Associated Press stories, Page 26
Exploring barefoot trails on 2 continents as a way to connect with nature this Earth Day
GUTACH, Germany — At the edge of a trail in Germany’s picturesque Black Forest region, waterlogged steps sink into ankle-deep water and mud, requiring careful footing. An ocean away, a sandy trail in the ponderosa forests of northern Arizona demands treading just as deliberately when walkers reach a line of...
Senate hearings with RFK Jr. put Bill Cassidy’s competing loyalties to Trump and science on display
A Republican senator juggling three roles — lawmaker, doctor and political candidate seeking reelection — walked a fine line on Wednesday as he questioned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has moved to dramatically roll back the nation’s childhood vaccine recommendations. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy,...
Beneath Trump’s ballroom legal case: A brief history of the White House bunker
Secrecy surrounding White House security makes details hard to come by, but President Donald Trump’s court fight over his $400 million ballroom casts some light on an underground bunker at the site that has had a role in history. The bunker emerged in the Trump administration’s court fight against the...
The Iran war could drive up costs for petroleum-derived products like clothes and crayons
NEW YORK — It might be hard to imagine the Iran war weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings are not immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained. Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer...
Researchers have spent decades breeding better potatoes for chips, and their work isn’t done
EAST LANSING, Mich. — There’s a surprising amount of science in a bag of potato chips. Researchers have spent decades developing potatoes for chip makers that can grow in all kinds of climates, avoid diseases and pests, sit in storage for months and still deliver a satisfying crunch. They’ve also...
Trump media company replaces ex-congressman Nunes as CEO after stock plunge that wiped out billions
NEW YORK — The Trump business behind Truth Social is replacing a former congressman and big supporter of the U.S. president as the leader of the social media platform after a stock collapse that wiped out billions in investor wealth. Devin Nunes, a former California congressmen in Donald Trump’s first...
Iran fires on 3 ships in the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. maintains blockade and diplomacy stallsVideo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway. The attacks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of...
Moser scores in OT as Lightning beat Canadiens and tie 1st-round series
TAMPA, Fla. — J.J. Moser scored 12:48 into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, tying the first-round playoff series at 1-1. The series shifts to Montreal for two games, with Game 3 set for Friday night. Game 4 is...
Texas can require public schools to display Ten Commandments in classrooms, U.S. appeals court rules
DALLAS — Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday in a victory for conservatives who have long sought to incorporate more religion into schools. The ruling sets up a potential clash at the U.S. Supreme Court over the...
Florida’s attorney general launches criminal probe into ChatGPT over FSU shooting
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s attorney general on Tuesday opened a rare criminal investigation into OpenAI’s ChatGPT over whether the artificial intelligence app offered advice to a gunman who killed two people and wounded six others last year at Florida State University. Attorney General James Uthmeier said that prosecutors had done...
Virginia voters approve redistricting plan that could boost Democrats’ seats in Congress
Virginia voters approved a mid-decade redistricting plan Tuesday that could boost Democrats’ chances of winning four additional U.S. House seats in November’s midterm elections that will decide control of the closely divided Congress. The constitutional amendment backed by voters bypasses a bipartisan redistricting commission to allow the use of new...
Trump media company replaces CEO, ex-congressman Devin Nunes after stock plunge that wiped out billions
NEW YORK — The Trump business behind Truth Social is replacing a former congressman and big supporter of the U.S. president as leader of the social media platform after a stock collapse that wiped out billions in investor wealth. Devin Nunes, a former California congressmen in Donald Trump’s first term,...
Pennsylvania high school history instructor named nation’s Teacher of the Year
HAVERFORD — A high school history teacher in Pennsylvania who helps students look inward to find their strengths and outward to find community inside and outside the classroom has been named the 2026 National Teacher of the Year. Leon Smith, 46, has spent his entire 25-year career at Haverford High...
In reversal, Justice Department withdraws subpoenas in John Brennan investigation
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has withdrawn subpoenas issued in the investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan, with officials asking for voluntary interviews instead of testimony before a grand jury, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. A small handful of subpoenas were known to have been issued...
Brooks Koepka appears to have left LIV Golf at just right time
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Brooks Koepka never spent more time doing so little at a golf course. Considering where he could have been — Mexico City, still part of LIV Golf — it was a small price to pay. Koepka was the first alternate for the RBC Heritage so...
Eagles, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Jets, Dolphins could be active traders in 1st round of NFL Draft
Six teams enter the first round of the NFL Draft without a pick. Six others have two picks apiece. Let’s make a deal. There have been 60 trades involving first-round picks over the past five years. Eighteen were traded in 2022. Last year, six first-round picks were dealt. That was...
Southern Poverty Law Center charged with defrauding donors with payments to extremist informants
WASHINGTON — The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to pay informants to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. The Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors...
Mike Vrabel says he’s had difficult conversations after publication of photos with NFL reporter Dianna Russini
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Tuesday that he’s had “difficult conversations with people I care about,” including his family, his coaching staff, team officials and players, following the publication of photos of the coach and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort. “Those...
Flu vaccine no longer mandated for U.S. troops, Pete Hegseth maintains
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the U.S. military will no longer require all American troops to get the flu vaccine, citing “medical autonomy” and religious freedom. “The notion that a flu vaccine must be mandatory for every service member, everywhere, in every circumstance at all times...
Federal judge strikes down some Trump administration actions that have slowed clean energy projects
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday struck down several Trump administration actions slowing down development of clean energy, including a requirement that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Chief Judge Denise J. Casper of...
Trump, other top Republicans read passages in a marathon Bible event
President Donald Trump and many of his leading Christian supporters and top Republicans are taking part this week in a marathon reading of the Bible in an America 250-themed event billed as encouraging a “return to the spiritual foundation that has shaped our country.” The America Reads the Bible event...
2 CIA officers killed in Mexico vehicle crash after counterdrug operation, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. officials killed in a vehicle crash as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in a rugged region of Mexico over the weekend were working for the CIA, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with matter. Two Mexican investigators also were...
Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigns amid ethics investigation
WASHINGTON — Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is resigning from Congress rather than be formally disciplined by the House as part of an ethics investigation into her use of campaign funds. Explaining her decision in an extended social media statement Tuesday, the Florida Democrat decried the internal investigation process as unfair. She...
Earth Day started as a U.S. ‘teach-in’ 56 years ago. Now it’s a global event
Millions of people around the world will pause Wednesday, at least for a moment, to mark Earth Day. It’s an annual event founded by people who hoped to stir activism to clean up and preserve a planet that is now home to some 8 billion humans and assorted trillions of...
Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial opens in New York, the 3rd time this case has gone to trial
NEW YORK — Prosecutors once again portrayed Harvey Weinstein as a onetime Hollywood power player who used his sway as a tool of sexual assault, painting a now-familiar picture Tuesday at a rape retrial nearly eight years after the former movie tycoon’s arrest. “This case will come down to power,...
