AP News in Brief
The Associated PressPolice rule shooting of McNair a homicide; death of woman found with him still unclassified
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair's shooting death was a homicide, police said Sunday, but authorities stopped short of saying it was a murder-suicide committed by the 20-year-old girlfriend found dead by his side.
McNair, 36, was shot four times, twice in the head, by a semiautomatic pistol, Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said. The woman, Sahel Kazemi, was killed by a single gunshot wound and the pistol was found under her body, Aaron said.
Aaron said the two had been in a "dating relationship for past several months."
Asked if the deaths could have caused by a lover's quarrel, Aaron said, "That's a very important part of the investigation as we work to ultimately classify Miss Kazemi's death."
Police said they need to do more interviews with friends of Kazemi and McNair before they rule on whether her death was a suicide, Aaron said.
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Exiled Honduran president flies home in defiance; interim government orders his jet redirected
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras' exiled president flew toward home in a Venezuelan jet in a high-stakes attempt to return to power on Sunday, even as the interim government ordered the military to turn away the plane.
"I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing with my people," Manuel Zelaya said while en route. "Today I feel like I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be able to arrive there and raise the crucifix."
Interim President Roberto Micheletti refused to withdraw his order to prevent the plane from landing, and said he would not negotiate with anyone until "things return to normal."
"We will be here until the country calms down," Micheletti told a news conference. "We are the authentic representatives of the people."
Thousands of protesters descended on the airport in the Honduran capital in anticipation of the showdown, pressing against about 250 officers with riot shields as they waved Honduran flags and posters of Zelaya, chanting "Honduras! Honduras!"
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History on Wimbledon's lawn: Federer beats Roddick in 5 sets for record 15th Grand Slam title
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer hoisted the trophy and celebrated making Grand Slam history, a year removed from an epic five-set final when he left Wimbledon a broken man, his title ripped away and his aura of invincibility shattered.
Federer waged another five-set marathon Sunday, and left as the holder of the most prestigious record in tennis. This time, the winner's trophy belonged to him, with the No. 1 ranking in his grasp again and his reputation enhanced as perhaps the greatest player in history.
Federer won his record 15th Grand Slam title, outlasting Andy Roddick for his sixth Wimbledon championship in match that went to 30 games in the final set.
Federer served a career-high 50 aces and overcame the resilient American 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 to break the record of major titles he shared with Pete Sampras.
"I'm happy I broke the record here because this is always the tournament that meant the most to me," Federer said. "It definitely feels like coming full circle, starting it here and ending it here."
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Obama seeks new start in dismal US-Russia relations through arms control, hard problems remain
MOSCOW (AP) — Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev end a seven-year hiatus in U.S.-Russian summitry on Monday, with each declaring his determination to further cut nuclear arsenals and repair a badly damaged relationship.
Both sides appear to want to use progress on arms control as a pathway to possible agreement on trickier issues, including Iran and Georgia, the tiny former Soviet republic. Those difficulties and others have soured a promising linkage in the first years after the Cold War and pushed ties between Moscow and Washington to depths unseen in more than two decades.
In advance of Obama's arrival, a White House official told reporters Sunday the presidents expect to announce progress on negotiations that could lead to a treaty to replace the START I agreement, which expires Dec. 5.
More broadly, the U.S. wants to use the summit to overhaul the U.S.-Russian relationship.
"It's not, in our view, a zero-sum game, that if it's two points for Russia it's negative two for us, but there are ways that we can cooperate to advance our interests and, at the same time, do things with the Russians that are good for them as well," Obama's top assistant on Russia, Michael McFaul, said in a presummit briefing.
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Though struggles and stigma continue, Haiti has found success in its fight against AIDS
BLANCHARD, Haiti (AP) — When Micheline Leon was diagnosed with HIV, her parents told her they would fit her for a coffin.
Fifteen years later, she walks around her two-room concrete house on Haiti's central plateau, watching her four children play under the plantain trees. She looks healthy, her belly amply filling a gray, secondhand T-shirt. Her three sons and one daughter were born after she was diagnosed. None has the virus.
"I'm not sick," she explained patiently on a recent afternoon. "People call me sick but I'm not. I'm infected."
