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Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 19:00:14+00:00
|
[
"JWD-evergreen",
"Bethan Linscott",
"Zoology",
"Science",
"Paul Pettitt"
] |
# Scientists date remains of child who resembles both humans and Neanderthals
By Adithi Ramakrishnan
March 7th, 2025 07:00 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) β Scientists have dated the skeleton of an ancient child that caused a stir when it was first discovered because it carries features from both humans and Neanderthals.
The child's remains were discovered 27 years ago in a rock shelter called Lagar Velho in central Portugal. The nearly complete skeleton was stained red, and scientists think it may have been wrapped in a painted animal skin before burial.
When the humanlike child was discovered, scientists noted that some of their attributes β including body proportions and jawbone β looked Neanderthal. The researchers suggested that the child was descended from populations in which humans and Neanderthals mated and mixed. That was a radical notion at the time, but advances in genetics have since proven those populations existed β and people today still carry Neanderthal DNA.
But trying to figure out when exactly the child lived has been difficult. Small roots had grown through the bones and contamination β from plants or other sources β made it impossible for scientists to use traditional carbon dating to measure the child's age. They instead dated the charcoal and animal bones around the skeleton to between 27,700 and 29,700 years ago.
Techniques have improved, and researchers reported Friday in the journal Science Advances that they were able to date the skeleton by measuring part of a protein that's found primarily in human bones.
Examining part of a crushed arm, they revealed that the earlier estimate was in the ballpark: the skeleton was from between 27,700 and 28,600 years ago.
"Being able to successfully date the child felt like giving them back a tiny piece of their story, which is a huge privilege," said Bethan Linscott, a study author now at the University of Miami, in an email.
She noted the initial discovery was more than a skeleton β it was also the grave of a young child. When dating the bones, she couldn't help but wonder who loved the child, what made them laugh and what their world looked like in the short four years they walked the planet.
Paul Pettitt, an archaeologist at Durham University in England who was not involved with the new research said in an email that the study is an example of how dating methods are becoming more effective and helping scientists better understand the past.
The study of where humans came from is important "for the same reason we keep the portraits of our parents and grandparents," said study author JoΓ£o ZilhΓ£o from the University of Lisbon.
"It's a way of remembering," he said.
β-
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-25 18:51:38+00:00
|
[
"Trump Media Technology Group",
"Donald Trump",
"Steve Witkoff",
"Cryptocurrency",
"Business",
"United States government",
"Zach Witkoff",
"Financial markets",
"Trump Media Technology Group Corp.",
"Politics"
] |
# Trump's crypto empire set to expand with new stablecoin and investment fund offerings
By Alan Suderman
March 25th, 2025 06:51 PM
---
President Donald Trump's crypto empire is expanding with the recent announcements of a new dollar-backed stablecoin and investment funds for digital assets. The moves are the latest in the norm-defying ways the president has leaned into crypto projects that could significantly boost his personal wealth while in office.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture Trump helped launch last year, announced Tuesday that it plans to launch USD1, a stablecoin pegged at a 1-to-1 ratio to the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins are among the fastest growing segments of the cryptocurrency industry. They are typically backed by a government-issued currency, like the dollar, or to gold, making them better suited to commercial transactions than more volatile digital assets like bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
"We're offering a digital dollar stablecoin that sovereign investors and major institutions can confidently integrate into their strategies for seamless, secure cross-border transactions," Zach Witkoff, a World Liberty Financial co-founder, said in a statement Tuesday.
World Liberty's announcement comes amid a push by Congress, with strong support by the White House, to pass legislation that supporters say would make it easier for stablecoin companies to operate and grow in the U.S.
Witkoff and his father, Trump's special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff, helped launch World Liberty Financial with Trump and his sons last year. Under the terms outlined on the company's website, a Trump-owned company has the "right to receive 75% of the net protocol revenues" from World Liberty Financial after expenses.
On Monday, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. announced it was partnering with the crypto-trading firm Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds for investors to purchase. The funds, which are set to be released later this year, will include a "unique ETF basket of cryptocurrencies" as well as "securities with a Made in America focus spanning diverse industries such as energy," TMTG said in an announcement.
TMTG is the parent company of Trump's social media company, Truth Social. Trump has no decision-making role at the company, but he owns a majority stake and is its largest shareholder. TMTG's stock price jumped following the announcement.
The recent announcements add to a growing list of crypto-related projects that Trump has endorsed in ways that critics say are inappropriate for a public office holder.
Just days before taking office, Trump launched his own meme coin that initially saw a massive price spike followed by a prolonged slide. Meme coins are highly speculative assets that often start as a joke and have no real value. Trump has also promoted online watch and sneaker stores that have branched out into selling crypto-related Trump products, including a "Crypto President" timepiece that sells for $100,000.
Once a crypto skeptic, Trump has since embraced digital assets and pledged to make the U.S. the "world capital" for cryptocurrencies. He's taken several early steps to help boost the crypto industry, which spent heavily to help Trump win last year's election and has emerged as a potent political force.
Before taking office, the Trump family business released a voluntary ethics agreement that prohibits the president from "day-to-day" decision making of his companies and limits financial information shared with him. But that agreement doesn't bar him from promoting his crypto-related products, like he did on social media Sunday when touting his meme coin.
"I LOVE $TRUMP β SO COOL!!! The Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!," Trump said on Truth Social, which briefly caused a spike in the meme coin's price.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-13 21:59:02+00:00
|
[
"Miami Dolphins",
"Nick Westbrook-Ikhine",
"Alexander Mattison",
"Larry Borom",
"Raheem Mostert",
"DeVon Achane",
"Isaiah Wynn",
"Jaylen Waddle",
"NFL",
"Minnesota",
"Jaylen Wright",
"Sports",
"James Daniels",
"NFL football",
"Liam Eichenberg",
"Tyreek Hill",
"Las Vegas"
] |
# Dolphins bring in Alexander Mattison to bolster running back room, AP source says
By Alanis Thames
March 13th, 2025 09:59 PM
---
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) β The Miami Dolphins added a power-running veteran to their running back room on Thursday, agreeing to a deal with Alexander Mattison, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.
At 5-foot-11, 220 pounds, Mattison brings size behind speedster De'Von Achane. Mattison spent the first five seasons of his career in Minnesota β he rushed for 2,370 yards with 4.1 yards per rush and 11 touchdowns. He had four TDs and 420 yards last season with Las Vegas.
Achane led the Dolphins with 907 rushing yards in 2024 and will return as Miami's lead running back, with second-year running back Jaylen Wright likely getting carries as well. The Dolphins released veteran Raheem Mostert last month.
The Dolphins also bolstered their offensive line by signing veteran guard James Daniels and offensive lineman Larry Borom, and they added receiver help with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
Westbrook-Ikhine signed a two-year deal in Miami after a career-high nine touchdowns with Tennessee in 2024, including a 98-yard TD against the Vikings that was the longest in the NFL last season. At 6-foot-2, he adds size to Miami's receiver room behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
He is entering his sixth NFL season β each of his previous five were spent in Tennessee β and has 126 receptions for 1,773 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Daniels spent the past three seasons of his seven-year career in Pittsburgh and fills a need for the Dolphins after three of Miami's guards from last season β Liam Eichenberg, Rob Jones and Isaiah Wynn β entered free agency. Jones went to Dallas this week on a one-year contract.
Daniels has appeared in 90 games with 84 starts β 23 at left guard, eight at center and 53 at right guard.
Borom was a fifth-round pick by Chicago in 2021. He appeared in 47 games with 27 starts β 10 at left tackle, one at left guard, one at right guard and 15 at right tackle.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-05 19:51:51+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Air quality",
"Pakistan",
"Beijing",
"United States government",
"United States",
"Politics",
"India government",
"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency",
"China government",
"Climate and environment",
"Alejandro Piracoca Mayorga",
"Raja Jahangir"
] |
# Scientists raise concerns as the US stops sharing air quality data from embassies worldwide
By Taiwo Adebayo and Sibi Arasu
March 5th, 2025 07:51 PM
---
NEW DELHI (AP) β The U.S. government will stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates, worrying local scientists and experts who say the effort was vital to monitor global air quality and improve public health.
In response to an inquiry from The Associated Press, the State Department said Wednesday that its air quality monitoring program would no longer transmit air pollution data from embassies and consulates to the Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow app and other platforms, which allowed locals in various countries, along with scientists around the globe, to see and analyze air quality in cities around the world.
The stop in sharing data was "due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network" read the statement, which added that embassies and consulates were directed to keep their monitors running and the sharing of data could resume in the future if funded was restored. The fiscal cut, first reported by the New York Times, is one of many under President Donald Trump, whose administration has been deprioritizing environmental and climate initiatives.
The U.S. air quality monitors measured dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and premature death. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills around 7 million people each year.
News of the data sharing being cut prompted immediate reaction from scientists who said the data were reliable, allowed for air quality monitoring around the world and helped prompt governments to clean up the air.
## "A big blow" to global air quality research
Bhargav Krishna, an air pollution expert at New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative, called the loss of data "a big blow" to air quality research.
"They were part of a handful of sensors in many developing countries and served as a reference for understanding what air quality was like," Krishna said. "They were also seen to be a well-calibrated and unbiased source of data to cross-check local data if there were concerns about quality."
"It's a real shame", said Alejandro Piracoca Mayorga, a Bogota, Colombia-based freelance air quality consultant. U.S. embassies and consulates in Lima, Peru, Sao Paulo and Bogota have had the public air monitoring. "It was a source of access to air quality information independent of local monitoring networks. They provided another source of information for comparison."
Khalid Khan, an environmental expert and advocate based in Pakistan, agreed, saying the shutdown of air quality monitoring will "have significant consequences."
Khan noted that the monitors in Peshawar, Pakistan, one of the most polluted cities in the world, "provided crucial real-time data" which helped policy makers, researchers and the public to take decisions on their health.
"Their removal means a critical gap in environmental monitoring, leaving residents without accurate information on hazardous air conditions," Khan said. He said vulnerable people in Pakistan and around the world are particularly at risk as they are the least likely to have access to other reliable data.
In Africa, the program provided air quality data for over a dozen countries including Senegal, Nigeria, Chad and Madagascar. Some of those countries depend almost entirely on the U.S. monitoring systems for their air quality data.
The WHO's air quality database will also be affected by the closing of U.S. program. Many poor countries don't track air quality because stations are too expensive and complex to maintain, meaning they are entirely reliant on U.S. embassy monitoring data.
## Monitors strengthened local efforts
In some places, the U.S. air quality monitors propelled nations to start their own air quality research and raised awareness, Krishna said.
In China, for example, data from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing famously contradicted official government reports, showing worse pollution levels than authorities acknowledged. It led to China improving air quality.
Officials in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, which struggles with smog, said they were unfazed by the removal of the U.S. monitors. Environment Secretary Raja Jahangir said Punjab authorities have their own and plan to purchase 30 more.
Shweta Narayan, a campaign lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said the shutdown of monitors in India is a "huge setback" but also a "critical opportunity" for the Indian government to step up and fill the gaps.
"By strengthening its own air quality monitoring infrastructure, ensuring data transparency, and building public trust in air quality reporting, India can set a benchmark for accountability and environmental governance," Narayan said.
___
Adebayo reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Steven Grattan in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-28 23:43:03+00:00
|
[
"District of Columbia",
"Joe Biden",
"Animals",
"Whales",
"Climate change",
"Joe Manchin",
"George Torgun",
"Amit Mehta",
"Donald Trump",
"American Petroleum Institute",
"Government regulations",
"Endangered species",
"U.S. Department of the Interior",
"Politics",
"Scott Lauermann",
"Climate and environment",
"Business",
"Climate"
] |
# Biden administration offshore oil and gas lease in Gulf Coast is unlawful, federal judge says
By Jack Brook
March 28th, 2025 11:43 PM
---
NEW ORLEANS (AP) β An expanse of Gulf Coast federal waters larger than the state of Colorado was unlawfully opened up for offshore drilling leases, according to a ruling by a federal judge, who said the Department of Interior did not adequately account for the offshore drilling leases' impacts on planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and an endangered whale species.
The future of one of the most recent offshore drilling lease sales authorized under the Biden administration is in jeopardy after District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amit Mehta's finding on Thursday that the federal agency violated bedrock environmental regulations when it allowed bidding on 109,375 square miles (283,280 square kilometers) of Gulf Coast waters.
