Author: Associated Press

Last days in Georgia runoffs that will decide Senate control

ATLANTA (AP) — It's two days before dueling runoffs in Georgia that will determine U.S. Senate control. On Sunday, GOP incumbent Kelly Loeffler said she hasn't decided whether to join Republican colleagues in challenging the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory…

Trump, on tape, presses Ga. official to ‘find’ Trump votes

ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump is heard on tape pleading with Georgia’s election chief to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state, suggesting in a telephone call that the official “find” enough votes to hand Trump the victory. The…

Pelosi narrowly reelected speaker, faces difficult 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has retained her hold on the House’s top job. The new Congress convened Sunday and in its first vote reelected the California Democrat to the post. Pelosi has led House Democrats since 2003…

US virus death toll hits 350,000; surge feared

BALTIMORE, M.D. — The COVID-19 death toll in the United States has surpassed 350,000 as experts anticipate another surge in coronavirus cases and deaths stemming from holiday gatherings over Christmas and New Year's. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows…

Group of senators urges Biden’s win be certified

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of 10 senators has issued a statement calling for Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win. The senators, including four Republicans, said in the statement on Sunday that efforts by some Republicans to overturn…

Fauci: Vaccinations are ramping up in a `glimmer of hope’

(AP) --Federal health officials say the U.S. ramped up COVID-19 vaccinations in the past few days after a slower-than-expected start, bringing to the number of shots dispensed to about 4 million. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, also…

Floyd Little, Syracuse and Broncos great, dies at 78

(AP)-- Floyd Little, the versatile running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, has died after a long bout with cancer. He was 78, Little was a three-time All-American at Syracuse before starring for the Denver Broncos…

Congress opening new session as virus, Biden’s win dominate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is preparing to convene for a new session with lawmakers sworn into office during a tumultuous period. A growing number of Republicans are working to overturn Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump, and a surge…

FBI: Nashville bomber sent material to ‘acquaintances’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Before he blew himself up in a Christmas Day attack that devastated blocks of downtown Nashville, authorities say Anthony Warner sent materials about his views to people he knew. Authorities have said the 63-year-old Warner was…

Talk show host Larry King in hospital with COVID-19

LOS ANGELES (AP) — CNN says its former talk show host Larry King has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for more than a week. The news channel said Saturday the 87-year-old King is undergoing treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los…

Paul Westphal, Hall of Famer and NBA champion, dies at 70

(AP) --The Hall of Fame basketball player Paul Westphal has died. The University of Southern California confirmed his death from brain cancer Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer last August. Westphal won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974…

Watch out LA: Feds calculate riskiest, safest places in US

(AP) --U.S. experts have calculated the riskiest and safest counties in the country for disasters, and Los Angeles is on the shakiest ground. The new National Risk Index by the Federal Emergency Management Agency looks at 18 natural hazards including…

McConnell, Pelosi homes vandalized after $2,000 relief fails

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Vandals lashed out at the U.S. House and Senate speakers over the holiday weekend, blighting their homes with graffiti after Congress failed to approve an increase in the amount of money being sent to individuals to…

Cruz leads 11 GOP senators challenging Biden win over Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) - A coalition of 11 Republican senators says it will challenge the outcome of the presidential election by voting to reject electors from some states when Congress meets next week to certify the Electoral College results that confirmed…

Disaster declared in Mississippi after Hurricane Zeta

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Trump administration has approved Gov. Tate Reeves’ request for federal help following Hurricane Zeta.   President Donald Trump declared the disaster on New Year’s Eve, ordering federal aid to help South Mississippi counties recover from…

2 Pueblo County deputies injured in standoff with suspect

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office says two deputies were shot and injured during a standoff in Pueblo, Colorado. The suspect is now in custody. Officials say deputies tried to contact the suspect on Friday morning. Tennessee…

Child labor in palm oil industry tied to Girl Scout cookies

(AP) -- An Associated Press investigation has found an army of children toiling beneath a canopy of towering palm oil trees in Indonesia and Malaysia, the main suppliers of the world’s most consumed vegetable oil. They are kept out of…

Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2020

In a year defined by a devastating pandemic, the world lost iconic defenders of civil rights, great athletes and entertainers who helped define their genres. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the many beloved figures who…

Titans to honor Nashville ‘resilience’ following bombing

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have announced they will don helmet decals during their next Sunday's game to honor Nashville's resilience following the Christmas Day bombing. According to a Wednesday news release, the decal will include the text…

Nashville man’s girlfriend warned he was building bombs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Documents obtained by The Associated Press show officers visited Anthony Warner’s home in 2019 after his girlfriend told them he was building bombs in an RV trailer at his house. A Metropolitan Nashville Police Department report…

House approves Trump’s $2K checks, sending to GOP-led Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted overwhelmingly to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments. The vote Monday evening sends the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is uncertain when…

House voting on Trump’s $2,000 checks as GOP balks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pandemic aid secured, Congress is turning to confront the White House on other year-end priorities. The House was voting during the rare holiday week session on President Donald Trump’s unmet demand for $2,000 virus relief checks. Democrats…

Bomber to neighbor: World ‘never going to forget me’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The man accused of exploding a bomb in Nashville on Christmas told a neighbor days earlier that “Nashville and the world is never going to forget me.” Rick Laude said he had a chance conversation with…

