COLU @ CONCEPTS

RIPOLL, Spain (AP) — A missing imam and a house that exploded days ago became the focus Saturday of the investigation into an extremist cell responsible for two deadly attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort, as authorities narrowed in on who radicalized a group of young men in northeastern Spain. Investigators searched the home of Abdelbaki Es Satty, an imam who in June abruptly quit working at a mosque in the town of Ripoll, the home of the Islamic radicals behind the attacks that killed 14 people and wounded over 120 in the last few days. Police were trying to determine whether Es Satty was killed in a botched bomb-making operation on Wednesday, the eve of the Barcelona bloodshed. His former mosque has denounced the deadly attacks and weeping relatives marched into a Ripoll square on Saturday, tearfully denying any knowledge of the radical plans of their sons and brothers. At least one of the suspects is still on the run, and his younger brother has disappeared, as has...

BERLIN (AP) — Left-wing groups and Berlin residents prevented more than 500 far-right extremists from marching Saturday to the place where high-ranking Nazi official Rudolf Hess died 30 years ago. Police in riot gear kept the neo-Nazis and an estimated 1,000 counter-protesters apart as the two sides staged competing rallies in the German capital’s western district of Spandau. Far-right protesters had planned to march to the site of the former Spandau prison, where Hess hanged himself in 1987, but were forced to turn back after about a kilometer (0.6 miles) because of a blockade by counter-protesters. After changing their route, the neo-Nazis, who had come from all over Germany and neighboring European countries, returned to Spandau’s main station for speeches amid jeers and chants of “Nazis go home!” and “You lost the war!” from counter-protesters. Authorities had imposed restrictions on the march to ensure that it passed peacefully. Organizers were told they couldn’t glor...

BOSTON (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged Saturday on downtown Boston in a boisterous repudiation of white nationalism, dwarfing a small group of conservatives who cut short their planned “free speech rally” a week after a gathering of hate groups led to bloodshed in Virginia. An estimated 15,000 counterprotesters marched through the city to historic Boston Common, where many gathered near a bandstand abandoned early by conservatives who had planned to deliver a series of speeches. Police vans later escorted the conservatives out of the area, and angry counterprotesters scuffled with armed officers trying to maintain order. Members of the Black Lives Matter movement later protested on the Common, where a Confederate flag was burned and protesters pounded on the sides of a police vehicle. At least one person was arrested. In total, about 20 arrests were made, according to The Boston Globe. Later Saturday afternoon, Boston’s police dep...

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke University removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee early Saturday after it was vandalized amid a national debate about monuments to the Confederacy. The university said it removed the carved limestone likeness before dawn from the entryway to Duke Chapel, where it stood among 10 historical figures. Officials discovered early Thursday that the statue’s face had been gouged and scarred and that part of the nose is missing. Another statue of Lee, the top Confederate general during the Civil War, was the focus of the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly a week ago. Duke University president Vincent Price said in a letter to the campus community that he consulted with faculty, staff, students and alumni before deciding to remove the statue. “I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding value...

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Latest on the Spain attacks (all times local): 10:50 p.m. Catalan regional police say they are mounting major road blocks throughout the northeastern region, warning people they may encounter traffic jams on different roads. Police in the region are searching for at least one vehicle attack suspect believed to be on the run. The force Friday said there was extra security at Montilivi football stadium in the city of Gerona, north of Barcelona, where local team Girona played Atletico de Madrid. A minute’s silence was observed before the match started. Security is also expected to be tightened for FC Barcelona’s match Sunday evening against Betis in the city’s 100,000-seat Camp Nou stadium. 10:35 p.m. French authorities say a police operation is underway at a train station near the Spanish border and all passengers have been evacuated. A national police official said the operation began Saturday night after passengers reported seeing armed ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s racially fraught comments about a deadly neo-Nazi rally have thrust into the open some Republicans’ deeply held doubts about his competency and temperament, in an extraordinary public airing of worries and grievances about a sitting president by his own party. Behind the high-profile denunciations voiced this week by GOP senators once considered Trump allies, scores of other, influential Republicans began to express grave concerns about the state of the Trump presidency. In interviews with Associated Press reporters across nine states, 25 Republican politicians, party officials, advisers and donors expressed worries about whether Trump has the self-discipline and capability to govern successfully. Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader from Virginia, said Republicans signaled this week that Trump’s handling of the Charlottesville protests was “beyond just a distraction.” “It was a turning point in terms of Republicans bei...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The day after President Donald Trump sparred with reporters on live television over assigning blame for violence at a white supremacist rally, White House aides were stunned, advisers were whispering their frustrations, business allies were cutting public ties with the White House and Trump was out of sight. But Vice President Mike Pence was on message. At a press conference 5,000 miles away in Santiago, Chile, Pence offered a robust defense of the president, while neither endorsing nor denouncing his words. “What happened in Charlottesville was a tragedy, and the president has been clear on this tragedy and so have I,” Pence said Wednesday in response to a reporter’s question during a weeklong trip to Latin America. “I spoke at length about this heart-breaking situation on Sunday night in Colombia, and I stand with the president, and I stand by those words.” Time and again, with cool reserve, unquestionable loyalty and unflappable message discipline, P...

