Associated Press stories, Page 339
Belarus election poised to extend 30-year rule of ‘Europe’s last dictator’
The last time Belarus staged a presidential election in 2020, authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner with 80% of the vote. That triggered cries of fraud, months of protests and a harsh crackdown with thousands of arrests. Not wanting to risk such unrest again by those opposing his...
U.S. home sales in 2024 fell to the lowest level in nearly years as prices, mortgages soar
LOS ANGELES — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in 2024 to a nearly 30-year low for the second time in as many years as elevated mortgage rates, rising home prices and few properties on the market freeze prospective homebuyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors...
Who is Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop who upset Trump during an inaugural prayer service?
WASHINGTON — The Right Rev. Mariann Budde made headlines this week after she angered President Donald Trump with her sermon during an inaugural prayer service. It was not the first time the cleric has publicly disagreed with Trump, but it became a striking moment in what is usually a staid...
UN suspends all trips into Houthi-held areas of Yemen over staffers being detained
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Nations on Friday suspended all travel into areas held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after more of their staff were detained by the rebels. The Houthis already have detained U.N. staffers, as well as individuals associated with the once-open U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen’s...
Australian Open: Madison Keys can win her first Slam title and stop Aryna Sabalenka’s 3-peat
MELBOURNE, Australia — The Madison Keys who will play two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at the Australian Open on Saturday night is not the same Madison Keys who was the runner-up at the U.S. Open back in 2017, the one other time the American participated in a...
Thousands of endangered tortoises are rescued in Madagascar after their sanctuary is flooded
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A community in southern Madagascar has pulled together to save thousands of critically endangered tortoises swept away from their sanctuary and left swimming for their lives in floods this month caused by a tropical cyclone. The 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises that were housed at...
Novak Djokovic quits mid-match and walks off to boos, putting Alexander Zverev in Australian Open final vs. Jannik Sinner
MELBOURNE, Australia — Spectators booed an injured Novak Djokovic as he left the court in Rod Laver Arena after quitting one set into his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday. Dealing with what he said was a torn muscle, Djokovic lost the opening set 7-6 (5) when he...
Afghan refugees urge Pakistan to ease visa regime after Trump pauses U.S. resettlement programs
ISLAMABAD — Afghan refugees on Friday appealed to Pakistan’s premier to ease a visa regime on humanitarian grounds after President Donald Trump paused the U.S. refugee programs. Many Afghans whose visas have either expired or will expire soon fear arrest and deportation. “We don’t know exactly when the pause of...
Bills might be better, but Chiefs are favored for a reason
LAS VEGAS — The Kansas City Chiefs are slight favorites to beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and get a shot at winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl. But that doesn’t mean Kansas City is the better team. “I agree with that,” CBS SportsLine handicapper Bruce Marshall said. “I...
Ravens’ Mark Andrews ‘absolutely gutted’ by his performance in playoff loss to Bills
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Mark Andrews is “absolutely gutted by what happened” in last weekend’s divisional playoff loss at the Buffalo Bills, the veteran Baltimore Ravens tight end said in a social media post Thursday. A wide-open Andrews dropped a potential tying 2-point conversion in the final two minutes of...
Ludvig Aberg, Lanto Griffin share lead after fierce coastal wind interrupts Farmers Insurance OpenVideo
SAN DIEGO — Ludvig Aberg and Lanto Griffin shared the lead Thursday at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open after ferocious wind forced an 86-minute delay and prevented dozens of players from finishing the second round. First-round leader Aberg fought to a 3-over-par 75, while Griffin had a 72...
Saudi crown prince says kingdom intends to invest $600 billion in U.S. during call with Trump
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip. Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a...
LeBron James picked for 21st straight All-Star Game, extending NBA recordVideo
LeBron James is extending his All-Star records. The NBA revealed the starters — some of them, anyway — for the revamped All-Star Game on Thursday night, and there wasn’t much in the way of surprises. James is now officially an All-Star for the 21st year. The other starters: — New...
NBA still talking about expanding its footprint in Europe, Adam Silver saysVideo
PARIS — The NBA is still exploring ways to expand its role in European basketball, and those talks with FIBA and other stakeholders will continue, commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday. That means there’s no deal yet. But Silver, speaking before the start of the NBA Paris Games between San Antonio...
Pete Hegseth told senator he paid $50,000 to woman who accused him of 2017 sex assault
WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017, according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained. The written answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic...
Ichiro Suzuki wants to have a drink with writer who left him off Hall of Fame ballotVideo
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ichiro Suzuki wants to raise a glass with the voter who chose not to check off his name on the Hall of Fame ballot. “There’s one writer that I wasn’t able to get a vote from,” he said through a translator Thursday, two days after receiving 393...
Head of West Virginia gun lobby appointed to replace lawmaker-elect arrested for making threats
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of West Virginia’s largest gun-lobbying group has been appointed to fill the seat of a lawmaker-elect who was ousted while confined to his house on charges related to terroristic threats against his colleagues. Ian Masters, a Gerrardstown lawyer and president of the West Virginia Citizens...
FEMA faces shakeup under Trump while it wrestles with disasters on both coasts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been on the frontlines of responding to recent wildfires in California and last year’s hurricane in North Carolina. He spoke at length about the issue with congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday, discussing whether the...
Jurickson Profar agrees to $42M, 3-year contract with Braves, a year after getting $1M deal with PadresVideo
ATLANTA — Jurickson Profar agreed to a $42 million, three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, less than a year after the outfielder got a $1 million deal from the San Diego Padres with spring training already underway. Profar revived his career with the Padres last year when he...
CNN announces layoffs as part of a further shift to digital business
CNN announced a restructuring Thursday that includes some 200 layoffs, an accelerated pivot to digital operations and new TV roles for personalities such as Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper and Audie Cornish. It’s the boldest revamp yet in the 18-month tenure of CEO Mark Thompson, a former chief executive at The...
Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban charged with arson
MADISON, Wis. — Prosecutors charged a Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to burn down a congressman’s office because he was upset with the federal TikTok ban with multiple counts on Wednesday, including arson. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney filed a complaint against 19-year-old Caiden...
Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records
DALLAS — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of...
S&P 500 climbs to a record as bond market stays calmVideo
NEW YORK — Stocks rose to a record Thursday as Wall Street regained some of the momentum that catapulted it to 57 all-time highs last year. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to surpass its all-time high set early last month after coming close the day before. It was the seventh...
Trump revokes protections for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top Iran aide
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration. A congressional staffer and a person familiar with...
Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead CIA, giving Trump his 2nd Cabinet memberVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA,...
