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HONG KONG-PROTESTS
Protesters try to leave Hong Kong campus but avoid arrest
HONG KONG (AP) — For days, Hong Kong’s protesters fortified a university campus to keep police from getting in. Now, cornered by authorities, they are trying to get out.
Officers repelled one attempt Monday morning with tear gas, driving a few hundred protesters back into the Hong Kong Polytechnic campus.
The protesters want to avoid arrest. The police have set up a dragnet around the campus to pick up as many as they can.
It’s a game that has played out repeatedly during the city’s months of anti-government unrest. Protesters cause disruption, then try to melt away before police run in to grab as many as they can.
Other protesters blocked a major road near Polytechnic as the work week started in a bid to help those inside the campus escape by distracting police.
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT
Pelosi vows to protect whistleblower in impeachment inquiry
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is vowing to protect the whistleblower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Pelosi says in an interview aired Sunday on "Face the Nation" that she “will make sure” Trump “does not intimidate” the whistleblower. And she’s pushing back on Trump’s accusations that the process is unfair, saying he “has every opportunity to present his case” and could come before the committee to “speak all the truth that he wants if he wants.”
The comments came after Trump criticized his former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, by tweet as she was testifying last week — prompting accusations of witness intimidation.
Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he found the tweets “unfortunate” but “it's certainly not witness intimidation.”
MAINSTREAM ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Ford Mustang SUV starts a blitz of new electric vehicles
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is unveiling its first all-electric SUV, marking the start of an avalanche of battery-powered vehicles coming from mainstream and luxury automakers during the next two years that industry analysts say will boost electric vehicle sales.
Analysts expect the number of electric vehicles for sale in the U.S. to grow from 16 currently to as many as 80 by 2022. They say the increased selection and longer range of the new vehicles will make them more popular.
Ford’s SUV will go 230 miles to more 300 miles per charge depending on how it’s equipped. It will start at $44,000, not including a $7,500 federal tax credit.
The Mach E was unveiled Sunday night ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
HP-XEROX
HP rejects takeover offer from Xerox
HP Inc. says its board has rejected a roughly $33.5 billion takeover offer from Xerox.
The Palo Alto, California-based company said Sunday that the cash and stock deal undervalues its business and its board cited concerns about “outsized” debt levels should the companies combine.
HP, which makes computers and printers, said it recognizes the potential benefits of consolidation and remains open to exploring other options to combine with Xerox Holdings Corp.
Both companies have faced difficulties as the demand for printed documents and ink have waned.
IRAN
Iran TV: Supreme leader backs government on gas price hikes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian state TV says the country’s supreme leader supports the government’s decision to increase gasoline prices and calls those setting fire to public property “bandits” backed by the enemies of Iran.
The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were reported by the state TV on Sunday, a day after protesters angered by Iran raising government-set gasoline prices by 50% had blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police.
That came after a night of demonstrations punctuated by gunfire, in violence that reportedly killed at least one person.
OBIT-TERRY O’NEILL
Terry O’Neill, whose images captured ‘60s London, dies at 81
LONDON (AP) — British photographer Terry O’Neill, whose images chronicled London’s Swinging ‘60s and who shot iconic images of the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and Brigitte Bardot, has died. He was 81.
O’Neill death was announced Sunday by his agency, Iconic Images. A spokeswoman for the agency says O’Neill died at his London home Saturday following a battle with cancer.
O’Neill was one of the first photographers to shoot the Beatles. He placed John Lennon in the foreground because he thought, he once said, “it was obvious John was the one with the personality.”
Over the 1960s, O’Neill regularly captured the style and personalities of the era. He photographed Sean Connery, David Bowie, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and many others.
AP-EU-EPSTEIN-ACCUSER-PRINCE-ANDREW
UK media: Prince Andrew’s sex claims rebuttal a train wreck
LONDON (AP) — British media have slammed Prince Andrew’s effort to rebut claims that he had sex with a woman who says she was trafficked as a teenager by Jeffrey Epstein, branding the interview a public relations disaster.
In a rare interview with BBC Newsnight broadcast Saturday, Andrew categorically denied having sex with the woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. But Britain’s newspapers and social media commentators are criticizing him for still defending his friendship with Epstein and failing to show sympathy for the convicted sex-offender’s victims.
Even some who closely follow the royal family, such as the editor of the Royal Central website, offered more shock than sympathy. Charlie Proctor wrote on Twitter: “I expected a train wreck. That was a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion-level bad."
