Associated Press stories, Page 1689
What’s behind the growth slump? Takeaways from census data
The first batch of once-every-decade data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a United States that is growing less quickly but still seeing its population shift to the South and the West. The data released Monday was relatively basic — containing national and state-level population figures and details of how...
German police say grenade-shaped item in forest was sex toy
BERLIN — A German police bomb squad called to investigate a suspected hand grenade in a Bavarian forest determined that the object actually was a rubber sex toy, authorities said Tuesday. A jogger reported finding a bag containing the device Monday in a forest outside the city of Passau, near...
Biden signs $15 minimum wage for federal contract workers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors, providing a pay bump to hundreds of thousands of workers. Biden administration officials said that the higher wages would lead to greater worker productivity, offsetting any additional costs...
This Date in Sports History: April 27
1956 — Rocky Marciano retires as the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion. He finished with a 49-0 record, including six title defenses and 43 knockouts. 1960 — The Minneapolis Lakers announce they will relocate to Los Angeles. 1968 — Jimmy Ellis wins the heavyweight boxing title with a 15-round decision over...
Firm recounting Arizona ballots wants methods kept secret
PHOENIX — A contractor hired by Arizona’s state Senate to oversee the recount of 2.1 million ballots in the county that includes the metro Phoenix area wants a judge to keep secret its methods for ensuring ballot privacy. The request came in advance of a hearing Tuesday where a judge...
SOS messages, panic as coronavirus breaks India’s health systemVideo
NEW DELHI — Dr. Gautam Singh dreads the daily advent of the ventilator beeps, signaling that oxygen levels are critically low, and hearing his desperately ill patients start gasping for air in the New Delhi emergency ward where he works. Like other doctors across India, which on Monday set another...
U.S. marks slowest population growth since the DepressionVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. population growth has slowed to the lowest rate since the Great Depression, the Census Bureau said Monday, as Americans continued their march to the South and West and one-time engines of growth, New York and California, lost political influence. Altogether, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281 last...
Dubai sheikh still chasing elusive Kentucky Derby victory
Winning major horse races around the world is the lifeblood of Godolphin, and there’s no bigger race than the Kentucky Derby. Getting his hands on the gold winner’s trophy on the first Saturday in May has been a decades-long quest for Godolphin founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime...
AP sources: Turner Sports gets rights to 2nd NHL package
Turner Sports is the surprise winner of the NHL’s second television package. The sides agreed on a seven-year contract that includes three Stanley Cup Finals, two people familiar with the deal told the Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the contract had not been finalized....
Trainer Brad Cox seeks Kentucky Derby history as Louisville’s first winnerVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brad Cox smiles when talking about Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, making it clear how important both are to the trainer. After all, he grew up a few blocks away from the historic track. Cox began working with horses at Churchill Downs as a teenager before...
Browns’ Baker Mayfield on recent UFO sighting: ‘I believe’
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield’s offseason has included running, lifting, getting a guaranteed $18 million and a celestial close encounter he won’t forget. Mayfield said he saw a UFO. Nothing has changed his mind. “I’m a firm believer in UFOs and Sasquatch,” Mayfield said with a smile Monday on a Zoom...
Homeland Security launches review of extremism within agency
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced an internal review to assess the threat of violent extremism from within the agency, part of a broader administration focus on domestic threats following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Senior DHS officials will immediately begin the review,...
Buccaneers exercise 5-year option on DT Vita Vea
TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers exercised the fifth-year option on the contract defensive tackle Vita Vea signed as the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft. The 6-foot-4, 347-pound tackle has started 29 of 34 regular-season games he’s played with the Bucs, compiling 7½ sacks and 19 quarterback...
Kentucky Derby notes: Brooklyn Strong makes quick move
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brooklyn Strong needed a few horses to drop out to make the Kentucky Derby and now needs to make it to Churchill Downs at the latest possible minute. The defection of trainer Brad Cox’s Caddo River on Sunday opened the door for Daniel Velasquez’s Brooklyn Strong to...
West Virginia to give $100 savings bond for young vaccinatedVideo
CHARLESTON — West Virginia aims to entice residents aged 16 to 35 to get a coronavirus shot with the promise of a $100 savings bond. Republican Gov. Jim Justice said Monday the move was to “jump-start” immunizing the demographic that officials say are most likely to be currently spreading the...
Colorado cop accused of hurting woman’s arm: ‘Ready for the pop?’Video
DENVER — A Colorado police officer accused of dislocating the shoulder of a 73-year-old woman with dementia while arresting her apparently knew he had injured her. He told fellow officers “ready for the pop?” as he showed them his body camera footage, according to police station surveillance video with enhanced...
Ex-cop who killed Tamir Rice appeals to Ohio Supreme Court
CLEVELAND — The white Cleveland police officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black child playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center in November 2014, has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court to get his job back. Attorneys for Timothy Loehmann filed the appeal last...
Pathologist: Black man killed by North Carolina deputies was shot 5 timesVideo
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man killed by deputies in North Carolina, was shot five times, including in the back of the head, according to an independent autopsy released Tuesday, hours before the FBI announced a federal civil rights investigation into last week’s shooting. The developments...
Census: Texas gains Congress seats; Calif. loses for 1st timeVideo
WASHINGTON — The nation’s political center of gravity shifted further to the Republican-led South and West on Monday, with Texas, Florida and other Sun Belt states gaining congressional seats while chillier climes like New York and Ohio lost them. Altogether, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281, the Census Bureau said,...
Blackhawks’ Andrew Shaw retires after latest concussion
CHICAGO — Andrew Shaw was the scrappy “mutt” on a star-studded team, a gritty fan favorite who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win two Stanley Cups. Now, he is calling it a career. Shaw announced his retirement Monday on the advice of doctors after multiple concussions over the course of his...
Family of Black man shot by deputy in Virginia seeks release of audio
SPOTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE, Va. — The family of a Black man shot by a Virginia sheriff’s deputy last week demanded the release of additional audio recordings related to the incident Monday and said Isaiah Brown remained in “very critical” condition. Speaking at a news conference outside the Spotsylvania County courthouse, an...
Academy Awards TV audience plummets to record-low 9.85 million
NEW YORK — The Academy Awards television audience plunged to 9.85 million viewers on ABC, less than half of the Oscars’ previous low and continuing a startling trend of viewer tune out for awards shows. The Nielsen company’s preliminary estimate shows that the audience who watched “Nomadland” win best picture...
Biden’s first address to Congress is invite-only
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first address to Congress is an invite-only affair, no guests allowed. The restrictions for Wednesday’s event are due to covid-19 safety protocols, but will have the added security benefit of a limited number of people inside the Capitol for the president’s first major indoor event...
U.S. will share AstraZeneca vaccines with world
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will begin sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca once the covid-19 vaccine clear federal safety reviews, the White House told the Associated Press on Monday, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months. The move...
Judge sets hearing on former Penn State president Graham Spanier’s pending jail sentence
HARRISBURG — Graham Spanier’s lawyers are expected to be in a Pennsylvania courtroom next month as a judge considers whether the former Penn State president should have to report to jail to start serving his sentence related to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. Dauphin County President Judge John F....
