Longtime senator defeats Kennedy rival
BOSTON -- U.S. Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts defeated U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III on Tuesday in a hard-fought Democratic primary, harnessing support from progressive leaders to overcome a challenge from a younger rival who is a member of America's most famous political family.
It was the first time a Kennedy has lost a race for Congress in Massachusetts.
Markey appealed to voters in the deeply Democratic state by positioning himself as aligned with the liberal wing of the party. He teamed up with a leading progressive, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, on the Green New Deal climate-change initiative -- and at one point labeled Kennedy "a progressive in name only."
The 39-year-old congressman sought to cast the 74-year-old Markey as someone out of touch after spending decades in Congress, first in the House before moving to the Senate.
Markey now faces a general election contest against Republican primary winner Kevin O'Connor in November.
More U.S. strings put on Chinese envoys
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration on Wednesday stepped up its battle with China by further restricting the ability of Chinese diplomats to travel, hold meetings with academics and host cultural events in the United States.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that senior U.S.-based Chinese diplomats will now be required to get permission to visit American universities or meet with local government officials. Previously, under rules announced last fall, Chinese officials had been required only to notify the State Department of plans for such meetings.
Pompeo also said that Chinese diplomats now will have to get permission to host cultural events of more than 50 people outside their diplomatic missions. In addition, he said the State Department would act to ensure that the social media accounts of Chinese officials be identified as belonging to the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
"These new requirements on (Chinese) diplomats are a direct response to the excessive restraints already placed on our diplomats by (China), and they aim to provide further transparency on the practices of the (Chinese) government," Pompeo said. "Should the PRC eliminate the restrictions imposed on U.S. diplomats, we stand ready to reciprocate."
Minnesotan dies of virus after biker rally
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A Minnesota man who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota last month has died from covid-19, Minnesota health officials reported on Wednesday.
The death is the first reported that is possibly linked to the August biker rally that drew hundreds of thousands of people. Infections among rally visitors have been reported among 269 people in 12 states spanning coast to coast, according to a survey by The Associated Press. The rally went forward despite fears that it could become a super-spreader event, with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem welcoming bikers and the tourist dollars they spend.
Kris Ehresmann, infectious-disease director at the Minnesota health department, said health officials also have seen infections spread from people who attended Sturgis, but those infections weren't included in the state's count of Sturgis-linked infections, which stood at 50 on Wednesday.
Dad said to pay $200,000 college bribe
BOSTON -- Another wealthy parent was charged Wednesday with trying to bribe his child's way into an elite university as a fake athletic recruit, a day after two former college coaches caught up in the nationwide admissions bribery scandal were hit with additional charges.
Amin Khoury, 54, of Palm Beach, Fla., and Mashpee, Mass., in May 2014 paid $200,000 to get former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst to designate his daughter as a tennis recruit even though her "tennis skills were below that of a typical Georgetown tennis recruit," the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said in a statement.
Khoury, accused of mail fraud and bribery, is the 57th person charged in the nationwide investigation.
The charges were announced the day after Ernst was charged in a superseding indictment with three counts of federal programs bribery and three counts of filing false tax returns, federal prosecutors said.
In addition, Jovan Vavic, the former water polo coach at the University of Southern California, was charged with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, the statement said.
About 30 parents and eight coaches and administrators have already admitted to charges brought by the investigation.