Associated Press stories, Page 2039
Daniel Bard makes Rockies roster after seven-year absenceVideo
DENVER — Daniel Bard never ran from the mental hiccups that derailed a promising pitching career with the Boston Red Sox. Through a half-dozen comeback attempts since his last appearance in the big leagues in 2013, Bard couldn’t rediscover his control and finally settled into a job last year as...
Pentagon report: Turkey sent up to 3,800 fighters to Libya
Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters to Libya over the first three months of the year, the U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general concluded in a new report, its first to detail Turkish deployments that helped change the course of Libya’s war. The report comes as the conflict...
Jay-Z, other celebs ask feds to probe student’s 2010 killing
Rihanna, Jay-Z, Charlize Theron and other celebrities are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the death of 20-year-old Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr., a Black football player at Pace University killed by a white police officer in New York nearly a decade ago. In a letter sent this...
Mayor of Portland to Trump: Get your troops out of the city
PORTLAND, Ore. — The mayor of Portland demanded Friday that President Donald Trump remove militarized federal agents he deployed to the city after some detained people on streets far from federal property they were sent to protect. “Keep your troops in your own buildings, or have them leave our city,”...
New California rules mean most schools will start online
SAN FRANCISCO — With the first day of school just weeks away in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out sweeping new rules Friday that all but ensure most of the state’s K-12 schools serving 6.7 million students will not reopen classrooms when the academic year starts. The rules also mandate...
Monmouth jockeys pick up Haskell rides because of covid-19Video
Jockey Joe Bravo has an unexpected chance to win the $1 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday. Bravo has been the leading rider 13 times at the New Jersey track. He gets a boost for the Haskell after the New York Racing Association decided to bar its jockeys...
Lots of room for NASCAR fans at Texas due to coronavirus restrictions, searing heat
FORT WORTH, Texas — The massive grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway are two-thirds of a mile long and were empty for the last race there. On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series race becomes the first major sporting event in Texas in more than four months to allow spectators. It could...
Tony Finau, Ryan Palmer share early lead at Memorial as Tiger Woods hangs onVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — Tony Finau figured he was on the right track when he shot 59 at Victory Ranch last week in Utah. That kind of score isn’t happening at Muirfield Village, where the greens are getting faster by the hour. No matter. Finau took enough confidence from playing with...
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyk, Tuukka Rask picked as Vezina finalistsVideo
Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning was selected as a Vezina Trophy finalist for the third consecutive season, with a shot at becoming the first back-to-back winner of the NHL’s top goalie award in 12 years. Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyk and Boston’s Tuukka Rask rounded out the list of finalists...
Edmonton Oilers’ arena deemed structurally sound after stormVideo
Edmonton’s mayor said a preliminary assessment shows storm damage to Rogers Place is not structural, and the arena will be able to hold upcoming NHL games. Don Iveson said photos of Thursday night’s flooding and damage to the arena’s roof are concerning. “The damage is cosmetic and is to the...
Washington owner Dan Snyder vows culture change amid sexual harassment allegations
Washington NFL owner Dan Snyder said Friday he’s committed to improving the culture inside the team after allegations of sexual harassment, while the league will wait for a law firm’s review before taking action. The Washington Post reported Thursday that 15 female former employees said they were sexually harassed during...
Pa. teams ask state to allow fans in the stands
HARRISBURG — As Pennsylvania approached 100,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus Friday, several professional, semi-professional, amateur and college sports teams have submitted plans to the state Department of Health to have fans in the stands, the agency said. The Wolf administration declined to reveal which organizations, teams or colleges have...
Utility worker in Nebraska recovering after being impaled by steel rod
FIRTH, Neb. — A Nebraska power utility worker is recovering from surgery after being impaled by a 2-foot-long steel rod while on the job near Firth, authorities said. The incident happened Thursday afternoon while Nebraska Public Power District worker Roger Kempf, 46, and a coworker were clearing brush from underneath...
Israel to shut down on weekends in response to virus surgeVideo
JERUSALEM — Israel announced sweeping new restrictions Friday in response to a new surge in coronavirus cases, including weekend closures of many businesses and limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery. The government announced the restrictions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “interim steps” were needed to avoid another general lockdown....
Pentagon bans Confederate flag in way to avoid Trump’s wrath
After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon is banning displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn’t mention the word ban or that specific flag. The policy, laid out in a memo released Friday, was described by officials as a creative way to bar...
China moves rocket into place for upcoming Mars missionVideo
BEIJING — China has moved a rocket into position to launch a rover to Mars in one of three upcoming missions to the red planet, one from the United States and another by the United Arab Emirates. The Long March-5 carrier rocket is China’s heaviest-lift launch vehicle and has been...
Military medics deploy in California, Texas as coronavirus surges
Teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients, as Miami area authorities began stepping up enforcement Friday of a mask requirement — echoing efforts in many parts of the world to contain surging infections. In California, military doctors, nurses and other...
Chicago plan would have kids in classrooms 2 days per week
CHICAGO — Most Chicago children would return to the classroom two days a week and spend the other three days learning remotely once the school year begins under a tentative plan outlined Friday by officials from the nation’s third-largest school district. Chicago Public Schools officials called the proposed hybrid approach...
Queen makes veteran a knight at 100 — no kneeling requiredVideo
LONDON — In the end, Sir Tom didn’t need to rise. On a day infused with emotion, Queen Elizabeth II tapped the blade of a sword once owned by her father on the slender shoulders of 100-year-old Tom Moore, making a hero of a nation a knight of the realm...
Germany: Black Forest fugitive held after 5 days on the run
BERLIN — A man who disarmed four officers at gunpoint in southwestern Germany before fleeing into the Black Forest has been arrested after five days on the run, police said Friday. Four firearms were seized, police said in a brief statement, without giving further details of what happened. Hours earlier,...
Person in custody in killing of tech CEO who was found dismembered
NEW YORK — A person was taken into police custody Friday in the killing of a 33-year-old tech entrepreneur found dismembered inside his luxury Manhattan condo, two law enforcement officials said. The person in custody had worked as Fahim Saleh’s personal assistant, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials...
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says cancer has returned, but won’t retireVideo
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court. The 87-year-old Ginsburg, who spent time in the hospital this week for a possible infection, said her treatment so far has succeeded in...
June jobless rate slid down in Pennsylvania, payrolls jumped
Pennsylvania’s unemployment slid a bit down in June after hitting a pandemic peak in April, but it was well above the national rate even as payrolls rebounded by more 230,000, the state reported Friday. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 13% in June, down four-tenths of a percentage point from May’s adjusted...
3M files lawsuits for price gouging of N95 masksVideo
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — The leading manufacturer of N95 masks in the United States says it has investigated 4,000 reports of fraud, counterfeiting and price gouging in connection with the product and has filed 18 lawsuits. 3M, based in Maplewood, is among the largest global producers of the N95 mask, which...
France delays retirement reform that caused mass strikes
PARIS — France’s government is delaying a divisive overhaul of the country’s retirement system until at least the end of the year because of the economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced after meeting with unions Friday that the pension reform “will be maintained.” But he...
