AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT

Veterans are divided about reports Trump disparaged military

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — In this soldier's city and across the country, veterans and military families are divided about reports that President Donald Trump made disparaging comments toward the military, with some service members bristling at the remarks and others questioning whether they happened.

Thomas Richardson, a retired member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne, did not like what he heard.

Richardson was trained to respect the office of commander in chief, but he was rankled by allegations in The Atlantic, many of them independently confirmed by The Associated Press, that Trump had referred to fallen and captured U.S. service members as “losers” and “suckers.”

“Usually, you don’t choose those kinds of missions. You agree to serve and you agree to go where your assignment is,” said Richardson, who did not vote for Trump in 2016.

Fayetteville, home to more than 200,000 people, is bordered by Fort Bragg on its northern limits. It was named in 1783 for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution.

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States plan for cuts as Congress deadlocks on more virus aid

Spending cuts to schools, childhood vaccinations and job-training programs. New taxes on millionaires, cigarettes and legalized marijuana. Borrowing, drawing from rainy day funds and reducing government workers' pay.

These are some actions states are considering to shore up their finances amid a sharp drop in tax revenue caused by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Congress deadlocked for months on a new coronavirus relief package, many states haven't had the luxury of waiting to see whether more money is on the way. Some that have delayed budget decisions are growing frustrated by the uncertainty.

As the U.S. Senate returns to session Tuesday, some governors and state lawmakers are again urging action on proposals that could provide hundreds of billions of additional dollars to states and local governments.

“There is a lot at stake in the next federal stimulus package and, if it’s done wrong, I think it could be catastrophic for California,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, a Democrat from San Francisco and chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.

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As pandemic raged, roadways became speedways

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Some drivers took advantage of roads and highways emptied by the coronavirus pandemic by pushing well past the speed limit, a trend that continues even as states try to get back to normal.

The Iowa State Patrol recorded a 101% increase from January through August over the four-year average in tickets for speeds exceeding 100 mph, along with a 75% increase in tickets for speeds of 25 mph or more over the posted speed limit.

California Highway Patrol officers issued more than 15,000 tickets from mid-March through Aug. 19 for speeds exceeding 100 mph, more than a 100% increase over the same time period a year ago. That includes a continuing spike from May on.

The most likely explanation is drivers taking advantage of more open roads because of the pandemic, said Officer Ian Hoey, a spokesman for the California agency.

The patrol planned a heavy presence over the Labor Day weekend, he said.

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Jacob Blake speaks out for first time since police shooting

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jacob Blake has spoken publicly for the first time since a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer shot him seven times in the back, saying he's in constant pain from the shooting, which doctors fear will leave him paralyzed from the waist down.

In a video posted Saturday night on Twitter by his family's lawyer, Ben Crump, Blake said from his hospital bed that, “Twenty-four hours, every 24 hours it’s pain, nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side-to-side, it hurts to eat.”

Blake, a 29-year-old father of six, also said he has staples in his back and stomach.

“Your life, and not only just your life, your legs, something you need to move around and forward in life, can be taken from you like this,” Blake said, snapping his fingers.

He added: “Stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out there, man, because there’s so much time that’s been wasted.”

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As virus cases drop, governors may gamble on bars. Again.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A guy walks into a bar, which still isn't allowed in Texas.

But Jeff Brightwell owns this bar. Two months into an indefinite shutdown, he's just checking on the place — the tables six feet apart, the “Covid 19 House Rules” sign instructing drinkers not to mingle. All the safeguards that didn't keep the doors open because Dot's Hop House & Cocktail Courtyard is a bar under Texas law. And bars, in a pandemic? “Really not good," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's infectious disease expert, told Congress in June.

But some governors are warming up to good enough. Thousands of bars forced to close after massive virus outbreaks swept across the U.S. this summer could be starting to see an end in sight as cases drop off and the political will for continuing lockdowns fades. For some states, it is a gamble worth trying, only a few months after a rush to reopen bars in May and June ended in disaster.

“Our governor waved the magic wand, put us out of business and offered us nothing,” said Brightwell, whose Dallas bar typically employs around 50 people. He says his industry has been scapegoated.

Bars remain under full closure orders in more than a half-dozen states, including hard-hit ones like Texas but also Connecticut, which has one of the nation’s lowest positivity rates. And even in states already letting bars operate, restrictions vary from one county to the next and can tighten or loosen abruptly, reflecting the unease among governors even as reopening movie theaters and amusement parks create a look of getting over the hump.