Environmental groups, the federal government and the oil and gas industry are now discussing remedies. Earth Justice Attorney George Torgun, representing the plaintiffs, said one outcome on the table is invalidating the sale of leases worth $250 million across 2,500 square miles (6,475 square kilometers) of Gulf federal waters successfully bid on by companies.
The leases in the Gulf Coast were expected to produce up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and more than 4 trillion cubic feet (113 billion cubic meters) of natural gas over 50 years, according to a government analysis. Burning that oil would increase carbon dioxide emissions by tens of millions of tons, the analysis found.
The agency "failed to take a 'hard look'" at the full extent of the carbon footprint of expanding drilling in the Gulf Coast, the judge wrote.
The auction was one of three offshore oil and gas lease sales mandated as part of a 2022 climate bill compromise designed to ensure support from now-retired Sen. Joe Manchin, a leading recipient of oil and gas industry donations. Another of the mandated oil and gas lease sales, in Alaska's Cook Inlet, was overturned by a federal judge last July on similar grounds.
"If federal officials are going to continue greenlighting offshore drilling, the least they can do is fully analyze its harms," said Hallie Templeton, legal director at Friends of the Earth, a nonprofit that is of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "We will keep fighting to put a full stop to this destructive industry, and in the meantime, we will keep a close watch on the government to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and mandates."
The drilling would also threaten the Rice's whale, a species with less than 100 individuals estimated to remain and which lives exclusively in the Gulf Coast, according to court records filed by environmental advocacy groups.
A Department of the Interior spokesperson said the agency could not comment on pending litigation.
The process did not meet the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, which requires federal agencies analyzes the environmental impacts of their actions prior to decision-making around federal lands.
While Joe Biden later sought to ban offshore drilling in his last days in office, President Donald Trump's administration has pushed a "drill, baby, drill" agenda expanding the fossil fuel industry, withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement and rolling back environmental regulations β including for NEPA.
The American Petroleum Institute, or API, an oil and gas trade association representing more than 600 firms and a party to the Gulf Coast case, said it is evaluating its options after this week's ruling.
API spokesperson Scott Lauermann said the case is an example of activists "weaponizing" a permitting process, "underscoring how permitting reform is essential to ensuring access to affordable, reliable energy."
Chevron, a defendant in the lawsuit, declined to comment and referred The Associated Press to the API's statement.
Three offshore oil and gas lease sales are scheduled over the course of the next five years.
___
Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-11 21:00:03+00:00
|
[
"Apple",
"Inc.",
"James Hetfield",
"Mexico",
"Concerts",
"Mexico City",
"Kirk Hammett",
"Music",
"Lars Ulrich",
"Robert Trujillo",
"Business",
"Entertainment"
] |
# Metallica's epic Mexico City show comes to Apple Vision Pro, bringing viewers closer to their hits
By Jonathan Landrum Jr.
March 11th, 2025 09:00 PM
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) β Metallica is bringing their powerhouse performance from Mexico City straight to viewers' faces courtesy of Apple.
The company said Tuesday that Metallica's show will be delivered in an immersive concert experience on the Apple Vision Pro video headset on Friday. The concert experience will feature the band's iconic hits including "Whiplash," "One" and "Enter Sandman."
Filmed during the sold-out finale of their M72 World Tour last year, Metallica's concert brings viewers closer to James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo with high-resolution, 180-degree video and immersive spatial audio.
"With Metallica on Apple Vision Pro, you feel like you're right there: front row, backstage, and even on stage with one of the biggest bands of all time," said Tor Myhren, vice president of marketing communications at Apple.
The company said Apple built a custom stage layout featuring 14 of their immersive video cameras, including some that moved around the stage.
If you don't own one of the $3,500 headsets, don't worry. Customers are able to book a Vision Pro demo to experience Metallica's performance at their local Apple store.
Other performances that have been exclusively shown on the Vision Pro includes Alicia Keys and Raye. The Weeknd also had his immersive music experience called "The Weeknd: Open Hearts."
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-14 20:00:20+00:00
|
[
"College sports",
"Memphis Tigers",
"Mens college basketball",
"Memphis",
"College basketball",
"Basketball",
"AP Top 25 Mens College Basketball Poll",
"Memphis Tigers mens basketball",
"Wichita State Shockers",
"Sports",
"Penny Hardaway",
"Xavier Bell",
"Ronnie Degray III"
] |
# PJ Haggerty scores career-high 42 points for No. 16 Memphis in 83-80 AAC win over Wichita State
By Stephen Hawkins
March 14th, 2025 08:00 PM
---
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) β PJ Haggerty scored a career-high 42 points and led the go-ahead run for 16th-ranked Memphis in an 83-80 win over Wichita State in a quarterfinal game at the American Athletic Conference tournament Friday.
The Tigers (27-5) went ahead to stay with a 12-0 run over a 2 1/2-minute span after halftime in which Haggerty scored nine of those points. Two of his baskets in that spurt came off turnovers by Wichita State (19-14), which knocked the Tigers out of last year's AAC tournament and is responsible for their only loss in 15 games since Jan. 16.
The 42 points by Haggerty, a sophomore named this week as the AAC player of the year after being the top freshman last season, matched the highest-scoring AAC tournament game. That was one point shy of the record for most scored in any league game.
Dain Dainja added 18 points for Memphis.
Bijan Cortes had 19 points with six 3-pointers for Wichita State. Xavier Bell scored 18 points while Ronnie Degray III scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
## Takeaways
Wichita State: The Shockers lost for the fourth time in five games since a six-game winning streak that included an overtime win over Memphis. Wichita State made four 3s while jumping out to a 20-10 lead in less than 4 1/2 minutes Friday.
Memphis: Coach Penny Hardaway's Tigers are already a sure bet for a spot to make the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four years.
## Key moment
Wichita State went from a 35-30 lead to an 11-point deficit after missing 11 field goals in a row over the final 4:32 of the first half and the first 6:14 after halftime.
## Key stat
Memphis scored 29 points off 17 Wichita State turnovers, and outscored the Shockers 27-9 on fast-break points.
## Up next
Memphis plays in the semifinal round Saturday against Tulane, an 83-76 winner over Florida Atlantic.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-25 17:57:34+00:00
|
[
"Mens college basketball",
"College sports",
"NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championship",
"Gonzaga Bulldogs",
"College basketball",
"March Madness NCAA Tournament",
"NCAA Mens Bracket",
"Gonzaga Bulldogs mens basketball",
"Brigham Young Cougars",
"Jaden Akins",
"Iowa State Cyclones",
"Kentucky Wildcats",
"Mississippi Rebels",
"Kentucky",
"Sports",
"Arizona Wildcats",
"North Carolina Tar Heels",
"Nate Oats",
"Akron Zips",
"Mark Few",
"Mark Pope",
"Michigan State Spartans",
"Kansas Jayhawks"
] |
# Stylistic versatility: Those left in the NCAA Tournament have proven they can win a lot of ways
By Dave Skretta
March 25th, 2025 05:57 PM
---
Houston and Gonzaga met in a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup last weekend in Wichita, Kansas, that could as easily have been played in the Final Four, the way Kelvin Sampson's and Mark Few's teams had played throughout the season.
The Cougars were No. 1 in scoring defense, more than a half-point better than the next-best team. The Bulldogs were No. 2 in scoring offense, trailing only Alabama in putting up nearly 87 points per game.
Yet one of the biggest reasons that Houston was able to advance to the Sweet 16 with an 81-76 victory over the Bulldogs was its ability to play any style of basketball. Sure, the Cougars managed to hold Gonzaga nearly 10 points below its season average, but they also ramped up their own scoring, proving that they are more than just a bunch of defensive stoppers.
"Just win and advance," Sampson said afterward. "Do what it takes. That's all that matters."
Throughout the 68-team field, those that were able to survive the first weekend were often those that were willing to change things up if the moment dictated it. The defensive dynamo was able to get into transition and pile up points, or the team that loves to score buckled down at the other end of the floor, making life difficult for its unsuspecting opponent.
That has been the case with Mississippi so far in the tournament.
The Rebels rolled into the postseason in the top 50 nationally in scoring, but their defense was middling at best: 175th out of the 364 teams in men's Division I basketball. Yet the same bunch who scored 98 points against Kentucky and 100 against Oral Roberts in the regular season stifled North Carolina in a 71-64 first-round win, then held Iowa State below its season scoring average in a 91-78 victory that pushed Ole Miss into the regional semifinals.
"Their defensive versatility is terrific," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger marveled afterward. "Their switch ability β guards on bigs, bigs on guards. They do a great job. Their defense really tries to frustrate you by not allowing the ball to get in the paint, and trying to keep it on one side of the floor. And when they're at their best, they're doing that really well."
It will take Ole Miss doing it at their best with Michigan State up next; the Spartans are among the most versatile of any team left. They are top 50 in both scoring and defense, and they showed it off last weekend, putting up 87 points against Bryant and holding New Mexico to 63 in a pair of wins.
"We're just a team that can play multiple ways," the Spartans' Jaden Akins said.
So is Duke, which was fourth nationally in scoring and sixth in scoring defense. And when you have that combination, the results in the opening weekend were not surprising: 93-49 over Mount St. Mary's and 89-66 over Baylor.
Kentucky was sixth nationally in scoring this season, but coach Mark Pope's bunch β 315th in scoring defense β played a more patient game with plenty of success in a 76-57 first-round win over Wofford. It wasn't a surprise that Arizona averaged 90 points in wins over Akron and Oregon, but it may have been that the Wildcats held the Zips to just 65 in the first round.
Then there's Alabama, which looked every bit like the nation's highest-scoring team in a tougher-than-expected first-round win over Robert Morris and a second-round blitz of Saint Mary's. But the Crimson Tide also looked a lot like, say, Houston the way it defended the Gaels, holding them to just 66 points in advancing to the Sweet 16.
That's where the Crimson Tide will face BYU, a team that plays much more like itself.
"I don't know that I want to say it's refreshing to go against somebody that plays like us," Tide coach Nate Oats said, "because I think we're really tough to guard, and we've led the country in scoring the last two years. I don't think anybody is saying it's refreshing to play Alabama, whoever is running the defense for the other team. I mean, maybe it's not such a smash-mouth game like playing football out there like some of these teams, but they're not easy to cover.
"We're going to have to really lock in and coaches are going to have to really do a good job getting our guys ready and then our guys are going to have to execute what the plan is, whatever we decide to put in."
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-08 23:41:52+00:00
|
[
"Ohio State Buckeyes",
"Indiana Hoosiers",
"Malik Reneau",
"Indiana",
"College sports",
"Mens college basketball",
"Basketball",
"College basketball",
"Devin Royal",
"Luke Goode",
"Sports",
"Indianapolis"
] |
# Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau help Indiana overcome 10-point deficit to top Ohio State 66-60
March 8th, 2025 11:41 PM
---
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) β Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau scored 16 points each and Indiana erased a 10-point second-half deficit en route to a 66-60 victory over Ohio State on Saturday.
With the win, Indiana (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten) finishes the regular season in ninth place in the conference and will have a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Ohio State (17-14, 9-11 Big Ten) fell to 10th place and will have to play on Wednesday, the first day of the tournament in Indianapolis.
Ohio State scored six quick points to take a 56-51 lead with five minutes left in the second half. The Buckeyes missed three shots and two free throws and turned it over three times in the next four minutes. Two 3-pointers from Galloway sparked a 12-0 run and the Hoosiers led 63-56 heading to the final minute. Galloway finished 3 of 7 from deep.
Indiana made one of two free throws three times in the final minute, but the Buckeyes missed a couple of 3-pointers and committed another turnover. Ohio State's last made basket came with 5:55 remaining.
Luke Goode, who made 8 of 10 free throws, added 11 points for Indiana. Reneau was 6 for 6 from the line β all in the final seven minutes. Indiana made 23 of 31 free throws (74%) and Ohio State was 10 for 15 (67%).
Micah Parrish scored 19 points and Devin Royal had 13 for Ohio State.
