John Lewis’ legacy shaped in 1965 on ‘Bloody Sunday’
SELMA, Ala. — John Lewis saw the line of Alabama state troopers a few hundred yards away as he led hundreds of marchers to the apex of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965. Armed with gas canisters and nightsticks, the troopers were flanked by horse-riding members...
Chipmunks, fattened up on acorns, are driving people nuts
There were plenty of acorns this spring, and now the chipmunks are driving people nuts. Their frenetic activities can be entertaining. But this summer in New England the varmints are making a nuisance of themselves, darting to and fro, digging holes in gardens, and tunneling under lawns. Plentiful acorns last...
Doctor in Alabama who survived covid-19 bewildered by public disregard
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Dr. Michael Saag spends much of his time treating patients fighting for their lives and working with colleagues who are overwhelmed and exhausted by the relentless battle against the covid-19 pandemic. But he enters a different world when he walks out the door of his Alabama clinic:...
Rep. John Lewis remembered for legacy of ‘good trouble’
ATLANTA — Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon and the last of the Big Six civil rights activists led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died Friday at age 80. He is being remembered by congressional colleagues, civil rights leaders and former presidents as a “titan” of the...
Pennsylvania surpasses 100,000 covid-19 cases, 1 million tests
Pennsylvania achieved an unwanted trifecta after the Department of Health released the state’s coronavirus case results Saturday. As of July 18, the Keystone State had surpassed 100,000 positive cases and 7,000 deaths after administering more than 1 million tests. There were 763 new cases and 15 new covid-19 deaths reported...
Coronavirus patients swamp emergency rooms in some U.S. states
A fast-rising rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States, with some patients moved into hallways and nurses working extra shifts to keep up with the surge. Patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in emergency wards since intensive care...
Its $11M makeover complete, the Mayflower II is sailing home
Cue the cameras: The Mayflower II is ready for its closeup and its journey home. The replica of the original Mayflower ship that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620 is preparing to embark from Connecticut after three years’ and $11.2 million worth of renovations — and several months...
John Lewis, lion of civil rights and Congress, dies at 80
ATLANTA — John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died. He was 80. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Lewis’ passing late...
Texas requests more mortuary trucks as coronavirus deaths hit triple digits for third day in a row
AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending an additional 14 refrigerated mortuary trucks to Texas as the state grapples with a rising number of coronavirus-related deaths, with state health officials reporting a record 174 new fatalities Friday. Seth Christensen, a Texas Division of Emergency Management spokesman,...
Texas deaths hit record, schools get OK for virtual classes
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas on Friday gave public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students well into the fall as the state scrambles to contain one of the largest resurgences of the coronavirus in the country. California also issued strict guidance that makes it unlikely...
Tennessee governor delays scheduled execution due to virus
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee death row inmate received a rare temporary reprieve from Gov. Bill Lee on Friday, after the Republican announced the execution would not take place this year because of the coronavirus — a reason the state’s highest court had previously dismissed as cause to delaying the...
Pentagon report: Turkey sent up to 3,800 fighters to Libya
Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters to Libya over the first three months of the year, the U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general concluded in a new report, its first to detail Turkish deployments that helped change the course of Libya’s war. The report comes as the conflict...
Jay-Z, other celebs ask feds to probe student’s 2010 killing
Rihanna, Jay-Z, Charlize Theron and other celebrities are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the death of 20-year-old Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr., a Black football player at Pace University killed by a white police officer in New York nearly a decade ago. In a letter sent this...
Mayor of Portland to Trump: Get your troops out of the city
PORTLAND, Ore. — The mayor of Portland demanded Friday that President Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets far from federal property they were sent to protect. “Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,”...
New California rules mean most schools will start online
SAN FRANCISCO — With the first day of school just weeks away in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out sweeping new rules Friday that all but ensure most of the state’s K-12 schools serving 6.7 million students will not reopen classrooms when the academic year starts. The rules also mandate...
Study: Andean condors can fly up to 100 miles without flapping wings
Talk about the path of least resistance. An observation from a recent study on flight habits of large birds followed an Andean condor that soared in the skies for 100 miles without having to flap its wings even once. Scientists tracked a soaring Andean condor for 100 miles (172 kilometers)...
Utility worker in Nebraska recovering after being impaled by steel rod
FIRTH, Neb. — A Nebraska power utility worker is recovering from surgery after being impaled by a 2-foot-long steel rod while on the job near Firth, authorities said. The incident happened Thursday afternoon while Nebraska Public Power District worker Roger Kempf, 46, and a coworker were clearing brush from underneath...
Israel to shut down on weekends in response to virus surgeVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel announced sweeping new restrictions Friday in response to a new surge in coronavirus cases, including weekend closures of many businesses and limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery. The government announced the restrictions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “interim steps” were needed to avoid another general lockdown....
Pentagon bans Confederate flag in way to avoid Trump’s wrath
After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon is banning displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn’t mention the word ban or that specific flag. The policy, laid out in a memo released Friday, was described by officials as a creative way to bar...
China moves rocket into place for upcoming Mars missionVideo
BEIJING — China has moved a rocket into position to launch a rover to Mars in one of three upcoming missions to the red planet, one from the United States and another by the United Arab Emirates. The Long March-5 carrier rocket is China’s heaviest-lift launch vehicle and has been...
Military medics deploy in California, Texas as coronavirus surges
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients, as Miami area authorities began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement — echoing efforts in many parts of the world to contain surging infections. In California, military doctors, nurses and other...
Chicago plan would have kids in classrooms 2 days per week
CHICAGO — Most Chicago children would return to the classroom two days a week and spend the other three days learning remotely once the school year begins under a tentative plan outlined Friday by officials from the nation’s third-largest school district. Chicago Public Schools officials called the proposed hybrid approach...
Queen makes veteran a knight at 100 — no kneeling requiredVideo
LONDON — In the end, Sir Tom didn’t need to rise. On a day infused with emotion, Queen Elizabeth II tapped the blade of a sword once owned by her father on the slender shoulders of 100-year-old Tom Moore, making a hero of a nation a knight of the realm...
Germany: Black Forest fugitive held after 5 days on the run
BERLIN — A man who disarmed four officers at gunpoint in southwestern Germany before fleeing into the Black Forest has been arrested after five days on the run, police said Friday. Four firearms were seized, police said in a brief statement, without giving further details of what happened. Hours earlier,...
Person in custody in killing of tech CEO who was found dismembered
NEW YORK — A person was taken into police custody Friday in the killing of a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur found dismembered inside his luxury Manhattan condo, two law enforcement officials said. The person in custody had worked as Fahim Saleh’s personal assistant, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials...
