Associated Press stories, Page 920
Voting activist killed during Freedom Summer in Mississippi believed country should be integrated
NEW YORK — Stephen Schwerner doesn’t remember how he learned that his younger brother Michael, nicknamed Mickey, was missing in Mississippi along with colleagues Andrew Goodman and James Chaney. What he remembers is that as soon as the family heard the news, they were certain of the young men’s fate....
Andrew Young was at Martin Luther King’s side throughout often violent struggle for civil rights
ATLANTA — Andrew Young’s first thought when he heard the Voting Rights Act had been signed into law was not celebratory. It was strategic. “Where are we going to get the money to get the country mobilized to register these voters?” he recalled thinking at that momentous time nearly 60...
CNN head Chris Licht is out at the global news network after a brief, tumultuous tenureVideo
NEW YORK — The chief executive CNN pushed out of a job on Wednesday faced mounting problems in his first year leading the struggling network: viewership and profits were declining, programming blunders were growing and the network’s journalists were losing confidence by the day. Chris Licht’s very bad year culminated...
For many Southern Baptists, the only campaign question is which Republican candidate to support
Southern Baptists form a core part of the white evangelical Christian bloc that has reliably and overwhelmingly voted Republican in recent elections, and is expected to again in 2024. But Southern Baptists are weighing their options in the GOP presidential primary field — some already lining up behind Donald Trump,...
Young lawyer who helped write voting rights bill ‘star-struck’ as he witnessed 1965 signing into law
WASHINGTON — Joel Finkelstein is an accidental witness to one of the seminal events of the civil rights movement, the signing in 1965 of the Voting Rights Act. He was a year out of law school at Cornell when he received the call to head to the Capitol for the...
Voices from the violent civil rights era see attacks on voting rights as part of ongoing struggle
They are part of a small, vanishing group who lived at the epicenter of the struggle for voting rights six decades ago, an era driven by segregation, violence and the yearning for equality that eventually led to laws bringing the U.S. closer to its promise of democracy for all its...
Japan supports Sweden’s NATO membership as defense ministers strengthen ties
TOKYO — Japan’s defense minister expressed his country’s support for Sweden’s NATO membership during talks Wednesday with his Swedish counterpart, as the two sides called for stronger military ties amid shared concern over threats from Russia and China. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said that Sweden sees the need for...
Lionel Messi says he’s joining Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami after exit from Paris Saint-Germain
LONDON — Lionel Messi has pulled off his latest stunning feat: He is headed to Major League Soccer, and joining Inter Miami. After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi finally revealed his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon, David...
N.D. Gov. Doug Burgum launches bid for 2024 GOP presidential nomination
FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, adding his name to the long list of contenders hoping to dent former President Donald Trump’s early lead in the race. Burgum, 66, made the announcement in the The Wall Street Journal...
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet in a youth-vs.-experience clash at the French Open
PARIS — Two weeks ago, before the start of play at the French Open, the brackets were set for the tournament, and one possible semifinal matchup immediately demanded attention: No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the Next Big Thing in men’s tennis, against No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the Current Big Thing in...
Pence says ‘Different times call for different leadership’ in video launching 2024 presidential bidVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Vice President Mike Pence promised “the best days of the greatest nation on earth are yet to come” in a video released Wednesday formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president. “Different times call for different leadership,” Pence, who served four years alongside...
Pope Francis undergoes abdominal surgery, will stay in hospital for several days
ROME — Pope Francis underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the latest malady to befall the 86-year-old pontiff who had part of his colon removed two years ago. The Vatican said there were no complications after the three-hour surgery, during which Francis was under general...
Florida grand jury involved in Trump documents probe by Justice Department
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are using a grand jury in Florida as part of their investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach property, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday night. The grand jury is in addition to a separate panel...
Why is it so smoky outside? Canada wildfires lead to air-quality alerts in northeastern U.S.Video
Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside. The effects of hundreds of wildfires burning across the western provinces to Quebec could be felt as far away as New...
House conservatives block GOP bills, voice frustration in response to debt ceiling vote
WASHINGTON — House conservatives staged a mini-revolt Tuesday in retaliation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership on last week’s vote to raise the debt ceiling, the right wing banding together to block progress on a mixture of bills and vent their frustration. Led by outspoken members of the House Freedom Caucus,...
Game 3 awaits in NBA Finals, with Heat loose and Nuggets facing adversityVideo
MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra has preached about the value of adversity for months, not shying away from saying it helped the Miami Heat get to these NBA Finals. And now Denver is dealing with a little taste of it as well. Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday night...
Saints’ Michael Thomas returns for voluntary practices, praises new QB Derek CarrVideo
METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas hardly stopped smiling as he fielded questions about his first chance this week to run routes for Derek Carr — the quarterback he helped recruit. “Just to come out here and be around the guys and the camaraderie, that’s what I...
Column: Golf’s meritocracy means no guarantees for rich scheduleVideo
DUBLIN, Ohio — One week in Ohio was filled with reminders of how valuable meritocracy is to golf. And that was before Tuesday’s shock announcement of the PGA Tour and European tour going from enemies to business partners with Saudi Arabia. Monday was U.S. Open qualifying across 10 sites in...
Rangers ace Jacob deGrom to have season-ending surgeryVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas ace Jacob deGrom will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, cutting short his first season with the AL West-leading Rangers after the oft-injured right-hander signed a $185 million, five-year contract. “We’ve got a special group here, and to...
2 dead in shooting after high school graduation ceremony in Virginia capitalVideo
RICHMOND, Va. — Seven people were shot, two fatally, when gunfire rang out Tuesday outside a downtown theater where a high school graduation ceremony had recently concluded, causing attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses reported. A 19-year-old suspect tried to flee but was...
Sheriff probes self-defense claim of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor in front of kids
OCALA, Fla. — Authorities came under intense pressure Tuesday to arrest and charge a white woman who killed a Black neighbor on her front doorstep in a case that has put Florida’s divisive stand your ground law back into the spotlight. About three dozen mostly Black protesters gathered outside the...
Chesapeake Bay report cites environmental justice disparities
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A report on the Chesapeake Bay released Tuesday found strong disparities between communities in different parts of the bay’s watershed in terms of health, economics and social justice concerns. The findings show a larger context for the challenges of improving the health of the nation’s largest estuary,...
Peruvian judge affirms extradition to U.S. of chief suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance
LIMA, Peru — A Peruvian judge on Tuesday affirmed this week’s planned extradition to the U.S. of the main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway. The judge’s ruling came less than 24 hours after the attorney for Dutchman Joran van der Sloot filed a writ...
Browns players robbed of jewelry, vehicle by masked men in downtown stickup
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski expressed relief two of his defensive players were not physically harmed while being robbed at gunpoint by six masked men outside a downtown nightclub. According to Cleveland Police, the players had jewelry and a truck taken during the early morning stickup. Police...
Panthers confident goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will rebound in Stanley Cup FinalVideo
SUNRISE, Fla. — Sergei Bobrovsky entered the Stanley Cup Final as the hottest goaltender in hockey. He backstopped the Florida Panthers to the final by winning 11 of his last 12 games and stopping 438 of 465 shots in that span, for a 1.95 goals-against average and .942 save percentage....
