Associated Press stories, Page 1355
45M Americans to bet on March Madness hoops, group estimates
About 45 million Americans say they plan to bet on this year’s March Madness college basketball championship tournament, and an increasing percentage will do it in a way that doesn’t include filling out brackets, according to the gambling industry’s national trade group. In a report released Sunday night, the American...
SNL’s Pete Davidson headed to space on Blue Origin craft
Pete Davidson is heading to space. The “Saturday Night Live” star is among the six passengers on the next launch of Jeff Bezo’s space travel venture Blue Origin, the company announced Monday. The launch is scheduled for March 23 and Davidson will be the third celebrity on a Blue Origin...
Once a powerful symbol in Russia, McDonald’s withdraws
Two months after the Berlin Wall fell, another powerful symbol opened its doors in the middle of Moscow: a gleaming new McDonald’s. It was the first American fast-food restaurant to enter the Soviet Union, reflecting the new political openness of the era. For Vlad Vexler, who as a 9-year-old waited...
U.S. astronaut to ride Russian spacecraft home during tensions
U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei has made it through nearly a year in space, but faces what could be his trickiest assignment yet: riding a Russian capsule back to Earth in the midst of deepening tensions between the countries. NASA insists Vande Hei’s homecoming plans at the end of the...
Census: Black population grows in suburbs, shrinks in cities
A longtime area staple with its wagon wheel décor and “Roy Rogers ribeye,” The Ranch Steak House is fighting to reopen as one of the last sit-down restaurants in the once-flourishing Black Chicago neighborhood of Roseland. About 13 miles away near Indiana, Christopher Cain and his wife, Deja Cousins-Cain, sought...
Stocks sway lower and crude oil slides to $100 per barrel
Stocks lost more ground, crude oil prices fell and bond yields rose sharply Monday as anxiety over the war in Ukraine and an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates keep global financial markets on edge. The S&P 500 gave up an early gain and closed 0.7% lower after another...
Average U.S. gas price rises 22% in 2 weeks to record $4.43
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline shot up a whopping 79 cents over the past two weeks to a record-setting $4.43 per gallon as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is contributing to already-high prices at the pump. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the new price...
Anti-Trump Republicans lining up for 2024 shadow primary
NEW YORK — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is planning trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., is considering a rough timeline for a potential presidential announcement. And allies of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are openly talking up her White House prospects. More than two years before the...
Russia keeps up attacks in Ukraine as two sides hold talks
LVIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine kept a fragile diplomatic path open with a new round of talks Monday even as Moscow’s forces pounded away at Kyiv and other cities across the country in a punishing bombardment the Red Cross said has created “nothing short of a nightmare” for civilians....
For kids with covid-19, everyday life can be a struggle
WASHINGTON — Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles fidgets on the hospital bed as she waits for the nurse at Children’s National Hospital. The white paper beneath her crinkles as she shifts to look at the medical objects in the room. She’s had the coronavirus three times, and no one can figure out...
March Madness brings back feel of the good ol’ days
Any hoops fan hungering for a return to normal this March might have looked at the bracket when it finally came out and wondered what ever changed. Gonzaga is the tournament’s top seed. Kansas and Arizona are No. 1s, as well. Duke and Kentucky are right up there as No....
Man sought in homeless killings in New York, Washington D.C.
NEW YORK — Authorities are searching for a man who is believed to have attacked multiple people who were sleeping on the streets in Washington, D.C., and New York City, killing two of his victims and injuring three others, police said. District of Columbia police said Sunday in a news...
Vikings, Kirk Cousins agree to 1-year, $35M contract extensionVideo
The Minnesota Vikings have committed to quarterback Kirk Cousins for the next two seasons, banking on further improvement under new coach Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings announced their agreement in principle with Cousins on a one-year contract extension Sunday — the latest high-leverage deal that Cousins has successfully bet on himself...
