Judge: Seattle cops must stop using tear gas, pepper spray, flash bangs on peaceful protesters
SEATTLE — A U.S. judge Friday ordered Seattle police to temporarily halt using tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang devices to break up peaceful protests. The city, long known as liberal with a lengthy history of protests, has been taking hits from all sides including protesters, some city officials, the...
Racist violence in Jacksonville’s past complicates Republican convention
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When Republicans descend on Jacksonville, Fla., to officially renominate President Trump for a second term, it will be a well-choreographed affair awash in red, white and blue and unfold amid the backdrop of a military town, a bastion of conservatism and a must-win battleground state. But the...
‘Soft opening’ for census door knocking to begin next month
ORLANDO, Fla. — Door knocking by census takers at the homes of people who haven’t yet responded to the 2020 census is scheduled to start next month with a “soft launch,” while a previously postponed count of the homeless will take place in September, U.S. Census Bureau officials said Friday....
Minnesota Senate GOP to block most policing overhaul plans
MINNEAPOLIS — Key Republican lawmakers in Minnesota said Friday they’ll block most of the ambitious changes Democrats want to make to 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...
Book: First lady delayed move to DC to get new prenup
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump delayed her move to Washington after President Trump became president to gain leverage in renegotiating her prenuptial agreement, according to a new book. The White House denounced the book after it became public Friday. Mary Jordan, author of the book “The Art of Her...
Trump may be stuck with GOP platform that attacks his predecessor
President Trump said Friday he wants “a new and updated” Republican Party platform after the Republican National Committee voted this week to carry over the 2016 document. But Trump may be stuck with the old platform, which is peppered with jeremiads about the “current administration” that were originally written about...
Court appears reluctant to order dismissal of Flynn case
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court appears skeptical of arguments it should order the dismissal of the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn despite a Justice Department bid to abandon the prosecution. Two of the three judges on the panel repeatedly signaled during arguments Friday...
Police reform measures to get hearing in Pennsylvania Senate
A bill that called for sweeping reforms in police hiring and training following the 2018 police shooting of 17 year-old Antwon Rose II in East Pittsburgh is among police reform measures that will go before a joint hearing of the state Senate Law and Justice and Judiciary committees Tuesday. Senate...
Police disciplinary records are largely kept secret in U.S.
PHILADELPHIA — Officer Derek Chauvin had more than a dozen misconduct complaints against him before he put his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City officer who seized Eric Garner in a deadly chokehold, had eight. Ryan Pownall, a Philadelphia officer facing murder charges in the...
Poll: Americans maintain virus precautions as states reopen
WASHINGTON — Most Americans say they are wearing masks. They are still by and large avoiding restaurants. And the vast majority are still staying at least six feet from others when out and about. Even as states and metropolitan areas throughout the country relax restrictions on social and economic life...
Pennsylvania reports 686 more covid-19 cases, 49 more deaths
Pennsylvania officials on Friday reported 49 more covid-19 deaths and 686 additional cases, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 77,999, according to health officials. A total of 6,162 people have died from the virus. Approximately 5,931 of the total cases are in health care workers. There are 629...
Outer Banks rental company sued over virus-related refunds
AVON, N.C. — A class-action lawsuit has been filed against a real estate company on North Carolina’s Outer Banks after it allegedly refused to issue refunds for people who couldn’t visit because of coronavirus-related travel restrictions. The Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday that the suit was filed against Surf or Sound Realty....
Band-Aid is expanding bandage skin tone options
Band-Aid is embracing diversity. Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday it would be rolling out several new skin tone colors for its bandages. “We hear you. We see you. We’re listening to you,” the company said in a post on its Instagram page. “We are committed to launching a range of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Police: 7 arrested for vandalizing Columbus statue in MiamiVideo
MIAMI — Seven people have been arrested for vandalizing statues of Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de León in Miami, and one man was charged with smashing a patrol car with his skateboard and trying to incite a riot, the city’s police said. The arrests happened Wednesday after a chaotic...
Newspaper publisher in Missouri resigns after printing racist cartoon
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The publisher of a family-owned Missouri newspaper has resigned after publishing a racist syndicated cartoon depicting a black man stealing a white woman’s purse while hailing funding cuts to police. Bill Miller Sr. on Thursday told The Associated Press he has stepped down as publisher of the...
