Associated Press stories, Page 1436
‘All Madden’ documentary a labor of love for Fox Sports
Many gamers will receive the latest edition of the “Madden” video game for the holidays. On Saturday, some will even find out for the first time that the name behind the popular franchise was a successful coach and broadcaster. Or as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell succinctly puts it: “John Madden...
South African minister objects to sale of Mandela’s cell key
JOHANNESBURG — A South African Cabinet minister on Friday urged the cancellation of an upcoming U.S. auction of a key to the Robben Island prison cell where Nelson Mandela, the country’s first Black president, was long jailed for his opposition to apartheid. The key is among Mandela memorabilia being sold...
Judge: Penn State can buy frat house where student fatally hurt
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State can buy a former fraternity house where a student was fatally injured during a night of drinking and hazing, a judge has ruled. Centre County Judge Brian Marshall gave the university and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s national chapter six months to negotiate a deal,...
U.S. to lift travel ban on 8 southern African countries
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year’s Eve, the White House announced Friday. The restrictions, imposed last month, were meant to blunt the spread of the covid omicron variant. The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently...
Russian court fines Google nearly $100M over content; Meta fined as well
MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Friday slapped Google with a nearly $100 million fine and also fined Facebook’s parent company Meta $27 million over their failure to delete content banned by local law, as Russia seeks to step up pressure on technology giants. The Tagansky District Court ruled that...
TSA officer saves infant who stopped breathing at airport
NEWARK, N.J. — A security officer leapt over conveyor belt rollers and saved a 2-month-old boy who stopped breathing at a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, newly released video shows. The footage, released Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, shows TSA officer Cecilia Morales...
U.K. Queen’s Christmas speech set to be particularly personal
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II is expected to offer a particularly personal Christmas Day message to the nation this year after Buckingham Palace released a photo of the monarch recording the speech alongside a picture of her and her husband, who died earlier this year. The image provided by the...
Massive ferry fire kills at least 39 in southern Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A massive fire swept through a crowded river ferry in Bangladesh early Friday, leaving at least 39 people dead and 70 injured, officials said. Many passengers leapt from the vessel into cold waters to escape the blaze. It took 15 fire engines two hours to control the...
Delta, United, Lufthansa report flight cancellations over Christmas
FRANKFURT, Germany — At least three major airlines have reported canceling dozens of flights as illnesses largely tied to the omicron variant of covid-19 take a toll on flight crew numbers during the busy holiday travel season. Germany-based Lufthansa said Friday that it was canceling a dozen long-haul transatlantic flights...
Teen girl killed by Los Angeles police in clothing store shooting
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police fatally shot a 14-year-old girl who was in a clothing store dressing room Thursday when officers fired on an assault suspect and a bullet went through the wall and struck the girl, authorities said. Police also fatally shot the suspect Thursday morning at a...
Hawaii Bowl canceled on eve of game after Hawaii pulls out
HONOLULU — The Hawaii Bowl was canceled Thursday on the eve of the game after Hawaii withdrew because of covid-19, season-ending injuries and transfers. “We are disappointed our season has to end this way,” Hawaii coach Todd Graham said in a statement. “As competitive as we are and as much...
Titans rally from 10 down at half, edge 49ers with last-second field goal
NASHVILLE — Randy Bullock kicked a 44-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining and the banged-up Tennessee Titans rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 Thursday night. The Titans (10-5) are a win or a Colts’ loss away from clinching their second straight AFC...
4 people injured after shooting at Chicago-area mall
OAK BROOK, Ill. — A shooting at a suburban Chicago mall full of Christmas shoppers left four people injured Thursday, police said. The incident at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook began with two males involved in a shootout in a corridor around 5:45 p.m., police Chief James Kruger said. He...
Ode to Sports: A year when games and fans came off the bench
Essentially better, wouldn’t you say? Fans back in the stands and games back in play. Clearly more settled but far from routine: Some shots from the arc, some for the vaccine. A year on the rebound crisscrossing sports. A year next to normal, progress of sorts. First Quarter The New...
QB Tyler Huntley giving Ravens reasons to believe in himVideo
The Baltimore Ravens are preparing for what’s almost certainly the most important game of their season so far — a showdown at Cincinnati, with the winner taking over sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Then again, when you’re a 23-year-old quarterback with two career starts, all the...
Giants running back Saquon Barkley puts focus on individual improvementVideo
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Saquon Barkley believes he has spent most of the season discussing everyone else’s expectations for him coming off major knee surgery. The questions never stopped. Has recovering from an ACL injury been tougher than expected? Are you going to return to being one of the NFL’s...
Gabbert leads Miami (Ohio) to Frisco Football Classic win
FRISCO, Texas — Brett Gabbert completed 22 of 31 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Kenny Tracy scored on an 8-yard run and Graham Nicholson kicked two field goals as Miami (Ohio) beat North Texas, 27-14, in the first — and possibly last — Frisco Football Classic on Thursday....
Georgia election workers file second suit over fraud claims
ATLANTA — Two Georgia election workers filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a right-wing cable news channel and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of defaming them by falsely claiming they engaged in ballot fraud during the 2020 election. It was the second defamation lawsuit by Fulton County election workers...
U.S. has reunited 100 children taken from parents under Trump
WASHINGTON — A Biden administration effort to reunite children and parents who were separated under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance border policy has made increasing progress as it nears the end of its first year. The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that 100 children, mostly from Central America, are back...
U.S. sets shorter covid-19 isolation rules for health workers
NEW YORK — Worried that a new covid-19 wave could overwhelm understaffed U.S. hospitals, federal officials on Thursday loosened rules that call on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive. Those workers now will be allowed to come back to work after...
Russ Rose retires as Penn State women’s volleyball coach
STATE COLLEGE — Russ Rose retired Thursday as Penn State’s women’s volleyball coach, ending a 43-year run that featured seven NCAA titles, 109 straight wins from 2007-10 and the Division I career victory record. The 68-year-old Rose will remain in an advisory role within the athletic department. Katie Schumacher-Cawley will...
Lack of emergency order or regulation doomed Pennsylvania mask mandate
HARRISBURG — The state Supreme Court on Thursday released its rationale for why it ruled that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration had no legal authority to require masks in Pennsylvania’s schools and child care centers, even amid a pandemic and surging cases of covid-19. The Democratic-majority court ruled 6-0 on Dec....
Browns center JC Tretter, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook among latest positive covid casesVideo
Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter, the NFL Players Association president who has been pushing the league for daily covid-19 testing all season, tested positive for the virus Thursday. So did Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and Saints quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian. But Washington is getting back quarterback Taylor...
Bengals-Ravens winner can get leg up on rest of AFC NorthVideo
CINCINNATI — Depleted by injuries and covid-19 protocols, the Baltimore Ravens have dropped three straight but remain in the thick of the crowded AFC playoff race. The inconsistent Cincinnati Bengals are tied with the Ravens for the lead in the AFC North, but the potential postseason field is so crowded...
Woman who texted boyfriend to kill himself pleads guilty
BOSTON — A former Boston College student who prosecutors say drove her boyfriend to take his own life with thousands of text messages pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter. Under terms of a plea deal, Inyoung You, 23, received a 2 1/2 year suspended jail sentence and 10 years of...