There were three ties and three lead changes in the early going before Ohio State moved out front with a 6-0 run for a 15-9 lead with nine minutes left before halftime. Indiana managed to stay within 29-25 at the break despite opening the game 3-for-18 from the field. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-11 10:00:08+00:00
|
[
"College sports",
"Mens college basketball",
"Rutgers Scarlet Knights",
"Big 12 Conference",
"College basketball",
"AP Top 25 Mens College Basketball Poll",
"Kansas",
"Sports",
"Big Ten Conference",
"Allen Fieldhouse",
"Baylor Bears",
"Bill Self",
"Indiana Hoosiers",
"Rodney Terry",
"Hubert Davis"
] |
# Several once-highly ranked teams enter conference tournament week in need of wins to make NCAA field
By Dave Skretta
March 11th, 2025 10:00 AM
---
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) β This was a time early in the season when Kansas seemed to be an insurmountable juggernaut, full of high-profile transfers such as Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr, All-American candidates such as Hunter Dickinson and veterans accustomed to winning.
They were the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25. And for several weeks, the Jayhawks played like it.
But things hardly went according to script the rest of the season. They lost to longtime rival Missouri in a non-conference game, and dropped rare home games to West Virginia, Houston and Texas Tech. They plummeted out of the Top 25 altogether, ending a run of 80 consecutive weeks in the poll, and tumbled down the Big 12 standings.
Now, they enter their conference tournament as the No. 6 seed. And perhaps most importantly, they could be staring at the same seeding β or worse β in the NCAA tourney, where coach Bill Self's teams have never been worse than a No. 4.
"I think we're talented enough. We were the preseason No. 1 team in the country for a reason," Dickinson said after a confidence-boosting win over Arizona on Saturday. "We have the talent. But it's just a matter of going out there and showing it."
They will get their chance beginning Wednesday, when they play Utah or UCF in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Kansas isn't the only once-highly ranked team trying to build some late-season momentum, though. In fact, the Jayhawks are one of 14 teams that were ranked in the preseason poll but no longer reside in it. Many are still locks to make the NCAA field Sunday, but others are teetering on the bubble and a couple may need to win their league tournaments just to qualify.
## Unranked locks
Arizona dropped from the Top 25 this week after its loss at Allen Fieldhouse, but the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tourney is still a good bet for a good seed on Selection Sunday. So is two-time reigning national champion UConn, which was ranked third in the preseason Top 25 but dropped out in early February and is seeded third in the Big East Tournament.
Other unranked locks include Creighton, the second seed in the Big East; Gonzaga, the No. 2 seed in the West Coast behind Saint Mary's; and Ole Miss, which was ranked as high as No. 16 this season and is seeded eighth in the SEC tourney.
## Best of the rest
Baylor was ranked eighth in the preseason Top 25 but fell out by mid-January, and going 4-6 over its final 10 games ahead of the Big 12 tourney β where it is seeded seventh β hardly helps. Still, the Bears of VJ Edgecomb and Co. took second-ranked Houston to the wire last weekend, and picking up a win in Kansas City this week should be enough.
Arkansas, which was preseason No. 16, enters the SEC tourney having won four of five, and a win or two as the No. 9 seed could be important. The same goes for preseason No. 17 Indiana, which is likewise seeded ninth in the Big Ten Tournament.
## Just keep winning
North Carolina is starting to resemble the preseason No. 9 in the country, but a slew of early losses β Stanford, Wake Forest, Pitt and Duke during one five-game stretch β has made life tough for the Tar Heels. They're seeded fifth in the ACC and could need at least two wins to make the NCAA field, and perhaps to save coach Hubert Davis' job.
Texas also could be playing for its coach, Rodney Terry, along with an NCAA berth. The Longhorns were preseason No. 19 but out by early January. They are are seeded 13th in the SEC and open with fellow bubble-dweller Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
## Win it all
Cincinnati was ranked 20th and Rutgers was 25th in the preseason Top 25, but both probably need to win their conference tournaments to make the NCAA field. The Bearcats are seeded 13th in the Big 12 and play Oklahoma State on Tuesday, while the Scarlet Knights are 11th in the Big Ten and open with USC on Wednesday.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-05 16:30:21+00:00
|
[
"Rail accidents",
"Kyriakos Mitsotakis",
"Greece",
"Protests and demonstrations",
"Politics",
"Greece government"
] |
# Violent clashes in Athens as protesters demand government accountability for rail disaster
By Derek Gatopoulos and Thanassis Stavrakis
March 5th, 2025 04:30 PM
---
ATHENS, Greece (AP) β Protesters launched gasoline bombs and fireworks in clashes with police outside Greece's parliament late Wednesday, in renewed nationwide protests calling for politicians to be held accountable for a 2023 rail disaster that claimed 57 lives.
Scores of youths set fire to trash bins in Syntagma Square in central Athens, and police in riot gear responded with tear gas and baton charges. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
The fierce clashes erupted hours after opposition parties challenged Greece's center-right government with a no-confidence motion in parliament. Days earlier, a general strike and much larger protests, some violent, marked the second anniversary of the Feb. 28, 2023, tragedy.
Many of the victims of the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train at Tempe in northern Greece were university students returning from a long weekend holiday. Dozens of people were injured in the crash.
Victims' relatives called for the mass mobilization in recent weeks, saying politicians should be held accountable for failures that led to the collision. So far, only rail officials have been charged.
The censure motion β led by the main opposition Socialist party and backed by three smaller left-wing parties β is unlikely to threaten the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which holds 156 seats in the 300-member parliament. A vote is expected late Friday.
Presenting the motion on Wednesday, Socialist party leader Nikos Androulakis accused the government of shielding officials from accountability for the tragedy.
"Why do you remain so unrepentant, continuing down this road of insults and arrogance?" Androulakis asked lawmakers. "That's why we are submitting a motion of no confidence today." Mitsotakis described the censure motion as a political stunt and insisted it poses no threat to his second term, which is due to end in 2027. "Parties from different vantage points have come together in a common anti-government front," Mitsotakis told lawmakers. "It's not the truth that you are interested in. But you have collapsed in opinion polls and are looking for a reason to exist."
___ Petros Giannakouris and Lefteris Pitarakis contributed
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-03 00:46:06+00:00
|
[
"Jacob Markstrom",
"New Jersey Devils",
"Vegas Golden Knights",
"Brett Howden",
"NHL",
"Sports transactions",
"Sweden",
"Sheldon Keefe",
"Sports",
"Nico Daws",
"NHL hockey"
] |
# Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom saves 22 shots in first game action since late January
By Mark Anderson
March 3rd, 2025 12:46 AM
---
LAS VEGAS (AP) β New Jersey Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom, in his first game in more than five weeks, took a shutout into the third period Sunday night before giving up two power-play goals in a 2-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Markstrom had been sidelined since Jan. 22 because of a strained knee ligament. The injury cost him a chance to play for his native Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"Obviously, it felt good to be out there playing," Markstrom said. "It's been a few weeks here, and unfortunately we couldn't get away with two points as well."
He made 22 saves in the loss. His glove save of a Brett Howden backhand with 2:14 left in the second period kept the game scoreless.
"I thought he was excellent," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He looked like a guy who didn't miss any time, and so credit to him and the work he put in. He was great."
Markstrom was activated from injured reserve before the matchup with the Golden Knights. Fellow goalie Nico Daws was sent to the minors.
The 35-year-old Markstrom is 21-10-5 this season with a .912 save percentage and 2.19 goals-against average.
"I feel like conditioning and strengthwise, I feel strong enough working out at the gym for 5 1/2 weeks," Markstrom said. "Playing the game, I felt all right, but I want the goals back and that's the name of the game."
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 01:17:28+00:00
|
[
"Jon Jones",
"Mixed martial arts",
"Alex Pereira",
"Dana White",
"Rafael Fiziev",
"Boxing",
"Justin Gaethje",
"Sports",
"Dan Hooker"
] |
# Pereira to defend light heavyweight belt against Ankalaev with grander visions beyond UFC 313
By Mark Anderson
March 7th, 2025 01:17 AM
---
LAS VEGAS (AP) β Jon Jones remains the UFC's primary star, the reigning heavyweight champion widely considered the best mixed martial-arts fighter of all time.
Jones lost his position as the top-ranked pound-to-pound fighter to Islam Makhachev, but Alex Pereira could get there. It's a case that UFC CEO Dana White made in January.
Pereira would likely have to beat Jones in the octagon, but the Brazilian has some work to do Saturday in UFC 313 before turning his attention to the possibility of moving up a weight class. He will put his light heavyweight belt on the line for the fourth time when he faces top-ranked challenger Magomed Anklalaev.
Oddsmakers list this as a close fight, with Pereira a -115 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook and Ankalaev at -105.
"I'm not looking ahead," Pereira said through an interpreter. "But what I think for the future, what I have in hand, fighting Jon Jones or Olek Usyk in boxing, those I see possibly happening. It doesn't depend on me. It depends on the UFC. Whatever the UFC wants to do, I'll do it."
Pereira (12-2), who turns 38 on July 7, is making a late-career run at becoming the UFC's marquee attraction.
He entered the UFC in 2021 and won four fights in a row, the last being a fifth-round technical knockout of Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship on Nov. 12, 2022. Adesanya won the rematch with a second-round TKO on April 8, 2023.
But it didn't take Pereira long to get back on track, scoring a second-round TKO of JirΓ ProchΓ‘zka seven months later for the vacant light heavyweight title. He hasn't lost since, and Pereira attributed that success to better understanding himself as he's gotten older and making the proper adjustments.
Ankalaev (20-1-1) has been chasing Pereira to land this fight. The 32-year-old from Russia comes off back-to-back victories, one by TKO and the other by unanimous decision.
"I can't even explain what I'm feeling right now," Ankalaev said through an interpreter. "It's been a really long time that we've been hunting this bout. We've been waiting for this opportunity. Over a year, we've been asking for it. Now we're finally here and we have this opportunity, I'm 100 percent motivated."
Pereira disputed that he had avoided Ankalaev, saying he wanted more than just this matchup.
"Many people have dreams," Pereira said. "This Saturday, I'm fulfilling one dream β to fight Ankalaev."
Ankalaev said he has mostly adhered to fasting rules as he observes Ramadan, which lasts a month and is considered one of the holiest parts of the Muslim calendar. He said he broke "a couple of fasting sessions" to drink water in preparation for this fight, but that most of his training occurred beforehand.
His faith is why Ankalaev said he didn't take Pereira up on a bet in which the loser would donate $200,000 to the other fighter's charity, which has created a little bit of a back-and-forth between the two combatants.
"Whatever this warfare is, it doesn't work for me," Ankalaev said. "I have a fight against him. I don't care what he writes online or says online or tweets. If he wants to do some sort of a charity donation, I'm willing and happy to do it. Tell him that."
The co-main event is a lightweight bout between third-ranked challenger Justin Gaethje (25-5) and No. 11 Rafael Fiziev (12-3). Gaethje was scheduled to fight Dan Hooker, who pulled out because of a hand injury.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-13 19:38:19+00:00
|
[
"Connecticut",
"Waterbury",
"Fernando Spagnolo",
"Law enforcement",
"Fires",
"New York City Wire",
"Tom Pannone",
"Kimberly Sullivan",
"Ioannis Kaloidis"
] |
# Man describes cruelty during his two decades of captivity at his family home in Connecticut
By Dave Collins
March 13th, 2025 07:38 PM
---
A man rescued from a burning home in Connecticut told a shocking story of cruelty and constant hunger as he was held captive in a single room for 20 years by his father and stepmother, according to a newly released arrest warrant.
The man told authorities his confinement began when he was about 11 years old. He said he was locked in a room without heat or air conditioning nearly all day and night and given limited food and water.
With no access to a bathroom, he devised ways to dispose of his waste, including using a series of straws that led to a hole in a window. Pieces of his teeth would break off when he did eat because of a lack of dental care. He saved some of his daily ration of two small water bottles to bathe without soap and cut his own hair.
The years of cruelty ended Feb. 17, when he set fire to the house in Waterbury in a deliberate effort to save himself and told his story to responding police and firefighters, according to the arrest warrant charging his stepmother with kidnapping, cruelty to persons and other crimes.
Police are now trying to determine how this could have happened without anyone noticing and whether any warning signs were missed. Investigators want to look at records from city schools and the state child welfare agency, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said at a news conference Thursday.
The man, now 32, is identified as "Male Victim 1" in police records. The stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, 56, posted $300,000 bail Thursday and was released from custody after appearing in Waterbury Superior Court, said her lawyer, Ioannis Kaloidis. He said Sullivan, who was arrested on Wednesday, denies any wrongdoing. Her next court date is March 26.
"I would encourage people not to rush to judgment," Kaloidis said in a phone interview. "This woman is presumed innocent."
The man's father died last year, while his biological mother has not been a part of his life, authorities said. He and Sullivan lived in the home that he set on fire.
