Associated Press stories, Page 218
WR George Pickens points north with Cowboys after Steelers tenure turned southVideo
George Pickens says he joins the Dallas Cowboys focused more on a future with quarterback Dak Prescott and fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb than a past of why the Pittsburgh Steelers would trade one of their top playmakers in his prime. Dallas gave up a third-round draft pick next year, and...
Trump says he’s naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in D.C.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital after abandoning his first pick for the job. Pirro, who joined Fox News in 2006, cohosts the...
Up to 1,000 transgender troops being moved out of the military in new Pentagon order
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify, under a new directive issued Thursday. Buoyed by Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender...
U.S. to stop tracking costs of extreme weather fueled by climate change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will no longer track the cost of climate change-fueled weather disasters, including floods, heat waves, wildfires and more. It is the latest example of changes to the agency and the Trump administration limiting federal government resources on climate change. NOAA falls under the U.S....
Mikko Rantanen and other trade deadline additions are having big impacts on the NHL playoffsVideo
Mikko Rantanen is showing why Dallas was willing to pay such a hefty price to put him the roster. One of the players the Stars traded for Rantanen also is making a positive impact for his new team. Nearly every team in the second round of the NHL playoffs is...
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ’25: Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth pursue different grand slams at Quail Hollow
Before golf fans have had a chance to exhale after an exhilarating Masters, the next major is at the door selling an equal dose of anticipation. Chatter about a Grand Slam had gone largely quiet for the better part of 25 years since Tiger Woods knocked it out in a...
U.S. infant mortality dropped in 2024. Experts partly credit RSV shots
NEW YORK — The nation’s infant mortality rate dropped last year after two years of hovering at a late-pandemic plateau. Some experts think one reason for the drop could be a vaccination campaign against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be...
Florida man gored by bison in year’s 1st attack by Yellowstone’s most dangerous wild animal
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A Yellowstone National park visitor from Florida was gored by a bison — the first such violent encounter of 2025 — just weeks into the busy summer season. Park officials repeated a frequent warning: Don’t get too close to wildlife. The 47-year-old man did just...
FEMA’s acting administrator replaced a day after congressional testimony
WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency faced fresh upheaval Thursday just weeks before the start of hurricane season when the acting administrator was pushed out and replaced by another official from the Department of Homeland Security. The abrupt change came the day after Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL...
Democrats block stablecoin bill as they raise concerns about Trump’s crypto ventures
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have blocked legislation to regulate stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency, after arguing that the bill needed stronger protections and airing concerns that it could help President Donald Trump enrich himself. The bill, which would regulate how stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S., had previously won some...
Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin for D.C. U.S. Attorney after concerns of partisanship
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would pull his nomination of Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital, bowing to bipartisan concerns about the conservative activist’s modest legal experience and divisive politics. Trump abandoned his pick to lead the nation’s largest...
Mike Sullivan makes sure to speak with ‘every player on the roster’ as he starts anew as Rangers coach
For Mike Sullivan, the latest coach of the New York Rangers, there will be many priorities in taking over a team that missed the playoffs a season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. Foremost will be communication. “I have spoken to every player on the roster over the last three days,”...
House follows Trump’s lead with a vote to change the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and direct federal agencies to update their documents and maps to incorporate the new name. President Donald Trump already signed an executive order during his first day in office...
Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, overcame a taboo against a U.S. pontiff
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis brought Robert Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. On Thursday, he ascended to become Pope Leo XIV — the first American pontiff. Prevost, 69,...
Robert Prevost, first American pope in history of the Catholic Church, will take the name Leo XIV
VATICAN CITY — Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church on Thursday. Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious...
This conclave to choose a new pope was short — but not the shortest ever
VATICAN CITY — How long does it take to choose a pope? In this case, it took only two days for Catholic cardinals to elect a successor to Pope Francis. That’s among the shortest conclaves in recent decades, but not the shortest ever. It’s hard to be precise, since the...
Joe Biden blames Kamala Harris’ loss on sexism and racism, rejects age concerns
NEW YORK — Former President Joe Biden says he’s responsible for Donald Trump’s victory last fall, but he attributed Kamala Harris ’ loss, at least in part, to sexism and racism. Biden, who left office in January, addressed the Democrats’ disastrous 2024 election, concerns about his age and Trump’s divisive...
White smoke pours out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling the election of a new popeVideo
VATICAN CITY — White smoke poured from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled Thursday after cardinals elected the 267th pope to lead the Catholic Church on the second day of their conclave. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers,...
Trump keeps 10% tariffs on UK but cuts taxes on British autos, steel and aluminum with trade deal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed Thursday to cut tariffs on U.K. autos, steel and aluminum in a planned trade deal but played down the possibility of other nations getting similarly favorable terms on his import taxes, which are roiling the global economy. Under the framework agreement, the United Kingdom...
Lawyers for man executed by firing squad in South Carolina say bullets mostly missed his heart
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man who was put to death last month in South Carolina’s second firing squad execution was conscious and likely in extreme pain for as long as a minute after the bullets, meant to quickly stop his heart, struck him lower than expected, according to a pathologist...
Cancer before age 50 is increasing. A new study looks at which types
Cancer before age 50 is rare, but increasing, in the United States and researchers want to know why. A new government study provides the most complete picture yet of early-onset cancers, finding that the largest increases are in breast, colorectal, kidney and uterine cancers. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute...
Bill Gates pledges his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will close in 20 years
SEATTLE — Bill Gates says he will donate 99% of his remaining tech fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will now close in 2045, earlier than previously planned. Today, that would be worth an estimated $107 billion. The pledge is among the largest philanthropic gifts ever — outpacing the historic...
More older Americans worry Social Security won’t be there for them, an AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON — As the Social Security Administration undergoes massive changes and staffing cuts ushered in by the Trump administration, an increasing share of older Americans — particularly Democrats — aren’t confident the benefit will be available to them, a poll shows. The share of older Americans who are “not very”...
80 years ago World War II in Europe was over. Celebrating V-E Day is now tinged with some dread
LONDON — Even if the end of World War II in Europe spawned one of the most joyous days the continent ever lived, Thursday’s 80th anniversary of V-E Day is haunted as much by the specter of current-day conflict as it celebrates the defeat of ultimate evil. Hitler’s Nazi Germany...
A woman who called a Black child a slur has raised a backlash but also thousands of dollars
A video showing a Minnesota woman at a playground last week openly admitting to using a racist slur against a Black child has garnered millions of views. Maybe equally viral has been a crowdfunding effort that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the woman now relocate her...
