Associated Press stories, Page 797
Rafael Nadal will reveal his comeback plans soon after missing nearly all of 2023
Rafael Nadal is sure he’ll be returning to competition after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery. And now he says he’ll be revealing his comeback plans soon. Nadal wrote Thursday on social media: “I confirmed yesterday I’ll be back” and punctuated that message with...
Finland to close 4 border crossing points after accusing Russia of organizing flow of migrants
HELSINKI — Finland will close four crossing points on its long border with Russia to stop the flow of Middle Eastern and African migrants that it accuses Moscow of ushering to the border in recent months, the government said Thursday. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen...
Fire at coal mining company building in northern China kills 26, injures dozens
BEIJING — A fire erupted in a coal mining company building in a northern Chinese city on Thursday, killing 26 people and injuring at least 38, Chinese state media reported. Rescue personnel evacuated dozens of people from the building, according to state media. The building belongs to Yongju Coal Company...
Rep. George Santos won’t seek reelection after scathing ethics report cites evidence of lawbreaking
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee in a scathing report Thursday said it has amassed “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking by Republican Rep. George Santos of New York that has been sent to the Justice Department, concluding flatly that he “cannot be trusted” after a monthslong investigation into his conduct. Shortly...
Barefoot workers and cracked floors were found at a factory that made recalled eyedrops, FDA says
WASHINGTON — An Indian company that recently recalled eyedrops sold in the U.S. had a host of sanitation and manufacturing problems, including barefoot workers, cracked floors and altered records, U.S. health inspectors found. Food and Drug Administration officials uncovered more than a dozen problems at the Mumbai plant operated by...
U.S. applications for jobless claims rise in a labor market that remains very healthy
More Americans filed for jobless claims last week, but the labor market remains broadly healthy in the face of retreating inflation and elevated interest rates. Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 231,000 for the week ending Nov. 11, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in three...
$1B worth of knockoffs taken by authorities in New York in largest U.S. counterfeit goods seizure
NEW YORK — Federal authorities in New York City have announced the largest U.S. seizure of counterfeit goods, consisting of handbags, shoes and other luxury merchandise valued at more than $1 billion. Two people were charged with trafficking the knockoffs from a New York City storage unit and other locations...
Progress in childhood cancer has stalled for Blacks and Hispanics, report says
Advances in childhood cancer are a success story in modern medicine. But in the past decade, those strides have stalled for Black and Hispanic youth, opening a gap in death rates, according to a new report published Thursday. Childhood cancers are rare and treatments have improved drastically in recent decades,...
Averting government shutdown, Congress approves temporary funding through the holidays
WASHINGTON — Ending the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays, Congress gave final approval Wednesday night to a temporary government funding package that pushes a confrontation over the federal budget into the new year. The Senate met into the night to pass the bill with an overwhelming...
Israel signals wider offensive in Gaza’s south, where hundreds of thousands have fled
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to flee parts of southern Gaza, residents said Thursday, signaling a possible expansion of their offensive to areas where hundreds of thousands of people who heeded earlier evacuation orders are crowded into U.N.-run shelters and family homes. Meanwhile, soldiers...
Police, protesters clash outside Democratic HQ during demonstration over the Israel-Hamas warVideo
WASHINGTON — Police and protesters clashed outside Democratic National Committee headquarters Wednesday night during a demonstration for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, the latest reflection of boiling tensions over the bloody conflict. Scores of Democratic representatives and candidates, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, were inside...
Bears say QB Justin Fields healthy enough to start against LionsVideo
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears will have Justin Fields back at quarterback Sunday against the Detroit Lions for a stretch of games that could be critical to his future with the team. Coach Matt Eberflus announced the move after four missed starts by Fields because of a right...
Saleh says it’ll be Rodgers’ call to play again with Jets if he’s cleared by doctors to returnVideo
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers will have the final call on whether he plays again this season for the New York Jets, if and when he gets medical clearance. Coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday the team will defer to the four-time NFL MVP, who is rehabilitating from a torn...
Gerrit Cole unanimous winner of his 1st AL Cy Young Award; Blake Snell takes NL prizeVideo
NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole was a unanimous winner of his first American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, and Blake Snell took the National League honor to become the seventh hurler to earn baseball’s top pitching prize in both leagues. After coming close several times before, Cole finally finished...
Billy Porter hits the dance floor on his 5th album with the goal of ‘trying to heal people’Video
NEW YORK — Billy Porter is strutting off in an entirely new sonic direction on his fifth album. The Broadway, runway and TV star has pivoted to dance music. “I’m a new artist. There’s a transformation that has happened,” the Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winner tells The Associated Press. “I’ve been...
Risky plays expanding in popularity with varying degrees of success among ACC programsVideo
Plays that once seemed in vogue only with the most daring college coaches — going for it on fourth down or faking a punt in your own half of the field — seem to be expanding in popularity. Others, such as kickoff and punt returns, seem less attractive. In the...
Pennsylvania House passes ‘shield law’ to protect providers, out-of-staters seeking abortions
HARRISBURG — A bill seeking to protect those who travel to Pennsylvania to get abortions by barring public officials from cooperating with authorities in other states that criminalize the practice advanced Wednesday through the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The legislation passed 117-86. It now goes to the GOP-controlled state Senate,...
Pennsylvania’s Senate approves millions for universities and schools, but rejects House priorities
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Legislature on Wednesday approved hundreds of millions of dollars for universities after a fight that has dragged on five months into the fiscal year, although the politically divided body continued to feud over elements of school funding. Legislation to send just over $600 million to several higher...
A man arrested over death of Adam Johnson whose neck was cut with skate blade is released on bail
LONDON — A man who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of American ice hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut by a skate during a game, was released on bail Wednesday. Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers on Oct....
Trump’s lawyers want a mistrial in his New York civil fraud case. They claim the judge is biased
NEW YORK — Lawyers for Donald Trump asked for a mistrial Wednesday in the New York civil fraud case that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. They accuse the judge of tainting the proceedings with “tangible and overwhelming” bias. Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Arthur Engoron to stop the case...
Sen. Joe Manchin says Donald Trump would destroy U.S. democracy if he wins 2nd term as presidentVideo
WASHINGTON — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, days removed from announcing he won’t seek reelection, said Wednesday that if the nation’s voters give former President Donald Trump another term in the White House, “he will destroy democracy in America.” Manchin, whose home state voters overwhelmingly backed Trump in the last...
Senate looks to speed ahead on temporary funding to avert government shutdown through the holidays
WASHINGTON — The Senate was pushing toward a swift vote Wednesday on a temporary government funding package as lawmakers sought to keep the holiday season free from any suspense over a government shutdown. Senators were trying to speed forward on the funding package one day after it passed the House...
Lawyer for former elections supervisor says he released videos in Georgia election caseVideo
ATLANTA — A lawyer for a former elections director charged alongside former President Donald Trump and others over efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election said Wednesday that he released videos of prosecutors’ interviews with some of their codefendants because he thought they helped his client and the public had the...
Ravens, Bengals meet in prime time in crucial AFC North showdownVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are in a familiar spot — leading the AFC North through Week 10. The past two seasons, they’ve been passed down the stretch by Cincinnati. A win this week would make that prospect a good deal less likely in 2023....
Nikki Haley walks back her demand that social media ban anonymous posters after facing GOP backlash
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley on Wednesday partially walked back her proposed requirement that social media companies ban people from posting anonymously online for national security reasons, a stance for which she drew backlash across conservative social media and some of her GOP presidential rivals. The former United Nations ambassador’s...