Medical personnel said the man was near starvation and had wasting syndrome, a condition of weight loss and muscle deterioration, when he got to a hospital, the warrant says. At 5 feet, 9 inches tall (1.75 meters tall), he weighed only 69 pounds (31 kilograms).
He was treated for smoke inhalation and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Spagnolo said the man faces a long road of physical and mental treatment. He said police are supporting him, including taking up a collection to buy him clothes and other items.
The man told police that he was constantly hungry. When he was in school, he would ask classmates for food, steal food and eat out of the garbage. In later years when he was out of school and confined to the house, he would get two sandwiches a day and some water while locked in his room.
The police's only interactions with the family were in 2005, the chief said. One was a welfare check after children who attended school with him before he was pulled out expressed concern about him.
The second and final time was after the family made a harassment complaint against school officials for reporting them to state child welfare officials. Officers who went to the home said that they spoke to the man, then a child, and reported there was no cause for concern, Spagnolo said.
Officials with the state Department of Children and Families, which investigates child abuse, said Thursday that they have not found any records of agency involvement with the family but were continuing to look. They added that reports of neglect or abuse deemed unsubstantiated are erased five years after investigations are complete.
"We are shocked and saddened for the victim and at the unspeakable conditions he endured," the department said in a statement. "The now adult victim has shown incredible strength and resilience during this time of healing and our hearts go out to him."
When the man attended a Waterbury elementary school as a child, staff saw that he was extremely small and thin and made multiple calls to the stepmother and the Department of Children and Families, Tom Pannone, a former principal at the school, told WVIT-TV. Spagnolo said police did not have that information when they responded to the man's house in 2005.
Waterbury school officials did not immediately return email messages seeking comment Thursday.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-28 21:29:16+00:00
|
[
"FIFA Club World Cup",
"Soccer",
"FIFA World Cup",
"Eduardo Berizzo",
"FIFA",
"Sports",
"Andres Guardado",
"James Rodriguez",
"Jay Rodriguez"
] |
# Mexican club Leon urges FIFA to reconsider axing it from the Club World Cup
By Carlos Rodriguez
March 28th, 2025 09:29 PM
---
MEXICO CITY (AP) β Leon captain James Rodriguez and coach Eduardo Berizzo urged FIFA on Friday to reconsider booting the Mexican team from the Club World Cup.
Leon was axed last week for failing to comply with regulations regarding multi-club ownership.
Leon and fellow Mexican club Pachuca both qualified but have the same owner, Grupo Pachuca.
"It's a big injustice," Rodriguez said at a media conference. "If they leave us out it is not going to be fair and it will be a stain on soccer. There are fans that have bought tickets and are in debt to pay for them. How do you tell them now that they are not going to go?"
Rodriguez, the Golden Boot winner at the 2014 World Cup, signed a one-year deal to play for Leon and one of the reasons was to play in the Club World Cup staged in the United States this summer.
"I'm happy to be here," Rodriguez said. "Whether or not we play in the Club World Cup does not change the fact that I want to stay here. This is something new for me. I never qualified for a Club World Cup, and weeks before they tell you that you are out. I hope FIFA can do something."
Leon's owner Grupo Pachuca has announced it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next month.
"The CAS should rule in our favor," Berizzo said. "We have the right to compete, we did not break any law. The decision is unfair, there is time to fix this."
FIFA has yet to announce a replacement team but Costa Rican club Liga Deportiva Alajuelense has said it would play. Alajuelense asked FIFA last November to enforce its multi-ownership rules.
"The teams raising their hands for the right to compete in our place should be ashamed of themselves," Leon midfielder Andres Guardado said.
"It is a brutal injustice. If anyone has done things wrong it is FIFA. Multi-club ownership in Mexico has existed for many years and FIFA still allow us to compete."
In Mexico, beside Leon and Pachuca, three more companies own two or more clubs in the first division. Grupo Caliente owns Tijuana and Queretaro, while Grupo Orlegi controls Atlas and Santos. TV Azteca owns Mazatlan and has partial ownership of Puebla.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 03:14:27+00:00
|
[
"Automobile racing",
"Phoenix",
"Auto Racing",
"NASCAR racing",
"Daniel Suarez",
"Danica Patrick",
"Sports",
"Katherine Legge"
] |
# Katherine Legge spins out twice in first NASCAR Cup Series race in Phoenix
March 10th, 2025 03:14 AM
---
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) β Katherine Legge spent 25 years working her way through professional motorsports before getting her shot at driving a NASCAR Cup Series car.
Her first go-round was a bumpy ride.
The first woman to drive a Cup Series car in seven years, Legge spun out twice and didn't finish the race in her debut at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.
"It was baptism by fire," Legge told Fox Sports. "I think there's a lot of positives to take from it. Obviously, there were mistakes made, but I learned so much. Hopefully, I get to come back."
Legge had raced everything from dirt bikes to IndyCars during her climb through the ranks, learning she would get her Cup Series shot about 10 days before Sunday's race. The English driver had limited experience on ovals, spending much of her prep time in a simulator in North Carolina before becoming the first female driver on the circuit since Danica Patrick at the 2018 Daytona 500.
Legge struggled in qualifying at the mile oval in the desert, so she and the Live Fast Motorsports team opted to make several overnight changes to her No. 78 Chevrolet.
It didn't work out quite how they wanted.
Fighting the car from the start, Legge spun out on lap 4 of the 312-mile race before returning to the field. She struggled to make up any ground and spun again late in the race after bumping off another car, taking out Daniel Suarez with her.
Legge couldn't continue to race and finished 30th.
"I was so loose. I was hanging onto it," she said. "We kept making adjustments. We kept making the car way more stable for me. At the end there, I think we were relatively quick, so it wasn't bad. I wish we hadn't made the changes. It was a rough start."
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-31 22:06:24+00:00
|
[
"Atlanta Braves",
"Andrew McKirahan",
"Doping",
"Baseball",
"MLB",
"New York City Wire",
"Sports",
"San Diego",
"Jurickson Profar",
"Ronald Acua Jr.",
"MLB baseball",
"Brian Snitker",
"Stuart Fairchild"
] |
# Braves' Jurickson Profar gets 80-game PED ban, calls it 'most difficult day' of his career
By Beth Harris
March 31st, 2025 10:06 PM
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) β Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games without pay for performance-enhancing drug use.
Major League Baseball announced Monday that Profar tested positive for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) in violation of the league's joint drug prevention and treatment program. According to the Cleveland Clinic, hCG is a hormone that helps in the production of testosterone.
The suspension of Profar is effective immediately. Barring postponed games, Profar would be eligible to return June 29 against Philadelphia and would lose $5,806,440 of his $12 million salary. He is also ineligible for the postseason.
Profar called it the "most difficult day of my baseball career" and said he would never knowingly cheat.
"This is especially painful for me because anyone who knows me and has seen me play knows I am deeply passionate about the game," he said in a statement. "There is nothing I love more than competing with my teammates and being a fan favorite. I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates and the fans.
"It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it. I have been tested my entire career, including eight times last season alone, and have never tested positive. I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB's decision."
The Braves arrived in Los Angeles after getting swept in their weekend series in San Diego. Profar was set to fly back to Atlanta on Monday night.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said he spoke to the club and to Profar earlier in the day, but he declined to disclose anything about their conversation.
"He hated it and we hate it for him," Snitker said.
At the same time, Snitker said: "It's an opportunity for somebody else to step in and do something really good."
Profar's punishment is the second for the Braves. In April 2015, pitcher Andrew McKirahan was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
The team has been plagued by injuries in recent years, including losing four-time All-Star outfielder Ronald AcuΓ±a Jr. to a torn his right ACL last May for the second time in his career.
But Snitker expects his group to rally.
"They've been tasked with handling a lot of things the last few years, and they're a really good group about doing it," he said. "They're going to keep fighting and working."
The 32-year-old Profar was an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger last season when he batted .280 and set career highs with 24 homers and 85 RBIs for San Diego. He signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Braves in the offseason.
Profar is the fourth player who has been suspended this year for violating the performance-enhancing substance policy, with the others coming under the minor league program and the program for minor leaguers assigned outside the United States and Canada.
Two players were suspended last year under the major league drug program.
Noelvi MartΓ©, a 22-year-old infielder who was considered Cincinnati's top prospect, missed the first 80 games following a positive test for boldenone.
Toronto infielder Orelvis MartΓnez was suspended for 80 games on June 23 following a positive test for the performance-enhancing drug clomiphene, an announcement made two days after his major league debut.
The Braves acquired outfielder Stuart Fairchild in a trade with Cincinnati on Monday for cash. The 29-year-old Fairchild hit .215 with eight homers and 30 RBIs with the Reds last year.
___
AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 23:47:49+00:00
|
[
"Boston Bruins",
"Brad Marchand",
"Justin Brazeau",
"Don Sweeney",
"Charlie Coyle",
"Sports transactions",
"Florida Panthers",
"Marc McLaughlin",
"Henri Jokiharju",
"Joe Thornton",
"Jim Montgomery",
"Trent Frederic",
"Bobby Orr",
"Florida",
"Stanley Cup",
"NHL",
"Brandon Carlo",
"Toronto",
"Fraser Minten",
"David Krejci",
"Patrice Bergeron",
"Colorado",
"Bruce Cassidy",
"Jakub Lauko",
"Minnesota",
"Stanley Cup Playoffs",
"Zdeno Chara",
"Ray Bourque",
"Marat Khusnutdinov",
"Sports",
"NHL hockey",
"Daniil Misyul",
"Casey Mittelstadt"
] |
# Bruins trade captain Brad Marchand to Florida as they pull the plug on a lost season
By Jimmy Golen
March 7th, 2025 11:47 PM
---
BOSTON (AP) β The Boston Bruins pulled the curtain closed on the Original Six franchise's most successful era since Bobby Orr hung two Stanley Cup banners in the old Garden.
The Bruins sent captain Brad Marchand, the last remaining member of their 2011 NHL championship team, to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline on Friday in a purge of a roster that has followed unprecedented regular-season success with, mostly, playoff disappointment.
Boston will receive a second-round draft pick for Marchand that could become a first-rounder if the Panthers win two rounds in the playoffs and he plays in 50% of their postseason games. The Bruins also shipped forward Justin Brazeau to Minnesota, forward Charlie Coyle to Colorado, forward Marc McLaughlin to New Jersey and defenseman Brandon Carlo to Toronto. Forward Trent Frederic was traded to Edmonton earlier in the week, signaling the start of the Boston fire sale.
"We didn't burn it down. We have a lot of guys. Now we have to do a better job of building around it and charting a course that says we're back," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters on Friday night. "We're trying to put things in a position where we're right back in a competitive situation next year."
Marchand was a brash rookie when he teamed with Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to win it all in 2011. They would return to the finals again two years later.
And while the success continued, it was only in the regular season: Heading into this year, Boston had earned at least 100 points in each of the last six non-pandemic seasons, but its only extended playoff run was a trip to the 2019 Cup final.
That cost coach Bruce Cassidy his job just three years after playing for the Cup. Jim Montgomery replaced him and in his first year the Bruins finished with NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points but lost in the first round to Florida; after a second-round exit in 2024 and an 8-9-3 start this season, Montgomery was also fired.
"We've had a good run. We didn't complete the ultimate goal. We were close," Sweeney said. "We thought we had a very good team a few years ago, and didn't get it done. If I could replicate that team β¦. I'd do it."
A four-time All-Star who excelled at irritating opponents with his face-licking and other antics, Marchand has 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 NHL seasons, all of them in Boston. He ends up fourth on the Bruins' all-time list for goals, sixth for assists, first in short-handed goals and first in overtime goals, first in playoff goals and second in playoff points; he is fourth in team history with 1,090 games, one spot ahead of Sweeney.
Marchand has 21 goals and 26 assists this season but has not played since leaving the Bruins' March 1 game against Pittsburgh with an unspecified upper body injury. Sweeney said Marchand is expected to be out for another 3-4 weeks.
Marchand, 36, will earn $6.125 million this year and is due to become a free agent after the season.
"We've been trying to sign Brad all year long. We had a gap there," Sweeney said. "He's beloved here. I would never close the door."
Marchand, who was elevated to captain after Bergeron retired in 2023, is the fifth Bruins captain to be traded, with Ray Bourque (2000) and Joe Thornton (2005) being the most recent. No one will wear the captain's "C" for the rest of the season, Sweeney said.