In-betweenland: As 2020 slips away, an American snapshot

GLENSHAW, Pa. (AP) — As 2020 ends and 2021 arrives, American life feels caught in a weird in-between moment. Between a pandemic and, possibly, the vaccinations that will end it. Between presidents. And between the radically different styles of the…

After naming bombing suspect, focus turns to motive

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal officials now turn to exploring the monumental task of piecing together the motive behind the Christmas Day explosion that severely damaged dozens of downtown Nashville buildings and injured three. Officials have named 63-year-old Anthony Quinn…

Fauci: US taking hard look at variant of coronavirus

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials believe the coronavirus mutation that set off alarms in parts of Britain is no more apt to cause serious illness or be resistant to vaccines than the strain afflicting people in the United States.…

US officials: Suspect in Nashville explosion died in blast

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal authorities have identified the man they say is responsible for the Christmas Day bombing that tore through downtown Nashville and say that he died in the explosion. Investigators used DNA to link the man, identified…

Workers install 192 crystals on Times Square New Year’s ball

NEW YORK (AP) — Workers have installed nearly 200 glittering Waterford crystal triangles on Times Square's New Year's Eve ball in preparation for a pandemic-limited celebration. The ball is a 12-foot geodesic sphere covered with more than 2,000 crystal triangles…

US coronavirus cases top 19 million mark

BALTIMORE -- The U.S. has now topped 19 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows. America exceeded that mark on Sunday, just six days after it reached 18 million. The nation’s case numbers…

Tony Rice, master bluegrass guitarist, dies at 69

(AP)-- Master bluegrass picker Tony Rice has died at age 69 after a career in which he drew fans worldwide for his quick, fluid playing. A spokesperson for the International Bluegrass Music Association says Rice died Friday at his home…

The Latest: AT&T says some service restored after bombing

NASHVILLE (AP) — AT&T says it has been rerouting service to other facilities as the company works to restore a building that sustained heavy damage after a bomb exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day.   The company said in…

Trump’s impact on courts likely to last long beyond his term

WASHINGTON (AP) — Enemies and allies of President Donald Trump agree about his legacy on courts:  Americans will be feeling the impact of Trump's judicial appointments for decades to come. Trump leaves office having appointed more than 230 federal judges.…

Unemployment benefits for millions in limbo as Trump rages

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans are set to lapse at midnight Saturday night unless President Donald Trump signs an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before…

Still The King: James wins AP Male Athlete of Year award

(AP) — LeBron James’ on-court performance this year was spectacular again. A fourth NBA title and fourth NBA Finals MVP trophy were his, as he lifted the Los Angeles Lakers back atop the basketball world. And after a year that…

Officials: Person of interest ID’d in Nashville explosion

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two law enforcement officials have told The Associated Press that federal investigators have identified a person of interest in connection with the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas Day and are searching a home associated…

The Latest: Number of global COVID-19 cases tops 80 million

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois: The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has topped 80 million. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University reported the mark Saturday morning after 472,000 cases were recorded Christmas Day. The number of deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic across…

Widespread outages continue in Tennessee following blast

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sweeping communications outages are continuing to plague large swaths of Tennessee after a recreational vehicle exploded early Christmas morning in sleepy downtown Nashville. Police emergency systems across Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as Nashville’s COVID-19 community…

Tennessee expects to receive 90K COVID-19 vaccines a week

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee official says the state expects to start receiving 90,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines a week going forward. Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey made the comments Tuesday, as the state continued to try to fend off…

Fort Drum soldier found dead, investigation launched

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — An investigation has been launched after a 20-year-old soldier who went missing from Fort Drum was found dead. Brigadier Gen. Brett Funck, acting commander for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, said Sunday that the…

The Latest: FedEx says holiday shipping won’t slow vaccine

TOPEKA, Kan. — A FedEx executive says a higher-than-normal volume of Christmas-season package deliveries won’t interfere with the company’s effort to ship coronavirus vaccine doses. Jenny Robertson, a FedEx senior vice president, said two trucks on Sunday moved doses of…

Aide: Biden won’t talk about son Hunter with AG candidates

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming press secretary says Biden won't discuss the investigation of his son with any prospective candidates for attorney general. A federal investigation into the finances of Biden’s son, Hunter, will likely be a major…

Biden introduces his climate team, says ‘no time to waste’

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden says the United States needs a unified, national response to dealing with climate change just as it has for COVID-19. Biden's comments came Saturday as he rolled out key members of his environmental…

Agreement likely Sunday on nearly $1 trillion virus aid bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are nearing agreement on a COVID-19 relief package costing nearly $1 trillion. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he’s hopeful a deal can be finished Sunday after a compromise was reached on emergency powers at the…

Former Tennessee House speaker confirmed to utility board

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of a former Tennessee House speaker to the board of directors of the nation’s largest public utility. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander praised the Senate's confirmation of Beth Harwell to…

2nd COVID-19 vaccine authorized in US ships out

OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. (AP) — Initial shipments of the second COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S. have left a factory as the nation works to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. The trucks left Sunday from the Moderna McKesson plant…

Tennessee reports 2700 COVID-19 initial vaccinations

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State health officials say 2,711 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in the initial days of availability in Tennessee, now the worst state in the country for new cases per capita. The state Department of Health unveiled…