Associated Press stories, Page 354
Trump administration says it’s cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, putting numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad. The...
New Orleans Privateers suspensions related to possible NCAA violations
NEW ORLEANS — Four New Orleans players who’ve been suspended since late January are under investigation for possible NCAA violations related to sports gambling, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the university’s only public statement about...
Vagabond A’s enter Sacramento era with playoff expectations
MESA, Ariz. — The Athletics have moved about an hour east from Oakland to the Sacramento area, where they will be based in a minor-league ballpark for the next three seasons while hoping a more permanent home in Las Vegas will be ready in 2028. If this doesn’t sound like...
Heisman winner Travis Hunter already has NFL convinced he can be 2-way playerVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Travis Hunter arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine with a Heisman Trophy resume, an invitation to work out at two positions and ready to answer all doubters. The former Colorado star already appears to have completed one task this week in Indianapolis — convincing coaches and general managers...
Famous Ludvig Aberg, unknown Brian Campbell are both important to PGA Tour
One week the PGA Tour winner was Ludvig Aberg, a Swede so supremely talented that he played in a Ryder Cup before his first major, entered the top 10 in the world ranking just nine months after he left college and has been there ever since. The next week it...
Bell tolls as New York marks the anniversary of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
NEW YORK — New York City on Wednesday marked the anniversary of the 1993 bombing at the old World Trade Center, when Islamic extremists first attempted to bring down the twin towers with 1,200 pounds of explosives in a parked rental van. Six people, including a pregnant woman, died in...
Here’s what to know about the Oscars, from presenters to performers
After devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles, the 97th Academy Awards are going forward. Like the Grammys and other awards shows this year, the ceremony will be transformed by the fires and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has pledged to help its members and the broader film...
Egg prices could jump another 41% this year, USDA says, as Trump’s bird flu plan unveiled
WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department predicts the current record prices for eggs could soar more than 40% in 2025, as the Trump administration offered the first new details Wednesday about its plan to battle bird flu and ease the cost of eggs. With an emphasis on tightening up biosecurity on...
Hamas hands over to Red Cross 4 dead hostages from Gaza, as Palestinians leave Israeli prison
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas handed over four dead hostages to the Red Cross early Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was to end. An Israeli security official confirmed that Hamas handed...
Michelle Trachtenberg, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Harriet the Spy’ star, dies at at 39
NEW YORK — Michelle Trachtenberg, a former child star who appeared in the 1996 “Harriet the Spy” hit movie and went on to co-star in two buzzy millennial-era TV shows — “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl” — has died. She was 39. Police responded to a 911 call...
The Trump administration sets the stage for large-scale federal worker layoffs in a new memo
WASHINGTON — Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, according to a memo distributed by President Donald Trump’s administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government. The memo expands the Republican president’s effort to downsize the federal workforce, which he has described...
Supreme Court seems likely to rule for Ohio woman claiming job bias because she’s straight
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Wednesday to side with an Ohio woman who claims she suffered sex discrimination from her employer because she is straight. The outcome of the case could remove an additional requirement that some courts apply when members of a majority group, including those who...
Javon Small has 23 points, 10 assists as West Virginia cruises past TCU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Javon Small scored 23 points and had 10 assists to lead West Virginia to a 73-55 victory over TCU on Tuesday night. West Virginia (17-11, 8-9 Big 12) rebounded from a 73-51 loss at then-No. 9 Texas Tech on Saturday and avenged a 65-60 loss at TCU...
A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the U.S. in a decade
LUBBOCK, Texas — A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015. The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the widespread...
U.S. and Ukraine have agreed on a preliminary economic deal, Ukraine’s prime minister says
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Wednesday that Ukraine and the United States have reached preliminary agreement on a broad economic deal that includes U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals amid its three-year war with Russia. After days of negotiations, Ukraine and the U.S. will sign...
Robert Pattinson reminds audiences that accents are a signature of his performances in ‘Mickey 17’
LOS ANGELES — Often when Robert Pattinson gets a script, one of the first things he does — to the annoyance of his girlfriend, Suki Waterhouse — is try on different voices to bring his character to life. “I’ve always had that sort of response to a script,” he reflected,...
American Airlines flight discontinues landing to avoid departing plane at Washington National
ARLINGTON, Va. — An American Airlines plane arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport discontinued its landing, performing a go-around at an air traffic controller’s instruction to avoid getting too close to another aircraft departing from the same runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The maneuver involving American Flight 2246...
The U.S. is missing again as G20 finance chiefs meet in South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 developed and developing nations gathered in South Africa on Wednesday for a two-day meeting marked by the absence of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and several other high-profile figures. Bessent’s absence follows a boycott...
The National Archives is nonpartisan but has found itself targeted by Trump
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump moves to overhaul the federal government with astonishing speed, he has wreaked havoc on one agency long known for its nonpartisanship and revered for its mission: the National Archives and Records Administration. The independent agency and its trove of historic records have been the...
Russian, U.S. diplomats to meet in Istanbul to discuss operation of embassies
Diplomats from Russia and the United States will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss the operation of their respective embassies, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Wednesday. The meeting comes on the heels of Russia-U.S. talks in Saudi Arabia last week, which marked an extraordinary shift in U.S. foreign...
BP to slash spending on net zero ventures as it focuses on oil and gas again
LONDON — British energy company BP confirmed Wednesday that it would slash spending on green ventures and increase its oil and gas production, a change in direction that it hopes will bolster its flagging share price but has been met with incredulity from climate action campaigners. In a statement titled...
House GOP pushes ‘big’ budget resolution to passage, a crucial step toward delivering Trump’s agenda
WASHINGTON — With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans....
Trump says he will offer ‘gold cards’ for $5 million path to citizenship, replacing investor visas
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to offer a “gold card” visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million, replacing a 35-year-old visa for investors. “They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and...
Mercury’s Diana Taurasi retires after 20 WNBA seasons, 3 titles and 6 Olympic goldsVideo
PHOENIX — Diana Taurasi is retiring after 20 seasons, ending one of the greatest careers in women’s basketball history. The WNBA’s career scoring leader and a three-time league champion, Taurasi announced her retirement on Tuesday in an interview with Time magazine. The Phoenix Mercury — the only WNBA team she...
Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
CHICAGO — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway on Tuesday morning. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane approaching a runway just before 9 a.m....
