Associated Press stories, Page 1496
U.S. unemployment claims fall to new pandemic low of 290,000
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a new low point since the pandemic erupted, evidence that layoffs are declining as companies hold onto workers. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s...
Trump announces launch of his own social media site
NEW YORK — Nine months after being expelled from social media for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s launching a new media company with its own social media platform. Trump says his goal in launching the Trump Media & Technology...
Existing home sales surge as interest rates point higher
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes bounced back in September to their strongest pace since January as mortgage rates tick higher, motivating buyers to get off the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing homes sales rose 7% compared with August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Bernini’s dazzling chapel even brighter after restoration
ROME — A chapel in a Rome church that is home to a Baroque sculptural masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini has been made even more dazzling after restoration. Art and restoration specialists presented the result in the Cornaro Chapel in St. Mary of the Victory Church on Thursday. The chapel’s...
No. 7 Penn State, Illinois unsure of QBs ahead of matchup
UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State coach James Franklin originally planned to practice with two quarterbacks this week, neither named Sean Clifford. But the third-year starter, who is nursing an unspecified upper-body injury, participated with some passes. He also split snaps with Ta’Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux on Wednesday. Clifford’s return...
Realignment era: 6 Conference USA schools leaving for American
Major college football is settling into a strange period with lame duck memberships and frayed allegiances that could last another season or even two as conferences sort out the latest shifts and turns of realignment. The American Athletic Conference on Thursday became the latest to act in the trickle down...
Big changes in White House ideas to pay for $2 trillion plan
SCRANTON — In an abrupt change, the White House is floating new plans to pay for parts of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social services and climate change package, shelving a proposed big increase in corporate tax rates though also adding a new billionaires’ tax on the investment gains of...
Rare coin made in Colonial New England could fetch $300,000
An extraordinarily rare coin with a face value of just pennies when it was minted in mid-17th century New England could sell for the equivalent of about $300,000 when it’s put up for auction in London next month. The silver one shilling coin made in Boston in 1652 — considered...
Expansion, eventual departures of Oklahoma, Texas on minds of Big 12 basketball coachesVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chris Beard got right to it. His Texas Longhorns will have a target on their backs. “We’ve already begun talking to our players about how difficult it’s going to be,” he said. “But it’s really no different than anywhere else I’ve ever coached. If you’re going...
Report: Trump golf club under new criminal probe over taxes
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times. The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National...
Charges unlikely for riders who saw Philadelphia train rape
PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors pursuing the case against a man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train last week don’t anticipate charging fellow passengers for not intervening, a spokesperson for the suburban Philadelphia district attorney said. “It’s still an open investigation, but there is no expectation at this time...
Russians to stay off work for a week as coronavirus deaths riseVideo
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week starting later this month amid rising covid-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated. The government coronavirus task force reported 1,028 deaths in the past 24 hours, the...
Framber Valdez leads Astros over Red Sox in Game 5 of ALCS for 3-2 series leadVideo
BOSTON — Framber Valdez was perfect through four, took a two-hit shutout into the seventh and became the first pitcher in the 2021 postseason to finish eight innings Wednesday as the Houston Astros beat Boston, 9-1, in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series and moved one win from a...
NFL agrees to end race-based brain testing in $1B settlement
PHILADELPHIA — The NFL agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims, according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court. The revised testing plan follows public outrage...
Braves scratch Huascar Ynoa from Game 4 start in NLCS vs Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Huascar Ynoa was scratched with shoulder inflammation from his scheduled start for the Atlanta Braves against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, then removed from the postseason roster. Ynoa first experienced discomfort on Monday but believed he would be able to...
‘The stakes are enormous:’ Steve Bannon case tests Congress’ powerVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House is expected to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress. It’s up to the Justice Department, and the courts, to determine what happens next. As lawmakers ready a vote on Thursday to send a contempt referral to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, there’s considerable...
FDA approves mixing covid vaccines; backs Moderna, J&J boosters
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending covid-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially. The Food and Drug Administration’s decisions mark a...
Fox News’ Cavuto tests positive for covid-19, urges vaccines
LOS ANGELES — Fox News Channel anchor Neil Cavuto tested positive for covid-19, which he said was surprising but made him grateful that he was vaccinated. Cavuto, who learned of the test results after Monday’s episode of “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” wasn’t on the air Tuesday. “While I’m somewhat...
Browns’ Mayfield out with shoulder injury, Keenum starting
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield had to surrender to the pain. Cleveland’s starting quarterback, who has played the past four weeks with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, will sit out Thursday’s game against the Denver Broncos and backup Case Keenum will start. “I feel very ready. I’ve been ready,”...
Senate GOP again blocks Democrats’ election billVideo
WASHINGTON — For the third time this year, Senate Democrats on Wednesday tried to pass broad elections legislation that they tout as a powerful counterweight to new voting restrictions in the states. Once again, Republicans blocked them. But amid the stalemate, there are signs that Democrats are making headway in...
Officials: Items linked to Brian Laundrie, potential remains foundVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Potential human remains were found Wednesday in a Florida wilderness area along with items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie, whose girlfriend, Gabby Petito, was found slain after he returned home alone from their cross-country road trip, according to the FBI. Michael McPherson, chief of the...
Flooding in Venice worsens off-season amid climate change
After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change. The repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer is a...
Workers fed up with nights, weekends seek flexible schedules
After struggling to hire workers for its outlet store in Dallas, Balsam Hill finally opened on Sept. 1. But the very next day, the online purveyor of high-end artificial holiday trees was forced to close after four of its five workers quit. The main gripe for three of them? Working...
Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 2018 Parkland school massacre
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering 17 people during a rampage at his former high school in Parkland, Fla., leaving a jury to decide whether he will be executed for one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings. Relatives of the victims who sat in the...
Bitcoin tops $66,000, hits high on mainstreaming excitement
NEW YORK — Bitcoin jumped to a record Wednesday, topping $66,000 for the first time, as it rides a wave of excitement about getting further accepted by the financial establishment. Bitcoin was trading at $66,901.30, up 7.6%, as of 10:52 a.m. It’s roared back after sinking below $30,000 during the...
