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People wearing protective face masks walk past a closed entrance to the beach during the new coronavirus pandemic, Friday, July 3, 2020, in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Fla. Beaches throughout South Florida are closed for the busy Fourth of July weekend to avoid further spread of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

`Huge bummer': July Fourth will test Americans' discipline

Jul. 3, 2020 3:12 PM EDT

The U.S. headed into the Fourth of July weekend with many parades and fireworks displays canceled, beaches and bars closed, and health authorities warning that this will be a crucial test of Americans' self-control that could determine the trajectory of the surging coronavirus outbreak. With confirmed cases...

FILE - In this May 28, 2020 file photo, Dave Turnier processes mail-in ballots at at the Chester County Voter Services office in West Chester, Pa., prior to the primary election. President Donald Trump’s campaign and allies have blocked efforts to expand mail-in voting, forcing an awkward confrontation with top GOP election officials promoting the opposite in their states. The rare dissonance between Trump and other Republican elected officials also reflects another reality that the president will not concede: Many in his party believe expanding mail-in voting could ultimately help him. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Can Trump's anti-mail-voting crusade hurt him in key states?

Jul. 3, 2020 11:44 AM EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump's campaign and allies have blocked efforts to expand mail-in voting, forcing an awkward confrontation with top GOP election officials who are promoting the opposite in their states. The rare dissonance between Trump and other Republican elected officials also...

This Friday, July 3, 2020 satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. that has been annotated by experts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies shows a damaged building after a fire and explosion at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. An online video and messages purportedly claiming responsibility for a fire that analysts say damaged a centrifuge assembly plant at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear site deepened the mystery Friday around the incident — even as Tehran insisted it knew the cause but would not make it public due to

Iran declines to disclose cause of mysterious nuke site fire

Jul. 3, 2020 1:55 PM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An online video and messages purportedly claiming responsibility for a fire that analysts say damaged a centrifuge assembly plant at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear site deepened the mystery Friday around the incident — even as Tehran insisted it knew the cause...

FILE - This March 22, 2019, file photo shows Mount Rushmore in Keystone, S.D. President Donald Trump will begin his Independence Day weekend on Friday with a patriotic display of fireworks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial before a crowd of thousands. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Trump's Rushmore trip draws real and figurative fireworks

Jul. 3, 2020 9:50 AM EDT

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Donald Trump will begin his Independence Day weekend on Friday with a patriotic display of fireworks at Mount Rushmore, an event expected to draw thousands where masks and social distancing aren't required as coronavirus cases spike across the country. Trump is expected...

Redskins to have 'thorough review' of name amid race debate

Jul. 3, 2020 1:59 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Redskins began a “thorough review” of their name Friday, a significant step toward moving on from what experts and advocates call a “dictionary-defined racial slur.” Even though owner Dan Snyder had shown no willingness to change the name since...

People purchase fireworks on Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Dublin, Calif. For many Americans, the Fourth of July won't be about big festivities but setting off fireworks themselves. Hundreds of cities and towns have canceled shows Saturday because of the coronavirus pandemic, and sales of consumer fireworks are booming; though officials are concerned about fires and injuries with more pyrotechnics going off in backyards and at block parties. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

More fireworks in Americans' hands for July 4 raises risks

Jul. 3, 2020 1:06 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — For many Americans, the Fourth of July will be more intimate this year. It also could be riskier. Saturday will be unlike any Independence Day in recent memory. From Atlanta to San Diego, hundreds of fireworks shows have been canceled as officials restrict large gatherings during the...

This aerial drone photo shows the Call Federal Credit Union building, front, Tuesday June 16, 2020, in Midlothian, Va. Police were able to obtain geofence search warrants, a tool being increasingly used by law enforcement. The warrant sought location histories kept by Google of cellphones and other devices used within 150 meters (500 feet) of the bank. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Geofence warrants to be tested in Virginia bank robbery case

Jul. 3, 2020 12:18 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — It was a terrifying bank robbery: Demanding cash in a handwritten note, a man waved a gun, threatened to kill a teller's family, ordered employees and customers onto the floor and escaped with $195,000. Surveillance video gave authorities a lead, showing a man holding a cellphone...

The controversial most modern Uniper Datteln 4 coal-powered plant steams behind a corn field one month after the operational start in Datteln, Germany, Friday, July 3, 2020. The state governors Dietmar Woidke of Brandenburg, Michael Kretschmer of Saxony, Reiner Haseloff of Saxony-Anhalt and Armin Laschet of North Rhine-Westphalia meet in Berlin for the adoption by the Bundestag and Bundesrat of the laws on coal phase-out and structural strengthening in the affected federal states. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Germany is first major economy to phase out coal and nuclear

Jul. 3, 2020 11:53 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have finalized the country's long-awaited phase-out of coal as an energy source, backing a plan that environmental groups say isn't ambitious enough and free marketeers criticize as a waste of taxpayers' money. Bills approved by both houses of parliament Friday envision...

Kacey Musgraves performs during the first weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Zilker Park on Oct. 6, 2019, in Austin, Texas, left, and Ruston Kelly performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on June 15, 2019, in Manchester, Tenn. Musgraves and Kelly have filed for divorce. In a joint statement, Musgraves and Kelly said “we’ve made this painful decision together.

Reps: Singers Kacey Musgraves, Ruston Kelly file for divorce

Jul. 3, 2020 3:40 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Kacey Musgraves and her musician-husband, Ruston Kelly, have filed for divorce. Representatives for both singers confirmed the news Friday to The Associated Press. In a joint statement, Musgraves and Kelly said “we’ve made this painful decision together."...