In many ways the 35-year-old mother's story is Haiti's too. In the early 1980s, when the strange and terrifying disease showed up in the U.S. among migrants who had escaped Haiti's dictatorship, experts thought it could wipe out a third of the country's population.
Instead, Haiti's HIV infection rate stayed in the single digits, then plummeted.
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Monorail crashes in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, killing employee; train out of service
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Two monorail trains crashed early Sunday morning in the Magic Kingdom section of Walt Disney World, killing one train's operator, emergency officials said.
The transit system, which shuttles thousands of visitors around the sprawling resort each day, was shut down while authorities investigated the holiday weekend wreck.
The monorail operator died at the scene of the crash, which happened around 2 a.m., said Bo Jones, deputy chief for Reedy Creek Fire Department. The other train operator was uninjured, but was taken to a hospital because he was emotionally shaken. Jones said five park guests were treated at the scene, though the Orange County Sheriff's office said six were treated.
Disney Vice President of Communications Michael Griffin identified the driver as 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg. Griffin would not discuss how long Wuennenberg had been with Disney or the circumstances surrounding the crash. Disney officials also refused to talk about how the monorail system operates.
"They are extremely rare," Griffin said of accidents at the park. "The safety of our guests and cast are a top priority above all else."
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Obama's financial rules could mean fewer giant financial powerhouses — those too big to fail WASHINGTON (AP) — They are the biggest of the big — the Citigroups, the Goldman Sachses, the AIGs and other financial behemoths. The Obama administration doesn't want so many around anymore.
Financial regulations proposed by the president would result in leaner and simpler institutions that don't carry the weight of the system on their marble columns.
Around Washington and Wall Street they have come to be known as TBTF — too big to fail. It's not just size, though. These companies are so far-flung, so intertwined and so precariously leveraged that a single one's collapse can create systemwide tremors that imperil the finances of millions of Americans.
With that fear in mind, the government stepped in to bail out Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and American International Group Inc. with tens of billions of public money last year.
Looking to avoid such a costly intervention, President Barack Obama's regulatory plan calls for large, interconnected companies to pay a heavy price for the systemwide risk they pose.
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Fireworks blasts kill 3 on NC island and 1 in Pa; 25 hurt in Ind. pedestrian bridge collapse
OCRACOKE, N.C. (AP) — Four people working on Independence Day fireworks shows were killed by explosions, three of them by a single blast that rocked this remote village on the Outer Banks islands.
The fourth died after an explosion at a fireworks show in Pennsylvania, police said.
In addition, a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Indiana as fans were leaving a fireworks show, injuring 25 people. Authorities said Sunday the crowd had overloaded the bridge.
The blast at Ocracoke came as workers were unloading fireworks Saturday from a truck at the Anchorage Marina, shaking homes and businesses across the southern end of Ocracoke Island and rattling residents and tourists.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the island off the North Carolina coast Sunday investigating.
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1.6 million fans on edge as Michael Jackson memorial tickets winners are notified
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Who's getting the tickets?
Like a modern-day Willy Wonka tale, more than 1.6 million fans waited to learn Sunday whether they were among the lucky few to win access to Michael Jackson's memorial service at Staples Center on Tuesday.
Fans registered online for free in the random drawing of only 8,750 names. Each person selected will receive two tickets.
Ticket winners were in the process of being notified Sunday afternoon, according to Michael Roth, a spokesman for Staples Center owner AEG Live.
The odds of getting a ticket were about 1 in 183.
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On a scorcher of a day at Tour de France, Cavendish wins stage while Armstrong stays with pack
BRIGNOLES, France (AP) — Lance Armstrong just wanted to stay out of trouble on a scorching day one rider felt was better suited for baking bread.
British sprinter Mark Cavendish won the second stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, with Armstrong finishing safely in the pack and Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland keeping the leader's yellow jersey. Cancellara captured the opening time trial a day earlier.
Cancellara has an 18-second lead over 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain. Bradley Wiggins of Britain is third, 19 seconds behind. Armstrong, the seven-time champion, is 10th, 40 seconds back.
Tyler Farrar of the United States finished second and Romain Feillu of France was third in the 116-mile route from Monaco to Brignoles. .
Armstrong is making a comeback to the Tour four years after retiring. The 37-year-old Texan said his strategy for this leg was "just avoid trouble and get in the rhythm of the race."