Associated Press stories, Page 289
Jaguar, Land Rover maker pauses shipments to U.S. as it develops post-tariff plans
LONDON — The maker of Jaguar and Land Rover cars is pausing shipments to the U.S. as Britain’s struggling auto industry begins to respond to the 25% tax on vehicle imports imposed by President Donald Trump. Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, one of Britain’s biggest carmakers, said Saturday that the pause...
Trump goes all in with bet that the heavy price of tariffs will pay off for Americans
WASHINGTON — Not even 24 hours after his party lost a key Wisconsin race and underperformed in Florida, President Donald Trump followed the playbook that has defined his political career: He doubled down. Trump’s move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners...
Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd help UConn blow out UCLA in Final Four as Paige Bueckers moves 1 win from elusive title
TAMPA, Fla. — Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd didn’t even need much help from superstar Paige Bueckers to propel UConn into the national title game, leading the Huskies to a remarkably easy 85-51 victory over UCLA on Friday night in the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Strong finished...
Brian Harman builds 4-shot lead at Texas OpenVideo
SAN ANTONIO — Brian Harman found the range with his iron shots and converted eight birdie putts Friday, none outside 12 feet, for a 6-under-par 66 that gave him a four-shot lead over Keith Mitchell going into the weekend at the Valero Texas Open. Harman has his first 36-hole lead...
Ovechkin ties Gretzky’s record with his 894th goal
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record by scoring the 894th of his career. Ovechkin scored his second goal of the Washington Capitals’ game Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks on the power play with 13:46 left in the third period. And he did so with Gretzky...
Defending national champion South Carolina returns to title game with 74-57 rout of TexasVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Defending national champion South Carolina left no doubt it would return to the title game, getting 14 points from Te-Hina Paopao and overwhelming Texas, 74-57, on Friday night in the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are a win away from becoming the first...
IRS plans to cut up to 25% of staff, starting with closing its civil rights office, AP sources say
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The IRS plans to cut as many as 20,000 staffers — up to 25% of the workforce — as part of layoffs that began Friday, two people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. The job cuts will begin with the IRS Office of...
Shilo Sanders looking to improve his draft stock in shadow of brother Shedeur at Colorado’s showcaseVideo
BOULDER, Colo. — Shilo Sanders is trying to boost his draft stock. He also is looking for a fresh start. The hard-hitting, run-stuffing Colorado safety — son of coach Deion Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ bigger brother — took part in the school’s showcase Friday, where potential draftees went through...
Auburn and Florida meet in the Final Four as last of the 14 SEC teams that packed March MadnessVideo
SAN ANTONIO — Auburn and Florida are the last two standing of a record 14 SEC teams that made the NCAA Tournament. Only one of them will get to play for the national championship. In a Final Four filled with No. 1 seeds, the SEC regular-season champion Tigers (32-5) play...
At Final Four, Houston stopping Duke’s Cooper Flagg could come down to a stopper named Joseph TuglerVideo
SAN ANTONIO — Pretty much every basketball fan has heard of Duke’s Cooper Flagg. Nowhere near as many have heard of Houston’s Joseph Tugler. If the Cougars are going to spring an upset over the Blue Devils in the all-1-seed Final Four on Saturday, it almost surely will be because...
Judge moves legal case of international student at Tufts University to Vermont
BOSTON — A federal judge in Boston on Friday moved the case of a detained Tufts University doctoral student to Vermont, where the Turkish national was briefly held before being moved to an immigration detention facility in Louisiana. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was taken by immigration officials as she walked along...
Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg named AP men’s college basketball player of the year
SAN ANTONIO — Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were days away from clinching a spot in the Final Four, and the Blue Devils’ freshman star was planning ahead. It wasn’t about anything on the court, though. It was to be ready the next time teammates Khaman Maluach and Patrick...
Officials say Russian strike in central Ukraine kills 14 people, including 6 children
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian ballistic missile strike Friday on a central Ukrainian city killed at least 14 people, including six children, Ukrainian officials said, as U.S. and European leaders pressed Russia to accept a ceasefire in the conflict. At least 50 people were wounded in the strike on Kryvyi...
U.S. must return Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador prison, judge says
GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to arrange for the return of a Maryland man to the United States after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement expelled Kilmar Abrego Garcia last month despite an immigration...
Nearly half of National Weather Service offices have 20% vacancy rates, and experts say it’s a risk
WASHINGTON — After Trump administration job cuts, nearly half of National Weather Service forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates — twice that of just a decade ago — as severe weather chugs across the nation’s heartland, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. Detailed vacancy data for all 122...
Markets plunge with S&P 500 down 6%, Dow down 2,200 as their worst crisis since covid deepens
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s worst crisis since covid slammed into a higher, scarier gear Friday. The S&P 500 lost 6% after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week. The move increased the stakes in a trade war that could end with a recession...
Trump extends TikTok deadline another 75 days as U.S. continues to look for deal
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Friday said he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership. Congress had mandated...
How tiny Lesotho ended up with the highest U.S. tariffs in the world
JOHANNESBURG — If you have ever bought a pair of jeans from an American brand like Levi’s or Wrangler, chances are they were manufactured at a factory in the small southern African nation of Lesotho. Textile manufacturing is one of Lesotho’s key industries, exporting some 75% of its output to...
Federal Reserve chief says Trump tariffs likely to raise inflation and slow U.S. economic growth
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Trump administration’s expansive new tariffs will likely lead to higher inflation and slower growth, and the Federal Reserve will focus on keeping price increases temporary, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday. Powell said that the tariffs, and their impacts on the economy and inflation, are “significantly...
British police charge comedian Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault
LONDON — British police on Friday charged Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault following an 18-month investigation sparked when four women alleged they had been assaulted by the controversial comedian. London’s Metropolitan Police force said Brand, 50, faces one count of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral...
Masters 2025: Rory McIlroy takes aim at Grand Slam; Scottie Scheffler goes for another green jacket
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters has its largest field in 10 years, and yet the first major championship of the year still feels like it’s mainly about two players. Expectations have followed Rory McIlroy down Magnolia Lane for the last decade, each trip to Augusta National giving him a shot...
Israeli strikes kill at least 17 in Gaza as ground troops enter Palestinian territory’s north
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza — Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, as Israel sent more ground troops into the Palestinian territory to ramp up its offensive against Hamas. At least 17 people, some from the same family, were killed after an airstrike...
U.S. added a surprising 228K jobs in March as economy shows resilience in Trump trade wars
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a surprising 228,000 jobs last month, as the American labor market continues to show resilience as President Donald Trump wages trade wars, purges federal workers and deports immigrants working in the United States illegally. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%. The hiring numbers were...
South Koreans are still puzzling over why their leader declared martial law
SEOUL — Dancing and consoling hugs. Wild whoops and anguished screams. Tears, both of joy and rage. Reaction to the court verdict ousting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from office Friday was a vivid window into the nation’s deep political divisions, as tens of thousands of Yoon opponents and...
A church in England opens its doors to pro wrestling in a bid to attract converts
SHIPLEY, England — Sitting around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as local hero Billy O’Keeffe body-slammed a fighter named Disciple. Beneath stained-glass windows, they whooped and cheered as burly, tattooed wresters tumbled into the aisle during a six-man tag-team battle. This is Wrestling Church, which brings blood, sweat and tears...

