WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Transportation Security Administration says significant progress has been made on shortening screening lines since earlier this spring when airlines reported thousands of frustrated passengers were missing flights.
Peter Neffenger told a Senate panel Tuesday that over the busy Memorial Day weekend, 99 percent of passengers at U.S. airports waited less than 30 minutes and more than 90 percent waited less than 15 minutes.
The agency says it is reducing lines by adding more lanes and increasing staffing, especially at seven of the nation’s busiest airports: John F. Kennedy in New York, Newark in New Jersey, O’Hare in Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles.
Neffenger said TSA also is exploring better screening technology that can speed up lines as much as 30 percent.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Northern California said Wednesday they have arrested three teenage boys involved in violent attacks against Donald Trump supporters after a political rally last week in San Jose.
One of the juvenile suspects was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon after he was recorded on video using a blunt object to strike a man who is then seen bleeding from the head, the San Jose Police Department said in a statement.
Police arrested two more suspects who were caught on video physically assaulting a man, chasing him and tackling him to the ground. One was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon and the other for misdemeanor battery, the department said.
The suspects’ names were not released because they are minors.
The department said it expects to make more arrested and released two photos of a man who they is responsible for an assault.
The arrests come after mounting criticism of the city of San Jose and its police department for what some say was a tepid and tardy response to attacks on Trump supporters after a June 2 political rally.
On Tuesday, authorities identified four men arrested the day of the rally as Ahmed Abdirahman, 19, and Robert Trillo, 18, both accused of felony assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Kitaigorodsky, 19, who was arrested on suspicion of refusal to disperse and Antonio Fernandez, 19, arrested and charged with assault on a peace officer.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia could soon become the first major U.S. city with a sugary drinks tax after a city council committee voted Wednesday to approve an amended version of a soda tax proposal that would set a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet drinks.
Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney initially proposed a 3-cents-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages only, but he lacked the votes needed to secure it. He wants the tax to pay for universal prekindergarten, community schools and park improvements.
Critics balked at the proposed tax, saying it was too steep. Wednesday’s compromise adds diet soda to the list and slashes Kenney’s initial proposal in half, to 1.5 cents-per-ounce. The amended plan is expected to raise $91 million over the next year, slightly less than the $95 million projected under Kenney’s original pitch. A full council vote is scheduled for Thursday.
“You don’t always get everything you ask for,” said Kenney spokeswoman Lauren Hitt. “That’s the meaning of compromise.”
Before the committee’s vote, Democratic City Council President Darrell Clarke said it likely would “leave some people with a sour taste in their mouth.” Afterward, Clarke expressed concerns about how the tax would be implemented, such as including diverse labor participation in recreation center building projects and ensuring that Philadelphia’s most vulnerable children benefit from pre-k expansion.
“These are taxpayer dollars, and we want to make sure these dollars are being spent in an equitable manner,” Clark said. “We want to make sure young people have an opportunity to get an early education.”
Cities including New York and San Francisco have tried to pass similar taxes, but have failed. Berkeley, California, is the only U.S. city to approve such a tax.
Philadelphia’s proposal has drawn national attention, with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg jumping into the fray and spending thousands of dollars on ads supporting the measure. Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders took opposite sides of the issue when they campaigned in Pennsylvania ahead of the state’s primary.
The soda industry also spent millions of dollars on ads to block the proposal. It is expected to sue the city if the tax is adopted.
Both sides dug in hard ahead of Wednesday’s vote, with people shouting “No new tax!” and “Kids can’t wait!” across the council chamber. Council members and the mayor worked behind the scenes for much of the day before emerging with the compromise.
In California, the beverage industry lost a fight over warnings appearing on ads for sugary drinks.
A federal court rejected an effort to block a San Francisco law that would require health warnings on the drinks. That decision clears the way for the law to take effect in July.
A final vote on the Philadelphia tax is expected June 16, the deadline for adopting next year’s fiscal budget.
HERNANDO, Fla. (AP) — Police say a Florida man tried to kidnap a teenage girl inside a store and that it was captured on surveillance video.
Citrus County deputies tell news outlets that 30-year-old Craig Bonello is facing charges of child abuse and kidnapping after he tried to drag the 13-year-old girl out of a Dollar General Store in Hernando on Tuesday.
Authorities say the store manager alerted an off-duty deputy outside the store and the deputy blocked Bonello’s car and arrested him.
