Associated Press stories, Page 1776
Chicago mayor touts deal with teachers union to reopen schoolsVideo
CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot touted a preliminary agreement with the teachers union over covid-19 safety protocols on Sunday, potentially averting a strike in the nation’s third-largest school district. Some students could return to classrooms as soon as Thursday, with the reopening of school phased-in by grade. Also, the...
South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa has suspended plans to inoculate its front-line health care workers with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after a small clinical trial suggested that it isn’t effective in preventing mild to moderate illness from the variant dominant in the country. South Africa received its first 1 million doses of...
West Virginia lawmaker faces fresh criticism for discrimination stance
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Republican lawmaker in West Virginia who resigned after posting an anti-gay slur but then was re-elected is drawing fresh criticism for an extended online diatribe opposing protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. House Delegate John Mandt said in a now-deleted Facebook post...
Senate Republicans back Trump as impeachment trial nearsVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president’s fiery speech before the U.S. Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of Jan. 6....
Utah students allowed to opt out of Black history curriculum
NORTH OGDEN, Utah — A charter school in northern Utah that is allowing parents to opt students out of its Black History Month curriculum has sparked a debate over if parents should have the option. Maria Montessori Academy Director Micah Hirokawa said on the school’s Facebook page on Friday that...
2nd major snowstorm in a week blankets NortheastVideo
NEW YORK — A major snowstorm pushed through the Northeastern United States on Sunday, less than a week after a storm dumped more than 2 feet on parts of the region. By early afternoon, 5 to 7 inches had already fallen in parts of northwestern New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut....
Utah police: Avalanche killed 4 local backcountry skiers
SALT LAKE CITY — Four backcountry skiers in their 20s died when one of the deadliest avalanches in Utah history hit a popular backcountry skiing area, police said Sunday. Four other people were also buried in the Saturday slide but managed to dig themselves out and didn’t suffer serious injuries,...
The biggest win: In 2020, NFL found ways to play every game
More than the youth of Patrick Mahomes or the agelessness of Tom Brady, the most compelling story surrounding this year’s Super Bowl was that it was happening at all. It took nearly 1 million covid tests, thousands of Zoom meetings, a dozen or so rescheduled games and an untold amount...
Reagan’s longtime secretary of state George P. Shultz dies
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, a titan of American academia, business and diplomacy who spent most of the 1980s trying to improve Cold War relations with the Soviet Union and forging a course for peace in the Middle East, has died. He was 100. Schultz died...
In pandemic, more people choose to die at home
MISSION, Kan. — Mortuary owner Brian Simmons has been making more trips to homes to pick up bodies to be cremated and embalmed since the pandemic hit. With covid-19 devastating communities in Missouri, his two-person crews regularly arrive at homes in the Springfield area and remove bodies of people who...
Weary postal workers hope Biden will bring new tone, change
PORTLAND, Maine — The U.S. Postal Service’s stretch of challenges didn’t end with the November general election and tens of millions of mail-in votes. The pandemic-depleted workforce fell further into a hole during the holiday rush, leading to long hours and a mountain of delayed mail. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy...
Music to my fears: Man swallows earbud while sleeping
BOSTON — A man is warning people against using headphones while falling asleep after health care workers had to remove a wireless earbud from his esophagus. Worcester resident Brad Gauthier, who detailed his bizarre experience in a Facebook post, went to bed Monday listening to music. He woke up Tuesday,...
This date in sports history: Feb. 7Video
1882 — John L. Sullivan wins the world heavyweight bare-knuckle title by beating Paddy Ryan in a nine-round bout in Mississippi City, Miss. 1942 — At the Millrose Games in New York, Dutch Warmerdam becomes the first man to clear 15 feet in the pole vault indoors. Warmerdam, the first...
Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, Calvin Johnson lead Hall of Fame classVideo
Though others have eclipsed him in some sections of the record book, Peyton Manning’s stamp on the NFL is very much a thing of 2021 and beyond. Manning, the quarterback whose meticulous attention to detail helped turn the 21st-century gridiron into a chessboard on turf, was awarded his spot in...
Browns’ Kevin Stafanski named NFL Coach of the Year
For turning around a moribund Cleveland Browns franchise, overcoming injuries and covid-19 concerns, Kevin Stefanski was the Associated Press Coach of the Year on Saturday. The Browns snapped their postseason drought going back to the 2003 season by going 11-5 in the rugged AFC North, then beating the Pittsburgh Steelers...
California to revise indoor church guidelines after ruling
SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Saturday it will issue revised guidelines for indoor church services after the Supreme Court lifted the state’s ban on indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but left in place restrictions on singing and chanting. In the most significant legal victory against...
U.S. soldier charged with murder, wife found dead in barracks
HONOLULU — A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with murder after his wife was found dead at Hawaii’s Schofield Barracks. Army Spc. Raul Hernandez Perez of Florida was charged in the killing of 25-year-old Selena Roth. Roth was found dead in a trash can on Jan. 13 after concerned...
Jordan Spieth shoots 61, raises volume at Phoenix Open
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A day after saying he needed to be patient about results, Jordan Spieth shot a 10-under-par 61 on Saturday for a share of the lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He then repeated himself. “What I’m looking forward to is just staying the course, trusting it,”...
Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks Jr. dies at 67
LAS VEGAS — Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks Jr. died after battling prostate and other cancers. He was 67. Spinks died Friday night, according to a release from a public relations firm. His wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, and a few close friends and other family members were by his side...
Rangers deal Elvis Andrus to A’s for DH Khris Davis
Elvis is leaving Texas. Veteran infielder Elvis Andrus was traded to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, just over two months after the Texas Rangers said the only player remaining from their only two World Series appearances no longer would be the starting shortstop after 12 seasons in that role. Texas...
Super Bowl storylines galore as Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes meetVideo
Someone will make history Sunday in a Super Bowl so filled with storylines it could fill a season of TV programming. Tom Brady, already the true Game of Thrones king, going for a seventh ring. Patrick Mahomes, the apparent heir to the quarterbacking summit, seeking a second in a row...
Buccaneers kicker in 1st Super Bowl vs. team that drafted him
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop’s NFL career has gone from Mr. Irrelevant in 2009 finally to his first Super Bowl in his 12th season. And it’s been quite a trip. Cut by not one but two teams. A role in one of the NFL’s worst seasons kicking a football...
Florida: Slain FBI agent remembered for protecting children
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A slain FBI agent was remembered for her strength, infectious laugh, love of family and commitment to protecting children during a memorial service Saturday. Agents Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, and Daniel Alfin, 36, were gunned down Tuesday while serving a search warrant at the Broward County home...
Wyoming GOP censures Rep. Liz Cheney over impeachment vote
RAWLINS, Wyo. — The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Only eight of the 74-member state GOP’s central committee stood to oppose censure in a...
Miles McBride, Taz Sherman help No. 17 WVU top No. 23 KansasVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Miles McBride scored a career-high 29 points, Taz Sherman had a career-best 25 and No. 17 West Virginia beat No. 23 Kansas, 91-79, on Saturday. The Mountaineers (13-5, 6-3 Big 12) never trailed and got off to a good start in a challenging stretch where they will...
