Associated Press stories, Page 358
Christopher Bell takes only lead in OT for thrilling NASCAR finish in Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. — Christopher Bell edged Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson in overtime Sunday in another close NASCAR Cup Series finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bell led only the final lap in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and had a slight edge on the outside when the caution light came...
Zelenskyy says progress made on reaching an agreement with the U.S. on rare minerals deal
KYIV, Ukraine — A contentious Trump administration proposal to give the U.S. $500 billion worth of profits from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv has been taken off the table, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, indicating a more equitable deal is in the works....
‘Conclave’ triumphs at SAG Awards and Timothée Chalamet wins best actor, upending Oscar predictions
The papal thriller “Conclave” won best ensemble and Timothée Chalamet took best actor at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, a pair of twists that added a few final wrinkles to an unusually unpredictable awards season. In winning the guild’s top award, Edward Berger’s Vatican-set drama triumphed just...
Hat trick puts Alex Ovechkin 13 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals recordVideo
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin fired a perfect wrist shot past Calvin Pickard for his first goal of the game, scored from his office on the power play for his second and sailed a shot into an empty net from his own zone to complete the hat trick. “I have pretty...
Flagg fun: Illinois coach suggests young Duke star should stay in school, ‘chase a girl’Video
NEW YORK — Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea. “I hope he stays in school. I mean, if...
Pete Hegseth defends Trump’s firings of Pentagon leaders and says there may be more dismissals
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists President Donald Trump ‘s abrupt firing of the nation’s senior military officer amid a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon wasn’t unusual, brushing aside outcry that the new administration is openly seeking to inject politics into the military. He also suggested more firings...
Trump administration is firing 2,000 USAID workers and putting thousands of others on leave
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating 2,000 U.S.-based staff positions. The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Donald Trump...
Motive in Pennsylvania hospital shooting unclear, but officials say man had recent contact with ICUVideo
YORK — The man who authorities say entered a Pennsylvania hospital with zip ties and a pistol over the weekend had recent contact with the hospital’s intensive care unit, where he took staff members hostage and was killed in a shootout that left a police officer dead and others injured....
Kathy Hochul says she made a case to Trump for NYC’s congestion pricing, yet predicts courts will decide
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she told President Donald Trump in a private meeting at the White House that congestion pricing tolls in New York City are necessary and working, yet the Democrat predicted the courts will likely decide the matter. Last week Trump withdrew federal...
No. 13 N.C. State women end No. 1 Notre Dame’s 19-game streak with double-OT winVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — Zoe Brooks had a career-high 33 points to help No. 13 N.C. State push past top-ranked Notre Dame, 104-95, in a double-overtime classic Sunday, ending the Fighting Irish’s 19-game winning streak while keeping alive their hopes to share the ACC regular-season title. Brooks also had 10 rebounds...
Key agencies, including some led by Trump loyalists, refuse to comply with Musk’s latest demand
NEW YORK — Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk’s demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their jobs. That resistance has intensified a pervasive sense of...
American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi lands safely in Rome after security concern
ROME — An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely on Sunday afternoon in Rome after it was diverted due to a security concern, which later proved to be “non-credible,” the airline said. American Airlines said Flight 292 “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing...
Trump and Musk aren’t the first to make deep cuts, Clinton-era Reinventing Government saved billions
DENVER — A new administration swept into Washington and announced plans to shake it up, using corporate know-how and new technology to streamline the federal bureaucracy. It offered millions of government employees buyouts and slashed costs to balance the budget. It might sound like the controversial cost-cutting push led by...
Hegseth defends Trump’s firings of Pentagon leaders and says there may be more dismissals
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is defending President Donald Trump ‘s firing of the nation’s senior military officer and a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon, insisting that they weren’t unusual despite accusations that the new administration is injecting politics into the military. “Nothing about this is unprecedented,” Hegseth...
Mikaela Shiffrin gets historic 100th World Cup race win and ties record for most podiums
SESTRIERE, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin is 100% the best in skiing’s World Cup history book. Shiffrin’s record-extending 100th career World Cup race win Sunday fulfilled a quest put on hold by a serious crash in November. Back to racing in her favored slalom event, Shiffrin kept and added to her...
What happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?
VATICAN CITY — While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church...
Pope Francis in critical condition with early kidney failure but remains alert as prayers pour in
ROME — Pope Francis remained in critical condition Sunday and blood tests showed early kidney failure but he remains alert, responsive and attended Mass, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection. In a late update, the Vatican said Francis hadn’t had any more...
NHL will hold its first decentralized draft at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28Video
LOS ANGELES — When the NHL draft comes to Los Angeles this summer, expect a lot more Gary Bettman. The 2025 NHL Draft will take place June 27 and 28 at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theatre, the league announced Saturday, and Bettman — the NHL’s commissioner since 1993 — will be...
Aldrich Potgieter hangs on to 1-shot lead in Mexico OpenVideo
VALLARTA, Mexico — Aldrich Potgieter had the lead going into the final round of the Mexico Open — minus the cushion he enjoyed — after a sloppy finish Saturday that made him settle for a 4-under-par 67 and a one-shot advantage over Brian Campbell at Vidanta Vallarta. Potgieter, a 20-year-old...
Briscoe tries to move past devastating penalties and Blaney to start on pole in NASCAR Atlanta raceVideo
HAMPTON, Ga. — A massive fine left Chase Briscoe facing a huge points deficit heading into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Even so, Briscoe insisted he feels no new pressure. He said he already felt an urgency to win this week because those are the expectations...
Juan Soto hits a 426-foot home run in 1st at-bat for New York MetsVideo
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Juan Soto wasted little time in showing off his power for his new team. Again. Soto homered in his first spring training at-bat for the New York Mets, hitting a solo shot to left-center field in the first inning against Houston on Saturday. The Mets...
Michigan state lawmaker beats out loyal Trump ally charged in fake elector case for GOP party chair
DETROIT — Michigan Republicans gathered in Detroit on Saturday to elect a new chair who will lead the party into the 2026 midterms in the battleground state, when several key races will be decided including a critical U.S. Senate seat. A state lawmaker beat out two other candidates, including a...
JT Toppin, No. 9 Texas Tech overcome a slow start to beat West Virginia
LUBBOCK, Texas — JT Toppin scored 22 points, freshman Christian Anderson had a season-high 21 points with five 3-pointers in his first career start and ninth-ranked Texas Tech beat West Virginia, 73-51, on Saturday. Toppin and the Red Raiders (21-6, 12-4 Big 12) overcame a slow start, with the 6-foot-9...
Yanic Konan Niederhauser scores 24 points as Penn State defeats Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 24 points, Penn State had a dominant 17-minute stretch in the middle of the game, and the Nittany Lions defeated Minnesota, 69-60, on Saturday. The Gophers led 24-15 after Lu’Cye Patterson’s 3-pointer with nine minutes remaining in the first half, but they managed just...
Trump revels in mass federal firings and jeers at Biden before adoring conservative crowd
OXON HILL, Md. — President Donald Trump said Saturday that “nobody has ever seen anything” like his administration’s sweeping effort to fire thousands of federal employees and shrink the size of government, congratulating himself for “dominating” Washington and sending bureaucrats “packing.” Addressing an adoring crowd at the Conservative Political Action...