AP sources: Cowboys, WR Michael Gallup agree on $62.5M, 5-year dealVideo
The Dallas Cowboys agreed on a long-term contract with receiver Michael Gallup a day after agreeing to trade Amari Cooper to Cleveland. Gallup is returning on a $62.5 million, five-year contract, two people with knowledge of the agreement said Sunday. The people spoke to the Associated Press on condition of...
Picking the bracket: Big Ten resurgence, but title goes WestVideo
Last season’s NCAA Tournament ultimately unfolded in familiar fashion. Upsets early — hi, Oral Roberts! — before the powerhouses eventually took over. By the time the championship game rolled around, undefeated Gonzaga and twice-beaten Baylor — two No. 1 seeds — were playing for the title. The lesson, then, is...
Anirban Lahiri ahead by shot as Players moves closer to conclusionVideo
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Anirban Lahiri showed up at the TPC Sawgrass in darkness Sunday morning wearing four layers of clothes — with a fifth layer just in case — to cope with near freezing temperatures he never experienced growing up in Bangalore, India. He walked off the course...
South Carolina top overall seed in Women’s NCAA TournamentVideo
As expected, South Carolina earned the No. 1 overall seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday night. This year’s bracket expanded to 68 teams for the first time to match the men’s field with the play-in games on Wednesday and Thursday. The Gamecocks, who top the Greensboro Region, will...
Chase Briscoe races to 1st NASCAR Cup win, pulls away late in PhoenixVideo
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Chase Briscoe jumped out of his car and was obviously emotional, kneeling by his No. 14 for a few seconds before a couple of voice cracks during his postrace TV interview. The 27-year-old Briscoe took his lumps last season as a NASCAR Cup Series rookie. Now, he...
Gonzaga gets top nod for NCAA Tournament; Arizona, Kansas, Baylor nextVideo
From the familiar names at the top of the bracket — Gonzaga, Kansas, Baylor — to the well-worn debates all across it — why did Coach K get shipped out West? did somebody do Dayton wrong? — this version of Selection Sunday felt as comfortable as a well-worn Air Jordan....
Tom Brady says he’s returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd NFL season
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady’s retirement lasted 40 days. Brady said Sunday he is returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd NFL season. The seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his decision on Twitter and Instagram, saying he has “unfinished business.” The news stole the spotlight from the NCAA’s...
No. 18 Houston wins American Athletic Conference title over MemphisVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fabian White Jr. scored 20 points, fellow big man Josh Carlton had 18 and 18th-ranked Houston beat Memphis, 71-53, in the American Athletic Conference championship game Sunday. A day after White played less than three minutes in the Cougars’ semifinal win because of back tightness, the...
No. 24 Iowa closes out No. 9 Purdue for Big Ten titleVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Keegan Murray had 19 points and 11 rebounds as No. 24 Iowa beat No. 9 Purdue, 75-66, to win its first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2006 and earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The sixth-seeded Hawkeyes (26-9) became the fourth team in...
William Hurt, star of ‘Broadcast News,’ ‘Body Heat,’ dies
NEW YORK — William Hurt, whose laconic charisma and self-assured subtlety as an actor made him one of the 1980s foremost leading men in movies such as “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died. He was 71. Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died...
China shuts business center of Shenzhen to fight coronavirus surge
BEIJING — China’s government responded Sunday to a spike in coronavirus infections by shutting down its southern business center of Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people, and restricted access to Shanghai by suspending bus service. Everyone in Shenzhen, a finance and technology center that abuts Hong Kong, will undergo...
Richmond steals NCAA bid, beats top-seeded Davidson in A-10 Tournament title gameVideo
WASHINGTON — Jacob Gilyard scored 26 points, Tyler Burton had 16 points and 12 rebounds and No. 6 seed Richmond beat top-seeded Davidson, 64-62, on Sunday to clinch the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in 11 years. Richmond (23-12) was playing in...
