Ingested Articles

Hamilton holds off Verstappen to win tense F1 season-opener

Lewis Hamilton just managed to hold off Max Verstappen to win the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and clinch the 96th F1 win of his career. The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton but went too wide on a turn and off track limits. He was told by his team to give Hamilton the position back as he risked a time penalty. Verstappen still had a few laps to catch Hamilton and he almost did. He finished .74 seconds behind the Mercedes driver. Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas took third but was way behind the front two. Fernando Alonso failed to finish the race on his F1 comeback with Alpine.

Many Brazilians disregard the pleas to stay at home

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Authorities in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro begged the population to stay home, but thousands of Brazilians are traveling to coastal cities and ignoring recommendations on the first weekend of a 10-day holiday period…

White House says it's working on access to migrant centers

White House press secretary Jen Psaki is declining to provide a specific date for when the media will get access to Border Patrol facilities temporarily holding thousands of migrant children seeking to live in the United States. But Psaki says the Biden administration is committed to transparency and “we’re working to get that done as soon as we can.” More than 16,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody as of Thursday, including about 5,000 in substandard Customs and Border Protection facilities. Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been calling on the administration to open the facilities to the cameras, asserting that the current policy is designed to keep the public from “fully realizing” what is happening at the border.

Romanian woman, 104, says vaccine "only way" to end pandemic

BUCHAREST (AP) — A 104-year-old Romanian woman has received her second COVID-19 vaccination shot, becoming the oldest person in Romania’s capital of Bucharest to be fully inoculated against the disease. Accompanied by relatives who helped her into Bucharest’s Children’s Palace,…

Jurors in ex-officer's high-profile trial face heavy burden

The huge task for jurors at the trial of a white former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd showed during jury selection as some would-be jurors said they were unnerved by the very thought of being on the panel. All jurors at all trials feel pressure, knowing their decisions will alter lives. But the weight on jurors in Minneapolis who will hear opening statements Monday is in a whole different category. They are assigned to weigh whether to assign guilt in the death of a Black man that prompted some of the largest protests in U.S. history. One question is whether the ex-officer, Derek Chauvin, can get a fair trial with so much pressure on jurors and with some potentially fearing the consequences should they acquit.

Myanmar mourns, protests after crackdown's deadliest day yet

Mourners flocked to funerals of those killed in the deadliest day of a crackdown on protests of last month’s coup in Myanmar, as demonstrators returned to the streets Sunday to press their demands for a return to democracy. A day earlier, security forces killed at least 114 people, including several children under 16, according to local media. That shocking escalation that prompted the U.N. rapporteur to accuse the junta of committing “mass murder” and to criticize the international community for not doing enough to stop it. There were reports that the violence also continued Sunday. The Feb. 1 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. 

Key events since George Floyd's arrest and death

George Floyd's death after his arrest by police officers in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, sparked widespread anger after millions of people saw video of the event. The four officers at the scene were quickly fired and charged in his death. The agonizing bystander video shows Floyd repeatedly crying “I can't breathe" and eventually going still as Officer Derek Chauvin presses his knee on Floyd's neck. The video's release sparked immediate protests and sometimes violent riots nationwide and around the world. Opening statements are set for Monday in Chauvin's trial on murder and manslaughter charges.

UK eases lockdown but nervously eyes European virus surge

LONDON (AP) — Britain is taking another small step out of lockdown as it looks nervously at a new virus surge inundating its European neighbors. With U.K. coronavirus vaccination rates outstripping those of European Union nations, Prime Minister Boris Johnson…

Virus fight stalls in early hot spots New York, New Jersey

A year after they became a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection. Even as the vaccination campaign has ramped up, the number of people getting infected in New Jersey has crept to by 37% in a little more than a month, to about 23,600 every seven days. About 50,000 people per week in New York are testing positive for the virus. The two states now rank No. 1 and 2 in new infections per capita among U.S. states. But the situation in New York and New Jersey mirrors a national trend that has seen case numbers inch up in recent days.

In Brazil, moms are bearing the brunt of pandemic's blow

Sao Paulo city officials put out a call last month for 4,500 public school cleaning jobs, targeting Brazilian mothers affected by the raging pandemic. In just two days, over 90,000 women applied. The overwhelming response offers a glimpse at how women have been disproportionally sidelined by the crisis. Worldwide, as schools remain closed, many mothers juggle fewer work hours with homeschooling and household duties. Others put their careers on hold entirely, or were laid off. In Brazil, female participation in the workforce has fallen below 50% for the first time in at least a decade. And as the nation battles a brutal resurgence in COVID-19, economists say the health and economic crises are further delaying the return of women to the workforce.

Colorado massacre spurs calls for state action on gun deaths

For the second time in less than a week, a 21-year-old man used a gun purchased legally in the U.S. to massacre people. The mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia are giving new urgency to efforts to enact gun restrictions, even while showing how hard it can be to prevent a tragedy. Colorado has passed gun control laws in recent years, but the suspect in a grocery store shooting that killed 10 legally bought a gun despite an assault conviction and questions about his mental health. Democratic leaders are weighing calls for stronger action. But support for gun rights is strong in parts of Colorado, and Second Amendment advocates argue new restrictions aren't the answer.  

