Associated Press stories, Page 1778
Oscar-winner, ‘Sound of Music’ star Christopher Plummer dies
NEW YORK — Christopher Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film “The Sound of Music” and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history, has died. He was 91. Plummer died Friday morning at his home in Connecticut with his wife,...
Gov. Wolf to sign $912M pandemic relief bill
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will sign legislation approved Friday by lawmakers that carries over $900 million in pandemic-driven aid for hard-hit hospitality businesses, private schools and people struggling to pay rent or utility bills. Both chambers passed the bill unanimously Friday and Wolf’s office said he will sign it....
Kyle Rittenhouse fires attorney who helped raise his bail
MADISON, Wis. — An 18-year-old from Illinois who’s accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a police brutality protest in Wisconsin last summer fired a California attorney who had been soliciting money for his case. John Pierce, a Los Angeles lawyer, had been at the forefront of...
Jamaica faces marijuana shortage as farmers struggle
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica is running low on ganja. Heavy rains followed by an extended drought, an increase in local consumption and a drop in the number of marijuana farmers have caused a shortage in the island’s famed but largely illegal market that experts say is the worst they’ve seen....
Moscow’s jails overwhelmed with detained Navalny protesters
MOSCOW — The video, shot by a man detained in a Moscow protest, shows a group of people jammed into a police minibus. One of them says on the recording that they had already been held there for nine hours, with some forced to stand because of overcrowding and no...
Pentagon will deploy troops to assist covid-19 vaccine drive
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will deploy troops to assist getting Americans vaccinated against covid-19, the White House said Friday. Coronavirus senior adviser Andy Slavitt announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a request for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It means about 1,000 active duty military personnel...
Andy Reid, Bruce Arians bring stellar offensive systems to Super Bowl
Andy Reid came up in the West Coast offense, where the quarterback performs almost like an NBA point guard, using short passes that talented playmakers can turn into long gains. Bruce Arians’ offensive philosophy has relied on the mantra “no risk it, no biscuit,” as he wants quarterbacks to take...
Biden dogs to make appearance during Puppy BowlVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s dogs will make an appearance during the Puppy Bowl this weekend. The two German Shepherds, Champ and Major, will appear alongside first lady Jill Biden in a public service announcement focused on mask-wearing set to air during Puppy Bowl XVII. The event, which features a...
Virus outbreaks stoke tensions in some state capitols
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After only their first few weeks of work, tensions already are high among lawmakers meeting in-person at some state capitols — not because of testy debates over taxes, guns or abortion, but because of a disregard for coronavirus precautions. In Georgia, a Republican lawmaker recently was...
Canada blocks cruise ships for a year, ending Alaska tripsVideo
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Canadian government has extended a ban on cruise ships through February 2022, which is expected to block trips from visiting Alaska this year. Transport Canada on Thursday announced the extension of the ban enacted because of the covid-19 pandemic. Canada blocked cruise ships of more than...
Police: 3 officers shot by suspect who is barricaded in home
HIGH POINT, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say that three police officers have been shot and wounded by a suspect who is now barricaded in a home in the town of High Point. WGHP reports that the standoff began at 11:15 p.m. Thursday. High Point police Lt. Matt Truitt...
AP-NORC poll: Americans are split on Trump’s impeachment
WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans say former President Donald Trump bears at least some blame for the Capitol insurrection, and about half say the Senate should vote to convict him at the end of his impeachment trial. That’s according to a survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public...
As Serena, Nadal eye records at Australian Open, covid looms
Easy as it is to assemble a list of significant Australian Open story lines — from Rafael Nadal’s bid for a men’s-record 21st Grand Slam singles trophy to Serena Williams’ try for her 24th, from Novak Djokovic’s attempt to win a third consecutive title at Melbourne Park to Sofia Kenin’s...
U.S. employers add just 49K jobs as unemployment falls to 6.3%
WASHINGTON — U.S employers added just 49,000 jobs in January, a sign that that the viral pandemic retains a tight grip on the economy nearly a year after it triggered a painful recession. The tepid increase followed a decline of 227,000 jobs in December, the first loss since April. The...
U.S. trade deficit rises to 12-year high $679 billion
WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit rose 17.7% last year to $679 billion, highest since 2008, as the coronavirus disrupted global commerce and confounded President Donald Trump’s attempts to rebalance America’s trade with the rest of the world. The gap between the value of the goods and services the United...
Senate approves budget bill as Harris casts tie-breaker vote
WASHINGTON — The Senate early Friday approved a budget that would allow fast-track passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan without support from Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris was in the chair to cast the tie-breaking vote, her first. Democrats in the chamber applauded after Harris announced...
NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher has memoir out in June
NEW YORK — Hall of Fame coach and NFL analyst Bill Cowher has a book coming out in June that his publisher is calling “more than just a football story.” The former Pittsburgh Steelers coach, who led his team to a Super Bowl title at the end of the 2005...
Homeless woman says she was trapped in van for 5 days by plowed snow
A homeless woman was finally rescued from her van Thursday morning in Newark, N.J., after being trapped inside by snowplows for five days, she told News 12 Jersey. “When I woke up around 11 o’clock or 12 o’clock at night, I saw I was plowed in and snow everywhere,” the...
U.K. to begin hotel quarantine amid criticism of delay
LONDON — Everyone arriving in the U.K. from countries identified as coronavirus hotspots will have to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine starting Feb. 15 in a bid to stop new virus variants reaching the country, the government said Friday. But authorities are facing criticism for delays in implementing the...
This date in sports history: Feb. 5Video
1913 — The New York State Athletic Commission bans boxing matches between fighters of different races. 1919 — Charges against Cincinnati’s Hal Chase of throwing games and betting against his team are dismissed by National League president John Heydler. Two weeks later, Chase is traded to the New York Giants....
Resistance to coup grows despite Myanmar’s block of Facebook
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s new military government blocked access to Facebook as resistance to Monday’s coup surged amid calls for civil disobedience to protest the ousting of the elected government and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Facebook is how most people access the internet in Myanmar and the company...
Voting company sues Fox, Giuliani over election fraud claims
MIAMI — A voting technology company is suing Fox News, three of its hosts and two former lawyers for former President Donald Trump — Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell — for $2.7 billion, charging that the defendants conspired to spread false claims that the company helped “steal” the U.S. presidential...
New Mexico State Police say officer shot, killed on highway
DEMING, N.M. — A New Mexico State Police officer was fatally shot on a highway Thursday and authorities chased the attacker, killing him in a shootout, officials said. State Police said one of its officers was shot in Luna County between Las Cruces and Deming in a confrontation along Interstate...
Indians president said team unaware of Mickey Callaway’s behaviorVideo
CLEVELAND — Troubled by what might have happened under his watch, Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said the team was unaware of inappropriate behavior toward women by former pitching coach Mickey Callaway while he was with the club. Antonetti said he became “distraught” and “disturbed” in learning of...
Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Greene off committees
WASHINGTON — A fiercely divided House tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees Thursday, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, nearly all Republicans voted against the Democratic...
