Associated Press stories, Page 1936
Seattle, Las Vegas set for WNBA Finals matchup
For the fourth time in five seasons the best two teams in the WNBA will square off for the championship when Seattle and Las Vegas play in the finals. The best-of-five series begins Friday night. Las Vegas needed to beat Connecticut in a decisive fifth game of the semifinals Tuesday...
Resorts to RV parks: Parents take school year on the road
NEW YORK — In RVs, rental homes and five-star resorts, families untethered by the constraints of physical classrooms for their kids have turned the new school year into an extended summer vacation, some lured by the ailing hotel industry catering to parents with remote learners through “roadschooling” amenities. With the...
Curses! Postseason losses continue for long-suffering teams
It was not a good start to the Major League Baseball postseason for those who don’t believe in curses. The Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics extended their string of postseason futility Tuesday with losses in the openers of their respective best-of-three, wild-card series. If they don’t win Game 2 on...
Pompeo urges Vatican to condemn human rights abuses in China
ROME — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Vatican on Wednesday to join the U.S. in denouncing violations of religious freedom in China, saying the Catholic Church should be at the forefront in the fight to insist on basic human rights there. Pompeo made the appeal at a...
Offensive numbers off the charts 3 weeks into NFL season
The NFL has never had a start to a season like this one when it comes to offensive production. Through three weeks, teams have combined for 51 points per game, 738.2 yards per game and a 96.3 passer rating, the most ever at this juncture of an NFL season. Only...
Serena Williams pulls out of French Open with hurt Achilles
PARIS — Saying she is “struggling to walk,” Serena Williams ended her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam title and withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match Wednesday because of an injured Achilles heel. Williams hurt herself during her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open three weeks...
Economy plunged 31.4% in spring but big rebound expected
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy plunged at a record rate in the spring but is poised to swing to a record increase in the quarter that just ended. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, fell at a rate...
UN atomic watchdog inspects disputed Iranian nuclear site
BERLIN — The United Nations’ atomic watchdog agency said Wednesday its inspectors have been able to visit the second of two disputed sites where Iran is suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material in the past. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in late...
Country star and hit Elvis songwriter Mac Davis dies at 78Video
NASHVILLE — Country star Mac Davis, who crafted the Elvis hits “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto” before launching his own successful artist career, has died. He was 78. His longtime manager Jim Morey said in a press release that Davis died in Nashville on Tuesday after heart...
Foreign observers take on ‘chaos,’ ‘rancor’ in U.S. debate
GENEVA — “Chaos, interruptions, personal attacks and insults,” one Chinese newspaper editor said of the U.S. presidential debate. An Australian counterpart said the debate was “swamped” by the “rancor engulfing America.” Denmark’s prime minister bemoaned the quarrelling and interruptions on display. The first debate pitting Republican President Donald Trump against...
Acquitted Cardinal Pell back in Rome amid Vatican scandal
ROME — Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican finance czar who left in 2017 to face child sexual abuse charges in his native Australia, returned to Rome on Wednesday after his acquittal to find a Vatican mired in a corruption scandal. The 79-year-old Pell arrived at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci...
‘I Am Woman’ singer Helen Reddy, ’70s hitmaker, dies at 78
Helen Reddy, who shot to stardom in the 1970s with her rousing feminist anthem “I Am Woman” and recorded a string of other hits, has died. She was 78. Reddy’s children Traci and Jordan announced that the actor-singer died Tuesday in Los Angeles. “She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and...
Chaotic first debate: Taunts overpower Trump, Biden visionsVideo
CLEVELAND (AP) — The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into bitter taunts and near chaos Tuesday night as Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent with angry — and personal — jabs that sometimes overshadowed the sharply different visions each man has for a nation...
No debate: Aaron Judge, Yankees pound Bieber, Indians in openerVideo
CLEVELAND — Aaron Judge smashed a tone-setting, two-run homer on Shane Bieber’s fourth pitch, Gerrit Cole struck out 13 and the New York Yankees opened the AL playoffs with a resounding 12-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Just a few miles from where the Trump-Biden presidential debate...
LeBron James, Heat together again at the NBA FinalsVideo
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James wants to beat the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat want to beat LeBron James. These shouldn’t be surprising notions to anyone, not with a title at stake. Those looking for more acrimony than that, well, they may be disappointed. The NBA Finals start...
Top-seeded Rays beat Blue Jays to open seriesVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays opened the playoffs Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Manuel Margot hit a two-run homer, and Randy Arozarena tripled and scored on a wild pitch to give...
JPMorgan to pay $920M for manipulating bond, metals markets
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase admitted Tuesday to manipulating the markets for precious metals and U.S. Treasuries, agreeing to pay $920 million in fines and penalties for the illegal behavior. U.S. financial regulators and the Department of Justice said traders at JPMorgan used a tactic known as “spoofing” over an...
Astros win Game 1, extend Twins’ record postseason losing streak to 17Video
MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Altuve drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning for Houston after a two-out error by shortstop Jorge Polanco, and the Astros beat Minnesota, 4-1, on Tuesday to open their AL playoff series and stretch the Twins’ all-time record postseason losing...
House Intelligence panel to subpoena DHS over whistleblower
WASHINGTON — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Tuesday he will subpoena the Department of Homeland Security after a department whistleblower wasn’t allowed access to documents and clearance he needs to testify. Brian Murphy said in a whistleblower complaint earlier this month that he was pressured by more senior...
Judge says new royal book can be used in Meghan Markle privacy case
LONDON — The publisher of Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper can use the contents of a recent behind-the scenes book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in its legal defense for an invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by the duchess, a judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Francesca Kaye gave Associated...
White Sox ace Lucas Giolito shuts down A’s, dazzles in postseason debutVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Lucas Giolito dazzled in his postseason debut, stymieing the Oakland Athletics through six perfect innings and sending the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory in the opener of their best-of-three wild-card series Tuesday. Giolito (1-0) yelled in delight after striking out the side in the sixth,...
Ravens shift into bounce-back mode after humbling lossVideo
BALTIMORE — It has been a year since the Baltimore Ravens had to shift into bounce-back mode after absorbing a lopsided regular-season defeat at home. The Ravens (2-1) thought they had something special brewing before a 34-20 loss to Kansas City on Monday night drastically altered that perspective. Fortunately, there’s...
Lightning wrap up marathon season by lifting Stanley CupVideo
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh was preparing to answer one last question regarding the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup championship when teammates Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn crashed the room, putting an abrupt and celebratory end to the news conference. “Who’s next? Next question,” Kucherov said, looking into the camera. With McDonagh...
Oklahoma’s upset loss to Kansas St. opens up Big 12 raceVideo
It took one week for the Big 12 to bring just a little more strangeness to 2020. Five-time defending conference champion Oklahoma opened league play with a shocking home loss to Kansas State, perhaps opening the door for another program to finally to step in and claim the title. Iowa...
DQ forgotten, Djokovic leaves French Open foe ‘suffocated’Video
PARIS — Novak Djokovic’s backhand clipped the net and landed wide, so he shook his head. That was it. Later, a too-soft drop shot found the white tape and bounced back on his own side, finally ceding a game in a dominant debut performance at the 2020 French Open. Djokovic...
