Associated Press stories, Page 1445
Health worker vaccine mandate blocked in half the states
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday lifted a nationwide ban against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, instead blocking the requirement in only certain states and creating the potential for patchwork enforcement across the country. The decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S....
Stocks fall on Wall Street ahead of Fed policy statement
Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday as investors wait to hear from the Federal Reserve after its last policy meeting of the year. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2% as of 1:32 p.m. Eastern and is coming off of two days of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial...
4 dead in related crashes on Interstate 78 in Berks County
HAMBURG — Four people were killed Tuesday night in two related crashes on an eastern Pennsylvania interstate, state police said. The first crash happened around 8:30 p.m. when a 69-year-old Georgia woman who was driving an empty school bus failed to stop in a construction zone on Interstate 78 near...
Omicron to be dominant variant in EU by mid-January
BRUSSELS — Omicron is expected to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the European Union’s 27 nations by mid-January, the bloc’s top official said Wednesday amid concerns that a dramatic rise in infections will leave Europe shrouded in gloom during the holiday season. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen...
AP source: Biden-Manchin talks on $2T Dem bill going poorly
WASHINGTON — Negotiations between President Joe Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin over the Democrats’ huge social and environment bill are going poorly, a person familiar with the talks said Wednesday, the latest sign that leaders’ hopes of moving the bill through the Senate before Christmas were increasingly bleak. Manchin, D-W.Va.,...
Minnesota delivery driver cited after running over groceries
BLAINE, Minn. — A Minnesota grocery delivery driver accused of running over bags of food she had dropped off in a Twin Cities suburb because she didn’t like the homeowners’ pro-police yard sign has been cited for criminal damage to property, authorities said. The incident happened Dec. 6 after the...
Disney World fire may have sprung from fireworks debris
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A small fire at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom started in a tree and may have been caused by fireworks debris, officials said Wednesday. The blaze broke out Tuesday after fireworks were set off near the Cinderalla Castle, Reedy Creek Fire Association president Jon Shirey...
Chauvin pleads guilty to federal charges in Floyd’s death
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, averting a trial but likely extending the time he is already spending behind bars on a state conviction. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state...
Duggar fails to make runoff in Arkansas state Senate primary
SPRINGDALE, Ark. — A former city council member and a retired U.S. Navy captain are headed toward a runoff for the Republican nomination for an Arkansas state Senate seat, beating out candidates in a special primary that included “19 Kids and Counting” father Jim Bob Duggar. The poll results from...
Browns QB Mayfield, coach Stefanski test positive for covid-19
CLEVELAND — The Browns’ covid-19 outbreak has widened and worsened. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and coach Kevin Stefanski tested positive for covid-19 on Wednesday and will likely miss Saturday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders as Cleveland deals with a widespread outbreak during its playoff pursuit. Stefanski’s positive test was first...
UN watchdog says Iran will allow new cameras at nuclear site
TEHRAN, Iran — The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Iran reached a deal Wednesday to reinstall cameras damaged at an Iranian site that manufactures centrifuge parts, though inspectors remain limited on what footage they can access. The agreement will see cameras put back at Karaj, which came under what Iran...
Florida district to pay $26 million to shooting victims
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Broward County, Fla., school district will pay more than $26 million to the families of 17 people killed and some of those injured in the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Board members approved the two legal settlements on Tuesday. A...
Retail sales rise 0.3% in November as Americans brush off rising prices
NEW YORK — Americans slowed their spending in November from October, but continued shopping despite higher prices and shortages in stores. Retail sales rose a modest seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before when sales rose a revised 1.8%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, a bit weaker...
No proof vote was rigged, but 2020 election reviews persist
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania courtroom on Wednesday became the latest battleground over claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged, as Republicans around the country pressed ahead with efforts to investigate the voting despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud. A five-judge panel in Harrisburg heard Democrats’ arguments to block...
O.J. Simpson a ‘completely free man’; parole ends in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is a free man. The 74-year-old former football hero and actor, acquitted California murder defendant and convicted Las Vegas armed robber was granted good behavior credits and discharged from parole effective Dec. 1, Nevada State Police spokeswoman Kim Yoko Smith said Tuesday. “Mr. Simpson is...
German police conduct raids over alleged covid death threats
BERLIN — Police in eastern Germany carried out raids Wednesday in an investigation of alleged threats to kill a state governor and others by opponents of coronavirus restrictions and vaccinations. They said they found weapons including crossbows, but it wasn’t clear whether they were usable. Five properties in Dresden and...
Blaze traps hundreds in Hong Kong tower, 13 hospitalized
HONG KONG — Firefighters on Wednesday rescued hundreds of people who fled to the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper and became trapped there after a major fire broke out. Hours later, the fire service said the blaze was extinguished. In addition to those on the roof, dozens jammed into...
This date in sports history: Dec. 15
1925 — The first NHL game is played at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The Americans score first, but the Montreal Canadiens prevail 3-1, before 17,000 in attendance. 1929 — The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 in their first game at Chicago Stadium. Vic Ripley scores twice in...
House votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt in Jan. 6 probeVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he ceased to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection — making it the first time the chamber has voted to hold a former member in...
Calls for Louisiana judge to resign over video with racist language
LAFAYETTE, La. — Racist language heard in a video recorded at the home of a Louisiana judge has led to calls for her resignation. The video shows a television set displaying security footage of what appears to be a foiled burglary at the judge’s home. Laughter and racist slurs are...
Warriors’ Stephen Curry breaks NBA career 3-point recordVideo
NEW YORK — Stephen Curry has shot his way to the top of the NBA record book for 3-pointers. Curry hit his 2,974th 3-pointer Tuesday night in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the New York Knicks, breaking the record set by Ray Allen. Curry hit...
Trump loses bid to block his tax returns from Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that was brought by former President Donald Trump in his attempt to block congressional lawmakers from obtaining his tax returns. The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden — a former Justice Department official and Trump appointee — found...
U.S. covid death toll hits 800,000, a year into vaccine drive
The U.S. death toll from covid-19 topped 800,000 on Tuesday, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring. The number of deaths, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about...
3 voters from retirement haven in Florida charged with voting fraud
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Three voters from a Florida retirement community that is a GOP stronghold have been arrested on charges of voting more than once. The arrests come weeks after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to create a law enforcement agency to investigate election crimes, despite there being...
Wild’s Bill Guerin promoted to take over as U.S. men’s Olympic GMVideo
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin was promoted to take over the men’s U.S. Olympic hockey team Tuesday, two months after Stan Bowman’s resignation in the wake of the Chicago Blackhawks’ sexual assault scandal. “Unfortunately, things turned out the way they did, and we’re here today,” Guerin said during a...
