Associated Press stories, Page 311
Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Micky Arison, ‘Redeem Team’ among Hall of Fame finalists
SAN FRANCISCO — Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are one step closer to going into the Basketball Hall of Fame. If all goes well, they might get in twice. Anthony and Howard were among the finalists announced Friday by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame for enshrinement as part of...
NASCAR draws stars to Daytona 500 with Trump, Captain America expected at ‘Great American Race’Video
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It’s NASCAR’s turn to throw its version of the Super Bowl, and the Daytona 500 is trying hard to match the hype. “The Great American Race” has Captain America coming, maybe even President Donald Trump. “I think having a sitting president come and be a part...
US vs. Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off has must-see potential on and off the iceVideo
MONTREAL — Playing for the Boston Bruins, Charlie McAvoy is accustomed to being a visitor at Bell Centre as a chief rival of the host Canadiens. “It’s nothing that won’t be familiar to me,” McAvoy said. “You’re not welcome here.” Now ratchet that up a bunch as he and the...
Penn State hires former Temple coach Stan Drayton as running backs coach
STATE COLLEGE — Former Temple coach Stan Drayton has found a new job coaching Penn State’s running backs. Penn State coach James Franklin announced the hire Friday. Drayton went 9-25 in three years at Temple before getting fired last November with two games left in the season. Drayton spent 2017-21...
Dolphins release veteran running back Raheem Mostert
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins are moving on from veteran running back Raheem Mostert, his agent Brett Tessler said Friday. “Looks like my client Raheem Mostert will be playing elsewhere next season,” Tessler posted on social media. “Very thankful for his time with the Miami Dolphins, and this...
Major Michigan insurer in talks to settle lawsuits over fired workers and covid-19 vaccine
DETROIT — A major Michigan insurance company is in talks to possibly settle more than 100 lawsuits by employees who were fired after declining to get a covid-19 vaccination, court records show. The disclosure comes three months after a jury awarded more than $12 million to a woman who had...
Hamas names 3 more Israeli hostages set for release to uphold shaky Gaza ceasefire
JERUSALEM — Hamas named three Israeli hostages on Friday it will release in a weekend trade for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the latest sign that the shaky Gaza ceasefire deal appears to be holding in spite of a tense dispute that has threatened to renew fighting. The militant group and...
Very cold weather is coming. U.S. about to get 10th and chilliest polar vortex this winter
The coldest burst of Arctic air this season is coming to put an icy exclamation point on America’s winter of repeated polar vortex invasions, meteorologists warn. And it will stay frozen there all next week. Different weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually...
Philadelphia turns green on Valentine’s Day to celebrate Super Bowl champions
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia was awash in green on Valentine’s Day to celebrate its Super Bowl champions. Swooning fans screamed and cheered Friday as MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie took turns hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the start of the team’s victory parade through the City...
McConnell tests the strengths and limits of his power opposing a trio of Trump’s Cabinet nominees
WASHINGTON — No longer in charge, Sen. Mitch McConnell has been speaking his mind, the long-serving GOP leader rejecting President Donald Trump’s more high-profile Cabinet nominees — alone at times, among the Republicans, casting his no votes. When it came to Pete Hegseth, now the defense secretary, who faced allegations...
Michigan judge sentences Walmart shoplifters to wash cars in the parking lot
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters, ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring arrives. Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart and rewards shoppers who could see higher prices, or possibly...
DOGE gets mixed reviews from conservatives who have long wanted major budget cuts
DES MOINES, Iowa — Conservatives who have spent decades promoting deep cuts to government are giving mixed reviews to the Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-led project to slash the federal workforce and reduce or end disfavored programs. The Associated Press interviewed four veteran budget hawks, including some who...
Bakery owner in New England says he was offended over town’s decision against pastry painting
CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire bakery owner testified Friday that his excitement about displaying a painting by high school students of giant pastries quickly turned to annoyance after a zoning code officer told him it was a sign and had to be changed or removed. Sean Young said the...
Pat White, record-setting quarterback for West Virginia, returns to Mountaineers as an assistant
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Former West Virginia quarterback Pat White will return to the Mountaineers as assistant quarterbacks coach and assistant to the head coach. Coach Rich Rodriguez announced White’s hiring this week. The Mountaineers were 35-8 with four bowl wins with White as their starting quarterback from 2005-08. He set...
U.S. retail sales plunged along with temperatures in January after a bustling holiday season
WASHINGTON — U.S. retail sales dropped sharply last month, in part because cold weather kept more Americans indoors, denting sales at car dealers and most other stores. Retail sales dropped 0.9% in January from the previous month, the Commerce Department said, after two months of healthy gains. It was a...
Pope Francis, suffering breathing issues, faces tests after being hospitalized to treat bronchitis
ROME — Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday to treat a weeklong bout of bronchitis and undergo diagnostic tests, the Vatican said, confirming the latest issues with the 88-year-old’s pontiff’s health that forced him to cancel his agenda through Monday at least. Francis has complained of breathing trouble and was diagnosed...
Federal funding freeze disrupts rural organizations supporting foster youth, job growth
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After surviving teen homelessness and domestic violence in West Virginia, 23-year-old Ireland Daugherty was finally feeling stable: She had her own apartment, a job and was studying for a four-year degree. Ashley Cain, 36, was celebrating four years of sobriety and working with a nonprofit that trains...
Judge sets a 5-day deadline for the Trump administration to start lifting its USAID funding freeze
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily lift a funding freeze that has shut down U.S. humanitarian aid and development work around the world, and he has set a five-day deadline for the administration to prove it’s complying. The judge’s ruling late Thursday cited...
TikTok returns to Apple and Google app stores in U.S.
HONG KONG — TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Google in the U.S., after President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a TikTok ban. TikTok, which is operated by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores on Jan. 18 to comply...
Guarded optimism in India as Trump and Modi outline plans to deepen defense partnership
SRINAGAR, India — There was guarded optimism among military experts in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump outlined plans to ramp up sales of defense systems to New Delhi, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, to deepen the U.S.-India strategic relationship. “Defense sector is a big...
Prosecutors see an Islamic extremist motive in the Munich car-ramming attack
MUNICH — The suspect in the car-ramming attack in Munich that left more than 30 people injured appears to have had an Islamic extremist motive, but there’s no evidence that he was involved with any radical network, authorities said Friday. The 24-year-old Afghan, who arrived in Germany as an asylum-seeker...
A roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying miners in southwestern Pakistan, killing 11 people
QUETTA, Pakistan — A roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying coal miners in restive southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 11 people and wounding five others, officials said. The attack happened in Harnai, a district in Balochistan province, according to a government administrator Wali Kakar. He said police had...
Zelenskyy to Vance: Ukraine wants ‘security guarantees’ as Trump seeks to end Ukraine-Russia war
MUNICH — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that his country wants “security guarantees” before any talks with Russia, as the Trump administration presses both countries to find a quick endgame to the three-year war. Shortly before sitting down with Vice President JD Vance for highly anticipated talks at the...
Tkachuk brothers each score 2; U.S. wins in 4 Nations Face-Off
MONTREAL — Brady and Matthew Tkachuk came out hitting, started scoring and put together a display of brotherly dominance playing together for the first time on a big stage. The Tkachuks each scored twice, flourishing after being put on the ice at the same time, and the United States beat...
Denny McCarthy’s big finish yields lead in Genesis Invitational
SAN DIEGO — Denny McCarthy ended a miserable day in a most brilliant manner Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, closing birdie-eagle for a 4-under-par 68 on a Torrey Pines course that more than lived up to its reputation as a beast. McCarthy had a one-shot lead over Seamus Power and...
