AP News in Brief at 12:03 a.m. EDT
US hits encouraging milestones on virus deaths and shots
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have dipped below 300 a day for the first time since the early days of the disaster in March 2020, while the drive to put shots in arms hit another encouraging milestone Monday: 150 million Americans fully vaccinated.
The coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But now, as the outbreak loosens its grip, it has fallen down the list of the biggest killers.
CDC data suggests that more Americans are dying every day from accidents, chronic lower respiratory diseases, strokes or Alzheimer´s disease than from COVID-19.
The U.S. death toll stands at more than 600,000, while the worldwide count is close to 3.9 million, though the real figures in both cases are believed to be markedly higher.
About 45% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Over 53% of Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine. But U.S. demand for shots has slumped, to the disappointment of public health experts.
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Supreme Court win for college athletes in compensation case
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday the NCAA can´t limit education-related benefits - like computers and paid internships - that colleges can offer their sports stars, a victory for athletes that could help open the door to further easing in the decades-old fight over paying student-athletes.
Schools recruiting top athletes could now offer tens of thousands of dollars in education-related benefits that also include study-abroad programs and graduate scholarships. However, the case doesn´t decide whether students can simply be paid salaries for the benefits their efforts bring - measured in tens of millions for many universities.
The high court agreed with a lower court´s determination that NCAA limits on the education-related benefits that colleges can offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football violate antitrust laws.
The case is important in the short term for students who may see schools competing for talent by sweetening their offers with a variety of education-related benefits. It's also important in the long term because it sets the stage for future challenges to NCAA rules limiting athletes' compensation.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court that the NCAA sought "immunity from the normal operation of the antitrust laws," an argument the court rejected. Gorsuch said that allowing colleges and universities to offer "enhanced education-related benefits ... may encourage scholastic achievement and allow student-athletes a measure of compensation more consistent with the value they bring to their schools."
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Judge tosses most claims over clearing protesters in DC park
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists and civil liberties groups who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House before then-President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said Monday the claims in the suit, which alleged that Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr had conspired to violate the rights of protesters last June, were speculative and it was premature for the court to conclude whether the actions of law enforcement officers were justified.
Friedrich dismissed the claims against Barr and other federal officials, including the acting U.S. Park Police chief, Gregory Monahan, finding there wasn´t sufficient evidence to prove there was any agreement or plan to violate the rights of the protesters. The judge also said the law gives them immunity in civil litigation.
In a 51-page decision, the judge did allow the claims against the Metropolitan Police Department and the Arlington Police Department - their officers were involved in clearing the park - to proceed.
The lawsuit stemmed from one of the most high-profile moments of the Trump presidency, when federal and local law enforcement officials aggressively forced a group of largely peaceful protesters back from Lafayette Square outside of the White House, firing smoke bombs and pepper balls into the crowd to disperse the group. Officers were seen shoving protesters and journalists as they pushed the crowd back.
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Youth home exec says 'words cannot explain' Alabama crash
CAMP HILL, Ala. (AP) - Girls have often lived a life of abuse, abandonment or neglect by the time they land at a Christian youth home in rural Alabama, but an annual trip to the beach with the director and her family offered them a bright spot in otherwise tough times.
This year´s trip to the Gulf Coast ended in disaster when four residents of the Tallapoosa County Girl´s Ranch, two of the director´s children and two guests were among 10 people killed in a fiery crash on a rainy highway as Tropical Storm Claudette barreled through Alabama.
In all, the storm took 14 lives before it rolled through the Carolinas and headed out to sea, where it was expected to dissipate. A 24-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy were killed Saturday when a tree fell on their house just outside Tuscaloosa, and a 23-year-old woman from Fort Payne, southeast of Huntsville, died after her car ran off the road into a swollen creek, authorities said.
Search dogs located the body of a man believed to have fallen into the water during flash flooding in Birmingham, according to news outlets.
The van in Saturday's crash erupted in flames in the wreck along a wet Interstate 65 about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Montgomery. Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock said multiple vehicles probably hydroplaned in the vacationer-heavy area he said was "notorious" for dangerous conditions where the northbound highway curves down a hill to a small creek.
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Nassib becomes first active NFL player to come out as gay
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
Nassib, who is entering his sixth NFL season and second with the Raiders, announced the news on Instagram, saying he wasn't doing it for the attention but because he felt representation and visibility were important.
"I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I´m gay," Nassib said in his video message from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "I´ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.
"I really have the best life. I got the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for. I´m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I´m really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important."
Nassib added in a written message that followed the video that he "agonized over this moment for the last 15 years" and only recently decided to go public with his sexuality after receiving the support of family and friends.
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Taliban take key Afghan district, adding to string of gains
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban fighters took control of a key district in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province Monday and encircled the provincial capital, police said, as the insurgent group added to its recent battlefield victories while peace talks have stalemated.
