Associated Press stories, Page 2099
Twitter permanently bans former KKK leader David Duke
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has been banned from Twitter for breaking the social media platform’s site’s rules forbidding hate speech. The company said Friday that Duke’s account “has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter rules on hateful conduct.” It didn’t specify what exactly Duke...
Doctors try pressurized oxygen chambers in covid fight
As a New York University medical researcher who works once a week in an emergency room, Dr. David Lee had the luxury of time to think like a scientist while also treating coronavirus patients whose lungs kept giving out. In every case, he saw the same thing: Their blood was...
U.S. consumer spending up 5.6%, but virus could stall gains
WASHINGTON — American consumers increased their spending in June by a solid 5.6%, helping regain some of record plunge that occurred after the coronavirus struck hard in March and paralyzed the economy. But the virus’ resurgence in much of the country could impede further gains. Last month’s rise in consumer...
Game On: NHL restart a small step toward return to normalcy
TORONTO — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman took a short break from watching the final few exhibition games Thursday to ponder the significance of awarding the Stanley Cup some two months from now — should all go as planned. The magnitude of the task it took to simply reach the cusp...
Sleepy lions, empty bars, lost jobs: A world without tourism
PARIS — With no American visitors to show around the D-Day beaches or the Loire Valley’s chateaux, and no work on the immediate horizon, Paris tour guide Linda Zenou frets about how she’ll pay off a loan and continue to care for her ailing mother in the achingly lean months...
Judge bans lawyers from identifying Epstein abuse victims
NEW YORK — The judge presiding over the criminal case against a British socialite charged with recruiting teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse said Friday that her attorneys are not permitted to publicly identify accusers even if they’ve spoken in a public forum. “Not all accusations or...
‘Into the Wild’ bus likely lands a home at Fairbanks museum
An infamous bus appears headed to a new home at a museum in Fairbanks after being removed from Alaska’s backcountry to deter people from making dangerous, sometimes deadly treks to visit the site where a young man documented his demise in 1992. The state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday...
Exxon lost $1B in second quarter as oil use dries up
NEW YORK — Exxon lost $1.1 billion in the second quarter, its economic pain deepening as the pandemic kept households on lockdown, diminishing the need for oil around the world. The Irving, Texas-based oil giant brought in $32.6 billion in revenue during the second quarter, less than half of what...
Indian police say tainted liquor kills at least 21 people
NEW DELHI — Indian police said Friday that at least 21 people have died in a northern state over the past three days after drinking tainted alcohol. The police chief for Punjab state, Dinkar Gupta, said the first five deaths were reported on Wednesday night in two villages in Amritsar...
Hong Kong government postpones elections, citing coronavirusVideo
HONG KONG — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Friday that the government will postpone highly anticipated legislative elections, citing a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The Hong Kong government is invoking an emergency regulations ordinance in delaying the elections. Lam said the government has the support...
Supreme leader says Iran won’t negotiate with U.S.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday his country will not negotiate with the United States because America would only use talks for propaganda purposes. The Trump administration has said it is willing to talk with Iran “with no preconditions,” but that the U.S. will continue...
1 Marine dead, 2 injured, 8 missing after vehicle accident
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — One Marine has died, two injured and eight others were missing after an amphibious assault vehicle accident off the coast of southern California, the Marines said early Friday. The accident happened Thursday and search and rescue efforts were underway Friday morning with support from the Navy...
Trump, GOP suggest temporary fix for $600 jobless benefitVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House and some of its Republican allies in the Senate are signaling they want to extend, at least temporarily, a $600-per-week expanded jobless benefit that has helped keep families and the economy afloat during the covid-19 pandemic. The move looks to be too little, too late...
Ellen DeGeneres apologizes to show’s staff amid workplace inquiry
LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres apologized to the staff of her daytime TV talk show amid an internal company investigation of complaints of a difficult and unfair workplace. “On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place...
Amid the pandemic, Big Tech reports mixed earningsVideo
Big Tech companies reported mixed quarterly earnings on Thursday, a day after their top executives faced a tough congressional grilling over their market power and alleged monopolistic practices. All four were affected by the pandemic, although in strikingly different ways. Google and Facebook reported slowing growth in the April-June quarter...
Koepka cards best round of year for lead at WGC; Peters native Todd 1 backVideo
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Defending champion Brooks Koepka matched his career best with an 8-under-par 62 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler and Peters Township native Brendon Todd in the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Koepka had nine birdies and a bogey on a windy day at TPC...
Trump nominee hearing pulled after furor over Islam remarks
WASHINGTON — A Senate committee abruptly canceled a confirmation hearing Thursday on a controversial former general’s nomination to a top Pentagon post after a furor over offensive remarks he made about Islam and other inflammatory comments. The nomination of retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata to be the Pentagon’s under...
Stefanski preaches patience as Browns ramp up in unique campVideo
CLEVELAND — Instead of a whistle dangling from his neck, Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wears a sensor that blinks and beeps whenever he’s within 6 feet of someone in the team’s facility. Nothing could have prepared him for his first training camp in Cleveland. Stefanski said Thursday he still...
Blue Jays manager: Series at Phillies off because of covid-19Video
NEW YORK — Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Thursday his team’s series at Philadelphia scheduled for this weekend was called off because of concerns about the coronavirus after two Phillies staffers tested positive. “Our plans right now are to stay put and let MLB work through whatever they’re...
Prosecutor: No charges for officer in Michael Brown’s death
CLAYTON, Mo. — St. Louis County’s top prosecutor announced Thursday that he will not charge the former police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., a dramatic decision that could reopen old wounds amid a renewed and intense national conversation about racial injustice and the police treatment of...
1st dog that tested positive for covid-19 dies in New York
NEW YORK — A German shepherd in New York that had the first confirmed case of covid-19 in a dog in the U.S. has died. Robert and Allison Mahoney of Staten Island told National Geographic that their 7-year-old shepherd, Buddy, developed breathing problems in mid-April after Robert had been sick...
SEC football goes to conference-only schedule with Sept. 26 start
The powerhouse Southeastern Conference announced Thursday that it will play only league games in 2020, a pandemic-forced decision that pushes major college football closer to a siloed regular season in which none of the power conferences cross paths. The SEC’s university presidents agreed on a 10-game schedule that eliminates all...
At John Lewis funeral, Obama calls for renewing Voting Rights ActVideo
ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama used Rep. John Lewis’ funeral on Thursday to issue a stark warning that the voting rights and equal opportunity the late civil rights icon championed are threatened heading into the 2020 election. Speaking from the pulpit of the church that Martin Luther King Jr....
Philadelphia trash piles up as pandemic stymies its removal
What would Ben Franklin think? The Founding Father who launched one of America’s first street-sweeping programs in Philadelphia in the late 1750s would see and smell piles of fly-infested, rotting household waste, bottles and cans as the city that he called home struggles to overcome a surge in garbage caused...
‘Stain on the House’: Ohio reps oust GOP speaker Larry Householder amid probe
COLUMBUS — In a historic, unanimous and bipartisan vote Thursday, the Ohio House ousted its Republican speaker as the chamber’s top leader following his indictment in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme. Rep. Larry Householder is the first Ohio House speaker ever removed by the chamber, according to the Ohio...
