AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country grows more polarized

STAR, Idaho (AP) — Once he and his wife, Jennifer, moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself.

Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin Blue Line banner representing law enforcement outside his house.

“We were scared to put it up,” Jennifer Kohl acknowledged. But the Kohls knew they had moved to the right place when neighbors complimented him on the display.

Leah Dean is on the opposite end of the political spectrum, but she knows how the Kohls feel. In Texas, Dean had been scared to fly an abortion rights banner outside her house. Around the time the Kohls were house-hunting in Idaho, she and her partner found a place in Denver, where their LGBTQ+ pride flag flies above the banner in front of their house that proclaims “Abortion access is a community responsibility.”

“One thing we have really found is a place to feel comfortable being ourselves,” Dean said.

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Cameraman at Yankee Stadium injured by wild throw from Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson

NEW YORK (AP) — A cameraman was injured Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium when he was hit in the head by a wild throw from Baltimore Orioles rookie shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Positioned right next to the New York Yankees’ dugout on the first-base side, Pete Stendel of YES Network was struck by a hurried throw from Henderson, who fired high to first as he tried to complete a double play in the fifth inning.

The game was delayed about 17 minutes as the Yankees’ athletic training staff and medical personnel tended to Stendel in the camera well. Baltimore players came off the field and waited in their dugout as Yankees and Orioles, including Henderson, watched in obvious concern at a hushed ballpark.

Stendel was strapped onto a stretcher and carted off the field, raising and wagging two fingers to loud applause from the crowd of 36,022 as he was driven along the warning track behind home plate.

Baltimore starter Dean Kremer was given several warmup pitches before the game resumed. Henderson was charged with an error that allowed Anthony Volpe to reach second base. He scored on Kyle Higashioka’s two-out single to give New York a 2-0 lead.

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US releases video of Russian fighter jets harrassing American drones over Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to several U.S. drone aircraft over Syria on Wednesday, setting off flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force said.

U.S. Air Forces Central released a video of the encounter, showing a Russian SU-35 fighter closing in on a Reaper, and later showed a number of the so-called parachute flares moving into the drone’s flight path. The flares are attached to parachutes.

Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, commander of 9th Air Force in the Middle East, said three of the U.S. drones were operating over Syria after 10:30 a.m. local time, on a mission against the Islamic State group which was not detailed, when three of the Russian aircraft “began harassing the drones.”

In a statement, Grynkewich said one of the Russian pilots moved their aircraft in front of a drone and engaged the SU-35’s afterburner, which greatly increases its speed and air pressure. The jet blast from the afterburner can potentially damage the Reaper’s electronics, and Grynkewich said it reduced the drone operator’s ability to safely operate the aircraft.

“Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior while interacting with U.S. aircraft in Syria,” he said, adding that the actions threaten the safety of the U.S. and Russian forces. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

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Trump posted what he said was Obama’s address, prosecutors say. An armed man was soon arrested there

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was the home address of former President Barack Obama on the same day that a man with guns in his van was arrested near the property, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in revealing new details about the case.

Taylor Taranto, 37, who prosecutors say participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, kept two firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition inside a van he had driven cross-country and had been living in, according to a Justice Department motion that seeks to keep him behind bars.

On the day of his June 29 arrest, prosecutors said, Taranto reposted a Truth Social post from Trump containing what Trump claimed was Obama’s home address. In a post on Telegram, Taranto wrote: “We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.” That’s a reference to John Podesta, the former chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Democratic presidential campaign.

Taranto also told followers on his YouTube live stream that he was looking to get a “good angle on a shot,” prosecutors said.

A federal defender representing Taranto did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. But in a motion seeking to have him released pending trial, the lawyer wrote that Taranto was not a flight risk, had a family in Washington state and had served in Iraq before being honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy.

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Man gets life sentence for raping 9-year-old Ohio girl who traveled to Indiana for legal abortion

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man who confessed to raping and impregnating a 9-year-old Ohio girl has been sentenced to life in prison in a case that became a national flashpoint on abortion rights because the girl had to travel out of state to end the pregnancy.

Gerson Fuentes, 28, was sentenced to life in prison, but his plea deal stipulates that he can seek parole after serving 25 to 30 years. He would then have to register as a sex offender.

Common Pleas Court Judge Julie Lynch, who was not required to approve the plea agreement, said the girl’s family “begged” the judge to back it. Lynch called the deal a “very hard pill for this court to swallow.”

“Anyone who’s ever been in this courtroom for the last 20 years knows how this court feels about these babies, young people, being violated,” Lynch said. “However, today, by the request of the family, this court will be sentencing without comment.”

The maximum sentence would have been life without parole. Settling the case before trial will spare the survivor from having to testify in court.

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Study says drinking water from nearly half of US faucets contains potentially harmful chemicals

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released Wednesday.

