Microsoft wins headset deal

Microsoft won a nearly $22 billion contract to supply U.S. Army combat troops with its augmented reality headsets. The technology is based on Microsoft's HoloLens headsets, which were originally intended for the video game and entertainment industries. Pentagon officials have described the futuristic technology -- which the Army calls its Integrated Visual Augmentation System -- as a way of boosting soldiers' awareness of their surroundings and their ability to spot targets and dangers. Microsoft's head-mounted HoloLens displays let people see virtual imagery superimposed over the physical world in front of them -- anything from holograms in virtual game worlds to repair instructions floating over a broken gadget. The Army's website says soldiers tested the gadgets last year at Fort Pickett in Virginia. It said the system could help troops gain an advantage "on battlefields that are increasingly urban, congested, dark and unpredictable."

Ex-cop defended himself

MINNEAPOLIS -- After the ambulance took George Floyd away, the Minneapolis officer who had pinned his knee on the Black man's neck defended himself to a bystander by saying Floyd was "a sizable guy" and "probably on something," according to police video played in court Wednesday. The video was part of a mountain of footage -- both official and amateur -- and witness testimony at Officer Derek Chauvin 's murder trial that all together showed how Floyd's alleged attempt to pass a phony $20 bill at a neighborhood market last May escalated into tragedy one video-documented step at a time. A security-camera scene of people joking around inside the store soon gave way to the sight of officers pulling Floyd from his SUV at gunpoint, struggling to push him into a squad car as he writhed and screamed that he was claustrophobic, and then putting him on the pavement. When Floyd was finally taken away by paramedics, Charles McMillian, a 61-year-old bystander who recognized Chauvin from the neighborhood, told the officer he didn't respect what Chauvin had done. "That's one person's opinion," Chauvin could be heard responding. "We gotta control this guy 'cause he's a sizable guy … and it looks like he's probably on something."

Cops find cause, won't reveal it

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles County sheriff says detectives have determined what caused Tiger Woods to crash his SUV last month in Southern California but would not release details Wednesday, citing unspecified privacy concerns for the golf star. Woods suffered serious injuries in the Feb. 23 crash when he struck a raised median around 7 a.m. in Rolling Hills Estates, just outside Los Angeles. The Genesis SUV he was driving crossed through two oncoming lanes and uprooted a tree on a downhill stretch that police said is known for wrecks. Woods is in Florida recovering from multiple surgeries. Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been criticized for his comments about the crash, calling it "purely an accident" and saying there was no evidence of impairment. Woods told deputies he did not know how the crash occurred and didn't remember driving. He was unconscious when a witness first approached the mangled SUV. But a sheriff's deputy said the athlete later appeared to be in shock but was conscious and able to answer basic questions. Investigators did not seek a search warrant for Woods' blood samples, which could be screened for drugs and alcohol. In 2017, Woods checked himself into a clinic for help in dealing with prescription drug medication after a DUI charge in his home state of Florida. Detectives, however, did obtain a search warrant for the data recorder of the 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, known as a black box. Villanueva would not say Wednesday what data had been found in the black box. "We have reached out to Tiger Woods and his personnel," Villanueva said. "There's some privacy issues on releasing information on the investigation so we're going to ask them if they waive the privacy and then we will be able to do a full release on all the information regarding the accident."

Grizzlies expanding their turf

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators. The Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday released its first assessment in almost a decade about the status of grizzly bears in the contiguous U.S. The bruins are shielded from hunting as a threatened species except in Alaska. Grizzly populations grew over the past 10 years in two areas -- the Yellowstone region of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, with more than 700 bears; and around Glacier National Park in Montana, which is home to more than 1,000 of the animals. Grizzly numbers remain low in other parts of the Northern Rockies, and scientists said their focus is on bolstering those populations rather than reintroducing them elsewhere in the country. The bears now occupy about 6% of their historical range in the contiguous U.S., up from 2% in 1975. Conservationists and some university scientists have pushed to return bears to areas including Colorado's San Juan Mountains and California's Sierra Nevada.