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Djokovic out of US Open after hitting line judge with ball

NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic was kicked out of the U.S. Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a tennis ball after dropping a game in his fourth-round match Sunday, a stunning end to his 29-match winning streak and bid for an 18th Grand Slam title.

As he walked to the Arthur Ashe Stadium sideline for a changeover, trailing Pablo Carreno Busta 6-5 in the first set, Djokovic — who was seeded and ranked No. 1 and an overwhelming favorite for the championship — angrily smacked a ball behind him. The ball flew right at the line judge, who dropped to her knees at the back of the court and reached for her neck.

During a discussion of about 10 minutes near the net involving chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, tournament referee Soeren Friemel and Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli, Djokovic appeared to be pleading his case. But eventually, he walked over to shake hands with Carreno Busta.

Tourte then announced that Djokovic was defaulted, the tennis equivalent of an ejection.

“I was a little bit in shock, no?” Carreno Busta said later at a news conference done via video conference.

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Suppliers reluctant to ship goods without credit insurance

NEW YORK (AP) —

Gold Medal International is sitting on millions of dollars worth of socks at its North Carolina warehouse that it can’t ship to stores.

The reason? The 66-year-old family-owned sock maker can’t get enough credit insurance to cover potential losses if the stores can’t pay for the goods they’ve ordered.

Without that insurance, Gold Medal — and thousands of other suppliers facing a similar dilemma — would be on the hook for unpaid bills. But not shipping the goods to retailers means losing sales and big write-downs on inventory. The problem will only get worse if retailers can’t stock their shelves and shoppers can’t find what they want heading into the critical holiday season.

“I got the goods, I made them. I don’t have a liquidity problem,” said Paul Rotstein, who’s been president of New York-based Gold Medal for 30 years. ”But if I can’t ship $12 million worth of orders, guess what? I have a big liquidity problem.”

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Navajo woman who survived COVID-19 finds joy in simple steps

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An ambulance whisked Carol Todecheene from her house in late March as some of her 13 rescue dogs barked and neighbors stood in their yards wondering what was wrong.

Some thought she had died as the number of coronavirus cases rapidly rose on the vast Navajo Nation, which at one point had the highest infection rate in the U.S.

Todecheene received so many calls and messages that her family let people know on social media that she had the virus. After weeks in the hospital, followed by rehabilitation, she's among the COVID-19 survivors.

Recovery, though, doesn't mean she's OK.

It came with survivor's guilt, trouble accessing health care and fear she wouldn't regain her memory or her job overseeing transportation at the local school district, where limited in-person classes will begin this week.

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City won't waste John Oliver's donation, on 1 condition

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut city won't waste an opportunity to get a sizeable donation from comedian John Oliver about a weeks-long joke pertaining to the name of a sewage plant in the area.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said on WTNH-TV that he would accept Oliver’s challenge to name the city’s sewage plant after him following Oliver's offer to donate $55,000 to local charities.

But Boughton said there was one stipulation to the facility's renaming. “We do have one very specific condition. You must come here to Danbury and be physically present when we cut the ribbon," he said in a Facebook video posted Sunday.

The announcement was the latest volley in a war of words between the host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and Boughton after Oliver first bashed Danbury on an Aug. 16 during a segment on racial disparities in jury selection that was actually focused on other areas of Connecticut.

“If you’re going to forget a town in Connecticut, why not forget Danbury?” Oliver said. He finished his rant with a taunt: “If you’re from there, you have a standing invite to come get a thrashing from John Oliver -- children included.”

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Pope: Gossiping is "plague worse than COVID"

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis said Sunday that gossiping is a “plague worse than COVID” that is seeking to divide the Catholic Church.

Francis strayed from his prepared text to double down on his frequent complaint about gossiping within church communities and even within the Vatican bureaucracy. Francis didn’t give specifics during his weekly blessing, but went on at some length to say the devil is the “biggest gossiper” who is seeking to divide the church with his lies.

“Please brothers and sisters, let’s try to not gossip," he said. “Gossip is a plague worse than COVID. Worse. Let’s make a big effort: No gossiping!”

Francis’ comments came as he elaborated on a Gospel passage about the need to correct others privately when they do something wrong. The Catholic hierarchy has long relied on this “fraternal correction” among priests and bishops to correct them when they err without airing problems in public.

Survivors of sexual abuse have said this form of private reprimand has allowed abuse to fester in the church and let both predator priests and superiors who covered up for them escape punishment.