Associated Press stories, Page 2406
Barr: Encryption creates U.S. security risk
NEW YORK — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday increased encryption of data on phones and computers and encrypted messaging apps are putting American security at risk. Barr’s comments at a cybersecurity conference mark a continuing effort by the Justice Department to push tech companies to provide law enforcement with...
Agreement affirms North Carolina transgender restroom rights
RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge approved a legal settlement Tuesday affirming transgender people’s right to use restrooms matching their gender identity in many North Carolina public buildings. The consent decree between the state’s Democratic governor and transgender plaintiffs covers numerous state-owned buildings including facilities run by executive branch agencies...
Venezuelan blackout eases in some areas; opposition rallies
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition on Tuesday sought to harness anger over a massive blackout that deepened hardship nationwide, but turnout at a Caracas demonstration was relatively modest as many Venezuelans despair of an imminent solution to their plight. Lights came back on in parts of the capital and other...
Videos of water being dumped on New York police officers create stir
NEW YORK — Cellphone videos of people brazenly dousing uniformed New York Police Department patrolmen with water have sparked outrage and led police officials to urge the force not to tolerate the behavior. Police on Tuesday were looking into two recent instances captured on video clips widely circulated on social...
Stocks rise after Coke, Hasbro, others report solid earnings
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks marched broadly higher in afternoon trading Tuesday on Wall Street as several major companies reported solid second quarter earnings. The steady gains built on Monday’s upward momentum and moved stocks closer to record highs reached just over a week ago. Stocks have been volatile in...
Florida lawmaker: Look into Epstein work release from jail
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida lawmaker known as a champion for child sexual abuse victims asked Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday to authorize a state investigation into the circumstances of wealthy convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s freedom to leave jail on work release a decade ago. Democratic state Sen....
Cellphones sought in Puerto Rico as political crisis deepens
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Puerto Rico judge issued search warrants for the cellphones of government officials involved in a crude and offensive online chat whose leak has set off a political crisis that threatens to bring down the U.S. territory’s governor. Kelvin Carrasco, a spokesman for the island’s...
FBI’s Wray dodges questions on Mueller report’s findings
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray offered a lesson Tuesday in how to dodge questions about the special counsel’s Russia investigation , offering a possible preview of what lawmakers can expect when Robert Mueller testifies to Congress. Wray, in an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, repeatedly declined to answer...
Trump puts his stamp on nation’s immigration courts
LOS ANGELES — In just 2½ years, the Trump administration has put its stamp on the nation’s immigration court system, appointing more than 4 in 10 judges while dramatically expanding the bench and issuing new rules that make it harder for migrants to win their cases and stay in the...
Senate confirms Army veteran Mark Esper secretary of defense
WASHINGTON — It took seven months, but President Trump finally has a Senate-confirmed secretary of defense. Mark Esper, an Army veteran and former defense industry lobbyist, won Senate confirmation Tuesday by a vote of 90-8. He was to be officially sworn by the end of the day, ending the longest...
Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift score 10 MTV VMA nominationsVideo
Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift are the top contenders at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, each scoring 10 nominations. MTV announced Tuesday that Grande and Swift will compete in eight of the same categories, including video of the year. Swift’s gay pride anthem “You Need to Calm Down” and...
Sydney police find drug haul in van that hit police cars
SYDNEY — A driver has been charged after methamphetamine valued at more than $140 million was found in a van that crashed into police cars parked outside a Sydney police station, police said on Tuesday. A Toyota HiAce van hit the cars outside the Eastwood Police Station on Monday morning,...
Lake Erie beach closed after 2nd swimmer goes missing
HURON, Ohio — Authorities in Ohio have shut down a Lake Erie beach after a second swimmer went missing in less than a month. Officials in Huron say Nickel Plate Beach will be closed until further notice while the city looks at ways to improve safety at the beach, about...
Virginia school’s transgender bathroom ban is back in court
NORFOLK, Va. — Gavin Grimm, a young man who has become a national face for transgender student rights, returns to a Virginia courtroom Tuesday to challenge his former high school’s bathroom policy. A federal judge in Norfolk is considering whether the Gloucester County School Board violated Grimm’s rights when it...
B.B. King’s ‘Lucille’ guitar going up for auction
Her name was “Lucille,” and in B.B. King’s hands she gave voice to the “King of the Blues.” Julien’s Auctions announced Tuesday that King’s black Gibson ES-345 prototype guitar is among the items from his estate that will go up for bid on Sept. 21. Julien’s says Gibson gave King...
Marvel’s next films will bring diversity, onscreen and offVideo
Marvel’s push for more women and people of color in its immensely popular film franchise is extending to behind the camera as it launches its next round of films after the massive success of “Avengers: Endgame.” Of the five films the superhero studio announced at Comic-Con on Saturday, only one...
Boris Johnson wins race to become UK’s next prime minister
LONDON — Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson won the contest to lead Britain’s governing Conservative Party on Tuesday and will become the country’s next prime minister, tasked with fulfilling his promise to lead the U.K. out of the European Union. Johnson resoundingly defeated rival Jeremy Hunt, winning two thirds of the...
Review urged after 3 Pennsylvania parolees charged in separate homicides
HARRISBURG — At least three men recently paroled from Pennsylvania prisons have been arrested in unrelated homicides over the past two months, leading to calls from prosecutors and corrections officers for a review of the state’s parole practices. The men were arrested within a couple days of one another this...
Lamoureux twins giving back to community while training for Olympics
BISMARCK, N.D. — Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, stars of the United States’ gold medal-winning hockey team in South Korea, are hard at work training to make another Olympic team in 2022. But they also are carving out time to do good off the ice, launching a foundation Monday that...
Study: Millions should stop taking aspirin for heart health
WASHINGTON — Millions of people who take aspirin to prevent a heart attack may need to rethink the pill-popping, Harvard researchers reported Monday. A daily low-dose aspirin is recommended for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke and for those diagnosed with heart disease. But for the...
Trump expands fast-track deportation authority across U.S.
SAN DIEGO — The administration of President Trump announced Monday that it will vastly expand the authority of immigration officers to deport migrants without allowing them to first appear before judges, its second major policy shift on immigration in eight days. Starting Tuesday, fast-track deportations can apply to anyone in...
Shane Lowry can ‘create his own shadows’ after Open victory
PORTRUSH, Ireland — No longer in the shadows of Irish golf, Shane Lowry now has his name etched on the base of the silver claret jug. It’s on there with more than a century’s worth of the best who have conquered the links to win the British Open. Lowry gazed...
NFL notebook: Patriots’ Julian Edelman suffers thumb injury
New England Patriots receiver and Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman is expected to miss about three weeks with a left thumb injury, ESPN reported. Edelman was seen with a brace on the thumb over the weekend at his youth camp. The 33-year-old had 74 catches for 850 yards and...
Wyoming eyes ongoing cuts amid prolonged energy downturn
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming lawmakers continue to look at spending cuts amid a prolonged downturn in revenue from the energy industry. Wyoming’s latest hit comes from the closure of two huge coal mines in the Powder River Basin in early July. State Budget Director Don Richards tells lawmakers if the...
Lawmakers spend $10M annually on publicly funded messaging
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania taxpayers are paying nearly $10 million annually for lawmakers to get their story out through a small army of spokespeople. LNP reported Monday on the vast message machine that often produces news releases, TV shows and other content with a partisan message. The newspaper says it calculated...
