Associated Press stories, Page 1623
Hashimoto: ‘No spectators’ still possible for Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO — A “no-spectator games” remains an option for the Tokyo Olympics, which open officially in just four weeks, the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Friday. The admission by Seiko Hashimoto comes only four days after she announced on Monday that up to 10,000 local fans would...
Russia launches Mediterranean drills amid rift with Britain
MOSCOW — The Russian military on Friday launched sweeping maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea featuring warplanes capable of carrying hypersonic missiles, a show of force amid a surge in tensions following an incident with a British destroyer in the Black Sea. Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots...
2019 champion Simona Halep out of Wimbledon with calf injury
WIMBLEDON, England — Simona Halep did not get the chance to defend her 2019 Wimbledon title a year ago because the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic. Now an injury will prevent her from competing when play begins at the All England Club next week. Halep announced shortly before...
Derek Chauvin gets 22 1/2 years in prison for George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Friday to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. The punishment — which came after Chauvin broke...
Death toll in South Florida condo collapse rises to 4; 159 still missing
SURFSIDE, Fla. — About 160 people were still unaccounted for Friday a day after an oceanside condominium building collapsed into a pile of rubble, and searchers combing through a twisted, shifting pile of concrete and metal feared the death toll of at least four could go much higher. With scores...
Mike Pence: Idea of overturning election results is ‘un-American’
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Former Vice President Mike Pence has defended his role in certifying the results of the 2020 election, saying he’s “proud” of what he did on Jan. 6 and declaring there’s “almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American...
On border tour, VP Kamala Harris cites ‘progress’ in ‘tough’ situation
EL PASO, Texas — Vice President Kamala Harris asserted Friday that the Biden administration had made progress tackling a migration spike that’s drawn fire from Republicans and made fellow Democrats uncomfortable. Her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border as head of the Biden administration’s response is being closely watched on...
4 Cubs pitchers combine to throw MLB’s record-tying 7th official no-hitter of season
LOS ANGELES — Zach Davies and three Chicago Cubs relievers combined for the seventh official no-hitter in the majors this year, blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 Thursday night and tying the record for most in a single baseball season since 1900. The Dodgers drew eight walks, getting at least...
Canadiens finish off Golden Knights in 6 games, reach Stanley Cup Final
MONTREAL — Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:39 into overtime, Carey Price stopped 37 shots, and the Montreal Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years following a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Cole Caufield and captain Shea Weber also scored,...
Judge appears skeptical over effort to dismiss Dominion lawsuit
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday appeared skeptical of arguments to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over baseless 2020 election claims made by Trump allies Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and the MyPillow Guy. The voting system company sued the trio for $1.3 billion each after...
Satoshi Kodaira, Kramer Hicko each shoot 63 to share Travelers leadVideo
CROMWELL, Conn. — Satoshi Kodaira and Kramer Hickok each shot a PGA Tour career-best 7-under-par 63 to share the first-round lead Thursday in the Travelers Championship. Talor Gooch was a stroke behind Hickok after the morning rounds. Kodaira took the lead at 8-under in the afternoon after making the turn...
Alternate helmets returning to NFL in 2022 after 9-year pause
NEW YORK — The NFL is bringing back alternate helmets in 2022, ending a nine-year hiatus that started because of concerns about player safety. The league wrote to clubs in a memo dated Thursday that it must be notified of plans to use alternate helmets by July 31 even though...
Rick Carlisle takes over Pacers for 2nd time after leaving MavericksVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — When Kevin Pritchard hired a new coach in October, he took a calculated risk. This time, the Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations went for the known commodity. Pritchard hired longtime Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on Thursday, reuniting the 61-year-old with the team that helped relaunch his...
Stocks add to weekly gains, helped by infrastructure dealVideo
Stocks closed higher Thursday on Wall Street as traders were encouraged to see a bipartisan deal on infrastructure spending as well as some positive reports on the economy. The S&P 500 marked another record high, beating the peak it set early last week. Stocks added to their gains in the...
Jersey boys: MLB to use unique uniforms for All-Star Game
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is getting rid of club uniforms and caps for the All-Star Game in favor of specially-designed league outfits. MLB released the looks Thursday that will be used for the July 13 game at Denver’s Coors Field. The host National League has white jerseys and...
Report: More than 600 bodies found at Indigenous school in CanadaVideo
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Leaders of Indigenous groups in Canada said Thursday investigators have found more than 600 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school for Indigenous children — a discovery that follows last month’s report of 215 bodies found at another school. The bodies were discovered...
Affidavit: FBI feared Pennsylvania would seize fabled gold
An FBI agent applied for a federal warrant in 2018 to seize a fabled cache of U.S. government gold he said was “stolen during the Civil War” and hidden in a Pennsylvania cave, saying the state might take the gold for itself if the feds asked for permission, according to...
Lawmakers OK letting Pa. students repeat year because of covid
HARRISBURG — Lawmakers made a final vote Thursday to approve a bill to let parents decide whether to have their children repeat a year of school, a measure designed to help children catch up after a year of schooling disrupted by the pandemic. The Senate voted 50-0 for the proposal,...
Pacific Northwest braces for record-breaking heat waveVideo
SPOKANE, Wash. — Record-high heat is forecast in the normally mild-weathered Pacific Northwest this weekend, raising concerns about wildfires and the health of people in a region where many people don’t have air conditioning. City officials in Seattle were opening libraries as cooling centers and crews were being sent to...
Explainer: What exactly is critical race theory?
RALEIGH, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump has railed against it. Republicans in the U.S. Senate introduced a resolution condemning any requirement for teachers to be trained in it. And several Republican-controlled states have invoked it in legislation restricting how race can be taught in public schools. The concept known...
‘We have deal’: Biden, bipartisan senators on infrastructure
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that “we have a deal,” signaling a bipartisan agreement on a $953 billion infrastructure plan that would achieve his top legislative priority and validate his efforts to reach across the political aisle. Biden made a surprise appearance in front of the cameras...
Biden administration extends eviction moratorium for a month
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has extended the nationwide ban on evictions for a month to help tenants who are unable to make rent payments during the coronavirus pandemic, but it said this is expected to be the last time it does so. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers...
U.S. plans to evacuate thousands of Afghans who helped U.S.
The Biden administration plans to evacuate tens of thousands of Afghan interpreters and others who worked with U.S. forces during the war while their applications for U.S. entry are processed, according to officials familiar with the matter. A senior administration official said planning has accelerated in recent days to relocate...
Boom in Native American oil complicates Biden climate push
NEW TOWN, N.D. — On oil well pads carved from the wheat fields around Lake Sakakawea, hundreds of pump jacks slowly bob to extract 100 million barrels of crude annually from a reservation shared by three Native American tribes. About half their 16,000 members live on the Fort Berthold Indian...
120,000-year-old fossils in Israel link to human family tree
WASHINGTON — Bones found in an Israeli quarry are from a branch of the human evolutionary tree and are 120,000 to 140,000 years old, scientists reported Thursday. A team of anthropologists spent years analyzing the fragments of a skull, lower jaw bone and tooth that were uncovered in Nesher Ramla...
