Ingested Articles

'Pop' fans: Biden kids, grandkids part of White House scene

President Joe Biden’s grandkids say anyone who wants to take a crack at their “Pop” has to go through them first. When Biden calls to check in, he doesn’t stop after one grandchild but ends up dialing all of them for updates. Even son Hunter Biden gets a nightly call from Biden. Biden’s big Irish American family has a prominent part of the White House scene during his first 100 days in office. His wife, children, and grandchildren provide the grounding that people close to the president say has served Biden during nearly a half century of public service. 

The Latest: PGA's Will Gordon, Brice Garnett test positive

Will Gordon and Brice Garnett have tested positive for the coronavirus and have withdrawn from the PGA’s Valspar Championship this week in Palm Harbor, Florida. That brings the number to 12 players who have tested positive since the start of the year. That total does not include Jim Herman, who tested positive at home in Florida before flying out to the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui. On the European Tour, Will Besseling of The Netherlands tested positive after the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open and has withdrawn from this week’s Tenerife Open.

AP sources: Turner Sports gets rights to second NHL package

Turner Sports is the surprise winner of the National Hockey League’s second television package. Two people familiar with the deal tell The Associated Press the two sides have agreed on a seven-year contract that includes three Stanley Cup Finals. The NHL wll now have two network partners in the United States for the first time since 1998-99. It will also get more money. This season, the NHL received $350 million in broadcast revenue from NBC and Disney Streaming Services. The upcoming deals will average $635 million per year.

Harris meets virtually with Guatemalan president

Vice President Kamala Harris has told Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei that the U.S. is planning to increase relief to the Northern Triangle region and “strengthen our cooperation” to better manage the steep increase in migration at the U.S. southern border. Harris made the comments during a virtual meeting Monday with the president that marked a ramping up of her diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from the region. Harris will also meet with Guatemalan civil society groups Tuesday, and she has plans to hold a similar virtual meeting with the Mexican president next month, before heading to visit Mexico and Guatemala in June.

Washington, DC, to loosen virus restrictions this weekend

Officials in the nation’s capital are relaxing a number of COVID-19 restrictions after more than a year of virus lockdown. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that starting on Saturday, gyms and fitness centers can operate at 50% capacity, and live music will be permitted in gardens and outdoor spaces. Restaurants will be permitted to seat 10 people per table outdoors, up from the previous limit of six per table, but the 25% capacity limit for indoor dining will remain unchanged for now. The changes represent a step toward normality for District of Columbia residents and hope for the city’s vital tourism and convention industry. 

Academy Awards television audience plummets to 9.85 million

The Nielsen company says its preliminary estimate shows the Oscars audience on ABC dipped to slightly under 10 million viewers. That's less than half the audience for last year's show, which was the previous smallest audience ever for the annual event. It continues the startling trend of viewer disinterest for awards shows, after the Golden Globes and Grammys both had small audiences earlier this year. With the pandemic, few movie theaters were open and television viewers apparently had little interest in movies they could mainly stream at home. The Oscars had a small in-person audience that kept social distance but did not wear masks. The show aired on ABC.

Astros put Odorizzi on IL; Altuve returns after COVID bout

Houston Astros starter Jake Odorizzi has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained muscle in his right arm and second baseman José Altuve has been activated after a bout with COVID-19. Odorizzi left his start Saturday after just five pitches with what the team called tightness in his right forearm. Manager Dusty Baker announced Monday that Odorizzi had a strained right pronator. Altuve was among five Astros who were placed on the COVID-19 list on April 14. He cleared health and safety protocols on Friday and revealed on Saturday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 but did not have any symptoms.

Winners and losers from first release of 2020 census data

More than a year since the 2020 census began in a remote Alaska village, the first numbers to emerge from the nation's once-a-decade head count were released on Monday, showing how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state…

False alarm: No space junk threat after all to SpaceX crew

There was no threat of space junk after all last week to a SpaceX crew on their way to the International Space Station. The four astronauts had barely settled into orbit last Friday when they were ordered back into their spacesuits because of a potential collision with orbiting junk. It turns out there was no object and no threat. The U.S. Space Command said Monday the error is under review. Astronauts typically get a fair amount of advance notice of potential close calls. Friday’s situation, however, popped up quickly _ less than an hour before the potential collision. 

More patrols, fewer boaters for SpaceX splashdown Wednesday

NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for this week's splashdown by four astronauts. Three NASA astronauts and one from Japan are scheduled to return from the International Space Station on Wednesday, flying home in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. SpaceX is targeting the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee for its second return of a crew. Last August, pleasure boaters surrounded SpaceX's bobbing two-man capsule, putting themselves at risk from any leaking capsule fuel. During a news conference Monday, astronaut Mike Hopkins urged the public to stay safe by staying away.

President Biden's first address to Congress is invite-only

President Joe Biden’s first address to Congress is an invite-only affair, no guests allowed. The restrictions for Wednesday’s event are due to COVID-19 safety protocols, but will have the added security benefit of a limited number of people inside the Capitol for the president’s first major indoor event since he took office just weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection. The fence is still up around the U.S. Capitol, and the National Guard is still there. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited Biden to the chamber to share his "vision for addressing the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment.” Presidents don’t deliver a State of the Union address to Congress until their second year in office.

