Associated Press stories, Page 2000
Jimmy Butler misses Heat practice, teammate hints he’s isolatingVideo
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jimmy Butler was not with the Miami Heat for practice Sunday, and one of his teammates suggested he was quarantining away from the team. The Heat said only that Butler, who scored 22 points in Miami’s restart-opening win over Denver on Saturday, had “an excused...
Mets slugger Cespedes leaves team, opts out of 2020 seasonVideo
ATLANTA — New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes opted out of the 2020 season on Sunday because of the coronavirus pandemic, providing some clarity after the team said it was unable to locate him. Cespedes did not report to the ballpark for the Mets’ game at Atlanta, and the team...
Pac-12 football players urge opt-out amid covid-19 concernsVideo
A group of Pac-12 football players on Sunday threatened to opt out of the coming season unless their concerns about competing during the covid-19 pandemic and other racial and economic issues in college sports are addressed. The players posted a statement on The Players’ Tribune website and social media with...
With loan money gone, restaurants are at mercy of coronvirus
NEW YORK — The check has arrived and beleaguered restaurant owners across America are looking down on their empty wallets. Government covronavirus loans in the spring helped eating establishments rehire laid-off employees and ride out the pandemic’s initial surge and wave of shutdown orders. But that Paycheck Protection Program money...
Marines halt search for 8 missing troops, all presumed dead
SAN DIEGO — Eight troops missing after their landing craft sank off the Southern California coast during a training exercise are presumed dead, the Marine Corps announced Sunday. The Marines said they had called off the search that started late Thursday afternoon when the amphibious assault vehicle sank with 15...
SpaceX capsule and NASA crew make 1st splashdown in 45 yearsVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the...
As school begins amid virus, parents see few good options
WOODSTOCK, Ga. — John Barrett plans to keep his daughter home from elementary school this year in suburban Atlanta, but he wishes she were going. Molly Ball is sending her teenage sons to school in the same district on Monday, but not without feelings of regret. As the academic year...
Clock is ticking on Trump comeback as early voting nears
WASHINGTON — It’s getting late early. President Donald Trump is privately reassuring Republicans anxious about his deficits to Democrat Joe Biden, noting there are three months until Election Day and reminding them of the late-breaking events that propelled his 2016 comeback. But four years later, the dynamics are very different....
Despite virus threat, Black voters wary of voting by mail
DETROIT — Despite fears that the coronavirus pandemic will worsen, Victor Gibson said he’s not planning to take advantage of Michigan’s expanded vote-by-mail system when he casts his ballot in November. The retired teacher from Detroit just isn’t sure he can trust it. Many Black Americans share similar concerns and...
Wild’s Matt Dumba kneels, NHL puts focus on Black Lives Matter movement
Minnesota’s Matt Dumba became the first NHL player to kneel during the U.S. national anthem when he did so before the opening playoff game between Edmonton and Chicago in Edmonton, Alberta. Dumba knelt at center ice Saturday while fellow Black players Malcolm Subban of Chicago and Darnell Nurse of Edmonton...
Wilford Brimley, ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Natural’ actor, dies at 85
LOS ANGELES — Wilford Brimley, who worked his way up from movie stunt rider to an indelible character actor who brought gruff charm, and sometimes menace, to a range of films that included “Cocoon,” “The Natural” and “The Firm,” has died. He was 85. Brimley’s manager Lynda Bensky said the...
Rob Manfred confident MLB can get through playoffs despite virus
NEW YORK — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he’s confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every club might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams. During an interview Saturday with...
Column: Let’s make MLB weirder with even more new rulesVideo
The stat geeks are all excited, even if no one else seems to be. They’ve spent the first days of the baseball season analyzing a bunch of new numbers that show the possibilities — and probabilities — of runners scoring after being put on second base to open extra innings....
Semyon Varlamov stops 27 shots, Isles beat Panthers in Game 1Video
TORONTO — Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots, and the New York Islanders opened their best-of-five playoff series with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday in the NHL’s return. Anthony Beauvillier had the decisive goal by scoring on the power play 3 minutes, 39 seconds into the second...
Denny Hamlin-Kevin Harvick duel resumes as Cup Series hits New HampshireVideo
Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick spent the final lap at New Hampshire a year ago jockeying for the lead, the two clearly the class of the field as the NASCAR Cup Series race approached the checkered flag. It turned out to be a harbinger of the wacky 2020 season. Hamlin...
WNBA star rookie Sabrina Ionescu could be done for seasonVideo
Sabrina Ionescu’s rookie season could be over just as it was getting started. The No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft was diagnosed with a Grade 3 left ankle sprain after getting hurt in the second quarter against Atlanta and did not return to action in the New York Liberty’s...
Drew Brees will stand for anthem but respects those who kneelVideo
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he’ll remain standing for “The Star Spangled Banner,” but professed respect and support for those who protest racism and social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. “I’ll always stand for the flag because of what it means to me...
Blackhawks stun Oilers in Stanley Cup qualifying series openerVideo
EDMONTON, Alberta — Rookie winger Dominik Kubalik scored two goals and added three assists, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 6-4 win over the host Edmonton Oilers in the opener of their best-of-five qualifying round series Saturday. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews added two goals and one assist. Connor McDavid had...
Brendon Todd shoots 1-under 69 for 54-hole lead at WGC in MemphisVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Peters Township’s Brendon Todd shot a 1-under-par 69 on Saturday at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the World Golf Championship event. Todd started the third round with a two-stroke lead. He had five birdies and four bogeys...
Trump’s faith outreach aims to cast Democrats as the enemy
President Trump’s reelection campaign is courting religious voters in part by seeking to portray Democrats as a threat to religious freedom — a pitch amplified by disputes over the issue during the coronavirus pandemic. During a recent event outside Atlanta hosted by the campaign’s evangelical outreach effort, Christian surrogates touted...
Ruling renews fairness debate in Boston Marathon bomber case
“Boston Strong” remains a “vibrant” rallying cry more than seven years after the marathon bombing killed three people and injured more than 260, a federal appeals court noted as it threw out the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. But even as the ruling opened old wounds, it raised familiar questions...
Texas city commissioner killed in gun battle with police
MISSION, Texas — A Texas city commissioner was fatally shot in an exchange of gunfire with police and a sheriff’s deputy who responded to a domestic disturbance call at his home, authorities said. Officers who responded late Thursday at Sullivan City Commissioner Gabriel Salinas’ home in Mission found his 39-year-old...
Sebastian Aho leads Hurricanes over Rangers in NHL’s returnVideo
TORONTO — Sebastian Aho scored a goal and set up another in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday in the NHL’s opening playoff game following a 41/2-month pause. Jaccob Slavin scored 61 seconds in on Carolina’s first shot on goal in helping the Hurricanes...
AP sources: Jets LB C.J. Mosley opting out of NFL seasonVideo
NEW YORK — New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley chose to opt out of the NFL season because of family health concerns, two people familiar with the decision told the Associated Press. The 28-year-old Mosley was entering his second season with New York after signing as a free agent in...
Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain opts out of 2020 seasonVideo
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain has decided not to play the remainder of the 2020 season. The Brewers announced the two-time All-Star’s decision Saturday hours after news broke their scheduled home opener would be postponed for a second straight day because multiple members of the St. Louis Cardinals have tested...
