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Apple expected to show new iPhone at event next week

AppleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is expected to show off a new iPhone next week when the company holds its fall product launch event in San Francisco.

The tech giant announced the date for the Sept. 7 launch by sending out invitations to technology journalists and industry analysts on Monday.

Apple didn’t provide any details, in keeping with its usual practice, but it traditionally announces one or two new iPhone models at its annual September event. Apple may also show new models or features for other products like the Apple Watch or Macbook computer.

The Cupertino, California company sold more than 214 million iPhones over the last 12 months. But sales are down from a year ago, and analysts will be watching closely to see what changes Apple has made in the newest models.

Visitor misbehavior abounds as US parks agency turns 100

national-park-serviceYELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Record visitor numbers at the nation’s first national park have transformed Yellowstone National Park’s annual tourist rush into a sometimes dangerous frenzy.

Photo-snapping visitors routinely break the rules, getting too close to elk, grizzly bears, wolves and bison.

Officials say the rule-breaking puts visitors in harm’s way, damages resources and displaces wildlife.

Law enforcement records obtained by The Associated Press suggest such problems are on the rise.

Yellowstone rangers are seeing more wildlife violations, more people treading on sensitive thermal areas and more illegal camping.

It’s an illustration of the pressures facing America’s most treasured lands as the National Park Service marks its 100th anniversary. From the Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon, major parks are grappling with vandalism, theft of resources and other misbehavior.

Elton John, Britney Spears join Apple Music Festival lineup

AppleLOS ANGELES (AP) — Elton John, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys and Calvin Harris are among the performers at this year’s Apple Music Festival.

Apple announced the lineup Wednesday for the 10th annual festival that also includes Bastille, Robbie Williams and Michael Buble.

The 10-night concert series will be held from Sept. 18 to 30 at London’s Roundhouse. Other participating artists include Chance the Rapper, OneRepublic and The 1975.

Apple says the performances will be made available live and on-demand to Apple Music subscribers in 100 countries.

The concert series was previously known as the iTunes Festival before last year’s event.

A pot of money: Oregon collects $25.5M in marijuana taxes

marijuana-jointSALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon has processed $25.5 million in tax payments from recreational marijuana from January through the end of July.

The state’s Department of Revenue says medical marijuana dispensaries were required to file their second-quarter returns for recreational marijuana by Aug. 1.

Oregonians legalized recreational marijuana in late 2014.

But it can only be sold by medical marijuana dispensaries until the Oregon Liquor Control Commission finalizes rules for the new industry. That’s expected to happen by next year.

Medical marijuana dispensaries started collecting a 25 percent tax on their recreational marijuana sales in January.

Anticipated state revenue from recreational marijuana through June 2017 was recently quadrupled by Oregon’s Legislative Revenue Office.

The expected amount rose from $8.4 million to $35 million.

Recreational marijuana is illegal in 46 states and under federal law.

Ford says it will have a fully autonomous car by 2021

fordDETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says it will have a fully autonomous vehicle ready to provide ride-hailing or ride-sharing services by 2021.

Ford CEO Mark Fields announced the new goal Tuesday at the company’s Silicon Valley campus in Palo Alto, California.

Ford says its new vehicle won’t need a steering wheel or gas and brake pedals. That’s a break from many other companies, who plan to gradually add self-driving capability to traditional cars.

Ford’s vehicle will be specifically designed for commercial mobility services, like taxi companies, and will be available in high volumes. Ford says personal ownership of self-driving cars will come later.

The company also says it plans to double the staff at its Palo Alto research center by the end of next year to nearly 300 people.

Oregon State Fair to feature marijuana

High_Quality_Marijuana_1PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A new crop will be featured at the Oregon State Fair this year: marijuana.

The fair awards prizes for the curviest vegetable or the most misshapen fruit. This year, marijuana plants will also be on display — and will be judged by a panel of growers before the fair.

The Oregon Cannabis Business Council is sponsoring the exhibit. Chairman Don Morse says nine plants will be displayed in a greenhouse and monitored by a security guard.

Only people age 21 and older will be allowed inside.

Fair spokesman Dan Cox says the exhibit is a nod to the newly legal status of cannabis. Morse says, however, that those hoping for a sample will be disappointed.

The fair runs Aug. 26 through Sept. 5.

Woman suffers 3rd-degree burns after hot coins spill in car

heatwaveMOORE, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma woman is recovering from third-degree burns to her thigh caused by hot pennies that spilled in her sport utility vehicle on a scorching summer day.

Melissa Sechrist says a cup of spare change spilled onto her seat in Moore, Oklahoma, last week, and the scalding-hot pennies came into contact with her leg. She tried icing the wound, but she went to a hospital over the weekend after the pain didn’t subside.

Sechrist said the coins caused third-degree burns on the back of her thigh. She says it’s still painful to walk, sit or lie down because of the injury.

According to the National Weather Service, the heat index was 104 degrees on the day Sechrist suffered the burns.