T25-COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
AP Top 25: Georgia edges past Alabama to No. 4; OU up to 8
Georgia edged past Alabama to No. 4 in The Associated Press college football poll after the Bulldogs had a quality road victory and the Crimson Tide lost star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the season.
LSU remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank, receiving 54 first-places votes. No. 2 Ohio State (five first-place votes) and No. 3 Clemson (three first-place votes) maintained their spots. Georgia moved up one place after winning 21-14 at Auburn.
The Crimson Tide beat Mississippi State 38-7 on Saturday, but Tagovailoa dislocated his right hip while being tackled late in the second quarter and is done for the year. Alabama fell a spot to fifth.
Minnesota and Baylor both lost for the first time and dropped in the rankings. The 11th-ranked Gophers slipped four spots after losing at Iowa. No. 13 Baylor dropped one after blowing a 28-3 lead at home to Oklahoma.
Iowa jumped four to No. 19 and Oklahoma moved up two spots to No. 8.
POLL POINTS
There is more separation at the top of college football this season than last. At this point in 2018, the AP Top 25 had:
— Four unbeaten teams.
— Eight one-loss teams.
— Three two-loss teams.
— Eight three-loss teams.
— Two four-loss teams.
The latest poll has:
— Three unbeaten teams.
— 13 one-loss teams.
— Four two-loss teams.
— Five three-loss teams.
TOP-FIVE TIDE
Alabama extended its record for consecutive weeks in the top five of the AP poll to 67, dating back to Nov. 8, 2015. The second-longest streak of top-five appearances is Miami, which had 55 from Oct. 8, 2000-Oct. 26, 2003.
Breakdown of the streak:
— No. 1 — 49.
— No. 2 — 12.
— No. 3 — 2.
— No. 4 — 2.
— No. 5 — 2.
IN
— No. 23 Appalachian State moved into the rankings for the second time this season.
— No. 24 Texas A&M returned to the Top 25. The Aggies started the season in No. 12, but losses to Clemson, Auburn and Alabama dropped them out. A&M has won four straight.
— No. 25 Virginia Tech is ranked for the first time this season. It has been quite a bounce-back for the Hokies, who suffered their worst home loss in decades against Duke in September but have won five of six since.
OUT
— Navy was bounced after being routed at Notre Dame.
— Texas fell out of the rankings again after a last-second loss to Iowa State.
— Indiana lasted one week in the rankings after a 25-year absence. The Hoosiers lost at Penn State.
CONFERENCE CALL
Big Ten — 6 (Nos. 2, 9, 11, 12, 14, 19).
SEC — 6 (Nos. 1, 4, 5, 10, 16, 24).
American — 3 (Nos. 17, 18, 21).
Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 8, 13, 22).
ACC — 2 (Nos. 3, 25).
Pac 12 — 2 (Nos. 6, 7).
Mountain West — 1 (No. 20).
Sun Belt — 1 (No. 23).
Independent — 1 (No. 15).
RANKED vs. RANKED
No. 9 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State. The Buckeyes have been rolling, but they still have their heaviest lifting to do.
No. 24 Texas A&M at No. 4 Georgia. The Aggies are positioned to complicate things in the SEC, with the Bulldogs this week and LSU next.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP\_Top25
ELECTION 2020-BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg apologizes for ‘stop and frisk’ police practice
NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is reversing his longstanding support of the controversial “stop and frisk” police strategy ahead of a potential Democratic presidential run.
Addressing a black church in Brooklyn, Bloomberg says of the practice that often led to the disproportionate detaining of blacks and Latinos that he “can’t change history” but he now realizes “I was wrong.”
Bloomberg says if anyone was wrongly stopped by police, “I apologize.”
The “stop and frisk” practice gave police wide authority to detain people they suspected of committing a crime. Bloomberg aggressively pursued the tactic when he first took over as mayor in 2002.
Bloomberg told the congregation Sunday that he wants to earn back the trust of black and Latino communities.
NASCAR-HOMESTEAD-THE LATEST
The Latest: Kyle Busch wins NASCAR’s Cup Series championship
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch has won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship, giving team owner Joe Gibbs his fifth title.
Busch emerged from the Joe Gibbs Racing juggernaut and clinched his second title in five years after two teammates were slowed by pit road gaffes.
Busch won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to snap a 21-race losing streak and beat Gibbs teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., as well as rival Kevin Harvick. Busch won the 2015 title and joins seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as the only active drivers with multiple Cup championships.
Busch had raced for the championship in each of the last three seasons but fell short last season in part because of his crew’s own pit error.
Hamlin and Truex each had issues on pit road.
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