Associated Press stories, Page 274
U.S. home sales rose in February as mortgage rates eased and more homes put up for sale
LOS ANGELES — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in February as easing mortgage rates and more properties on the market encouraged home shoppers. Existing home sales rose 4.2% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units, the National Association of Realtors said...
A 1-month-old girl is pulled from the rubble in Gaza after an airstrike killed her parents
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — As rescuers dug through the remains of a collapsed apartment building in Gaza’s Khan Younis on Thursday, they could hear the cries of a baby from underneath the rubble. Suddenly, calls of “God is great” rang out. A man sprinted away from the wreckage carrying...
American man held by the Taliban for over 2 years has been released, the State Department says
WASHINGTON — An American man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist has been released by the Taliban in a deal with the Trump administration that Qatari negotiators helped broker, the State Department said Thursday. George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta,...
NBA champ Celtics sold for record $6.1 billion to group led by private equity mogul Bill Chisholm
BOSTON — Private equity mogul William Chisholm agreed to buy the Boston Celtics on Thursday in a deal that values the NBA’s reigning champions and the most-decorated franchise in league history at a minimum of $6.1 billion — the largest price ever for American professional sports team. If the deal...
67,000 white South Africans have expressed interest in Trump’s plan to give them refugee status
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The United States Embassy in South Africa said Thursday it received a list of nearly 70,000 people interested in refugee status in the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate members of a white minority group he claims are victims of racial discrimination by...
Skipping this year’s March Madness brackets? It’s not just you
WASHINGTON — In East Lansing, Michigan, college sports often dominate conversations — especially in March, when everyone seems to be filling out their NCAA brackets. Jessica Caruss would know; she has lived in the area for most of her life. She loves sports, and she’s a Michigan State fan, but...
Trump’s 200% tariff threat would be ‘a real disaster’ for Europe’s wine industry
CHAMPAGNE, France — Across wine country in France, Italy and Spain one number is top of mind: 200%. That’s because last week U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a tariff of that amount on European wine, Champagne and other spirits if the European Union went ahead with retaliatory tariffs on some...
Military leaders to discuss Ukraine peacekeeping force as partial ceasefire plans are worked out
KYIV, Ukraine — Senior officers from countries across Europe and beyond will meet Thursday at a military headquarters on the outskirts of London to flesh out plans for an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine as details of a partial ceasefire are worked out. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the...
Israeli strikes across Gaza hit multiple homes, killing at least 85 Palestinians
DEIR-AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes killed at least 85 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, according to local health officials. The strikes hit multiple homes in the middle of the night, killing men, women and children as they slept. The Israeli military said it struck militant...
Finland is again ranked the happiest country in the world. The U.S. falls to its lowest-ever position
Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday. Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at...
Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price
As a devastating wildfire burned through a Maui town, killing more than 100 people, emergency management employees traded dozens of text messages, creating a record that would later help investigators piece together the government’s response to the 2023 tragedy. One text exchange hinted officials might also be using a second,...
Trump’s bluntness powered a White House comeback. Now his words are getting him in trouble in court
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s shoot-from-the-lip style kept Americans on the edge of their seats during last year’s campaign. But now that he’s speaking as a president and not as a candidate, his words are being used against him in court in the blizzard of litigation challenging his agenda. The spontaneity...
Trump orders a plan to dismantle the Education Department while keeping some core functions
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to take apart an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives. Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing...
March Madness: Xavier rallies to beat Texas 86-80 in First FourVideo
DAYTON, Ohio — Marcus Foster scored 22 points and Zach Freemantle added 15 while overcoming foul trouble as Xavier rallied past Texas, 86-80, in the First Four on Wednesday night. The Musketeers (22-11) erased a 13-point deficit in their biggest comeback win this season and advanced to play No. 6...
March Madness: Mount St. Mary’s beats American 83-72 in First Four to earn date with No. 1 DukeVideo
DAYTON, Ohio — Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilla scored 22 points each as Mount St. Mary’s defeated American University, 83-72, in an NCAA Tournament matchup of No. 16 seeds at the First Four on Wednesday night. The Mountaineers (23-12) earned a date with No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in...
Ben & Jerry’s alleges parent company Unilever removed its CEO over social activism
Ben & Jerry’s says its CEO was unlawfully removed by its parent company, Unilever, in retaliation for the ice cream maker’s social and political activism. In a federal court filing late Tuesday, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever informed its board on March 3 that it was removing and replacing Ben...
Trump will order a plan to dismantle the Education Department, advancing a campaign promise
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives. Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However,...
American believed to be last person to see missing Pitt student has left Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota who is believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki in the Dominican Republic, left the Caribbean country on Wednesday, his lawyers said. Following a trial exceeding five...
West Virginia’s Baker is ‘resilient’ after NCAA Tournament snub and losing DeVries to IndianaVideo
First, West Virginia was a surprising omission from the NCAA Tournament. Then, the Mountaineers lost their coach. It has been a lousy week for a school now facing its third men’s basketball coaching change in 21 months, all occurring since Wren Baker became West Virginia’s athletic director. He has become...
Struggling with free throws, Wofford’s Filewich turns to granny-style — with help from Rick BarryVideo
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kyler Filewich doesn’t go to the free-throw line looking for style points, just those that count on the scoreboard for Wofford. That’s why the 6-foot-9 center from Winnipeg, Manitoba, asked coaches for tips, leading him to switch from the traditional shot attempt to a throwback style. Granny-style....
Newly released JFK assassination files reveal more about CIA but don’t yet point to conspiracies
DALLAS — Newly released documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 gave curious readers more details Wednesday into Cold War-era covert U.S. operations in other nations but didn’t initially lend credence to long-circulating conspiracy theories about who killed JFK. Assessments of the roughly 2,200 files posted by...
How will the universe end? A changing understanding of dark energy may provide a new answer
NEW YORK — Scientists are homing in on the nature of a mysterious force called dark energy, and nothing short of the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. The force is enormous — it makes up nearly 70% of the universe. And it is powerful — it is...
Israeli troops advance in Gaza to retake part of corridor dividing north from south
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel said Wednesday its troops retook part of a corridor that bisects Gaza, and its defense minister warned that attacks would intensify until Hamas frees dozens of hostages and gives up control of the territory. The military said it had retaken part of the Netzarim...
Canada in talks with EU to reduce U.S. defense reliance
TORONTO — Canada is in discussions with the European Union to join an EU drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defense equipment, including fighter jets, in Europe, a senior Canadian government official confirmed Wednesday. The official, who spoke on condition...
Zelenskyy agrees to limited ceasefire as Trump floats U.S. ownership of Ukraine’s power plants
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed Wednesday to a limited ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, as U.S. President Donald Trump suggested during a call with the embattled country’s leader that he consider American ownership of Ukraine’s power plants to ensure their long-term security. Trump told Zelenskyy that the...
