Associated Press stories, Page 1624

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is warning that the U.S. financial system remains vulnerable to threats stemming from the global pandemic, including the possibility of a sharp rise in global interest rates that could strain developing countries. A worsening of the pandemic could stress the financial systems in emerging markets...

The U.S. women’s national team will play Portugal, Jamaica and Nigeria during a five-match Summer Series next month in Texas. U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski will use the matches as a final evaluation before he names an 18-player Olympic roster. The United States also plans to play two as-yet unannounced Tokyo...

COLUMBUS — Ohio became the latest state Thursday where Republicans are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws, an effort that comes despite sweeping GOP victories in the state last year and a smooth election. Legislation introduced in the Ohio House calls for prohibiting placement of ballot drop boxes...

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albert Pujols was cut by the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, abruptly ending the 41-year-old superstar slugger’s decade with his second major league team. The Angels surprisingly announced the move to designate Pujols for assignment one day after he wasn’t in the lineup for the slumping club’s...

RIO DE JANEIRO — Police targeting drug traffickers raided a slum in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and at least one officer and 24 suspects died after being shot, authorities said. A police helicopter flew low over the Jacarezinho favela as heavily armed men fled police by leaping from roof...

The New York Rangers in less than 72 hours lost their best player to injury, fired their president and general manager, and will likely see another player suspended. They are also out a quarter-million dollars in the latest chaotic chapter for the storied franchise. The NHL fined the Rangers an...

WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Justin Layne reached a plea deal to resolve charges stemming from a traffic stop in Ohio last month where authorities said they found a loaded gun in his car. Layne, 23, was arrested on a fourth-degree felony charge of improper handling of a...

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky has added former Illinois assistants Orlando Antigua and Ron Coleman to the coaching staff. Antigua, who served five years with the Wildcats before becoming head coach at South Florida for 2½ seasons, will be an associate coach while Coleman will be an assistant. In his previous...

KYIV, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine at a meeting Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of Kyiv’s heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by Moscow’s recent troop buildup near their border. The top American diplomat met with Zelenskyy during his one-day...

RIGBY, Idaho — A sixth-grade girl brought a gun to her Idaho middle school, shot and wounded two students and a custodian and then was disarmed by a teacher Thursday, authorities said. The three were shot in their extremities and were expected to survive, officials said at a news conference....

Under order by the Supreme Court, India’s government agreed on Thursday to provide more medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, potentially easing a 2-week-old shortage that worsened the country’s exploding coronavirus crisis. Government officials also denied reports that they have been slow in distributing life-saving supplies donated from abroad....

Google says it expects about 20% of its workforce to still work remotely after its offices reopen this fall, while some 60% will work a hybrid schedule that includes about three days in the office and two days “wherever they work best.” The remaining 20% can change their location to...

The Biden administration on Monday proposed revoking a rule imposed under former President Donald Trump that weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species. The Interior Department announcement comes after officials in March said they were reversing a Trump policy that ended criminal...

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts ramped up his crusade for the meat industry on Wednesday by endorsing a new “beef passport” program to promote meat eating, a few weeks after he blasted Colorado’s governor for a resolution encouraging its residents to eat less. Ricketts, a Republican, cast meat as essential to...

A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended Thursday with stocks broadly higher and another all-time high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Banks and technology companies led a late-afternoon turnaround that pushed the S&P 500 to a 0.8% gain, reversing the benchmark index’s losses for the week. Gains...

U.S. productivity posted a sharp rebound between January and March after falling in the previous quarter. Labor costs declined slightly. Productivity increased at an annual rate of 5.4% in the first quarter, recovering from a 3.8% rate of decline in the fourth quarter of last year, the Labor Department reported...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a major rewrite of Florida’s elections law on Thursday, tightening rules around drop boxes and mail-in voting in the presidential battleground. Critics say the changes will make it harder for voters, particularly the elderly and people of color, to cast ballots. It’s the...

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 498,000, the lowest point since the viral pandemic struck 14 months ago and a sign of the job market’s growing strength as businesses reopen and consumers step up spending. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that...

NEW YORK — T.J. Oshie had a hat trick, Vitek Vanecek made 19 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the depleted New York Rangers 4-2 in a fight-filled game Wednesday night. Oshie beat Alexandar Georgiev 12 seconds into the middle period with a shot from the right circle with Rangers...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal judge on Wednesday allowed former reality TV star Josh Duggar to be released as he awaits trial on charges that he downloaded and possessed child pornography. Magistrate Judge Christy Comstock ordered Duggar, 33, confined to the home of family friends who have agreed to...