Associated Press stories, Page 446
U.S. appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
An appeals court in Louisiana has ruled that Nasdaq can’t require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to boost the number of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ people on...
Trump invites China’s Xi to his inauguration even as he threatens massive tariffs on Beijing
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month — extending a diplomatic olive branch even as Trump threatens to levy massive tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Thursday that Trump invited Xi,...
South Korea’s Yoon defends martial law as an act of governance and vows to ‘fight to the end’
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree as an act of governance and denied rebellion charges, vowing Thursday to “fight to the end” in response to attempts to impeach him and intensifying investigations into last week’s dramatic move. The main opposition Democratic...
Trump named Time’s Person of the Year, rings New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has been recognized for the second time by Time magazine as its Person of the Year. To mark the event, Trump rang the opening bell Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange. The honors for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback...
Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The commutations announced Thursday...
American who says he crossed into Syria by foot is free after 7 months in detention
DAMASCUS, Syria — An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus...
East Coast storm makes a mess at ski resorts as strong winds cause power outages
PORTLAND, Maine — Colder weather began to return Thursday after a storm that swept up the East Coast delivered a blow to New England, packing powerful gusts that knocked out power along with a deluge of rain and warming temperatures that washed away snow and dampened ski resorts. An atmospheric...
In season filled with close games, nobody wins more than Chiefs
In a season on pace for a record number of close games, no team has been better at pulling them out late than the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs tied an NFL record last week by winning their 10th game this season by seven...
Report: Bill Belichick agrees to become North Carolina’s football coachVideo
Six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick has agreed to a five-year deal to become the next coach at North Carolina. The school announced the hiring Wednesday night, roughly a week after the 72-year-old Belichick’s name surfaced as an unlikely candidate to replace the program’s winningest all-time coach in Mack Brown....
Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing could return to New York on a governor’s warrant
PHILADELPHIA — The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back with what’s called a governor’s warrant. The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy...
Hannah Kobayashi, missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search, is found safe
LOS ANGELES — Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search and a missing persons investigation in Los Angeles, has been found safe, police said Wednesday. Kobayashi vanished last month in Los Angeles. She missed her connecting flight and planned to explore the city the next...
Arguments over whether Luigi Mangione is a ‘hero’ offer a glimpse into an unusual American moment
Is he a hero? A killer? Both? About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from “Super Mario Brothers” mushroomed online this week, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan, a hero. There were the...
FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign at end of Biden’s term in January
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job. Wray said...
Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal ‘lit the world on fire’
WASHINGTON — Under fire from congressional Republicans about one of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s handling of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Democrats struggled to make the best of a bad pullout deal struck by Donald Trump. Blinken...
Trump and Biden teams insist they’re working hand in glove on foreign crises
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump doesn’t think much of Joe Biden’s foreign policy record. The Republican president-elect frequently casts the outgoing Democratic president as a feckless leader who shredded American credibility around the world during his four-year term. But a funny thing happened on Trump’s way back to the White House:...
Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell. It’ll be a first for him
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, the ceremonial start of the day’s trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. It will be a notable moment of recognition for Trump, a born-and-bred New...
Homeland Security shares new details of mysterious drone flights over New Jersey
The large mysterious drones reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security. In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn...
Britain indefinitely bans puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria
LONDON — The British government on Wednesday indefinitely banned puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria after independent experts found there was an unacceptable safety risk in prescribing the medication. The decision, which will be revisited in 2027, effectively bans a common approach to medical gender transitions for youths. It...
Rape allegation against Jay-Z won’t impact NFL’s relationship with music mogul, AP sources say
IRVING, Texas — A rape allegation against rapper Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation has produced some of the NFL’s entertainment presentations including the Super Bowl halftime show, won’t impact the league’s relationship with the music mogul, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “With the...
Tyson Fury vows less clowning and more punching Usyk in the face in heavyweight championship rematch
Tyson Fury promises less clowning and more punching Oleksandr Usyk in the face during their upcoming rematch for boxing’s heavyweight championship. Usyk won a split decision in May in Saudi Arabia, and they get back in the ring there Dec. 21. Fury doesn’t plan to change much from his first...
House approves $895B defense bill with military pay raise, ban on transgender care for minors
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a $895 billion measure that authorizes a 1% increase in defense spending this fiscal year and would give a double-digit pay raise to about half of the enlisted service members in the military. The bill is traditionally strongly bipartisan, but some Democratic lawmakers...
U.S. warns Russia may be ready to use new lethal missile against Ukraine again in ‘coming days’
WASHINGTON — A U.S. intelligence assessment has concluded that Russia may use its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon, two U.S. officials said Wednesday. The Oreshnik missile, which was used for the first time last month, is seen more as an attempt at intimidation than as a...
Wisconsin kayaker who faked his death and fled the country is charged after returning to U.S.
GREEN LAKE, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning and left his wife and three children for Eastern Europe willingly returned to the U.S. after four months and was charged Wednesday with obstructing an intense lake search for his body. The criminal complaint charging Ryan Borgwardt with...
Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
A federal judge in Texas rejected the auction sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet, criticizing the bidding for the conspiracy theory platform as flawed as well as how much money families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting stood to receive. The decision late Tuesday...
Freshmen Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey help Rutgers fend off Penn State
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Dylan Harper finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, fellow freshman Ace Bailey totaled 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Rutgers held off Penn State, 80-76, on Tuesday night. Harper buried three straight 3-pointers to finish off an 11-0 run for a 13-7 lead and...