Here is what else the Bruins came away with for their rebuild:
βForwards Casey Mittelstadt and William Zellers and a 2025 second-round draft pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Coyle and a 2026 fifth-round draft pick.
βDefenseman Henri Jokiharju from the Sabres in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick.
βDefenseman Daniil Misyul from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for McLaughlin.
βForwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round pick for Brazeau.
βForward prospect Fraser Minten and a 2026 first-round pick for Carlo.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 05:02:35+00:00
|
[
"Iowa Hawkeyes",
"Michigan State Spartans",
"College sports",
"Iowa",
"Lucy Olsen",
"Kylie Feuerbach",
"Womens college basketball",
"College basketball",
"Michigan",
"Basketball",
"Michigan State Spartans womens basketball",
"Womens sports",
"Iowa Hawkeyes womens basketball",
"AP Top 25 Womens College Basketball Poll",
"Sports",
"Julia Ayrault",
"Grace VanSlooten",
"Ava Heiden",
"Taylor McCabe",
"Hannah Stuelke",
"Ines Sotelo",
"Caitlin Clark"
] |
# Olsen scores 21, Iowa forces 24 turnovers to oust sixth-seed Michigan St., 74-61 in Big 10 tourney
March 7th, 2025 05:02 AM
---
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) β Lucy Olsen scored 21 points and got her ninth assist by finding Kylie Feuerbach open in the corner for a 3-pointer in the final minute that slammed the door on Iowa's 74-61 win over No. 24 Michigan State on Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament.
With former teammate Caitlin Clark cheering them on, the Hawkeyes earned their 11th straight conference tournament victory to advance to the quarterfinal round and a rematch with No. 8-ranked and third-seeded Ohio State. Iowa (22-9) has played in five of the last six Big Ten Tournament championship games.
Julia Ayrault hit two first-quarter 3-pointers to stake Michigan State to a 16-12 lead to start the second quarter, but Iowa opened with a 16-0 run that was fueled by Hannah Stuelke's eight points. The Spartans took a brief lead midway through the third period, but Ava Heiden scored six straight points and Iowa took a 54-48 lead to start the fourth quarter. Ayrault hit two free throws to cut the Spartans' deficit to five with 2:49 left. After Ayrault committed Michigan State's 24th turnover, Olsen drove into the lane and kicked a pass to an open Feuerbach in the corner for the 3 to push the lead into double digits with 54 seconds left.
Olsen finished with five rebounds and four of the Hawkeyes' 16 steals. Stuelke posted 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds with four steals. Taylor McCabe was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc to add 12 points and Heiden scored 11 points off the bench.
Ayrault led Michigan State (21-9) with 17 points. Grace VanSlooten scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Ines Sotelo added 11 points off the bench.
___
AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-23 13:17:11+00:00
|
[
"Soccer",
"Juventus FC",
"Sports - Europe",
"Italy",
"Andrea Pirlo",
"Sports",
"Greece",
"Igor Tudor",
"Thiago Motta",
"Massimiliano Allegri"
] |
# Thiago Motta fired as coach of slumping Juventus. Igor Tudor named as replacement
March 23rd, 2025 01:17 PM
---
TURIN, Italy (AP) β Thiago Motta was fired as coach of slumping Juventus on Sunday, with Igor Tudor named as a replacement for the rest of the season.
"The club would like to thank Thiago Motta and all of his staff for their professionalism and for the work they have carried out in recent months with passion and dedication," Juventus said in a statement. "The club wish them the best of luck for the future.
"Juventus FC also announce that the men's first team will now be led by Igor Tudor, who will take charge of his first training session tomorrow," the club added.
Juventus conceded seven goals and scored none in its last two Serie A matches β 4-0 and 3-0 losses to Atalanta and Fiorentina, respectively β leaving the record 36-time champion in fifth place and at risk of not qualifying for the Champions League.
Motta, who was in his first season at Juventus after guiding Bologna to a Champions League spot in the last campaign, reportedly lost support of several key players in the changing room over recent weeks as Juventus was eliminated from the Champions League and Italian Cup.
Juventus was also eliminated by AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup semifinals in January.
Tudor played for Juventus for nearly a decade from 1998-2007 and has previously coached Udinese, Hellas Verona and Lazio in Italy.
Tudor was also an assistant coach to Andrea Pirlo at Juventus in 2020-21. Pirlo and Tudor were fired at the end of the season.
The 46-year-old Tudor will make his debut against Genoa next Saturday.
Juventus will also play in the enlarged Club World Cup in the United States starting in June.
Motta has struggled all season to shed the defensive tactics instilled by his predecessor, Massimiliano Allegri, and Juventus has drawn 13 of its 29 Serie A matches.
Allegri was fired for his ugly outburst toward the referee and others in the Italian Cup final won by Juventus last season.
As a player, Tudor helped Juventus to win two Serie A titles, two Italian Super Cups and an Intertoto Cup β plus the 2007 Serie B title after the Bianconeri were relegated due to the Calciopoli scandal. He was then loaned to Siena before returning to Juventus but didn't manage to play again for the Turin club due to injury.
Tudor was a starter in the 2003 Champions League final that Juventus lost to AC Milan in a penalty shootout.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-03 12:48:28+00:00
|
[
"Rodney McMullen",
"Ronald Sargent",
"Vivek Sankaran",
"Walmart",
"Inc.",
"Mergers and acquisitions",
"Business",
"Susan Morris"
] |
# Kroger Chairman and CEO resigns following investigation into personal conduct
By Michelle Chapman
March 3rd, 2025 12:48 PM
---
Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after an internal investigation into his personal conduct.
Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, said Monday that the investigation into McMullen's personal conduct was unrelated to the business, but was found to be inconsistent with its business ethics policy.
Board member Ronald Sargent will serve as chairman and interim CEO, effective immediately.
Sargent has been on Kroger's board since 2006 and has served as the lead director of the company since 2017. He's worked in several roles at the grocery chain across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy. Sargent is also the former Chairman and CEO of Staples.
McMullen, 64, began his career with Kroger in 1978 as a part-time stock clerk and bagger at a store in Lexington, Kentucky. He worked his way up through the company, becoming chief financial officer in 1995 and chief operating officer in 2009. McMullen was named Kroger's CEO in 2014 and became the company's chairman the following year.
Cincinnati-based Kroger said its board was made aware of the situation on Feb. 21 and immediately hired an outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, overseen by a special board committee.
The company said that McMullen's conduct is not related to its financial performance, operations or reporting, and did not involve any Kroger associates.
Kroger will conduct a search for its next CEO, with Sargent agreeing to remain as interim CEO until someone is appointed to the role permanently.
Kroger shares fell nearly 3% Monday.
McMullen's departure comes as Kroger is regrouping from its failed effort to merger with Albertsons. The two companies proposed what would have been the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in 2022, saying they needed to combine forces to better compete with rivals like Walmart.
But two judges halted the $24.6 billion deal in December, saying it was likely to lessen competition and raise prices. Albertsons later sued Kroger, saying it had failed to make every effort to ensure that the merger would win regulatory approval.
Also Monday, Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons said its CEO Vivek Sankaran plans to retire May 1. Susan Morris, Albertsons' executive vice president and chief operations officer, will replace Sankaran, the company said.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 02:02:30+00:00
|
[
"Temetrius Morant",
"New Orleans Pelicans",
"Desmond Bane",
"Memphis Grizzlies",
"Kelly Olynyk",
"Trey Murphy",
"Jose Alvarado",
"Basketball",
"NBA",
"NBA basketball",
"Sports"
] |
# Morant and Bane help Grizzlies hang on to beat Pelicans 107-104
March 10th, 2025 02:02 AM
---
NEW ORLEANS (AP) β Ja Morant scored 32 points and Desmond Bane added 30 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the New Orleans Pelicans 107-104 on Sunday night.
Morant also had six assists and three steals for the Grizzlies, who trailed 64-57 at halftime.
Trey Murphy III scored 27 points for the Pelicans. Karlo Matkovic added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Morant missed one free throw, but then made his second with 6.2 seconds left to make it a three-point game. Jose Alvarado and Kelly Olynyk missed 3-point attempts for the Pelicans to try to force overtime.
## Key moment
The Grizzlies took the lead for good with 3:37 remaining in the fourth quarter on a jump shot by Morant to make it 98-97.
## Key stat
The Grizzlies outrebounded the Pelicans 57 to 39.
## Up next
The Grizzlies play the Phoenix Suns on Monday night to begin a four-game homestand. The Pelicans play the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-15 18:50:11+00:00
|
[
"George Simion",
"Diana Sosoaca",
"Romania",
"Europe",
"Donald Trump",
"Elena Lasconi",
"Romania government",
"European Union",
"Global elections",
"JD Vance",
"Politics",
"Elon Musk",
"Elections"
] |
# Romania's election body rejects far-right Diana Sosoaca's presidential bid, approves George Simion
By Stephen Mcgrath and Andreea Alexandru
March 15th, 2025 06:50 PM
---
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) β Romania's electoral body Saturday rejected the candidacy of a controversial far-right politician in the presidential election rerun in May, but approved George Simion, the leader of the country's most popular far-right party.
The Central Election Bureau, or BEC, rejected Diana Sosoaca's bid, which was filed on Thursday in the capital, Bucharest. She said she will appeal the bureau's decision, which has to be submitted to the Constitutional Court within 24 hours.
The bureau said in its decision that it barred the pro-Russia Sosoaca, a former lawyer and leader of the far-right nationalist S.O.S. Romania party, from entering the race on the same grounds that she was excluded from last year's annulled election. The CCR argued that her public discourse, including opposition to Romania's European Union and NATO memberships, made her unfit to uphold the constitutional obligations of the presidency.
In a public letter posted online and addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump after the bureau's decision, Sosoaca, 49, claimed that "the democratic system has been destroyed and that the elections have already been rigged."
The court's decision to bar her from last year's race drew strong criticism from some civil rights groups and politicians, who denounced it as undermining democracy or politically motivated.
However, on Saturday, the election bureau validated the candidacy of Simion, who leads the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which is Romania's second biggest party in the legislature.
## 'Return to democracy'
Simion, 38, who is under criminal investigation for inciting violence after last year's first-round winner Calin Georgescu was barred this week from entering the May rerun, has expressed concerns that he could also be excluded from the upcoming race.
"Now let's see if we can pass the CCR and return to democracy," he wrote on Facebook. Simion β who came fourth in the first round of last year's race with 13.8% of the vote β has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the investigation is politically motivated.
"I risk being subjected to the same abusive treatment β¦ If they eliminated two, they think they can eliminate a third," he told a news conference Friday after filing his candidacy.
Simion has stirred controversy on occasion. He campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, which has barred him from entering the country. He is also banned from neighboring Ukraine, where authorities cited security concerns.
The Constitutional Court annulled last year's election two days before the Dec. 8 runoff, after allegations emerged that Russia had run a coordinated online campaign to promote far-right Georgescu, who ran as an independent. Moscow has denied meddling in the election.
The court's unprecedented decision last year plunged the European Union and NATO member country into a protracted political crisis and has drawn criticism from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Moscow.
## Presidential rerun scheduled for May 4
Like other countries in Europe, the far-right vote has gained momentum in Romania in recent years.
In 2020, Simion's AUR party β which proclaims to stand for "family, nation, faith, and freedom" β doubled its support in a parliamentary election on Dec. 1 with 18.2%, up from 9% four years earlier.
On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Bucharest waved European Union and Romanian flags at a pro-EU rally to counter what the organizers described as a "wave of sovereignism and ultranationalism" that "threatens our unity."
"We are here to encourage each other because it is a very troubled period in Europe, the extremes are on the rise, especially the far right," Mihai Calin, an actor at the National Theatre Bucharest, told The Associated Press. "The impairment of Europe is underway. ... People are in danger of discouragement, disappointment. So we need to gather together to reunite."
The BEC also approved the candidacy of pro-Western Elena Lasconi, leader of the Save Romania Union party, who was set to face Georgescu in the scheduled runoff last year.
The first round of the presidential rerun is scheduled for May 4. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the ballots, a runoff will he held May 18. The deadline for presidential candidacy bids closes at midnight on Saturday.
