Associated Press stories, Page 268
Congressional Republicans target PBS, NPR funding in contentious hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — A House Republican pushing the Trump administration’s government efficiency efforts called for dismantling and defunding the nation’s public broadcasting system following a contentious hearing Wednesday featuring the heads of PBS and NPR. “We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime,” said Georgia Rep. Marjorie...
Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing herVideo
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — A Turkish national and doctoral student at Tufts University has been detained by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents without explanation, her lawyer said Wednesday. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had just left her home on Tuesday night in Somerville when she was stopped, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in...
Calipari embraces new Cinderella role with 10th seeded Arkansas in Sweet 16
SAN FRANCISCO — In an NCAA Tournament sorely lacking in Cinderella stories, coach John Calipari has the unusual role of being the closest thing to it. After routinely taking powerhouse teams in his first decade at Kentucky to the Sweet 16 and beyond, Calipari has surprisingly done the same in...
Players rocking T-shirts are everywhere in March Madness. Why? ‘It’s part of that dripper vibe’
Mouhamed Dioubate would love to tell you he had a good, practical reason to start rocking a compression shirt underneath his Alabama jersey. That it keeps his arms warm. That he loves the way it feels. That it’s a tribute to the old school days of Patrick Ewing and Chris...
Social Security Administration backtracks on some ID requirements after backlash
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration is partially backtracking on a plan that would require all new and existing beneficiaries to travel to a Social Security field office to verify their identity. The Social Security Administration on Wednesday said that people applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or Supplemental...
Now with Arizona, Caleb Love takes on Duke again
NEWARK, N.J. — He’s back. If there’s a single player Duke or any of its fans would love to not run into when the stakes are this high, Caleb Love would be that player. Love used to play for Duke’s biggest rival, North Carolina. Now he plays for Duke’s next...
Copper prices have soared as the U.S. threatens tariffs on the metal and China boosts its economy
NEW YORK — Copper prices have hit record highs as an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners threatens to squeeze supplies of the vital metal. Buyers in the U.S. have been stocking up on copper ahead of potential tariffs. Future prices for the base metal’s...
Appeals court won’t halt order barring Trump administration from deportations under wartime law
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court refused Wednesday to lift an order barring the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wouldn’t block a March 15...
Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. “This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll...
West Virginia hires Ross Hodge of North Texas as men’s basketball coachVideo
West Virginia hired Ross Hodge of North Texas as its men’s basketball coach Wednesday. The 44-year-old Hodge replaces Darian DeVries, who left after one season for Indiana. Hodge agreed to a five-year deal. Terms of the contract weren’t immediately disclosed. “Ross Hodge is a proven winner and leader who has...
4 American soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have died, NATO leader says
WARSAW, Poland — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that four U.S. soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, but that he did not yet know the details. A U.S. official would say only that the four soldiers were involved in a training accident. The official, who...
Will Smith gets a street named in the Philadelphia neighborhood where he was born and raised
PHILADELPHIA — In West Philadelphia where he was born and raised, now there’s a street called Will Smith Way. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and city leaders honored the Oscar and Grammy winner on Wednesday, renaming a street next to Smith’s old high school. “Philly, I love you. I am yours....
Democrats take hope from upset win in GOP-leaning Pa. state Senate district
MANHEIM — Democrat James Andrew Malone narrowly won a special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat in Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities, scoring an upset in a district that a Democrat hasn’t represented in the chamber for 136 years. Malone’s victory over Republican Josh Parsons in Tuesday night’s election...
NFL competition committee proposes moving touchback to 35 and making dynamic kickoff permanent
The NFL competition committee is recommending making the dynamic kickoff rule permanent and moving touchbacks to the 35-yard line in hopes of generating even more returns. The competition committee released several potential rule changes for 2025 on Wednesday, including an expansion of instant replay that will be considered next week...
30 years after music icon Selena’s murder, Yolanda Saldívar is up for parole
Thirty years ago, music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed by her fan club’s president, Yolanda Saldívar. For the last three decades, Saldívar has served her life sentence in Texas. Now 64, Saldívar has a petition for parole under review, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice online records. On Sunday,...
Motorcyclist who disappeared into huge Seoul sinkhole found dead after overnight searchVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — A motorcyclist who fell into a cavernous sinkhole that opened on a Seoul street was found dead after an overnight search, officials in South Korea’s capital said Tuesday. The roughly 20-meter-wide, 20-meter-deep sinkhole appeared at an intersection in the Myeongil-dong neighborhood in eastern Seoul on Monday...
Trump asks Supreme Court for OK to cut teacher-training money as part of anti-DEI push
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is at the Supreme Court with a new emergency appeal Wednesday, this time seeking approval to go ahead with cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already affecting training programs...
Numbers to know for each of the 16 teams remaining in March Madness
The smaller the number, the larger the impact at this year’s NCAA Tournament. Arkansas, the No. 10 seed in the West Region, is the only double-digit seed still alive heading into the regional semifinals. All four No. 1 seeds and three of the four No. 2 seeds are still standing....
A year after the Baltimore bridge collapse, a long road to recovery is ahead
BALTIMORE — A year after the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland leaders are honoring the six construction workers who were killed that night when the road they were repairing buckled underneath them. While police were able to stop traffic in the moments before a massive cargo...
Dollar Tree sells Family Dollar to private equity firms after a decade of trying to find a fit
Dollar Tree is selling Family Dollar to a pair of private equity firms for $1 billion after a decade of trying to make its acquisition of the bargain chain fit. Dollar Tree Inc. acquired Family Dollar for more than $8 billion in 2015 after a bidding war with rival Dollar...
Supreme Court upholds Biden rule requiring serial numbers and background checks for ghost guns
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration regulation on the nearly impossible-to-trace weapons called ghost guns, clearing the way for continued serial numbers, background checks and age verification requirements for buying the kits online. The 7-2 opinion found that existing gun laws allow regulation of the...
Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding
NEW YORK — When President Donald Trump canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University over its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, much of the financial pain fell on researchers a train ride away from the school’s campus, working on things like curing cancer and studying...
Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans for a post-DEI era
NEW YORK — The co-founders of a company that makes lip products for darker skin tones no longer hope to get their line into Target. A brother and sister who make jigsaw puzzles celebrating Black subjects wonder if they need to offer “neutral” images like landscapes to keep growing. Pound...
The Atlantic releases Signal chat showing Hegseth’s detailed attack plans against Houthis
WASHINGTON — The Atlantic on Wednesday released the entire Signal chat among senior national security officials, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women flying those attacks against Yemen’s Houthis this month on behalf...
A new Chili’s near Scranton will be a throwback to ‘The Office,’ ‘awesome blossom’ and all
It has been nearly two decades since the workplace mockumentary “The Office” first set an episode inside a Chili’s, where Michael Scott handed out Dundie awards to his ever-tolerant employees, including trophies for the whitest sneakers and for stinking up the bathroom. Over nine seasons, “The Office” regularly name-dropped real...
