18 injured in fire aboard ship at Naval Base San Diego
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eighteen people have suffered minor injuries in an explosion and fire Sunday on board a ship at Naval Base San Diego. The blaze called in shortly before 9 a.m. on the USS Bonhomme Richard. The cause is under investigation. Officials don’t immediately know where on the 840-foot amphibious assault vessel the fire was sparked. San Diego is the Bonhomme Richard’s home port and it was undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the fire. Officials said about 160 sailors and officers were on board — far fewer than the thousand typically on the ship when it’s on active duty.

US Navy welcomes 1st Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot
KINGSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Navy has welcomed its first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot. The Navy on Thursday recognized that Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle had completed naval flight school and would later this month receive the flight officer insignia known as the “Wings of Gold.” The Naval Air Training Command tweeted that Swegle is the Navy’s “first known Black female TACAIR pilot.” According to Stars and Stripes, Swegle is from Burke, Virginia, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2017. Officials say she is assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21 in Kingsville, Texas.

2 officers, suspect killed in Texas border town shooting
MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — Authorities say two police officers were shot and killed Saturday by a suspect who later fatally shot himself in a South Texas border town after responding to a domestic disturbance call. McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez identified the slain officers as 45-year-old Edelmiro Garza and 39-year-old Ismael Chavez. Garza was an officer with the police department for more than eight years while Chavez had over two years of experience. Police say the officers first met with two people who reported assaults that took place inside a nearby home on the south side of the city. The alleged shooter, whom police identified as 23-year-old Audon Ignacio Camarillo, opened fire when officers attempted to enter the home.

Florida reports largest, single-day increase in COVID cases
By TAMARA LUSH and TERRY SPENCER Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any one state since the beginning of the pandemic. According to state Department of Health statistics released Sunday, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases. California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, four days ago. New York had 11,571 on April 15. The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week in Florida, with about 500 fatalities. On Sunday, 45 more deaths were reported. Throughout May and into June, the state reopened much of its economy with some restrictions.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida shattered the national record Sunday for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to also rise.
According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded.
California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on April 15.
The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week as Florida reported 514 fatalities — an average of 73 per day. Three weeks ago, the state was averaging 30 deaths per day. Since the pandemic began in March, 4,346 people have died in Florida of COVID-19, the state says.
Testing has doubled over the last month, going from about 25,000 tests per day to almost 50,000, but the percentage of people testing positive has risen even more dramatically. A month ago, fewer than 5% of tests came up positive on a daily average. Over the past week, the daily average exceeded 19%.
About 10.7% of Saturday’s 143,000 tests came up positive. “I still think we need to increase our testing a little bit more,” said University of Florida epidemiologist Dr. Cindy Prins, adding that the state and local health departments should ramp up their contact tracing.
Prins said that she’s still concerned about large crowds, gyms and some restaurants as being places of mass transmission. Reports of illegal clubs and raves in South Florida is also a worry, she said.
“I really do think we could control this, and it’s the human element that is so critical. It should be an effort of our country. We should be pulling together when we’re in a crisis, and we’re definitely not doing it,” she said. “I know people want to live their lives. There have been a lot of other times, people have made those sacrifices in order to benefit our society. It’s almost like a war effort. That’s what we need right now.”
Hospitals in several counties have stopped doing elective surgeries. HCA West Florida have ceased inpatient elective procedures at hospitals in Hillsborough, Pinellas and six other nearby counties, said an HCA spokeswoman on Sunday. Florida ceased elective surgeries statewide from March until early May in order to free up beds, and to reserve personal protective equipment for health care workers caring for COVID-19 patients.
Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are the top three counties for hospitalizations, with 3,232 people hospitalized — 42 percent of the 7,542 people in hospitals statewide for coronavirus.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez told CNN on Sunday that his county’s hospitals will soon reach capacity, but he said more beds can be added, including for intensive care.
“We still have capacity, but it does cause me a lot of concern,” he said.
Throughout May and into June, the state reopened much of its economy with some restrictions — and the number of positive cases began rising, but it wasn’t until the last week that the daily death total began rising, too.
Because of the increase in cases and the positivity rate, doctors have predicted a rise in deaths, saying the mortality rate usually increases two to four weeks later as some of those infected get sicker and eventually die. Health experts are concerned that people are gathering in crowds, and have expressed concern that the Republican National Convention’s nomination party for President Donald Trump will be held in Jacksonville in August.
On Saturday, the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopened at Walt Disney World in Orlando, concerning health experts who urge people not to gather in groups. Guests at the park said that people were wearing masks and social distancing, and videos showed near-empty parks.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that even with the rising rates, he still wants the schools to reopen as scheduled next month, saying children have not proven to be vectors for the disease in states and countries where campuses are open. He said while each county will have to come up with procedures, depending on their local infection rate, not opening the schools would exacerbate the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students.
“We know there are huge, huge costs for not providing the availability of in-person schooling,” he said. “The risk of corona, fortunately, for students is incredibly low.”
Meanwhile, a commissioner for a county near Jacksonville is seriously ill with the virus, according to a posting by his daughter on Facebook.
St. Johns County Commissioner Paul Waldron had recently voted against a county ordinance requiring masks, but not because he opposed them. He said he wanted more answers from county administrators about which masks are most effective and whether the county had enough for employees and visitors at government buildings.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Trump commutes longtime friend Roger Stone’s prison sentence
By JILL COLVIN and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of his longtime friend Roger Stone. Stone told The Associated Press that Trump called Friday to inform him he would commute his prison sentence for crimes related to the Russia probe.The White House later confirmed the commuting of the sentence in a statement, saying Stone was a victim of the Russia “hoax.” The move comes just days before Stone was set to report to prison for a more-than-three year term. He was convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show
By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise was spotted by the NASA space telescope bearing that name in March. The celestial snowball swept within Mercury’s orbit a week ago. Its close proximity to the sun caused dust and gas to burn off its surface and create an even bigger debris tail. NASA says the comet is about 3 miles across. It will be visible across the Northern Hemisphere until mid-August, when it heads back toward the outer solar system.

Border authorities use pandemic powers to expel immigrants
By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Honduran family’s quest for asylum in United States shows how difficult it has become to seek asylum during the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the coronavirus, U.S. authorities wield extraordinary power to immediately expel Mexicans and Central Americans to Mexico, waiving laws that include rights to seek asylum. The father and 9-year-old son were whisked back to Mexico when encountered in San Diego. They were separated from the mother as she began going into labor. Two days later, she was also back in Tijuana — with her newborn son, a U.S. citizen.

Tropical Storm Fay shutters beaches as it heads north
By KAREN MATTHEWS and MICHAEL HILL Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Beaches closed in Delaware and rain lashed the New Jersey shore as fast-moving Tropical Storm Fay churned north on a path expected to soak the New York City region. Forecasters expect Fay to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain, with the possibility of flash flooding in parts of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. That’s down from earlier forecasts of about 3 to 5 inches of rain. A tropical storm warning remained in effect from Fenwick Island, Delaware, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The warning area includes Long Island and the Long Island Sound in New York.