Associated Press stories, Page 725
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...
Fox News stops running MyPillow commercials in payment dispute with Mike Lindell
MINNEAPOLIS — MyPillow chief executive and prominent election denier Mike Lindell said Friday that Fox News has stopped running his company’s commercials, disputing the network’s assertion it is simply because he hasn’t paid his bills. Lindell went public by tweeting that Fox, which had been one of MyPillow’s biggest advertising...
RB Aaron Jones rebounds from injuries to help Packers into postseason
GREEN BAY, Wis. — This hasn’t been a typical season for Green Bay’s Aaron Jones, but the veteran running back has regained his peak form just in time to help the Packers reach the playoffs. Jones, 29, bounced back from hamstring and knee injuries to rush for at least 112...
Joe Flacco’s remarkable comeback has Cleveland buzzing, Browns believing
CLEVELAND — Joe Flacco still struggles to process this re-found fame, an unexpected rebirth in a city where he was once despised and now adored. It’s all happened so fast for the quarterback who fell from his couch, landed in Cleveland and then the playoffs. “Crazy,” the soon-to-be 39-year-old Flacco...
Mark Andrews back at practice for Ravens after missing 6 games
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Mark Andrews was back at practice for the Baltimore Ravens on Friday after missing the final six games of the regular season because of an ankle injury. The three-time Pro Bowl tight end went on injured reserve after he was hurt early in a Nov. 16...
Florida hotel cancels Muslim conference, citing security concerns
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida Marriott Hotel canceled a Muslim group’s conference at the last minute after a protest group claimed the coalition was promoting Hamas, terrorism and antisemitism. The South Florida Muslim Federation, a coalition of about 30 mosques and Islamic groups, said Friday it was told...
Winter storm with wind, bitter cold pummels much of the northern U.S.
ST. LOUIS — A massive winter storm swept the northern U.S. on Friday, with blinding snow in some places, freezing rain in others, and bitter cold temperatures and whipping winds across several states. A man was believed dead after an avalanche in the Idaho backcountry. A Wisconsin man died while...
Lights, cameras, Clark: Iowa’s superstar guard gets prime-time spotlight Saturday on Fox
Caitlin Clark has set records on and off the court. The University of Iowa’s superstar guard is on track to do something never accomplished by a women’s basketball player. Appear on all four broadcast networks in the same season. Clark and the third-ranked Hawkeyes host No. 14 Indiana on Saturday...
