Associated Press stories, Page 309
Congo says it will participate in peace talks with M23 rebels
DAKAR, Senegal — Congo’s government will participate in peace talks in Angola on Tuesday with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that has captured key areas of Congo’s mineral-rich east, a spokesperson said Monday. A delegation representing Congo is currently in the Angolan capital, Luanda, for the talks, Tina Salama, the...
A new anti-LGBTQ+ bill in Hungary would ban Pride event and allow use of facial recognition software
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s ruling coalition continued its crackdown on the country’s LBGTQ+ community on Monday, as members submitted a bill to parliament that would ban the popular Budapest Pride event and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attendees. The bill is almost certain to pass, as...
Forever No More. Operator of mall staple Forever 21 files for bankruptcy protection
Forever 21 has filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time and plans to close down its U.S. business as traffic in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensifies. F21 OpCo, which runs Forever 21 stores, said late Sunday that it will...
Southern California Hindu temple desecrated with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti calls for peace
CHINO HILLS, Calif. — The recent desecration of an iconic Hindu temple in Southern California with anti-Hindu and anti-Indian government graffiti has heightened concerns among South Asian groups following a slew of such incidents over the past year. Devotees who arrived early morning on March 8 at the BAPS Shri...
Tariffs on lumber and appliances set stage for higher costs on new homes and remodeling projects
Shopping for a new home? Ready to renovate your kitchen or install a new deck? You’ll be paying more to do so. The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are...
UCLA, South Carolina, USC, Texas earn top seeds for women’s NCAA TournamentVideo
UCLA is the top overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Bruins were joined by South Carolina, Southern Cal and Texas as the No. 1 seeds that the NCAA revealed Sunday night. It’s the first time in school history that the Bruins are the top team in the tournament....
PJ Haggerty, No. 16 Memphis win AAC tourney over UAB
FORT WORTH, Texas — PJ Haggerty scored 23 points, Dain Dainja had another double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds and 16th-ranked Memphis won the American Athletic Conference tournament with an 84-72 win over UAB on Sunday. Haggerty put the Tigers (29-5) ahead to stay with his tiebreaking bankshot with...
Rory McIlroy, J.J. Spaun tie at The Players Championship to set up Monday playoff
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy built a three-shot lead on the back nine at The Players Championship, and unheralded J.J. Spaun didn’t blink. They wound up tied after a four-hour rain delay and have to return Monday for a playoff to decide who wins the richest tournament in...
Josh Berry races to 1st NASCAR Cup Series win with Las Vegas score
LAS VEGAS — Josh Berry raced to the first Cup Series victory of his career, taking NASCAR’s oldest team to victory lane Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Berry, in his first season driving the famed No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, had the first victory for a Ford team...
Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida receive No. 1 seeds for NCAA TournamentVideo
Auburn is the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, with Duke, Houston and Florida joining the Tigers on the No. 1 line in the March Madness brackets released Sunday. The NCAA selection committee favored the regular-season champs of the record-setting SEC despite three losses in their last four games,...
Tre Donaldson helps No. 22 Michigan rally to beat No. 18 Wisconsin for Big Ten titleVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Tre Donaldson and Vladislav Goldin each scored 11 points, and No. 22 Michigan closed Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament championship game on an 11-2 run to beat No. 18 Wisconsin, 59-53, and claim its first tourney crown since 2018. Donaldson also had eight assists one day after driving the...
‘Novocaine’ leads numbingly slow weekend at domestic box office
Five new movies opened wide in North American theaters this weekend including a starry spy picture from Steven Soderbergh, an A24 thriller, a Looney Tunes movie and a high concept action-comedy with “The Boys” star Jack Quaid. But the myriad options did not result in box office gold. When final...
Max Shulga scores 18, VCU holds off George Mason to claim Atlantic 10 title, NCAA berth
WASHINGTON — Max Shulga scored 18 points and Joe Bamisile sealed the win with two free throws with a half-second left as Virginia Commonwealth held off George Mason 66-63 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship Sunday. VCU led by eight at the break, 36-28, but George Mason got...
NASA’s stuck astronauts welcome their newly arrived replacements to space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Just over a day after blasting off, a SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering the replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts. The four newcomers — representing the U.S., Japan and Russia — will spend the next few days learning the...
No. 4 Florida beats No. 8 Tennessee for 1st SEC Tournament title since 2014Video
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points, and fourth-ranked Florida won its fifth SEC Tournament title and first since 2014 Sunday, beating the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers, 86-77. The Gators (30-4) lost in this game a year ago. This time, they made sure to finish their 12th appearance...
John Poulakidas’ 5 3s help carry Yale to Ivy League title
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — John Poulakidas knocked down five 3-pointers in the second half as regular-season champion Yale added the Ivy League Tournament championship with a 90-84 win over Cornell on Sunday to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The senior...
Dodgers’ Mookie Betts struggling with illness; status for Opening Day in doubt
TOKYO — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is still struggling to recover from an illness, with manager Dave Roberts pessimistic the eight-time All-Star will be ready for Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in Japan. Betts was able to go through a light workout Sunday but became...
Education Department staff cuts could limit options for families of kids with disabilities
WASHINGTON — For parents of kids with disabilities, advocating for their child can be complicated, time-consuming — and expensive. Changes at the Education Department are likely to make the process even more difficult, advocates for kids with disabilities say. When a parent believes their child is not receiving proper services...
At least 37 dead after tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms wreak havoc across multiple U.S. states
PIEDMONT, Mo. — Unusually vicious and damaging weather across multiple U.S. states spawned violent tornadoes, blinding dust storms and fast-moving wildfires this weekend, leaving at least 37 people dead. Hailey Hart and her fiancé Steve Romero hunkered down with their three huskies inside their 1994 Toyota Celica as a tornado...
Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants even as a judge orders their removals be stopped
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling. U.S....
Trump and Putin will speak this week on Russia-Ukraine war, U.S.envoy says
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week as the U.S. tries to broker a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff. It would be the second publicized call between the two leaders since...
Ivory Coast is losing U.S. aid as al-Qaida and other extremist groups are approaching
KIMBIRILA-NORD, Ivory Coast — With its tomato patches and grazing cattle, the Ivory Coast village of Kimbirila-Nord hardly looks like a front line of the global fight against extremism. But after jihadis attacked a nearby community in Mali five years ago and set up a base in a forest straddling...
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks alliances in Europe as he deals with Trump
OTTAWA, Ontario — New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Paris and London on Monday to seek alliances as he deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada’s sovereignty and economy. Carney is purposely making his first foreign trip to the capital cities of the two countries...
Pope thanks children who prayed for him outside of the hospital, but remains out of sight
ROME — Dozens of children toting yellow and white balloons — many from war-torn countries — gathered outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francis on his fifth Sunday hospitalized with double pneumonia. While the pope did not appear from the 10th-floor suite of windows, he thanked them and acknowledged...
U.S. and Iran-backed Houthis vow escalation after airstrikes target rebels in Yemen
CAIRO — The United States and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are both vowing escalation after the U.S. launched airstrikes to deter the rebels from attacking military and commercial vessels on one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors. “We’re not going to have these people controlling which ships can go...
