Associated Press stories, Page 20
12-year-old arrested in death of a classmate who was hit in the head by a metal water bottle
A 12-year-old has been arrested in connection with the death of a classmate who was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during an alleged bullying incident at a Los Angeles school, authorities said Friday. The juvenile, whose age and gender have not been made public, was arrested...
President Trump signs executive order that aims to stabilize college sports
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday aimed at restoring “order, fairness and stability” to college athletics. The order directs federal agencies to bolster the effectiveness of key rules on transferring, eligibility and pay-for-play by evaluating whether violations of such rules render a university unfit for federal grants and...
Lawyers say up to 75 women expected to benefit from Bank of America settlement in Epstein sex abuse
NEW YORK — Lawyers say up to 75 women who were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein since 2008 may benefit from a $72.5 million fund set up as part of a settlement Bank of America reached with lawyers representing the women. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff gave the deal...
New Jersey state troopers rescue bear cub from highway ditch
UNION TOWNSHIP, N.J. — State police troopers came to the rescue of a bear cub found in a ditch along the side of a major interstate highway in northern New Jersey. Troopers from the Perryville station responded shortly before 1:40 p.m. Wednesday to milepost 12.2 on I-78 eastbound in Union...
Former Turnstile guitarist is accused of hitting an ex-bandmate’s dad with his car
SILVER SPRING, Md. — A former guitarist for Grammy-winning Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile has been charged with attempted murder after authorities say he chased down and struck a former bandmate’s father with his car, badly injuring him. Montgomery County police officers responding to a Sunday report about a pedestrian being...
Pope Leo XIV to carry cross for entire procession, the 1st pontiff to do so in decades
ROME — Pope Leo XIV will personally carry the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope carries the cross to every station. “I think it will...
Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1 1/2 days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by...
China says peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan are advancing
BEIJING — Peace talks between Afghanistan’s Taliban government and Pakistan are advancing, China’s government said Friday, two days after those countries resumed conversations following weeks of fighting that have killed hundreds. “The consultation process is being steadily implemented and advanced,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. Xi Jinping’s government...
Good Friday is a unique and solemn day for Christians, with ancient prayers and fervent processions
MIAMI — Good Friday is a unique — and uniquely solemn — day in the Christian calendar. It commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus, ahead of what’s a central tenet of faith for believers — his resurrection two days later on Easter Sunday, according to the Gospels. This year,...
Stay tuned Cincinnati: WKRP is coming to town for real, North Carolina station’s director says
RALEIGH, N.C. — Hold on to those Thanksgiving turkeys! WKRP is coming to Cincinnati — for real this time. “I cannot, by contract, tell you when. I cannot tell you who. But I can tell you, direct to the camera, WKRP, after 48 years, is coming to Cincinnati,” D.P. McIntire,...
U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 jobs last month, rebounding from a weak February
WASHINGTON — American employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February. And the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring marked a rebound from the loss of 133,000 jobs in February. The job gains were about three times...
Russia launches daytime strikes on Ukraine, killing 5, as Kyiv holds door open for Easter truce
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian strikes killed at least five people across Ukraine on Friday, including in a “massive” missile and drone attack near the capital, local authorities reported. Ukrainian officials claim the Kremlin is changing its tactics to increase civilian suffering, shifting to daytime barrages and preparing to target more...
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to crack down on ‘bad landlords’ — but he has to find them
NEW YORK — On a recent weeknight, three tenants of an aging Bronx building were trading apartment horror stories inside a packed ballroom lined with city bureaucrats. The occasion was the third in a series of “rental rip-off hearings,” a new forum launched by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for...
Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs. The sizable increase for the Pentagon, some 44%, had been telegraphed by the Republican president...
Easter eggs can be dyed and still eaten. Just follow these tips to make sure it’s safe
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Easter is around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about how to decorate your eggs. Whether you’re dying eggs for your table spread or planning to hide them for an egg hunt, it’s important to follow food safety guidelines to minimize germs and maximize...
2 U.S. aircraft shot down as war in Iran escalates with at least 1 crew member missing
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. military planes were shot down in separate incidents on Friday, and while one crew member was rescued in Iran, the whereabouts of at least one other was unknown — marking a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago. It was the first time...
A look at how the Epstein files dogged Pam Bondi’s time as attorney general
NEW YORK — After Pam Bondi became U.S. attorney general last year, conservative influencers, online sleuths and others who wanted the government to disclose all it knew about Jeffrey Epstein thought they might have a champion in the Department of Justice. So did Jess Michaels, one of the legions of...
Trump offers murky path forward for Republicans as Iran war clouds midterm elections
NEW YORK — This is not the run up to the midterm elections that Republicans wanted. A year and a half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict that...
Huff and West Virginia secure overtime win over Stanford
LAS VEGAS — Honor Huff scored eight of his 21 points in overtime, and West Virginia beat Stanford, 82-77, on Thursday night in the College Basketball Crown quarterfinals. Huff shot 5 for 14 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line for the Mountaineers (19-14). Treysen Eaglestaff...
Cuba pardons 2,010 people as the U.S. pressures the island’s government
HAVANA — The Cuban government said Thursday it would release 2,010 prisoners in a move that comes while the Trump administration puts extreme pressure on the island’s government with a suffocating oil blockade. The announcement said the pardons were a “humanitarian gesture” in connection with Holy Week and didn’t mention...
Hubbard’s bold finish gives him a 1-shot lead in Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO — Mark Hubbard was bold all the way to the end, taking on a creek at the par-5 18th and converting his sixth birdie over his final eight holes Thursday to post a 7-under-par 65 at dark for one-shot lead in the storm-delayed opening round at the Valero...
Artemis II astronauts rocket toward the moon after spending a day around Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Artemis II astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo. The so-called translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans...
2-time All-Pro cornerback Gilmore announces his retirement
Two-time All-Pro cornerback and 2019 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, who last played in 2024, has announced his retirement. Gilmore issued an Instagram post Thursday that showed video highlights of his career and closed with the message, “The game ends here, but the journey continues.” “To...
Height, size got Illinois, UConn, Arizona, Michigan to the Final Four
INDIANAPOLIS — Tarris Reed Jr. sat at his locker Thursday, fielding questions about his run as the interior-scoring, rebound-snagging force in UConn’s latest Final Four push. Yet he wasn’t the main attraction. That’s because across the room, an even bigger gaggle of reporters waited for freshman guard Braylon Mullins —...
Mickelson pulls out of the Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Three-time champion Phil Mickelson withdrew from the Masters on Thursday, citing a personal health matter with his family that kept him out of all but one of the five LIV Golf events this year. “Unfortunately I will not play in the Masters Tournament next week and will...