Factoring in potential candidacy rejections and subsequent appeals, the final list of confirmed candidates will be known on March 19.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-15 05:12:00+00:00
|
[
"Karel Vejmelka",
"Philipp Grubauer",
"Eeli Tolvanen",
"Kevin Stenlund",
"Nick Schmaltz",
"Utah Hockey Club",
"Brandon Montour",
"Kaapo Kakko",
"Seattle Kraken",
"Jaden Schwartz",
"Mikhail Sergachev",
"Jack McBain",
"Utah",
"Utah Utes",
"NHL",
"Sports",
"Jordan Eberle",
"Dylan Guenther",
"NHL hockey"
] |
# Eeli Tolvanen scores early, and again late, to lead Kraken to a 4-2 win over Utah
By Mark Moschetti
March 15th, 2025 05:12 AM
---
SEATTLE (AP) β Eeli Tolvanen scored two goals, the first just 51 seconds into the game and the second into an empty net with 1:09 left, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Utah Hockey Club 4-2 on Friday night.
Brandon Montour and Kaapo Kakko also scored for the Seattle. Tolvanen also had an assist and Jordan Eberle had two assists, giving him five in his last two games. Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves.
Nick Schmaltz and Kevin Stenlund scored for Utah and Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves.
Tolvanen's first goal from the left of the net that went behind Vejmelka was his 20th, the first time in his career that he has hit that milestone.
Schmaltz tied it at 1-1 with 3:12 left in the first period, then Stenlund converted a turnover in the neutral zone into a goal for a 2-1 lead 7:35 into the second. Montour tied it at 2-2 with 1:06 left in the period.
## Takeaways
Utah: Schmaltz's goal was the third straight road game in which he has scored. Stenland, Dylan Guenther and Jack McBain also have had three-game road scoring streaks this season.
Kraken: Although it wasn't their quickest first-period goal, Tolvanen's tally just 51 seconds into Friday's game was the sixth time this season the Kraken have scored in the opening minute, the most in the league. The fastest one was by Jaden Schwartz just 19 seconds in at home against Carolina on Dec. 3.
## Key moment
With the game tied at 2-2, Utah's Mikhail Sergachev tried to clear the puck behind the back of his net, but it bounced off the side. Kakko swooped in, picked it up and wrapped it around the post to Vejmelka's left.
## Key stat
Grubauer made his second start since a brief in the minors at Coachella Valley. He has won both of them.
## Up next
The Kraken host Winnipeg and Utah visits Vancouver, both on Sunday night.
___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-05 17:11:51+00:00
|
[
"Alphabet",
"Inc.",
"Artificial intelligence",
"Internet",
"District of Columbia",
"Robby Stein",
"Business",
"Technology"
] |
# Google leans further into AI-generated overviews for its search engine
By Michael Liedtke
March 5th, 2025 05:11 PM
---
Google is updating its ubiquitous search engine with the next generation of its artificial intelligence technology as part of an effort to provide instant expertise amid intensifying competition from smaller competitors.
The company announced Wednesday that it will feed its Gemini 2.0 AI model into its search engine so it can field more complex questions involving subjects such as computer coding and math.
As has been the case since last May, the AI-generated overviews will be placed above the traditional web links that have become the lifeblood of online publishers dependent on traffic referrals from Google's dominant search engine.
Google is broadening the audience for AI overviews in the U.S. by making them available to teenage searchers without requiring them to go through a special sign-in process to see them.
The stage is also being set for what could turn out to be one of the most dramatic changes to the search engine's interface since Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started the company in a Silicon Valley garage during the late 1990s.
Google is going to begin a gradual rollout of an "AI mode" option that will result in the search engine generating even more AI overviews. When search is in AI mode, Google is warning the overviews are likely to become more conversational and sometimes head down online corridors that result in falsehoods that the tech industry euphemistically calls "hallucinations."
"As with any early-stage AI product, we won't always get it right," Google product vice president Robby Stein wrote in a blog post that also acknowledged the possibility "that some responses may unintentionally appear to take on a persona or reflect a particular opinion."
More stringent guardrails are supposed to be in place to prevent AI mode from steering people in the wrong direction for queries involving health and finance.
The need for additional fine tuning is one reason Google is initially only offering AI mode in its experimental Labs section, and only subscribers to its $20-per-month Google One AI Premium will be allowed to test it out at first.
But these tests almost always result in the technology being released to all comers β a goal that Google is pursuing in response to AI-powered search engines from ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Google's amped-up usage of more sophisticated AI overviews is likely to amplify worries that the summaries will make web surfers even less likely to click on links to take them to sites with useful information on the topic.
Those traffic referrals are one of the main ways that online publishers attract the clicks needed to sell the digital ads that help finance their operations.
Google executives insist AI overviews are still driving traffic to other sites by driving up people's curiosity so they engage in more queries to learn more, resulting in more clicks to other publishers.
But those reassurances haven't placated publishers who believe that Google will be the main beneficiary of AI overviews, further enriching an internet empire that already generates more than $260 billion in annual ad revenue.
The expanded use of AI overviews also could expose Google to more allegations that it is abusing the power of a search engine that a federal judge last year found to be an illegal monopoly in attempt to maintain its position as the internet's main gateway.
The U.S. Justice Department, which filed the monopoly claims against Google in 2020, is now proposing a partial breakup of the company that would include the sale of its Chrome browser as part of its punishment. The hearings on the proposed penalties against Google, which may include digging deeper into its use of AI, are scheduled to begin next month in Washington D.C.
Online educational online service Chegg already has amplified on that monopoly case with a lawsuit filed last month in the same Washington court accusing Google of improperly cribbing information from its site to present in its AI Overviews. Google has denied the allegations.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-16 02:07:38+00:00
|
[
"Detroit Pistons",
"Cade Cunningham",
"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander",
"Dennis Schroder",
"Cason Wallace",
"Oklahoma City Thunder",
"Tobias Harris",
"Isaiah Hartenstein",
"Malik Beasley",
"Basketball",
"NBA",
"Sports",
"Oklahoma City",
"NBA basketball",
"Luguentz Dort"
] |
# Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 48 points and Thunder hold off Pistons 113-107
By Dave Hogg
March 16th, 2025 02:07 AM
---
DETROIT (AP) β Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 48 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 113-107 on Saturday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 17 of 26 from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and added six assists and three steals for Oklahoma City, which won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Cason Wallace added 20 points for Thunder, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Detroit's Cade Cunningham matched a season low with 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting before being ejected for arguing calls late in the third quarter.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 18 points, while reserve Dennis Schroder had 17 points and 11 assists in place of Cunningham.
Detroit trailed 91-75 until Malik Beasley's buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter. His 3-pointer pulled the Pistons within 98-97 with 4:16 left.
Gilgeous-Alexander answered with a 3, a runner in the lane and a layup to make it 106-100 with 2:07 left before setting up Wallace for a clinching 3-pointer.
## Takeaways
Thunder: Luguentz Dort left after appearing to injure himself slipping on the court with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. He didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Pistons: Held a moment of silence before the game for Junior Bridgeman, who died Monday at 75. Bridgeman played 12 NBA seasons, mostly for the Bucks, then became a highly successful businessman.
## Key moment
The Pistons were called for five technicals in the third quarter, including three during an extended argument with 48 seconds left in the period. Cunningham received both of his at that point, along with Schroder. Oklahoma City ended up with four points on the possession, increasing its lead from 11 to 15.
## Key stat
The Pistons made 50% (8 of 16) of their first-half 3-point attempts and held the Thunder to 22.7% (5 of 22) from behind the arc, but still trailed 55-54 at the half. Oklahoma City had a 7-2 edge on the offensive glass and forced 11 turnovers, while only committing seven.
## Up next
The Thunder play Sunday in Milwaukee, while Detroit is in New Orleans on Monday. β
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 22:13:13+00:00
|
[
"Courts",
"Camille Pissarro",
"Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza",
"Madrid",
"California state government",
"California",
"Europe",
"David Cassirer",
"Paris",
"Supreme Court of the United States",
"Entertainment",
"Theft",
"Lilly Cassirer Neubauer",
"Rain",
"Claude Cassirer",
"Lifestyle",
"Thaddeus Stauber"
] |
# The US high court revives a case around Nazi-looted impressionist painting in Spanish museum
By Suman Naishadham
March 10th, 2025 10:13 PM
---
MADRID (AP) β The fate of a French impressionist painting once stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish woman is in question once again after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday revived a case that could decide its ownership.
At issue is whether the painting, Camille Pissarro's "Rue Saint-HonorΓ© in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain," should remain in the hands of a prominent Spanish museum where it now hangs β or with the descendants of the woman.
On Monday, the Supreme Court said the case should be reconsidered under a California law passed last year that aims to strengthen the claims of Holocaust survivors and their families seeking to recover stolen art. In doing so, the justices overturned previous lower court decisions that sided with the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid.
The oil painting from 1897 depicts a rainswept Paris street and is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
Its owner was once Lilly Cassirer Neubauer, a German Jew who surrendered the painting to the Nazis in order to get visas for herself and her husband to leave Germany.
The painting changed hands a number of times for years, traveling to the United States where it spent 25 years with different collectors before it was bought in 1976 by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza of Lugano, Switzerland. He owned it until the 1990s, when he sold much of his art collection to Spain.
On Monday, Neubauer's great-grandson and California resident David Cassirer said in a statement that he was thankful to the U.S. high court "for insisting on applying principles of right and wrong." He took over the family's fight for the painting after his father Claude Cassirer β who had first discovered that the painting was not lost but on display in the Madrid art museum β died in 2010.
A lawyer representing the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation said that the foundation would continue working toward confirming the painting's ownership "as it has for the past 20 years."
Thaddeus Stauber also said the U.S. high court's order provided a first opportunity to examine the new California law and what effect it could have on the museum's "repeatedly affirmed rightful ownership."
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-26 21:22:36+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Diversity",
"equity and inclusion",
"Labor",
"Lawsuits",
"Discrimination",
"Kelly Dermody",
"Mary Kuntz",
"Business",
"Politics",
"Associated Press",
"American Civil Liberties Union"
] |
# Federal workers targeted for DEI-related activities file class action complaint
By Alexandra Olson
March 26th, 2025 09:22 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) β A group of federal employees targeted for dismissal because of their involvement in diversity, equity and inclusion activities has filed a class action complaint against the Trump administration.
The complaint alleges that the ongoing mass firings unlawfully target federal employees based on their perceived political views, infringe on their First Amendment rights and violate anti-discrimination laws by disproportionally affecting workers who are not white men.
The complaint was filed before the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent federal agency, by the American Civil Liberties Union, Democracy Forward and two law firms. It was filed on behalf of Mahri Stainnak, a 16-year federal employee who was working at the Office of Personnel Management when they were dismissed as part of President Donald Trump's executive order to eliminate DEI programs from the federal government.
According to the complaint, Stainnak had been working as director of OPM's Talent Innovation Group β a position that was not DEI-related β upon receiving a "Reduction In Force" notice citing Trump's executive order. Stainnak had previously held the position of deputy director OPM's Office of DEIA.
The complaint alleges the federal government is violating the "Reduction in Force" system by firing Stainnak and other employees for their past work or activities instead of eliminating actual roles related to DEI. In doing so, the complaint said the Trump administration's orders "betrays their partisan political goals by targeting employees, not positions, for RIFs."
Some employees were targeted for participating in employee resource groups or DEI trainings, rather than their current roles, the complaint said. It cites Trump's past remarks calling DEI work part of "leftist ideology" and a "woke" political agenda as evidence that the government is for their "presumed political affiliation."
A spokesperson for the Justice Department, named as a defendant in the complaint, did not immediately reply to request for comment.
The complaint before the Merit System Protection Board, an independent federal agency, is a required step for exhausting administrative procedures before eventually filing a civil lawsuit in federal court, said Kelly Dermody of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein and Mary Kuntz of Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch PC, the attorneys representing the workers.
The complaint identifies three other federal employees, currently on administrative leave, who will be added to the complaint when their dismissals officially take effect next month. Dermody and Kuntz said the complaint will continue to be amended to add more federal workers as their dismissals take effect.
Dermody and Kuntz said their investigation and interviews with employees indicate that the firings disproportionally affected workers who are women, people of color and LGBTQ in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
The complaint demands that the government provide a list of employees who were placed on leave or fired because of the DEI executive order, along with their race and gender.
