AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT
Chadwick Boseman, who embodied Black icons, dies of cancer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — First Chadwick Boseman slipped on the cleats of Jackie Robinson, then the Godfather of Soul’s dancing shoes, portraying both Black American icons with a searing intensity that commanded respect. When the former playwright suited up as Black Panther, he brought cool intellectual gravitas to the Marvel superhero whose “Wakanda forever!” salute reverberated worldwide.
As his Hollywood career boomed, though, Boseman was privately undergoing “countless surgeries and chemotherapy” to battle colon cancer, his family said in a statement announcing his death at age 43 on Friday. He’d been diagnosed at stage 3 in 2016 but never spoke publicly about it.
The cancer was there when his character T’Challa visited the ancestors’ “astral plane” in poignant scenes from the Oscar-nominated “Black Panther,” there when he first became a producer on the action thriller “21 Bridges,” and there last summer when he shot an adaptation of a play by his hero August Wilson. It was there when he played a radical Black leader — seen only in flashbacks and visions — whose death is mourned by Vietnam War comrades-in-arms in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.”
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” his family said. “It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.” Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told The Associated Press.
Born and raised in South Carolina, where he played Little League baseball and AAU basketball, Boseman graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He wrote plays, acted and directed in theater and had small roles in television before landing his breakthrough role.
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Shock, grief, and gratitude after death of Chadwick Boseman
“He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career. God bless Chadwick Boseman.” — Denzel Washington, via a statement.
“Chadwick.....no words to express my devastation of losing you. Your talent, your spirit, your heart, your authenticity........It was an honor working beside you, getting to know you....Rest well prince...May flights of angels sing thee to thy heavenly rest. I love you!” — Viola Davis, co-star in “Get on Up” and the upcoming adaptation of August Wilson's “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,” via Instagram.
“During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something. He whispered that when I received my honorary degree from Howard University, his alma mater, he was the student assigned to escort me that day. And here we were, years later as friends and colleagues, enjoying the most glorious night ever! We’d spent weeks prepping, working, sitting next to each other every morning in makeup chairs, preparing for the day together as mother and son. I am honored that we enjoyed that full circle experience. This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal. So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother...'thou aren’t not dead but flown afar...'. All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince.” — Angela Bassett, co-star in ”Black Panther," via Instagram.
“I don’t have words. Rest In Peace, Bruh. Thank you for all you did while you were here. Thank you for being a friend. You are loved. You will be missed.” — Boseman’s “Black Panther” co-star Sterling K. Brown.
“I’m absolutely devastated. This is beyond heartbreaking. Chadwick was special. A true original. He was a deeply committed and constantly curious artist. He had so much amazing work still left to create. I’m endlessly grateful for our friendship. Rest in power, King.” — Chris Evans, who played Captain America in multiple Marvel films, via Twitter.
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Trump still faces skepticism in suburbs following convention
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pat Newell backed Donald Trump in 2016.
But after Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention this week included no mention of the police shooting of Jacob Blake that spurred demonstrations in her hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin, the white retired public relations specialist said the president still had work to do before she'll commit to voting for him again in November.
“He simply ignored it,” said Newell, 71, a reliable Republican voter who has also been put off by aspects of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic but approves of his stewardship of the economy. “That’s so bothersome.”
The president can ill afford to lose voters like Newell. His convention underscored the campaign's conviction that Trump's path to reelection rests primarily on voters who backed him four years ago. In a no-room-for-error calculus, he produced a week of programming with fervent appeals to core supporters and limited outreach to anyone else.
Republican strategists and Trump backers offered mixed reviews of whether the strategy will right a campaign that has been set back by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic collapse as well as his response to unrest this summer spurred by high-profile cases of police brutality against Black men and women, including this week's shooting in Wisconsin.
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Too risky? Fed pressed to expand aid to some businesses
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the economy still in the pandemic’s grip, the Federal Reserve is facing a decision on whether to stretch an emergency lending program in a way that could bring more risk for the government and taxpayers. Lawmakers are pressing the central bank to deliver more aid to struggling small and mid-sized businesses.
The economic recovery has been uneven and painfully slow in the wake of shutdowns from the coronavirus. The pandemic has killed some 180,000 people in the U.S., and the number of laid-off workers collecting jobless benefits exceeds 14.5 million.
And now many lawmakers are asking the Fed to expand its lending to small and medium-sized businesses, by allowing companies to offer assets such as commercial properties as collateral. They warn that hard-hit hotels and shopping malls could suffer a huge wave of foreclosures, hurting local communities and jobs across the country.
“Inaction would be disastrous for taxpayers, for employees, for communities,” Rep. Van Taylor, a Texas Republican who is a leader of the bipartisan effort, said in an interview. He said the point is to save the jobs of the anxious hotel housekeepers, shift supervisors and other employees he’s heard from, most of them minorities.
The decision is on the doorstep of Fed Chairman Jay Powell and Steven Mnuchin, the Trump administration’s treasury secretary. Using money from Congress’ coronavirus relief package, the Treasury Department is guaranteeing the Fed’s lending programs — hundreds of billions each — to corporations, smaller businesses and state and local governments.
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UAE formally ends Israel boycott amid US-brokered deal
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The ruler of the United Arab Emirates issued Saturday a decree formally ending the country's boycott of Israel amid a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between the two countries.
