Associated Press stories, Page 1656
South Carolina high court hears 1st suit in monument protection law
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court heard its first challenge to the state law protecting Confederate and other historical monuments since it passed 21 years ago with justices questioning Tuesday if parts or all of the act are constitutional. The Heritage Act was passed in 2000 to move...
Board fight at Exxon intensifies spotlight on climate change
NEW YORK — ExxonMobil is facing a major challenge from a group of investors in one of the biggest fights a corporate boardroom has endured over its stance on climate change, an issue of rising urgency for many shareholders. The investor group is pushing to replace four of the oil...
D.C. files antitrust case vs Amazon over treatment of vendors
The District of Columbia has sued Amazon, accusing the online retail giant of anticompetitive practices in its treatment of sellers on its platform. The practices have raised prices for consumers and stifled innovation and choice in the online retail market, the D.C. attorney general alleges in an antitrust suit. The...
In New Orleans, documenting history of iconic Black street
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans resident Raynard Sanders can detail the many ways Black businesses and culture thrived under the canopy of oak trees along Claiborne Avenue: the Black insurance companies, the corner lot home to the Black musicians union, the church that held a funeral to bury slavery. And...
100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, the damage remains
TULSA, Okla. — On a recent Sunday, Ernestine Alpha Gibbs returned to Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church. Not her body. She had left this Earth 18 years ago, at age 100. But on this day, three generations of her family brought Ernestine’s keepsakes back to this place which meant so...
American Jews take stock of internal divisions, antisemitism
As fighting between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers raged before last week’s cease-fire, U.S. rabbinical student Max Buchdahl wanted to be considerate of those in his community who are emotionally connected to Israel — but he also wanted to support Palestinians. Buchdahl, 25, joined dozens of rabbinical and cantorial...
Tennessee bans teaching critical race theory in schools
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is the latest state to ban teachers from teaching certain concepts of race and racism in public schools. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed into law on Monday a measure that attracted some of the most impassioned debates inside the GOP-controlled General Assembly this year. He signaled...
Gunshots heard near Floyd square on anniversary of death
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis intersection where George Floyd died was disrupted by gunfire Tuesday, just hours before it was to be the site of a family-friendly street festival marking the anniversary of his death at the hands of police. Associated Press video from 38th Street and Chicago Avenue — informally...
White House: Biden to meet Putin for Geneva summit
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will hold a summit with Vladimir Putin next month in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration. The White House confirmed details of the summit on...
Colorado supermarket shooting suspect heads back to court
DENVER — A 22-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Colorado supermarket was set to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing to discuss what will happen next in the case. The status hearing will be only the second court appearance for Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa since...
Moderna says its covid shot works in kids as young as 12
Moderna said Tuesday its covid-19 vaccine strongly protects kids as young as 12, a step that could put the shot on track to become the second option for that age group in the U.S. With global vaccine supplies still tight, much of the world is struggling to vaccinate adults in...
Rights group urges Japan to update law on changing gender
TOKYO — An international rights group on Tuesday urged Japan to change a law that it says puts “abusive and outdated” burdens on transgender people seeking to have their gender change legally recognized, including sterilization surgery and a psychiatric diagnosis. The report by New York-based Human Rights Watch said such...
EU leaders agree to donate 100 million doses of vaccines
BRUSSELS — EU leaders agreed Tuesday to donate at least 100 million doses of covid-19 vaccines to poorer nations by the end of the year as supplies steadily rise across Europe. Gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit, the 27 leaders backed a text in which they pledge to continue...
Vatican issues a street art stamp, ends up getting sued
ROME — One night in early 2019, Rome street artist Alessia Babrow glued a stylized image of Christ she had made onto a bridge near the Vatican. A year later, she was shocked to learn that the Vatican had apparently used a reproduction of her image, which featured her hallmark...
Suspect arrested in South Florida synagogue harassment
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Police have arrested a man who they say yelled antisemitic remarks at a rabbi and dumped a bag of human feces in front of a South Florida synagogue. Hallandale Beach police arrested Jeffrey Carl Fleming on Monday on charges of felony stalking with a hate crime...
This date in sports history: May 25
1948 — Ben Hogan wins the PGA championship, beating Mike Turnesa in the final round, 7 and 6. 1965 — Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston a minute into the first round in the controversial rematch for Ali’s heavyweight title. Listed as the fastest knockout in a heavyweight title bout,...
Justice Department appeals judge’s order on Russia probe memo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday that it would appeal a judge’s order directing it to release a legal memo on whether President Donald Trump had obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson earlier this month had ordered the Justice Department to release the...
Grand jury indicts ex-UCLA doctor on 21 sexual abuse counts
LOS ANGELES — A grand jury indicted a former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles on 21 counts of sexual abuse offenses Monday in a case where he is accused of sexually assaulting seven women, court documents say. Dr. James Heaps faces multiple counts each of sexual battery...
Nashville DA won’t enforce new bathroom sign law
NASHVILLE — Nashville’s top prosecutor said Monday that he will not enforce a newly enacted law that requires businesses and government facilities open to the public to post a sign if they let transgender people use multiperson bathrooms and other facilities associated with their gender identity. “I believe every person...
Texas poised to allow unlicensed carrying of handgunsVideo
AUSTIN — Texas is poised to remove one of its last major gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it. The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has...
State Department warns against all travel to Japan as Olympics loom
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials and the State Department on Monday warned Americans against travel to Japan because of a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, which is preparing to host the Olympics in just two months. The twin alerts don’t ban U.S. citizens from visiting the country, but...
Vaccine passport bill takes 1st step in Pennsylvania
Republicans in Pennsylvania’s state Senate began advancing legislation Monday to prohibit governments and school districts from requiring a covid-19 vaccination for any sort of access. The Republican-penned bill passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee along party lines, 6-4, with Democrats opposing it. The prohibition on so-called vaccine passports...
AP source: Aaron Rodgers doesn’t attend Packers’ 1st day of OTAsVideo
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t present for the first day of organized team activities Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation. These OTA sessions are voluntary, but Rodgers generally has participated in them in the past. ESPN first reported Rodgers wasn’t with the team on Monday....
Florida law seeks to rein in large social media companies
TALLAHASSEE — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that seeks to punish social media platforms that remove “conservative ideas” from their sites, though it is not clear if it would pass constitutional muster because it might violate the First Amendment. The new law will enable the...
Peloton plans to build 1st U.S. factory in Ohio, add 2K jobs
Peloton plans to spend about $400 million to build its first U.S. factory in Ohio. The exercise equipment maker said Monday that the Peloton Output Park will make the Peloton Bike, Bike+ and Peloton Tread starting in 2023. It will have more than 200 acres and more than 1 million...
