Associated Press stories, Page 266
So long, Park City. Sundance Film Festival to relocate to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027
After a yearlong search, the Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, keeping Sundance in the mountains but moving it out of Park City, the Utah ski town that had for decades provided the premier independent film gathering its picturesque snowy backdrop. Organizers said...
Israel strikes Beirut for 1st time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israel has launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a loud boom and witnessed smoke rising from the area that Israel’s military had vowed to strike....
Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. Trump claimed there has been...
Hegseth tells Philippines the Trump administration will ramp up deterrence against China threat
MANILA, Philippines — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including China’s aggression in the South China Sea. Hegseth, who was visiting the Philippines, blamed the previous Biden administration for insufficient actions that...
Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, killing at least 3 in Bangkok high-rise collapse
BANGKOK — A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, bridges and a monastery. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least 10 died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction...
Putin suggests putting Ukraine under U.N.-sponsored external governance, boasts battlefield gains
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to put Ukraine under external governance under the U.N. aegis as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, a blustery statement that reflected the Kremlin leader’s determination to achieve his war goals. Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised...
Texas Tech rallies to oust Arkansas in Sweet 16 OT thriller
SAN FRANCISCO — Darrion Williams scored the tiebreaking basket with 7.3 seconds left in overtime after tying the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to lead Texas Tech to an 85-83 win over Arkansas on Thursday night and a spot in the Elite Eight. The first...
Cooper Flagg fills highlight reel in Duke’s Sweet 16 win over Arizona
NEWARK, N.J. — Duke stud Cooper Flagg’s highlight reel included a 3-pointer from just in front of the logo at the halftime buzzer, one no-look pass for an alley-oop and another for a 3 and a huge blocked shot into a row of Arizona cheerleaders. He needed all that to...
Alabama makes March Madness-record 25 3s, romps past BYU in Sweet 16Video
NEWARK, N.J. — Alabama broke the 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25, and Mark Sears scored 30 of his 34 points on 3s, a relentless long-range spree that ushered the second-seeded Crimson Tide past BYU, 113-88, on Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal. Alabama reached...
Top-seeded Florida runs away from Maryland’s ‘Crab Five’ to reach Elite 8Video
SAN FRANCISCO — Florida’s three standout seniors and its deep bench kept bringing energy until it became too tough for Maryland’s “Crab Five” to keep up. Coach Todd Golden could see his Gators wearing the Terrapins down. Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds,...
Another federal judge blocks Trump policy banning transgender troops in the military
TACOMA, Wash. — A U.S. judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military, the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks. The order Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma came in...
Scottie Scheffler 2 back of a 4-way tie for the lead at Houston Open. Rory McIlroy 5 behindVideo
HOUSTON — Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy wanted a final tune-up before the Masters and spent parts of Thursday at the Houston Open under an umbrella in wind and rain that prevented anyone from getting too far away. Keith Mitchell made a late eagle, and Ryan Gerard let a good...
Terry Francona has rough opening day in debut as Reds managerVideo
CINCINNATI — Terry Francona’s first Opening Day as manager of the Cincinnati Reds started in a dentist’s chair. About 12 hours later, Francona was experiencing baseball’s equivalent of a root canal. The Reds were one out away from a successful debut for Francona, until the San Francisco Giants rallied for...
EPA offers industrial polluters a way to avoid rules on mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals
WASHINGTON — As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency has set...
Michigan patient dies after contracting rabies from organ transplant
A Michigan resident died earlier this year after contracting rabies from an organ transplant, health officials said. The patient had the organ transplanted at a hospital in Ohio in December and died in January, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said. A subsequent investigation that also...
At age 70, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo back in title mix at another March MadnessVideo
ATLANTA — For Tom Izzo, the blueprint for a career like few others was established in his first year as a head coach. His memory is a bit fuzzy — Izzo remembers his 1995 Michigan State team grabbing 26 offensive rebounds in a victory over a powerhouse Arkansas program, when...
Kentucky, Tennessee ready for 3rd meeting this season as they seek Elite 8 berthVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Kentucky and Tennessee are adding a new chapter to their border rivalry Friday night. They’re taking it north, to Indianapolis, for their first meeting in March Madness. This NCAA Tournament matchup has higher stakes but similar emotions. Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack spent Thursday’s news conference...
The woman who killed Tejano music icon Selena in 1995 has been denied parole
HOUSTON — The woman convicted of killing Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez has been denied parole after spending decades behind bars for fatally shooting the young singer at a Texas motel in 1995, the state’s parole board announced Thursday. Yolanda Saldívar is serving a life sentence at the Patrick L....
At 464 pounds, Florida’s Desmond Watson could become the heaviest draft pick in NFL historyVideo
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Considering everything massive defensive tackle Desmond Watson showed during Florida’s pro day, his most impressive feat might have been escaping the practice facility without anyone noticing. The 6-foot-6, 464-pound pro prospect somehow slipped team personnel and media members after his workout in front of NFL scouts Thursday....
Don’t write off future Cinderellas just because it’s an all-power conference Sweet 16, coaches sayVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly every year there’s at least one lovable underdog that rises from obscurity in the NCAA Tournament to capture the hearts of basketball fans and bust their brackets. Not this year. All 16 regional semifinalists are from power conferences for the first time since the bracket expanded to...
Man accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas arrested, police say
LAS VEGAS — A man who set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas and who painted the word “resist” for authorities to find at the scene has been arrested, police announced Thursday. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, faces charges in connection with the March 18 attack in both state and...
Judge says he will order government to preserve Signal messages about Houthi military strike
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday said he will order the Trump administration to preserve records of a text message chat in which senior national security officials discussed sensitive details of plans for a U.S. military strike against Yemen’s Houthis. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said during a hearing...
Trump withdraws Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination for U.N. ambassador, citing tight GOP House margin
UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was pulling Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a stunning turnaround for his Cabinet pick after her confirmation had been stalled for months over concerns about Republicans’ tight margins in the House. Trump confirmed...
Turkish student at Tufts University is latest Palestinian supporter swept up in U.S. crackdown
BOSTON — A Turkish student ambushed by federal police as she walked on the streets of a Boston suburb is the latest supporter of Palestinian causes to be swept up in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants who have expressed their political views. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, a doctoral student at...
Bondi signals criminal probe into Signal chat is unlikely, despite long history of similar inquiries
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel was not part of a Signal chat in which other Trump administration national security officials discussed detailed attack plans, but that didn’t spare him from being questioned by lawmakers this week about whether the nation’s premier law enforcement agency would investigate. Patel made no...
