Associated Press stories, Page 2034
Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley to keep job after reviewVideo
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will remain on staff but take a pay cut and must undergo diversity training after being suspended for using a racial slur in a 2013 text message. Utah announced Wednesday that Scalley will participate in diversity and inclusion education and have...
Trump, top officials defend response to Russia bounty threatVideo
WASHINGTON — Criticized for inaction, President Donald Trump and top officials on Wednesday stepped up their defense of the administration’s response to intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Trump’s national security adviser said he had prepared a list of retaliatory options if the intelligence...
Those around NBA say this title will be toughest to winVideo
The 2020 NBA champion, if one is crowned, will have emerged as the ultimate winner from a season that lasted more than a full year from start to finish. A season that saw political unrest between the NBA and China, the deaths of David Stern and Kobe Bryant, racial issues...
Georgia Gov. Kemp: Mask mandate not needed amid coronavirus spike
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he has not yet weighed whether the state will take legal action against local governments that try to impose mask requirements, as Georgia faces a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The Republican governor held a news conference Wednesday morning before departing...
Webb Simpson back on PGA Tour after family coronavirus scareVideo
DETROIT — Webb Simpson is competing on the PGA Tour again after his family had a coronavirus scare. One of Simpson’s daughters tested positive for covid-19, leading to him withdraw from last week’s tournament as a precaution. “The first test was positive, but (she) got tested again by the more...
Source: NFL cutting preseason in half, pushing back startVideo
The NFL will cut its preseason in half and push back the start of exhibition play so teams have more time to train following an all-virtual offseason made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of...
Family: Human remains found in Texas are missing soldier Vanessa GuillenVideo
KILLEEN, Texas — The family of a soldier who has been missing since April believes partial remains that were found in Central Texas are her remains, the lawyer for her family said Wednesday, and the Army said it has identified two suspects in her disappearance. Pfc. Vanessa Guillen was last...
Healthy Kessel expected to give Coyotes a boost in return
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The start of Phil Kessel’s desert tenure did not go according to plan, for him or the Arizona Coyotes. Expected to give the Coyotes a scoring jolt, Kessel instead labored, in large part due to a string of injuries. The NHL’s pandemic-caused pause has give the 32-year-old...
Pennsylvania high court turns down lawmakers’ bid to end shutdown
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s high court on Wednesday ruled against an effort by Republican state lawmakers to end Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic shutdown orders. A divided court ruled that a resolution passed with mostly GOP votes was a “legal nullity” because it was not sent to Wolf to sign or...
Texas’ Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick criticizes Dr. Fauci as coronavirus cases surgeVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — As confirmed coronavirus case levels in Texas continue surging to record highs, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the nation’s top infectious disease expert “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” as Patrick defends the state’s handling of the pandemic. Patrick also claimed without offering evidence that Dr....
Richmond orders removal of Confederate statues on city landVideo
RICHMOND — The mayor of Richmond, Va., on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate statues on city land, saying he was using his emergency powers to speed up the healing process for the former capital of the Confederacy amid weeks of protests over police brutality and racial injustice....
Coronavirus spike prompts big California about-face on reopeningsVideo
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered bars and indoor dining at restaurants to close in most areas of the state for the next three weeks amid a troubling surge of new coronavirus cases throughout the state. The revised stay-at-home order affects 19 counties where nearly three-quarters of...
Ex-Bush officials launch super PAC backing Biden over Trump
WASHINGTON — A group of former George W. Bush administration and campaign officials have launched a new super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the latest in a growing number of Republican groups to come out in support of Biden over President Donald Trump. The group, 43 Alumni for...
Trump at Rushmore: Jets and fireworks, but masks optional
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When President Donald Trump speaks at the Mount Rushmore national memorial before the first fireworks show there in years, he’ll stand before a crowd of thousands of people who won’t be required to socially distance or wear masks despite the coronavirus pandemic. The event scheduled for...
Jordan Brown sues for wrongful conviction after childhood in prison
A former Lawrence County man is suing a handful of retired state police investigators and officials alleging malicious prosecution after he spent most of his childhood in prison for the shotgun killing of his father’s pregnant fiance before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Jordan Brown was 11 years...
Pennsylvania finishes year $3B behind because of pandemic
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state government finished its fiscal year about 9% short of its initial revenue estimate, a result of the state’s coronavirus-related shutdowns and delayed tax-filing deadlines, the Department of Revenue said Wednesday. The state collected $32.3 billion for the 12 months through Tuesday. That was about $3.2 billion...
Stocks rise as Wall Street heads for a 3rd straight gain
Communication companies helped lift U.S. stock indexes mostly higher Wednesday afternoon, placing the market on track for its third gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%, coming off the heels of a whiplash start to the year where its worst quarterly performance since 2008 gave way to...
Woman dies in South Connellsville mobile home fire
Fire claimed the life of a woman in a mobile home in Fayette County, authorities said. Fire crews were called to the South Connellsville residence shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday and reported heavy smoke and extreme heat. Officials said a woman apparently became trapped in the back bedroom near the...
U.S. manufacturing bounces back in June on reopenings
SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. manufacturing rebounded in June as major parts of the country opened back up, ending three months of contraction in the sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Wednesday that its manufacturing index rose to 52.6...
U.S. construction spending fell 2.1% in May
WASHINGTON — U.S. construction spending fell 2.1% in May with both home building and nonresidential activity declining. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the May decline followed an even larger 3.5% fall in April. Construction spending was also down in March, falling 0.3%. The construction industry has been rocked by...
U.K. regulator urges reforms to curb Google, Facebook ad power
LONDON — British regulators want new rules to foster competition in digital advertising markets and rein in the industry’s dominant players, Google and Facebook. The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at the U.S. tech giants in a report Wednesday that recommends the British government adopt a new regulatory approach...
Seattle cops dismantle ‘occupied’ zone, arrest more than 30Video
SEATTLE — Seattle police turned out in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ encampments and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. Television images showed police, many in riot...
Fox News’ Ed Henry fired after sexual misconduct allegation
NEW YORK — Fox News on Wednesday fired daytime news anchor Ed Henry after an investigation of sexual misconduct in the workplace. The network said it had received a complaint on June 25 from an attorney about the misconduct. An outside investigator was hired and, based on the results of...
China takes measures against 4 U.S. media companiesVideo
BEIJING — China has demanded staff and business information from four U.S. media companies including the Associated Press in what it called a necessary response to similar demands by Washington on Chinese state-controlled news outlets. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced Wednesday that the AP, United Press International, CBS and...
Retired pope’s elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, dies at 96
BERLIN — The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96. The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that...