Bonello was assigned a public defender during his initial court appearance Wednesday. Attorney Edward Spaight says Bonello is a veteran with a long history of mental health issues. He says the systems in place to help people like Bonello have failed him.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love can’t help the Cleveland Cavaliers climb back into the NBA Finals just yet.
Love remains slowed by a concussion suffered in Game 2 and will sit out Game 3 on Wednesday night, when the Cavs try to cut into the Golden State Warrior’s 2-0 lead in the series.
Love took part in the team’s morning shootaround, a positive step toward his return to the floor. Afterward, the Cavs said his status was questionable, but the team later sent out a news release saying Love is out and his status for Game 4 has not been determined.
The 27-year-old forward was diagnosed with a concussion Sunday night after he was accidentally elbowed in the back of the head by Warriors forward Harrison Barnes as they battled for a rebound in the second quarter. Love played part of the second half but took himself out of the game after he became dizzy while playing defense. He was placed into the league’s concussion protocol, a program implemented a few years ago for safety.
According to the protocol, Love is required to gradually increase his physical activity and stay symptom free before he can be cleared by Dr. Jeffrey of the NBA and team physician Dr. Alfred Cianflocco.
Love missed last year’s finals and most of the playoffs after dislocating his left shoulder and undergoing surgery. He’s been a major contributor to Cleveland’s run this postseason, averaging 16.5 points and a team-leading 9.4 rebounds in 16 games.
With Love out, coach Tyronn Lue has a few options, which could include starting 35-year-old Richard Jefferson. He was wearing a red jersey — designated for starters — when the team allowed media in after the shootaround. Jefferson scored 12 points in Cleveland’s 33-point loss to the Warriors in Game 2.
Lue can also turn to 7-foot-1 center Timofey Mozgov and forward Channing Frye for more minutes.
Frye, who came over in a mid-season trade, had a major impact in Cleveland’s win over Toronto in the Eastern Conference finals with his outside shooting, but he’s had limited time against the Warriors. That could change.
“I’ve just got to stay ready,” he said before learning Love wouldn’t play. “When I came here I understood we’re a very deep team. Different matchups work, sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. Coach is trying to figure out the lineup that’s going to work the best. I think that honestly they play small, they really aren’t playing their centers, then the next guy that comes in is about 6-foot-6. For me it’s a good and bad situation, but I’m always going to stay ready.
“I’m never one to complain about minutes or question coach Lue. I’m here to help the team win. If that’s getting five minutes, I’m going to have to bust my butt for five minutes.”
The news of Love’s absence reached the Warriors as they were conducting their shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena.
“It changes the expectation of who’s going to get the minutes,” said league MVP Stephen Curry. “Kevin has a certain skill set that’s tough to handle. He can space the floor, knock down 3s, he can get some touches on the blocks. So whoever’s filling those roles is going to do something different, whether it’s Channing, whether it’s Mozgov, whether it’s Richard Jefferson, you’ve got to know your personnel and adjust.
“From a team perspective for them I don’t know how much it’ll change the play-calling and whatnot. You’ve just got to know who’s on the floor and how to guard them.”
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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
CAIRO (AP) — An EgyptAir plane that made an emergency landing Wednesday in Uzbekistan following a bomb threat resumed its flight and landed in Beijing, Egyptian officials said, the latest in a series of deadly or damaging air travel incidents involving Egypt.
The officials said no bomb was found after the Airbus A330-220 and its passengers were searched by explosives experts. The plane took off for the Chinese capital four hours after it landed in the town of Urgench, about 840 kilometers (600 miles) west of the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
According to the officials, an anonymous caller telephoned security agents at the Cairo airport to say a bomb was on board EgyptAir Flight 955, which had 135 passengers and crew on board. The agents immediately contacted the aircraft and ordered it to land at the nearest airport, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed official with Uzbekistan Airways as saying the airport in Urgench was closed following the EgyptAir plane’s emergency landing.
The incident came nearly three weeks after an EgyptAir flight crashed in the Mediterranean Sea as it was approaching the Egyptian coast while en route to Cairo from Paris. All 66 people on board were killed and the search for the plane’s flight and data recorders — the so called black boxes — is still underway.
Egyptian officials say the Paris-Cairo plane was most likely downed by an act of terror.
