Associated Press stories, Page 257
Education Department says it will release billions in remaining withheld grant money for schools
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in withheld grants for schools, the Education Department said Friday, ending weeks of uncertainty for educators around the country who rely on the money for English language instruction, adult literacy, and other programs. President Donald Trump’s administration had suspended more...
Record crowd expected at Bristol for the MLB Speedway Classic between the Braves and Reds
Workers still have some finishing touches to put on the field inside the racetrack at Bristol Motor Speedway, and officials are expecting a record crowd in a week to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Speedway Classic on Aug. 2. “We can’t wait for next...
Denny Hamlin adds contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing to celebratory week after win at Dover
INDIANAPOLIS — NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin signed a multiyear contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team said Friday. Details of the contract were not announced, though Hamlin noted he didn’t want anything longer than two years.. The deal comes during the same week in which the driver of the...
Jets quarterback Justin Fields returns a day after dislocating toe, but doesn’t practice
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Justin Fields was back on the field for the New York Jets, but he didn’t practice Friday. But it still was a welcome sight for fans who were holding their breath 24 hours earlier. The quarterback dislocated a toe on his right foot early in practice...
Jordan Hicks retires, leaving Browns with more concerns at linebacker
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns’ situation at linebacker became a bigger concern Friday after Jordan Hicks announced his retirement. Hicks missed the first two days of training camp with what the team called a personal matter. The 33-year-old Hicks, who played 10 seasons, posted his retirement announcement on Instagram...
With new contract, Ja’Marr Chase already going all out at Bengals training campVideo
CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase didn’t participate in training camp last year as he tried to negotiate a contract extension. While he went on to become the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to lead the league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches in the...
MLB trade deadline: Eugenio Suárez, Mitch Keller, Seth Lugo among prized players who could move
PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks got the trade deadline party started Thursday night when they dealt 2024 All-Star Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners for two pitching prospects. That probably won’t be the last time the D-backs make news before the July 31 deadline. Arizona has had a disappointing season...
Rep. Mike Kelly reprimanded by House ethics panel over wife’s stock purchase tied to steel company
The House Ethics Committee issued a formal reproval Friday of Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., following a yearslong investigation into an insider-trading allegation over his wife’s purchase of stock in a steel company in his Butler-area congressional district. The panel also said Kelly and his wife, Victoria Kelly, should divest of...
NFL fining more than 100 players for selling Super Bowl tickets above face value, AP source says
The NFL is fining about 100 players and two dozen club employees for violating league policy by selling Super Bowl 59 tickets for above face value, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press on Friday. The person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because...
Trump’s trip to Scotland as his new golf course opens blurs politics and the family’s business
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Lashed by cold winds and overlooking choppy, steel-gray North Sea waters, the breathtaking sand dunes of Scotland’s northeastern coast rank among Donald Trump’s favorite spots on earth. “At some point, maybe in my very old age, I’ll go there and do the most beautiful thing you’ve ever...
Netanyahu says Israel considering alternatives to ceasefire talks with Hamas, deepening uncertainty
CAIRO — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his government was considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty. Netanyahu’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to...
Deportation flights from Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center have begun, DeSantis says
OCHOPEE, Fla. — Deportation flights from the remote Everglades immigration lockup known as ” Alligator Alcatraz ″ began in the past few days, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. The flights operated by the Department of Homeland Security have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other...
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie card fetches $660,000 at auction in record-breaking sale
Caitlin Clark has set yet another record, this time with her 2024 WNBA rookie card selling for the most money yet for a female athlete at a public auction. Clark’s Rookie Royalty WNBA Flawless Logowoman 1/1 card sold Thursday night for $660,000. That sale price tops the previous mark of...
UK, French and German leaders hold call on Gaza after Macron backs a Palestinian state
LONDON — The leaders of Britain, France and Germany will hold an emergency call Friday about the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state. The surprise announcement exposes differences among the...
Female HR exec caught on Coldplay cam resigns after embrace with CEO went viral
The female executive who was caught on camera embracing the CEO of her company at a Coldplay concert in a moment that went viral has resigned, according to news reports. Multiple news outlets reported that Kristin Cabot, the executive in charge of human resources at tech company Astronomer, has resigned....
A man is halted climbing the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Under new Trump rules, U.S. troops sound the alarm
NOGALES, Ariz. — Inside an armored vehicle, an Army scout uses a joystick to direct a long-range optical scope toward a man perched atop the U.S.-Mexico border wall cutting across the hills of this Arizona frontier community. The man lowers himself toward U.S. soil between coils of concertina wire. Shouts...
Comic-Con 2025 kicks off with new ‘Freddy’s,’ ‘Toxic Avenger’ and thousands of costume-clad fans
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Tens of thousands of fans — many in costumes — descended Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four-day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new “Predator” movie, “Alien” series and a special appearance by George Lucas. Fans packed into the convention’s famed Hall H...
Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos to begin serving 7-year fraud sentence
NEW YORK — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos is expected to begin serving a seven-year prison sentence on Friday for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The New York Republican pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges for deceiving donors...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says defenses are holding firm against Russia’s summer push
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces are holding back Russia’s concerted summer push to break through defenses along parts of the front line, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. “They are not advancing. It’s very tough for our guys out there. And it’s tough everywhere,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday, in comments...
Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash
SURIN, Thailand — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge on Friday as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second day, heightening fears of a broader conflict. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday in New York, while Malaysia,...
Russian parliament approves bill punishing online searches for information deemed ‘extremist’
MOSCOW — The Russian parliament’s upper house on Friday quickly approved a bill that punishes online searches for information officially branded “extremist,” the latest in a series of moves by authorities to tighten control of the internet. The legislation makes what it describes as “deliberately searching for and accessing extremist...
Desmond Watson, NFL’s heaviest player, placed on injury list because of weight
TAMPA, Fla. — Desmond Watson’s quest to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will get a late start. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said the heaviest player in NFL history is day to day after starting camp on non-football injury list because of his weight. “It’s just about trying to get him...
Big Ten notes: USC-Notre Dame rivalry expires in ’26, with no sure bet it will go beyond that
LAS VEGAS — All the reshuffling of schedules, conferences and playoff formats in college football has placed one of the sport’s best traditions in peril: the USC-Notre Dame game. The contract for a rivalry that dates to 1926 expires after their game in 2026. Both schools have expressed a willingness...
Prosecutor who handled high-profile Capitol riot cases sues government over his firing
Michael Gordon prosecuted some of the most notorious members of the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His latest case to make is proving that the Justice Department fired him because he was good at his job. Gordon sued the federal government Thursday, claiming his June...
Little Leaguer plays after judge lifts suspension for bat flip
WOODBURY, N.J. — Marco Rocco fidgeted with his helmet and dug in at the plate to chants of “Marco! Marco!” from his Little League teammates as he settled in for a night of baseball, after his family got mixed up in a court case where a judge — not an...

