Associated Press stories, Page 704
Sportsbooks pulling hard for big underdogs Steelers and Packers in playoffs
LAS VEGAS — Sportsbook directors follow the money when it comes to cheering for particular teams, and they are solidly behind the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Both are sizable underdogs in the NFL playoffs, with the majority of the money from casual bettors going to the...
Plenty rests on the shoulders of Tua Tagovailoa as Dolphins go for first playoff win since 2000Video
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It has been more than 23 years since the Miami Dolphins won a playoff game. Tua Tagovailoa gets a chance to stop that drought Saturday night. The fourth-year quarterback makes his first postseason appearance when Miami visits the Kansas City Chiefs for a wild-card game this...
Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard will be out for at least 6 weeks after No. 1 pick has jaw surgeryVideo
CHICAGO — Blackhawks center Connor Bedard is expected to miss six to eight weeks after he had surgery to repair his fractured jaw. The team announced the operation and timeline for the 18-year-old rookie Wednesday. It means he will miss the Feb. 3 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, dealing a...
After watching his brother win a title, Ravens coach John Harbaugh wants another for himselfVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Now the Harbaugh family goes for the sweep. After watching his brother, Jim, coach Michigan to a national title Monday night, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has his sights on another celebration in the Super Bowl next month. His team is the top seed in the...
Browns WR Amari Cooper faces Houston in playoffs just weeks after record performance against TexansVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Never flashy or full of himself, Amari Cooper downplayed his record-setting performance a few weeks ago in Houston. Cooper had a game unlike any in Browns history. “Just numbers,” he said. Eye-popping ones. Shredding Houston’s secondary from the opening play, Cooper finished with 265 yards in Cleveland’s...
Alabama coach Nick Saban retires after winning 7 national titles
Nick Saban’s coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in the lore of the sport. Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any other major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse with six...
Chris Christie will announce at New Hampshire town hall he’s ending presidential bid
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is planning to announce he’s dropping his Republican presidential bid on Wednesday night at his New Hampshire town hall. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the former New Jersey governor’s plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity...
Engine maker Cummins to repair, replace 600,000 Ram trucks in $2 billion emissions cheating scandal
The Department of Justice has ordered a recall of 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a settlement that directs engine maker Cummins Inc. to remedy environmental damage it caused when it illegally installed emissions control software in several hundred thousand vehicles, skirting emissions testing. It released new details of the...
Bears to keep Matt Eberflus as coach, fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears are sticking with coach Matt Eberflus in 2024 after the team showed improvement over the second half of the season. There will, however, be some big changes to his staff. The Bears fired most of their offensive assistants, including coordinator Luke Getsy after...
1 dead, 1 injured following avalanche at California ski resort, official says
OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — A person was killed and another was injured Wednesday when an avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe, authorities said. The avalanche prompted Palisades Tahoe to close 30 minutes after it opened and search crews combed the...
Kentucky Derby purse raised to $5 million for 150th race in May
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Derby purse has been raised to $5 million for the 150th edition in May. The increase of $2 million was announced Wednesday by Churchill Downs. The 1 1/4-mile race will be May 4. This year’s winner will receive $3.1 million. The runner-up will earn $1...
Pete Carroll out as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after 14 seasonsVideo
RENTON, Wash. — Pete Carroll’s mantra was “always compete,” — it was the title of his book, after all. And he did right up to the point where the ownership of the Seattle Seahawks decided it was time for a new voice to be in charge following 14 seasons. After...
Pat McAfee announces Aaron Rodgers’ appearances are over for the rest of this NFL seasonVideo
Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesday appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” are over for the rest of this NFL season. Or possibly longer. McAfee announced at the beginning of his Wednesday show on ESPN that his fourth season of doing a weekly segment with the New York Jets quarterback had concluded. As...
As House GOP launches effort to impeach Mayorkas, senators want to strike a border deal with him
WASHINGTON — Marching ahead with multiple impeachment plans, House Republicans set their sights Wednesday on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who they intend to prove is “derelict in his duty” over handling the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Mark Green,...
Snow in the West and flooding in the East. Here’s how the U.S. is coping with the massive storm
CONCORD, N.H. — A major storm drenched the Northeast and slammed it with fierce winds, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands following a bout of violent weather that struck most of the U.S. The storm, which started Tuesday night and was moving out Wednesday, washed out roads and took...
Judge: Lawsuit against Parkland school deputy over 2018 massacre can go to trial
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A lawsuit filed by families of the 17 people killed and other victims of the Parkland, Florida, school massacre against a former sheriff’s deputy who failed to intervene can go forward, a judge ruled, rejecting his motion to dismiss the case before trial. Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa...
Amazon’s Twitch cuts more than 500 jobs attempting to turn expensive platform profitable
Twitch, the video game streaming platform acquired by Amazon a decade ago for close to $1 billion, is laying off more than 500 employees as the company tries to turn the tremendously expensive division profitable. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy in an email to employees said that even with cost cuts...
Bills fan killed outside of Dolphins’ stadium after last weekend’s game, police say
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation outside Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. As Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends were returning to their vehicle...
Republicans push ahead with Hunter Biden contempt charge after his surprise visit to Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON — Republicans on Wednesday took the first step toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena. They advanced the charge to a full House vote just hours after the president’s son sparked a momentary political frenzy by appearing in the front row for part...
Police investigation finds Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert didn’t punch ex-husband as he claimed
DENVER — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has been cleared of domestic violence allegations made by her ex-husband during an altercation at a Colorado restaurant, police said Wednesday. Jayson Boebert had accused the congresswoman of punching him in the face but he later recanted, Silt police said in a statement. The...
Judge rescinds permission for Trump to give his own closing argument at his civil fraud trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump won’t make his own closing argument after all in his New York civil business fraud trial after his lawyers objected to the judge’s insistence that the former president stick to “relevant” matters. Judge Arthur Engoron rescinded his conditional permission for the unusual plan on Wednesday,...
For 2024, some simple lifestyle changes can improve your little piece of the planet
NEW YORK — The fight against climate change requires the mass cooperation of industries, companies, governments and communities, but individuals have a role to play, too. Little things make a difference, and feel good too. At the dawn of 2024, also known as New Year’s resolution season, here’s just a...
NFL regular-season games see 7% increase in viewers
NFL regular-season games averaged 17.9 million viewers, tied for the second highest since averages were first tracked in 1995. Buoyed by increases of at least 24% in two of the five packages, the first year of the league’s new television contracts saw a total increase of 7% from last season....
SAG Awards nominate ‘Barbie,’ ‘Oppenheimer,’ snub DiCaprio
NEW YORK — The 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday heaped nominations on “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” and “American Fiction,” while snubbing Leonardo DiCaprio for best male actor. As they were at the Golden Globes, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” were again the lead nominees. Each film picked up...
Music streams hit 4 trillion in 2023. Country and global acts — and Taylor Swift — fueled the growth
LOS ANGELES — Listened to more music last year? You’re not alone. The global music industry surpassed 4 trillion streams in 2023, a new single-year record, Luminate’s 2023 Year-End Report found. Global streams were also up 34% from last year, reflective of an increasingly international music marketplace. Stateside, three genres...