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — Acknowledging that he has become a “political distraction,” President Donald Trump has decided to skip the festivities surrounding the annual Kennedy Center Honors arts awards later this year, the White House announced Saturday amid the continuing fallout over Trump’s stance on last weekend’s white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump and first lady Melania Trump reached their decision Friday, a White House official said, the same day that the entire membership of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned in protest over Trump’s remarks about Charlottesville. Trump has blamed “both sides” for the Aug. 12 violence that left an anti-racism activist dead. The Kennedy Center said it respected Trump’s decision and the show will go on. Presidents traditionally host a light-hearted and oftentimes humorous gathering for the honorees at the White House before everyone shifts to the performing arts center for ...

PHOENIX (AP) — When President Donald Trump takes the stage this week at a rally in Arizona, the state’s junior senator will be nowhere to be seen. But Trump is likely to save some choice words for Sen. Jeff Flake. The senator is currently in an escalating feud with the president — a spat that illustrates the upside-down world of Republican politics heading into the 2018 elections. Flake is a Republican incumbent who is beloved by many high-ranking party officials and he is trying to hold onto a seat that the party needs to keep control of Congress. Meanwhile, the president from his own party is actively campaigning against him and Flake is returning the punches. The dynamic highlights the ongoing turmoil in the GOP over how to closely to align with a deeply unpopular president who still retains a devoted base of supporters — voters candidates like Flake will need to win. Flake, who published a book last month questioning Trump’s conservative values, says he mainly backs ...

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — A police officer in Florida died from his injuries Saturday, a day after his colleague was killed when a suspect fired at them during a scuffle while they were on patrol. The suspect was later arrested at a bar. Sgt. Sam Howard died Saturday afternoon at a hospital where he had been taken following Friday night’s attack in Kissimmee, Florida, located south of the theme park hub of Orlando. Officer Matthew Baxter died Friday night, a short time after authorities say he was shot by 45-year-old Everett Miller. Miller faces a charge of first-degree murder for the killing of Baxter. Authorities hadn’t yet said what charges he could face for Howard’s death. During a patrol late Friday of a neighborhood with a history of drug activity, Baxter was “checking out” three people, including Miller, when the officer got into a scuffle with Miller. Howard, his sergeant, responded as backup, said Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O’Dell. The officers didn’t have an ...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (AP) — When Carl Valentine dropped off his daughter at the University of Virginia, he had some important advice for the college freshman: Don’t forget that you are a minority. “She has to be vigilant of that and be concerned about that, always know her surrounding, just be cautious, just be extremely cautious,” said Valentine, 57, a retired military officer who now works at the Defense Department. As classes begin at colleges and universities across the country, some parents are questioning if their children will be safe on campus in the wake of last weekend’s violent white nationalist protest here in Charlottesville, Virginia. School administrators, meanwhile, are grappling with the difficult question of how to balance students’ physical safety with free speech. Friday was move-in day at the University of Virginia, and students and their parents unloaded cars and carried suitcases, blankets, lamps, fans and other belongings into freshmen dormit...