U.S. News

Officer who shot Rayshard Brooks seeks bond modification

ATLANTA — After his firing by the Atlanta police department was reversed last week, the officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks is asking a judge to change the conditions of his bond as criminal charges against him remain pending...

General News

Confederate obelisk removed from Georgia square amid cheers

DECATUR, Ga. — With hundreds of people watching as midnight approached, a crane moved in and took down a Confederate monument that stood in the town square of an Atlanta suburb since...

Rayshard Brooks

Atlanta police call out sick over charges in fatal shooting

ATLANTA — Atlanta police officers called out sick to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot a man in the back, while the interim chief acknowledged members of the...

Juneteenth

New solo version of Aretha song about race, faith released

NEW YORK — A never-before-heard solo version of the late Aretha Franklin’s riveting and powerful collaboration with Mary J. Blige about faith and race, 2006’s “Never Gonna Break My Faith,”...

Race and ethnicity

Klobuchar urges Biden to pick nonwhite woman as running mate

CHICAGO — Amy Klobuchar said Thursday that she was dropping out of the running to be vice president and urging Democrat Joe Biden to select a woman of color instead.

Race and ethnicity

Report: State Dept official quits over Trump race response

WASHINGTON — A State Department official resigned Thursday over President Donald Trump's response to racial tensions sweeping the country over the killings of black people by police, The...

Race and ethnicity

How black history is taught in schools faces new scrutiny

OKLAHOMA CITY — For decades, when it was discussed at all, the killing of hundreds of people in a prosperous black business district nearly a century ago was referred to as the Tulsa race...

U.S. News

Heat, virus no deterrent for Trump fans camped outside arena

TULSA, Okla. — Rick Frazier drove more than 750 miles from Ohio to Tulsa to be one of the first campers in line for President Donald Trump's first rally in months, undeterred by a days-long...

Alejandro Villanueva

Steelers’ Heyward: team will be united if it opts to protest

PITTSBURGH — Cam Heyward is well-versed in the sometimes messy optics associated with taking a stand against social injustice.

Galveston

AP Explains: Juneteenth marks day last enslaved people freed

Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free 155 years ago. Now, with support growing for the racial justice movement, 2020 may be remembered as the year...

Race and ethnicity

As Bolton speaks, Congress shrugs and points to election

WASHINGTON — Congress seems largely done with John Bolton.

Rayshard Brooks

Atlanta police call out sick to protest charges in shooting

ATLANTA — Atlanta police officers called out sick or refused to answer calls Thursday to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot a man in the back, while the interim...

George Floyd

For now, Virginia still can’t remove massive Lee statue

RICHMOND, Va. — A judge on Thursday extended a court order preventing Virginia’s governor from removing a historic statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from a famed avenue in the former capital of...

George Floyd

Seattle police union expelled from large labor group

SEATTLE — The largest labor group in the Seattle area has expelled the city's police union, saying the guild representing officers failed to address racism within its ranks.

Madagascar

Paris protesters cloak colonial-era statue with black cloth

PARIS — French anti-racism activists draped a black cloth over the statue of a colonial commander in central Paris on Thursday, prompting three arrests and brief tension with...

Juneteenth

Juneteenth: A day of joy and pain - and now national action

In just about any other year, Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that all enslaved black people learned they had been freed from bondage, would be marked by African American...

General News

AP-NORC poll: Trump adds to divisions in an unhappy country

WASHINGTON — Americans are deeply unhappy about the state of their country — and a majority think President Donald Trump is exacerbating tensions in a moment of national crisis, according to...

Academy Awards

Hollywood says Black Lives Matter, but more diversity needed

NEW YORK — As protests erupted across the country following the death of George Floyd, every major entertainment company in Hollywood issued statements of support for the black community....

Juneteenth

Pelosi orders removal of Confederate portraits from Capitol

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she is ordering the removal from the Capitol of portraits honoring four previous House speakers who served in the...

Lifestyle

Correction: Aunt Jemima story

NEW YORK — In a story June 17, 2020, about Quaker Oats’ decision to retire the Aunt Jemima brand, The Associated Press misquoted Geechie Boy Mill’s response to questions around its branding....

General News

As racism protests roil US, Florida revisits dark past

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On Election Day a century ago, a white mob swept through a tiny Florida citrus town after a black man showed up at the polls to vote. Over two days of terror, the mob set...

San Diego

Jason Mraz to give earnings from new album to social justice

NEW YORK — Jason Mraz has a new album coming out and he wants everyone to buy it and love it. But he's not going to make a penny on it.

Juneteenth

AP Exclusive: Singer of black anthem song signs record deal

NEW YORK — Keedron Bryant, the 12-year-old who turned heads on social media with his passionate performance about being a young black man in today’s world, has signed a deal with Warner...

