Associated Press stories, Page 80
NFL says it will discuss using review for player safety penalties missed by officials
The NFL will discuss using video review to assess penalties for player safety-related violations that are missed by officials, the league said Friday. Non-calls are currently not reviewable, but penalties such as grabbing the facemask, unnecessary roughness, roughing the passer and hip-drop tackles could be subject to review. It will...
U.S. approves arms sales to Israel, Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has approved a massive new series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion and to Saudi Arabia worth $9 billion. Both sets of sales were announced by the State Department late Friday as tensions rise in the Middle East over the possibility of U.S....
Venezuela announces amnesty bill that could lead to mass release of political prisoners
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the United States-backed opposition. It is the...
Senate passes government funding deal despite GOP backlash
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Friday to fund most of the government through the end of September after President Donald Trump made a deal with Democrats to carve out Homeland Security funding and allow Congress to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. With a weekend shutdown...
Ahead of potential final game with Seahawks, RB Kenneth Walker III is firing on all cylinders
RENTON, Wash. — When Zach Charbonnet went down with a season-ending knee injury against the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, Kenneth Walker III rushed onto the field to check on his Seattle Seahawks backfield mate. Initially, Walker was told Charbonnet — who led the...
What to know about the 2026 Grammys
NEW YORK — Sunday’s Grammys mark a return to normalcy after the 2025 show was altered to focus on Los Angeles-area wildfire relief efforts. “I think we will see some history-making moments,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason jr. told the Associated Press. “With artists being nominated in categories...
Vikings fire GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah after 4 seasons, contract extension last year
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday, after mixed results over four seasons and giving him a contract extension last year. The Vikings announced they have appointed executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski as the interim replacement through the NFL Draft, after which...
NASCAR’s Greg Biffle wasn’t flying his plane before crash that killed him and 6 others
WASHINGTON — Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was not flying his own jet when it crashed last month, killing him and six others, according to a Friday report from federal safety officials who also concluded that while an experienced pilot was at the controls, no one else on board was...
Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages from its Jeffrey Epstein files
NEW YORK — The Justice Department on Friday released many more records from its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law intended to reveal what the government knew about the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people including Donald...
Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘SCTV’ fame, dies at 71
LOS ANGELES — Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian-born comic actor and “SCTV” alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two “Home Alone” movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditzy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in “Schitt’s Creek,” died Friday. She was 71. O’Hara died at her home...
DOJ has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of Alex Pretti
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, federal officials said Friday. “We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks...
Lindsey Vonn says ‘Olympic dream is not over’ after crashing in last downhill before Winter Games
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn crashed and injured her left knee on Friday in her final downhill race before the Olympics, but said she still hopes to recover in time for the Milan Cortina Winter Games. “This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics… but if there’s...
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic to meet in Australian Open final after epic semifinal wins
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic finally beat one of the two men who have been blocking his path to an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title when he edged Jannik Sinner in five sets Friday to reach the Australian Open final. Next, he’ll have to beat the other: top-ranked Carlos...
Protesters call for nationwide strike against Trump’s immigration policies
Protesters across the U.S. are calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” as part of a nationwide strike on Friday to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The demonstrations are taking place amid widespread outrage over the killing Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, who was shot...
Israel reopening Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt on Sunday after long closure
JERUSALEM — Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in both directions over the weekend, marking an important step forward for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza,...
Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested after he covered a Minnesota church protest
WASHINGTON — Journalist Don Lemon and three other people were arrested Friday in connection with an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church and increased tensions between residents and federal officials. Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the...
Senate leaders scramble to save bipartisan deal and avert partial government shutdown at midnight
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders were scrambling to save a bipartisan spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday as Democrats have demanded new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. Democrats struck a rare deal with President Donald Trump Thursday to separate funding for the Homeland...
Trump’s choice of Warsh to lead Fed could reshape the world’s most influential central bank
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve could bring about sweeping changes at a central bank that dominates the global economy and markets like no other. Warsh, if approved by the Senate, will be under close scrutiny from financial markets and Congress given...
Masked agents, face scans and a question: Are you a citizen? Inside Trump’s Minnesota crackdown
Luis Martinez was on his way to work on a frigid Minneapolis morning when federal agents suddenly boxed him in, forcing the SUV he was driving to a dead stop in the middle of the street. Masked agents rapped on the window, demanding Martinez produce his ID. Then one held...
Martinelli scores 34, Singleton has double-double as Northwestern downs Penn State
EVANSTON, Ill. — Nick Martinelli scored 34 points, and Tre Singleton notched a massive double-double as Northwestern beat Penn State, 94-73, on Thursday night. It’s the fourth time this season Martinelli has scored at least 32 points. He entered Thursday as the fourth-leading scorer in Division I at 23.4 points...
Trump sues IRS and Treasury for $10 billion over leaked tax info
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is suing the IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion, as he accuses the federal agencies of a failure to prevent a leak of the president’s tax information to news outlets between 2018 and 2020. The suit, filed in a Florida federal court Thursday, includes...
New cold snap adds urgency to winter storm recovery across the SouthVideo
BELZONI, Miss. — Hundreds of National Guard troops in ice-stricken Mississippi and Tennessee mobilized Thursday to clear debris and assist people stranded in cars or stuck at homes still without electricity as Southern states raced to recover from a crippling winter storm before another blast of dangerous cold hits. The...
Mexico’s Sheinbaum reiterates sovereignty in Trump call after Olympic snowboarder detained
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated that operations on Mexican soil are always carried out by Mexican forces, in her latest attempt to assuage concerns of U.S. encroachment on Mexican sovereignty. The comments made at her daily press conference Thursday come after questions surrounding the case of a...
Trump threatens Canada with 50% tariff on aircraft sold in U.S., expanding trade war
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Canada with a 50% tariff on any aircraft sold in the U.S., the latest salvo in his trade war with America’s northern neighbor as his feud with Prime Minister Mark Carney expands. Trump’s threat posted on social media came after he threatened...
Patrick Kane passes Mike Modano for most NHL points by American
DETROIT — Patrick Kane smiled. The wait was over. Kane became the highest-scoring United States-born player in NHL history, passing Mike Modano with an assist for his 1,375th point Thursday night for the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals. “It’s nice to have it over with in some ways...

