Associated Press stories, Page 2161
Virtual ceremony for 4th anniversary of nightclub massacreVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A ceremony commemorating the fourth anniversary of a massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida was being held virtually Friday because of the coronavirus, instead of members of the public gathering outside the club to remember the victims as in years past. A pre-taped, online ceremony was...
Tokyo Olympic head says 80% of facilities lined up for 2021
TOKYO — About 80% of the facilities needed for next year’s postponed Tokyo Olympics have been lined up, the president of the organizing committee said Friday. Two of the largest venues have not yet been secured, however. “For a significant number of facilities, about 80% of them, we have already...
Kelly Clarkson seeks divorce from husband of nearly 7 years
Kelly Clarkson has filed for divorce from her husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock. The singer, talk show host and judge on “The Voice” filed court papers to end the marriage under her married name Kelly Blackstock on June 4 in Los Angeles. The 38-year-old Clarkson and the 43-year-old...
Chris Paul, JJ Watt to appear in Amazon’s ‘Regular Heroes’Video
NFL star J.J. Watt, NBA player Chris Paul and country singer Brad Paisley will appear in an Amazon series that highlights everyday people who are supporting their community during the coronavirus pandemic. Paul will make a guest appearance on the fifth episode of “Regular Heroes” on Friday. He has been...
Minnesota Senate GOP to block most policing overhaul plans
MINNEAPOLIS — Key Republican lawmakers in Minnesota said Friday that they’ll block most of an ambitious effort by Democrats to remake policing in the state where George Floyd died and that they plan to approve only a limited set of police accountability measures. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and the...
On summit anniversary, North Korea vows to build up military
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Friday again vowed to build up its military to counter what it perceives as U.S. threats and said there will be little reason for a personal relationship between leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump if Washington persists with sanctions and pressure. On...
San Francisco police won’t respond to non-criminal calls
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco officers will stop responding to non-criminal activities such as disputes between neighbors, reports about homeless people and school discipline interventions as part of a police reform plan the mayor announced Thursday. Mayor London Breed said in a news release that on calls that don’t involve...
Tigers continue to load up on offense on Day 2 of MLB DraftVideo
NEW YORK — The Detroit Tigers took a few more big swings at rebuilding their lineup. And they hope sooner rather than later. After selecting Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson to open the MLB Draft on Wednesday night, the Tigers used their first four picks Thursday on hitters they envision...
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey touts hospitals amid focus on rise in virus cases
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey dismissed mounting concerns Thursday about the state’s alarming rise in coronavirus cases, and focused on hospitals’ capacity to care for patients rather than slowing the spread of the virus. “That’s what’s most important when there is a rise in cases,” Ducey told reporters. “Because...
Louisville bans ‘no-knocks’ after Breonna Taylor’s death
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville, Kentucky, has banned the use of controversial “no-knock” warrants and named the new ordinance for Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by officers who burst into her home. The city’s Metro Council unanimously voted Thursday night to ban the controversial warrants after days of protests and...
Pack swimsuit, mask, California welcomes back tourists
SAN DIEGO — There will be no packed double-decker safari buses with tour guides rolling through the San Diego Zoo, nor animal shows that draw crowds — nor breakfast buffets at hotels. Instead, hotels are adorning lobbies with hand sanitizing dispensers and will be limiting how many people lounge by...
Historical figures reassessed after George Floyd’s death
The rapidly unfolding movement to pull down Confederate monuments around the U.S. in the wake of George Floyd’s death has extended to statues of slave traders, imperialists, conquerors and explorers around the world, including Christopher Columbus, Cecil Rhodes and Belgium’s King Leopold II. Protests and, in some cases, acts of...
Trump fumes as protesters stake out festive zone in Seattle
SEATTLE — Following days of violent confrontations with protesters, police in Seattle have largely withdrawn from part of a neighborhood where protesters have created a festival-like scene that has President Donald Trump fuming. Trump taunted Gov. Jay Inslee and Mayor Jenny Durkan about the situation on Twitter and said the...
Bills QB Josh Allen stays busy despite pandemic restrictionsVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Josh Allen has hardly spent this coronavirus pandemic-altered offseason in self-isolation. The Buffalo Bills quarterback, instead, kept himself busy in seeking advice from Peyton Manning and Brett Favre on Zoom calls, to gathering his teammates together for workouts on both coasts. It all has been done with...
Rose, Varner lead at Colonial as PGA Tour resumes in quiet settingVideo
FORT WORTH, Texas — The start was even more quiet than usual for a Thursday morning on the PGA Tour, only the silence never left over the next 12 hours as golf was back to business at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Sung Kang made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole...
Despite far more support, kneeling might not be widespread in NFLVideo
NFL players who want to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism have far more support than Colin Kaepernick did four years ago. Still, it might not be widespread for a few reasons. If organizations insist on unity, as some coaches and front-office executives have mentioned,...
NCAA football committee expected to approve extended preseasonVideo
The NCAA football oversight committee finalized a plan for an extended preseason that would include an additional two weeks for teams to hold walk-throughs. The proposal goes to the Division I Council, which meets Tuesday, and is expected to be approved. With the pandemic wiping out spring practice for most...
George Floyd death spurs action in Minnesota sports for societal changeVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Eric Kendricks woke up distressed shortly after George Floyd was killed just a few miles from the stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play. Kendricks, the All-Pro inside linebacker who mostly has stayed out of the spotlight during his first five seasons in the NFL, was “super emotional” enough...
NASCAR braces for potential fallout after banning Confederate flagVideo
NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flag from its races and venues grabbed headlines, and stars such as actress Reese Witherspoon and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara were quick to praise the stock car series for ridding itself of a symbol long associated with slavery and racism. Now...
Browns executive Adofo-Mensah proud to be part of diverse front officeVideo
CLEVELAND — The messages of congratulations came from strangers. They caught Kwesi Adofo-Mensah off guard. Hired last month as the new vice president of football operations for the Cleveland Browns after seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Adofo-Mensah was inundated with unexpected notes from people he didn’t know. “A...
Baseball plans game at Field of Dreams, but will they come?Video
DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Spurred by a voice telling him, “If you build it, he will come,” the Iowa farmer played by Kevin Costner dutifully carved a baseball field out of his cornfield and then watched as Shoeless Joe Jackson and his Chicago White Sox teammates strode out of the stalks...
Judge: Reopen Puerto Rico school cafeterias or face arrest
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A judge on Thursday gave Puerto Rico’s education secretary 24 hours to open all public school cafeterias in the U.S. territory or face arrest as impoverished students struggle to obtain free meals amid the pandemic. The ruling is the latest development in a lawsuit that...
NFL extends virtual offseason until June 26Video
The NFL extended virtual offseason programs for teams through June 26 but no further. Although team facilities have opened for key personnel, coaches and players rehabilitating injuries, healthy players have been barred from those complexes because of the covid-19 pandemic. The remote programs have taken the place of on-site work,...
Microsoft joins Amazon, IBM in pausing face scans for police
Microsoft has become the third big tech company this week to say it won’t sell its facial recognition software to police, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM. Microsoft’s president and chief counsel, Brad Smith, announced the decision and called on Congress to regulate the technology during a Washington Post...
Breonna Taylor police report gives few details, some wrong
LOUISVILLE, Ky.— An incident report released by Louisville Police on the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor is mostly blank, with few details of the incident that spurred days of protests in the city. The report dated March 13, the day of the shooting, cites a police-involved death investigation and identifies...
