Associated Press stories, Page 291
Shapiro says he wants to recruit laid-off federal workers to fill Pa. job openings
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday that he wants his administration to try to fill openings in the state’s workforce by recruiting federal workers who might be losing or leaving their jobs as part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce....
Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs, according to internal memoVideo
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care for many former service members, according to an internal memo obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level...
Trump grants 1 month exemption for US automakers from new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers, amid fears that the trade war could harm U.S. manufacturers. The announcement comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the “big 3” automakers, Ford, General Motors,...
Veterans are speaking out on the Trump administration’s plans to cut the VA’s budget
NORFOLK, Va. — Stephen Watson served in the Marines for 22 years and receives care through the Department of Veterans Affairs for a traumatic brain injury. He supports President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk’s cost-cutting program — even if it affects the VA. “We’re no better because we’re veterans,”...
Oscars see biggest audience in 5 years despite dominance of ‘Anora’ and other small films
LOS ANGELES — Smaller movies didn’t mean smaller viewer numbers for the Oscars. An estimated 19.7 million viewers watched Sunday night’s 97th Academy Awards ceremony, the biggest audience in five years, according to figures released by ABC on Tuesday. The triumph of “Anora,” which won five Oscars including best picture,...
‘Bear with me,’ Trump says as both farmers and consumers brace for tariff effects
OMAHA, Neb. — Farmers and meat producers across the U.S. can expect the new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China and the retaliatory action from those countries to hurt their bottom lines by billions of dollars if they stay in place a while, and consumers could quickly see higher prices...
Trump administration moves to drop Idaho emergency abortion case with national implications
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday moved to drop an emergency abortion case in Idaho in one of its first moves on the issue since President Donald Trump began his second term. The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was originally filed by the Biden...
U.S. Rep. and former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner dies at 70Video
WASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas has died two months after taking office and hours after attending President Donald Trump’s address before Congress in Washington, D.C., officials and his family said on Wednesday. He was 70. While attending Trump’s speech to Congress, Turner was taken to a...
TKO Group, which houses WWE and UFC, partners with Saudi entertainment authority on boxing league
NEW YORK — TKO Group, the company that houses WWE and UFC, entered a multiyear agreement with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority to create a new boxing promotion, it was announced Wednesday. Led by UFC president and CEO Dana White and WWE president and TKO board member Nick Khan, TKO...
Coldplay working with FIFA to produce first-ever World Cup final halftime show for 2026
DALLAS — Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin is working with FIFA to curate the first Super Bowl-style halftime show at the World Cup final next year. The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — to be known as New York New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup — will host the final...
Chiefs trading All-Pro offensive guard Joe Thuney to Bears for 2026 4th-round pick, AP source says
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are trading two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had...
NASCAR countersues 23XI and Front Row, as well as Michael Jordan’s agent, in dispute over charters
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR on Wednesday filed a counterclaim against Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports alleging they “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements. 23XI and Front Row were the only two teams out of 15 that...
Trudeau not willing to lift Canada’s retaliatory tariffs if Trump leaves some tariffs on Canada
TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unwilling to lift Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump leaves any U.S. tariffs on Canada, a senior government official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The official confirmed Trudeau’s stance on the condition of anonymity because they...
Israel’s cutoff of supplies to Gaza sends prices soaring as aid stockpiles dwindle
JERUSALEM — Israel’s cutoff of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s 2 million people has sent prices soaring and humanitarian groups into overdrive trying to distribute dwindling stocks to the most vulnerable. The aid freeze has imperiled the progress aid workers say they have made to stave off...
Judge denies Elon Musk’s request to block OpenAI for-profit conversion but welcomes trial
OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company but said she could expedite a trial to consider Musk’s claims against the ChatGPT maker and its CEO. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled late...
Do you need fluoride treatment after a teeth cleaning? Dental experts weigh in
When Tristen Boyer recently had a couple of cavities filled, her dentist suggested she get fluoride treatment afterward. She has Crohn’s disease, which puts her at increased risk for tooth decay. “It’s something I felt like I should get done,” the 22-year-old University of Kentucky student said. “It’s something I’m...
Divided Supreme Court rejects Trump administration’s push to rebuke judge over foreign aid freeze
WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration push to rebuke a federal judge who imposed a quick deadline to release billions of dollars in foreign aid. By a 5-4 vote, the court told U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to clarify his earlier order that...
Pakistanis mourn 18 people, including 5 soldiers, killed in a twin suicide bombing at an army base
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A city in northwestern Pakistan held funeral prayers and observed a day of mourning on Wednesday, after a twin suicide bombing targeted a military base there the evening before and killed 18 people, including five soldiers. A militant group linked with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for...
Mayors from Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York will testify before Congress on ‘sanctuary cities’
Mayors from four major cities are set to testify Wednesday in Congress as Republicans take aim at “sanctuary cities,” arguing that they impede the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda and protect people who are in the United States illegally. Mayors Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston...
Piglets left to starve as part of a controversial art exhibit in Denmark have been stolen
Three piglets which were being allowed to starve as part of a controversial art exhibition in Denmark that had drawn international attention have been stolen, the artist said on Wednesday. Chilean-born Marco Evaristti said he had been aiming to raise awareness of the suffering caused by mass meat production with...
Businesses scramble to contain fallout from Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico
A Minnesota farmer worries about the price of fertilizer. A San Diego entrepreneur deals with an unexpected cost increase of remodeling a restaurant. A Midwestern sheet metal fabricator bemoans the prospect of higher aluminum prices. Businesses knew that Trump’s import taxes — tariffs — on America’s biggest trading partners were...
Trump administration pauses flow of intelligence to Ukraine that helps on battlefieldVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has paused its intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of vital information that has helped the war-torn nation target Russian invaders, but Trump administration officials said Wednesday that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean it may only be a short suspension. Information about...
Takeaways: Trump’s address to Congress shows country’s stark partisan divide
WASHINGTON — A president’s speech to Congress — even without the formal gloss of a State of the Union address — is typically a time for a call to national unity and predictable claims about the country being strong. But that wasn’t President Donald Trump’s plan. His speech on Tuesday...
Elissa Slotkin assails Trump’s early actions, offers Democrats a way to fight back
LANSING, Mich. — First-term Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin accused President Donald Trump of driving up costs while pushing for an “unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends” in Tuesday night’s Democratic response to his first joint congressional address of his second term. Slotkin, just months into her first term in the...
Rep. Al Green shouts down Trump and may face censure by the House for the outburst
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas wasn’t the first lawmaker ever to blurt out a shout of protest during a presidential address to Congress. But he’s perhaps the only one in recent memory to actually be ejected from the hall Tuesday night by the Speaker of the House....