UK variant hunters lead global race to stay ahead of COVID

Even when the U.K. had just a few dozen confirmed cases of COVID-19, professor Sharon Peacock recognized that the country needed to expand its capacity to analyze the genetic makeup of the virus. The Cambridge University microbiologist set about bringing scientists together to work on genomic sequencing. That has made Britain a world leader in finding new variants that are more dangerous or resistant to vaccines. The work is part of a global effort, and scientists around the world are learning from Britain as they ramp up their work to respond to variants and stay ahead of COVID-19.

Census data delay scrambles plans for state redistricting

A delay in census data is scrambling plans in some states to redraw districts for the U.S. House and state legislatures. The Census Bureau has said redistricting data that was supposed to be provided to states by the end of March won't be ready until August or September. That's after the deadline to finish redistricting in some states. As a result, states such as Oklahoma and Oregon are considering ways to use other population estimates to begin redistricting state House and Senate seats. Officials in other states, including North Carolina and Texas, have proposed delaying their 2022 primary elections.

In Minneapolis, an immigrant street struggles to recover

Nearly a year after sometimes violent protests for racial justice shook Minneapolis, an immigrant corridor is struggling to recover. Lake Street, the focus of so much violence during the protests that followed George Floyd's death in police custody, has been a beacon for immigrants for more than a century. Now, some stores remain boarded up, some have been closed permanently, and residents are worried about crime. Meanwhile, politicians are bickering about rebuilding funds. And even when Minnesota’s notorious winter surrendered recently to sunny, spring-like weather, the sidewalks in the most hard-hit neighborhoods remained quiet.

Armenia premier confirms he will step down to allow election

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s embattled prime minister on Sunday confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow for an early parliamentary election. Nikol Pashinyan has faced weeks of protests calling for his…

New York lawmakers agree to legalize recreational marijuana

New York lawmakers have finalized an agreement to legalize recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21. The state has come close to passing marijuana legislation several times but until now has been unable to finalize a deal. New York joins at least 14 other states that allow residents to buy marijuana for recreational, and not just medical, use. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made legalization a priority for his administration this year. His office has estimated that once a legal marijuana industry is fully mature, it could bring the state about $350 million annually.

Court fight against Georgia voting overhaul no sure thing

Court challenges to Republican-led election restrictions in Georgia and elsewhere face an uncertain road in a legal system that has grown more conservative in recent years. National legislation favored by Democrats could counteract some state restrictions, but that too is no sure thing in a closely divided Congress. Groups opposed to Georgia’s sweeping overhaul of election laws filed suit in federal court in Atlanta on Thursday, a few hours after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the new law. They say restrictions on voting in person or by mail violate the constitutional rights of all Georgians and also disproportionately affect voters of color in violation of the seminal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Albania starts mass COVID vaccinations before tourist season

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania started a mass inoculation campaign Sunday ahead of the summer tourism season after acquiring 192,000 doses of Chinese coronavirus vaccine Sinovac earlier this week. Hundreds of people age 70 and above gathered at Tirana’s main…

Path from Clinton to Biden takes U-turn on debt, trade, more

Times have changed since the 1990s. President Joe Biden is taking the opposite approach of the Clinton administration to help the economy. He's bulking up on debt to fuel growth, offering aid to the poor without work requirements and pulling back from globalization. It's an ambitious evolution that reflects the pandemic, changes in Democratic voters and the long-festering problems of inequality. But Biden is executing his plan with many of the same policymakers who served President Bill Clinton decades earlier. In that far different time, Clinton pushed balanced budgets, work requirements for welfare recipients and expanded global trade.

Did COVID-19 stress, uncertainty stall anti-smoking push?

A year after COVID-19 upended lives, there are troubling signs that the pandemic stalled efforts to get Americans to stop smoking. There were fewer calls made to quit-smoking hotlines last year. Some people reported smoking more. And there was an unusual bump in cigarette sales. Experts say unemployment, delayed medical care and fewer anti-smoking announcements likely also played a role. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s too early to gauge the pandemic’s impact on smoking rates. Despite a decades-long decline in the U.S. smoking rate, cigarettes are still responsible for an estimated 480,000 deaths a year.

Longest-serving bookseller among 25,000 Czech virus victims

A year after the Czech Republic recorded its first death from the coronavirus, the central European nation paused this week to remember all the citizens who lost their lives in the pandemic. By the end of the day, the number had surpassed 25,000. Few imagined last March that the country of 10.7 million eventually would have one of the world’s highest per capita death tolls. But it’s not just grim statistics that have torn the fabric of Czech life. There’s always a personal story behind each life lost. And the deaths of some people affected entire communities. Jaromir Vytopil, the country’s longest-serving bookseller, was one of them.     

What To Watch: Michigan seeks to keep Big Ten alive in NCAAs

Michigan tries to keep the Big Ten alive in men's NCAA Tournament play when it hosts Florida State in an East Region semifinal Sunday. The top women's game of the day features Oregon and Louisville as both programs seek to extend their streaks of consecutive regional final appearances. No. 1 seeds in action include Michigan and Gonzaga in the men's draw and Stanford and South Carolina in the women's tournament.