The Latest: 5 police officers killed, 7 wounded in ambush during protests

city-of-dallasDALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of police officers in Dallas (all times local):

8:55

Police Chief David Brown says a suspect in the overnight attack that killed five police officers, wounded seven others and wounded two civilians said he was upset over the recent police shootings of black men and wanted to kill white people.

Brown said at a news conference Friday that the suspect made the comments before he was killed by an explosive used by police.

He says his department and their families are grieving and that the divisiveness between police and the public must stop.

Authorities say snipers opened fire on police officers during a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas Thursday night over the recent fatal shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Authorities say three other suspects were arrested.

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7:25 a.m.

A man wrongly identified by Dallas police as a suspect in a sniper attack on police says he turned himself in and was quickly released.

The Dallas Police Department put out a photo on its Twitter account late Thursday of a man wearing a camouflage shirt and holding a rifle with the message: “This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him!” The tweet remained on the account early Friday morning.

The man in the photo, Mark Hughes, tells Dallas TV station KTVT that he “flagged down a police officer” immediately after finding out he was a suspect. He says police lied during a 30-minute interrogation, telling him they had video of him shooting.

Videos posted online show Hughes walking around peacefully during the shooting and later turning over his gun to a police officer.

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7:15 a.m.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials say three DART police officers wounded by snipers during a protest are expected to recover.

Thursday night’s shootings left four Dallas police officers and one DART officer dead, plus seven other officers wounded. The demonstration was to protest two fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week.

A DART statement Friday identified the agency’s three wounded personnel as 44-year-old Officer Omar Cannon, 32-year-old Officer Misty McBride and 39-year-old Officer Jesus Retana. DART spokesman Morgan Lyons did not release details of the injuries, but said all three should recover.

Officer Brent Thompson was the first DART officer killed in the line of duty since the transit agency formed a police department in 1989. Thompson was 43 and had worked as a DART officer since 2009.

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Online:

http://www.dart.org/

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7:05 a.m.

Mayor Mike Rawlings says a total of 12 police officers and two civilians were shot during a protest march in downtown Dallas.

Rawlings said Friday that he does not believe that any of the wounded victims have life-threatening injuries.

He says five officers were killed and seven more were injured when snipers opened fire during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

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6:40 a.m.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says the suspect involved in an overnight standoff with police died after officers used explosives to “blast him out.”

Rawlings said Friday that he was not sure how the suspect died or what weapons were found on him.

He says police have swept the area where the standoff took place and found no explosives.

Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday evening, killing five officers and injuring six others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

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6 a.m.

People gathered in small groups on Dallas’ tense, police-filled streets before dawn early Friday struggled to fathom the still-unsettled situation.

Resident Jalisa Jackson says: “I think the biggest thing that we’ve had something like this is when JFK died,” evoking the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the city’s streets. She calls it “surreal.”

Police said at least four suspects were involved in the killings of five police officers just hours before. The suspects were not immediately identified.

Downtown, officers crouched beside vehicles, SWAT team armored vehicles arrived and a helicopter hovered overhead.

Eleven Dallas officers were shot Thursday night during a peaceful protest over this week’s fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota in what the city’s police chief characterized as a sniper attack.

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5:45 a.m.

Dallas police say no explosives have been found in extensive sweeps of downtown areas following the fatal shooting of five police officers and the wounding of six others by snipers.

Security was tight Friday morning with numerous streets closed to vehicle traffic in the main downtown Dallas business district hours after Thursday night’s attacks.

The gunfire happened during protests over this week’s fatal police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota of two black men. Police have detained at least three people in the investigation of the Dallas shootings.

Police said a fourth suspect was engaged in a standoff with authorities and had made threats about bombs.

Maj. Max Geron (GAYR’-uhn) tweeted before dawn Friday that primary and secondary sweeps for explosives were complete and no explosives were found.

The gunfire claimed the lives of four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer. DART serves Dallas and a dozen other North Texas cities. The transit agency operates buses and the state’s largest municipal rail system.

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5:20 a.m.

A memorial group says the slaying of five police officers in Dallas in an attack blamed on snipers was the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer were fatally shot Thursday night. The gunfire happened during protests over this week’s fatal police shootings of two black men, in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Six other officers were wounded in the Dallas attacks.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which monitors the deaths of officers, reports 72 officers were killed as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The group labels that attack as the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history.

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Online:

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/deadliest.html

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4:30 a.m.

President Barack Obama says America is “horrified” over the shootings of police officers in Dallas and there’s no possible justification for the attacks.

Obama is speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he’s meeting with leaders of the European Union and attending a NATO summit.

Obama says justice will be done and he’s asking all Americans to pray for the fallen officers and their families. He also says the nation should express its gratitude to those serving in law enforcement.

Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday evening, killing five officers and injuring six others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Obama said earlier there was no contradiction between supporting law enforcement and making certain biases in the justice system are rooted out.

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2:30 a.m.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit has identified its officer who was fatally shot when snipers opened fire during a downtown Dallas protest.

DART said early Friday morning that 43-year-old officer Brent Thompson was killed in the Thursday night shootings. He’d joined the DART Police Department in 2009.

DART says he’s the first officer killed in the line of duty since the agency formed a police department in 1989. The statement says “our hearts are broken.”