The deal opening up relations between Israel and the UAE was announced Aug. 13. It required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.
The state-run WAM news agency said the move formally ending the boycott was made on the orders of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the Emirates' leader.
WAM said the new decree allows Israelis and Israeli firms to do business in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. It also allows for the purchase and trade of Israeli goods.
“The decree of the new law comes within the UAE’s efforts to expand diplomatic and commercial cooperation with Israel,” WAM said. It lays out “a roadmap toward launching joint cooperation, leading to bilateral relations by stimulating economic growth and promoting technological innovation.”
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Trump to head to Louisiana as Hurricane Laura cleanup starts
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — The angry storm surge has receded and the clean up has begun from Hurricane Laura, but officials along this shattered stretch of Louisiana coast are warning returning residents they will face weeks without power or water amid the hot, stifling days of late summer.
The U.S. toll from the Category 4 hurricane stood at 14 deaths, with more than half of those killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from the unsafe operation of generators.
President Donald Trump plans on Saturday to tour the damage in Louisiana and neighboring Texas. He told reporters he considered delaying his Thursday night speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for reelection because of the storm. But he said that, as “it turned out, we got a little bit lucky. It was very big, it was very powerful, but it passed quickly. ”
Across southwestern Louisiana, people were cleaning up from the destructive hurricane that roared ashore early Thursday, packing 150-mph (240-kph) winds. Many were deciding whether they wanted to stay in miserable conditions or wait until basic services are finally restored.
Lauren Sylvester returned to her townhouse in Lake Charles on Friday after heeding a mandatory evacuation order and staying with her mother in a city about 95 miles (130 kilometers) away.
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GOP portrayal of urban mayhem doesn't always match reality
At almost every turn at the Republican National Convention, speakers from the president on down portrayed American cities like Portland, Oregon, New York and Chicago as lawless Democratic wastelands that have been overrun with violence, looting and destruction that is forcing residents to flee for safer locales.
The reality on the ground is much more nuanced.
In downtown Portland this week, tourists from Texas enjoyed gyros at a food cart, a couple from the suburbs soaked up the afternoon sun and a recent transplant from Indiana strummed an acoustic guitar outside a shuttered Apple store, in front of a mural that’s dedicated to Black people killed by police.
“It’s a pretty day and we feel just perfectly safe as long as we’ve got our masks on,” said Benjamin Green, a warehouse forklift operator from Beaverton, Oregon. “I don’t see why there’s any need to be scared to walk around out here.”
The picture of American cities overwhelmed by violence has become a central theme of the 2020 presidential race. In his convention acceptance speech Thursday night, President Donald Trump called for “law and order” and said the country can never allow “mob rule.” But for the most part that portrait doesn't line up with reality.
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Activists see disparate police tactics amid Kenosha protests
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Police officers in Kenosha were on alert after days of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake by one of their colleagues, and they'd recently gotten a tip about “suspicious vehicles” from out of state.
So, after watching a group of people fill cans at a gas station Wednesday and then hop into a minivan with Oregon plates, the officers sped in. A bystander’s video shows officers leaping out of black SUVs with guns drawn. About 25 seconds later, an officer shatters the van’s passenger-side window with her baton, unlocks its door and pulls a person out.
The group turned out to be members of Riot Kitchen, a Seattle-based organization that serves food at demonstrations. Jennifer Scheurle, a member of its board of directors, said they were filling up gas cans to power a generator for their food truck.
The nine taken into custody in the SWAT-style operation Wednesday were among dozens of people arrested this week in the Wisconsin city. The arrests have highlighted activists’ complaints that police have been responding to protests over the white officer's shooting that left Blake, a Black man, paralyzed, even as they've tolerated armed militia groups.
The Riot Kitchen members were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, but all were free by Friday morning.
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Zimbabwe's 'keyboard warriors' hold protests off the streets
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Unable to protest on the streets, some in Zimbabwe are calling themselves “keyboard warriors” as they take to graffiti and social media to pressure a government that promised reform but is now accused of gross human rights abuses.
Activists use the hashtag #zimbabweanlivesmatter to encourage global pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
Tens of thousands of people, from Jamaican reggae stars to U.S. rap and hip-hop musicians, have joined African celebrities, politicians and former presidents in tweeting with the hashtag.
But some analysts say online protests might not be enough to move Mnangagwa, who increasingly relies on security forces to crush dissent despite promising reforms when he took power after a coup in 2017.
Tensions are rising anew in the once prosperous southern African country. Inflation is over 800%, amid acute shortages of water, electricity, gas and bank notes and a health system collapsing under the weight of drug shortages and strikes by nurses and doctors.
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Riots in Sweden after Quran burning by far-right activists
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Far-right activists burned a Quran in the southern Swedish city of Malmo, sparking riots and unrest after more than 300 people gathered to protest, police said Saturday.
Rioters set fires and threw objects at police and rescue services Friday night, slightly injuring several police officers and leading to the detention of about 15 people.
The violence followed the burning Friday afternoon of a Quran, near a predominantly migrant neighborhood, that was carried out by far-right activists and filmed and posted online, according to the TT news agency.
Later, three people were arrested on suspicion of inciting hatred against an ethnic group after kicking the Muslim holy book.