Associated Press stories, Page 20
CBO: Federal deficits and debt to worsen over next decadeVideo
WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s 10-year outlook projects worsening long-term federal deficits and rising debt, driven largely by increased spending, notably on Social Security, Medicare, and debt service payments. Compared with the CBO’s analysis this time last year, the fiscal outlook has deteriorated modestly. Major developments over the...
Trump’s EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned U.S. fight against climate change
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the president to roll back climate regulations. The rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency...
Homeland Security shutdown seems certain as funding talks between White House and Democrats stall
WASHINGTON — A shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security appeared certain Thursday as lawmakers in the House and Senate were set to leave Washington for a 10-day break and negotiations with the White House over Democrats’ demands for new restrictions had stalled. Democrats and the White House have traded...
Judge blocks Pentagon from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly for call to resist unlawful orders
WASHINGTON — A federal judge agreed Thursday to block the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Pentagon officials not only violated Kelly’s First Amendment free...
Oklahoma carries out its 1st execution of 2026 on a man convicted of double killing
McALESTER, Okla. — A man who admitted to killing two men in a drive-by shooting in 2006 was put to death Thursday in Oklahoma’s first execution of the year. Kendrick Simpson, 45, was pronounced dead at 11:19 following a three-drug injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, prison officials...
Border czar hails a ‘safer’ Minnesota as he says the state’s immigration crackdown is over
MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration is ending the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday of the two-month operation that led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens. The operation, which the Department of Homeland Security called its “...
Lindsey Vonn says she had a ‘successful’ 3rd surgery on broken leg following crash at the Olympics
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn had a “successful” third surgery on her broken left leg following her downhill crash at the Olympics, the American skier said Wednesday Vonn posted an update on Instagram that included photos of her giving a thumbs up sign in her hospital bed with a...
2 Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid dock in Cuba as U.S. blockade sparks energy crisis
HAVANA — Two Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid docked in Cuba on Thursday as a U.S. blockade deepens the island’s energy crisis. The ships arrived two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba, prompting the island in recent days...
Vatican offers dialogue with breakaway Latin Mass traditionalist group, but with a catch
ROME — The Vatican warned a breakaway traditionalist Catholic group on Thursday that it risked going into schism if it goes ahead with plans to consecrate new bishops without papal consent, setting a hard line against a big doctrinal challenge facing Pope Leo XIV. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of...
Applications for jobless benefits fell to 227,000 last week, remaining at recent healthy levels
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining within the historically healthy range of the past few years. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending Feb. 7 fell by 5,000 to 227,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s basically...
EU leaders meet to counter pressure from Russia, China and Trump
BILZEN-HOESELT, Belgium — Leaders from across the European Union are meeting Thursday in a Belgian castle as the 27-nation bloc faces antagonism from U.S. President Donald Trump, strong-arm economic tactics from China and hybrid threats from Russia — challenges that have prompted a rethink of Europe’s approach to diplomacy and...
Indian unions and farmers stage a nationwide strike over interim trade deal with U.S.
NEW DELHI — A coalition of major trade unions and farmers’ groups in India mounted a nationwide strike Thursday to protest an interim trade deal with the United States, saying the agreement undermines the interests of farmers, small businesses and workers. In parliament, lawmakers from opposition political parties demanded that...
Timeline: Here’s what happened each day of the Nancy Guthrie disappearanceVideo
Authorities have increased the reward for information in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, who they say was abducted from her home outside Tucson. Law enforcement officials have been combing the desert around her house and going door-to-door asking residents for any information that could break open the case. An alert...
Search for Nancy Guthrie now seeks nearby security videos from the month before she vanishedVideo
TUCSON, Ariz. — Investigators in Arizona want residents near Nancy Guthrie ‘s home to share surveillance camera footage of suspicious cars or people they may have noticed in the month before she disappeared. The alert went across a 2-mile radius in neighborhoods close to where the mother of “Today” show...
Penn State men pick up road win at Washington
SEATTLE — Freddie Dilione V scored 16 points, Josh Reed added 14, and Penn State beat Washington, 63-60, on Wednesday night. Kayden Mingo had 13 points and Eli Rice scored 13 for Penn State. The Nittany Lions (11-14, 2-12 Big Ten) had lost back-to-back games and 10 of their last...
Kennedy Center head warns staff of cuts and ‘skeletal’ staffing during renovation closure
As the Trump administration prepares to close the Kennedy Center for a two-year renovation, the head of Washington’s performing arts center has warned its staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.” In a Tuesday memo obtained by The Associated Press, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell told staff that...
Kyle Busch grabs Daytona 500 pole, chasing a win that has eluded him for 20 starts
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Busch won the pole for NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500 to give the driver with the longest active losing streak in “The Great American Race” a shot at the victory that has escaped him his entire career. Busch is 0 for 20 in the Daytona 500...
Scheffler, Gotterup and how much has changed in a year at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Scottie Scheffler had a fresh scar on his right hand and plenty of rust the last time he was at Pebble Beach, courtesy of a freak accident while making ravioli that set him back at the start of the year. Chris Gotterup wasn’t even at the...
A privacy breach at the IRS: Taxpayer data wrongly shared with DHS, court filing says
WASHINGTON — The IRS erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security, as part of the agencies’ controversial agreement to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S, according to a new court filing. The...
Seahawks enjoy morning beers, praise ‘best team in the world’ while celebrating Super Bowl title
SEATTLE — Ernest Jones IV dropped a few choice words while praising his defensive teammates, his offensive line, his quarterback and the city of Seattle ahead of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory parade Wednesday. Like the rest of the Seahawks, the leader of Seattle’s vaunted “Dark Side” defense had an...
Member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission ousted in dispute over antisemitism
A member of the federal Religious Liberty Commission has been ousted after a hearing this week that featured tense exchanges on the definition of antisemitism. The ousted member, Carrie Prejean Boller, had defended prominent commentator Candace Owens, who routinely shares antisemitic conspiracy theories. Prejean Boller, a model turned conservative activist,...
Olympics roundup: Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen wins 3rd gold; men’s hockey begins
MILAN — Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland looks like a breakout star of the Milan Cortina Olympics after winning his third gold medal. And Chloe Kim and a bunch of NHL stars are just getting started. Von Allmen won the super-G in Bormio on Wednesday to become the third man...
House GOP pushes strict proof-of-citizenship requirement for voters ahead of midterm elections
WASHINGTON — House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a long shot Trump administration priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate. The bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, would require Americans...
Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson signs a 5-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has signed a five-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports, putting the 33-year-old driver under contract through 2031. Hendrick also announced Wednesday a five-year extension with primary sponsor HendrickCars.com and a multi-year deal with Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels....
Grieving Denny Hamlin vows to dig deep, chase 1st NASCAR Cup title
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin read all the social media comments and absorbed the warm words from NASCAR fans. The ones who offered support — first after his defeat in a championship race, then through a wearying offseason that encompassed a federal trial against NASCAR and the death of...