DART says the other three DART police officers shot during the protest are expected to recover from their injuries.

Also killed during the shootings were four Dallas police officers.

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2:10 a.m.

Police say a fifth officer has died after snipers opened fire on police at a rally in Dallas. Six other officers were injured.

The gunfire broke out Thursday night while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Three people are in custody and a fourth suspect was exchanging gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown early Friday.

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2 a.m.

A family member says a protester who was shot when snipers opened fire on police at a rally in Dallas was shielding her sons when she was injured.

A sister of 37-year-old Shetamia Taylor says Taylor was at the protests Thursday night with her four sons, ages 12 to 17. Theresa Williams says that when the shooting began, Taylor threw herself over her sons. She was undergoing surgery early Friday after being shot in the right calf.

Police say four police officers were killed and seven injured in the shootings. The shootings happened at a protest over recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Williams says two of Taylor’s sons became separated from their mother in the chaotic aftermath. She says they’re now stuck behind a police barricade at a hotel near a parking garage where police exchanged gunfire with a suspect.

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1:40 a.m.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he’s cutting short an out-of-state trip to go to Dallas after four police officers were killed and seven others injured when snipers opened fire during protests.

Abbott said in a release early Friday morning that he would be heading directly to Dallas. The shootings happened Thursday night in downtown Dallas.

Abbott also says he’s spoken with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to express his condolences and offer any assistance the city needs.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in a statement that “our thoughts and prayers go out to these officers and their families, and to those who have been injured.” He said his office is in close contact with local authorities and will be offering to provide whatever support they can to help victims and bring the “perpetrators to justice.”

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1:15 a.m.

Dallas police say a person of interest whose picture had been circulated has turned himself in.

Police earlier had circulated a picture of a man in a camouflage T-shirt who carrying a long gun.

Police had no update on whether that person was indeed a suspect. However, Police Chief David Brown said authorities had three people in custody. One is a woman and two are people who were in a car stopped on a road.

A man who identified himself as the brother of the man whose photo was circulated says his brother was not one of the shooters. He told television station KTVT that once the shootings had started, his brother had turned the gun over to a police officer.

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12:50 a.m.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown says three people are in custody after snipers opened fire on police officers during protests and says a fourth person is exchanging gunfire with officers.

Brown said at an early Friday morning news conference that authorities are negotiating with a suspect in a downtown parking garage who has been exchanging gunfire with officials.

The chief says the suspect is not cooperating and has told negotiators he intends to hurt more law enforcement officials.

The shooting attack killed four officers and injured seven others. It came amid protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Brown says authorities are not certain all suspects have been located.

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12:30 a.m.

Dallas police say they are questioning two occupants of a vehicle after an officer saw a person throw a bag into the back of the vehicle and speed off.

Police said late Thursday night that an officer spotted someone carrying a camouflage bag and quickly walking down the street. The person then threw the bag into the back of a black Mercedes and sped off at a high rate of speed.

Police say officers followed the vehicle southbound on Interstate 35 to a point south of Dallas where they performed a traffic stop. Police then began questioning both occupants of the vehicle.

Television footage showed many police cars surrounding a vehicle stopped on Interstate 35.

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11:35 p.m.

Dallas police say a suspect in shooting of officers at Dallas protests is in custody and a person of interest has surrendered.

Dallas police say four officers have died after at least two snipers opened fire during protests downtown Thursday night. Seven other officers were wounded.

Police Chief David O. Brown said snipers shot from “elevated positions” during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

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10:45 p.m.

The Dallas police chief says it appears two snipers shot 10 police officers during protests, and three of the officers are dead.

Police Chief David O. Brown said in a statement that three of the officers who were injured are in critical condition Thursday night. He says the snipers shot from “elevated positions” during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Toking up while working out: Pair plan gym allowing pot use

marijuana-jointNOVATO, Calif. (AP) — A former pro football star and an advocate for athlete marijuana use have teamed up to open a gym in San Francisco that they say will be one of the first in the world to allow members to smoke pot while working out.

Former running back Ricky Williams and Jim McAlpine, a snowboard company executive, said Power Plant Fitness will open before the end of the year. It also will offer edibles and topical gels for those who don’t like smoking the plant.

Members will need a medical marijuana prescription to join, but that could change if California voters legalize recreational pot in November.

Carla Lowe, founder of Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, said it’s not clear how pot affects the body but there’s “zero evidence” it helps a person focus.

Man accused of groping 6 people at Disney water park

disney-worldORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man has been accused of groping six people, including teenagers, at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park in Florida.

According to news reports, one of the victims told Orange County Sheriff’s deputies she and 27-year-old Aman Bhatia were in the wave pool Sunday. She says that as waves crashed over her, she felt Bhatia’s hands all over her body.

Another victim says she was in the wave pool when Bhatia grabbed her waist from behind. She was able to break loose from his grasp, but he grabbed her again.

Four others reported similar incidents to authorities.

Bhatia told officers he had broken his glasses and couldn’t see clearly, causing him to unintentionally touch people. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

Bhatia was arrested and faces several charges. Disney has banned him from the park.

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