AP News in Brief: 07-12-21

Florida breaks annual manatee death record in first six months

STUART, Fla. — More manatees have died already this year than in any other year in Florida’s recorded history, primarily from starvation due to the loss of seagrass beds, state officials said.

The Florida Fish &Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that 841 manatee deaths were recorded between Jan. 1 and July 2, breaking the previous record of 830 that died in 2013 because of an outbreak of toxic red tide.

The TCPalm website reports that more than half the deaths have died in the Indian River Lagoon and its surrounding areas in Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. The overwhelming majority of deaths have been in Brevard, where 312 manatees have perished.

Some biologists believe water pollution is killing the seagrass beds in the area.

“Unprecedented manatee mortality due to starvation was documented on the Atlantic coast this past winter and spring,” Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute wrote as it announced the record Friday. “Most deaths occurred during the colder months when manatees migrated to and through the Indian River Lagoon, where the majority of seagrass has died off.”

Boat strikes are also a major cause of manatee deaths, killing at least 63 this year.

The manatee was once classified as endangered by the federal government, but it was reclassified as threatened in 2017. Environmentalists are asking that the animal again be considered endangered.

The federal government says approximately 6,300 manatees live in Florida waters, up from about 1,300 in the early 1990s.

Four arrested, guns seized at hotel near All-Star Game events

DENVER — Four people have been arrested and more than a dozen weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition have been seized at a downtown Denver hotel that is close to several events planned in conjunction with the upcoming Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Officers responding to a tip searched two rooms at the Maven Hotel, a block from Coors Field, on Friday night. Three men and a woman in their 40s were arrested, and two vehicles were impounded to be searched for evidence.

The recovered weapons included several rifles, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

So far, investigators have not found any evidence to suggest the group was plotting a mass shooting or other similar attack, the official said, while cautioning that the investigation is still in its early stages. The official could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Authorities were called after an employee found the guns in a hotel room, the official said.

The men who were arrested are being investigated for possession of a weapon by a previous offender, and the woman, who has a separate warrant, is being investigated on a drug charge.

“We have no reason to believe this incident was connected to terrorism or a threat directed at the All-Star Game,” the FBI said in a statement released Sunday. “We are not aware of any threat to the All-Star Game events, venues, players or the community at this time.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Hancock and police Chief Paul Pazen praised the hotel’s staff for alerting authorities and sought to ease any concerns that the area around the ballpark is unsafe. They declined to say what, if anything, the suspects were planning to do with the firearms.

“We don’t know what we don’t know. That’s what the investigation is all about,” Pazen said during a news conference. “We need to identify exactly, to the extent possible, why (the) individuals were here in the first place, why (the) proximity to downtown. We don’t have those answers.”

Coors Field will host the All-Star Game on Tuesday, but festivities have been underway in and around the ballpark and downtown for the past several days.

Police said in a statement that visitors should always be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious or illegal behavior.

Texas GOP advances voting restrictions as hundreds push back

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans advanced bills Sunday that would make voting harder in a state that already has some of the nation’s toughest restrictions after hundreds spoke against the proposals — with some waiting to speak for almost 24 hours.

Republicans made clear they intended to advance a new election bill — which would prohibit 24-hour polling places, ban drop boxes and stop drive-thru voting — this weekend, with a first major vote on the proposals expected this week. That timeline is pushing some Democratic lawmakers toward calling for a second walkout to again stop the restrictions from moving forward like they did in May when they broke quorum.

Texas is among several states with GOP-controlled statehouses where Republicans have rushed to enact strict voting laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. A second walkout by Texas Democrats — which some are describing as their best, if not only option — would mark a high-stakes escalation of their efforts to deny Republicans a major priority, and in turn, put more pressure on President Joe Biden to act on voting at the federal level.

Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic former Texas congressman who is considering challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022, said he has already offered help, saying he was ready to raise money “literally to feed and house the legislators” if they go that route.

“Should we stick around? Hell no. For what?” Democratic state Rep. Jarvis Johnson said. “There’s nothing being done in earnest. There’s nothing be done with the utmost respect for one another.”

For weeks, Democratic leaders in the Texas House have said they are not ruling out another revolt, but have also expressed hope of weakening the bill during the 30-day special session. Johnson, however, believes a large number of his colleagues are ready to deny Republicans a quorum for a second time, though most continue speaking cautiously.

“You may know my next move, but you can’t stop it. You never knew when Mike Tyson was going to throw the uppercut, but you knew he was going to throw it,” he said.

Another walkout may merely buy more time: Abbott could keep calling more 30-day special sessions until voting measures are passed. Paychecks for nearly 2,000 Capitol staffers could also be on the line, because Abbott vetoed funding for the legislative branch following Democrats’ late-night walkout. He has signaled he will restore that funding this summer — if lawmakers are around to put a bill on his desk.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the elected head of the governing body for the county where Houston is located, said Abbott was “extorting” lawmakers to get the legislation passed. Hidalgo said she was would support Democratic legislators breaking quorum again to block the bill’s passage.

“It is very important to me to recognize voting rights should be above politics,” Hidalgo said. “We can do that with all manner of issues, but not voting, not democracy.”

Demonstrators in Havana protest shortages, high prices

HAVANA — Thousands of Cubans marched on Havana’s Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island Sunday to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis, in one of biggest anti-government demonstrations in memory.

Many young people took part in the afternoon protest in the capital, which disrupted traffic until police moved in after several hours and broke up the march when a few protesters threw rocks.

Police initially trailed behind as protesters chanted “Freedom,” “Enough” and “Unite.” One motorcyclist pulled out a U.S. flag, but it was snatched from him by others.

“We are fed up with the queues, the shortages. That’s why I’m here,” one middle-age protester told The Associated Press. He declined to identify himself for fear of being arrested later.

Cuba is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, along with a resurgence of coronavirus cases, as it suffers the consequences of U.S. sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

An official in the Biden administration tweeted support for Sunday’s demonstrations.

“Peaceful protests are growing in #Cuba as the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths &medicine shortages. We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors in need,” tweeted Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

Cuba’s director general for U.S. affairs, Carlos F. de Cossio, dismissed her remarks in his own tweet: “US State Department and its officials, involved to their necks in promoting social and political instability in #Cuba, should avoid expressing hypocritical concern for a situation they have been betting on. Cuba is and will continue to be a peaceful country, contrary to the US.”

The demonstration grew to a few thousand in the vicinity of Galeano Avenue and the marchers pressed on despite a few charges by police officers and tear gas barrages. People standing on many balconies along the central artery in the Centro Habana neighborhood applauded the protesters passing by. Others joined in the march.

Although many people tried to take out their cellphones and broadcast the protest live, Cuban authorities shut down internet service throughout the afternoon.

About 2 1/2 hours into the march, some protesters pulled up cobblestones and threw them at police, at which point officers began arresting people and the marchers dispersed.

AP journalists counted at least 20 people who were taken away in police cars or by individuals in civilian clothes.

“The people came out to express themselves freely, and they are repressing and beating them,” Rev. Jorge Luis Gil, a Roman Catholic priest, said while standing at a street corner in Centro Habana.

By wire sources