Associated Press stories, Page 320
Cooper Flagg fills highlight reel in Duke’s Sweet 16 win over Arizona
NEWARK, N.J. — Duke stud Cooper Flagg’s highlight reel included a 3-pointer from just in front of the logo at the halftime buzzer, one no-look pass for an alley-oop and another for a 3 and a huge blocked shot into a row of Arizona cheerleaders. He needed all that to...
Alabama makes March Madness-record 25 3s, romps past BYU in Sweet 16Video
NEWARK, N.J. — Alabama broke the 35-year-old March Madness record for 3-pointers with 25, and Mark Sears scored 30 of his 34 points on 3s, a relentless long-range spree that ushered the second-seeded Crimson Tide past BYU, 113-88, on Thursday night in an NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal. Alabama reached...
Top-seeded Florida runs away from Maryland’s ‘Crab Five’ to reach Elite 8Video
SAN FRANCISCO — Florida’s three standout seniors and its deep bench kept bringing energy until it became too tough for Maryland’s “Crab Five” to keep up. Coach Todd Golden could see his Gators wearing the Terrapins down. Will Richard scored 15 points, Alijah Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds,...
Another federal judge blocks Trump policy banning transgender troops in the military
TACOMA, Wash. — A U.S. judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order banning transgender people from serving in the military, the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks. The order Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma came in...
Scottie Scheffler 2 back of a 4-way tie for the lead at Houston Open. Rory McIlroy 5 behindVideo
HOUSTON — Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy wanted a final tune-up before the Masters and spent parts of Thursday at the Houston Open under an umbrella in wind and rain that prevented anyone from getting too far away. Keith Mitchell made a late eagle, and Ryan Gerard let a good...
Terry Francona has rough opening day in debut as Reds managerVideo
CINCINNATI — Terry Francona’s first Opening Day as manager of the Cincinnati Reds started in a dentist’s chair. About 12 hours later, Francona was experiencing baseball’s equivalent of a root canal. The Reds were one out away from a successful debut for Francona, until the San Francisco Giants rallied for...
EPA offers industrial polluters a way to avoid rules on mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals
WASHINGTON — As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency has set...
Michigan patient dies after contracting rabies from organ transplant
A Michigan resident died earlier this year after contracting rabies from an organ transplant, health officials said. The patient had the organ transplanted at a hospital in Ohio in December and died in January, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said. A subsequent investigation that also...
At age 70, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo back in title mix at another March MadnessVideo
ATLANTA — For Tom Izzo, the blueprint for a career like few others was established in his first year as a head coach. His memory is a bit fuzzy — Izzo remembers his 1995 Michigan State team grabbing 26 offensive rebounds in a victory over a powerhouse Arkansas program, when...
Kentucky, Tennessee ready for 3rd meeting this season as they seek Elite 8 berthVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Kentucky and Tennessee are adding a new chapter to their border rivalry Friday night. They’re taking it north, to Indianapolis, for their first meeting in March Madness. This NCAA Tournament matchup has higher stakes but similar emotions. Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack spent Thursday’s news conference...
The woman who killed Tejano music icon Selena in 1995 has been denied parole
HOUSTON — The woman convicted of killing Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez has been denied parole after spending decades behind bars for fatally shooting the young singer at a Texas motel in 1995, the state’s parole board announced Thursday. Yolanda Saldívar is serving a life sentence at the Patrick L....
At 464 pounds, Florida’s Desmond Watson could become the heaviest draft pick in NFL historyVideo
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Considering everything massive defensive tackle Desmond Watson showed during Florida’s pro day, his most impressive feat might have been escaping the practice facility without anyone noticing. The 6-foot-6, 464-pound pro prospect somehow slipped team personnel and media members after his workout in front of NFL scouts Thursday....
Don’t write off future Cinderellas just because it’s an all-power conference Sweet 16, coaches sayVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly every year there’s at least one lovable underdog that rises from obscurity in the NCAA Tournament to capture the hearts of basketball fans and bust their brackets. Not this year. All 16 regional semifinalists are from power conferences for the first time since the bracket expanded to...
Man accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas arrested, police say
LAS VEGAS — A man who set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas and who painted the word “resist” for authorities to find at the scene has been arrested, police announced Thursday. Paul Hyon Kim, 36, faces charges in connection with the March 18 attack in both state and...
Judge says he will order government to preserve Signal messages about Houthi military strike
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday said he will order the Trump administration to preserve records of a text message chat in which senior national security officials discussed sensitive details of plans for a U.S. military strike against Yemen’s Houthis. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said during a hearing...
Trump withdraws Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination for U.N. ambassador, citing tight GOP House margin
UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was pulling Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a stunning turnaround for his Cabinet pick after her confirmation had been stalled for months over concerns about Republicans’ tight margins in the House. Trump confirmed...
Turkish student at Tufts University is latest Palestinian supporter swept up in U.S. crackdown
BOSTON — A Turkish student ambushed by federal police as she walked on the streets of a Boston suburb is the latest supporter of Palestinian causes to be swept up in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants who have expressed their political views. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, a doctoral student at...
Bondi signals criminal probe into Signal chat is unlikely, despite long history of similar inquiries
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel was not part of a Signal chat in which other Trump administration national security officials discussed detailed attack plans, but that didn’t spare him from being questioned by lawmakers this week about whether the nation’s premier law enforcement agency would investigate. Patel made no...
Congress questions the FAA, U.S. Army and NTSB over deadly midair collision in D.C.
If investigators were able to quickly find alarming data about the number of close calls in the years before the midair collision over the nation’s capital that killed 67 people in January, then aviation safety regulators should have seen the problem, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board told...
Senators overseeing the military request an investigation at the Pentagon into use of the Signal app
WASHINGTON — The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee requested an investigation Thursday into how Trump national security officials used the Signal app to discuss military strikes, ensuring at least some bipartisan scrutiny on an episode President Donald Trump has dismissed as frivolous. Sen. Roger Wicker,...
At least 6 dead after submarine carrying tourists on a reef tour in Red Sea sinks off Egypt
CAIRO — A recreational submarine taking 45 tourists on an underwater cruise of coral reefs in the Red Sea sank off the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada on Thursday, leaving six Russians dead, the provincial governor said. The remaining tourists, more than two dozen of whom were injured, were rescued,...
Health and Human Services to lay off 10,000 workers, close agencies in a major restructuring
WASHINGTON — In a major overhaul, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized...
Rubio visits Guyana as part of his Caribbean tour to promote energy independence and curb migration
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived Thursday in Guyana, the second leg of a three-nation tour of the Caribbean, as the Trump administration ramps up engagement in the Western Hemisphere to promote energy independence and curb illegal migration, drug trafficking and gang violence. Rubio was making...
Salman Rushdie’s 1st book of fiction since his stabbing will be published in November
NEW YORK — Salman Rushdie has a collection of novellas and short stories coming out this fall, his first published fiction since being stabbed repeatedly and hospitalized in 2022. Random House announced Thursday that Rushdie’s “The Eleventh Hour,” billed by the publisher as “five interlinked stories and novellas that explore...
Newly signed Russell Wilson says he expects to be the Giants’ starting QB this upcoming season
Russell Wilson has bounced around the NFL the past few years, a one-time Super Bowl winner suddenly without a consistent home while facing doubts and critics about his play. The 36-year-old quarterback is now officially at his latest stop after signing his one-year contract with the New York Giants on...
