COLU @ CONCEPTS

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The only woman in the Navy SEAL training pipeline has dropped out, a Navy special warfare official confirmed Friday. The female midshipman voluntarily decided to not continue participating in a summer course that’s required of officers who want to be selected for SEAL training, Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, a Naval special warfare spokesman, told The Associated Press. The Navy has not released the woman’s name, part of a policy against publicly identifying SEALs or candidates for the force. No other woman has started the long process required to become a Navy SEAL, Walton said. Another woman has set her sights on becoming a Special Warfare Combatant Crewman, another job that recently opened to women. They often support the SEALs but also conduct missions of their own using state-of-the art, high-performance boats. She has started the various evaluations and standard Navy training. Officials have said it would be premature to speculate when the Navy will see its f...

HAVANA (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday that U.S. diplomats in Havana had been the victims of "health attacks" that left them with hearing loss — the most definitive U.S. statement yet on a series of mysterious incidents that have puzzled longtime observers of U.S.-Cuban relations. His comments came two days after the State Department issued a vaguely worded statement saying there had been "incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms." U.S. officials later revealed that American diplomats had suffered unexplained losses of hearing, and on Thursday Canada's government said at least one Canadian diplomat in Cuba also had been treated for hearing loss. "We hold the Cuban authorities responsible for finding out who is carrying out these health attacks on not just our diplomats but, as you've seen now, there are other cases with other diplomats involved," Tillerson said in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Presid...

President Donald Trump’s recent invocation of “fire and fury” in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program had a familiar ring to it. It’s the kind of dramatic rhetoric that North Korea regularly uses in its public statements. Thanks in part to Twitter, the American president has also become somewhat infamous for his statements, though in a more casual, off-the-cuff manner than what appears to be North Korea’s carefully crafted script. Has North Korea met its match? Stay tuned. It’s a war of words, and one which analysts fear might lead to actual conflict. FIRE — NORTH KOREA (Rodong Sinmun newspaper commentary in April) “Our pre-emptive nuclear attacks will bring the provocateurs nothing but tragic consequences: South Korea will be submerged in a sea of fire, Japan will be reduced to ashes and the U.S. will collapse.” — TRUMP (Speaking to reporters on Aug. 8) “North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fu...

DENVER (AP) — The Latest on a civil trial involving Taylor Swift and a former DJ she accused of groping her (all times local): 6:55 p.m. Taylor Swift’s attorney says he’s proud to represent the singer after a judge tossed a lawsuit from a former radio host she accused of groping her. Outside court Friday, Douglas Baldridge pointed to the pop star’s willingness to file a countersuit after David Mueller sued her to claim she ruined his career. Baldridge says he’s grateful to the judge, who determined that Mueller failed to show Swift personally set out to have him fired after the backstage meet-and-greet in 2013. Mueller’s team didn’t speak in court after the decision. The jury will consider his identical allegations against Swift’s mother and her radio liaison as well as the singer’s claim. ___ 6:15 p.m. After U.S. District Judge William Martinez’s ruling, Taylor Swift and her team walked up to one another and hugged, smiled and whispered. The team of former DJ ...

NEW YORK (AP) — The future of TV may well be a mishmash of streaming services that could rival the cost of a $100 cable bundle — but that are way more difficult to use. Disney’s plan for two new streaming services (and possibly more) is just the latest sign that everyone is jumping into the streaming business. It intends to launch a kids-oriented movie and TV streaming service in 2019 that will pull Disney and Pixar films from Netflix, as well as an ESPN sidekick service (minus pro football and basketball) expected early next year. The company is even exploring the possibility of separate streaming services for its Star Wars and Marvel superhero films. All of that will simply add to a cacophony of existing Netflix-style video services that let you watch what you want, when you want. More are probably on their way, as entertainment companies see profits in controlling not only the creation of their films and shows, but also their distribution. The downside? Potential...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Most meaningful of all the text messages Hideki Matsuyama received last week was the one from Jason Day congratulating the Japanese star for his 61 in the final round at Firestone to win his second World Golf Championship. It read: “Congrats, mate. Unreal playing. See you next week.” Matsuyama looked just as unreal Friday at the PGA Championship, even before the storms arrived and took so much of the bite out of Quail Hollow. Starting with a 12-foot putt — the longest of his seven birdies in the second round — the 25-year-old Matsuyama ran off five birdies over six holes for a 7-under 64 that gave him a share of the lead with Kevin Kisner going into the weekend. Kisner faced tougher, faster conditions in the morning and holed a 50-foot eagle putt from short of the green on the par-5 seventh hole. When his round was over, Kisner had a five-shot lead over the players from his side of the draw, and it didn’t look like anyone would get near him. The ...

DALLAS (AP) — The NFL suspended star Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games Friday, concluding after a yearlong investigation that the league’s leading rusher injured his former girlfriend in three separate incidents last summer. According to the letter Elliott received informing him of the suspension, the NFL believed he used “physical force” three times in a span of five days in a Columbus, Ohio, apartment last July resulting in injuries to Tiffany Thompson’s face, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, wrists, hips and knees. She was his girlfriend at the time. Prosecutors in Columbus decided nearly a year ago not to pursue the case in the city where Elliott starred for Ohio State. In announcing the suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league said its investigation was based on photographs, text messages and other electronic evidence. Commissioner Roger Goodell made his decision based on the findings and in consultation with four advisers, inclu...