Associated Press stories, Page 2193
Georgia AG requests federal probe in handling of Ahmaud Arbery caseVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia’s attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who authorities say died at the hands of two white men as he ran through a neighborhood. Arbery was killed Feb. 23, 2020. No...
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem tells tribes to open roads, calls Smithfield workers
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told tribes to take down road checkpoints they had set up to keep out unnecessary visitors because of concerns over the coronavirus. The Republican governor said Friday she would take legal action if the tribes didn’t remove the checkpoints in 48...
Sen. Chuck Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets
WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said the VA needs...
N.Y. to require virus testing for nursing home staffersVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York nursing homes must start twice-weekly coronavirus testing for all staffers and will no longer be sent covid-19 patients leaving hospitals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday after facing criticism over the handling of nursing facility outbreaks. New York City is responding to complaints about racial disparities...
U.K. easing some coronavirus lockdown restrictionsVideo
LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a modest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown Sunday and outlined his government’s roadmap for further lifting restrictions in the coming months. In a televised address, Johnson said people in Britain who can’t work from home, such as those in construction or...
Surfer killed in shark attack was California man, 26
APTOS, Calif. — A surfer killed in a shark attack off a Northern California beach has been identified as a 26-year-old man who lived in the area, officials said. The victim was surfing near Manresa State Beach on the northern end of Monterey Bay on Saturday afternoon when he was...
National parks visitors should plan for ‘new normal’
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Utah — After closing amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Park Service is testing public access at several parks across the nation, including two in Utah, with limited offerings and services. Visitor centers and campgrounds remain largely shuttered at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef, but visitors...
Store workers become enforcers of social distancing rules
NEW YORK — Sandy Jensen’s customer-service job at a Sam’s Club in Fullerton, California, normally involves checking member ID cards at the door and answering questions. But the coronavirus has turned her into a kind of store sheriff. Now she must confront shoppers who aren’t wearing masks and enforce social...
As Trump pulls back from virus, Congress races to fill void
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump tries to moves on from the coronavirus, Congress is rushing to fill the void and prepare the country for the long fight ahead. Jolted by the lack of comprehensive federal planning as states begin to reopen, lawmakers of both parties, from the senior-most senators...
What’s new and notable in outdoor grills
Barbecue season couldn’t be more welcome this year. Grilling is a way to change things up and expand the menu and the view for those stuck at home because of the coronavirus. “Eating out” means the patio, yard or balcony, if you have one. There’s all kinds of stylish and...
Mixed feelings around hockey about holding NHL Draft earlyVideo
The NFL’s successful virtual draft and uncertainty surrounding the resumption of hockey this season have raised the possibility of an NHL Draft held before the Stanley Cup Final. After postponing its draft scheduled for June 26-27 in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL is considering having it earlier in...
2 members of White House virus task force in quarantine
WASHINGTON — Two members of the White House coronavirus task force placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for...
Barack Obama lashes out at President Donald Trump in call with supporters
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster” during a conversation with ex-members of his administration, according to a recording obtained by Yahoo News. Obama also reacted to the Justice Department dropping its criminal case against Trump’s...
Last surviving player from ‘A League of Their Own’ team diesVideo
Mary Pratt, who played for the Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, died. She was 101. Pratt died Wednesday. Her nephew, Walter Pratt, told The Patriot Ledger she passed away peacefully at a nursing home. Pratt pitched in the women’s league from 1943-47. The...
Elon Musk threatens to exit California over coronavirus restrictions
Tesla CEO Elon Musk threatened Saturday to pull the company’s factory and headquarters out of California in an escalating spat with local officials who have stopped the company from reopening its electric vehicle factory. On Twitter, Musk also threatened to sue over Alameda County Health Department coronavirus restrictions that have...
Documents show top White House officials buried CDC report on reopening communities
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation’s top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press. The files also show that after the AP...
Trump administration tightens visas for Chinese reporters
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, as tensions flare between the two nations over the coronavirus. The Department of Homeland Security has issued new regulations, set to take effect Monday, that will limit visas...
Drug remdesivir being shipped to six states to help combat coronavirus
WASHINGTON — The federal government is sending supplies of the first drug that appears to help speed the recovery of some covid-19 patients to six states, where it will be distributed by health departments. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Saturday that it is delivering 140 cases...
Wintry weather: Polar vortex brings rare May snow, low temps to Eastern US
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Mother’s Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in the Northeast on Saturday thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air down from the north. Some higher elevation areas in northern New York and New England reported snowfall accumulations of up to 10 inches, while...
US approves new coronavirus antigen test with fast results
U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of...
Belarus holds Victory Day parade, disregarding coronavirus concerns
MINSK, Belarus — The eastern European nation of Belarus held a full-fledged military parade Saturday to mark Victory Day, shrugging off safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic that led Russia to curtail its own long-planned 75th anniversary observances. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the parade route as some 3,000...
Little Richard, flamboyant rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, dead at 87
NASHVILLE — Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87. Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that...
Lawns are the new wedding venue in the age of coronavirus
NEW YORK — Love in the age of coronavirus sometimes requires a lawn. Couples with dashed wedding plans due to lockdown restrictions have been tying the knot on those tidy green spreads instead, including at least one loaner. Danielle Cartaxo and Ryan Cignarella were supposed to get married in West...
Court halts ban on mass gatherings at Kentucky churches
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A federal court halted the Kentucky governor’s temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Friday issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration from enforcing the...
‘It’s gone haywire’: When COVID-19 arrived in rural America
DAWSON, Ga. — The reverend approached the makeshift pulpit and asked the Lord to help him make some sense of the scene before him: two caskets, side by side, in a small-town cemetery busier now than ever before. Rev. Willard O. Weston had already eulogized other neighbors lost to COVID-19,...
