AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EDT
Countries worldwide hit new records for virus cases, deaths
Ambulances filled with breathless patients lined up in Brazil as nations around the world set new records Thursday for COVID-19 deaths and new coronavirus infections. The disease surged even in some countries that have kept the virus in check.
In the United States, Detroit leaders began making a plan to knock on every door to persuade people to get vaccine shots.
Brazil this week became just the third country, after the U.S. and Peru, to report a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths that exceeded 4,000. India hit a peak of almost 127,000 new cases in 24 hours, and Iran set a new coronavirus infection record for the third straight day, reporting nearly 22,600 new cases.
In the state of Rio de Janeiro, emergency services are under their biggest strain since the pandemic began, with ambulances carrying patients of all ages to overcrowded hospitals struggling to care for everyone. Authorities say over 90% of the state's intensive-care unit beds are taken by COVID-19 patients, and many cities are reporting people dying at home due to lack of available medical treatment.
'œWe're already living the third wave. We have three times more calls," in comparison with previous waves, said Adriano Pereira, director of the mobile emergency care service in Duque de Caxias, an impoverished city outside Rio.
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Biden orders gun control actions -- but they show his limits
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden put on a modest White House ceremony Thursday to announce a half-dozen executive actions to combat what he called an 'œepidemic and an international embarrassment'ť of gun violence in America.
But he said much more is needed. And for Biden, who proposed the most ambitious gun-control agenda of any modern presidential candidate, his limited moves underscored his limited power to act alone on guns with difficult politics impeding legislative action on Capitol Hill.
Biden's new steps include a move to crack down on 'œghost guns,'ť homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often purchased without a background check. He's also moving to tighten regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces like the one used in Boulder, Colorado, in a shooting last month that left 10 dead.
The president's actions delivered on a pledge he made last month to take what he termed immediate 'œcommon-sense steps'ť to address gun violence, after a series of mass shootings drew renewed attention to the issue. His announcement came the same day as yet another episode, this one in South Carolina, where five people were killed.
But his orders stop well short of some of his biggest campaign-trail proposals, including his promise to ban the importation of assault weapons, his embrace of a voluntary gun buyback program and a pledge to provide resources for the Justice Department and FBI to better enforce the nation's current gun laws and track firearms.
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Expert: Lack of oxygen killed George Floyd, not drugs
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck, medical experts testified at former Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial Thursday, emphatically rejecting the defense theory that Floyd's drug use and underlying health problems killed him.
'œA healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died,'ť said prosecution witness Dr. Martin Tobin, a lung and critical care specialist at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola University's medical school in Illinois.
Using easy-to-understand language to explain medical concepts and even loosening his necktie to illustrate a point, Tobin told the jury that Floyd's breathing was severely constricted while Chauvin and two other Minneapolis officers held the 46-year-old Black man down on his stomach last May with his hands cuffed behind him and his face jammed against the ground.
The lack of oxygen resulted in brain damage and caused his heart to stop, the witness said.
Tobin, analyzing images of the three officers restraining Floyd for what prosecutors say was almost 9 1/2 minutes, testified that Chauvin's knee was 'œvirtually on the neck'ť more than 90% of the time.
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EXPLAINER: Is the US border with Mexico in crisis?
Nearly 19,000 children traveling alone were stopped at the Mexican border in March, smashing previous highs set during periods of heavy child migration in 2014 and 2019.
Is it a crisis? Spin and semantics aside, migration to the U.S. from Mexico is increasing in a major way for the third time in seven years under Republican and Democratic presidents - and for similar reasons.
HOW HAS MIGRATION CHANGED SINCE JOE BIDEN BECAME PRESIDENT?
Border encounters - a widely used but imperfect gauge that tells how many times U.S. authorities came across migrants - rose sharply during Donald Trump's final months as president, from an unusually low 17,106 last April to 74,108 in December. They soared during President Joe Biden's first months in office. Encounters totaled more than 172,000 in March, up from about 100,000 the previous month and the highest since March 2001.
That's only part of the picture, though. Who's crossing is just as important a gauge as how many are making the attempt, if not even more.
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Defrocked US priest revered in East Timor accused of abuse
It was the same every night. A list of names was posted on the Rev. Richard Daschbach's bedroom door. The child at the top of the roster knew it was her turn to share the lower bunk with the elderly priest and another elementary school-aged girl.
Daschbach was idolized in the remote enclave of East Timor where he lived, largely for his role in helping save lives during the tiny nation's bloody struggle for independence. So, the girls never spoke about the abuse they suffered. They said they were afraid they would be banished from the shelter the 84-year-old from Pennsylvania established decades ago for abused women, orphans, and other destitute children.