The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small towns — and in private wells and public systems, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Researchers described the study as the first nationwide effort to test for PFAS in tap water from private sources in addition to regulated ones. It builds on previous scientific findings that the chemicals are widespread, showing up in consumer products as diverse as nonstick pans, food packaging and water-resistant clothing and making their way into water supplies.

Because the USGS is a scientific research agency, the report makes no policy recommendations. But the information “can be used to evaluate risk of exposure and inform decisions about whether or not you want to treat your drinking water, get it tested or get more information from your state” about the situation locally, said lead author Kelly Smalling, a research hydrologist.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March proposed the first federal drinking water limits on six forms of PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, which remain in the human body for years and don’t degrade in the environment. A final decision is expected later this year or in 2024.

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Father of the bride, teen who tried to save friend among 5 killed in Philadelphia shooting

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A father who was preparing to walk his eldest daughter down the aisle. An aspiring actor who appeared as an extra in the “Creed” movie franchise. A teenager who tried to help a wounded friend. These are the stories of those killed in the all-too-familiar thrum of another mass shooting.

Five people in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia were gunned down Monday in what became the deadliest among a rash of U.S. shootings that occurred around the July Fourth holiday. A gunman in a ski mask and body armor appeared to fire on people at random while they were on the street or in a car, authorities said.

Ralph Moralis, 59; Joseph Wamah Jr., 31; Dymir Stanton, 29; Lashyd Merritt, 21; and DaJuan Brown, 15, were killed in the shooting. Four others, including two 2-year-old boys, were also wounded.

The alleged shooter was arraigned Wednesday on multiple charges including five counts of murder.

The victims’ families remain shattered as they now cope with the feeling of senseless loss.

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Russian journalist sustained a brain injury and fractures during a brutal beating in Chechnya

MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent Russian investigative reporter has received a brain injury and multiple fractures when she and a lawyer accompanying her were brutally beaten by unidentified assailants in the Russian province of Chechnya, her newspaper said Wednesday.

Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov were attacked Tuesday soon after they arrived in Chechnya to attend the trial of the mother of two Chechen dissidents. Just outside the airport, their vehicle was blocked by three cars and a dozen unidentified masked attackers, who beat them with clubs and put guns to their heads. Milashina and Nemova were evacuated to Moscow for medical treatment later in the day.

Novaya Gazeta said that a medical examination of Milashina showed that she has sustained a brain injury and 14 fractures on her hands along with multiple other injuries. It released pictures of Milashina, showing both her hands bandaged, her face injured and her back covered by bruises from the beating.

Milashina said the assailants threatened to cut her fingers if she refused to give a password to unlock her phone and then beat her on her fingers with a plastic tube. “It was very painful. It felt like a burn,” she said in a video released by Russian rights group Team Against Torture.

The attackers also shaved her head clean and doused green antiseptic on her, Milashina said. She noted that the attackers grabbed their equipment, but didn’t touch cash and other valuables.

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Toby Keith’s shows at his Oklahoma music venue mark return to stage after revealing cancer diagnosis

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Country music star Toby Keith was back on stage over the Fourth of July weekend with his first shows since revealing last summer that he had been fighting stomach cancer.

Hundreds attended the native Oklahoman’s pop-up concerts Friday and Saturday night in Norman, where he lives, The Oklahoman reports. He performed at Hollywood Corners, a 1920s roadhouse and service station that he bought and converted into a deli, bar and music venue.

Norman resident Joanna Hall, who attended Friday’s show, told the newspaper that Keith put on a great performance and was “very thankful for everybody who showed up.”

“He seemed a little taken aback that that many people were there,” Hall said. “He was like, ‘This was supposed to be a secret. … This was a bigger secret than what I intended.’ ”

Keith’s publicist confirmed that Keith and his Easy Money Band played for about two and a half hours both nights.

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Toxic gas leak in South Africa has killed 16 people, including 3 children, police say

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least 16 people, including three children, were killed by a leak of a toxic nitrate gas being used by illegal miners to process gold in a settlement of closely packed metal shacks, South African police and local officials said late Wednesday.

Emergency services initially announced that as many as 24 people might be dead in the Angelo settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg. But police and Gauteng Province Premier Panyaza Lesufi later said the number of deaths had been confirmed as 16 after a recount of the bodies.

“It’s not a nice scene at all … It’s painful, emotionally draining and tragic,” Lesufi, who visited the scene, was quoted as saying in news reports.

Teams were searching the area looking for other casualties deep into the night. The bodies of the victims remained lying on the ground hours after the leak was reported around 8 p.m. as emergency services waited for forensic investigators and pathologists to arrive to process the scene. The bodies were still there at 3 a.m.

“We can’t move anybody. The bodies are still where they are on the ground,” said emergency services spokesman William Ntladi.