________
The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 17:20:18+00:00
|
[
"Patrick Ewing",
"Mens college basketball",
"Creighton Bluejays",
"College sports",
"Georgetown Hoyas",
"Big East Conference",
"St. Johns Red Storm",
"Xavier Musketeers",
"College basketball",
"Basketball",
"Creighton Bluejays mens basketball",
"New York City Wire",
"Sports",
"NBA basketball",
"Jerome Hunter",
"Connecticut Huskies"
] |
# Creighton's Kalkbrenner matches Ewing with 4th Big East Defensive Player of the Year award
By Mike Fitzpatrick
March 10th, 2025 05:20 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) β Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was selected Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth straight season on Monday, joining Georgetown great Patrick Ewing as the only players to accomplish the feat.
The 7-foot-1 senior led the league with 80 blocks for the Bluejays (22-9, 15-5), the No. 2 seed in this week's conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Ewing won the award every year from 1982-85 before going on to a Hall of Fame career in the NBA.
St. John's forward Zuby Ejiofor was chosen Most Improved Player, UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr. took the Sixth Man Award, and Xavier forward Jerome Hunter received the Sportsmanship Award.
Big East head coaches vote for the awards and are not allowed to pick their own players.
Kalkbrenner, who has never fouled out of a game, is a top contender for conference Player of the Year, too. He and Ejiofor were on the All-Big East first team announced Sunday, along with Kam Jones of Marquette, RJ Luis Jr. of St. John's, Eric Dixon of Villanova and Micah Peavy of Georgetown. Kalkbrenner, Jones, Luis and Dixon were unanimous selections.
The award for Player of the Year will go to one of those six Wednesday, when Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year also will be revealed during a news conference at Madison Square Garden a few hours before the Big East Tournament begins.
Ejiofor, a 6-foot-9 junior and team captain, is averaging 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for No. 6 St. John's (27-4, 18-2), which won its first outright Big East regular-season title in 40 years. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds last season.
The 6-foot-10 Reed is averaging 10 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 67% from the field in 20.2 minutes per game for the Huskies (22-9, 14-6), the two-time defending NCAA champions. He leads the team with 52 blocks and has seven double-doubles off the bench, most in the nation.
Hunter, a 6-8 graduate student, has fought through cardiac issues and a torn ACL that caused him to miss last season. He is averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per game for the Musketeers (21-10, 13-7).
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-24 00:10:50+00:00
|
[
"Tiger Woods",
"Lindsey Vonn",
"Donald Trump",
"Social media",
"Golf",
"Politics",
"Vanessa Trump",
"Jr.",
"San Diego",
"Erica Herman",
"Children",
"Sports",
"Elin Nordegren"
] |
# Tiger Woods confirms he's dating Vanessa Trump
By Doug Ferguson
March 24th, 2025 12:10 AM
---
Tiger Woods has confirmed his relationship with the former daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump, publishing two images to social media in a post that said, "Love is in the air."
Woods and Vanessa Trump, who was married to Donald Trump Jr., had been seen at Torrey Pines in San Diego along with her daughter, Kai, when Woods arrived for the final round to hand out the trophy to the winner of the Genesis Invitational. He is the tournament host.
Kai Trump goes to the Benjamin School with Woods' two children, Sam and Charlie. She and Charlie competed on an invitation at a high-profile junior golf tournament this week.
"Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together," Woods said on X, where he has 6.4 million followers.
He added: "At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts."
One photo shows Woods and Vanessa Trump posing together, another with them lying in a hammock with her arm draped across his chest as he gazes skyward.
Woods and Vanessa Trump had been featured in gossip outlets for the last several weeks. She was married to Donald Trump Jr. for 12 years. They had five children together.
Woods announced March 11 that he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, knocking him out of the Masters and likely for the rest of the year.
It was not clear what prompted Woods, who keeps his personal life fiercely private, to publish photos confirming the relationship. It was reminiscent of 2013, when he and Lindsey Vonn both posted photos of them together to confirm they were dating.
Woods said at the time he and Vonn "wanted to limit the 'stalkarazzi' and all those sleazy websites that are out there following us," saying it could lead to dangerous situations involving his children. He also said their photos would devalue anything the paparazzi had.
Woods has two children from his marriage to Elin Nordegren, who divorced him 2010 after he had been exposed for multiple extramarital affairs.
His only other public relationship was with Erica Herman, which lasted about seven years until he ended it in October 2022. It was a messy split, and Herman eventually dismissed lawsuits against Woods and the trust that owns his south Florida estate, where she had been living.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-24 23:30:36+00:00
|
[
"College sports",
"Texas Longhorns",
"Mens college basketball",
"Texas",
"College basketball",
"Arizona",
"Sports",
"Kevin Eltife",
"Chris Beard",
"Chris Del Conte",
"Sean Miller"
] |
# Texas hires Xavier's Sean Miller, the coach who beat the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament
By Jim Vertuno
March 24th, 2025 11:30 PM
---
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) β Texas hired Xavier's Sean Miller to take over the Longhorns basketball program on Monday, turning to the coach who had just knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament a few days earlier in an attempt to spark a program that struggled in its first season in the Southeastern Conference.
The announcement comes a day after Texas fired Rodney Terry, and less than a week after Miller and Xavier knocked the Longhorns out of March Madness in a First Four game. Xavier was beaten in the next round by Illinois.
Texas planned an introductory news conference with Miller on Tuesday. Contract terms were not immediately disclosed.
For the 56-year-old Miller, it's the second time he is leaving Xavier, a Catholic school in Cincinnati that plays in the Big East, for a bigger program.
He coached the Musketeers from 2004-09 before leaving for Arizona. He then returned to Xavier in 2022 after he was fired.
Miller's teams made the NCAA Tournament 13 times with four trips to the Elite Eight. He is 487-196 overall in 20 seasons.
"He's without a doubt the perfect choice to lead our men's basketball program," said Kevin Eltife, chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. "When you watched his teams at Arizona and Xavier, they were extremely well-coached, won at the highest level, made deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and played a fun and exciting brand of basketball."
Miller inherits a Texas program looking to find its footing in the SEC, college basketball's dominant league this season. Texas finished 14th in the 16-team conference and barely scraped its way into the NCAA Tournament before its early exit.
Texas gets a coach with a history of success at mid-major and power conference programs, who also was implicated and later cleared in an NCAA investigation into Arizona.
Miller went 120-47 in his first stint at Xavier, leading the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament his final four seasons before being hired at Arizona. He won 302 games and five Pac-12 regular-season titles in 12 years with the Wildcats, but the program found itself in the NCAA's crosshairs after being ensnared in a 2017 FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball.
The NCAA uncovered recruiting violations and academic misconduct, and Arizona self-imposed a postseason ban for 2020-21.
Miller was fired after that season, but escaped sanctions in 2022 in a report by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process that was set up to handle complex cases. Two of his former assistants were penalized.
He returned to Xavier, where he went 65-40 with two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Musketeers went 22-12 this season.
"When we were considering our next head coach, Sean Miller was a name that immediately came up as a perfect fit for us," Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said. "He certainly checks all the boxes, is exactly what we're looking for in every facet as a leader, and in talking with him, he has a great plan and vision for our program."
Terry was a Texas assistant when he took over the team in midseason in December 2022 after former coach Chris Beard was arrested on domestic violence charges and later fired. Terry led the Longhorns to the Elite Eight, their deepest tournament run since 2008, and was given a five-year, $15.3 million contract.
But Terry struggled to match that success and Texas' first season in the SEC was a dud. The Longhorns went 6-12 in league play despite having conference freshman of the year Tre Johnson, who is expected to enter the NBA draft.
The charges against Beard were dropped shortly after he was fired at Texas. He was hired at Mississippi and has the Rebels in the Sweet 16 for just the second time in school history.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-27 04:04:18+00:00
|
[
"West Virginia",
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.",
"Food safety",
"Public health",
"Children",
"Year in Review",
"WK Kellogg Co.",
"Health",
"Politics",
"Travis Austin",
"Legislation",
"Laura Wakim Chapman",
"Food and beverage manufacturing",
"Sysco Corp.",
"Jason Barrett",
"Chris Derico",
"Kellanova",
"Healthy eating",
"Charles Leftwich",
"Apple",
"Inc.",
"Deval Patrick"
] |
# States move to ban or restrict use of synthetic dyes used in candies and cereal
By Leah Willingham
March 27th, 2025 04:04 AM
---
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) β Synthetic dyes used to make brightly colored cereals, drinks and candies are coming under scrutiny in states across the country, where lawmakers say the federal government has stalled in taking action despite evidence of harmful effects.
West Virginia, which ranks at the bottom in the U.S. for many health metrics, became the first to sign a sweeping statewide ban on seven such dyes this week. Lawmakers in more than 20 states β from deep red West Virginia to heavily Democratic California β are making a bipartisan push to restrict access to the dyes, which have been tied to neurobehavioral problems in some children and of which U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been an outspoken critic.
"We should not be forced to police our own foods," said Republican Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, who heads the Senate's health committee and told lawmakers the vote might be the most important of their political careers. "No more toxic colors, no more poisoning ourselves and our children. No more unnecessary risks. Our health is not for sale."
In signing the bill, Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey referenced Kennedy's slogan in saying, "There's no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission."
The prohibition on certain preservatives and red, blue, green and yellow dyes takes effect for school food in August, and across the state in 2028. It follows narrower bills approved in California last year and Virginia last week that would ban six artificial dyes from being served in public schools beginning in 2027.
## Why do lawmakers want to see the dyes die?
Thirty-six color additives are approved by the Federal Drug Administration for use in food and drinks in the U.S. Nine petroleum-based chemical dyes, including Red 3, have been allowed in U.S. food.
Public health advocates have been lobbying for state and federal action for years, pointing to research that links food dyes and other chemical additives to health risks, including exacerbating symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in some children and animal research linking certain additives to cancers.
The European Union and some countries, including Australia and Japan, have banned or restricted the use of certain food dyes because of potential health risks.
In October, dozens of protesters outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. demanded that the company remove artificial dyes from cereals such as Apple Jacks and Froot Loops. Kellogg announced that it would remove artificial colors and ingredients from its U.S. products by 2018, but never did so, despite making the change in other countries, such as Canada, where Froot Loops are colored with concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice and blueberry juice.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned Red 3 from the nation's food supply in January, setting a 2027 deadline for manufacturers to eliminate it from their products. Makers of ingested drugs like cough syrups have until January 2028.
## Food industry warns of cost increases
The National Confectioners Association, a trade group for chocolate, candy, gum and mints sellers, said the new regulations will make food more expensive, less accessible and lead to less variety on grocery store shelves. It said states such as West Virginia, where 1 in 4 children live in poverty and many neighborhoods are "food deserts" with limited access to affordable, nutritious food, will be disproportionately impacted.
Charles Leftwich, vice president of food safety and quality assurance for Sysco Corp., the world's largest food service distributor, said food safety policies should be supported by science and "be consistently applied across all geographies."
"We shouldn't have a fragmented approach when it comes to food safety, because it breeds a lack of trust and confidence with within consumers," Leftwich said in an interview with The Associated Press.
## Changes underway
School districts in West Virginia have begun phasing out breakfast cereals, strawberry milk or other products in anticipation of the new law's August deadline.
Chris Derico, who runs Harrison County's school nutrition program, expects the new regulation to increase costs but said he's not "in panic mode about it" because none of the products containing the artificial dyes are used in main dishes served to students.
Travis Austin, who leads food service in the Cabell County Schools system, called the policy "a step in the right direction" and said it will be up to manufacturers to rework their formulas to remain competitive.
"It's all about money," he said. "If Froot Loops and Lucky Charms aren't going to change their formulations, then we're not going to buy them. We'll buy ones that do."
Lawmakers in West Virginia, which leads the nation in chronic diseases such as obesity, noted that the dyes are often found in sugary foods.
When the bill passed the state Senate, sponsor Jason Barrett said West Virginia was the first state to approve such a sweeping law but won't be the last. He cited a bill advancing in Oklahoma that would ban 21 synthetic food dyes and additives.
He said companies prey on low-income consumers and children.
"With passage of this bill, we are saying to big food corporations that the health of our people comes first," he said.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-17 04:04:48+00:00
|
[
"Cuba",
"Donald Trump",
"Venezuela",
"Nicolas Maduro",
"United States government",
"Latin America",
"United States",
"Tattoos and piercings",
"Venezuela government",
"Politics",
"Teens",
"Immigration"
] |
# After a stint in Guantanamo Bay, a Venezuelan deported from the US adjusts to his homeland
By Regina Garcia Cano and Gisela Salomon
March 17th, 2025 04:04 AM
---
MARACAIBO, Venezuela (AP) β Jhoan Bastidas was deported from the United States and spent 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, watched by cameras and eating small meals that left him hungry.
