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Florida’s two Republican senators are steering clear of voicing support for Rep. Matt Gaetz. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott both say sex trafficking accusations against their fellow GOP Floridian are serious. But Rubio and Scott also say it's premature to say what should happen to the three-term congressman. The senators' cautious remarks were the latest instances of congressional Republicans taking neutral stances on Gaetz. Federal agents are scrutinizing him over allegations that include sex with a minor. That's according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not discuss details publicly. Gaetz has broadly denied the accusations.

The postponed Tokyo Olympics open in 100 days. Tokyo was awarded the Olympics 7 1/2 years ago because it billed itself as “a safe pair of hands.” Nothing is certain now. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are pushing on despite COVID-19 risks, myriad scandals, and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the games. Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics celebrated Japan’s rapid recovery from defeat in World War II. These Olympics will be marked by footnotes and asterisks. The athletes will aim high but the goals elsewhere will be modest: get through it, avoid becoming a super-spreader event, and perhaps stoke some national pride knowing few other countries could have pulled it off.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that the semiautonomous Chinese territory's legislative elections will take place in December, more than a year after they were postponed by authorities citing public health risks from the coronavirus…

Kevin Durant scored 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting in his most productive performance in 2 1/2 months, as the Brooklyn Nets blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-97. Durant played 27 minutes in his third game back from a strained hamstring that kept him out for 23 games. The game was rescheduled from the previous night, in the aftermath of a fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. The Timberwolves held a moment of silence before tipoff for 20-year-old Daunte Wright. The Timberwolves played without Karl-Anthony Towns on the one-year anniversary of his mother's death from COVID-19.

President Joe Biden will address a joint session of Congress for the first time on April 28. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi extended the invite to Biden on Tuesday, asking him to share his "vision for addressing the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment.” The address is all but certain to look different from a traditional joint session due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino is being sold to Bally’s Corp. The company announced Tuesday it will acquire the iconic Las Vegas Strip property from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. for about $308 million. The agreement also involves a sale-and-leaseback transaction relating to Bally’s Black Hawk, Colorado, and Rock Island, Illinois, properties. Bally's President and CEO George Papanier says having a nearly 1,500-room property on the Las Vegas Strip is a key step for the Rhode Island-based company. The transaction is expected to close early next year. Bally’s Corp. does not own Bally’s Las Vegas on the Strip. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Inc.

With the team facing a COVID-19 scare, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday night after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well. The Cubs didn’t provide specifics about Hendricks’ health, saying only the move was made from “an abundance of caution.” Four Cubs were added to the COVID-19 injured list over the last two days. Cubs manager David Ross said before Tuesday’s game with the Milwaukee Brewers that none of his players have tested positive for the coronavirus. Infielder Matt Duffy went on the virus-related injured list Tuesday, one day after the Cubs put relievers Brandon Workman, Jason Adam and Dan Winkler on the list. 

Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy afternoon in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in the Twin Cities area. Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row. Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game. Snow flurries fell for most of the day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — One Black mother said she nearly died after her son was born following an earlier miscarriage and a stillbirth. Another Black mother said that she wasn't told about the dangers of her particular pregnancy complication in women…

President Joe Biden’s difficult balancing act on policing was put on vivid display over the course of a few hours Tuesday as he tries to navigate criminal justice and civil rights. Biden mourned with the family of a fallen police officer at the Capitol. Later, he pledged at the White House to help end the epidemic of Black men being killed by police. The nation is awaiting the conclusion of the trial in Minnesota of the white police officer accused of killing George Floyd. Tensions have only been heightened by the shooting death this week of another Black man in Minnesota, Daunte Wright.

California is racing to spend more than a half-billion dollars before this year's wildfire season gets going in earnest. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday approved the early funding. State officials say they started soliciting project proposals even before the money was appropriated. They are planning to speed funding to thin forests, build buffers around vulnerable communities and make homes less likely to burn. Republicans supported the plan negotiated by Democratic leaders. But they say more money needs to go to manage overgrown forests.

Vanderbilt has hired Shea Ralph away from UConn to help revive the Commodores’ struggling women’s basketball program. Athletic director Candice Lee announced the hiring a week after firing Stephanie White. Ralph has been an assistant with the Huskies since 2008 and helped lead UConn to 13 consecutive Final Fours and six NCAA championships. She helped with recruiting and player development. She also spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh. Ralph takes over a program that last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2014, with its lone Final Four berth in 1993.

 President Joe Biden’s vaccination campaign hit a snag when federal regulators recommended a “pause” in administering Johnson & Johnson shots. But the White House is holding out the move as a validation of the president’s measured approach throughout the rollout. Biden administration officials pointed to the action by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as proof that they’re putting safety first. There's concern about the effect on those Americans who are already leery of all virus vaccines, but Biden said there is enough that's 100 percent safe for "every single solitary American.”  

The attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer on trial in George Floyd’s death has revisited the disputed concept of excited delirium. The issue resurfaced Tuesday as the defense takes on one of the biggest issues in the case — whether the force that Derek Chauvin used against Floyd was objectively reasonable given his resistance. One officer at the scene can be heard asking whether the struggling Floyd might be experiencing excited delirium. Nicole Mackenzie, a Minneapolis police officer who trains others, told the jury that new officers are taught how to recognize the signs. But Judge Peter Cahill cautioned jurors that there is no evidence that the veteran Chauvin had the training.  

San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove is set to make his first start since throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history. Musgrove will face the Pirates on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. The Padres acquired Musgrove in a trade from Pittsburgh in January after he spent three seasons with the Pirates. Musgrove said sales have increased at his parents' coffee shop in the San Diego suburb of Alpine, California, since the no-hitter last week against the Texas Rangers.