COLU @ CONCEPTS

PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump blamed the media Tuesday for the widespread condemnation of his response to a Charlottesville, Virginia, protest organized by white supremacists that led to the killing of a counter-protester. Trump opened his political rally in Phoenix with a call for unity, saying, “What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America and tonight, this entire arena stands united in forceful condemnation of the thugs that perpetrated hatred and violence.” But he quickly trained his ire on the media, shouting that he “openly called for healing unity and love” in the immediate aftermath of Charlottesville and claiming the media had misrepresented him. He read from his three responses to the violence — getting more animated with each one. Democrats and fellow Republicans had denounced Trump for placing blame for the Charlottesville violence on “both sides.” Trump omitted that part of his reaction from his recap Tuesday night. “You know where m...

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is diving into voice-activated shopping. But unlike online leader Amazon, it’s not doing it alone. The world’s largest retailer said Wednesday it’s working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items from laundry detergent to Legos for voice shopping through Google Assistant. The capability will be available in late September. It’s Google’s biggest retail partnership — and the most personalized shopping experience it offers — as it tries to broaden the reach of its voice-powered assistant Home speaker. And it underscores Walmart’s drive to compete in an area dominated by Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo device. “Voice shopping is becoming a more important part of everyday shopping behavior,” said Marc Lore, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business. The voice-activated devices are becoming more mainstream as they become more accessible. Even Apple has one coming out this year. Walmart has said Google’s investment in natural language processing an...

PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump blamed the media Tuesday for the widespread condemnation of his response to a Charlottesville, Virginia, protest organized by white supremacists that led to the killing of a counter-protester. Trump opened his political rally in Phoenix with a call for unity, saying, “What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America and tonight, this entire arena stands united in forceful condemnation of the thugs that perpetrated hatred and violence.” But he quickly trained his ire on the media, shouting that he “openly called for healing unity and love” in the immediate aftermath of Charlottesville and claiming the media had misrepresented him. He read from his three responses to the violence — getting more animated with each one. Democrats and fellow Republicans had denounced Trump for placing blame for the Charlottesville violence on “both sides.” Trump omitted that part of his reaction from his recap Tuesday night. “You know where m...

MIAMI (AP) — It’s not the principals that will define the blockbuster trade between Cleveland and Boston. Great point guard leaves one city for another. That seems fair. All the other parts, they will tell the story. There are many ways to claim victory in  the deal made Tuesday night  . Kyrie Irving wanted his own team and got it, so he wins. Isaiah Thomas gets to play with LeBron James, so he wins. The Cavaliers got rid of a supposedly disgruntled star, so they won. The Celtics now won’t have to decide if Thomas is worth something like a $180 million deal next summer, so they won. It’s all semantics. But look past all that. In the end, Cleveland won. James won, too. Here’s a few reasons why James will be celebrating this deal: He’ll still have a high-octane point guard; he’s getting an absurdly good defender in Jae Crowder (he could have helped the Cavs’ cause against Golden State in The Finals); he won’t be going into the season dealing with drama about Irvin...

PHOENIX (AP) — A day of noisy but largely peaceful protests of President Donald Trump’s speech in Phoenix turned unruly as police fired pepper spray at crowds after someone apparently lobbed rocks and bottles at officers. A haze enveloped the night sky Tuesday as protesters and police clashed outside the convention center where Trump had just wrapped up his speech. People fled the scene coughing as an officer in a helicopter bellowed through a speaker urging protesters to leave the area. Officers responded with pepper spray to break up the crowd after people tossed rocks and bottles and dispersed gas, Phoenix police spokesman Jonathan Howard said. Four people were arrested on charges related to the protest, and one person was arrested on an unrelated warrant, Police Chief Jeri Williams said. Two officers were treated for heat exhaustion, she said. The disturbance didn’t start until after the speech had ended. A contingent of protesters stayed behind after the clash with poli...

PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday again signaled his willingness to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s conviction for intentionally disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case. But he told a downtown rally of supporters that he wouldn’t do it quite yet. “So was Sheriff Joe was convicted for doing his job?” Trump asked. “I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s going to be just fine, OK” The president said he “won’t do it tonight” because he doesn’t want to cause controversy. Trump had said eight days ago that he was considering a pardon of Arpaio’s misdemeanor contempt of court conviction for intentionally defying a judge’s order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. Longtime critics of the retired sheriff say a pardon would remove the last chance at holding Arpaio legally accountable for a long history of misconduct during his 24 years as metro Phoenix’s top law enforcer. They cited a racial profiling verdict against the sheriff’s office, ...

