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Lee Elder was the first Black player to tee it up at the Masters. But that achievement came only after so many prime years were stolen from him by the scourge of racism. When Augusta National extended Elder the long-overdue honor of serving as an honorary starter, his 86-year-old body wouldn’t cooperate. Instead of taking a ceremonial swing alongside Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, Elder could only manage a wave and a smile. The emotional ceremony to start the Masters was a sad reminder of how much the game of golf missed by excluding so many for so long.

An associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz's is working toward a plea deal with federal prosecutors investigating a sex trafficking operation, potentially escalating the legal and political jeopardy facing the Florida congressman. The revelation that Gaetz's political ally Joel Greenberg is seeking to strike a plea deal with investigators came during a hearing Thursday at federal court in Orlando. It is a significant step in the case and signals that Greenberg could potentially serve as a witness in the Justice Department’s investigation into Gaetz. A lawyer for Greenberg said after the hearing, “I am sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today.” Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

An information blackout under Myanmar’s military junta has worsened as fiber broadband service that is last legal way for ordinary people to access the internet became intermittently inaccessible on several networks. Authorities in some areas have also started confiscating satellite dishes used to access international news broadcasts. Protests against the the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi continued Thursday despite the killing of 11 people by security forces a day earlier. The junta has gradually throttled back internet service since the military takeover. At least 598 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces since the coup.

Nations around the world are setting new records for COVID-19 deaths and new coronavirus infections, and the disease is surging even in some countries that have kept the virus in check. Brazil this week became just the third country, after the U.S. and Peru, to report a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths that exceeded 4,000. India hit a peak of almost 127,000 new cases in 24 hours, and Iran set a new coronavirus infection record for the third straight day, reporting nearly 22,600 new cases. In the United States, Michigan has averaged more than 7,000 new virus cases a day.

Two new U.S. airlines are planning on starting service this spring, tapping into the travel recovery that is picking up speed. Avelo Airlines said Thursday that it will begin flying later this month to 11 destinations from Burbank, California. The startup plans to expand to other routes as it adds more planes to its fleet, which numbers just three planes. The next addition will be Breeze Airways, the latest creation of David Neeleman, who founded JetBlue Airways more than 20 years ago. Both hope to draw passengers by filling in smaller, overlooked routes on the spider web of airline routes crisscrossing the United States. 

The foundation of the case against the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd is a mountain of video evidence, but presenting that to jurors isn’t as easy as pushing play. Observers say most of the tools on display during Derek Chauvin’s trial have played a quiet role in court cases for decades. Prosecutors have repeatedly shown video from multiple cameras on the street and in bystanders’ hands, asked witnesses to annotate video footage or photographs and narrated the action on screen. The defense has yet to begin presenting its case but Chauvin’s attorney has indicated video evidence will show his client is not guilty. 

A patchwork of advice is emerging from governments across Europe and farther afield, a day after the European Union’s drug regulator said there was a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare clotting disorder. Regulators in the United Kingdom and the EU both stressed that the benefits of receiving the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks for most people. But some countries are limiting its use among certain age groups. Experts fear the confusing messages about the vaccine could dampen enthusiasm for it at a time when Europe and many other parts of the world are facing surging cases. 

Nearly 19,000 children traveling alone were stopped at the Mexican border in March, smashing previous highs set during periods of heavy child migration in 2014 and 2019. Is it a crisis? Migration to the U.S. from Mexico is increasing in a major way for the third time in seven years under Republican and Democratic presidents — and for similar reasons. Central Americans have been fleeing poverty and violence for decades, and Hurricane Eta in November and hunger have given new impetus for some in Guatemala and Honduras. Migrants also are guided by changes U.S. policy — both real and rumored.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria received a planeload from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday with food items and medical aid to help the war-torn country in its fight against the spread of the coronavirus, Syria's state media reported. The aid…

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday described COVID-19 vaccine passports as “inappropriate" while poor countries lag behind others in acquiring the shots. “Our position is very simple. That any…

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Doctors in Hungary are questioning the government's decision to lift some lockdown restrictions amid peaking COVID-19 infections and deaths, saying that could lead to an even more dire situation in the Central European nation. Shops and…

Advocates for prison inmates say more needs to be done to educate prisoners about coronavirus vaccines because large numbers of them are declining the shots. Prison officials say they are providing information about the vaccines to prisoners. But advocates say outside experts and trusted community members need to be brought in. Officials at the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, held town halls and posted information around the prison before vaccinations began in January. But more than 200 of the nearly 550 inmates who were offered the shots refused to take them. More than 5,500 state and county prisoners in Massachusetts have refused the vaccines.

The applause started when Lee Elder’s golf cart began moving toward the first tee. It only got louder when he arrived and slowly made his way to his seat to help open the Masters. Elder — the first Black man to play the Masters — eventually rose from his chair, hoisted his driver skyward for a moment, then nodded, smiled and waved in appreciation of the hundreds of people who crowded around the first tee to see history happen. He joined Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus as an honorary starter for the Masters on Thursday morning, the first time he had been part of the ceremony.