Associated Press stories, Page 378

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is nominating the billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as...

NEW YORK — Jersey Mike’s, the quickly expanding sandwich chain, is being acquired by asset management giant Blackstone. In the transaction announced Tuesday, private equity funds managed by Blackstone will be used to acquire majority ownership of Jersey Mike’s. The deal is “intended to help enable Jersey Mike’s to accelerate...

Images that depict the faces of girls with nude bodies have led to the departure of leaders from a private school in Pennsylvania, prompted a student protest and triggered a criminal investigation. A juvenile suspect was “removed from” Lancaster Country Day School and his cellphone was seized by investigators in...

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled support Tuesday for a Republican effort to ban Democrat Sarah McBride — the first transgender person to be elected to Congress — from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol once she’s sworn into office next year. “We’re not going to have men in...

SEATTLE — Northern California and the Pacific Northwest are bracing for what is expected to be a powerful storm, with heavy rain and winds set to pummel the region and potentially cause power outages and flash floods. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through...

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former television talk show host and heart surgeon, to head the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans and selected Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department. “Dr....

Alex Ovechkin is considered week-to-week after injuring his lower left leg in the Washington Capitals’ most recent game at Utah, an absence that is expected to slow down his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record. The Capitals said Tuesday that Ovechkin would be evaluated further by doctors when...

The New York Jets have fired general manager Joe Douglas, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Douglas was in the final year of his contract after being hired in 2019. The Jets are 3-8 in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations...

NEW YORK — Walk into any supermarket and you can generally buy a banana for less than $1. But a banana duct-taped to a wall? That might sell for more than $1 million at an upcoming auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The yellow banana fixed to the white wall...

VIENNA — Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to a confidential report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog seen Tuesday by The Associated Press. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency...

HENNIKER, N.H. — When Hector Xu was learning to fly a helicopter in college, he recalled having a few “nasty experiences” while trying to navigate at night. The heart-stopping flights led to his research of unmanned aircraft systems while getting his doctorate degree in aerospace engineering at Massachusetts Institute of...

NEW YORK — It’s not the holiday season until the house is full of festive music, from classics to covers and reimaginations across genres, for all to enjoy. In honor of the most wonderful time of the year, here are some of the best new holiday releases for the 2024...

Estate planning is one of those tasks that makes almost any other job look appealing, no matter how lowly. The good news is that you’ve probably already done a little bit of estate planning—you just may not be aware of it. It’s helpful to think of estate planning as a...

NEW YORK — Walmart ratcheted up sales and profits again in the third quarter with its comparatively low prices proving a powerful draw for shoppers seeking to cut spending where they could. The nation’s largest retailer raised its outlook for the year as well, underscoring its confidence in a strong...

The results of the London Olympics are still changing more than 12 years later. Shannon Rowbury of the United States took another step toward a long-delayed bronze medal on Tuesday when Russian runner Tatyana Tomashova was officially disqualified from the women’s 1,500 meters final at the London Games. The Athletics...

KYIV, Ukraine — The clock on her wall stopped almost as soon as the day began, its hands frozen by the Russian bomb that hit the dormitory serving as home for Ukrainians displaced by war. It was 1:45 a.m. in an upstairs room in the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Natalia...

BEIJING — Dozens of people have been killed in China in the past three months in a series of mass attacks. The latest on Tuesday saw primary school students injured by a car as they arrived for classes. The attacks take one of two forms — either drivers mowing down...