SINGAPORE (AP) — Navy divers searching a flooded compartment of the USS John S. McCain found remains of some of the 10 sailors missing in a collision between the warship and an oil tanker, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said Tuesday as he promised a full investigation. Adm. Scott Swift also said at a news conference in Singapore, where the McCain is now docked, that Malaysian officials had found one body, but it had yet to be identified and it was unknown whether it was a crew member. Map source: Maps4News/HERE The collision before dawn on Monday near Singapore tore a gaping hole in the McCain’s left rear hull and flooded adjacent compartments including crew berths and machinery and communication rooms. Five sailors were injured. “The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search today,” Swift said, adding that it was “premature to say how many and what the status of recovery of those bodies is.” “We will continue the sear...

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — ESPN broadcaster Robert Lee will not work Virginia’s season opener because of recent violence in Charlottesville sparked by the decision to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. A spokeswoman for ESPN says Lee has been moved to Youngstown State’s game at Pittsburgh on the ACC Network on Sept. 2. The network says the decision was made “as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name.” Plans to remove a statue of Lee led to a protest in Charlottesville earlier this month that attracted what is believed to be the largest group of white nationalists to come together in a decade. Violent clashes erupted between a large gathering of white nationalists and hundreds of counter protesters. ESPN says the decision to put Lee on another game was made “collectively.” It also says it’s “a shame that this is even a topic of conversation.” Source: www.apnews.com 

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyrie Irving was tired of being teammates with LeBron James. Now he has to figure out how to beat him. Cleveland’s All-Star guard, who asked owner Dan Gilbert to trade him earlier this summer, was dealt Tuesday night to the Boston Celtics for fellow All-Star Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ unprotected 2018 first-round draft pick. “It’s extremely rare to trade for a 25-year-old player that’s done what he’s done, the offensive weapon that he is,” Celtics president Danny Ainge said. “We feel like his best basketball is still ahead of him. “We have a player that’s proven to be a sure thing. We know how unpredictable the draft can be. You do pay a heavy price for a player of that age and that caliber.” “Isaiah embodied what it meant to be a Celtic. He captured fans’ hearts not only with his spirit, but his personality.” - Danny Ainge.  pic.twitter.com/Xz85keUYHq — Boston Celtics (@celtics)  August 23, 2...

PHOENIX (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s visit to Arizona (all times PDT): 8:40 p.m. President Donald Trump says he thinks the U.S. will “end up probably terminating” the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico “at some point.” Trump tells supporters at a Phoenix, Arizona rally that, “Personally, I don’t think we can make a deal because we have been so badly taken advantage of.” But he cautions he has yet to make up his mind. The U.S., Mexico and Canada began formal negotiations last week to rework the 23-year-old trade pact that Trump slammed during his campaign as the “worst” in history. The Canadian and Mexican negotiators believe NAFTA needs to be updated. But they have defended the pact, which eliminated most barriers on trade between the countries, as an economic success story. ___ 8:30 p.m. President Donald Trump is going after Arizona’s Republican Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain at a Phoenix rally — but coyly refusing to m...

SINGAPORE (AP) — The Latest on the collision between the USS John S. McCain guided missile destroyer and an oil tanker east of Singapore (all times local): 11:30 a.m. Three of the 10 sailors missing from the USS John S. McCain have been identified by family. U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis said McCain crew member Logan Palmer is from the Decatur, Illinois, area and his mother identified him as missing. April Brandon in Michigan said the military informed her that her son, Ken Smith, is missing. She said Smith’s father, stepmother and grandfather served in the Navy. Brandon said, “His father and I couldn’t be prouder of our son.” The family of Jacob Drake of Ohio was told he was among the missing, the Columbus Dispatched reported. Megan Partlow told AP earlier that Drake was her fiancee and she’d last had contact with him Sunday in a text message. The McCain was damaged in a collision with an oil tanker Monday near Singapore. Some bodies have been found but the Navy hasn’t discl...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday renewed its request to the news media for privacy for President Donald Trump’s young son, Barron, after a conservative news and opinion website criticized the casual attire he wore home after the family’s summer vacation. The 11-year-old wore shorts, a T-shirt that said “On Your Mark Tiger Shark” and loafers without socks for Sunday’s return trip to the White House from the family’s home on Trump’s private golf club in central New Jersey. Trump wore a suit and tie while Barron’s mother, first lady Melania Trump, wore a sleeveless, calf-length yellow-and-white dress. Ford Springer, The Daily Caller columnist, wrote that since Barron doesn’t have any responsibilities as the president’s son “the least he could do is dress the part when he steps out in public.” “Barron was returning to the White House from New Jersey on Sunday and while the president and first lady traveled in their Sunday best, young Barron looked like he was hoppi...