Associated Press stories, Page 2273
Critics of Oprah book club title put new novel, ‘American Dirt,’ on trial
When Oprah Winfrey chose the novel “American Dirt” for her book club, she imagined engaging in an impassioned television dialog about the narrative, which follows a Mexican mother and her son fleeing to the United States. Instead, Winfrey ended up organizing a show that put the book, author Jeanine Cummins...
Venezuela President Maduro urges all women to have 6 children
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolás Maduro wants Venezuelan women to have many children as a way to boost the country, which has seen millions of people flee in recent years to escape its economic crisis. Maduro made the exhortation during a televised event Tuesday evening for a government program promoting...
Stocks soar on plans for more stimulus measures, Biden wins
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 1,100 points, or 4.5%, Wednesday on hopes that governments and central banks around the world will take more forceful measures to fight the virus outbreak. The gains more than recouped the market’s big losses from a day ealier as Wall Street’s wild,...
Florida lawmakers rally behind 6-year-old arrested at schoolVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers rallied behind a 6-year-old girl who was zip-tied at school and arrested last fall, when state House on Wednesday unanimously passed a measure requiring law enforcement authorities to put procedures in place for arresting children under 10 years old. The child’s family last month made footage...
Nielsen says 19 million people watched Super Tuesday returns
More than 19 million people watched coverage of the Super Tuesday primary results on the top broadcast and cable news networks. Fox News Channel led the way with 4.17 million viewers, the Nielsen company said Wednesday. But CNN scored a key victory by leading all of the networks among viewers...
U.S. strikes Taliban forces, in 1st hit since peace deal
KABUL — The United States conducted its first airstrike against Taliban forces Wednesday in Afghanistan since signing an ambitious peace deal with the militant group. U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said in a tweet that the “defensive” strike was the first U.S. attack against the militants in 11 days....
Doctors try 1st CRISPR editing in the body for blindness
Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases. A patient recently had it done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science...
Twitter preps ephemeral tweets, starts testing in Brazil
Twitter is starting to test tweets that disappear after 24 hours, although initially only in Brazil. The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the public and permanent...
Pirates sanitize LECOM Park as proactive measure vs. virus
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates have given their spring training home a deep clean as a proactive measure after a man in Manatee County tested positive for coronavirus. Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki said workers sanitized the clubhouse, press box, concession stands and other areas of LECOM Park in an...
Feds investigate nursing home as U.S. death toll hits 11
SEATTLE — The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 11 on Wednesday with a patient succumbing in California — the first reported fatality outside Washington state — as federal authorities announced an investigation of the Seattle-area nursing home where most of the victims were stricken. Officials in California’s...
Wisconsin hosts largest technical dairy competition in world
MADISON, Wis. — The largest technical cheese, butter and yogurt competition in the world started Tuesday in Wisconsin, with a record 3,667 entries from 26 nations. The 55 judges taste, sniff and inspect the 132 classes of dairy products during the biennial World Championship Cheese Contest. The judges include cheese...
Italian sport to take place without fans until April 3
All sporting events in Italy will take place without fans present for at least the next month due to the virus outbreak in the country, the Italian government announced on Wednesday. That will likely see the Italian soccer league resume in full this weekend after the calendar was pushed back...
Returning to acting, Mick Jagger plays a man of wealth and tasteVideo
It’s been nearly 20 years since Mick Jagger last acted, but as the new film “The Burnt Orange Heresy” shows, his chops have gathered no moss. In the film, which Sony Pictures Classics will release Friday, Jagger co-stars alongside Claes Bang and Elizabeth Debicki as a devilish art collector who...
Food stamp change fuels anxiety as states try to curb impact
CHICAGO — Having food stamps offers Richard Butler a stability he’s rarely known in his 25 years. He was in state custody at age 2, spent his teen years at a Chicago boys’ home and jail for burglary, and has since struggled to find a permanent home. The $194 deposited...
James Bond film release pushed back because of coronavirusVideo
The release of the 25th James Bond film “No Time To Die” has been pushed back several months because of global concerns about coronavirus. MGM, Universal and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced via Twitter on Wednesday that the film would be pushed back from its April release...
Looking for hand sanitizer? Good luck finding it
NEW YORK — The hand sanitizers on Amazon were overpriced. A Walmart this weekend was completely sold out. Only on his third try was Ken Smith able to find the clear gel — at a Walgreens, where three bottles of Purell were left. He bought two. “I didn’t want to...
First lady helps honor women from 12 countries for courage
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump drew parallels Wednesday between her youth welfare initiative and a group of women from around the world whom the State Department has recognized for acts of courage in their countries. Although the “Be Best” initiative was designed for children, the first lady said the program “ties...
Twitter tests disappearing tweets, starts in Brazil
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is starting to test tweets that disappear after 24 hours, although initially only in Brazil. The company says the ephemeral tweets, which it calls “fleets” because of their fleeting nature, are designed to allay the concerns of new users who might be turned off by the...
Supreme Court divided in 1st big abortion case of Trump era
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared divided in its first major abortion case of the Trump era, leaving Chief Justice John Roberts as the likely deciding vote. Roberts did not say enough to tip his hand in an hour of spirited arguments at the high court Wednesday. The court’s election-year...
Spanish minister defends bold slogan for bill on sex crimes
MADRID — Spain’s minister of equality defended herself Wednesday from attacks by right-wing opposition parties who have criticized her use of a bold slogan to support the government’s draft bill on sex crimes. The ministry included the slogan “Drunk and alone, I want to make it home” on a message...
Ukraine prime minister ousted, president seeks ‘new brains’
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian lawmakers overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to accept the resignation of the prime minister, whose performance over his six-month tenure came under severe criticism from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The president’s Servant of the People party, which dominates the parliament, took the lead in relieving Oleksiy Honcharuk of his...
Virus hammers business travel as wary companies nix trips
Amazon and other big companies are trying to keep their employees healthy by banning business trips, but they’ve dealt a gut punch to a travel industry already reeling from the virus outbreak. The Seattle-based online retail giant has told its nearly 800,000 workers to postpone any non-essential travel within the...
Toyota adds 1.1M vehicles to fuel pump recall
DETROIT — Toyota is adding 1.1 million U.S. vehicles to a major recall to fix possible fuel pump failures that can cause engines to stall. The company said Wednesday that the added vehicles bring the total to 1.8 million. In January, Toyota recalled nearly 700,000 vehicles in the United States...
Warren huddles with advisers, reassesses presidential raceVideo
WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren was huddling with her campaign advisers Wednesday to determine if there was a reason to stay in the race after her Super Tuesday wipe-out. An aide to the Massachusetts senator said she was speaking to staffers and assessing the path forward. The aide spoke on the...
Bloomberg drops out of presidential race, endorses BidenVideo
NEW YORK — Billionaire Mike Bloomberg ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. It was a stunning collapse for the former New York City mayor, who had his 2020 hopes on the Super Tuesday states and pumped more than $500...
