Associated Press stories, Page 1672
Italy: Covid Green Pass needed for museums, indoor dining
ROME — Pompeii’s archaeological park is offering free swab tests, the Vatican Museums posted refund instructions and tourists whipped out smartphones to show QR codes along with admission tickets Friday as a new covid-19 certification rule took effect in Italy as part of the government’s plan to rein in a...
U.S. probes whether Ford was slow to recall backup cameras
DETROIT — U.S. highway safety regulators are investigating whether Ford acted quickly enough when it recalled more than 620,000 vehicles last year to fix faulty rear-view cameras. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also says it will look into whether the automaker should have recalled more vehicles. Documents posted Friday...
Allyson Felix sets a record, wins bronze for 10th Olympic medal
TOKYO — Allyson Felix finished third in the 400 meters Friday to win her 10th career medal and become the most-decorated woman in the history of Olympic track. The 35-year-old Felix, a stalwart of American track and field, started in the outside lane and outraced Stephanie Ann McPherson of Jamaica...
U.S. added 943,000 jobs in July; unemployment rate at 5.4%
WASHINGTON — Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% another sign that the U.S. economy continues to bounce back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. The July numbers exceeded economists’ forecast for more than 860,000 new jobs. Hotels and...
At river where Tigrayan bodies floated, fears of ‘many more’
WAD EL HILU, Sudan — From time to time, a body floating down the river separating Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region from Sudan was a silent reminder of a war conducted in the shadows. But in recent days, the corpses became a flow. Bloated, drained of color from their journey, the...
Huawei revenue sinks as smartphones hurt by U.S. sanctions
BEIJING — Chinese tech giant Huawei’s revenue fell 29.4% from a year earlier in the first half of 2021 as smartphones sales tumbled under U.S. sanctions imposed in a fight with Beijing over technology and security. Revenue declined to $49.6 billion, according to figures released Friday, from $70.2 billion reported...
Add United Airlines to list of companies requiring U.S. employees to be vaccinated
United Airlines will require employees in the U.S. to be vaccinated against covid-19 by late October, perhaps sooner, joining a growing number of big corporations that are responding to a surge in virus cases. Company leaders called it a matter of safety and cited “incredibly compelling” evidence of the effectiveness...
Brittney Griner leads U.S. to women’s basketball gold medal game with win over Serbia
SAITAMA, Japan — Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the U.S. beat Serbia 79-59 on Friday to advance to the gold medal game of the Olympics. The Americans are now one win away from a seventh consecutive gold medal, which would match the U.S. men’s team...
April Ross completes medal set as U.S. wins beach volleyball gold
TOKYO — April Ross now has the complete set of Olympic beach volleyball medals: silver in London, bronze in Rio de Janeiro and a gold she won with Alix Klineman at the Tokyo Games on Friday with a victory over Australia. The Americans beat Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua...
U.S. women’s volleyball avenges loss to Serbia, reaches gold medal match
TOKYO — The U.S. women’s volleyball team made it to the gold medal match for the fourth time by avenging a semifinal loss five years ago to Serbia with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-23 victory Friday. The Americans easily dispatched the team that denied them a chance at their elusive first...
Appeals court upholds murder conviction of ex-Dallas officer Amber Guyger
DALLAS — A Texas appeals court on Thursday upheld the murder conviction of a former Dallas police officer who was sentenced to prison for fatally shooting her neighbor in his home. A panel of three state judges ruled that a Dallas County jury had sufficient evidence to convict Amber Guyger...
CNN fires 3 employees for coming to work unvaccinated
NEW YORK — CNN has fired three employees who violated company policy by coming to work unvaccinated against the covid-19 virus. CNN chief Jeff Zucker told staff members of the firing in a memo sent Thursday that reminded them that vaccines were mandatory if they report to the office or...
Police: Oregon school custodian who planned ‘mass casualty event’ arrested
MEDFORD, Ore. — A custodian at a high school in Medford, Oregon, faces felony charges after police say he took “significant steps” toward planning a “mass casualty event” — including one at South Medford High School, where he worked. The Mail Tribune reports Kristopher Wayne Clay, 24, is in the...
Watchdog: No evidence Rudy Giuliani had Clinton probe inside info
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general said Thursday that it did not find evidence that FBI agents shared inside information about the Hillary Clinton email investigation with Rudy Giuliani. The question of whether anyone had leaked information to Giuliani arose after the former New York mayor said in an...
Another rocky day for U.S. track and fieldVideo
TOKYO — A five-minute burst of action near the backstretch of the Olympic track served up the perfect snapshot of what is going right, and all that is going wrong, for the U.S. track and field team in Tokyo. At one moment in the pole vault pit Thursday night, Katie...
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan: ‘Just get the damn vaccine’Video
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Urging people to “just get the damn vaccine,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced new vaccination requirements for state employees who work in congregant settings with the vulnerable on Thursday — or else face strict face-covering requirements and regular covid-19 testing. The Republican governor said the requirements, which...
‘We lost Greenville’: Wildfire decimates California townVideo
GREENVILLE, Calif. — A 3-week-old wildfire engulfed a tiny Northern California mountain town, leveling most of its historic downtown and leaving blocks of homes in ashes, while a new wind-whipped blaze destroyed homes as crews braced for another explosive run of flames Thursday amid dangerous weather. The Dixie Fire, swollen...
Budget office: Infrastructure bill adds $256 billion to deficits
WASHINGTON — Nearing decision time, senators are wrapping up work on the bipartisan infrastructure plan and talks were underway Thursday to expedite consideration of the nearly $1 trillion proposal, with votes expected in the days ahead. A much anticipated analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office concluded that...
South Carolina House lawmaker suing Pelosi over mask rule says he has covid
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rep. Ralph Norman, one of the three congressional Republicans suing Speaker Nancy Pelosi over fines for not wearing masks during a vote on the U.S. House floor, has contracted a breakthrough case of covid-19, the second member of South Carolina’s delegation to do so. Norman, who has...
FAA head seeks more prosecution of unruly airline passengers
The nation’s top aviation regulator is suggesting that local police around the country should file charges more often against unruly airline passengers and that airports should clamp down on alcohol sales. Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson said that every week, police are asked to be there when a flight...
Stocks climb on Wall Street, notching more record highs
A broad rally on Wall Street pushed stocks higher Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to record highs. The gains reversed the market’s modest losses from a day earlier. Despite a choppy week of trading, the major indexes are on pace for weekly gains. The S&P 500 rose...
Off-duty Kentucky deputy working security for car lot fatally shotVideo
LOUISVILLE — An off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security at a car lot in Kentucky was fatally shot early Thursday while sitting in his unmarked vehicle, police said. Someone came up to the vehicle’s window and shot the Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy around 2:30 a.m., according to Louisville Metro Police Department...
U.S. to investigate Phoenix police over excessive force allegationsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday said it was launching a widespread probe into the police force in Phoenix to examine whether officers have been using excessive force and abusing people experiencing homelessness. The investigation into the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department is the third sweeping...
Apple to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child abuse
Apple unveiled plans to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused by governments looking to surveil their citizens. Apple said its messaging app will use on-device machine learning to warn...
End of an era: Barcelona says Lionel Messi won’t stay with the club
MADRID — Lionel Messi’s time at Barcelona appears to be over. Barcelona announced Thursday that Messi will not stay with the club, saying that the Spanish league’s financial regulations made it impossible to sign the Argentina star to a new contract. He is leaving after 17 successful seasons in which...
