Associated Press stories, Page 16
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits inch down to 213,000 as layoffs remain stable
WASHINGTON — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits inched down modestly last week as layoffs remain at historically healthy levels despite a weakening job market. The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending March 7 fell by 1,000 to 213,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported...
Iran’s secretive top leader vows to keep up attacks in his first statement since being appointed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s secretive new supreme leader vowed Thursday to keep up attacks on Gulf Arab countries and use the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel. It was his first public statement since he succeeded his father,...
Drivers wonder if they should go electric as the war spikes gas pricesVideo
When Kevin Ketels bought an electric 2026 Chevrolet Blazer last year, he wasn’t thinking about the cost of gas. He just thought EVs were better and “wanted to be part of the future.” Now that the Iran war is spiking prices at the pump, the Detroit man is happy he...
BYU knocks West Virginia out of Big 12 Tournament
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — AJ Dybantsa had 27 points in another brilliant Big 12 Tournament performance, Kennard Davis Jr. added 20 points, and No. 10 seed BYU beat seventh-seeded West Virginia, 68-48, on Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinal round. Robert Wright III also had 11 points before a...
U.S. advances in WBC thanks to 3-HR game by Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino in win over Mexico
Vinnie Pasquantino had the World Baseball Classic’s first three-homer game, leading Italy over Mexico, 9-1, on Wednesday night to win Pool B and advance the United States to the quarterfinals as group’s second-place team. Italy’s victory ended a day of uncertainty for the Americans, who needed help to reach the...
Press freedom in the Americas saw ‘dramatic deterioration’ last year, watchdog says
BOGOTA, Colombia — Press freedom in the Americas suffered a “dramatic deterioration” in 2025, a regional watchdog said Tuesday in an assessment of conditions for the profession in 23 countries across the Western Hemisphere. The Miami-based Inter American Press Association, or IAPA, has been publishing an annual freedom of speech...
Trump administration kicks off new process to try to replace tariffs struck down by Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday opened a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries — an effort that comes after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s previous use of tariffs by declaring an economic emergency. Trump and his team have made clear that they’re seeking...
Oil shock from Iran war prompts countries to open strategic reservesVideo
NEW YORK — A widening war in Iran has halted oil tankers, made targets of refineries and spooked investors worried about the cascading impact of spiking energy prices. In response, the International Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, with...
The Players Championship set for major excitement at TPC Sawgrass
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Major or not, The Players Championship rarely lacks for entertainment. Still fresh is Rory McIlroy going from a four-shot deficit to a three-shot lead only to wind up in a playoff that he won last year when J.J. Spaun failed to find land on the...
Syracuse fires coach Adrian Autry following 3 unsuccessful seasons
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Adrian Autry has been fired as basketball coach at Syracuse after three largely unsuccessful seasons. The school announced the decision Wednesday, one day after the Orange lost 86-69 to SMU in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Syracuse lost its final six games and 12 of...
Reports: Colts, QB Daniel Jones agree to 2-year deal worth up to $100M
INDIANAPOLIS — Quarterback Daniel Jones plans to stay with the Indianapolis Colts for at least two more years. The two sides agreed to a new contract, a deal that will pay Jones up to $100 million, according to multiple reports. Jones will receive $88 million over the next two seasons...
Pentagon blocks photographers from Pete Hegseth’s briefings on the Iran war
NEW YORK — The Pentagon has not permitted photographers to cover Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s last two briefings on the war in Iran, and hasn’t explained the change in longstanding policy. A Pentagon spokesman, Joel Valdez, declined to comment for this story. The Defense Department under Hegseth has had a...
Travis Kelce returns to Chiefs for 14th season with Patrick Mahomes and Co.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce will be back catching passes from Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs one more time. The Chiefs made official their deal to bring the four-time All-Pro tight end back for a 14th season Wednesday, when the new league year made pending contracts official....
Social Security watchdog opens probe into alleged misuse of data by ex-DOGE employee
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog is investigating a whistleblower complaint into what it describes as a former Department of Government Efficiency worker’s potential misuse of data obtained from the Social Security Administration. According to a document the Associated Press obtained Wednesday, the SSA’s inspector general informed the...
Epstein’s longtime accountant testifies on his client’s wealth, business tiesVideo
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers were digging into Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling financial portfolio on Wednesday as a committee deposed his former accountant and tried to understand his connections to some of the world’s wealthiest men. Richard Kahn, who worked closely with Epstein for years and now serves as an executor of...
Tracing the U.S. military’s learning curve on fighting Iran’s drones: What to know
WASHINGTON — The Iran war quickly tested America’s ability to combat the swarms of cheap drones that have become a staple of the modern battlefield after Ukraine and Russia demonstrated how effective they could be. The Islamic Republic launched so many drones across the region at once that some slipped...
IEA agrees to record release of emergency oil reserves in an effort to calm surging prices
PARIS — The International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects on energy markets of the war in the Middle East. The Paris-based organization said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available...
Drone strike kills UN aid worker in the eastern Congo city of Goma
GOMA, Congo — A series of explosions attributed to drones killed at least one person, a U.N. aid worker, as the attack on the Wednesday rocked downtown Goma in eastern Congo, according to the M23 rebel group and local residents. The drone strikes hit Lake Kivu and a private residence...
Lords a-leaving: Britain is ejecting hereditary nobles from Parliament after 700 years
LONDON — Centuries of British political tradition will end within weeks after Parliament voted to remove hereditary aristocrats from the unelected House of Lords. On Tuesday night members of the upper chamber dropped objections to legislation passed by the House of Commons ousting dozens of dukes, earls and viscounts who...
Iran war has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil chokepoint. Reopening it is a big challenge
PARIS — The rising prices causing winces of pain at gasoline pumps are due, in large part, to the impact of the Iran war on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for oil and gas from the Persian Gulf. The narrow waterway off Iran’s coast, now effectively closed by...
Trump keeps telling America he’s winning in Iran. He’s less clear in explaining how the war ends
WASHINGTON — Facing jittery global markets and drooping poll numbers since launching a war on Iran, President Donald Trump has cycled from calls for “unconditional surrender” to sounding amenable to an end state in which Iran trades one hard-line ayatollah for another. Shifting comments from the Republican president and his...
Star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson heading to Baltimore on 4-year, $112 million deal, AP source says
Four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson has agreed on a four-year, $112 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract can’t be finalized until the...
South Africa deploys troops in Johannesburg to tackle organized crime
JOHANNESBURG — Soldiers were deployed on the streets of South Africa’s biggest city on Wednesday after the president announced plans to use the army in several provinces in Africa’s leading economy to help police fight gang violence and illegal mining. Soldiers were seen in the Johannesburg suburb of Riverlea in...
Iran targets ships, Dubai airport and oil facilities as economic concerns mount
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired on commercial ships Wednesday and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of bottling up the oil-rich Persian Gulf as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic. Iran’s response to the surprise Israeli and U.S. bombardment that...
Tornadoes kill 2 in northwestern Indiana and raze buildings in Kankakee, Illinois
Major storms whipped up tornadoes that killed at least two people in northwest Indiana and leveled buildings in Kankakee, Illinois, authorities said Wednesday, as another round of rain, hail and strong winds made its way through the region. Several intense supercell thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on...
