Associated Press stories, Page 336
Pope Francis in critical condition after long respiratory crisis, requiring oxygen at high flow
ROME — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old Francis, who has been hospitalized for a week with pneumonia and a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed...
Israel delays the release of Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees 6 hostages
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners without explanation Saturday after Hamas released the last six living hostages expected under the ceasefire ‘s first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Freed were three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival...
Shooting at Air Force Base in New Mexico kills airman, wounds another
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A shooting at a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico early Saturday morning left one airman dead and another wounded, authorities said, adding that it was not an act of terrorism or an attack by an outsider. Officials at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque said...
Eddie Fisher, an All-Star reliever with the Chicago White Sox in 1965, dies at age 88
ALTUS, Okla. — Eddie Fisher, the right-hander whose 15-year major league career included an All-Star selection for the Chicago White Sox and a World Series title with Baltimore, has died. He was 88. The Lowell-Tims Funeral Home & Crematory in Altus says Fisher died Monday after a brief illness. Born...
Officer killed after a gunman took hostages at UPMC hospital in York
YORK — A man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties entered a Pennsylvania hospital’s intensive care unit on Saturday and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead, authorities said. Three staffers at UPMC Memorial Hospital, including...
Source: White House, Ukraine nearing rare earth elements deal that would tighten relationship
WASHINGTON — The White House and Ukraine have made significant progress toward reaching an agreement that would provide the U.S. with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and tighten the long-term relationship between Kyiv and Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter. The progress in talks comes after...
Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks....
Jaguars hire Rams’ James Gladstone as GM, reuniting him with coach Liam Coen
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Los Angeles Rams executive James Gladstone as their general manager Friday, reuniting him with new coach Liam Coen. Gladstone, 34, held the position of director of scouting strategy in LA since 2019, working alongside Rams general manager Les Snead during the draft process....
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner might support a salary cap proposal tied to payroll minimum
TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner might support a salary cap proposal as long as it contains a provision mandating minimum payrolls. “I have been on the record already saying that I would consider supporting a cap depending on what the cap is and contingent on the...
Kash Patel sworn in at White House as new FBI director, calls it the ‘greatest honor’
WASHINGTON — Kash Patel was sworn in Friday as the FBI director, calling the opportunity to lead the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency the “greatest honor” of his life. Patel was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday by a 51-49 margin, with two Republican lawmakers, Susan Collins of Maine...
New York Yankees drop ban on beards, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George SteinbrennerVideo
TAMPA. Fla. — The New York Yankees dropped their ban on beards Friday, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, in a move aimed to improve player recruitment as the team tries to win its first World Series title since 2009. Current owner Hal Steinbrenner, son of...
Supreme Court won’t allow Trump to immediately fire head of whistleblower office
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily kept on the job the head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, in its first word on the many legal fights over President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. The justices said in an unsigned order that Hampton Dellinger, head of the...
4 Nations Face-Off shatters expectations as a hockey showcase. The Milan Olympics are up nextVideo
Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off by beating the United States for the championship in an overtime thriller capped by Connor McDavid’s memorable goal that will be on highlight reels for decades to come. In the grand scheme of things, the NHL, its players and the sport of hockey all...
Pentagon says it will cut 5,400 probationary workers starting next week
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department said Friday it’s cutting 5,400 probationary workers starting next week and will put a hiring freeze in place. It comes after staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, were at the Pentagon earlier in the week and received lists of such employees, U.S....
Trump says he might take control of U.S. Postal Service. Here’s what to know
PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump on Friday said he might put the U.S. Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department in what would be an executive branch takeover of the agency, which has operated as an independent entity since 1970. “We want to have a post office that...
Luigi Mangione draws crowd to court for first hearing since arraignment in UnitedHealthcare killing
NEW YORK — The defendant wore a bulletproof vest and shackles. A woman in the crowd wore a “Free Luigi” scarf. Outside, throngs of people cheered and chanted his name. So it went Friday at a pretrial hearing for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian...
Singer of Canadian anthem at 4 Nations Face-Off changes lyric to protest Trump’s 51st state remarksVideo
The anthem singer who performed the Canadian anthem before the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night changed a lyric in “O Canada” as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated remarks about making the country the 51st state. Publicist Adam Gonshor in an email to the Associated Press...
Steve Bannon, accused of doing a straight-arm Nazi salute at CPAC, says it was just ‘a wave’
OXON HILL, Md. — Steve Bannon was accused of making a Nazi salute as he concluded a speech at a conservative gathering where President Donald Trump is slated to speak this weekend, but Bannon said Friday the gesture was merely a “wave.” Bannon, who once served as Trump’s chief strategist...
Trump spars with Maine’s governor at White House over transgender athletesVideo
President Donald Trump sparred with Maine’s Democratic governor during a meeting of governors at the White House on Friday, with Gov. Janet Mills telling the Republican president, “We’ll see you in court,” over his push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes. Trump told the governor he...
New Jersey man convicted of attempted murder in stabbing of Salman Rushdie
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — A New Jersey man was convicted Friday of attempted murder for stabbing author Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage in 2022. Jurors, who deliberated for less than two hours, also found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of assault for wounding a man who was...
Yearslong shortage of popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs is resolved, FDA says
Shortages of Ozempic and Wegovy that have been in place for more than two years have been resolved, as supplies of the popular diabetes and obesity treatments continue to improve, federal regulators said Friday. The drugmaker Novo Nordisk can meet present and future demand in the U.S., the Food and...
Judge extends temporary block to huge cuts in National Institutes of Health research funding
BOSTON — A federal judge on Friday extended a temporary block of the Trump administration’s drastic cuts in medical research funding that many scientists say will endanger patients and delay new lifesaving discoveries. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley had issued a temporary restraining order earlier this month in response to...
Pope Francis isn’t out of danger but his condition isn’t life-threatening, medical team says
ROME — Pope Francis’ condition isn’t life-threatening, but he’s not out of danger, his medical team said Friday, as the 88-year-old pontiff marked his first week in a hospital with pneumonia on top of chronic bronchitis. Francis’ doctors delivered their first in-person update on the pope’s condition, saying that he...
European troops, U.S. support are part of emerging plan for Ukraine, but it faces many hurdles
LONDON — As the U.S. and Russia push ahead — so far without Ukraine at the table — on talks to end the war, political and military leaders in Europe are fleshing out details of a plan for European forces to help ensure Moscow doesn’t attack again. After months of...
Netanyahu decries release of wrong body as a ceasefire violation. Hamas pledges to investigate
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was found to not be that of an Israeli mother of two young boys, as...