Military tweet came from tot

OMAHA, Neb. -- A tweet issued on the official page of the U.S. military command in charge of the nation's nuclear arsenal early had many on social media confused. What did the Sunday evening tweet, which read ";l;;gmlxzssaw," mean? Had the account of the U.S. Strategic Command, which has its headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha, been hacked? Within 10 minutes, the tweet drew at least 12,400 "likes," 9,000 retweets and lots of snark and speculation, the Omaha World-Herald reported. A half-hour later, a follow-up tweet apologized for the confusion and advised followers to disregard the nonsensical tweet. Then the mystery tweet disappeared. "Should we be ducking and covering now?" one person responded. StratCom officials provided the answer a day later: The tweet came from a rogue toddler. In a statement issued late Monday, StratCom said the person who manages the command's Twitter account was working from home when he briefly stepped away from his computer while the account was open. That's when his child sat down to play on the keyboard and managed to hit "send." "Absolutely nothing nefarious occurred; i.e., no hacking of our Twitter account," StratCom spokeswoman Karen Singer said in the statement.

Hoarder found dead at home

NEW YORK -- An Emmy-winning production designer who was known to be a hoarder has been found dead under a pile of garbage in her New York City home. Evelyn Sakash, 66, was found Tuesday lying on her kitchen floor buried under garbage. Sakash was found by her sister, who had hired a cleaning crew to clear out the woman's home in the College Point section of Queens and look for her, police said. The sister and the cleaners found Sakash around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, they said. Sakash was a production designer who had worked on films including "Mermaids," released in 1990, and 2014's "Still Alice," according to her IMDB page. She won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2003 for "Between the Lions."

Teen and would-be rescuer die

COLUMBUS -- A fishing outing near an Ohio dam ended with the deaths of a high school student who fell into the river and a man who tried to rescue him. Two other teenagers were hospitalized. The three teens were part of a larger group who were exploring and fishing Tuesday night on the spillway side of the Delaware Dam on the Olentangy River, about 35 miles north of Columbus. The teens were swept into the river on the downstream side of the dam and began to struggle in the current, witnesses said. Melvin Guerra Salvador, 20, of Columbus, jumped in the water and attempted a rescue, but he and Nabin Bhandari, 17, a Columbus resident who attended Westerville Central High School, both died a short time later.

Sentenced in $400M Ponzi scheme

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego businesswoman whose Ponzi scheme bilked hundreds of people out of nearly $400 million was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison. Gina Champion-Cain, 57, received more than the sentence recommended by prosecutors. At the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns noted that some victims were friends she had known for years. "This went on for seven years. This wasn't just strangers hoping to get rich," Burns said. "This is a level of deceit and betrayal I wasn't fully aware of." Champion-Cain was best known for her chain of now-closed Patio restaurants but also had clothing and vacation rental businesses. The scheme involved Champion-Cain getting people to invest in a business -- American National Investments -- that supposedly made high-interest loans to businesses seeking California liquor licenses. Instead, some of the investment money was used to repay earlier investors in a classic Ponzi scheme, authorities said. Other money went to propping up Champion-Cain's failing businesses but millions more paid for a luxury lifestyle that included homes, cars, jewelry and box seats for San Diego Padres and Chargers games, prosecutors said. The scheme took in at least $372 million from more than 490 investors, who lost at least $180 million, prosecutors said.

Teigen graces 'Beautiful Issue'

LOS ANGELES -- Chrissy Teigen will grace the front of People magazine's "The Beautiful Issue" in a cover story that delves into her evolved definition of beauty, facing racism growing up and her heartbreaking miscarriage last year. The magazine revealed the cover Wednesday of the annual issue, which hits newsstands Friday. On this year's cover, Teigen appears smiling along with her children Luna, 4, and Miles, 2, with the quote "I've learned how strong I am." The 35-year-old model and cookbook author is married to R&B crooner John Legend, who was named Sexiest Man Alive by the magazine in 2019. Teigen, who is of Thai-Norwegian descent, said she wants to follow her Thai tradition in remembering her son, Jack, who died at 20 weeks of her pregnancy.