The horrors of what they said happened behind closed doors over a period of years is now being played out in court -- the first clergy sex case in a country that is more solidly Catholic than any other place aside from the Vatican. The trial was postponed last month due to a coronavirus lockdown, but is expected to resume in May.
At least 15 females have come forward, according to JU,S JurÃdico Social, a group of human rights lawyers representing them. The Associated Press has spoken to a third of the accusers, each recalling their experiences in vivid detail. They are not being identified because of fears of retribution.
They told AP Daschbach would sit on a chair every night in the middle of a room holding a little girl, surrounded by a ring of children and staff members praying and singing hymns before bed.
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Authorities: NFL player Phillip Adams killed 5, then himself
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - Former NFL player Phillip Adams fatally shot five people, including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren before killing himself early Thursday.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told a news conference that investigators had not yet determined a motive for Wednesday's mass shooting.
'œThere's nothing right now that makes sense to any of us," Tolson said.
Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara, 69, were pronounced dead in their home in Rock Hill along with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, the York County coroner's office said.
A man who had been working at the Lesslie home, James Lewis, 38, from Gaston, was found shot to death outside. A sixth victim, Robert Shook, 38, of Cherryville, North Carolina, was flown to a Charlotte hospital, where he was in critical condition 'œfighting hard for his life,'ť said a cousin, Heather Smith Thompson.
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Police: Employee kills 1, wounds 5 at Texas cabinet business
BRYAN, Texas (AP) - A man opened fire Thursday at a Texas cabinet-making company where he worked, killing one person and wounding five others before shooting and wounding a state trooper prior to his arrest, authorities said.
Bryan Police Chief Eric Buske told reporters he believes the suspect, whose name wasn't immediately released, is an employee at the Kent Moore Cabinets location where the shooting happened. He said investigators believe the man was solely responsible for the attack, which happened around 2:30 p.m., and that he was gone by the time officers arrived.
Four of the five people who were wounded at the business were hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. During the manhunt for the suspect, he shot and wounded a state trooper, who was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on Twitter.
Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell said about two hours after the attack, the suspect was arrested in Bedias, a tiny community about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Bryan.
Investigators were still trying to determine the motive for the attack, authorities said.
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EXPLAINER: Why would an expert witness go without pay?
CHICAGO (AP) - Experts in medicine can command thousands of dollars when they testify in American courtrooms, but prosecutors made a point of letting jurors know that Dr. Martin Tobin was not being paid for his appearance Thursday at former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial.
Tobin, a lung and critical care specialist at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola University's medical school in Illinois, testified that George Floyd died due to a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with Chauvin's knee on his neck.
After establishing Tobin had more than 40 years of experience, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell asked about his work as an expert witness. Tobin estimated that he has testified at about 50 court proceedings, particularly in medical malpractice lawsuits, but never in a criminal case.
That's why, Tobin explained, he was not charging a fee this time.
'œWell, when I was asked to do the case, uh, I thought I might have some knowledge that would be helpful to explain how Mr. Floyd died,'ť he said. 'œAnd since I'd never done this type of work in this nature before, I decided I didn't wish to be paid for it."
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Gaetz associate working toward plea deal with prosecutors
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - An associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz's is working toward a plea deal with federal prosecutors investigating a sex trafficking operation, potentially escalating the legal and political jeopardy facing the Florida congressman.
The revelation that a political ally of Gaetz's, Joel Greenberg, is seeking to strike a plea deal with investigators came during a hearing Thursday at federal court in Orlando. It's a significant step in the case and signals that Greenberg could potentially serve as a witness in the Justice Department's investigation into Gaetz.
'œI am sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today,'ť Fritz Scheller, a lawyer for Greenberg, said after the hearing.
Federal prosecutors are examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not discuss details publicly. Gaetz has denied the allegations and insists he will not resign his seat in Congress.
A call to the congressman's cellphone on Thursday yielded a message that he was not accepting calls at this time. He also did not respond to a text message.
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Rose torches tough Augusta for 65 and 4-shot Masters lead
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Seven holes into the Masters, Justin Rose was 2-over par and in no position to panic.
He knew Augusta National in April was no picnic compared with the last one in November. He figured if he could get back to around even par by the end of the day he would be fine.
Rose never expected his best score in his 59 rounds at Augusta National.
No one could have seen it coming, either.
Rose made seven birdies and an eagle during a torrid 10-hole stretch for an opening 7-under 65, giving him a four-shot lead Thursday in conditions that might only get tougher the rest of the way.