FILE - In this June 27, 2020, file phohto, Chicago Red Stars' Julie Ertz, second from left, holds Casey Short, center, while other players for the team kneel during the national anthem before an NWSL Challenge Cup soccer match against the Washington Spirit at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The National Women's Soccer League revised its anthem policy after most players knelt during the anthem before season-opening games last weekend at the Challenge Cup. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Discourse over national anthem looms for NBA, other leagues

Jul. 3, 2020 2:55 PM EDT

Rick Carlisle isn't sure what to expect from players during the national anthem when the NBA season resumes in empty arenas in Florida. The Dallas Mavericks coach does know how he will react if players kneel or otherwise violate a longtime league policy that requires them to stand during the playing of...

Latest General News

FILE - In this March 29, 2020, file photo, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont addresses the media at medical equipment manufacturer Bio-Med Devices in Guilford, Conn. On Thursday, July 2, 2020, Lamont announced a change to the required 14-day quarantine for visitors from states with high COVID-19 infection rates. He believes the quarantine announced the week before by Connecticut, New Jersey and New York has limited the number of Connecticut's out-of-state visitors. (Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, File)

Nursing home industry urging public to continue safety steps

Jul. 3, 2020 4:21 PM EDT

Representatives of the nursing home and assisted living industry are urging residents “to do their part” and help keep the current spread of the coronavirus low in Connecticut as a way to prevent a resurgence in long-term care facilities. They credited social distancing, hand washing, the wearing of...

Mountainside Fitness posts their safety guidelines as the facility remains open even as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has issued an executive order for all gyms to close due to the surge in coronavirus cases in Arizona Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Phoenix. For the third straight day, several health clubs in metro Phoenix were defying Ducey's 30-day shutdown order to close gyms, bars, water park and tubing businesses, raising questions about whether officials who have been criticized for responding indecisively to the pandemic will be effective in shutting down the clubs. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The Latest: WHO urges focus on first wave of coronavirus

Jul. 3, 2020 4:20 PM EDT

GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s emergencies chief says “we need to put up a fight now” during a peak in the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic — rather than focusing on when a second wave might come. Dr. Michael Ryan said the world will be much better at fighting...

Nursing homes defend care, taking visitors again next week

Jul. 3, 2020 4:16 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Residents of Rhode Island's nursing homes and assisted-living facilities will be able to welcome their loved ones again starting next week under new rules released Friday by the state Department of Health. Guests will be allowed beginning Wednesday, provided the facilities adhere to...

Police: Officer-involved shooting still under investigation

Jul. 3, 2020 4:15 PM EDT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Police in Baltimore said Friday the shooting of a man by two officers earlier this week while he was having a behavioral health crisis remains under investigation. The officers shot the unidentified 33-year-old man multiple times Wednesday in the basement of a home after “he pulled...

Body pulled from pond near homeless camp in Maplewood

Jul. 3, 2020 4:15 PM EDT

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (AP) — Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies have recovered a man’s body from a pond near a homeless camp in Maplewood. The sheriff's office said deputies responded at 7 p.m. Thursday to the pond near the Maplewood Library after a 911 caller reported finding a body there. Officers...

FILE - In this June 27, 2020, file photo, demonstrators carry a giant placard during a rally and march over the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain outside the police department in Aurora, Colo. Multiple suburban Denver police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into photos of them related to the case of a Black man who died last summer after he was stopped and restrained, police said Monday, June 29, 2020. The interim police chief of the city of Aurora, Vanessa Wilson, said in a statement that the suspended officers were

Photos show police reenacting chokehold on Elijah McClain

Jul. 3, 2020 4:14 PM EDT

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Police released photos Friday showing three officers smiling as they reenacted a chokehold that their colleagues used on Elijah McClain, a Black man who died after police stopped him as he walked down the street last summer in a Denver suburb. Following an internal investigation by...

Georgia coronavirus cases continue steep climb

Jul. 3, 2020 4:13 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia experienced another steep jump in coronavirus cases Friday, adding nearly 2,800 confirmed cases to its total count ahead of the July 4 holiday. The Georgia Department of Public Health reported just under 90,500 cases. At least 2,856 people have died in the state. The state has seen a...

FILE - In this July 4, 2006, file photo, Willie Nelson addresses fans attending his Fourth of July Picnic in Ft. Worth, Texas. Willie Nelson’s annual Fourth of July Picnic is going ahead this year, but to reduce concerns about the coronavirus the event will be virtual. Fans can tune in to the nearly 50-year-old music bash Saturday via livestream. (AP Photo/Rex C. Curry, File)

Willie Nelson's July Fourth picnic is virtual in virus era

Jul. 3, 2020 4:13 PM EDT

SPICEWOOD, Texas (AP) — Willie Nelson’s annual Fourth of July Picnic is going ahead this year, but to reduce concerns about the coronavirus the event will be virtual. Fans can tune in to the nearly 50-year-old music bash Saturday via luck.stream and williepicnic.com. Tickets for the picnic are on...

Alabama reports highest number of daily virus cases at 1,700

Jul. 3, 2020 4:11 PM EDT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama reported more than 1,700 new confirmed coronavirus cases— the highest number yet for a single day— as doctors and state officials expressed concern about further spread during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The state on Thursday surpassed the previous...

Law enforcement agents confer near the site of a shooting Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. The shooting left a suspect dead and a police officer in critical condition after being shot in the head. The officer was hospitalized for emergency surgery, Kansas City police said on Twitter. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star via AP)

Kansas City police: Officer shot in head remains stable

Jul. 3, 2020 4:11 PM EDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City police officer who was shot in the head during an exchange of gunfire that left a suspect dead was in stable condition Friday following surgery, authorities said. A police spokesman, Officer Jacob Becchina, declined to release the name of the officer, and Chief Richard...

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