Associated Press stories, Page 15
Netanyahu authorizes direct talks with Lebanon ‘as soon as possible’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he has authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible,” as a tentative ceasefire in the Iran war staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut. Netanyahu said he gave the order in response to...
‘Revolution’ or ‘chaos’: The massive stakes if a Republican becomes California governor
LOS ANGELES — If conservative commentator Steve Hilton is elected California’s next governor, as President Donald Trump wants, it would mark a “political revolution” for the liberal state, the candidate said. The state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature, “after all their years of lecturing us about democracy,” would be forced to work with...
Netanyahu authorizes direct talks with Lebanon in potential boost to ceasefire efforts
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors. The two countries have technically been...
Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday effectively criminalized the activities of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group Memorial, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent and civil society organizations in the country amid its war in Ukraine. Following a closed-door hearing, the court ruled on a petition from the...
Travelers face higher costs and fewer flight options as jet fuel prices swing
A new reality is setting in for travelers worldwide: rising fees, fewer flight options and difficult decisions about whether a trip is worth the cost. The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the...
Stocks rise and oil prices trim their gains on hopes for the ceasefire with Iran
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Thursday, even though oil prices did too, as financial markets moved more modestly a day after surging on optimism about a ceasefire in the war with Iran. The morning began with moderate losses for Wall Street following drops for Asian and European stocks. But...
Republican fears grow as Democrats keep notching election victories ahead of midterms
MADISON, Wisc. — The bluntest assessment of Republican failures during this week’s elections in Wisconsin came from one of their own. “We got our butts kicked,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor. He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and...
A 1.9 billion-year-old bedrock will soon house the world’s 1st permanent nuclear waste site
OLKILUOTO, Finland — With the push of a button, the elevator descends hundreds of meters in seconds into the dark depths of Onkalo. “We are now at about minus 430 meters (1,411 feet),” muttered geologist Tuomas Pere as he steered a car through a labyrinth of man-made tunnels. “We are...
Democrats grow bolder on talk about removing Trump from office after his Iran threats
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s threats to wipe out Iran, “a whole civilization,” ended the restraint that Democrats have mostly practiced when it comes to questions of removing him from office in his second term. By the dozens, Democrats came out to say that Trump should no longer serve in...
As Trump throws lifeline to coal plants, critics warn of higher costs and health risks
WASHINGTON — Before Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Biden administration and many electric utilities were building a future dominated by renewable energy. They aimed to replace coal, slashing greenhouse gases and reducing air pollution that kills more than a thousand people annually. Dozens of coal plants —...
The Masters lowdown: How to watch, when it starts, betting odds for golf’s first major of 2026
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Prime Video will make its foray into covering the 90th Masters on Thursday by exclusively live-streaming the first two hours of the first two rounds from amidst the azaleas and dogwoods at Augusta National. As part of its debut, Prime Video will feature Inside Amen Corner, a...
Police in the Bahamas arrest husband of U.S. woman who vanished from boat
Police in the Bahamas said late Wednesday they have arrested the husband of a U.S. woman who was aboard a boat near the archipelago and vanished. Authorities said the 59-year-old man whom they did not identify was arrested in Abaco and is being questioned. A Coast Guard spokesperson told The...
Former UPMC doctor accused of trying to kill his wife convicted of attempted manslaughterVideo
HONOLULU — A Hawaii anesthesiologist who was accused of trying to murder his wife on a cliffside hike last year has been convicted of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter. A Honolulu jury returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, on Wednesday after a day of deliberations. The crime he...
NCAA committee to discuss streamlined, age-based eligibility rules
An NCAA panel is scheduled to discuss potential changes to eligibility rules that would incorporate age into the process, two people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the NCAA hasn’t publicly discussed the proposal. They said the...
Newly created Polymarket accounts bet big on U.S.-Iran ceasefire in hours before Trump’s announcement
NEW YORK — A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers. These bets were made even though,...
A possible Frozen Four first: All 4 starting goalies are freshmen
LAS VEGAS — Four freshman goalies will take the ice before a packed T-Mobile Arena on Thursday for the semifinals of the Frozen Four, something so unusual that the NCAA can’t find another such instance. The atmosphere could be daunting even for upperclassmen, but those goalies have been preparing a...
Army veteran charged with sharing classified details of an elite commando unitVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — An Army veteran has been charged with sharing classified information about an elite commando unit with a journalist, which one official said put “our nation, our warfighters, and our allies at risk.” Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, is accused of violating federal law, as well...
8-year-old Frankie Fleetwood steals show at Masters Par 3 Contest
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Eight-year-old Frankie Fleetwood stole the show at Augusta National from his dad, Tommy Fleetwood, who merely had one of the many holes-in-one Wednesday during the family friendly Par 3 Contest on the eve of the Masters. The young Fleetwood went viral last year when he lamented in...
Masters starting times for the weekdays
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Starting times for Thursday and Friday in the 90th Masters at Augusta National (a-amateur): Thursday-Friday 7:40 a.m.-10:51 a.m. — Johnny Keefer, United States; Haotong Li, China. 7:50 a.m.-11:03 a.m. — Naoyuki Kataoka, Japan; Max Homa, United States; Carlos Ortiz, Mexico. 8:02 a.m.-11:15 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal,...
Alex Ovechkin says he’s waiting until after season to decide future
Alex Ovechkin says he is waiting until after the Washington Capitals’ season is over to decide whether he’s calling it a career or returning to play one more year. The NHL’s career goal-scoring leader announced his intentions in a clip of a pretaped interview with Capitals radio broadcaster John Walton...
Legendary mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the 1st American to summit Mount Everest, dies at 97
SEATTLE — The celebrated mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, has died. He was 97. Whittaker, who also served as the first full-time employee of the outdoor retailer REI and later as its president and CEO, died Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, according...
Masters in bloom: More than azaleas and dogwood make up golf’s most beautiful garden
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Azaleas and dogwoods are as synonymous with the Masters as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, which is a little unfair — not to the other 55 Masters champions, but to the other 350 species of flora that make Augusta National a golf course unlike any other. The...
Prosecutors move to subpoena Tiger Woods’ prescription drug records after Florida DUI arrest
ORLANDO, Fla. — Prosecutors are seeking Tiger Woods ’ prescription drug records from a pharmacy, a week after his vehicle crashed in Florida and he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Prosecutors in Florida on Tuesday said they planned to issue a subpoena seeking copies of all...
Dodgers great Davey Lopes, an infield fixture and record-setting base stealer, dies at 80
LOS ANGELES — Davey Lopes, a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record-setting infield of the 1970s and ’80s and one of baseball’s premier base stealers, died Wednesday. He was 80. The Dodgers were informed of his death in Rhode Island by his former wife, Lin Lopes. Lopes was a...
RFK Jr is launching a podcast to expose ‘lies’ that have made Americans sick
NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a new podcast that he says will begin “a new era of radical transparency in government,” according to a teaser video first obtained by The Associated Press. The show, titled “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,” will launch next week and...
