Associated Press stories, Page 1833
Dolphins move past Raiders in rebuilding processVideo
Coach Brian Flores started the rebuilding process in Miami a year after Jon Gruden did the same in his return to the Raiders. Both coaches traded away big-name players for premium draft picks and reshaped the roster in hopes of reviving once-proud franchises. While Flores arrived a year later than...
Cardinals pushing for playoffs in home game vs. 49ersVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals are in the middle of the playoff race for the first time in years, while the San Francisco 49ers have been eliminated from the postseason a year after playing in the Super Bowl. Saturday’s game between the two teams is yet another example of...
2 children die in Detroit fire; mom, 3 kids leap to safety
A Christmas morning fire killed a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old at a home on Detroit’s east side and forced others to jump from a second-floor window to escape, fire department officials said. The Detroit Fire Department said the two children were found dead in a front living room of the...
A pandemic Christmas: Services move online, people stay home
Families that usually reunite on Christmas over a hearty, lingering meal stayed home Friday, services were held online, and gift exchanges were low-key in one of the most unusual holiday seasons in decades. The coronavirus left almost no one unaffected. Patricia Hager, 60, delivered homemade caramel rolls for breakfast to...
Police: N.Y. man steals mini-snow plow, crashes into Target store
BAY SHORE, N.Y. — A Long Island man has been arrested after a Christmas morning crime spree that gave new meaning to the term doorbuster. It happened shortly before 2 a.m., Suffolk County police said, when Justin Shuffle stole a 2010 Bobcat skid loader, which is used to push snow,...
British army helps clear backlog of virus-stranded drivers
Around 1,000 British soldiers were spending Christmas Day trying to clear a huge backlog of truck drivers stuck in southeast England after France briefly closed its border to the U.K., then demanded coronavirus tests from all amid fears of a new, apparently more contagious, virus variant. Even though an estimated...
Police: Suspicious blast wounds 3 in Nashville on Christmas
An explosion shook the largely deserted streets of downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, shattering windows, damaging buildings and wounding three people. Authorities said they believed the blast was intentional. Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said police were responding to a report of shots fired when they encountered a recreational...
Judge delays execution of only woman on U.S. death row
A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office. U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director of the...
Pope on Christmas: Vaccines for all; needy, vulnerable first
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis made a Christmas Day plea for authorities to make covid-19 vaccines available to all, insisting that the first in line should be the most vulnerable and needy, regardless of who holds the patents for the shots. “Vaccines for everybody, especially for the most vulnerable and...
This Date in Sports History: Dec. 25
1956 — Corky Devlin of Fort Wayne goes 0 for 15 from the field against the Minneapolis Lakers to tie an NBA record. 1971 — Garo Yepremian’s 37-yard field goal at 7 minutes, 40 seconds of the second overtime gives the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 victory over the Kansas City...
Todd Graham, Hawaii win New Mexico Bowl — in Texas
FRISCO, Texas — Chevan Cordeiro threw three first-half touchdown passes, and Calvin Turner had two long scoring plays to help Hawaii beat Houston, 28-14, on Thursday in the New Mexico Bowl. The game was moved to Frisco from its usual location in Albuquerque because of covid-19 restrictions in New Mexico....
Heisman finalists: Alabama teammates plus Trevor Lawrence, Kyle TraskVideo
Alabama teammates Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith along with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Florida’s Kyle Trask were named finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Thursday. The Heisman will be awarded Jan. 5 during a virtual ceremony. The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the usual trip to New York for...
West Virginia LB Tony Fields II shares Big 12 top newcomer awardVideo
Iowa State running back Breece Hall and linebacker Mike Rose are the Associated Press Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year after the Cyclones’ best conference season ever also earned Matt Campbell coach of the year honors. The Big 12 runner-up Cyclones will play in a New Year’s...
Trump golfs in Florida as covid relief hangs in the balance
PALM BEACH — After tossing a grenade that threatens to blow up a massive covid relief and government funding bill and force a government shutdown in the midst of a pandemic, President Donald Trump spent his Christmas Eve golfing in Florida. Failure to agree on the bill could deny checks...
Ohio police chief urges officer who shot Black man be fired
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The police chief of Columbus, Ohio, recommended on Thursday that the officer who shot and killed Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, earlier this week be fired. Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said in a statement that he filed two departmental charges alleging critical misconduct against officer Adam...
Reward offered in cases of slashed California pelicans
LOS ANGELES — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of whoever is slashing the pouches and necks of brown pelicans on the Southern California coast. International Bird Rescue posted the reward after four pelicans with identical, severe injuries were brought in for care at...
Michigan canvasser still afraid after threat, suspect arrest
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — The Republican chair of a county canvassing board in Michigan who initially refused to certify local election results that favored Vice President Job Biden over President Donald Trump said Thursday that she doesn’t know a woman charged with sending her threatening text messages. Wayne County Canvasser...
Online store stops selling Rittenhouse family’s merchandise
KENOSHA, Wis. — An online sales company has stopped selling merchandise supporting an Illinois teen who killed two people and wounded a third during a protest in Wisconsin this summer. The Kenosha News reported Thursday that Kyle Rittenhouse’s family began selling “Free Kyle” merchandise through Printify last week. Printify creates...
U.S. military confirms pandemic won’t sideline Santa Claus
DENVER — The U.S. military is tracking an elderly man with a white beard and a large belly who goes by the name of Saint Nicholas. There’s no reason for alarm though, Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck said. In fact, this is a Christmas tradition going on its 65th...
Protesters call for justice in police killing of Andre Hill
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Demonstrators gathered in a cold Christmas Eve drizzle Thursday to call for justice in the death of Andre Hill, a Black man who was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer this week. Chants of “Whose street? Our street!” rang out from the crowd, which gathered...
College basketball teams fend off holiday loneliness
MINNEAPOLIS — Eric Curry texted his mom last week. He needed a headshot of her and his sister. The photo request was not for a social media post or a scrapbook project, but rather an effort by the fifth-year senior forward to give his closest family members the chance, virtually,...
Italy enters Christmas lockdown amid signs of coronavirus resurgence
ROME — Police in Italy enforced new covid-19 travel restrictions aimed at limiting Christmas get-togethers involving far-flung family members as public health officials appealed Thursday for a “drastic reduction” in social contacts to prevent new infections over the holidays. A modified nationwide lockdown went into effect on Christmas Eve with...
Truckers finally leave U.K. after days of virus gridlock
DOVER, England — Truckers and travelers stuck in a days-long gridlock at the English port of Dover started heading to France on Thursday after the country partially reopened its borders with Britain following international concern over a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant. However, thousands of stranded truck drivers still awaited...
Dark days: Experts fear the holidays will fuel the U.S. crisis
LOS ANGELES — Hard-hit California eclipsed 2 million coronavirus cases on Christmas Eve as the U.S. headed into a holiday season of travel and family gatherings that threaten to fuel the deadly outbreak across the nation. Despite warnings from public health experts to stay home, over 1.19 million travelers passed...
Judge in Pa. rejects restaurants’ challenge of Wolf’s indoor dining ban
HARRISBURG — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has rejected a bid to block one of Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest orders to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus, a three-week shutdown of indoor dining at restaurants through Jan. 4, as Wolf went to court to sue restaurants defying the...
