Associated Press stories, Page 108
Powell signals Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and suggested the central bank will proceed cautiously as it continues to evaluate...
Trump embraces tough-on-crime mantra amid DC takeover as he and Democrats claim political wins
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump stood among several hundred law enforcement officers, National Guard troops and federal agents at a U.S. Park Police operations center in one of Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous neighborhoods. As the cameras rolled, he offered a stark message about crime, an issue he’s been hammering...
Is empathy a sin? Some conservative Christians argue it can be
WASHINGTON — Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are preaching that it has become a vice. For them, empathy is a cudgel for the left: It can manipulate caring people into accepting...
FBI searches home and office of ex-Trump national security adviser John Bolton
WASHINGTON — The FBI on Friday searched the Maryland home and Washington office of former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton as part of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, a person familiar with the matter said. Bolton, who emerged as an outspoken critic of...
Florida must stop expanding ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration center, judge says
MIAMI — A federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction halting further expansion of an immigration detention center built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” that advocates said violated environmental laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ injunction formalized a temporary halt she had ordered...
Russell Henley birdies last 3 holes for 61 to lead Tour Championship over Scottie SchefflerVideo
ATLANTA — Russell Henley hardly missed a putt. Scottie Scheffler hardly missed a fairway. They led a parade of players who seized on the soft conditions at East Lake to begin the race for the Tour Championship and the season-ending FedEx Cup title. Henley one-putted six of his last seven...
California Legislature approves special election on new congressional map favoring DemocratsVideo
SACRAMENTO — California voters will decide in November whether to approve a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more U.S. House seats next year, after Texas Republicans advanced their own redrawn map to pad their House majority by the same number of seats at President Donald Trump’s...
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, aka Sincaraz, rule men’s tennis
NEW YORK — OK, sure, maybe it wouldn’t be rational to say there’s no point in actually holding the full U.S. Open and instead just fast-forwarding to the inevitable matchup for the men’s championship between Jannik Sinner — assuming he’s healthy — and Carlos Alcaraz on Sept. 7. Seems reasonable,...
Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut $783 million of research funding in anti-DEI push
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration can slash hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding in its push to cut federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the Supreme Court decided Thursday. The high court majority lifted a judge’s order blocking $783 million worth of cuts made by the National...
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman uses past to propel No. 6 Irish
Marcus Freeman used some of the tough lessons he learned his first two years as Notre Dame’s coach to help him navigate the longest season in the FBS’ modern era. It’s prepared him for what’s next: taking the same script and rewriting the ending. Seven months after losing the national...
SEC approves 9-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, joining Big Ten and Big 12
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The SEC is moving to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026, ending a yearslong debate and potentially easing a path toward another expansion of the College Football Playoff. The change was approved by conference presidents and chancellors Thursday. It previously had been recommended by league athletic...
NFL will emphasize sportsmanship, crack down on violent, sexually suggestive gesturesVideo
The NFL wants players to have fun within the rules. That’s why the league will be emphasizing sportsmanship and cracking down on violent and sexually suggestive gestures this season. “Unsportsmanlike gestures like simulating or either shooting a gun or brandishing a gun, or inappropriate gestures like a throat slash, or...
Villanova says report of campus shooter was a ‘cruel hoax’
VILLANOVA — A report of a shooter on Villanova University’s campus that sparked panic among students and drew a heavy police presence was a “cruel hoax,” the school’s president said Thursday. Earlier in the afternoon, students had received a text from the Villanova alert system that told them to lock...
Cracker Barrel unveils new logo as part of wider rebrand efforts, sparking ire among some online
NEW YORK — Cracker Barrel is marching forward with an ongoing makeover. And to the dismay of some fans, the chain’s new logo now ditches the barrel itself. Or rather, the drawing many have associated with Cracker Barrel over the years. The man leaning on that barrel is also gone,...
Sony hikes the price of the Playstation 5 in the U.S.
NEW YORK — Sony has raised the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles being sold in the United States by $50. “Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony Global Marketing Vice President Isabelle Tomatis wrote in a blog post. “As a result, we’ve...
Ravens’ Harbaugh says there’s ‘no damage’ to Lamar Jackson’s foot after it was stepped onVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says star quarterback Lamar Jackson is “fine” after his foot was stepped on this week. That’s the same thing the Ravens told reporters Wednesday, but after Jackson wasn’t at practice Thursday, Harbaugh was understandably asked for an update. “Got his foot...
Judge says former Trump lawyer Alina Habba has been unlawfully serving as U.S. attorney in New Jersey
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey since last month. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann held that Habba’s term as the interim U.S. attorney ended in July, and...
Man arrested for WNBA sex-toy throwing at Liberty game, the 3rd arrest in string of disturbances
NEW YORK — An Ohio man was arrested for the throwing of a sex toy at a WNBA game in New York, police said Thursday. It’s the latest development in a string of disturbances where similar toys were tossed at WNBA games across the country, resulting in at least three...
Trump’s crackdown in D.C. leaves residents on edge as federal agents set up checkpoints
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have set up checkpoints around the nation’s capital, sometimes asking people for their immigration status and detaining them, as President Donald Trump’s crackdown ensnares more residents each day. Trump claimed that a crime crisis required his Republican administration’s intervention in the Democratic-led city this month, brushing...
Gymnast who sparked FBI sex abuse inquiry into coach says she’s proud to come forward
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Recalling the damage her now-arrested coach inflicted on her and many of her gymnast friends, Finley Weldon said she feels a sense of pride. Free from the grip that Sean Gardner had during her years of training at an Iowa academy known for producing Olympians, Weldon...
Orlando officials denounce removal of rainbow crosswalk near Pulse nightclub mass shooting site
ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando officials on Thursday denounced the overnight removal by Florida transportation workers of a rainbow-colored crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub where 49 people were gunned down, saying it was part of an attack on LGBTQ lives by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called...
Brent Hinds, former Mastodon singer-guitarist, dies at 51 in motorcycle crash
Brent Hinds, the former singer-guitarist for the Grammy-winning heavy metal band Mastodon, has died in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, the band and authorities said. He was 51. Hinds was killed while riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle late Wednesday night when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield while...
Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the U.S. in 2023, Pew report finds
The number of people in the United States illegally surged to an all-time high of 14 million in 2023, a research group said Thursday, a major increase that still falls well short of estimates from President Donald Trump and some critics of immigration. The Pew Research Center’s closely watched gauge...
Why the Federal Reserve’s independence matters
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump this week called on a Federal Reserve governor to resign over an accusation of mortgage fraud, the latest effort by his administration to exert greater control over one of the few remaining independent agencies in Washington. Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook says she won’t leave...
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump
NEW YORK — A New York appeals court on Thursday threw out President Donald Trump’s massive civil fraud penalty while upholding a judge’s finding that he exaggerated his wealth for decades. The ruling spares Trump from a potential half-billion-dollar fine but bans him and his two eldest sons from serving...
