Ingested Articles

Connor McDavid needs seven points in Edmonton's final five games to reach 100 in the NHL's 56-game season. It's a milestone that could go down in hockey history alongside Wayne Gretzky's 50 goals in 39 games. But the Oilers captain is far more worried about being in prime form when the playoffs begin. It'll be just the second true playoff appearance in six seasons for someone widely believed to be the best hockey player in the world. McDavid is the front-runner for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and hungry to chase the Stanley Cup.

A Native American tribe in northern Montana is giving unused COVID-19 vaccines to its First Nations relatives and others from neighboring communities in Canada. The effort by the Blackfeet Nation illustrates the disparity in speed at which the United States and Canada are distributing the vaccine. More than 30% of adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, while in Canada that figure is around 3%. Most eligible citizens of the Blackfeet Nation are vaccinated, and the tribe didn’t want to waste a surplus of vaccines. It created a distribution plan and last month gave out about 1,000 vaccines at the Piegan Port of Entry.

EYEMOUTH, Scotland (AP) — James Cook was an enthusiastic supporter of Scottish independence, but now he’s not so sure. As Scotland holds an election Thursday that could be a stepping stone to the breakup of the United Kingdom, the seafood…

A jury in Rome is deliberating the fates of two young American men who are charged with killing an Italian police officer while they were on summer vacation in 2019. Finnegan Lee Elder, who is 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, who is 20, were indicted on charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause. The presiding judge indicated the verdicts could come later Wednesday or on Thursday. Prosecutors alleged that Elder stabbed Vice Bridgadier Mario Cerciello Rega 11 times with a knife he brought with him on his trip to Europe from California and that Natale-Hjorth helped him hide the knife in their hotel room.  

Getting to the remote South Atlantic island where Napoleon died 200 years ago got even harder during the coronavirus pandemic. So while commemorations of the May 5, 1821 death of the deposed French emperor on British-ruled St. Helena are going…

When Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Ukraine this week he’ll be carrying a tough anti-graft message and strong U.S. backing for the country’s response to Russian aggression. Blinken will also be taking along a familiar face in the Washington-Moscow tug-of-war over Ukraine: Victoria Nuland, now the No. 3 State Department official. The one-day stop comes at a time of heightened U.S. tensions with Russia. The mere presence in Kyiv of Nuland is likely to irritate Russia. Nuland is a Russia hawk who was a target of Moscow’s attacks on the U.S. during the Obama administration.

BANGKOK (AP) — Health officials rushed to vaccinate thousands of people in Bangkok's biggest slum on Wednesday as new COVID-19 cases spread through densely populated low-income areas in the capital's central business district. The government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha…

BERLIN (AP) — The German government on Wednesday banned a Muslim organization that it accused of supporting "terrorism globally with its donations." Police raided buildings associated with Ansaar International in 10 German states, the German Interior Ministry said in a…

The Mets will see how ace Jacob deGrom fares this week after being scratched from his scheduled start at St. Louis when he had trouble getting loose during a pregame stretch. The team said deGrom had inflammation in his right lat and wouldn’t throw for the next few days. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner has been baseball’s most dominant pitcher this season. Also, Washington star Juan Soto will be limited to pinch-hitting duty for now after coming off the injured list, and Shohei Ohtani is set to pitch again after a two-day delay because he got hit on the right elbow by a fastball last weekend.

Sixty years after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, everyday people are on the verge of following in his cosmic footsteps. Jeff Bezos is using Wednesday's anniversary to open ticket sales for his Blue Origin company. Elon Musk's SpaceX will use its newly returned capsule to launch a billionaire in September, along with a pair of contest winners and a hospital worker. Shepard rocketed from Cape Canaveral on May 5, 1961. To date, 579 people have flown in space. That number is expected to soar with upcoming tourist flights.

Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge from 15 U.S. states. Scientists say Brood X (as in 10, not the letter) is one of the biggest for these bugs that come out only once every 17 years. After years quietly underground, the red-eyed black backed bugs emerge in a weird spectacle involving a race against everything trying to eat them, singing in the treetops, sex, death and plummeting to the ground. It sounds creepy but scientists say it is a sign of an ecosystem healthy enough for something that's been happening for millions of years. And it's quite a show.

Myanmar’s security forces are arresting and forcibly disappearing thousands of people, especially boys and young men, in a sweeping bid to break the back of a three-month uprising against a military takeover. An Associated Press analysis of more than 3,500 arrests since February shows the families of most of those taken do not know where they are. UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, is aware of around 1,000 cases of children or young people arbitrarily arrested and detained. It is a tactic long used to crush pro-democracy movements. The boys and young men are taken from homes and streets, under the cover of night and sometimes in the brightness of day. Some end up dead. Many are imprisoned and sometimes tortured. Many more are missing.

