Associated Press stories, Page 674
Saints name Klint Kubiak offensive coordinator, break from Sean Payton’s legacy
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints named Klint Kubiak as their offensive coordinator Wednesday, marking a new direction for a unit that has been overseen by either former coach Sean Payton or his protege, Pete Carmichael Jr., since 2006. The 36-year-old Kubiak was the passing game coordinator for the...
Michigan State pulls away in 1st half, beats Penn State behind Malik Hall’s career-high 29Video
STATE COLLEGE — Malik Hall had a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds, Jaden Akins scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half and Michigan State beat Penn State, 80-72, on Wednesday night. Michigan State (16-9, 8-6) has won seven of its last nine games and four of...
Special counsel asks Supreme Court to let Trump’s 2020 election case proceed to trial without delay
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to let former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case proceed to trial without further delay. Prosecutors were responding to a Trump team request from earlier in the week asking for a continued pause in the case...
Tiger Woods is wearing many hats at Riviera, but he just doesn’t have many answersVideo
LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods is wearing a lot of hats at the Genesis Invitational — one of them featuring a new logo — without a lot of clarity on the state of his game or the future of the PGA Tour. Woods joined the PGA Tour board last summer...
Charlotte, a stingray with no male companion, is pregnant in her mountain aquariumVideo
Charlotte, a rust-colored stingray the size of a serving platter, has spent much of her life gliding around the confines of a storefront aquarium in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains. She’s 2,300 miles from her natural habitat under the waves off southern California. And she hasn’t shared a tank of water...
Jimmie Johnson struggled in his 1st year as NASCAR team owner. Can he make Legacy a winner?Video
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth forged a deeper friendship bantering on all those punishing bicycle rides than they did as rivals on four wheels over their Hall of Fame NASCAR careers. Johnson gained an understanding of Kenseth’s often unassuming demeanor and the time, the effort and...
West Virginia bill defining gender is transphobic and ‘political rubbish,’ Democrats say
CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s Republican-supermajority House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday to narrow the definitions of gender that Democrats label as a dystopian bill that would give women no additional rights and is a way for the GOP to suppress transgender people. The bill passed on an 87-12 vote...
Massive landslide on coastal bluff leaves Southern California mansion on the edge of a cliffVideo
DANA POINT, Calif. — A massive landslide on a coastal bluff has left a Southern California mansion on the edge of a cliff, but authorities have determined that the ocean-view home and neighboring residences are not in immediate danger. The slide occurred last week in the city of Dana Point...
ACC will stay with 15 teams for basketball tournaments next year despite expansion to 18 teams
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The newly expanded Atlantic Coast Conference next year won’t feature every team in its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The league announced Wednesday that the ACC will feature the top 15 teams in next year’s tournaments, which will be the first after the league has grown to...
49ers fire defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after Super Bowl loss
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers have fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks three days after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Kyle Shanahan announced the decision on Wednesday to move on after one season with Wilks in charge of the defense. Shanahan called it...
House Intelligence Committee chair warns of a serious national security threatVideo
WASHINGTON — The Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee urged the Biden administration on Wednesday to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat. A senior congressional aide speaking to The Associated Press pointed to concerns about Russian anti-satellite weapons. Rep. Mike Turner gave no details...
At least 8 children among 22 hit by gunfire at end of Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade; 1 killedVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday’s parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, authorities said, as terrified fans ran for cover and yet another high-profile public event was marred by gun violence....
Gun victims’ re-created voices are being sent to lawmakers who support the NRA
PARKLAND, Fla. — Joaquin “Guac” Oliver died in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school massacre, but federal lawmakers who oppose tighter gun regulations began getting phone calls in his voice on Wednesday, lambasting them for their position. The families of Oliver and five others killed with guns are using artificial...
GOP Speaker Johnson says House won’t be ‘rushed’ to approve aid for Ukraine as $95B package stalls
WASHINGTON — Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday the U.S. House will not feel “rushed” to pass the $95.3 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, signaling a further stall over sending military hardware and munitions Kyiv badly needs to fight Russia. Johnson made the remarks behind...
Cyberattacks on hospitals are likely to increase, putting lives at risk, experts warn
WASHINGTON — Cybersecurity experts are warning that hospitals around the country are at risk for attacks like the one that is crippling operations at a premier Midwestern children’s hospital, and that the U.S. government is doing too little prevent such breaches. Hospitals in recent years have shifted their use of...
Date night strike: Thousands of U.S., UK delivery, ride-hailing drivers stop work on Valentine’s Day
Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine’s Day, calling for fair compensation and other changes to their working conditions. In the U.S., Uber and Lyft drivers planned daylong strikes in Pittsburgh; Chicago; Philadelphia; Miami; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut;...
Harvey Weinstein is appealing 2020 rape conviction. New York’s top court to hear arguments
NEW YORK — Nearly four years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sent to prison, New York’s highest court will hear arguments Wednesday in his quest to overturn the landmark #MeToo-era verdict. Weinstein’s lawyers are asking the state’s Court of Appeals in Albany to dismiss the disgraced movie...
Franklin from ‘Peanuts’ gets to shine in the spotlight of a new animated Apple TV+ specialVideo
NEW YORK — The mild-mannered Franklin — the first Black character in the “Peanuts” comic strip — gets to shine in his own animated Apple TV+ special this month in a story about friendship. Franklin is a newcomer who bonds with Charlie Brown and is welcomed to the Peanuts universe...
Ukrainian military says it sank Russian landing ship in Black Sea
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it used high-tech naval drones to sink a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea, a report that has not been confirmed by Russian authorities. The Caesar Kunikov amphibious ship sank 2.5 miles off Alupka, a city on the southern edge of the...
Sony’s profit rises on growing sales of music, games, pictures, sensors
TOKYO — Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony’s profit rose 13% in October-December on growing sales of music, image sensors and video games, the company said Wednesday. Tokyo-based Sony Corp.’s quarterly profit totaled 363.9 billion yen, or $2.4 billion, up from 321.5 billion yen the year before. Quarterly sales for...
Gaza cease-fire and hostage release talks appear to stall as Netanyahu blames Hamas
JERUSALEM — International efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas suffered a setback on Wednesday as Israel reportedly recalled its negotiating team and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of hobbling the high-stakes negotiations by sticking to “delusional” demands. Netanyahu’s remarks came hours after local media reported that...
Judge to consider whether to remove District Attorney Fani Willis from Georgia election case
ATLANTA — A Georgia judge who is deciding whether to toss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis off of the state’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump has set a hearing for Thursday that is expected to focus on details of Willis’ personal relationship with a special prosecutor...
Pond hockey in New Hampshire brightens winter for hundreds. But climate change threatens the sport
MEREDITH, N.H. — Every winter, Pete Kibble and the guys he plays social hockey with in Massachusetts make the trek up to New Hampshire to play in an outdoor tournament many believe embodies the sport in its purest form. They are among the 2,200 players who descend on Meredith each...
Amid artificial intelligence boom, AI girlfriends — and boyfriends — are making their mark
NEW YORK — A few months ago, Derek Carrier started seeing someone and became infatuated. He experienced a “ton” of romantic feelings but he also knew it was an illusion. That’s because his girlfriend was generated by artificial intelligence. Carrier wasn’t looking to develop a relationship with something that wasn’t...
Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day this year. Here’s what you need to know
Feb. 14 is a holiday heavyweight this year due to a calendar collision of events. Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day, the fixed annual celebration of love and friendship, marked by cute couples, eager elementary school students — and critics who deride its commercialization. But it also happens to be Ash Wednesday,...
