Associated Press stories, Page 154
Reports: Chet Holmgren, Thunder agree on 5-year contract extensionVideo
Chet Holmgren agreed on a five-year contract extension worth nearly $240 million to remain with the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, according to multiple reports Wednesday. ESPN, which first reported the deal, citing agent Bill Duffy, said it could eventually be worth $250 million because of various contract escalators. It...
Iga Swiatek’s first Wimbledon semifinal comes against Belinda Bencic. Djokovic to face SinnerVideo
LONDON — Iga Swiatek reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova that went from a stroll to a bit of a struggle in the late stages Wednesday. “Even though I’m in the middle of the tournament, I already got goosebumps...
Reports: 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic will delay signing extension with NuggetsVideo
DENVER — Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has decided to delay a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets this summer, according to multiple reports Tuesday night. It doesn’t affect Jokic’s status in Denver in the short term: He has at least two years remaining on his deal — $55.2 million...
NBA hires James Jones as executive vice president and head of basketball operationsVideo
NEW YORK — James Jones is joining the NBA front office as executive vice president and head of basketball operations, replacing Joe Dumars in that role. Jones spent 14 years as a player in the NBA, winning two championships with the Miami Heat and another with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He...
MLB plans to use robot umpire challenge system in All-Star Game next weekVideo
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball plans to use its robot umpire technology for ball-strike challenges in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Atlanta, another step toward possible regular-season use next season. MLB said Wednesday it intends to make the All-Star announcement Thursday. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges during the...
Colorado coach Deion Sanders declines to address health issues at Big 12 media days
FRISCO, Texas — Deion Sanders declined to address his health at Big 12 football media days Wednesday, which came during his extended absence from Colorado. “I’m not here to talk about my health,” said Sanders, who is going into his third season as the Buffaloes coach. “I’m here to talk...
Investors snap up U.S. homes as traditional buyers struggle to afford one
LOS ANGELES — Real estate investors are snapping up a bigger share of U.S. homes on the market as rising prices and stubbornly high borrowing costs freeze out many other would-be homebuyers. Nearly 27% of all homes sold in the first three months of the year were bought by investors,...
13-year-old suspected of setting off fireworks that sparked Southern California wildfire
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — A 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of setting off fireworks that sparked a wildfire this week in coastal Southern California, forcing the evacuations of about a hundred canyon homes, authorities said. Crews with air support protected residences from the Rancho Fire as flames raced through...
Trump tariffs goods from Brazil at 50%, citing ‘witch hunt’ trial against Bolsonaro
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import taxes of 50% on Wednesday for its treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, showing that personal grudges rather than simple economics are a driving force in the U.S. leader’s use of tariffs. Trump avoided his standard form letter with...
A surprise IRS move on political endorsements leaves faith leaders and legal experts divided
WASHINGTON — A surprise move by the IRS that would allow pastors to back political candidates from the pulpit without losing their organization’s tax-exempt status is drawing praise from conservatives and even some progressive religious groups but concern from other leaders of faith, along with tax and legal experts. A...
Supreme Court keeps hold on Florida immigration law aimed at people in the U.S. illegally
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow Florida to enforce an immigration law making it a crime for people who are living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state. The high court’s action will keep the law on hold while a legal challenge continues. The court...
The U.S. is having its worst year for measles in more than 3 decades
The United States is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the national case count surpassed 2019, when there...
Cooper Flagg, Bronny James headline opening night of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
Opening night at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas has turned into an annual spectacle, and this year will be no different. Cooper Flagg’s debut is coming — against Bronny James, no less. Flagg, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, and the Dallas Mavericks will open summer play...
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok goes on antisemitic spree
NEW YORK – Grok, the AI chatbot designed by Elon Musk’s xAI for social media, described itself as “MechaHitler” while making a string of antisemitic posts this week. The questionable responses follow Musk’s announcement last week of an update to the bot after he expressed frustration that it was too...
Samsung unveils its new line of foldable devices at Unpacked
NEW YORK — Samsung introduced several updates to its foldable devices lineup on Wednesday, with the new Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and the new Z Flip 7 FE taking stage at the latest Unpacked event. The Korean electronics company unveiled the upgrades — including new versions of...
GOP congressman won’t run for Pa. governor, despite Trump’s promise to support him
HARRISBURG — U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser will not seek the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania, despite having President Donald Trump’s recent promise of support if he were to run. Meuser’s decision to run again for his northeastern Pennsylvania seat rather than governor leaves the Republican Party with a shorter...
X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigns after 2 years at the helm of Elon Musk’s social media platform
X CEO Linda Yaccarino said she’s stepping down after two bumpy years running Elon Musk’s social media platform. Yaccarino posted a positive message Wednesday about her tenure at the company formerly known as Twitter and said “the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with” Musk’s...
Chipmaker Nvidia becomes most valuable company in the world at $4 trillion
NEW YORK — Chipmaker Nvidia became the first public company to top $4 trillion in value on Wednesday after a two-year investor frenzy. Nvidia shares rose 2.5%, or $3.97, in early trading Wednesday, topping $164 each. At the beginning of 2023, Nvidia shares were around $14 each. The poster child...
Texas flooding, and politics around it, underscore the challenges Trump faces in replacing FEMA
Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this hurricane season to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.” But after months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the federal agency charged with responding...
How the Know-Nothings, Free Soilers and other third parties shaped U.S. politics
Elon Musk’s plan to create a new political party puts him in the company of a long line of business and political titans looking to upend the two-party system that has dominated U.S. politics since almost the beginning. From the Anti-Masonic Party in the early 1800s to last year’s ill-fated...
Trump’s trade blitz produces few deals but lots of uncertainty
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his advisers promised a lightning round of global trade negotiations with dozens of countries back in April. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro predicted “90 deals in 90 days.” Administration officials declared that other countries were desperate to make concessions to avoid the massive...
Philadelphia workers and city reach a deal to end strike that halted residential trash pickup
PHILADELPHIA — A union representing thousands of city workers in Philadelphia and the city have reached a deal to end a more than weeklong strike that halted residential curbside trash pickup and affected other services, officials said Wednesday. Nearly 10,000 blue-collar employees from District Council 33 of the American Federation...
Musk’s AI company scrubs inappropriate posts after Grok chatbot makes antisemitic comments
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it’s taking down “inappropriate posts” made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler. Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s...
Russia launches another record drone attack on Ukraine, Ukrainian officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday, in the latest escalation after weeks of mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war. The city...
Europe’s human rights court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine and was behind Flight MH17
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Europe’s top human rights court delivered two rulings against Russia Wednesday, stating in the first ruling that Russia violated international law during the conflict in Ukraine, the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses since the full-scale invasion in 2022....