Corruption trial of young ex-Massachusetts mayor begins

A federal prosecutor says the case against a former young Massachusetts mayor is one about “lying, stealing cheating and shakedowns.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Hafer made that comment as the trial began Monday in Boston's federal court against former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia. Correia is charged with stealing about two-thirds of almost $400,000 from seven investors who backed his app called SnoOwl. As mayor, authorities say he also extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from marijuana businesses seeking to operate in Fall River. Correia's lawyer told jurors there was no intent to defraud or to steal. Correia has denied any wrongdoing and slammed the case as an effort to bring down his political career. 

Ohio State among 5 Big Ten teams auditioning quarterbacks

Nine of the 14 Big Ten football teams appear set at quarterback heading into the fall. The five others will continue auditions in August. No competition will be more closely watched than the one at Ohio State. Gone is two-time Big Ten player of the year Justin Fields. That leaves returning backups C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller III and five-star January enrollee Kyle McCord to take snaps in spring practice. Coach Ryan Day says a decision on the starter might not come until shortly before the Sept. 2 opener at Minnesota.

Justices question California disclosure rule for charities

The Supreme Court appears likely to put a stop to California’s practice of collecting the names and addresses of top donors to charities. The case argued Monday via telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic stems from lawsuits by two conservative nonprofit groups, including one with links to billionaire Charles Koch, that argue the policy violates the First Amendment and deters people from giving. They have drawn strong support from groups across the political spectrum, including the ACLU and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. California requires all charities that collect money from state residents to give the state an Internal Revenue Service form identifying their largest contributors. 

France reopens schools as virus patients numbers peak

PARIS (AP) — Nursery and primary schools reopened on Monday across France after a three-week closure in the first step out of the country's partial lockdown, despite numbers of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units reaching their highest level since…

Trump ally Collins won't run for Senate or Georgia governor

Georgia Republican Doug Collins, a favorite of former President Donald Trump, says he doesn’t plan to run for governor or U.S. Senate in 2022. Collins’ announcement Monday makes it less likely there will be a top-drawer primary challenger to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. In the separate Senate race, it leaves Republicans still looking for a heavyweight against Democratic U.S. Sen Raphael Warnock. Collins ran unsuccessfully for the seat Warnock ultimately won last year. Collins didn't rule out a future statewide run. By taking a pass on 2022, though, he raises the questions of just how involved Trump will be in the state after making clear he wants to exact revenge on Kemp for his part in certifying President Joe Biden's win last November. 

Turkish leader defiant on Biden mention of Armenian genocide

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president said Monday he was “highly saddened” by U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to mark as genocide the mass deportations and massacres of Armenians in the early 20th century Ottoman Empire, calling it baseless and unjust.…

Colombian nightlife workers demand end to virus lockdowns

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Hundreds of nightlife workers protested lockdowns in Colombia’s capital on Monday as the country struggles with a steep rise in coronavirus cases that has led to a new set of economic restrictions and forced many businesses…

Explainer: What was with that weird Oscar ending?

The 93rd annual Academy Awards were always going to be a bit surreal this year. The pandemic changed many of the usual rhythms and traditions of the Oscars on Sunday night. There was a red carpet but no onlookers or teams of publicists. There were in-person, mask-less winners but not in the usual order, and the speeches were never drowned out with play-off music. Compounding the differences this year was a telecast, steered by producers including filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, that wanted a new look and feel to an often stodgy, persistently immutable ceremony. 

Apple's iPhone privacy clampdown arrives after 7-month delay

Apple is following through on its pledge to crack down on Facebook and other snoopy apps that secretly shadow people on their iPhones in order to target more advertising at users. The new privacy feature  is rolling out Monday as part of a free update to the operating system powering the iPhone and iPad. The anti-tracking shield is coming out after a seven-month delay during which Apple and Facebook attacked each other’s business models and motives for decisions that affect billions of people around the world. Now, the big questions will revolve around the financial fallout on Facebook and whether other companies will become more aggressive about protecting people's privacy.

Germany to open up virus vaccinations to all adults in June

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that Germany will open up COVID-19 vaccinations to all adults in June, based on projections that the country will receive 80 million doses from manufacturers in the second quarter of the year.…

US weighs policy on Venezuela as Maduro signals flexibility

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is intensifying efforts to court the Biden administration as the new U.S. president weighs whether to risk a political backlash in Florida and ease up on sanctions seeking to isolate the socialist leader. Maduro this month has conceded to longstanding U.S. demands that the World Food Program be allowed to establish a foothold in the country at a time of growing hunger. His allies also vowed to work with the U.S.-backed opposition to vaccinate Venezuelans against the coronavirus and have met with diplomats from Norway trying to revive negotiations to end the country’s never-ending political strife. The frenzy of activity comes as senior U.S. officials meet Monday as part of their continuing review of policy toward Venezuela.