Associated Press stories, Page 699
Who was St. Brigid and why is she inspiring many 1,500 years after her death?
Devotees of St. Brigid celebrated her Sunday with the return of a relic associated with the so-called matron saint of Ireland. The festivities came about a millennium after her remains were removed from the town of Kildare, where she founded a prestigious abbey and inspired a host of colorful, miracle-filled...
GOP legislatures in some states seek ways to undermine voters’ ability to determine abortion rights
CHICAGO — Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the efforts are evidence that Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents are...
Spurs mascot The Coyote wearing Batman costume captures bat with net
SAN ANTONIO — A bat descended on the court and delayed play after Victor Wembanyama made a 3-pointer two minutes into the San Antonio Spurs’ 113-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. Dressed in a Batman costume, the Spurs’ mascot, The Coyote, captured the bat with a net...
Biden is trying to balance Gaza protests and free speech rights as demonstrators disrupt his events
MANASSAS, Va. — It was President Joe Biden’s first big campaign rally of the year, a chance to spotlight the issue of protecting abortion rights. Instead, at least a dozen times during Biden’s 22-minute speech, demonstrators scattered throughout the audience rose to shout out demands for a cease-fire in Gaza....
UN chief calls for resumed funding of Palestinian aid agency after allegations of militant ties
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The secretary-general of the United Nations on Sunday called on countries to resume funding the main agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip after a dozen of its employees were accused of taking part in the Hamas attack on Israel that ignited the war four months...
Injured Rangers pitchers Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom making progress
ARLINGTON, Texas — The World Series champion Texas Rangers have two multiple-time Cy Young Award winners who could return to their rotation sometime in the middle of the summer. Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer said Saturday he is progressing from December surgery to repair a herniated disk in his...
Jim Harbaugh pushed for Michigan to hire Sherrone Moore after leaving to lead Chargers
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan is giving Sherrone Moore a shot, hoping he can sustain at least some of the success Jim Harbaugh had toward the end of his nine-season run with college football’s winningest program. “We’re hungry for more,” Moore said Saturday after he was introduced as coach of...
Penn State buckles, gives up 14-point halftime lead in loss to Minnesota
UNIVERSITY PARK — Dawson Garcia scored 20 points, Cam Christie added 17 and Minnesota rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit and beat Penn State, 83-74, on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak. It was tied 70-70with 2 minutes, 50 seconds remaining before five Golden Gophers scored in a...
Trump praises Texas governor as border state clashes with Biden over immigration
LAS VEGAS — Former President Donald Trump lavished praise Saturday on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for not allowing the Biden administration entry to remove razor wire in a popular corridor for migrants illegally entering the U.S. in an escalating feud over immigration. In a speech focused overwhelmingly on border security,...
Biden returns to South Carolina to show his determination to win back Black voters
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joe Biden doesn’t need to worry about his prospects in South Carolina’s Democratic primary next week. He’s got that locked up. He also knows he’s not likely to win the solidly red state come November. It hasn’t voted for a Democrat since 1976. He’s spent the weekend...
Patrick Mahomes faces Lamar Jackson for 1st time in playoffs with Super Bowl berth on line
BALTIMORE — Patrick Mahomes has already defeated an impressive list of quarterbacks in the playoffs: Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Ben Roethlisberger, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa. And of course, Josh Allen, who was eliminated for the third time by Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last week....
Matthieu Pavon becomes 1st Frenchman to win on PGA Tour
SAN DIEGO — Matthieu Pavon made an 8-foot putt for a dramatic birdie on No. 18 at Torrey Pines South for a one-shot victory in the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday that made him the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour. Pavon raised his arms in celebration and...
Revelers in festive dress fill downtown Tampa, Fla., for annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest
TAMPA, Fla. — Revelers clad in pirate finery packed Tampa’s waterfront Saturday as a flotilla of boats arrived for the city’s annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest. Led by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the invading pirates docked to make a final demand for the key to the city. Once ashore, the...
Small hits clutch 3-pointer to lift Oklahoma State over West Virginia
STILLWATER, Okla. — Javon Small hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining, and Oklahoma State held on to defeat West Virginia, 70-66, on Saturday in Oklahoma State’s annual Remember the Ten game. It was 27 years ago Saturday that 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball family died when...
Aryna Sabalenka wins back-to-back Australian Open titles
MELBOURNE, Australia — Winning her first Grand Slam title in Australia a year ago gave Aryna Sabalenka the confidence she could do it again. Losing the U.S. Open final last September gave her the extra motivation. No. 2-ranked Sabalenka clinched back-to-back Australian Open titles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over...
Donald Trump is on the hook for $88.3 million in defamation damages. What happens next?
NEW YORK — For years, Donald Trump hurled insults at E. Jean Carroll, saying the advice columnist fabricated a sexual assault allegation against him to sell a book. Will Trump keep that up now that he’s been hit with a $83.3 million defamation judgment? A jury on Friday awarded her...
‘Dunkirk’ actor Barry Keoghan named Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals has named Barry Keoghan, best known for his roles in “Dunkirk,” “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “Eternals,” and “The Banshees of Inisherin,” as the recipient of its 2024 Man of the Year Award. Keoghan recently starred in the comedy psychological thriller...
Jim Harbaugh pushed for Michigan to hire Sherrone Moore after leaving to lead Chargers
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan is giving Sherrone Moore a shot, hoping he can sustain at least some of the success coach Jim Harbaugh had toward the end of his nine-season run with college football’s winningest program. “Jim talked effusively about Sherrone before the season, after the season and in...
Royals agree with versatile former Pirates utility man Adam Frazier on $4.5 million, one-year contract, AP source says
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals and utility man Adam Frazier agreed to a $4.5 million, one-year contract to provide the club with a left-handed bat and some versatility in the lineup, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday. Frazier will make...
China’s top diplomat at meeting with U.S. official urges Washington not to support Taiwan independence
BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan that Washington should stand by a commitment not to support independence for Taiwan, during their high-level talks in the Thai capital, the Chinese foreign ministry said Saturday. Wang said that Taiwan’s recent election didn’t change the...
U.S. condemns ban on Venezuelan opposition leader’s candidacy and puts sanctions relief under review
CARACAS, Venezuela — The U.S. government on Saturday condemned the decision of Venezuela’s highest court to block the presidential candidacy of opposition leader María Corina Machado. The Biden administration, however, remained noncommittal about reimposing economic sanctions on Venezuela, which it has threatened to do if the government of President Nicolás...
Greta Thunberg joins hundreds marching in England to protest airport’s expansion for private planes
LONDON — Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined a march in southern England on Saturday to protest the use of private jets and the expansion of an airport. Hundreds of local residents and activists holding banners and placards that read “Ban Private Jets” marched to Farnborough Airport, which mostly serves private...
Alaska Airlines has begun flying Boeing Max 9 jetliners again for the first time Friday
Alaska Airlines has begun flying Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners again for the first time since they were grounded after a panel blew out of the side of one of the airline’s planes. The airline said in a statement that it has completed its final inspection of their group of...
A covid-era program is awash in fraud. Ending it could help Congress expand the child tax credit
WASHINGTON — When IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel met privately with senators recently, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee asked for his assessment of a startling report: A whistleblower estimated that 95% of claims now being made by businesses for a covid-era tax break were fraudulent. “He looked at his...
Airstrike kills 3 Palestinians in southern Gaza as Israel presses offensive under new scrutiny
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Witnesses said three Palestinians were killed Saturday in an airstrike that Israel’s military said was targeting a Hamas commander in southern Gaza, less than a day after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to do all it could to prevent death, destruction and any acts...
