Associated Press stories, Page 1679
60 years since 1st American in space: Tourists lining up
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Sixty years after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, everyday people are on the verge of following in his cosmic footsteps. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company used Wednesday’s anniversary to announce an auction for a seat on the company’s first crew spaceflight, launched by...
Biden repeals Trump-era rule on gig workers
NEW YORK — The Biden administration nullified a Trump-era rule Wednesday that would have made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors, blocking a change supported by delivery and ride-hailing services. The Labor Department’s decision came just two days before the Trump-era rule was supposed to take effect. The...
Louisiana cop who used stun gun on handcuffed man resigns
PORT ALLEN, La. — An officer who used a stun gun twice on a handcuffed, seated man has resigned from a Louisiana police department one day before a termination hearing. Nolan Dehon III had been scheduled for a hearing Tuesday before the Port Allen City Council, to consider whether to...
Myanmar’s military disappearing young men to crush uprising
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Myanmar’s security forces moved in and the street lamps went black. In house after house, people shut off their lights. Darkness swallowed the block. Huddled inside her home in this neighborhood of Yangon, 19-year-old Shwe dared to peek out her window into the inky night. A flashlight shone back,...
Peloton recalls treadmills, halts sales, after a child dies
NEW YORK — Peloton is recalling about 125,000 of its treadmills, less than a month after denying they were dangerous and saying it would not pull them from the market, even though they were linked to the death of a child and injuries of 29 others. The company said Wednesday...
Covid’s U.S. toll projected to drop sharply by the end of July
NEW YORK — Teams of experts are projecting covid-19’s toll on the U.S. will fall sharply by the end of July, according to research released by the government Wednesday. But they also warn that a “substantial increase” in hospitalizations and deaths is possible if unvaccinated people do not follow basic...
Macron to commemorate 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday is marking the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonapart, the warrior and emperor who famously bequeathed to France its civil code but whose legacy is today tarnished in the eyes of some for reinstating slavery. In a speech, Macron is expected to...
Hot mic in courtroom captures insurance adjuster calling judge an idiot
Virtual court proceedings during the covid-19 pandemic have seen their share of cyber blunders. Participants have appeared naked or with a beer in hand, while an errant video filter turned a Texas attorney into a cat during a Zoom hearing. In the Silicon Valley last month, an insurance adjuster provided...
2 Denver officers suspended for excessive force in protests
DENVER — Two police officers in Denver have been suspended without pay after city officials said they used excessive force during racial justice protests last year sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Officers Derek Streeter and Diego Archuleta were the first in the department to be...
Canada authorizes Pfizer vaccine for age 12 to 16
TORONTO — Canada’s health regulator has authorized Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine for ages 12 and older. Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada, on Wednesday confirmed the decision for the ages to 12 to 15 and said it will help children return to a normal life. The vaccine was...
Woman from Mali expecting 7, gives birth to 9 babies in Morocco
BAMAKO, Mali — A Malian woman has given birth to nine babies after only expecting seven, Mali’s Ministry of Health said Wednesday. The 25-year-old Halima Cisse gave birth to the babies via cesarean section on Tuesday in Morocco after being sent there for special care, the ministry announced. “The newborns...
Germany aims for net-zero emissions by 2045, 5 years earlier
BERLIN — Officials in Germany proposed Wednesday accelerating the plans to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by setting a new goal of reaching “net-zero” by 2045. Under the proposal announced by Environment Minister Svenja Schulze and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the country would increase its emissions reduction targets from...
No. 2 House Republican backs Cheney ouster over Trump barbs
WASHINGTON — The No. 2 House Republican publicly called Wednesday for the removal of Rep. Liz Cheney from the party’s leadership, adding momentum to the drive to topple her after she clashed repeatedly with former President Donald Trump. Rep. Steve Scalise, the House GOP whip, is backing New York GOP...
Flood threats persist as storms continue to drench the South
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Relentless wind and rain keeps pummeling much of the southeastern United States, spawning tornadoes, sparking a flash flood emergency in Alabama and damaging homes from Texas to Virginia. The storms have prompted boat rescues and toppled trees and power lines. Crews were preparing to continue cleaning up...
Connor McDavid focused on playoffs, not 100 points in 56 games
Connor McDavid is within reach of a milestone that could go down in hockey history. McDavid needs seven points in Edmonton’s final five games to reach 100 in 56 games during this shortened NHL season. Getting there would be an achievement remembered alongside Wayne Gretzky’s 50 goals in 39 games,...
Rome jury convicts 2 American students in slaying of police officer
ROME — A jury convicted two American friends Wednesday in the 2019 slaying of a police officer in a tragic unraveling of a small time drug deal gone bad, sentencing them to the maximum life in prison. The jury of two judges and six civilians deliberated more than 12 hours...
GM profit surges to $2.98B on sales of higher-margin trucks
DETROIT — General Motors’ first-quarter net income surged to $2.98 billion as strong U.S. consumer demand and higher prices offset production cuts brought on by a global shortage of computer chips. Despite the semiconductor shortage, GM stuck with full-year pretax earnings guidance of $10 billion to $11 billion issued earlier...
Facebook board upholds former President Trump’s suspension
SAN FRANCISCO — Former President Donald Trump won’t return to Facebook — for now. The social network’s quasi-independent Oversight Board voted to uphold his ban from the platform after his account was suspended four months ago for inciting violence that led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. While upholding...
4 killed when plane crashes into Mississippi home
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Four people were killed when a small plane crashed into a home in Mississippi late Tuesday night, police said. Authorities in Hattiesburg were called to the scene of the civilian plane crash just before 11:30 p.m., Hattiesburg Police Public Information Officer Ryan Moore said. Police initially said...
Top court orders Indian government to present oxygen plan
NEW DELHI — India’s government, facing calls for a strict coronavirus lockdown to slow the devastating surge in infections, was ordered by the top court Wednesday to submit a plan on meeting New Delhi hospitals’ oxygen requirements within a day. The Supreme Court decided against immediately punishing officials for failing...
This Date in Sports History: May 5
1904 — Cy Young of the Red Sox pitches a p+erfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics, beating Rube Waddell, 3-0. 1934 — Cavalcade wins the Kentucky Derby by more than three lengths over Discovery. It’s his third victory in less than two weeks. 1966 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the...
U.S. birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century
NEW YORK — The U.S. birth rate fell 4% last year, the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years, according to a government report being released Wednesday. The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly age group, falling to the lowest point since federal...
Janet Yellen clarifies she is not predicting Fed rate increasesVideo
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that she is not predicting when the Federal Reserve may need to start raising interest rates. She was seeking to clarify her earlier remarks that rattled financial markets. Yellen suggested early Tuesday that interest rates may need to rise slightly to keep...
Tennessee GOP lawmaker: Three-Fifths Compromise was to end slaveryVideo
NASHVILLE — A Tennessee Republican falsely declared Tuesday that an 18th century policy designating a slave as three-fifths of a person was adopted for “the purpose of ending slavery,” commenting amid a debate over whether educators should be restricted while teaching about systematic racism in America. During lengthy debate on...
Golf notes: Only a few spots remain for British Open
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The PGA Championship field will start to take shape after this week with the top 70 on a special PGA Tour money list getting into the field. For the U.S. Open, anyone not already eligible who doesn’t crack the top 60 in the world ranking can...
