Associated Press stories, Page 1578
Broadway to require vaccinations, masks for audience members
NEW YORK — Covid-19 vaccinations and masks will be required for all Broadway audience members when theaters reopen in the coming weeks, theater operators announced Friday. Audience members will have to wear face coverings and show proof they are fully vaccinated when they enter the theaters, the Broadway League said...
CDC team: ‘War has changed’ as delta variant dangers emerge
New evidence showing the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may be more dangerous than other versions has prompted U.S. health officials to consider changing advice on how the nation fights the coronavirus, internal documents show. Recommending masks for everyone and requiring vaccines for doctors and other health...
‘Welcome home’: Evacuation flight brings 200 Afghans to U.S.
WASHINGTON — The first flight evacuating Afghans who worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan brought more than 200 people, scores of them children and babies in arms, to new lives in the United States on Friday, and President Joe Biden said he was proud to welcome them home. The launch of...
Megan Rapinoe converts and U.S. women’s soccer gets past Netherlands on penalties
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Megan Rapinoe converted the deciding penalty in a shootout and the United States advanced to the semifinals of the women’s Olympic soccer tournament 4-2 following a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on Friday. United States goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher stopped Vivianne Miedema’s opening attempt in the shootout and...
U.S. women’s basketball team uses dominant inside presence to beat Japan
SAITAMA, Japan — The U.S. women’s basketball team has not looked sharp in its first two wins at the Tokyo Games. Five-time Olympian Sue Bird attributes the pedestrian performances to the lack of practice time with so many new faces on the squad, and just that the rest of the...
U.S. swimmer Ryan Murphy brings doping talk to fore after Russian swimmers’ Olympic win
TOKYO — After losing to Russian swimmers in two races at the Olympics, American backstroke star Ryan Murphy said Friday that doping remains a huge problem in the sport and he wonders if all his competitors are clean. Seeming to take aim at a country that has repeatedly run afoul...
States race to use covid-19 vaccines before they expire
Hundreds of thousands of covid-19 vaccine doses have been saved from the trash after U.S. regulators extended their expiration date for a second time, part of a nationwide effort to salvage expiring shots to battle the nation’s summer surge in infections. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday sent a...
Djokovic loses to Zverev at Olympics, ending Golden Slam bid
TOKYO — There will be no Golden Slam for Novak Djokovic. The top-ranked Serb lost to Alexander Zverev of Germany 1-6, 3-6, 6-1 on Friday in the semifinals of the tennis tournament at the Tokyo Olympics. Djokovic was attempting to become the first man to win all four Grand Slam...
Pa. prisons release dashboard tracking race, populations
PHILADELPHIA — A new dashboard of real-time data on Pennsylvania’s prison and parole populations shows the state has made strides to reduce racial inequity, but Black and Latino residents are still greatly overrepresented in prisons and on parole. The dashboard — built by the group Recidiviz, a tech nonprofit that...
Walmart mandates masks for all workers in some areas
NEW YORK — Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer and private employer, is reversing its mask policy and will require all its workers — including vaccinated ones — in areas with high infection rates to wear masks. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company says it is also encouraging customers to wear masks in...
Report: Lakers acquiring All-Star Russell Westbrook from WizardsVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards for three players and this year’s first-round draft pick. According to two people with knowledge of the deal, the Lakers are trading Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell to Washington for...
Central Catholic grad Alex Miklasevich, U.S. rowing finish 4th in men’s eight event
TOKYO — Canada ended American dominance in the women’s eight and New Zealand won a pair of gold medals Friday on the final day of rowing at the Tokyo Games. Canada’s start-to-finish victory in the women’s eight ended a run of three consecutive Olympic gold medals for the U.S. The...
Injuries, building damage as severe weather brings tornadoes to suburban PhillyVideo
BENSALEM — Several people were injured Thursday when a building at a Bensalem auto dealership collapsed under severe weather, authorities said. The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Bucks County, sending trees falling and debris flying. The thunderous downpour flooded streets and roadways. The Courier Times of...
Health officials to release new covid-19 data
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials are expected to release new data about the spread of covid-19 on Friday that led to their decision to recommend that vaccinated people wear masks in some situations, a reversal of previous guidance. The report, to be released by the Centers for Disease Control...
West Virginia to study need for 3rd covid vaccine dose
CHARLESTON — West Virginia will begin offering some fully vaccinated people free tests to measure antibody levels against the coronavirus, a move to study whether some elderly and immunocompromised individuals should receive a third booster shot. State officials said they are following the lead of Israel, which announced Thursday that...
Washington Football Team president says list of nicknames substantially narrowed downVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — Washington Football President Jason Wright said Thursday the organization has significantly trimmed the list of potential team names, with the unveiling expected before the 2022 NFL Draft. In an interview with the Associated Press at a community event coinciding with training camp in Virginia’s capital, Wright said...
Detroit takes Oklahoma State’s Cunningham No. 1 overall in NBA DraftVideo
The Detroit Pistons selected Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night. Cunningham widely had been expected to be the first name called in New York, though Pistons general manager Troy Weaver wouldn’t reveal plans earlier this week and said the team would...
Reports: Yanks acquire Cubs first baseman Anthony RizzoVideo
The New York Yankees acquired Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and cash for prospects Thursday in their second major trade this week for desperately needed left-handed bats. A person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press the deal for Rizzo was done. The person spoke on condition of...
Cleveland manager Terry Francona stepping down for physical health issues
CLEVELAND — Indians manager Terry Francona is stepping down for the remainder of this season to address some lingering health issues. The 62-year-old Francona has been wearing a boot on his right foot all season after undergoing toe surgery for a staph infection in February. He’s also dealing with a...
Wall Street pushes broadly higher after two days of losses
Stocks on Wall Street bounced back from a two-day slide Thursday, placing the S&P 500 on pace for its second straight weekly gain. The S&P 500 index rose 0.4%, powered by broad gains. About 77% of the stocks in the benchmark index closed higher. Technology stocks and banks made some...
SEC invites Oklahoma and Texas to join league — in 2025
Southeastern Conference university presidents voted Thursday to invite Texas and Oklahoma to the league and create a 16-team powerhouse on the field and at the bank. The latest step in move that has potential to help reshape college sports came two days after Texas and Oklahoma requested to join the...
CDC mask guidance met with hostility by leading Republicans
SALT LAKE CITY — One of the Republican Party’s most prominent rising stars is mocking new government recommendations calling for more widespread use of masks to blunt a coronavirus surge. “Did you not get the CDC’s memo?” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joked Wednesday before an almost entirely unmasked audience of...
Brandon Saad to Blues, Corey Perry to Lightning on 2nd day of free agencyVideo
The St. Louis Blues signed Brandon Saad to a five-year contract, and the Tampa Bay Lightning agreed to terms with Corey Perry for two years Thursday as the two recent Stanley Cup champions brought in more winning experience on the second day of free agency. The 28-year-old Saad, a Pine-Richland...
Conservatives want to boot Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger from House GOPVideo
WASHINGTON — Conservative lawmakers made a push Thursday to boot Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger out of the House GOP because the two defied party leaders and joined the chamber’s special committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The effort by the...
Congress passes bill to fund Capitol security, Afghan visas
WASHINGTON — Congress overwhelmingly passed emergency legislation Thursday that would bolster security at the Capitol, repay outstanding debts from the violent Jan. 6 insurrection and increase the number of visas for allies who worked alongside Americans in the Afghanistan war. The $2.1 billion bill now goes to President Joe Biden...
