Associated Press stories, Page 44
Hollywood starts 2026 with ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ No. 1, as James Cameron’s sci-fi epic crosses $1B
NEW YORK — Hollywood kicked off 2026 with “Avatar: Fire and Ash” atop the box office for the third straight week and with hopes for a blockbuster-filled year after a disappointing 2025. In three weeks of release, “Fire and Ash” has cleared $1 billion worldwide. The third chapter in James...
Rubio says U.S. won’t govern Venezuela but will press for changes through oil blockade
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that the United States would not govern Venezuela day-to-day other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on the country, a turnaround after President Donald Trump has insisted that the U.S. would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolás Maduro....
U.S. intervention in Venezuela could test Trump’s ability to hold GOP together in an election yearVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela will pose a fresh test of his ability to hold together a restive Republican coalition during a challenging election year that could be defined by domestic concerns like health care and affordability. While most Republicans lined up behind the president in...
A tense calm holds in Venezuela a day after Maduro was deposed by U.S.
CARACAS, Venezuela — A tense calm held in Venezuela on Sunday, one day after President Nicolás Maduro was deposed and captured in an American military operation. Venezuela’s capital Caracas was unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around. Convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses were mostly closed. A day...
What to know about the protests now shaking Iran as tensions remain high over its nuclear program
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Widening protests in Iran sparked by the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy are putting new pressure on its theocracy. Tehran is still reeling from a 12-day war launched by Israel in June that saw the United States bomb nuclear sites in Iran. Economic pressure, which has...
Tyson Fury says he is coming out of retirement in 2026
MANCHESTER, England — Tyson Fury is returning to the ring after announcing on Sunday that he will step out of retirement. The former heavyweight world champion confirmed his comeback in a post on social media, which sets up the prospect of a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua. “2026 is that...
Swiss skier Rast ends Shiffrin’s six-race winning streak in World Cup slaloms with Olympics looming
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — The duel between Mikaela Shiffrin and her Swiss rival Camille Rast is shaping up nicely with 45 days to go until the women’s slalom race at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Rast ended Shiffrin’s six-race winning streak in World Cup slaloms Sunday, beating the American star...
Anthony Joshua posts his first public update since the car crash that killed two of his friends
LONDON — Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua issued his first public update on Sunday following the car crash that killed two of his friends in Nigeria. Joshua posted a picture on his Instagram account of him sitting on a couch with his mother and three other women, one of...
Drone strikes kills 2 in Russian border regions ahead of Ukraine peace talks
Two people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in Russian border regions, local officials said Sunday, ahead of peace talks to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Paris this week. Belgorod regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said one person died and two others, including a young child, were wounded when a...
Trump’s plan to seize and revitalize Venezuela’s oil industry faces major hurdles
President Donald Trump’s plan to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it after capturing President Nicolás Maduro in a raid isn’t likely to have a significant immediate impact on oil prices. Venezuela’s oil industry is in disrepair after years of neglect and international sanctions,...
Marjorie Taylor Greene made waves. Her constituents don’t agree on whether it was worth it
DALTON, Ga. — President Donald Trump says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a traitor. But for Jackie Harling, who chairs the local Republican Party in Greene’s northwestern corner of Georgia, she’s still “mama bear.” “Every thought that we had in our minds, she seemed to be very good at verbalizing,”...
Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot
WASHINGTON — As Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time on Jan. 20, 2025, former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell put his phone on “do not disturb” and left it on his nightstand to take a break from the news. That evening, after Gonell spent time with family and...
Maduro arrives in U.S. after stunning capture in operation that Trump says will let U.S. ‘run’ VenezuelaVideo
CARACAS, Venezuela — Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell...
Seahawks secure No. 1 seed in NFC by stomping 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Zach Charbonnet scored on a 27-yard run in the first quarter, and Seattle shut down the high-powered San Francisco offense in a 13-3 victory over the 49ers on Saturday night that secured the No. 1 seed for the Seahawks in the NFC playoffs. Seattle (14-3) won...
No. 20 Illinois beats Penn State at Philly’s Palestra
PHILADELPHIA — David Mirkovic had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Kylan Boswell scored 18 points to lead No. 20 Illinois to a 73-65 win over Penn State on Saturday night at the Palestra. Keaton Wagler scored 16 points, and Zvonimir Ivisic added five blocked shots for the Illini (11-3,...
Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and Blue Jays agree to contract, AP source says
TORONTO — Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced and the person was not authorized to...
Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing arrest of immigrant resigns as GOP threatens impeachment
Embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor. The letter was sent Saturday. Republicans had been making plans to impeach her ever since her Dec. 19 conviction. A spokesperson for Gov....
Milan Momcilovic’s 8 3-pointers, Joshua Jefferson’s triple-double lead No. 3 Iowa State past West Virginia
AMES, Iowa — Milan Momcilovic made eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points, Joshua Jefferson had a triple-double and No. 3 Iowa State beat West Virginia, 80-59, in its Big 12 opener Friday night. The Cyclones’ 14-0 start matched the 2013-14 team for the best in program history. Iowa State broke...
U.S. plans to ‘run’ Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro
CARACAS, Venezuela — Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. The dramatic...
Wake Forest QB torches Mississippi State in eventful Duke’s Mayo Bowl
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Robby Ashford threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and two scores, Koredell Bartley scored on a 100-yard kickoff return, and Wake Forest beat Mississippi State, 43-29, in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday night, earning coach Jake Dickert a mayonnaise bath....
SMU fends off Arizona comeback to win Holiday Bowl
SAN DIEGO — Kevin Jennings threw for 278 yards, highlighted by an 80-yard completion on a razzle-dazzle play on the second play from scrimmage, and SMU beat No. 21 Arizona, 24-19, in the Holiday Bowl on Friday night. Jennings completed 21-of-32 passes and set up two touchdown runs by T.J....
Finland stuns 2-time defending champ US 4-3 in OT in world junior quarterfinals
ST. PAUL, Minn.— Arttu Valola scored at 2:11 of overtime, and Finland stunned the two-time defending champion United States, 4-3, on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarterfinals. Last year in the final in Ottawa, Ontario, the Americans beat the Finns, 4-3, in overtime. “Got to give credit to...
Rangers beat Panthers 5-1 in first outdoor hockey game in Miami. Mika Zibanejad has hat trick
MIAMI — Send the New York Rangers outdoors, and they become unbeatable. Mika Zibanejad had a hat trick, Artemi Panarin scored twice and the Rangers beat the Florida Panthers, 5-1, on Friday night in the Winter Classic, the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State. Alexis Lafrenière had three...
QB Joe Flacco appreciates his chance to play for Bengals
CINCINNATI — After opening the season as the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns facing the Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Flacco will close the season as the backup for the Bengals as they face the Browns on Sunday. Flacco was dealt to the Bengals in October and made six starts for...
Japan says Trump has invited its leader to the U.S. It comes as ties with China are strained
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to visit the United States this year, the Japanese foreign ministry said, in what would be the ultraconservative leader’s first trip to the U.S. since taking office in October. The White House is yet...