J&J vax batch fails quality check

A batch of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine failed quality standards and can't be used, the drug giant said Wednesday. The drugmaker didn't say how many doses were lost, and it wasn't clear how the problem would impact future deliveries. A vaccine ingredient made by Emergent BioSolutions -- one of about 10 companies that Johnson & Johnson is using to speed up manufacturing of its recently approved vaccine -- did not meet quality standards, J&J said. J&J said the Emergent BioSolutions factory involved had not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make part of the vaccine. Emergent declined to comment. J&J had pledged to provide 20 million doses of its vaccine to the U.S. government by the end of March, and 80 million more doses by the end of May. Its statement on the manufacturing problem said it was still planning to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June and was "aiming to deliver those doses by the end of May."

Pfizer: vax protects young teens

Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall. Most COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults, who are at higher risk from the coronavirus. Pfizer's vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. In the vaccine study of 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15, preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots, Pfizer reported. It's a small study, that hasn't yet been published, so another important piece of evidence is how well the shots revved up the kids' immune systems. Researchers reported high levels of virus-fighting antibodies, somewhat higher than were seen in studies of young adults. Kids had side effects similar to young adults, the company said. The main side effects are pain, fever, chills and fatigue, particularly after the second dose. The study will continue to track participants for two years for more information about long-term protection and safety.

Palin confirms Covid diagnosis

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she tested positive for COVID-19 and is urging people to take steps to guard against the coronavirus, such as wearing masks in public. "Through it all, I view wearing that cumbersome mask indoors in a crowd as not only allowing the newfound luxury of being incognito, but trust it's better than doing nothing to slow the spread. And history will show we Masked Singer visitors were masked before being masked was cool," she said in her statement, referring to the TV show on which she once appeared. It was not clear when Palin, 57, tested positive. She told the magazine that other members of her family tested positive as well.

Amazon to bring workers back

SEATTLE -- Amazon plans to have its employees return to the office by fall as the tech giant transitions away from the remote work it implemented for many workers due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company had previously given its return-to-office date as June 30, but questions remained as to whether the company would allow some of its 60,000 Seattle-area office employees to continue working from home part time.

Archbishop: I married the couple

LONDON -- The archbishop of Canterbury has confirmed that he legally married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle in May 2018, despite the couple's claim that they had another, private, ceremony three days earlier. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month, Meghan said that "three days before our wedding we got married." "We called the archbishop and we just said, look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us," she said. "So the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the archbishop of Canterbury." Justin Welby said the couple were legally married at the castle on May 19, 2018 but would not disclose what occurred at private meetings before that. "I signed the wedding certificate, which is a legal document, and I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false," said Welby, who is head of the church of England. Welby told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that "I won't say what happened at any other meetings." He said he'd had "a number of private and pastoral meetings with the duke and duchess before the wedding."

Biden sets infrastructure plan

PITTSBURGH -- President Joe Biden outlined a huge $2.3 trillion plan Wednesday to reengineer the nation's infrastructure in what he billed as "a once-in-a-generation investment in America" that would undo his predecessor's signature legislative achievement -- giant tax cuts for corporations -- in the process. Speaking at a carpenters union training center in Pittsburgh, Biden drew comparisons between his hard-hatted proposed transformation of the U.S. economy and the space race -- and promised results as grand in scale as the New Deal or Great Society programs that shaped the 20th century. "It's not a plan that tinkers around the edges," Biden said. "It's a once-in-a-generation investment in America unlike anything we've seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago. In fact, it's the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs." White House officials say the spending would generate those jobs as the country shifts away from fossil fuels and combats the perils of climate change. It is also an effort to compete with the technology and public investments made by China, which has the world's second-largest economy and is fast gaining on the United States' dominant position. "I'm convinced that if we act now, in 50 years people are going to look back and say this is the moment when America won the future," Biden said.

