Associated Press stories, Page 329
U.S. applications for jobless claims fall to 201,000, lowest level in nearly a year
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs. The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending Jan. 4, down from the...
JetBlue passenger suddenly opens exit door as flight is taxiing for takeoff at Boston airport
BOSTON — A person on board a plane at Boston Logan International Airport that was taxiing for takeoff suddenly opened an exit door and was quickly restrained by other passengers, authorities said. The JetBlue passenger was expected to face charges and be arraigned Wednesday, Massachusetts State Police spokesperson Tim McGuirk...
Why Greenland? Remote but resource-rich island occupies a key position in a warming world
Remote, icy and mostly pristine, Greenland plays an outsized role in the daily weather experienced by billions of people and in the climate changes taking shape all over the planet. Greenland is where climate change, scarce resources, tense geopolitics and new trade patterns all intersect, said Ohio University security and...
Pope Francis names 1st woman to head major Vatican office, choosing Italian nun
ROME — Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church’s religious orders. The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more...
Affordable Care Act insurance coverage hits record enrollment but an uncertain future awaits under Trump
WASHINGTON — A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Never have so many people enrolled in health care coverage through...
U.S. Justice Department accuses 6 major landlords of scheming to keep rents high
DENVER — The U.S. Justice Department is suing several large landlords for allegedly coordinating to keep Americans’ rents high by using both an algorithm to help set rents and privately sharing sensitive information with their competitors to boost profits. The lawsuit arrives as U.S. renters continue to struggle under a...
Trump asks Supreme Court to block sentencing in his hush money case in New York
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to call off Friday’s sentencing in his hush money case in New York. Trump’s lawyers turned to the nation’s highest court Wednesday after New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing by Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s...
Former FBI informant will be sentenced for bogus bribery claim about President Biden and son Hunter
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors will ask a judge on Wednesday for six years in prison for a former FBI informant whose bogus story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort. Alexander Smirnov will be sentenced in Los Angeles federal court after pleading...
Hollywood Hills fire breaks out as deadly wildfires burn out of control across Los Angeles areaVideo
LOS ANGELES — A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles’ most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people, put 100,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged the city from the...
Penn State grad Al Golden back in Miami, trying to bring Notre Dame a CFP title shotVideo
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Choose your Al Golden storyline for Thursday’s Orange Bowl. He’ll be coaching against Penn State, his alma mater and the school where he was a captain. He’ll be coaching again at Hard Rock Stadium, where Miami fans booed him off the field in his final game...
Hawaii law enforcement ask lawmakers for staff and money to crack down on illegal fireworks
HONOLULU — Hawaii authorities on Tuesday asked lawmakers for money to hire eight people and pay for a $2 million expansion of a forensic lab to crack down on the persistent rampant smuggling of illegal fireworks like those that killed four people and injured about 20 more at a Honolulu...
No more unbeatens: No. 8 Florida topples top-ranked Tennessee
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Alijah Martin scored 18 points, Denzel Aberdeen added 16 and No. 8 Florida thumped top-ranked Tennessee, 73-43, on Tuesday night to knock off the last unbeaten team in Division I basketball. Alex Condon chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double this season as...
No. 21 West Virginia men lose big to Arizona
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — KJ Lewis scored a career-high 21 points, and Arizona beat No. 21 West Virginia, 75-56, on Tuesday night for its fifth straight win. Jaden Bradley added 15 points, and Anthony Dell’Orso scored 10 for the Wildcats (9-5, 3-0 Big 12). Javon Small led West Virginia (11-3, 2-1)...
Exxon Mobil Corp. sues California attorney general for defamation over plastic recycling claims
SAN FRANCISCO — Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a federal defamation lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups, months after Bonta sued the oil and gas giant alleging that it deceived the public for half a century by promising the plastics it produced would be recycled. The...
Justin Verlander agrees to $15 million, 1-year deal with Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a $15 million, one-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal was pending a physical. It’s the latest big...
Lawyers collecting $148M judgment from Rudy Giuliani say World Series rings must be given up
NEW YORK — Lawyers for two former Georgia election workers who are owed $148 million in damages after suing Rudy Giuliani for defamation said Tuesday that evidence proves their clients are entitled to three World Series rings that the former New York City mayor says he gave to his son....
NASA proposes cheaper, quicker way to get Mars rocks and soil to Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is pitching a cheaper and quicker way of getting rocks and soil back from Mars, after seeing its original plan swell to $11 billion. Administrator Bill Nelson presented a revised scenario Tuesday, less than two weeks before stepping down as NASA’s chief when President-elect Donald...
Adam Scott has full plate in Saudi negotiations over LIV Golf
HONOLULU — Adam Scott made it back to Kapalua and returned to the top 20 in the world ranking, and it’s a wonder how he managed with so much on his plate. This coincided with his first full year on the PGA Tour board, and it was a lot. The...
Jets interview Rex Ryan, who led franchise to its last playoff appearance, for head coaching job
Rex Ryan has returned to the New York Jets — for an interview, at least. The former Jets coach and current ESPN analyst, who led the franchise to its last playoff appearance to cap the 2010 season, met with the team Tuesday about its head coaching vacancy. Ryan went 50-52,...
James Franklin, Marcus Freeman look to become 1st Black coaches to win national titleVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In college basketball, the scene of a Black coach cutting down the nets on their way to a national title is not new, even if it is still a relative rarity. John Thompson led Georgetown to the championship in 1984, the first of four Black coaches...
Biden administration finalizes clean electricity tax credits, says Trump should keep in place
New tax credits are available for companies that generate clean electricity, the Biden administration announced Tuesday, while arguing it would be a mistake for President-elect Donald Trump to try to undo them. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service released final rules for the clean electricity investment and production...
Man who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI, police say
LAS VEGAS — The highly decorated soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, Las Vegas police said Tuesday. A laptop, cellphone and watch are still under review nearly a week after 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger...
Flying taxis are on the horizon as aviation soars into a new frontierVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — When he was still a boy making long, tedious trips between his school and his woodsy home in the mountains during the 1980s, JoeBen Bevirt began fantasizing about flying cars that could whisk him to his destination in a matter of minutes. As CEO of Joby Aviation,...
How removing unpaid medical bills from credit reports could help consumers
NEW YORK — Lenders will no longer be able to consider unpaid medical bills as a credit history factor when they evaluate potential borrowers in the U.S. for mortgages, car loans or business loans, according to a rule the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized Tuesday. Removing medical debts from consumer...
Raiders fire coach Antonio Pierce after he goes 4-13 in lone full season
HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders fired Antonio Pierce on Tuesday after just one season as their full-time coach, the latest in a line of coaching changes over the past several years. “We appreciate Antonio’s leadership, first as an interim head coach and this past season as the head...
