Associated Press stories, Page 1667
U.S. climate envoy Kerry meets with pope on climate crisis
VATICAN CITY — John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, met privately with Pope Francis on Saturday, afterward calling the pope a “compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis” who has been “ahead of the curve.” The former U.S. Secretary of State told Vatican News that the...
Navajos say new Arizona restrictions will complicate voting
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Arizona Republicans say the voter restrictions they’re pushing after President Joe Biden’s win in the state last year are designed to strengthen the integrity of future elections. To some, the changes will make voting more difficult than it already is. The bills, some signed into law this...
Ex-Border agent admits illegally bringing woman into U.S.
LAREDO, Texas — A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in Texas has pleaded guilty to illegally bringing a Mexican woman into the U.S. to work as her nanny, according to federal court documents. Rhonda Lee Walker, 40, of Laredo, admitted in a signed plea agreement Friday in U.S....
Israeli strike destroys Gaza building with AP, other media
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of the Associated Press and other media outlets. AP’s president said the agency was “shocked and horrified” at the strike. AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the...
Ethiopia again delays national election amid deadly tensions
NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia has again delayed its national election after some opposition parties said they wouldn’t take part and as conflict in the country’s Tigray region means no vote is being held there. The head of the national elections board, Birtukan Mideksa, in a meeting with political parties’ representatives...
This date in sports history: May 15Video
1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, battles Pompoon from the top of the stretch and wins the Preakness Stakes by a head. 1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths over Vulcan’s Forge. 1971 — Canonero II, ridden by Gustavo Avila, captures...
‘No secrets’ and no certainty in one-of-a-kind NHL playoffsVideo
There will be no mysteries when Tampa Bay and Florida meet in the first round of the playoffs after facing off eight times this season and twice in the past week. Same deal for Montreal and Toronto, who have played 10 times since mid-January. “I don’t want to say it...
China lands on Mars in latest advance for its space program
BEIJING — China has landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time in the latest advance for its space program. The official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday that the lander had touched down, citing the China National Space Administration. Plans call for a rover to stay in the lander...
Sam Burns keeps rolling with 2nd-round 62, lead at Nelson
McKINNEY, Texas — Now that Sam Burns has figured out how to turn an early lead into a victory, it’s already time to try again. Burns birdied six of his last eight holes Friday for a 10-under-par 62 and a two-stroke lead over Alex Noren at 17-under after the second...
House to vote soon on bills to protect Capitol after Jan. 6
WASHINGTON — The House is expected to vote next week on two bills aimed at preventing more attacks on the U.S. Capitol, with one seeking to establish a 9/11-style commission to study what went wrong on Jan. 6 and the other allocating $1.9 billion to address the security problems revealed...
Some normalcy returns to Preakness; Derby champ Medina Spirit cleared to raceVideo
BALTIMORE — Fans are back at Pimlico Race Course to witness another chance at a Triple Crown. The Preakness will feel somewhat back to normal, even if everything carries a giant asterisk. The limited capacity of 10,000 fans expected Saturday is far less than the crowd of 100,000 that usually...
N.C. judge accused of nearly hitting protester with SUV
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A woman on Friday formally accused a North Carolina appeals court judge of nearly striking Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Fayetteville last month with an SUV. A criminal court summons orders Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson to appear in a courtroom next month to answer...
Biden cancels Trump’s planned ‘Garden of American Heroes’
President Joe Biden on Friday put the kibosh on his predecessor’s planned “National Garden of American Heroes” and revoked former President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at social media companies’ moderation policies and branding American foreign aid. In an executive order of his own, Biden abolished the Trump-formed task force...
Israeli military accused of using media to trick Hamas
JERUSALEM — Just after midnight Friday, the Israeli military put out an ominous statement to the media: “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.” The terse statement set off frenzied speculation that Israel had launched a ground invasion of Gaza — a much-feared scenario that...
Cuba rolls out mass vaccines while awaiting study results
The jab didn’t even hurt, and Mabel Aguilera figures it may finally let her see granddaughters on the other side of Cuba who she hasn’t glimpsed during many months of pandemic restrictions. “Sometimes I thought I wouldn’t be able to stand not seeing my granddaughters,” said the 75-year-old woman, who...
Parkland sheriff gets job reviewing red light tickets
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A former South Florida sheriff who was removed from office by the governor because of his agency’s response to the Parkland school shooting that left 17 people dead has found a new job reviewing the footage of red light cameras. Former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel was...
‘Foot soldiers’ of Birmingham to BLM: ‘Keep on keeping on’
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Charles Avery had barely started marching when police arrested him, forced him into a police vehicle and took him to jail for participating in landmark civil rights protests that helped change the nation in 1963. He spent days in custody and then lived decades haunted by a...
Diplomats, donors concerned about sex abuse reports at WHO
LONDON — British, European and American diplomats and donors have voiced serious concerns about how the World Health Organization handled sex abuse allegations involving its own staff during an outbreak of Ebola in Congo, as reported this week by The Associated Press. On Tuesday, the AP published an investigation documenting...
Idaho man killed by falling ice in Alaska national park
A climber was killed and another was seriously injured when they were hit by a falling block of glacier ice in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve, an official said Friday. The two were hit by the hanging serac after it dislodged from a peak off the West Fork of...
Gaetz associate agrees to cooperate in federal investigation
A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators and admits paying an underage girl to have sex with him and other men, according to court documents filed Friday. Joel Greenberg is expected to plead...
Disney CEO says attendance caps at parks being raised
Disney’s top executive says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to ease up mask-wearing requirements for fully vaccinated people is “very big news for us.” During an earnings call on Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek hinted that there could be a change to the mandatory mask requirement at...
Gas crunch from cyberattack intensifies in nation’s capital
Gas shortages at the pumps have spread from the South, all but emptying stations in Washington, D.C., following a ransomware cyberattack that forced a shutdown of the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline. Though the pipeline operator paid a ransom, restoring service was taking time. As Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline reported making “substantial...
Delta will require new hires to be vaccinated against coronavirus
Delta Air Lines will require new employees to be vaccinated against covid-19 starting Monday. The airline won’t impose the same requirement on current employees, more than 60% of whom are vaccinated, a Delta spokesman said Friday. Delta has about 74,000 employees. American, United, Southwest and Alaska airlines, however, said they...
NFL families seek to end ‘race-norming’ in $1B settlement
Thousands of retired Black professional football players, their families and supporters are demanding an end to the controversial use of “race-norming” to determine which players are eligible for payouts in the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims, a system experts say is discriminatory. Ken Jenkins, 60, and his...
Passing on your password? Streaming services are past it
Many of us were taught to share as kids. Now streaming services ranging from Netflix to Amazon to Disney+ want us to stop. That’s the new edict from the giants of streaming media, who are hoping to discourage the common practice of sharing account passwords without alienating subscribers who’ve grown...
