Associated Press stories, Page 246

JERUSALEM — A series of explosions Thursday on buses rattled central Israel in what authorities suspected was a terrorist attack. No injuries were reported. The explosions happened on a day when Israel was already grieving after Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages from Gaza. The bus explosions were reminiscent...

PITTSBURGH — Abby McDermott has grown accustomed to the looks she gets whenever she starts talking to someone about her chosen sport. The slight turn of the head. The brief pause in the conversation. “When you say ‘acrobatics and tumbling,’ especially ‘acrobatics,’ people think of the circus,” McDermott said with...

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul won’t immediately remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead push for increased oversight of City Hall as he faces intense scrutiny over his bribery case and his relationship with the Trump administration. Hochul announced Thursday that she has, for...

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder, the Spurs announced Thursday. It is a massive blow to the Spurs, who are contending for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. And...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year, ending a decades-long tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in...

UTICA, N.Y. — New York’s governor says prison workers are being arrested Thursday on murder charges in the death of an inmate who was beaten while handcuffed. The beating of Robert Brooks by multiple officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in December was caught on body cameras, triggering widespread outrage and...

ROME — The pope looms so large in everyday Italian life that there are lots of expressions that make light of even a dark event like his death. “A pope dies, they make another,” goes one, suggesting how life goes on. “Every death of a pope …” starts another, indicating...

NEW YORK — While traveling in Europe, Margaux Lantelme noticed something different about the store cashiers: they did their work sitting down. It was a stark contrast to Chicago, where Lantelme works the register at REI and cashiers typically spend eight hours a day on their feet. For Lantelme, a...

When Russian troops rolled into Ukraine three years ago, they brought their parade uniforms with them on the push to Kyiv. President Vladimir Putin expected a quick victory. What Putin dubbed the “special military operation” has turned into Europe’s largest conflict since World War II. Tens of thousands have been...

After watching videos of a Delta Air Lines jet catch fire upon landing and flip over on a Toronto runway, it’s fair to wonder how anyone could have survived. But aviation experts said it was not surprising that all 76 passengers and four crew walked away from Monday’s disaster, with...

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas on Thursday returned the bodies of four hostages to Israel, prompting a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay respect to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional...

WASHINGTON — The IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning Thursday, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press. The layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance...

The Division I baseball season is less than a week old, and coaches already are planning for 2026 when it’s all but certain scholarship limits will be removed, rosters downsized and players will have opportunities to make more money. They expect the fallout to be fewer opportunities for high school...

LAS VEGAS — The players have been emotionally invested in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and sports bettors have noticed and followed suit. Money has been pouring in on the tournament, and the championship on Thursday night in Boston — a rematch between the United States and Canada — is drawing...

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the military services to identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year in order to redirect those savings to fund President Donald Trump’s priorities. Hegseth has committed to redirecting Pentagon spending to more directly support warfighters. In a statement...

BOSTON — The U.S. and Canadian hockey teams tried to skate back the geopolitical tension that has infiltrated the 4 Nations Face-Off as they looked ahead to the championship game Thursday night for what has turned into one of the best international hockey tournaments in decades. Setting aside the animosity...

OMAHA, Neb. — The Agriculture Department is scrambling to rehire several workers who were involved in the government’s response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak that has devastated egg and poultry farms over the past three years. The workers were among the thousands of federal employees eliminated on the recommendations...