Last October, a Russian airliner crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula shortly after taking off from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board. A local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft just hours after the crash. In November, Russia said an explosive device brought down the aircraft.
The Russian airliner’s crash has decimated Egypt’s already battered tourism industry. While the cause of the May 19 EgyptAir crash in the Mediterranean remains unknown, it has associated Egypt with another air disaster, further damaging the once lucrative industry.
The two disasters have unsettled authorities at the Cairo airport, where false alarms or bomb threats have caused lengthy delays to flights and at least one cancellation this week.
Security has also been considerably tightened at Egypt’s 20-plus airports since the Russian plane crash, with passengers now subjected to roughly the same security measures in force at major international airports.
In March, an Egyptian man hijacked an EgyptAir plane on an Alexandria-to-Cairo flight and forced it to land in Cyprus. Seif Eddin Mustafa threatened to destroy the plane with a fake suicide belt, saying he was doing so because he opposes Egypt’s military-backed government.
All 72 passengers and crew members aboard the Airbus A320 were released unharmed after a six-hour standoff and the hijacker was taken into custody. He is now in court fighting extradition to Egypt.
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Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show that the number of the flight is EgyptAir 955, not 995.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Adidas is apologizing after misspelling Colombia in advertisements featuring the team in new jerseys for the Copa America tournament.
The ads, which showed Colombian players in the home white jerseys, were pulled by Adidas after social media widely ridiculed he company for spelling the country “Columbia.”
The company, which has its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon, said in a statement Tuesday: “We value our partnership with the Colombian Football Federation and apologize for our mistake. We removed these graphics and are quickly installing new versions today.”
Adidas has provided the uniforms for the Colombian national team since 2011.
Colombia, ranked No. 3 in the world, defeated Paraguay 2-1 on Tuesday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Colombians also shut out the United States 2-0 in the opening match of the 16-nation tournament.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — 76ers coach Brett Brown said Wednesday that Sean Rooks had promising prospects for his coaching career before his death.
The former NBA center and 76ers assistant coach died Tuesday at age 46, after interviewing earlier in the day for a job with the New York Knicks.
Brown said Rooks meant a lot to many people.
“Sean Rooks was a wonderful person with a kind soul who deserved to live longer than he did,” Brown said. “Sean was with me for two years and helped our young players and coaching staff by sharing his experiences in such an endearing way.”
Brown says he met with Rooks recently to help him prepare for an interview to become the head coach of an NBA developmental team.
“When he was offered the position just a few days later, we spoke of the challenges, growth and responsibility that would help him personally move his career forward as a head coach,” Brown said. “He was genuinely excited by this offer, as well as other job opportunities that were coming his way.”
The cause of Rooks’ death has not been disclosed.
Rooks had visited with Knicks President Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills for an assistant coaching position on Jeff Hornacek’s staff. He had spent the past two years on Brett Brown’s staff in Philadelphia.
Rooks played 12 seasons after being selected in the second round of the NBA draft by Dallas in 1992. He averaged 6.2 points in 749 games with seven teams.
Rooks’ son, Kameron, is a 7-footer playing for California. He also is survived by another child, Khayla, and his mother, Deborah Brown.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police have charged a 25-year-old man with attempted murder in the shooting of his father during his brother’s funeral repast at a West Baltimore church hall.
Antonio Addision also faces assault and weapons charges stemming from the Tuesday shooting at New Song Worship & Arts Center during a meal after the funeral for Addison’s 22-year-old brother, who shares the same first and last names. He was fatally shot last month.
Police say the 25-year-old Addison and his father got into a dispute after the service that may have been prompted by an omission in the obituary for the dead man.
Addison’s mugshot shows facial injuries. Police spokesman T.J. Smith said Wednesday he suffered those at the hands of family members during the altercation.
Addison’s father is expected to survive.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has added nine communities to its effort to ease access to federal aid and cut red tape for areas beset by joblessness, crime and poor housing.
The newly selected so-called Promise Zones include neighborhoods in Nashville, south Los Angeles, the west side of Atlanta, parts of Evansville, Indiana; San Diego, eastern Puerto Rico and southwest Florida.
The Spokane Indian Reservation and nearby communities in Washington state and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and their communities around Rolette County, North Dakota, also were selected.
The designation comes with no guaranteed new federal money. But it gives communities an advantage in applying for grants, and special access to federal employees who act as liaisons and guides through federal bureaucracy.