Associated Press stories, Page 2163
Trump defies governor, heads to Maine where protesters await
GUILFORD, Maine — President Donald Trump’s first trip to Maine as president was meant to showcase the administration’s work to fight the coronavirus but it attracted hundreds of supporters and opponents of Trump who turned out Friday to demonstrate amid the national upheaval over the death of George Floyd. The...
Cedar Point, Kalahari Resorts sue Ohio over coronavirus restrictions
Three Ohio amusement and water parks are arguing that the state’s Department of Health does not have the constitutional authority to keep them closed despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to a lawsuit filed Friday. The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, which filed the suit on behalf of Cedar Point, Kalahari...
Minneapolis to ban police chokeholds in wake of Floyd deathVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Negotiators for the city of Minneapolis have agreed with the state to ban the use of chokeholds by police and to require police to report and intervene anytime they see an unauthorized use of force by another officer. The moves are part of a stipulation between the city...
West Virginia governor removes fire commissioner over social media posts
A West Virginia fire commissioner has been removed over “inappropriate and inflammatory” social media posts, Gov. Jim Justice said. Martin Hess was removed Thursday from the West Virginia State Fire Commission after Justice was made aware of various recent posts, the governor said in a statement. The brief statement did...
DC paints huge Black Lives Matter mural near White House
WASHINGTON — City workers and activists painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the the street leading to the White House, a highly visible sign of the District of Columbia’s embrace of a protest movement that has put it at odds with President Donald Trump....
German basketball returns in bubble format, protests likely
DÜSSELDORF, Germany — With teams living in a bubble, no fans in the arena and likely anti-racism protests on the court, German basketball will show how the NBA’s future could look. The Basketball Bundesliga, or the BBL for short, returns Saturday after a three-month break caused by the coronavirus pandemic...
Officers suspended after man, 75, is shoved on video, bleeds
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Prosecutors investigated Friday after a television crew captured a police officer in Buffalo shoving a 75-year-old man who then falls and cracks his head, a confrontation that resulted in the suspension of two officers. The video from WFBO of Thursday night’s encounter, which happened near the conclusion...
Virginia city removes 176-year-old slave auction block
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — A 176-year-old slave auction block has been removed from a Virginia city’s downtown. The 800-pound stone was pulled from the ground at a Fredericksburg street corner early Friday after the removal was delayed for months by lawsuits and the coronavirus pandemic, The Free Lance-Star reported. The weathered...
Putin chastises Russian tycoon over massive Arctic oil spillVideo
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday chastised the billionaire owner of a nickel giant for negligence over a massive fuel oil spill that has inflicted huge damage on a fragile Arctic region. An estimated 20,000 tons of diesel oil spilled into the Ambarnaya River last Friday from a...
Authorities: Man, 13-year-old girl slain in Akron shooting
AKRON, Ohio — A shooting in a northern Ohio city has left a man and a 13-year-old girl dead. Akron police said the victims were found shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday when officers responded to reports of shots fired. The 24-year-old man and the girl were both pronounced dead at...
Unemployment rate falls to 13.3%, with 2.5 million jobs addedVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 13.3% — still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression — as states loosened their coronavirus lockdowns and businesses began recalling workers. The government said Friday that the economy added 2.5 million jobs last month,...
Gabrielle Union files complaint against NBC, ‘America’s Got Talent’
Gabrielle Union filed a complaint Thursday with the state of California against NBC and the producers of “America’s Got Talent,” the latest move in a fight over her allegations that she was fired for objecting to an on-set environment that tolerated racism. The complaint filed with the Department of Fair...
7 people found dead inside burning house in Alabama
VALHERMOSO SPRINGS, Ala. — Deputies responding to a call about a shooting in Alabama early Friday found seven people dead inside a home and the house on fire, WHNT-TV reported. Morgan County deputies were able to put out the fire before firefighters got to the scene, and that’s when they...
Deputies investigate cross burning on bridge in Alabama
TUSKEGEE, Ala. — Deputies in Alabama are investigating a cross burning after a wooden cross lit ablaze was found by drivers passing alongside a bridge. The burning cross was first seen stationed on top of a bridge over Interstate 85 in Macon County Thursday night, Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson...
2 Buffalo officers suspended after video shows man apparently shovedVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Prosecutors investigated Friday after a television crew captured a police officer in Buffalo shoving a 75-year-old man who then falls and cracks his head, a confrontation that resulted in the suspension of two officers. The video from WFBO of Thursday night’s encounter, which happened near the conclusion...
JC Penney closing 154 stores in 1st post-bankruptcy phase
J.C. Penney said Thursday that it will start closing 154 of its stores next week in what it is calling the first phase of its efforts to shrink its footprint. The Plano, Texas-based retailer said it could take about 10 to 16 weeks to complete the closures. A list of...
Utah man accused of pointing bow and arrow at protesters chargedVideo
A man captured on video aiming a bow and arrow at protesters in Salt Lake City over the weekend was charged Thursday with assault and weapon possession. Brandon McCormick, 57, of Taylorsville, was reportedly pushed to the ground on Saturday after shouting “All lives matter!” and pointing the weapon at...
Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations continue surging in TexasVideo
AUSTIN — Reported coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continued to surge Thursday in Texas as Gov. Greg Abbott continues his phased reopening of the state’s economic activity. The Department of State Health Services said 1,649 more cases of covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, were reported to the state...
Oregon State dismisses player after racist chat surfacesVideo
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State dismissed a tight end after a recording surfaced of the player making racist and bigoted comments some three years ago. Upon learning of the comments made by redshirt freshman Rocco Carley, Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith took the matter to athletic director Scott Barnes. “We...
ACLU sues Trump administration over police force on protesters near White House
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration Thursday, alleging officials violated the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed from a park near the White House by police using chemical agents before President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo. The...
Emotions run high as anti-lynching bill stalls in SenateVideo
WASHINGTON — A Senate impasse over a widely backed bill to designate lynching as a federal hate crime boiled over on Thursday in an emotional debate cast against a backdrop of widespread protests over police treatment of African Americans. Raw feelings were evident as Sen. Rand Paul — who is...
Texas GOP official urged to resign over George Floyd social media post
SAN ANTONIO — The GOP chairwoman of one of Texas’ largest counties faced widespread pressure from her party to resign Thursday for floating a conspiracy theory on social media suggesting that George Floyd’s death was staged. Cynthia Brehm is head of the Bexar County Republican Party in San Antonio. She...
MLS players express concerns over returning to play
ATLANTA — The first day of small group training for Atlanta United and three other MLS teams was accompanied by ongoing worries from veteran defender Jeff Larentowicz about plans for a MLS tournament in Florida. The first-day participation was voluntary, and there was no contact as social distancing continued to...
NASCAR schedule gets another set of revisionsVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s All-Star Race will be a midweek event July 15 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of a revision to the schedule that runs through the first weekend of August. NASCAR already has rescheduled races through June 21, and the update released Thursday begins the next weekend...
Lancet study on safety of malaria drugs for coronavirus retracted
Several authors of a large study that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs for coronavirus patients have retracted the report, saying independent reviewers were not able to verify information that’s been widely questioned by other scientists. The retraction Thursday in the journal Lancet involved a May 22 report on hydroxychloroquine...