Pentagon has new transgender policies

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon on Wednesday swept away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military, issuing new rules that offer them wider access to medical care and assistance with gender transition. The new department regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender, and they will be able to get medically necessary transition-related care authorized by law, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a briefing. The changes come after a two-month Pentagon review aimed at developing guidelines for the new policy, which was announced by President Joe Biden just days after he took office in January. Biden's executive order overturned the Trump policy and immediately prohibited any service member from being forced out of the military on the basis of gender identity. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin then gave the Pentagon two months to finalize the more detailed regulations that the military services will follow. The new rules also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Their release Wednesday coincides with International Transgender Day of Visibility, and they will take effect in 30 days. Kirby said that will give the military services the time they need to update their policies and provide guidance to commanders.

Gaetz staying on Judiciary panel

WASHINGTON -- Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a prominent, outspoken conservative and a close ally of former President Donald Trump who has been under federal investigation for a former relationship, would lose his House seat if convicted of a felony. But there are no rules addressing lawmakers under investigation. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that Gaetz would be removed from his committees if the charges were proven, but sidestepped the issue of what to do while the case is ongoing. Democrats called for him to step aside from the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department. "Those are serious implications," McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Fox News. "If it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him if that was the case. But right now Matt Gaetz says it is not true, and we don't have any information. So let's get all the information." Gaetz, who represents parts of western Florida, has known for months that he was under federal investigation over accusations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. During that time, he has remained on both the House Armed Services Committee and on the Judiciary Committee, which has congressional oversight of the Justice Department. He has been one of Trump's most vocal defenders on the Judiciary panel, fiercely defending the former president through two impeachments and other investigations.

Corporate leaders slam voting bill

ATLANTA -- Some of Georgia's most prominent corporate leaders on Wednesday began to more forcefully criticize the state's sweeping new election law, acknowledging concerns of civil rights activists and Black business executives who say the measure targets non-white voters and threatens the democratic process. The chief executives of Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola pivoted from earlier, more equivocal statements and called the law "unacceptable," opening an unusual rift with Republican leaders who championed the legislation and typically enjoy a cozy relationship with the state's business community. The business lobby in Georgia, home to 18 Fortune 500 companies, wields significant clout in state politics. Civil rights activists blamed influential executives for not helping spike the new law that's become a focal point in the nationwide, partisan fight over voting rights, and there is rising pressure nationally on corporate titans to defend voting rights more explicitly and oppose Republican efforts in states that could follow Georgia's lead. Delta's and Coca-Cola's latest declarations could push Georgia's other marquee brands, including UPS and Home Depot, to take a stronger stand. "Delta's statement finally tells the truth -- even if it's late," said Nse Ufot of the New Georgia Project, which has launched an ad campaign targeting major corporations. After Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the new law last week, Delta issued a statement promoting parts of the law such as expanded weekend voting, but said "we understand concerns remain over other provisions … and there continues to be work ahead in this important effort."

Hunter details lifelong addiction

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden's son Hunter details his lifelong struggle with alcoholism and drug abuse in a new memoir, writing that "in the last five years alone, my two-decades-long marriage has dissolved, guns have been put in my face, and at one point I dropped clean off the grid, living in $59-a-night Super 8 motels off I-95 while scaring my family even more than myself." His "deep descent" into substance addiction followed the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau, who succumbed to brain cancer at age 46, Hunter Biden writes in "Beautiful Things." The book is set for release on Tuesday. "After Beau died, I never felt more alone. I lost hope," he wrote. He credits his second wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, with helping him sober up, along with the love from his father and late brother.