Associated Press stories, Page 1647
State seeks 30 years for Derek Chauvin; defense wants time served
MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death, but a defense attorney is asking that Derek Chauvin be sentenced to probation and time already served, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced...
Pair flees Florida juvenile home, engages in gunbattle with deputiesVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy fled from a Florida juvenile home and broke into a house, where they found a small arsenal — a shotgun, an AK-47 and plenty of ammunition. When confronted by sheriff’s deputies, the pair opened fire, sparking a gunbattle. The gunfire...
New York transit officials confirm cyberattack; say harm limited
NEW YORK — Hackers infiltrated computer systems for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York, setting off a scramble to counter a potentially crippling cyberattack against North America’s largest transit system, MTA officials confirmed on Wednesday. The officials said in a statement that that agency received an alert from the...
Netanyahu opponents reach coalition deal to oust Israeli PM
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents announced Wednesday that they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the longtime Israeli leader. The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came shortly before...
Ohio teen says coaches forced him to eat pork despite beliefs
CANTON, Ohio — An attorney for an Ohio high school football player who says coaches forced him to eat pork in violation of his religious beliefs for missing a voluntary workout has announced plans to sue the school district. Canton McKinley head football coach Marcus Wattley and seven assistant coaches...
Prosecutors drop case against New York man charged in Capitol riot
Federal prosecutors have dropped the criminal case against a New York man who was accused of participating in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, in what appears to be the first such move by the Justice Department in its sprawling Jan. 6 prosecution. The dismissal of the case against Christopher...
Japan’s vaccine push ahead of Olympics looks to be too late
TOKYO — It may be too little, too late. That’s the realization sinking in as Japan scrambles to catch up on a frustratingly slow vaccination drive less than two months before the Summer Olympics, delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, are scheduled to start. The Olympics risk...
Study: California fire killed 10% of world’s redwood trees
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoias were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service. The Visalia Times-Delta newspaper obtained a...
Stocks manage modest gains overall; AMC nearly doubles
Wall Street wrapped up another wobbly day of trading Wednesday with modest gains for the major stock indexes, as energy and technology companies kept losses elsewhere in the market in check. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.1% after wobbling between a gain of 0.4% and a loss of 0.1%. Strength...
Sacked: Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett ‘retires’ from basketball
BEREA, Ohio — Myles Garrett can dump all the quarterbacks he wants. His dunking days are over. The Browns’ All-Pro defensive end, who recently posted videos on Twitter and Instagram of him dominating on the basketball court, has put his hoops game on hold. On Wednesday, Garrett, who is attending...
Biden pushes for U.S. voting rights law as restrictions mount
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden used the 100th anniversary of Tulsa’s race massacre to make a plea for sweeping legislation in Congress to protect the right to vote as Republican-led governments in Texas and other states pass new restrictions making it tougher to cast ballots. Biden, marking the centennial in...
Kei Nishikori grinds out another 5-set win at French Open
PARIS — Two matches. Ten sets. A total of 628 points played. Just another Grand Slam filled with five-setters for Kei Nishikori. The former U.S. Open finalist rallied past 23rd-seeded Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the French Open — after...
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to coach next season, then give way to Jon Scheyer
Mike Krzyzewski will make a final run at a national championship with Duke. The Hall of Famer and winningest coach in the history of Division I men’s basketball announced Wednesday that next season will be his last with the Blue Devils program he has built into one of college basketball’s...
U.S. soldiers mistakenly raid Bulgarian sunflower oil factory
The owner of a small sunflower oil factory in Bulgaria has accused U.S. soldiers of illegally storming his facility during a NATO military exercise last month. Marin Dimitrov told reporters Wednesday that he had filed a lawsuit against those responsible for the May 11 incident. Swift Response 2021 was a...
Iran’s largest warship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman
The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, the latest calamity to strike one of the country’s vessels in recent years amid tensions with the West. The blaze began around 2:25 a.m. and firefighters tried to contain...
Penn State’s LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny join Reggie Bush among 1st-timers up for College Hall of Fame
Former Southern California star Reggie Bush, who had his Heisman Trophy victory in 2005 vacated for committing NCAA violations, is among the players making their first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year. The National Football Foundation announced on Wednesday the players and coaches eligible for...
Brad Stevens replacing Danny Ainge as team president in Celtics shakeup
BOSTON — Danny Ainge, who helped bring two NBA titles to Boston as a player and another as the team’s basketball boss, stepped down from the Celtics front office just hours after they were eliminated from the postseason, and coach Brad Stevens is giving up his job on the bench...
Medina Spirit drug test confirmed; Bob Baffert suspended 2 years
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert is on track to have his record seventh Kentucky Derby victory taken away and won’t be able to run any horses in the prestigious race for the next two years. Churchill Downs on Wednesday suspended the Hall of Fame trainer for two years after an...
Motive unclear as Calif. firefighter kills colleague at station
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A firefighter killed a coworker and wounded another at their small fire station before setting his own home ablaze and apparently killing himself in California’s second deadly workplace shooting in days. The gunman, a firefighter specialist and engineer, was off-duty when he apparently drove the 10...
U.S. urging Central America to tackle poverty, corruption
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is trying to entice Central American nations to tackle the corruption and poverty that have helped drive a surge of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border and presented an early challenge for the Biden administration. In his first visit to...
Even after Bernie Madoff’s death, work to unwind epic fraud goes on
NEW YORK — Epic Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff is dead. But the effort to untangle his web of deceit lives on. More than 12 years after Madoff confessed to running one of the biggest financial fraud in Wall Street history, a team of lawyers is still at work on...
Amazon to hold Prime Day over 2 days in June
NEW YORK — Amazon said Wednesday that it will hold its annual Prime Day over two days in June this year, the earliest it has ever held the sales event. Typically, Amazon holds Prime Day in July. Amazon has said it was holding it earlier because of the Olympics, which...
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay top Carolina for 2-0 series lead
RALEIGH, N.C. — Andrei Vasilevskiy has spent two games turning nearly every shot away for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A couple more, and the reigning Stanley Cup champions could be headed to the next round. Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli scored while Vasilevskiy carried a shutout into the final minutes,...
Beer is latest vaccine incentive for Biden ‘month of action’
WASHINGTON — Free beer is the latest White House-backed incentive for Americans to get vaccinated for covid-19, as President Joe Biden is announcing a “month of action” Wednesday to get more shots into arms before the July 4 holiday. Speaking from the White House, Biden is set to update the...
EU eyes revamp of ID check-free zone to improve travel flow
BRUSSELS — The European Union unveiled plans Wednesday to revamp Europe’s ID check-free travel area after national coronavirus restrictions placed new strains on tourism, travel and business throughout the bloc over the last year. The travel zone, known as the “Schengen area,” is made up of 26 countries: 22 EU...