Clayton Kershaw lasted one inning in the shortest start of his stellar career in the opener, Trevor Bauer didn’t get through the fifth in the nightcap, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 to sweep a split doubleheader. David Bote, who tagged Kershaw for a three-run double in a 7-1 win, delivered a game-ending single in the ninth inning of the nightcap. Javier Báez hit a tying, two-run homer with two outs in the eighth. Chicago took two from the World Series champions after losing seven of nine. The Dodgers lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

Many parents and educators are excited over the news that the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by next week for youngsters ages 12 to 15. Officials are hoping that extending vaccinations to children will drive down the nation’s caseload even further and allow schools to reopen with minimal disruption this fall. It could also reassure parents and teachers alike. While children are less likely to get seriously ill from the coronavirus, they can still get sick and spread it to others, too.

Dylan Cease pitched one-hit ball for six innings, struck out 11 and amazingly got three hits in his first pro plate appearances as the Chicago White Sox routed the Cincinnati Reds 9-0. It was a historic night at the plate for Cease, who doubled and singled twice before getting pulled for a pinch-hitter. Cease is the first American League pitcher since Jarrod Washburn in 2001 to have a three-hit game. He is the first White Sox pitcher with three hits in a game since Tom Bradley on May 14, 1972, a year before the designated hitter came into play. Jose Abreu homered as the White Sox won for the eighth time in 11 games.

Despite clear signs India was being swamped by another surge of coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government refused to cancel a major Hindu festival and held election rallies with thousands of unmasked supporters. Even cricket matches with spectators went forward. The burgeoning crisis has badly dented Modi’s carefully cultivated image as an able technocrat with deep appeal to a middle class weary of corruption and government dysfunction. Deaths and infections are mounting as a vaccination rollout falters, with Modi pushing responsibility onto ill-supplied and unprepared state governments. His critics accuse Modi of stifling dissent and choosing politics over the public health of the world’s second most populous country.

From the nation’s capitol to Indigenous communities across the American Southwest, top government officials, family members and advocates are gathering as part of a call to action to address the ongoing problem of violence against Indigenous women and children. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is expected to commemorate the day Wednesday as a caravan of female motorcyclists take to the streets in Phoenix, New Mexico’s task force presents its latest findings, and advocates use social media to raise awareness. The first Native American to lead a U.S. cabinet agency, Haaland called May 5 an unfortunate tradition and said she feels “we are ready to solve this crisis.”

Boos and bad words streamed loudly from the seats in the Houston Astros’ return to Yankee Stadium, and New York got a homer and four hits from Giancarlo Stanton to sate those spiteful fans with a 7-3 victory. In Houston’s first visit to the Bronx since their sign-stealing scam was exposed, an error by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the sixth inning let New York blow the game open. A pandemic-limited, sellout crowd of 10,850 skipped subtle barbs for salty language, aimed especially at 2017 AL MVP Jose Altuve. Several brought signs insulting the Astros, and security confiscated multiple inflatable trash cans.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points and the Milwaukee Bucks used a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Brooklyn Nets for the second time in three days, winning 124-118. Milwaukee blew a 10-point lead in the second half and trailed 103-97 with 10 minutes left, but it responded with an 18-1 run to clinch a fifth straight playoff appearance. Brooklyn cut the margin to four with 1:02 left, but Antetokounmpo sank a pair of free throws and Jrue Holiday made a steal in the final minute to seal the victory. Kyrie Irving scored 38 points for the Nets, and Kevin Durant had 32. 

Huascar Ynoa hit a grand slam and pitched seven stress-free innings in a dominant two-way performance, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals. Ynoa blasted a fastball from Tanner Rainey 427 feet to center field in the sixth inning, extending his left arm on the follow-through like a polished slugger. It was the first grand slam by a major league pitcher since Cincinnati’s Anthony DeSclafani on June 23, 2018. Ynoa also homered in his last start and is hitting .385 this season. Ronald Acuña Jr. also homered for the Braves, who stopped a four-game skid. Washington's four-game winning streak ended.

Minor league baseball is back after a season lost to the coronavirus pandemic. From Omaha to Tampa, from San Jose to the Jersey Shore, games resumed Tuesday at all different levels. There have been significant changes to the structure of the minors and there have been new rules put in play. There was a computer calling balls and strikes at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. But the fans and crazy promotions that make minor league ball such a neat experience are back, as are the games.