for the coronavirus vaccine. The Seattle Times reports that Fran Goldman walked six miles round trip to get her shot. “I have been calling to get an...
Trump slams Mitch McConnell as GOP divide deepens post-impeachmentVideo
WASHINGTON — In the most caustic sign yet of deepening GOP divisions, former President Donald Trump blistered Mitch McConnell as a “political hack” on Tuesday, days after the Senate’s top Republican denounced him as the inciter of U.S. Capitol attack. “The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong...
