Associated Press stories, Page 2095
Amy Grant has open heart surgery to fix heart condition
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A publicist for Amy Grant says the contemporary Christian singer had open heart surgery on Wednesday to fix a heart condition she has had since birth. Doctors discovered Grant had a heart condition called partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) during a routine checkup. Velvet Kelm, her...
Active-duty troops deployed to D.C. region start to leave
WASHINGTON — Active-duty troops brought in to help if needed with the civil unrest in the nation’s capitol are beginning to return to their home base, after two days of more peaceful demonstrations in Washington, D.C., senior defense officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The officials said that about...
Nation’s streets calmest in days; police credit curfews
MINNEAPOLIS — Protesters marched Wednesday in peaceful pleas to end police brutality, after a calmer night in cities across America void of the violence of recent days, as demonstrators heightened calls for justice in the killing of George Floyd. Curfews and efforts by protesters to contain earlier flare-ups of lawlessness...
New Mexico close to historic all-female U.S. House delegation
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — New Mexico has moved closer to possibly sending a historic delegation of all women of color to the U.S. House. According to unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary, Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Latina, won a seven-way race to capture her party’s nomination for the Democratic-leaning seat...
Parents, educators, experts talk to kids on race amid unrest
NEW YORK — As an African American parent, Cassandre Dunbar in Charlotte, North Carolina, always knew she and her husband would have “the talk” with their son, the one preparing him for interactions with law enforcement. But she never dreamed it would be necessary at 5 years old. “I thought...
Philadelphia to be under curfew for 5th straight nightVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia will be under curfew again for a fifth straight night Wednesday. City officials said the curfew will extend from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. Thursday. During that time, people will only be allowed to leave their homes to work at essential businesses or to seek medical attention...
Wall Street’s rally rolls into Day 4 on reopening hopes
Stocks are rising again Wednesday on optimism that the economy can climb out of its current hole more quickly than earlier feared. The S&P 500 was up 1.1% in midday trading, heading for its fourth straight gain as lockdowns loosen around the world and raise hopes for a coming economic...
Man charged with assault after thrown pickle hits highway worker
POWNAL, Vt. — A Massachusetts man is facing an assault charge after he allegedly threw a large pickle from a moving vehicle that hit a Vermont highway worker, police said. The incident occurred just before 6 p.m. Monday on U.S. Route 7 in Pownal near the border crossing into Massachusetts....
No crowds delight art lovers in Italy at reopened museumsVideo
FLORENCE, Italy — The Uffizi Galleries, the most-visited museum in Italy, is open after three months of covid-19 lockdown, delighting art lovers who don’t have to jostle with throngs of tourists thanks to new social distancing rules. Uffizi director Eike Schmidt told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the government-ordered...
‘Comeback kid’? West Virginia governor gets unlikely boost from coronavirus
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Before the coronavirus upended the world, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was in trouble. His own party rebelled against him. Federal prosecutors investigated him. Embarrassing lawsuits loomed. But now some believe that the Republican governor has been able to use his daily virus news conferences to stabilize...
Trump administration moves to block Chinese airlines from U.S.Video
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Wednesday to block Chinese airlines from flying to the United States in an escalation of trade and travel tensions between the two countries. The Transportation Department said it would suspend passenger flights of four Chinese airlines to and from the United States starting June...
Statue of divisive Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo is removed
A crane lifted a long-polarizing statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo from its home outside a public building in the wee hours of Wednesday, whisking it away after recent protests against police brutality hastened its removal. As National Guard troops deployed for the protests watched, the crane lifted the...
Scientists learn how tiny critters make ocean ‘snot palaces’
Master builders of the sea construct the equivalent of a complex five-story house that protects them from predators and funnels and filters food for them — all from snot coming out of their heads. And when these delicate mucus homes get clogged, the tadpole-looking critters — called giant larvaceans —...
Army: Defense Secretary Mark Esper reverses plan to send active-duty troops home
WASHINGTON — In an abrupt reversal, Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday overturned an earlier Pentagon decision to send a couple hundred active-duty soldiers home from the Washington, D.C., region, amid growing tensions with the White House over the military response to the protests. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The...
Officials: Pennsylvania schools can reopen in-person teaching on July 1
Elementary and secondary schools inside Pennsylvania’s less restrictive reopening zones can resume teaching in person and other activities at the end of June, the Education Department announced Wednesday. The guidance issued by the department says school boards in the green and yellow zones under the stoplight-colored reopening system must first...
Scientist defends Sweden’s hotly debated virus strategy
Sweden’s chief epidemiologist on Wednesday defended his country’s controversial coronavirus strategy, which avoided a lockdown but resulted in one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world. Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency denied that “the Swedish strategy was wrong and should be changed. That’s not...
Trump: Deploying forces to DC shows how to quell protests
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday took credit for a massive deployment of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers to the nation’s capital, saying it offered a model to states on how to quell protests nationwide. Trump argued that the massive show of force was responsible for...
Lea Michele apologizes for being ‘difficult’ on ‘Glee’ set
Former “Glee” star Lea Michele has apologized for being “unnecessarily difficult” on the set of the musical TV show after a co-star accused Michele of making her time there “a living hell.” Michele issued a statement saying that while she didn’t recall any incident or judged anyone by their background,...
6 Atlanta officers charged after 2 college students pulled from car
ATLANTA — Six Atlanta police officers have been charged over excessive use of force during a protest arrest incident involving two college students, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced the charges during a news conference. The Saturday night incident first gained attention from video online...
Trump, chafing at oversight, takes aim at inspectors general
WASHINGTON — Steve Linick irritated powerful Democrats and Republicans alike in his seven years as the independent watchdog investigating waste and mismanagement at the State Department. Still, he was stunned by a Friday night phone call saying President Donald Trump had fired him. Linick’s access to the computer system, and...
Curfews give sweeping powers to cops, but are often flouted
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hundreds of cities have imposed curfews to keep the peace during a week of violent unrest across the U.S., employing a tactic that gives law enforcement sweeping arrest powers but is frequently flouted and criticized as being unconstitutional. From New York City to Fargo, North Dakota, cities...
Widow: Retired police captain died protecting friend’s store
ST. LOUIS — A retired police captain who died during a night of violent protests was trying to protect his friend’s pawn shop, his widow said. David Dorn’s last moments were caught on video and apparently posted on Facebook Live, though the video has since been taken down. He was...
Friends mourn ex-Indiana football player slain during unrest
INDIANAPOLIS — To those who knew former Indiana University football player Chris Beaty, it was no surprise that he would participate in a protest over the death of George Floyd. That a man they saw as a “gentle giant” who brought positivity everywhere he went would turn up dead in...
Statue of divisive former Philadelphia Mayor Rizzo removedVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Workers removed the statue early Wednesday of controversial former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, which was recently defaced during a protest following George Floyd’s death. As National Guard troops deployed in the wake of recent protests watched, a crane lifted the 10-foot-tall bronze statue and workers shook it from...
With wins in 7 states and D.C., Biden closes in on nominationVideo
Joe Biden is on the cusp of formally securing the Democratic presidential nomination after winning hundreds more delegates in primary contests that tested the nation’s ability to run elections while balancing a pandemic and sweeping social unrest. Biden could lock down the nomination within the next week as West Virginia...
