Associated Press stories, Page 1098
Senate passes $1.7 trillion bill to fund goverment, aid UkraineVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress. The bill, which runs for...
Scientists reveal secrets of frog transparency
WASHINGTON — Now you see them, now you don’t. Some frogs found in South and Central America have the rare ability to turn on and off their nearly transparent appearance, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science. During the day, these nocturnal frogs sleep by hanging underneath tree leaves. Their...
Key Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson says lawyer sought to influence testimony
WASHINGTON — Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson described to the House Jan. 6 committee a wide-ranging pressure campaign from Donald Trump’s allies aimed at influencing her cooperation with Congress and stifling potentially damaging testimony about him. In extraordinary closed-door testimony made public Thursday, Hutchinson recounted how those in the...
Pope warns Vatican staff an ‘elegant demon’ lurks among them
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis warned Vatican bureaucrats on Thursday to beware the devil that lurks among them, saying it is an “elegant demon” that works in people who have a rigid, holier-than-thou way of living the Catholic faith. Francis used his annual Christmas greeting to the Roman Curia to...
Holiday travel upended as forecasters warn of ‘bomb cyclone’
MISSION, Kan. — Thousands of flights were canceled and homeless shelters were overflowing Thursday amid one of the most treacherous holiday travel seasons the U.S. has seen in decades, with temperatures plummeting 50 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas and forecasters warning of an impending “bomb cyclone” that could make conditions...
House OKs bill on IRS audits of presidents
WASHINGON — The House took action Thursday after disclosures that the IRS never fully reviewed Donald Trump’s tax returns during his presidency, passing a bill that would require audits of any president’s income tax filings. The legislation would turn what had been a long-standing post-Watergate norm into established federal policy....
Arizona to remove shipping container wall from Mexico border
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will take down a makeshift wall made of shipping containers at the Mexico border, settling a lawsuit and political tussle with the U.S. government over trespassing on federal lands. The Biden administration and the Republican governor entered into an agreement that Arizona will cease...
NFL ‘Sunday Ticket’ headed to YouTube beginning next season
Fans will have to Google it beginning next season if they want to access the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” package. The NFL announced a multiyear agreement on Thursday for Google to distribute the package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels. The NFL was seeking $2.5...
U.S. economy grew 3.2% in third quarter, an upgrade from earlier estimateVideo
WASHINGTON — Shrugging off rampant inflation and rising interest rates, the U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported Thursday in a healthy upgrade from its earlier estimate of third-quarter growth. The rise in gross domestic product — the economy’s output...
IRS mandatory presidential audit policy goes under spotlight
WASHINGTON — An IRS policy governing the audits of tax returns filed by U.S. presidents is under new scrutiny after a report published by a congressional panel found the agency failed to perform the mandatory inspection of Donald Trump’s returns until Congress pressed for information about the process. The three-point...
Sweden still has requirements to meet to join NATO
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey appreciates Sweden’s steps so far to get approval to join NATO but is not even “halfway” through fulfilling a list of commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support, the Turkish foreign minister said Thursday. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a Swedish court’s decision not to extradite...
Holiday shopping procrastinators are back in force
NEW YORK — Last year, Lucila Gomez and her husband started their holiday shopping around Thanksgiving and wrapped it up a week before Christmas, spending $750 on tablets and clothing for their three children and relatives. This year? Gomez is waiting until she gets her annual bonus on Friday to...
Stocks slide as economic data stokes rate hike worries
Stocks closed broadly lower Thursday on Wall Street as stronger-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy stoked worries about interest rates staying high. The S&P 500 fell 1.4% after having been down as much as 2.9% earlier in the day. The pullback brings Wall Street’s main measure of health back to...
Western Kentucky QB throws for 497 yards in New Orleans Bowl win over South Alabama
NEW ORLEANS — Austin Reed passed for four touchdowns and a New Orleans Bowl-record 497 yards, leading Western Kentucky to a 44-23 win over South Alabama on Wednesday night. It was yet another memorable season-ending performance for Reed, who set Division II title-game records in 2019 by passing for 523...
IRS mandatory presidential audit policy goes under spotlight
WASHINGTON — An IRS policy governing the audits of tax returns filed by U.S. presidents is under new scrutiny after a report published by a congressional panel found the agency failed to perform the mandatory inspection of Donald Trump’s returns until Congress pressed for information about the process. The three-point...
Newspaper: Georgia congressman may have illegally voted
ATLANTA — A Georgia congressman voted three times this year in a county where he no longer lives, possibly violating state law, state records show. Republican U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson’s congressional website shows he lives with his wife in The Rock, 63 miles away from his former home in West...
World Cup final the most-watched soccer match in United States
Argentina’s dramatic victory over France in penalty kicks in the World Cup final has become the most-watched soccer match of any kind in the United States. With Nielsen and Fox releasing the “match only” rating on Wednesday, Sunday’s match had an English- and Spanish-language total combined audience of 26,726,000. The...
Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demandVideo
Concerns about illness or inflation aren’t stopping Americans from hitting the roads and airports this holiday season. But a massive winter storm might. Forecasters predict an onslaught of heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds from Thursday to Saturday in a broad swath of the country, from the Plains and...
NIL casts cloud over college football’s early signing period
The early signing period for college football opened Wednesday, and in many ways it looked the same as usual. There were surprising last-minute flips by blue-chip recruits, pick-a-hat commitment ceremonies held at high schools across the country and Alabama signing the nation’s top-rated class. Hanging over it all, though, was...
Lawyer: Man charged in NYC subway shooting plans guilty plea
NEW YORK — A man charged with wounding 10 people when he fired a gun into a crowded Brooklyn subway car earlier this year has told his lawyers he’d like to plead guilty next month. Frank James, 63, wants to plead guilty in the first week of January, the attorneys...
Women sexually abused by ICU nurse sue Colorado hospital
DENVER — Two women who say a nurse sexually assaulted them while they were unconscious in intensive care filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Colorado hospital where they were being treated, alleging the hospital’s management didn’t do enough to prevent the abuse. The lawsuit — which is proposed as a...
‘Top Gun,’ ‘Black Panther’ advance in Oscars shortlist
Blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick,”“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” and pop stars like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Rihanna just got one step closer to getting Oscar nominations. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday announced shortlists in 10 categories for the...
Jan. 6 panel prepares to release final report on insurrectionVideo
WASHINGTON — An 800-page report set to be released by House investigators will conclude that then-President Donald Trump criminally plotted to overturn his 2020 election defeat and “provoked his supporters to violence” at the Capitol with false claims of widespread voter fraud. The resulting Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of Trump’s...
Explainer: Arctic blast sweeps U.S., bomb cyclone possible
NEW YORK — An arctic blast is bringing extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. this week — just in time for the holidays. The weather system, which may build into a “bomb cyclone,” is expected to move east in the days leading up to...
Mets swoop in, snatch Carlos Correa for $315M, 12-year dealVideo
In a wild twist overnight, Carlos Correa agreed to a $315 million, 12-year contract with the free-spending New York Mets after his pending deal with the San Francisco Giants came apart over an issue with his physical. The agreement with the Mets was confirmed to the Associated Press by a...