The Taliban's gains came as the Pentagon reaffirmed the U.S. troop withdrawal was still on pace to conclude by early September.
Fighting around Imam Sahib district began late Sunday and by midday Monday the Taliban had overrun the district headquarters and were in control of police headquarters, said Inamuddin Rahmani, provincial police spokesman said.
Taliban militants were within a kilometer (.6 miles) of Kunduz, the provincial capital but had not entered into the city, he said, although there were reports of small bands of Taliban near the outskirts and residents trying to leave for Kabul.
Dozens of districts have fallen to the Taliban since May 1, when U.S. and NATO troops began their final departure from Afghanistan. Like Imam Sahib district in northern Kunduz, their significance often lies in their proximity to roads and major cities.
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Asian shares track rebound on Wall Street
TOKYO (AP) - Asian shares have rebounded from their retreat a day earlier, tracking Wall Street's recovery from the Federal Reserve's reminder it will eventually provide less support to markets.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.8% in morning trading to 28,785.24. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.4% to 7,336.30. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.6% to 3,260.11. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.1% to 28,522.78, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% to 3,559.32.
Although the latest bout of jitters over a possible easing of help from the Federal Reserve and other central banks appears to have passed, analysts said rising coronavirus cases in the region remained a concern.
"Much of the region is dealing with renewed waves of COVID-19 infections. These waves, especially in the case of India, Indonesia and some other countries in Southeast Asia, are the most severe yet," said Venkateswaran Lavanya at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
On Monday, the S&P 500 snapped 1.4% higher, to 4,224.79, recovering nearly three-quarters of its worst weekly loss since February. Oil producers, banks and other companies that were hit particularly hard last week led the way.
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Driver who rammed bicyclists in Arizona race has DUI history
PHOENIX (AP) - Authorities on Monday identified the man accused of plowing his pickup truck into a group of bicyclists taking part in a weekend race in an Arizona mountain town, critically injuring several riders, and court records show he has a criminal history of driving while intoxicated.
Shawn Michael Chock, 35, fled the crash Saturday in Show Low, which is about a three-hour drive northeast of Phoenix, and was shot by police as they chased him, said Kristine Sleighter, a police spokeswoman. Chock, who lives in nearby White Mountain Lakes, is still hospitalized in stable condition, and authorities were trying to determine a motive for the crash.
Prosecutors have been working with police investigators, but Navajo County Attorney Bradley Carlyon said his office typically does not charge hospitalized suspects until they are discharged.
Online court records in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, show someone matching Chock's name and age has a history of arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and assault. In 2007, he was indicted on aggravated assault. Several months later, he was charged with disorderly conduct with a weapon and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.
In 2010, three DUI-related charges, including having a third DUI, were dropped as part of an agreement where Chock pleaded guilty to felony aggravated DUI and shoplifting. He also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault.
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NASA sends squid from Hawaii into space for research
HONOLULU (AP) - Dozens of baby squid from Hawaii are in space for study.
The baby Hawaiian bobtail squid were raised at the University of Hawaii's Kewalo Marine Laboratory and were blasted into space earlier this month on a SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Researcher Jamie Foster, who completed her doctorate at the University of Hawaii, is studying how spaceflight affects the squid in hopes of bolstering human health during long space missions, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.
The squid have a symbiotic relationship with natural bacteria that help regulate their bioluminescence.
When astronauts are in low gravity their body's relationship with microbes changes, said University of Hawaii professor Margaret McFall-Ngai, who Foster studied under in the 1990s.
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Spielberg's Amblin to make several films a year for Netflix
NEW YORK (AP) - Steven Spielberg, a filmmaker synonymous with big-screen enchantment, has set a new deal with Netflix in which his production company, Amblin Partners, will make multiple feature films per year for the streaming giant.
The partnership, one long courted by Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, is a major get for the company that, amid increasing competition, brings perhaps the most beloved film director more officially into the streaming fold.
The deal announced Monday doesn't specifically include any movies to be directed by Spielberg. This December, he will release "West Side Story" theatrically with Disney´s 20th Century Studios. Amblin has a separate deal with Universal Pictures for theatrical releases.
"At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways," Spielberg said in a statement. "This new avenue for our films, alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally since we get to embark on it together with Ted, and I can´t wait to get started with him, Scott, and the entire Netflix team."
Amblin, which takes its name from a 1968 short by Spielberg, has helped produce a wide variety of films outside of those made my Spielberg, including "1917" and "Green Book." The two companies have previously worked together on TV series and the Aaron Sorkin movie "The Trial of the Chicago 7," a film co-produced by Amblin that was sold by Paramount Pictures to Netflix during the pandemic.
