AP apologises and deletes widely mocked tweet about ‘the French’

Organisation clarifies initial advice, which included term in list of phrases it thought could be dehumanising

The Associated Press Stylebook, considered one of the most reliable guides to correct use of the English language for journalists, has apologised after producing a list of terms it thought could be dehumanising that included “the French”.

The organisation tweeted advice not to use generic labels for groups of people who share a single common trait, giving as examples the poor, the mentally ill and the college-educated. It also included grouping together everyone from the European nation under the same banner.

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‘Profiting off suffering’: AP cancels sale of migrant boat NFT amid backlash

The news agency has since deleted the tweet promoting the sale and called it ‘poor choice of imagery’

The Associated Press has withdrawn plans to sell a video “of migrants drifting in an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean” as an NFT after facing a backlash online.

The news outlet’s Thursday tweet advertising the clip, which came as Russia’s invasion raised fears of widespread displacement of Ukrainians, provoked accusations that the AP was seeking to profit off of suffering.

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‘No safe place’: Associated Press reporter describes Gaza office attack

A rush for escape as Israeli forces bombed the building that housed the US news agency and Al Jazeera

On Saturday, Israeli forces bombed the office which houses Associated Press and Al Jazeera in Gaza, alleging that Hamas military intelligence was operating inside the building.

Twelve AP staffers and freelancers were working and resting in the bureau when the Israeli military telephoned a warning, giving occupants of the building one hour to evacuate. The AP journalist Fares Akram told how he escaped the building.

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Israel strike in Gaza destroys Al Jazeera and other media offices – video

An Israeli airstrike destroys a 15-storey building in Gaza City that housed offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera among other media outlets as well as private flats. The Israel Defence Forces ordered people to evacuate the building about an hour before the strike brought the entire tower down

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2020 Democrats building ties to power brokers in key states

Before he cut the $100,000 checks, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti brought the Democratic Party chairmen from Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada backstage to meet late night television host Jimmy Kimmel and superstar hip-hop producer DJ Khaled. Garcetti may not be the best-known 2020 presidential prospect, but he will not be forgotten by those who lead Democratic politics in the states most responsible for picking the party's next presidential nominee.

Voting access becomes flashpoint in midterms just weeks away from Election Day

Clashes over voting rights in two states this past week have renewed focus on the issue less than four weeks from the midterm elections. In Georgia, a coalition of civil rights groups is suing Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp after an Associated Press report found 53,000 people - nearly 70% of them black - had their registrations put on hold because minor mismatches on documents like their driver's licenses violate the state's new "exact match" requirement.

Missed deadlines cost millions in potential disaster aid

As the floodwaters recede and the recovery begins, communities swamped by Hurricane Florence soon will be on the clock to document the billions of dollars in damage it caused if they want to be reimbursed by the federal government. A missed deadline could be costly, even if it's not directly the fault of the affected community, according to an Associated Press analysis of recent appeals decided by top officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

On second thought: Trump, Cohen lawyers stumble on facts

In this Aug. 21, 2018, file photo, Michael Cohen leaves Federal court, in New York. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, is walking back his assertions that the president's former "fixer" could tell a special prosecutor that Trump had prior knowledge of a meeting with a Russian lawyer to get damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Abolish ICE? Even most Democrats say no

The rallying cry from some liberals to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn't a likely winner this election year, as a new poll finds only a quarter of Democrats support eliminating the agency that carried out the Trump administration's policy of separating immigrant children from their parents. But even as they don't want to fully dismantle ICE, 57 percent of Democrats view the agency negatively, including nearly three-fourths of those who describe themselves as liberal, according to a poll released Monday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

‘I am very scared for the elections’; Mali goes to the polls

FILE- In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018 file photo, motorbike taxis ride past a giant billboard of Malian Incumbent President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita that reads "Together moving towards Progress" in Bamako Mali. Mali's voters... .

Inspector says he warned company of design flaws in duck boat last year

A private inspector said Saturday that he warned the company operating duck boats on a Missouri lake about design flaws putting the watercraft at greater risk of sinking, less than a year before the accident that killed 17 people during a sudden storm. Steve Paul, owner of the Test Drive Technologies inspection service in St. Louis, said he issued a written report for the company in August 2017.

Inspector warned duck boat company of design flaws nearly a year ago

A private inspector said Saturday that he warned the company operating duck boats on a Missouri lake about design flaws putting the watercraft at greater risk of sinking, less than a year before the accident that killed 17 people during a sudden storm. Steve Paul, owner of the Test Drive Technologies inspection service in the St. Louis area, said he issued a written report for the company in August.

Inspector warned duck boat company of design flaws last year

A private inspector said Saturday that he warned the company operating duck boats on a Missouri lake about design flaws putting the watercraft at greater risk of sinking, less than a year before the accident that killed 17 people during a sudden storm. Steve Paul, owner of the Test Drive Technologies inspection service in St. Louis, said he issued a written report for the company in August 2017.

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin to meet in Helsinki with low expectations

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Helsinki on Sunday, the eve of Mr. Trump's highly anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. more > President Trump walked into a meeting Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin expecting to get little or nothing out of high-stakes talks, while inviting criticism from Democrats and Republicans back home for his kid-glove treatment of the former KGB officer.

Detaining immigrant kids is now a billion-dollar industry

Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in the U.S. that now reaps $1 billion annually - a tenfold increase over the past decade, an Associated Press analysis finds. Health and Human Services grants for shelters, foster care and other child welfare services for detained unaccompanied and separated children soared from $74.5 million in 2007 to $958 million dollars in 2017.

Sanctioned Russian oligarch linked to Cohen has vast US ties

By GARANCE BURKE and STEPHEN BRAUN Associated Press WASHINGTON - For more than two decades, Viktor Vekselberg was known by American executives as someone who got deals done - sometimes with Russian President Vladimir Putin's blessing. In May, Vekselberg's name was tied to payments President Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen made to a porn star.