Associated Press stories, Page 722
Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupts again, leading to evacuations but no reported casualties
AGAM, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupted again on Sunday, spewing smoke and ash high into the air, but no casualties were reported. The Marapi Volcano Observation Post in West Sumatra province recorded an eruption with an ash column about 4,265 feet high from its peak, followed by ash rain....
John Kerry to step down as U.S. climate envoy
WASHINGTON — John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate, is stepping down from the Biden administration in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with his plans. Kerry, a longtime senator and secretary of state, was tapped shortly after Joe Biden’s November 2020 election to take on the...
Joe Flacco’s incredible run in Cleveland ends with 2 pick-6s
HOUSTON — From the couch to the playoffs, Joe Flacco had an incredible run with the Cleveland Browns. But his stretch of success came to a sudden end Saturday, when the Browns lost 45-14 to the Houston Texans in a wild-card playoff matchup. Flacco had interceptions returned for touchdowns on...
Patrick Mahomes’ helmet shatters during Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had his helmet shattered on a hit from Miami Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott during Saturday night’s frigid AFC wild-card playoff game. With a game-time temperature of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit, the game was the fourth-coldest in NFL history, and it was...
Kalen DeBoer embraces chance to replace Nick Saban at Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kalen DeBoer stood at a lectern, only a few feet from Nick Saban, and enthusiastically embraced the chance both to replace and learn from his larger-than-life predecessor. The outsized expectations Saban leaves behind are a big part of that. The former Washington coach, hired two days after...
Pat Suemnick, Kerr Kriisa, RaeQuan Battle help West Virginia beat No. 25 Texas 76-73Video
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Pat Suemnick was a ball of nerves in his first career start earlier in the week. In his second start, he took an assistant coach’s advice: Go have fun. Suemnick set career highs of 16 points and six rebounds, West Virginia built a double-digit lead...
U.S. says Texas blocked border agents from entering park to try to save 3 migrants who drowned
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The U.S. Homeland Security Department said Saturday that Texas denied federal agents access to a stretch of border when they were trying to rescue three migrants who drowned. The federal government’s account came hours after U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said the Texas Military Department and Texas National...
As shutdown looms, congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend government funding to March
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders are preparing a stopgap bill to keep the federal government running into March and avoid a partial shutdown next week. The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies whose approved funds are set to run out Friday and extend the remainder of...
Stroud becomes youngest QB to win a playoff game as Texans rout Browns 45-14Video
HOUSTON — As the games get bigger, C.J. Stroud just keeps getting better. The rookie became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game after throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns, and the Houston Texans returned two interceptions by Joe Flacco for scores in a 45-14 rout of the...
Zack Edey and 3-point shooters help No. 1 Purdue rebound with 95-78 rout of Penn StateVideo
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue fans treated Zach Edey to a pregame standing ovation in commemoration of him becoming the school’s second player with 1,000 career rebounds. They serenaded him again after another milestone moment. The reigning national player of the year scored 30 points, grabbed a season-high 20 rebounds...
Analysis: Slowing inflation suggests Biden’s policies are helping, but American voters are still hurting
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden can make an increasingly strong case that he’s helped fix inflation — if only he can get voters to believe him. Figures issued this past week reflected a historic level of progress on battling high prices, hinting that inflation could be near the Federal Reserve’s...
Republicans try to block Biden administration plan to cut money for anti-abortion counseling centers
WASHINGTON — In a new twist to the fight over abortion access, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counseling centers. The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for needy Americans to so-called...
Two Navy SEALs missing after night mission off coast of Somalia
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after conducting a nighttime boarding mission Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to three U.S. officials. The SEALs were on an interdiction mission, climbing up a vessel when one got knocked off by high waves. Under their protocol, when one SEAL...
Iowa’s winter blast could make an unrepresentative way of picking presidential nominees even more so
DES MOINES, Iowa — Most Iowans won’t be out Monday night. Never mind that it’s forecast to be well below zero, with wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees, and the roads may still be icy from a set of snowstorms that hammered the state this past week. It’s...
Weekend of ferocious winter weather could see low-temperature records set in U.S. heartland
O’FALLON, Mo. — Icy winter weather blanketed the U.S. on Saturday as a wave of Arctic storms threatened to break low-temperature records in the heartland, spread cold and snow from coast to coast and cast a chill over everything from football playoffs to presidential campaigns. As the three-day Martin Luther...
As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers
Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views. It’s girded by a belief that the good ideas rise above the bad, that no one should be punished for voicing an idea — except in rare cases where...
War in Gaza, election factor into some of the many events planned for MLK holiday
As communities nationwide prepare this weekend to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with events ranging from parades to prayer services, some will take a cue from the slain civil rights icon’s history of protest to demonstrate against the war in Gaza and draw attention to a looming...
U.S. struggles to sway Israel on its treatment of Palestinians. Why Netanyahu is unlikely to yield
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration keeps pressing Israel to reengage with Palestinians as partners once fighting in Gaza is over and support their eventual independence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying no. Even on actions to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the two allies are far apart. That...
More than 30 Palestinians killed in Israeli Gaza strikes while fears grow the conflict could widen
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — More than 30 Palestinians, including young children, were killed in Israeli bombardments overnight into Saturday in the Gaza Strip, officials said, while a new U.S. strike against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen heightened fears that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a regional conflict. Fears of a...
Supreme Court agrees to hear Starbucks appeal in Memphis union case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal from Starbucks in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over efforts by workers to unionize at a store in Memphis, Tenn. The case has been among the most closely watched in the more than 2-year-old effort...
U.S. military strikes another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military early Saturday struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, two U.S. officials said, a day after the U.S. and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels. Associated Press journalists in Sanaa, Yemen’s...
Dodgers finalize $23.5M deal with Teoscar Hernández
LOS ANGELES — Teoscar Hernández finalized a $23.5 million, one-year contract with the Dodgers on Friday, the latest deal by big-spending Los Angeles that includes deferred money. The outfielder agreed to defer $8.5 million that will be paid in 10 equal installments each July 1 from 2030-39. He also has...
Jordan Hicks, Giants agree to $44 million, 4-year contract
SAN FRANCISCO — Free-agent pitcher Jordan Hicks and the San Francisco Giants have agreed on a $44 million, four-year contract, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Friday. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical and had...
State trooper plunged into icy Vermont pond to save 8-year-old girl
CAMBRIDGE, Vt. — A Vermont state trooper plunged into a frigid pond and pulled out an 8-year-old girl who had fallen through the ice while playing with siblings. The child survived and fully recovered after a brief hospital stay. The girl and her younger sister fell through the thin ice...
Biden asks Supreme Court to tell Texas to stop blocking U.S. border agents from patrols
McALLEN, Texas — The Justice Department on Friday asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border where large numbers of migrants have crossed in recent months, setting up another showdown between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden...
