Associated Press stories, Page 563
Federal rule on Title IX is a ruse to require trans sports participation, GOP states say
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Biden administration has put on hold a plan to prohibit across-the-board bans on transgender athletes on school teams during an election year in which Republicans are rallying around restrictions on trans youths. But GOP state leaders are making sure voters know the issue is still...
Bruhat Soma wins National Spelling Bee after slow night concludes with sudden tiebreaker
OXON HILL, Md. — Bruhat Soma insisted he was nervous during the idle hours as he waited to take the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage, and he felt even more pressure to perform given that he hadn’t lost a spelling bee in eight months. He never showed any nerves in...
Israel could have used smaller weapons against Hamas to avoid deaths in Gaza tent fire, experts say
WASHINGTON — Defense experts who have reviewed debris images from an Israeli airstrike that ignited a deadly fire in a camp for displaced Palestinians questioned why Israel did not use smaller, more precise weapons when so many civilians were nearby. They said the bombs used were likely U.S.-made. The strikes,...
ABBA will get a prestigious Swedish knighthood for their pop career that started at Eurovision
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The four members of the Swedish pop quartet ABBA, who triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the peppy love song “Waterloo,” are set to receive one of the most prestigious knighthoods in Sweden at a ceremony Friday. The Order of the Vasa will be handed...
Minneapolis police officer dies in ambush shooting that killed 2 others including suspected gunman
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis police officer responding to a shooting call was ambushed and killed Thursday when he stopped to provide aid to a man who appeared to be a victim. That man instead wound up shooting the officer, authorities said. The death of officer Jamal Mitchell happened during a...
Barred from combat, women working as codebreakers, cartographers and coxswains helped D-Day succeed
LONDON — What did you do in the war, Granny? For British women who came of age during World War II, the answer to that question is often: quite a lot. The history of D-Day is often told through the stories of the men who fought and died when the...
Trump responds to his guilty verdict by falsely blasting a ‘rigged trial’ and attacking star witness
NEW YORK — Donald Trump launched into attacks on the judge in his criminal trial and continued to undermine New York’s criminal justice system Friday as he tried to repackage his conviction on 34 felony charges as fuel, not an impediment, to his latest White House bid. Trump spoke to...
Luka Doncic’s 36 points spur Mavericks to NBA Finals
MINNEAPOLIS — Luka Doncic had a 20-point first quarter on his way to 36 points for his high this postseason, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 124-103, on Thursday night to breeze through the Western Conference finals in five games. Kyrie Irving also scored 36 points for the...
Panthers beat Rangers 3-2 in Game 5 to move within win of Stanley Cup Final returnVideo
NEW YORK — Anton Lundell broke a tie on a deflected shot with 9:38 left, and the Florida Panthers moved within a victory of returning to the Stanley Cup Final, beating the New York Rangers, 3-2, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final Thursday night. Gustav Forsling and Sam...
Biden said to be finalizing plans for migrant limits as part of a U.S.-Mexico border clampdown
WASHINGTON — The White House is finalizing plans for a U.S.-Mexico border clampdown that would shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entrance to migrants once the number of people encountered by American border officials exceeded a new daily threshold, with President Joe Biden expected to sign an executive order...
Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin becomes 2-time Lady Byng winner for sportsmanship
NEW YORK — Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the NHL’s Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct for the second time Thursday. Also the 2021 winner, he’s the second blue-liner to win it twice, joining Red Kelly, who was a four-time winner, with three coming as a...
Republican lawmakers react with fury to Trump verdict and rally to his defense
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers reacted with immediate fury on Thursday as a New York jury convicted former President Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election, speaking out with near unanimity in questioning the legitimacy of the trial and how it was conducted. House...
Yuka Saso survives, Nelly Korda shoots 80 to start U.S. Women’s Open
LANCASTER — Former champion Yuka Saso leaned on her putter to survive a brutally tough start to the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday, an opening round that featured Nelly Korda making a 10 on her third hole and only four players barely beating par. Saso had three big par putts...
David Skinns shoots 8-under 62 to take 1st-round lead in RBC Canadian OpenVideo
HAMILTON, Ontario — David Skinns had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and shot an 8-under-par 62 on Thursday at Hamilton Golf and Country Club to take the first-round lead in the RBC Canadian Open. Playing in the afternoon with the greens still mostly receptive after rain earlier in the...
Roberts rejects Senate Democrats’ request to discuss Supreme Court ethics, Alito flag controversy
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators to talk about Supreme Court ethics and the controversy over flags that flew outside homes owned by Justice Samuel Alito. Roberts’ response came in a letter to the senators a day after Alito separately...
Oilers-Stars even after wild swings of momentum, big comebacks
DALLAS — There have been wild swings of momentum in the Western Conference final, and something that has happened only one other time this late in the NHL playoffs. After Edmonton and Dallas both came back from multiple-goal deficits to win while splitting the past two games, this is now...
Crews race to restore power across Texas ahead of another round of stormsVideo
DALLAS — Crews trying to restore power across storm-battered Texas were contending with downed trees and tangled limbs on Thursday, along with a forecast that could bring more damaging wind and hail. Electricity was back on for about 80% of the more than 1 million homes and businesses that lost...
What’s next for Trump’s conviction in his hush money trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts marks the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial, but the fight over the case is far from over. Now comes the sentencing and the potential for a prison sentence. A lengthy appellate process. And all the while,...
NBA media negotiations enter 4th quarter with outcome in doubt
The conference finals and Bronny James’ decision to remain in the draft are far from the only things dominating NBA conversations lately. In fact, both have been trumped by the drama surrounding where fans will be able to watch games for at least the next decade. The NBA media rights...
NFL teams are using 2 tight ends less frequently, but those that do still find it effectiveVideo
HENDERSON, Nev. — Michael Mayer appreciated the reassuring call from the Raiders after they selected Brock Bowers with the No. 13 pick in April, though he wasn’t exactly thrilled they drafted a tight end. Mayer’s position. But once he had a chance to reflect, Mayer decided to embrace the situation....
Biden partially lifts ban on Ukraine using American arms in strikes on Russian territory, U.S. officials say
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weaponry to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, underscored that the U.S. policy calling...
NCAA, states reach agreement to permanently allow multiple-transfer athletes to compete
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The NCAA and a coalition of states suing the organization announced a proposed settlement of a lawsuit Thursday that would allow athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer and give them an extra year of eligibility. Under the agreement, a...
Trump becomes 1st former U.S. president convicted of felony crimesVideo
NEW YORK — Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said...
Supreme Court gives homeowners another chance in escrow dispute with Bank of America
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday gave homeowners another chance to force Bank of America and other large banks to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts. The court unanimously threw out an appeals court ruling in favor of Bank of America, which has refused to pay interest on money...
NRA can sue ex-N.Y. official it says tried to blacklist it after Parkland shooting, Supreme Court says
WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for a National Rifle Association lawsuit against a former New York state official over claims she pressured companies to blacklist it following the deadly 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Giving the NRA a new chance to prove its...
