Associated Press stories, Page 342
Trump suggests he can remove Fed Chair Powell, saying he’s ‘not happy’ with him over interest rates
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for not cutting interest rates and said he could fire him if he wanted to, renewing a threat from his first term that could cause a major legal showdown over the issue of the central bank’s longstanding...
California judge set to decide whether the Menendez brothers deserve reduced sentences
LOS ANGELES — Erik and Lyle Menendez could learn this week whether they’ll get reduced sentences — and the chance for freedom — nearly 30 years after they were convicted of murdering their parents. A Los Angeles judge will preside over the resentencing hearing expected to last two days starting...
UN nuclear watchdog says U.S.-Iran talks at a ‘very crucial’ stage
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program are “in a very crucial” stage, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Thursday while on a visit to the Islamic Republic. The comments by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the...
Officials demand answers as crews work to restore power after another Puerto Rico blackout
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Crews worked early Thursday to restore power to Puerto Rico after a blackout across the entire island that affected the main international airport, several hospitals and hotels filled with Easter vacationers The outage that began past noon Wednesday left 1.4 million customers without electricity and...
Head Start funding lags by nearly $1 billion this year, causing some preschool closures
Head Start centers across the U.S. have received nearly $1 billion less in federal money compared with this time last year — and a lag in funding this week has caused some preschool classrooms for low-income children to close. The federal government has distributed $1.6 billion for Head Start from...
Spencer Carbery coached the Capitals to 1st in the East. His NHL colleagues rave about how he did itVideo
WASHINGTON — Spencer Carbery integrated several offseason additions to perfection, helped the Washington Capitals become the first NHL team to qualify for the playoffs this season and navigated Alex Ovechkin’s successful pursuit of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record. All that makes Carbery a prime candidate to win the Jack...
Island-wide blackout hits Puerto Rico as residents prepare for Easter weekend
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the largely Catholic residents of the U.S. territory prepared to celebrate the Easter weekend, officials said. All 1.4 million clients on the island were without power, Hugo Sorrentini, spokesman for Luma Energy, which oversees the transmission...
Scottie Scheffler rested, ready to defend title at Hilton HeadVideo
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Scottie Scheffler was the star attraction of a parade just two days after the Masters. This one was all about a red plaid jacket from Harbour Town, not a green jacket from Augusta National. The tradition of the RBC Heritage is for the defending champion...
A colossal squid is caught on camera for the first time in the deep sea
A colossal squid has been caught on camera for the first time in the deep sea by an international team of researchers steering a remotely operated submersible. The sighting was announced Tuesday by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. The squid filmed was a juvenile about 1 foot in length at a...
Experts make new recommendations on RSV and meningitis vaccines, but it’s unclear what happens next
ATLANTA — A federal panel of experts on Wednesday recommended an expansion of RSV vaccinations for adults and a new combination shot as another option to protect teens against meningitis. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also voted to recommend a shot to protect travelers from a mosquito-borne illness called...
Trump administration plans to end IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision. The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was credited by users with making tax filing easy,...
How war, money and the quest for discovery entwined U.S. government and universities
NEW YORK — The showdown between the Trump administration and Harvard University is spotlighting bare-knuckled politics and big dollar figures. But in the battle of the moment, it’s easy to lose sight of a decades-long alliance between the U.S. government and the nation’s most prominent universities, forged to fight a...
U.S. stocks drop as Nvidia slides and the fog of Trump’s trade war thickens
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after Nvidia warned new restrictions on exports to China will chisel billions of dollars off its results, while companies around the world said President Donald Trump’s trade war is clouding forecasts for how they and the economy will do this year. The S&P...
Justin Rose coping with ‘torment’ of Masters close callVideo
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — The farther Justin Rose drove from Augusta National only made him realize how close he came to winning the Masters. His phone kept buzzing on the way to Hilton Head Island, one text after another, all of them with the same message that applauded his...
Fort Benning takes back its old name, but to honor a different soldier
FORT BENNING — The Army officially restored the name Fort Benning to its storied training post in Georgia, only this time to honor an 18-year-old corporal who fought in World War I rather than a Confederate general. A ceremony to make the name change official was held Wednesday at the...
Powell says Federal Reserve can wait on any interest rate moves
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve can stay patient and wait to see how tariffs and other economic policies of the Trump administration play out before making any changes to interest rates, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday. “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity” on...
Nate Bargatze will host the 2025 Emmy Awards
LOS ANGELES — Stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze will host the 77th Emmy Awards, CBS announced Wednesday. One of the most popular stand-ups currently working, Bargatze will emcee the Sept. 14 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. While the Oscars have found success with Conan O’Brien, set to return...
Maryland Sen. Van Hollen meets with El Salvador’s VP in push for Abrego Garcia’s release
SAN SALVADOR — Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on Wednesday and met with the country’s vice president to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent there by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation....
Security review planned for Gov. Shapiro’s official residence after arson attack
HARRISBURG — An independent expert will review security at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence after investigators accused a man of scaling a wall and setting fire to the mansion, state police said Wednesday. State police said the review will be a risk and vulnerability assessment of the governor’s official...
NFL teams are no longer shying away from older prospects in the draft
Bo Nix has already turned 25. Michael Penix Jr. will get there in May. Both quarterbacks were first-round picks last year. They were among 56 players age 24 or older drafted in 2024. That number was up from 54 in 2023, 44 in 2022, 16 in 2021 and 19 in...
Retail sales rise 1.4% in March as shoppers stock up on big ticket items ahead of tariffs
NEW YORK — U.S. shoppers increased their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items from gadgets to cars before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs started kicking in. Retail sales rose 1.4% in March, after rising 0.2% in February, according to the Commerce Department. Retail...
Trump administration sues Maine over participation of transgender athletes in girls sports
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is suing Maine’s education department for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports, escalating a dispute over whether the state is abiding by a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex....
White House to launch new media policy restricting wire services’ access to the president
Fresh from a courtroom loss over The Associated Press’ access to the presidency, the White House on Tuesday put forward a new media policy that sharply curtails access to Donald Trump by news agencies that serve media outlets around the world. It was the latest attempt by the new administration...
Biden alleges Trump has ‘taken a hatchet’ to Social Security in 1st post-presidency speech
CHICAGO — Former President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that President Donald Trump has “taken a hatchet” to Social Security, weighing in on a critical issue for millions of Americans as the 82-year-old Democrat briefly returned to the national stage. Biden, who has largely avoided speaking publicly since leaving the...
Trump says he’s joining Bessent and Lutnick for trade negotiations with Japanese at the White House
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’s joining some of his top economic advisers on Wednesday for negotiations at the White House over tariffs and trade with a top Japanese official who is traveling to Washington for the talks. The Republican president said in a post on his social media...
