Associated Press stories, Page 2043
Russian prankster gets through by phone to Polish presidentVideo
WARSAW, Poland — A Russian prankster posing as the U.N. secretary-general, managed to get through to Poland’s reelected president, Andrzej Duda, on the telephone, rendering him speechless following questions about Ukraine, Russia and the outcome of Sunday’s election. The prankster, Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Vovan, posted a recording of the...
ViacomCBS drops Nick Cannon, cites ‘anti-Semitic’ comments
Nick Cannon’s “hateful speech” and anti-Semitic theories led ViacomCBS to cut ties with the TV host and producer, the media giant said. “ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. It is terminating its relationship with Cannon,...
Thai man forced to psychiatric hospital over T-shirt motto
BANGKOK — A man who posted a photo online showing himself wearing a shirt with a motto questioning the traditional reverence for Thailand’s monarchy has been admitted against his will to a psychiatric hospital, drawing concern from human rights activists. The legal basis for putting 45-year-old Tiwakorn Vithiton into the...
Lockdowns reimposed in India as virus cases near 1 million
NEW DELHI — As India’s confirmed coronavirus cases approach 1 million, lockdowns are being reimposed in parts of the country as local governments try to shield the health system from being overwhelmed. India on Wednesday reported nearly 30,000 new cases and 582 more deaths, raising its totals to more than...
Michael Jackson channel launching on SiriusXMVideo
The King of Pop is joining The Boss and Old Blue Eyes on SiriusXM satellite radio. The month-long Michael Jackson channel was announced Wednesday by the singer’s estate. The channel will feature music from Jackson’s albums and from live performances, including his 1988 concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium on his...
Statue of Black protester replaces toppled U.K. slave traderVideo
LONDON — An artist has erected a statue of a Black Lives Matter protester atop the plinth in the English city of Bristol formerly occupied by a statue of a slave trader. Marc Quinn created the life-size resin and steel likeness of Jen Reid, a protester photographed standing on the...
Europe’s shift to electric cars picks up despite recessionVideo
FRANKFURT, Germany — The coronavirus has canceled business plans all over the world but Europe’s push into electric cars isn’t one of them. Sales of battery-powered and hybrid cars have held up better than the overall market amid a deeply painful recession, mainly thanks to the action of governments. The...
French tourism gets boost with reopening of Disneyland ParisVideo
PARIS — The French tourist industry received a further boost Wednesday with the partial reopening of Disneyland Paris and the opening up of the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Disneyland Paris, Europe’s most frequented theme park resort, is partially reopening to the public, four months after it closed as...
German police find 31 migrants hidden inside Turkish truck
BERLIN — German news agency dpa says police and customs officers discovered some 31 migrants hidden inside a refrigerated truck near the border with the Czech Republic. The truck was stopped Tuesday night on the A 17 highway leading from the border to the eastern German city of Dresden. It...
No bodies found in search for Tulsa massacre victims
TULSA, Okla. — Archaeologists resumed searching a Tulsa cemetery on Tuesday but found no signs of human remains from victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, state Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck said. The search of Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery had thus far turned up only common household items such as broken bottles,...
Democrat Sara Gideon wins Maine primary, will face GOP Sen. Susan Collins
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon beat two other Democrats on Tuesday for the right to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in a race that’s critical to the battle for control of the Senate. Gideon, who’s raised a staggering $23 million in her Senate bid, turned back...
Florida sets new one-day state coronavirus death record with 132Video
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida broke its one-day record for coronavirus deaths Tuesday and while there is a possible caveat, the state is experiencing a skyrocketing fatality rate that’s near the highest in the nation and a rapidly growing number of cases. The 132 deaths reported Tuesday is a 10%...
Burger King addresses climate change by changing cows’ dietsVideo
Burger King is staging an intervention with its cows. The chain has rebalanced the diet of some of the cows by adding lemon grass in a bid to limit bovine contributions to climate change. By tweaking their diet, Burger King said Tuesday that it believes it can reduce a cow’s...
Trump bristles at question about police killing BlacksVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump bristled at a reporter’s question about police killing African Americans and defended the right to display the Confederate flag as he continued to play into racial divisions in a pair of interviews Tuesday. In one interview, Trump seemed taken aback when asked why African Americans...
Demand rises for robot cooks as kitchens combat covid-19
HAYWARD, Calif. — Robots that can cook — from flipping burgers to baking bread — are in growing demand as virus-wary kitchens try to put some distance between workers and customers. Starting this fall, the White Castle burger chain will test a robot arm that can cook french fries and...
Times editor Bari Weiss resigns, saying she was harassed for her ideas
NEW YORK — Bari Weiss, an opinion editor at The New York Times, quit her job on Tuesday with a public resignation letter that alleged harassment and a hostile work environment created by people who disagreed with her. Andrew Sullivan, another prominent journalist who expressed concern that a “woke” culture...
Justice Ginsburg treated in hospital for possible infection
WASHINGTON — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was being treated for a possible infection and was expected to stay in the hospital for a few days following a medical procedure, the Supreme Court said in a statement Tuesday. The court said that the 87-year-old Ginsburg went to a hospital on Monday...
Joe Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan aims to reframe debateVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden released a $2 trillion plan on Tuesday to boost investment in clean energy and stop all climate-damaging emissions from U.S. power plants by 2035, arguing that dramatic action is needed to tackle climate change and revive the economy. In remarks near his home in Wilmington,...
First covid-19 vaccine tested in U.S. poised for final testingVideo
The first covid-19 vaccine tested in the United States revved up people’s immune systems just the way scientists had hoped, researchers reported Tuesday — as the shots are poised to begin key final testing. “No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s...
Montana care home refused free tests. Now, nearly everyone has coronavirus
BILLINGS, Mont. — It was meant to be a last line of defense to protect the most vulnerable as the coronavirus spread across the United States: Montana officials offered free testing in May for staff and residents at assisted living and long-term care facilities. But not all of them followed...
Tommy Tuberville beats Jeff Sessions, wins Alabama Senate GOP primary
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lost the Republican nomination for his old Senate seat in Alabama to former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, likely ending a long political career with a bitter defeat egged on by President Donald Trump. Tuberville, 65, beat Sessions in the Republican...
Man killed by police after mask dispute at Michigan store
GRAND LEDGE, Mich. — A Michigan sheriff’s deputy on Tuesday fatally shot a man suspected of stabbing another man who had challenged him about not wearing a mask at a convenience store, police said. The shooting occurred in Eaton County, southwest of Lansing, about 30 minutes after the stabbing at...
Best Buy to require customers to wear masks amid coronavirus spike
NEW YORK — Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, will require customers to wear face coverings at all of its stores nationwide, even in states or localities that don’t require them to do so. The retailer, based in Richfield, Minn., joins a growing but still short list of...
Republicans mount new challenge to Gov. Wolf’s pandemic power
HARRISBURG — The Republican-controlled Legislature on Tuesday mounted another effort to strip some emergency disaster powers from Gov. Tom Wolf, as well as future governors, in the latest partisan fight over how the Democrat has handled the coronavirus pandemic in Pennsylvania. The House of Representatives passed two bills, largely along...
Canada, U.S. poised to extend border restrictions to Aug. 21Video
TORONTO — The United States and Canada are poised to extend their agreement to keep their shared border closed to non-essential travel to Aug. 21, but a final confirmation has not been given, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The agreement would likely extend the closure by another...
