Associated Press stories, Page 2208
Scandal-ridden Astros hire Rays exec James Click as new general managerVideo
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros hired James Click as their new general manager Monday, taking the Tampa Bay Rays executive and putting him in charge of the scandal-ridden team a week before the start of spring training. Click succeeds Jeff Luhnow, who along with manager AJ Hinch was suspended by...
Lawmakers seek to end Florida’s key role in shark fin trade
TALLAHASSEE — While Florida gains notoriety as the epicenter of the shark trade in the United States, state lawmakers there advanced legislation Monday that would ban the possession of shark fins. The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee endorsed that proposal, as well as another bill that would stiffen penalties...
‘Othered’ in America: An old story, still playing out
CHICAGO — Activist Hoda Katebi rarely takes a break from organizing. As tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated in recent weeks, she became even busier. On a recent Sunday afternoon, the 25-year-old Iranian American sat in her Chicago apartment shifting between monitoring her Twitter feed, taking phone calls and...
Dog sleuths sniff out crop disease hitting citrus trees
WASHINGTON — Dog detectives might be able to help save ailing citrus groves, research published Monday suggests. Scientists trained dogs to sniff out a crop disease called citrus greening that has hit orange, lemon and grapefruit orchards in Florida, California and Texas. The dogs can detect it weeks to years...
Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic reclaims No. 1 rankingVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings Monday after winning his eighth Australian Open title, and Sofia Kenin’s first Grand Slam trophy boosted her to a career-high No. 7 — and made her the leading American — on the WTA list. Djokovic’s 6-4, 4-6,...
NASCAR readies for season of much-needed changesVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The sky isn’t falling — or at least it doesn’t feel that way — as NASCAR heads into the first of two seasons full of change. In the three months since Kyle Busch won his second championship, NASCAR took its awards ceremony to Nashville, Tenn., and...
Chiefs coach Andy Reid finally earns elusive Super Bowl titleVideo
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — When Andy Reid walked into an interview with the Philadelphia Eagles armed with a 6-inch binder containing notes on how to build a winning team, management was sold. But it took him 21 years and two teams to win it all. Big Red finally got his...
Tennessee man found dead in donation bin
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee man was found dead in a donation bin outside a Walmart. Police responded Sunday afternoon to a report of a man stuck inside the bin in Clarksville. When emergency crews arrived at the scene, they found a 48-year-old man with the lower part of his...
Young Mahomes leads comeback for ages as NFL closes its first centuryVideo
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — They were celebrating the passage of time as much as football at this Super Bowl: 100-year-old World War II veterans at midfield for the pregame coin flip, 50-year-old pop diva Jennifer Lopez handling halftime, and, of course, a quarterback who turns 25 this year saving the...
Pennsylvania hunters killed record 4,653 black bears in 2019
HARRISBURG — Wildlife authorities say Pennsylvania hunters killed 4,653 black bears last year, setting a new record. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Monday the total is far above last year’s total of 3,153, which was the 11th highest total recorded but was also the lowest in almost a dozen years....
Rush Limbaugh announces he’s been diagnosed with lung cancer
LOS ANGELES — Conservative radio host and Republican kingmaker Rush Limbaugh said he’s been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Addressing listeners on his program Monday, Limbaugh said he will take some days off for further medical tests and to determine treatment. “I have to tell you something today that I...
2 women killed, child hurt in shooting at Texas dormitory
COMMERCE, Texas — Two women were killed and a child was wounded in a shooting Monday morning at a university dormitory in Texas, officials said. A recommendation for students and employees to shelter in place was lifted early Monday afternoon at Texas A&M University-Commerce, and police said there appeared to...
Woman pleads guilty to soliciting stepfather’s murder
WILKES-BARRE — A woman has pleaded guilty to soliciting the homicide of her stepfather nearly five years ago in northeastern Pennsylvania. Twenty-five-year-old Kendra Dias entered the plea Monday as her trial was about to open. Under a plea agreement, Luzerne County prosecutors withdrew a conspiracy count and are to recommend...
Tennessee county destroys records sought by reporter
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Officials in a Tennessee county have destroyed public records that were being sought by a newspaper. Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Sarah Grace Taylor was trying to see whether the Hamilton County attorney’s office was denying public records requests without a good reason, she said. To that...
Woman whose newborn died in prison toilet gets $1M from S.C.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former inmate whose newborn died in a prison toilet in South Carolina will receive more than $1 million from the state and two medical companies. Sinetra Johnson will get $750,000 from the state Department of Corrections and $200,000 each from Medustrial and MedFirst which provide health...
Ben Platt named Hasty Pudding’s 2020 Man of the YearVideo
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Award-winning actor and musician Ben Platt was named 2020 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s famed Hasty Pudding theater troupe on Monday. Platt, 26, is the youngest recipient in the 54-year history of the award, handed out annually by the troupe that dates to the late...
‘Hamilton’ by original cast coming to a film screen near you
NEW YORK — Next year, you’ll be able to see the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton” perform the musical smash from the comfort of a movie theater. The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it will distribute a four-year-old live capture of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show in the United States and Canada...
Malawi court nullifies presidential vote, orders new one
BLANTYRE, Malawi — The Constitutional Court in the southern African nation of Malawi on Monday nullified the results of last year’s presidential election, citing “widespread, systematic and grave” irregularities including significant use of correction fluid to alter the outcome. A new vote will be held within 150 days, the court...
BP oil spill cash rebuilds eroded Louisiana pelican island
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana island that provides a crucial nesting ground for pelicans and other sea birds is being restored to nearly its former size after decades of coastal erosion and the devastating blow of an offshore oil spill 10 years ago. About 6,500 brown pelicans and 3,000 smaller...
Aspiring Chicago rapper gets 99 years in mom’s murder-for-hire killing
CHICAGO — An aspiring Chicago rapper who posted a video on YouTube of himself throwing thousands of dollars that he inherited from his mother to his “fans” has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for her 2012 murder-for-hire killing. Qaw’mane Wilson, 30, was sentenced Friday by a Cook County...
Baylor strengthens hold on No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll; Penn State to No. 22Video
Baylor has strengthened its hold on No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. The Bears received 49 of 65 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to stay comfortably ahead of Gonzaga and Kansas. That was up from 44 first-place votes from the previous week, with the Bears...
Kansas City set to celebrate Super Bowl win with parade
KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City Chiefs fans are flocking to buy T-shirts, lining up for photos and preparing to skip out on work for a celebratory parade after the team won its first Super Bowl in 50 years. Schools in the area have started calling off classes so students...
Dems kick off Iowa caucuses amid worry over beating TrumpVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — A Democratic campaign that has cost more than $1 billion, dashed the ambitions of veteran politicians, forced conversations about race, gender and identity and prompted fierce debate over health care and taxes crests Monday in the Iowa caucuses. By day’s end, tens of thousands of Democrats...
YouTube: No ‘deepfakes’ or ‘birther’ videos in 2020 election
YouTube is making clear there will be no “birtherism” on its platform during this year’s U.S. presidential election — a belated response to a type of conspiracy theory more prevalent in the 2012 race. The Google-owned video service is also reiterating that it won’t allow election-related “deepfake” videos and anything...
Annual White House Easter Egg Roll scheduled for April 13
WASHINGTON — The annual White House Easter Egg Roll is set for April 13. First lady Melania Trump announced the date for the time-honored tradition Monday. Tickets are free and are available through an online lottery scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Feb. 18 and close at 10 a.m. Feb....
