Stories by Associated Press

Records: Mail Delivery Lags Behind Targets as Election Nears

Data obtained by The Associated Press shows postal districts are missing by wide margins the Postal Service's goals for on-time delivery, raising the possibility that scores of mailed ballots could miss deadlines for reaching local election offices.

In Breonna Taylor Case, Limits of Law Overcome Calls for Justice

“Criminal law is not meant to respond to every sorrow and grief,” Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the first African American elected to the job in Kentucky, told reporters after the grand jury announced its decision on Wednesday.

Police Officers Not Charged For Killing Breonna Taylor

A Kentucky grand jury on Wednesday brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong.

Trump Won’t Commit to Peaceful Transfer of Power if He Loses

President Donald Trump on Wednesday again declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Gale Sayers, Bears Hall of Fame Running Back, Dies at 77

Nicknamed “The Kansas Comet” and considered among the best open-field runners the game has ever seen, Gale Sayers died Wednesday, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

House Easily Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Averting Shutdown

In a sweeping bipartisan vote that takes a government shutdown off the table, the House passed a temporary government-wide funding bill Tuesday night, shortly after President Donald Trump prevailed in a behind-the-scenes fight over his farm bailout.

Senate GOP Lines Up With Trump to Quickly Fill Court Seat

Votes in hand, Senate Republicans are charging ahead with plans to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s  Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election.

High Court Front-Runner Hailed By Right, Feared By Left

Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic, is a federal appellate judge in Chicago who has established herself as a reliable conservative on hot-button legal issues from abortion to gun control. 

GOP Hopeful Supreme Court Battle Will Help Shift Election

Just 44 days before President Donald Trump’s reelection will be decided, Republicans are looking to a Supreme Court nomination fight to unite a deeply fractured party as it faces the very real possibility of losing the White House.

US Household Wealth Hits Record Even as Economy Struggles

The Federal Reserve said Monday that Americans’ household net worth jumped nearly 7% in the April-June quarter to $119 trillion. That figure had sunk to $111.3 trillion in the first quarter, when the coronavirus battered the economy.

As Democrats Balk, Trump to Make High Court Pick by Saturday

President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and just days before the first presidential election debate.

Douglas Statue Comes Down, But Lincoln Had Racist Views, Too

With the nation racing to come to grips with centuries of racial sins, officials plan to remove the Capitol lawn statue of Stephen A. Douglas, whose forceful 19th century politics helped forge modern-day Illinois but who also profited from slavery.

Biden to GOP Senators: Don’t Jam Through Ginsburg Nominee

Joe Biden on Sunday slammed President Donald Trump and leading Senate Republicans for trying to jam through a replacement for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump Backs Proposed Deal to Keep TikTok Operating in US

President Donald Trump said Saturday he’s given his “blessing” to a proposed deal that would see the popular video-sharing app TikTok partner with Oracle and Walmart and form a U.S. company. 

A Rapper, An Elevator and An Elephant: Stories Ginsburg Told

In recent years Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was surprised to find herself so popular that “everyone wants to take a picture with me.” The justice, who died Friday at 87, had become a feminist icon.

Trump to Senate: Vote ‘Without Delay’ on His High Court Pick

President Donald Trump on Saturday urged the Republican-run Senate to consider “without delay” his upcoming nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the election.

How Ginsburg’s Death Could Reshape the Presidential Campaign

A presidential campaign that was already tugging at the nation’s most searing divides has been jolted by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, potentially reshaping the election.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies at 87

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a diminutive yet towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice, died Friday at her home in Washington. She was 87.

Father Gets 30 Years After Plea in Death of Illinois Boy, 5

A northern Illinois man who was charged with murder for his role in the beating death of his 5-year-old son, Andrew “AJ” Freund, pleaded guilty Friday to reduced charges and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

US Bans WeChat, TikTok From App Stores, Threatens Shutdowns

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it will ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores on Sunday and will bar the apps from accessing essential internet services in the U.S.

CDC Drops Controversial Testing Advice That Caused Backlash

U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested.

US Judge Blocks Postal Service Changes that Slowed Mail

A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election.

Infection Rates Soar in College Towns as Students Return

Among the 50 large U.S. counties with the highest percentages of student residents, 20 have consistently reported higher rates of new coronavirus cases than their states have since Sept. 1, according to an Associated Press analysis.

COVID-19 Danger Continues to Drive Joblessness in US

Before the pandemic hit the economy, the number signing up for jobless aid had never exceeded 700,000 in a week, even during the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Now they've topped 700,000 for 26 straight weeks.

US Outlines Sweeping Plan to Provide Free COVID-19 Vaccines

In a report to Congress and an accompanying “playbook” for states and localities, federal health agencies sketched out complex plans for a vaccination campaign to begin gradually in January or even late this year.

Big Ten Changes Course, Aims For October Start to Football

Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday and said it plans to begin its season the weekend of Oct. 24. 
 

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