Associated Press stories, Page 1601
FDA head calls for probe into Alzheimer’s drug review
WASHINGTON — The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration on Friday called for a government investigation into highly unusual contacts between some of her agency’s drug reviewers and the maker of a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug. Dr. Janet Woodcock announced the extraordinary step via Twitter. It’s the latest...
Former Cavaliers guard Dellavedova signs 3-year deal with Melbourne
CLEVELAND — Matthew Dellavedova is taking his game back Down Under. The former Cavaliers point guard signed a three-year contract Friday with Melbourne United, the defending champion in Australia’s National Basketball League. Dellavedova, affectionately known as “Delly” to his teammates and fans, had two stints over six seasons with Cleveland,...
Todd Frazier brings passion, power to U.S. Olympic baseball
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — Sitting in the dugout at tiny Yogi Berra Stadium as he prepared to play for the Frontier League’s Sussex County Miners, Todd Frazier recalled reading a quote from former Yankees teammate Masahiro Tanaka vowing Japan’s baseball team will win an Olympic gold medal. “I didn’t know...
Eye-popping 3,000 pairs of false lashes seized at New Orleans airport
NEW ORLEANS — Three thousand pairs of false eyelashes have been seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents after officials determined they were illegally imported from China to New Orleans. The four boxes of long lashes seized Tuesday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport were destined for a...
Michigan court won’t extend voting redistricting deadline
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to extend the deadline for drawing new legislative and congressional maps despite a delay in census redistricting data. The Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, whose members have been meeting since September 2020, asked the court in April to allow...
Paris police release rapper Lil Baby, hand him drug fine
PARIS — Paris police released rapper Lil Baby from custody on Friday after fining him for having cannabis in his car, according to the city prosecutor’s office. He was stopped along with NBA star James Harden, who was frisked but not detained. Lil Baby’s arrest on Thursday along one of...
Mayor: Death toll in Florida condo collapse now 78
SURFSIDE, Fla. — The death toll in the collapse of a Miami-area condo building rose to 78 on Friday, a number the mayor called “heartbreaking” as recovery workers toiled for a 16th day to find victims in the rubble. Another 62 people remain unaccounted for. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava...
Wisconsin bishop takes rare step of removing defiant priest
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin bishop has taken the unusual step of removing a priest from the ministry after he made a series of divisive remarks about politics and the pandemic. The Diocese of La Crosse said in a statement Friday that Bishop William Patrick Callahan has issued a decree...
Tennis players discuss mental health issues raised by Osaka
WIMBLEDON, England — Naomi Osaka was not the first professional tennis player to withdraw during a Grand Slam tournament because of mental health concerns — and she likely won’t be the last. Others just might not always be as up-front as Osaka was. “There have been plenty of players that...
Cavendish equals Merckx’s record of 34 Tour stage wins
CARCASSONNE, France — Mark Cavendish won a mass sprint Friday to equal cycling great Eddy Merckx’s all-time record of 34 stage wins at the Tour de France. Taking part in cycling’s biggest race for the first time since 2018, the 36-year-old Cavendish has been dominating the sprints this summer. The...
Dig at Pilgrim and Native American memorial sparks intrigue
Archaeologists combing a hill near Plymouth Rock where a park will be built in tribute to the Pilgrims and their Native American predecessors have made a poignant discovery: It’s not the first time the site has been used as a memorial. David Landon of the University of Massachusetts-Boston’s Fiske Center...
Berrettini 1st Italian man in Wimbledon final
WIMBLEDON, England — Matteo Berrettini has become the first Italian man to reach the Wimbledon final after beating Hubert Hurkacz in four sets. The seventh-seeded Berrettini used his big serve and powerful forehand to win 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Berrettini won 11 straight games from 3-2 down in the...
Vaccinated teachers, students don’t need masks, CDC says
NEW YORK — Vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside school buildings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its covid-19 guidelines. The changes come amid a national vaccination campaign in which children as young as 12 are eligible to get shots, as...
52 dead in Bangladesh factory fire as workers locked inside
A fire engulfed a food and beverage factory outside Bangladesh’s capital, killing at least 52 people, many of whom were trapped inside by an illegally locked door, fire officials said Friday. The blaze began Thursday night at the five-story Hashem Foods Ltd. factory in Rupganj, just outside Dhaka, sending huge...
At Wimbledon, Pliskova seeks 1st Grand Slam title, Barty 2nd
WIMBLEDON, England — Ash Barty will be trying to win a second trophy in her past seven Grand Slam tournaments when she faces Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon on Saturday. Pliskova seeks her first major championship, five years after losing in her only previous Slam final. In matching up against No....
UConn reinstates rowing team after Title IX challenge to cut
STORRS, Conn. — The University of Connecticut has reversed course on a controversial budget cut, announcing it will keep its women’s rowing program for at least the next two years. The move, announced Thursday night, comes after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order in May that prevented the...
Diverse England team wins fans in nation eager for good news
LONDON — Hannah Kumari has been an English soccer fan since childhood, but she never wanted to fly an England flag. Until now. Kumari is one of millions of fans ecstatic that England’s men’s team has reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since it won...
France to pull more than 2,000 troops from Africa’s Sahel
PARIS — France will withdraw more than 2,000 troops from an anti-extremism force in Africa’s Sahel region and pivot its military presence to specialized regional forces instead, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. Macron announced last month a future reduction of France’s military presence, arguing it’s no longer adapted to the...
Widow of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat dies in Egypt
CAIRO — Jehan Sadat, widow of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the first Arab leader to make peace with Israel, died in Egypt on Friday. She was 87. In recent weeks, Egyptian media press reported that she had been hospitalized and was battling cancer. Last year, she received medical treatment...
U.K. police officer admits killing woman abducted on walk home
LONDON — A British police officer pleaded guilty Friday to murdering a 33-year-old woman who was abducted as she walked home from a friend’s house in south London. Wayne Couzens previously admitted kidnapping and raping Sarah Everard, a marketing executive who went missing on March 3. Couzens entered a guilty...
Taiwan says 11 arrested at its Haiti embassy
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s foreign ministry says Haitian police have arrested 11 armed suspects who tried to break into the its embassy in Port-au-Prince. It gave no details of the suspects’ identities or a reason for the break-in. “As for whether the suspects were involved in the assassination of the...
Biden set to sign competition order targeting big business
President Joe Biden is set to sign on Friday an executive order that the White House bills as an effort to target anticompetitive practices in tech, health care and other parts of the economy while boosting workers’ wages and consumer protections. The sweeping order includes 72 actions and recommendations that...
GM recall: Side air bags can explode in Chevy, GMC pickups
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling more than 400,000 pickup trucks in the U.S. because the side air bags can explode without warning and spew parts into the cabin. The recall covers certain 2015 and 2016 Chevrolet and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks. Documents posted Friday by U.S....
Taliban say they now control 85% of Afghanistan’s territory
MOSCOW — The Taliban claimed on Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistan’s territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country. The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior...
Amid growing frustration, Biden administration pushes voting rights
WASHINGTON — Facing a call to “save American democracy,” the Biden administration has unveiled new efforts to help protect voting rights amid growing complaints from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House has not done enough to fight attempts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to...