Rayshard Brooks

The Latest: Lexington police probe slurs at online meeting

TOP OF THE HOUR:

U.S. News

Top seller ‘Antiracist Baby’ to be released as picture book

NEW YORK — A picture book edition of Ibram X. Kendi's “Antiracist Baby,” one of the country's top-selling books since the death last month of George Floyd, is coming out July 14....

George Soros

Progressive donor group announces $59M vote-by-mail campaign

WASHINGTON — A network of deep-pocketed progressive donors is launching a $59 million effort to encourage people of color to vote by mail in November, a step many Democrats view as crucial to...

Race and ethnicity

‘A hot mess’: Hickenlooper stumbles into Democratic primary

DENVER — Former Gov. John Hickenlooper was supposed to be Democrats' worry-free solution to the Colorado Senate race, but he's stumbled badly in the weeks leading up to the party's June 30...

George Floyd

Prosecutors charge police, push reforms amid Floyd protests

Prosecutors across the country are defying traditionally cozy relationships with police departments, swiftly charging officers with murder, assault and other crimes following protests over the...

George Floyd

Analysis: Floyd death, protests show need for police reform

WASHINGTON — It looks like Washington has finally woken up.

Bills

A look at dueling policing proposals considered by Congress

WASHINGTON — As Americans protest racial inequality and the death of George Floyd and others at the hands of police, their pleas are being heard in the chambers of the U.S. Capitol. Both...

Religion

The Latest: President Trump says police treated unfairly

TOP OF THE HOUR:

Race and ethnicity

In family meeting, Trump asks for reviews of police killings

DALLAS — Dwayne Palmer and his mother arrived at the White House wary, worried about being “used as political pawns" when President Donald Trump invited them and other families of other black...

Juneteenth

Many fear Trump’s visit to Tulsa could spark violence

OKLAHOMA CITY — Black community leaders in Tulsa said they fear a large rally by President Donald Trump in the city this weekend could spark violence, and the state's governor asked Trump not...

General News

After 100-day wait, English soccer returns and takes a knee

MANCHESTER, England — Players kneeled in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and victims of the coronavirus were remembered as the Premier League made a somber return on Wednesday from...

General News

Officer charged with murder for shooting Rayshard Brooks

ATLANTA — Prosecutors brought murder charges Wednesday against the white Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks in the back, saying that Brooks was not a deadly threat and that the...

College Sports

The Latest: AVP shifts beach volleyball season to tournament

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

General News

Biden calls on Trump to ‘wake up’ to havoc caused by virus

DARBY, Pa. — Joe Biden unleashed a stinging critique Wednesday of President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus, calling on Trump to "wake up” to the havoc caused by the pandemic and...

MLB

Debate on racism renews calls for Redskins to change name

The recent national debate over racism has renewed calls for the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name, with Native American advocates believing the climate is right for action despite no...

NFL

Subject of race a challenge for coach in isolated town

PAHOKEE, Fla. — A wide spot in the road running alongside Lake Okeechobee, Pahokee is a low-income, predominantly black town with two traffic lights and no chain restaurants, 40 miles and a...

International News

Oxford college recommends removal of Cecil Rhodes statue

LONDON — The governing body of Oxford University’s Oriel College has recommended the removal of a statue of Victorian imperialist Cecil Rhodes that has long been the target of protests —...

Race and ethnicity

Discussions about race unsettle rarified equestrian world

Of all the athletes in all the sports who have been pressing for change in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a pair of 17-year-old girls in the cash-soaked world of show jumping have...

Technology

Facebook removes another 900 accounts linked to hate groups

Facebook has removed another 900 social media accounts linked to white supremacy groups after members discussed plans to bring weapons to protests over police killings of black...

George Floyd

Activists push for new police oversight board in Chicago

CHICAGO — A couple hundred activists gathered outside of Chicago City Hall on Wednesday to call on the mayor and City Council to create a new elected board that would have the power to...

Des Moines

Suddenly competitive Iowa complicates Trump’s Midwest quest

DES MOINES, Iowa — After Donald Trump carried Iowa in 2016 by nearly 10 points, its swing state status was in doubt. But now, with stunning swiftness, Iowa Democrats have spun from distraught...

George Floyd

Black Lives Matter network establishes $12M grant fund

NEW YORK — An influential group behind the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement has established a fund worth more than $12 million to aid organizations fighting institutional racism...

Health

Trump plan to stem vet suicides focuses on public awareness

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is unveiling a long-awaited national plan Wednesday to stem a persistently high number of veteran suicides, with wide-ranging initiatives from firearm...

Police

AP-NORC poll: Sweeping change in US views of police violence

DETROIT — A dramatic shift has taken place in the nation’s opinions on policing and race, as a new poll finds that more Americans today than five years ago believe police brutality is a very...