Associated Press stories, Page 1715
House looks to remove Roger Taney bust, Confederate statues
WASHINGTON — The House is expected to approve a bill Tuesday that would remove from the Capitol a bust of Roger Taney, the U.S. chief justice best known for an infamous pro-slavery decision, as well as statues of Jefferson Davis and others who served in the Confederacy. A similar bill...
Prosecutors will ask grand jury to probe building collapse
SURFSIDE, Fla. — Prosecutors in Florida will pursue a grand jury investigation into the deadly collapse of an oceanfront condominium building, officials said Tuesday. Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference that she fully supports such an investigation. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she would bring...
Veteran Wayne Simmonds signs 2-year deal with Maple Leafs
TORONTO — Veteran forward Wayne Simmonds signed a two-year contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The team says his contract has an average annual value of $900,000. Simmonds played in 38 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs during this past season, with seven goals and two assists....
Defense lawyer: Newspaper gunman ‘deranged’ and ‘delusional’
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The man who killed five people at a Maryland newspaper was delusional and believed the state’s judicial system was conspiring with the Capital Gazette to persecute him and ruin his life, his attorney told a jury Tuesday, trying to make the case that Jarrod Ramos is not...
Michael Phelps is gone, but plenty of star power at Olympic pool
Michael Phelps loomed over the pool at the past four Summer Olympics, a figure so transcendent it was hard for anyone else to get their proper due. He’s retired now, leaving a giant void in his wake. Not to worry. Even without Phelps, plenty of star power will be on...
33 train cars derail in eastern Pennsylvania; no injuries, spills
GOLDSBORO — Authorities say dozens of freight train cars derailed in Pennsylvania, but no injuries or hazardous spills were reported. Chief Steve Lutz of the Newberry Township police force said 33 of the 133 cars on the eastbound Norfolk Southern train derailed and overturned shortly after 3 p.m. Monday in...
Rolling blackouts for parts of U.S. Northwest amid heat wave
SPOKANE, Wash. — The unprecedented Northwest U.S. heat wave that slammed Seattle and Portland, Oregon, moved inland Tuesday — prompting a electrical utility in Spokane, Wash., to warn that people will face more rolling blackouts amid heavy power demand. The intense weather that gave Seattle and Portland consecutive days of...
Cosmic gulp: Astronomers see black hole swallow neutron star
Talk about a heavy snack. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a black hole swallowing a neutron star, the most dense object in the universe — all in a split-second gulp. Ten days later they saw the same thing, on the other side of the universe. In both cases,...
Big 1st inning sends Vandy past Mississippi State in CWS finals opener
OMAHA, Neb. — Mississippi State had the crowd. Vanderbilt had a big lead and Jack Leiter on the mound, and that was plenty Monday night. The Commodores rode a seven-run first inning to an 8-2 victory in Game 1 of the College World Series finals to move within a win...
Tour de France riders stage protest amid road safety debate
FOUGERES, France — Tour de France riders staged a protest at the start of Tuesday’s stage to complain about perceived dangerous racing conditions after a flurry of crashes reignited the issue of road safety. Having left the town of Redon in the western Brittany region to start Stage 4, the...
GM recalls old SUVs; suspension problem can affect steering
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling more than 380,000 older SUVs in the U.S., many for a second time, to fix a suspension problem that can cause them to sway at highway speeds. GM decided on the recall after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation last...
Russia targets investigative journalists with raids
MOSCOW — Russian authorities on Tuesday morning raided the apartments of several investigative journalists and their family members, a move that comes amid mounting pressure on Russia’s independent media outlets. Police searched the apartments of Roman Badanin, chief editor of the Proekt investigative online outlet, and Maria Zholobova, one of...
South African court orders ex-president to jail for contempt
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months in prison for defying a court order to appear before an inquiry probing wide-ranging allegations of corruption during his tenure from 2009 to 2018. Zuma was not in court...
Pope Francis: Thank you, Benedict, for praying for church
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Tuesday offered an affectionate, public thank-you to Benedict XVI, whose retirement from the papacy in 2103 shocked the Roman Catholic Church and the world. Addressing tourists and Romans in St. Peter’s Square, Francis triggered applause when he recalled that it was the 70th anniversary...
Officials: 2 killed in natural gas line explosion in Texas
FARMERSVILLE, Texas — Two people were killed and three injured in a natural gas pipeline explosion in Texas, officials said. The deadly blast happened around 4 p.m. Monday at an Atmos Energy facility in Collin County near Farmersville, about 35 miles northeast of Dallas. Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said...
This date in sports history: June 29Video
1906 — Alex Smith shoots a record 295 to beat brother Willie in the U.S. Open. Alex shoots a 295 at Onwentsia Club Ill. 1933 — Primo Carnera knocks out Jack Sharkey in the sixth round at the Long Island City Bowl to win the world heavyweight title. 1947 —...
Danny weakens to a tropical depression, heavy rain continuesVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tropical Storm Danny weakened to a tropical depression hours after it made landfall Monday evening on South Carolina’s coast but the system continued to dump heavy rains on the state and portions of Georgia. At 11 p.m. Danny had top sustained wind of 35 mphand was about...
Tampa Bay outclasses Montreal in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
TAMPA, Fla. — Playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves to outplay Carey Price and lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night....
Maricopa County won’t reuse subpoenaed ballot counters
PHOENIX — Maricopa County officials said Monday they’ll never again use voting machines turned over to contractors hired by Arizona Senate Republicans to audit the 2020 election. The county’s Republican-controlled Board of Supervisors responded to Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who said in May that she would seek to...
Aid for schools, overtime rule were key trade in Pennsylvania budget deal
HARRISBURG — A key trade that sealed a budget deal between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans who control the Legislature was a $100 million injection of cash into Pennsylvania’s poorest public schools in exchange for the governor backing off a regulatory expansion of eligibility for overtime pay. Wolf, a Democrat,...
Mexico high court mandates permits for personal marijuana use
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered the government Monday to issue permits for the personal use of marijuana and for the growing of limited amounts of pot plants, after the country’s Congress took too long to approve a limited legalization law. In 2019, the court ruled that prohibiting marijuana...
Gary Bettman casts doubt on NHL players going to Beijing OlympcsVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said time is running out to reach a deal to send players to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, casting doubt on the league’s return to that event after skipping it in 2018. The league, players’ union, International Olympic Committee and International Ice...
Former Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas retires after 10-year careerVideo
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Demaryius Thomas announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday following a decade-long career. “I’m just happy to say I’m done and it did me well,” Thomas said in a video on the Denver Broncos’ Twitter account. Thomas was part of the winningest...
California bans state travel to Florida, 4 other states
SAN FRANCISCO — California added five more states, including Florida, to the list of places where state-funded travel is banned because of laws that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community, the state attorney general announced Monday. Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta added Florida, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota and West...
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. blossoms into multimedia personalityVideo
CONCORD, N.C. — There’s a pointed episode in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s television show that encapsulates his remarkable transformation from a bashful, third-generation racer into a multimedia personality. Earnhardt and his crew of storytellers-slash-ghost chasers-slash-racing enthusiasts are filming the second season of “Lost Speedways” at Myrtle Beach Speedway, the South Carolina...