"I was locked up all day in a little room β I counted the feet: 7 wide and 13 long β without being able to do anything, without a book, looking at the walls," Bastidas, 25, said in his father's middle-class home in the western city of Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Three weeks after he was returned to Venezuela under President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, Bastidas is just starting to make sense of it all β how he is back in the once-prosperous hometown that he left as a teenager; how tattoos on his chest earned him a reputation as a criminal; and how he became one of the few migrants to set foot on the naval base best known for housing terrorism suspects.
## Piecing lives together
Bastidas and roughly 350 other Venezuelans who migrated to the U.S. are trying to piece their lives together after they were deported to their troubled country over the past few weeks. About 180 of them spent up to 16 days at the base in Guantanamo before being flown to Honduras by U.S. authorities and, from there, to Venezuela by the government of President NicolΓ‘s Maduro.
It is part of the White House's efforts to deport a record number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Trump's government has alleged Venezuelans sent to the naval base are members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which originated in the South American country, but it has offered little evidence to back that up.
"It was all very hard; all those experiences were very hard," Bastidas said. "You have to be strong in the face of all those problems, you know, but I saw so much hate."
More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2013, when its oil-dependent economy came undone and Maduro became president. Most settled in Latin America and the Caribbean, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, they increasingly set their sights on the U.S.
Venezuela has refused to take back its own citizens from the U.S. for years, with brief, limited exceptions such as the recent flights.
Over the weekend, the U.S. government transferred hundreds of immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador after Trump invoked an 18th century wartime law to speed up deportations of alleged Tren de Aragua members. The Trump administration, however, has not provided any evidence to back up the gang-membership claim.
The immigrants were transferred even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president broader leeway on policy and executive action to expedite mass deportations.
## Leaving Venezuela
Bastidas, his mother and siblings left Maracaibo in 2018, one of the harshest years of the country's protracted crisis. As they tested their luck in Peru and then settled in Colombia, people living in Venezuela lost jobs, formed long lines outside near-empty grocery stores and went hungry.
Their hometown saw businesses shutter and entire families sell their belongings and move away. The hourslong power outages that became everyday occurrences starting in 2019 pushed even more people to abandon Maracaibo.
He set off for Texas in November 2023, bankrolled by a brother whose promise of a car and a food delivery job in Utah convinced him to migrate.
Bastidas turned himself in to U.S. authorities after reaching the border with Mexico and was taken to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas. He remained there until early February, when one morning he was handcuffed, driven to an airport and put in an airplane without being told where it was headed.
After the aircraft landed, fellow passengers thought they were in Venezuela, but when he reached the door and only saw "gringos," Bastidas said, he concluded they were wrong. When he saw "Guantanamo" written on the floor, it did not mean anything to him. He had never heard that word before.
## Guantanamo
When inside the cell, Bastidas said, he could never tell the time of day because its only window was a small glass panel at the top of the door looking into the building. He said he only saw sunlight every three days for an hour, which was the recreation time he was allowed to spend in what he described as a "cage."
Bastidas said his hands and feet were shackled whenever he left his cell, including when he went to shower every three days. At one point, he and other detainees were given small Bibles, and they began praying together, reading Scripture loudly and placing their ears against the door to hear each other.
"We used to say that the one who was going to get us out was God because we didn't see any other solutions. We didn't have anyone to lean on," Bastidas added.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump has said he planned to send "the worst" to the base in Cuba, including members of the Tren de Aragua. Bastidas said he is not part of the gang and believes the U.S. authorities used his tattoos to wrongly catalog him as a member of the criminal organization.
When asked which tattoos he thinks authorities misjudged, his father pulled down the neck of Bastidas' white T-shirt and pointed to two black, eight-pointed stars, each inked on one side of the chest, below the collarbones.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit attempting to block further transfers to Guantanamo alleging cruelty by the guards and suicide attempts by at least three people held there.
Bastidas and other Venezuelans returned to Venezuela from Guantanamo on Feb. 20. Armed state intelligence service agents dropped them off at their homes.
Bastidas spent the next two weeks resting. He then began working at a hot dog stand.
## Back home
Abandoned storefronts and homes are everywhere in Maracaibo, which once was a magnet for immigrants looking for good-paying jobs in and around nearby oil fields. But corruption, mismanagement and eventual U.S. economic sanctions saw production β and population β decline steadily.
Few people might know Bastidas by name in his sweltering hometown, but practically everyone in Maracaibo knows someone who has migrated. So, news of the Venezuelans' transfer to Guantanamo was shared seemingly endlessly on social media and WhatsApp, setting off debates over their living conditions and alleged gang affiliations as well as the complex crisis that drove them to migrate in the first place.
Bastidas is leaning into faith to ignore the noise and move forward.
"I see it as a kind of test that the Lord put me through," he said. "He has another purpose for me. It wasn't for me to be (in the U.S.), and he kept me there (in detention) for some reason."
___
Salomon reported from Miami.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-24 19:09:54+00:00
|
[
"Gregory Maguire",
"Books and literature",
"Book Reviews",
"Fernanda Figueroa",
"Arts and entertainment",
"Fiction",
"Entertainment"
] |
# Elphie' review: A novel Elphaba fans should hold space
By Fernanda Figueroa
March 24th, 2025 07:09 PM
---
For fans, like me, looking to fill their "Wicked" obsession, "Elphie," the fifth book in the Wicked Years series, provides the perfect escape into the world of Oz, with a new look at Elphaba Thropp, the beloved green heroine, before she was known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
From her struggles with familiar jealousy, her thirst for knowledge and her encounters with the marginalized talking animals of Oz, "Elphie" explores the moments in Elphaba's life that shaped who she is. Devoted fans and readers new to the series will be able to dive in deeper to the social and political issues of Oz and gain a deeper insights into Elphaba's plight for sentient animals, a cause that will later mark her as wicked.
With a subtle political distress throughout the novel and lack of love in Elphaba's life, the novel can feel melancholy at times. But, that is the core of who Elphaba is.
Elphaba's progress from child to an adolescent with better understanding of the world, her wants and needs, guide Gregory Maguire's novel. As Elphaba starts her journey of discovery the novel's pace is slow and steady. But as she begins to understand herself and the joy and wonders of Oz, the novel's becomes a tad more lively.
In contrasts to the rest of the series, in "Elphie" Maguire takes to writing in short chapters with short sentences, reflecting the overall dysfunction occurring in Oz and in Elphaba. The rhythm Maguire create also make the book easy one to breeze through.
Compared to previous books in the series, there is less happening to drive the narrative. Instead, "Elphie" serves as a psychological backstory to understand Elphaba's character, explaining what made her one of the most iconic witched in literacy, theater and film.
Making the novel one Elphaba fans must hold space for.
___
AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 12:48:20+00:00
|
[
"Bobsledding",
"Francesco Friedrich",
"Brian Shimer",
"New York City Wire",
"Sports"
] |
# Kaysha Love's path to becoming a world bobsled champion had an unlikely ally along the way
By Tim Reynolds
March 10th, 2025 12:48 PM
---
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) β Kaysha Love's path to becoming a world bobsled champion had an unlikely ally along the way.
That would be the greatest bobsledder ever.
The story goes like this: Love and longtime U.S. bobsled coach Brian Shimer were watching film on an iPad before her first World Cup race as a pilot in December 2023, going over every nuance of the track at La Plagne, France. As they talked, Love felt someone next to her. The person who crashed the conversation was German bobsled great Francesco Friedrich, who has more wins than anyone in the sport's history.
He asked for the iPad. It was handed over. And for the next few minutes, Friedrich showed Love what he thought all the important details of the track were. Love couldn't believe it.
"It was amazing," Love said. "I didn't know what was happening."
The story gets even better: Love won the monobob race that week in La Plagne, her debut World Cup race.
Fast forward to Sunday. Friedrich won the world two-man title, his 15th world championship. And a few hours later, Love β in just her second season as a full-time driver β won her first world title by prevailing in the monobob competition.
It might seem like an unusual pairing: A German helping an American, when both nations are trying to beat each other on the track. Friedrich β who has even given some of his own money to other teams in the past, including at least one U.S. sled β has a different perspective.
To him, a bobsledder is a bobsledder. He wants to keep the sport going, and if that means sharing knowledge with sliders from other nations then that's what he'll do.
"It's really important to help each other," Friedrich said. "We're only a small family and we want the sport's life to be long and to (keep) the sport in the Olympic program. If we don't help to create or help (other) nations, or if I don't help, I think there can come a day when we're not in the Olympics. That is when our sport dies and that's what we don't want."
Friedrich has been in the sport for well over a decade. Love is a relative newcomer. He's won every race there is to win. She's still always freezing and gets made fun of for wearing as many as three jackets when warming up for a race. But on Sunday, they were in exactly the same spot β atop the medal stand at Mount Van Hoevenberg, as world champions heading into the looming Olympic season.
"I'm still learning these ropes. I'm still trying to develop things," Love said. "And although it's my journey and this is all I know, the reality is that this progression is not really like a normal thing."
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-oly
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-17 14:56:32+00:00
|
[
"milie Dequenne",
"Paris",
"Cannes Film Festival",
"Jean-Pierre Dardenne",
"Celebrity deaths",
"Notable Deaths",
"Lukas Dhont",
"Arts and entertainment",
"Laurence Renauld",
"Frdric Jardin",
"Catherine Deneuve"
] |
# Belgian actor Γmilie Dequenne dies at 43 of rare cancer, report says
By Lindsey Bahr
March 17th, 2025 02:56 PM
---
Γmilie Dequenne, the Belgian actor who won a top Cannes Film Festival prize for her breakout role in "Rosetta," has died, a news report says. She was 43.
Her family and agent told the news agency Agence France-Presse that Dequenne died Sunday of a rare cancer in a hospital outside of Paris. In 2023, Dequenne revealed she had been diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma. Representatives for Dequenne did not immediately respond to inquires from The Associated Press on Monday.
Dequenne was only 18 when she was selected as best actress at Cannes in 1999. In "Rosetta," from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, she portrayed a teenager trying to escape her difficult life in a caravan park with an alcoholic mother. The film also won the Palme d'Or that year.
Born in BelΕil, Belgium, in 1981, Dequenne had a performance streak from a young age. She studied drama at the AcadΓ©mie de Musique de Baudour.
She became well-known in France after starring alongside Catherine Deneuve in "The Girl on the Train," in 2009, based on the true story of a woman who falsely claimed she was the victim of an antisemitic attack. Dequenne also portrayed police officer Laurence Renauld on the French series "The Missing."
In 2012, she won the Un Certain Regard actress prize from Cannes for "Our Children," a dark psychological drama inspired by the real story of a Belgian woman who killed her five children. She was also nominated for several CΓ©sar Awards throughout her career, finally winning best supporting actress in 2021 for the romantic comedy "Love Affair(s)."
Speaking to The Guardian in 2013 about the difficult role in "Our Children," she said, "For my part I went home every weekend, and stayed with my family, which is a very safe place. Making a film like that is something that you have to survive."
More recently, she co-starred in "Close," Lukas Dhont's tender boyhood drama, which brought her back to Cannes again in 2022. She saw similarities between her young co-star and her own breakout role with "Rosetta."
"For me to be here and to come back here after 23 years, it's very emotional and there is like a reflection between Eden (Dambrine) and myself because I remember when I was here the first time with 'Rosetta,'" she told The Associated Press. "It was like a very powerful movie with this main character, which is in every scene, every, every shot. And that's the same for him."
Dequenne returned to the festival again in 2024 for the 25th anniversary of "Rosetta." Her last film was FrΓ©dΓ©ric Jardin's post-apocalyptic thriller "Survive," which came out earlier this year.
While she loved taking on work in England, France and Belgium, she had little interest in Hollywood.
"I have been to Hollywood and had meetings, but really they don't do the kind of films I like to make. And everything is kind of boring, no?" she said in the interview with The Guardian. "Honestly, it's not a fun place, or at least not my kind of fun."
She is survived by her husband, director and producer Michel Ferracci, and daughter, Milla Savarese.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-13 19:35:22+00:00
|
[
"Storms",
"Floods",
"Gulf of Mexico",
"Weather",
"Tornadoes",
"Fires",
"Blizzards",
"Benjamin Reppert",
"Climate and environment",
"Florida",
"Ryan Torn",
"Science",
"Ohio",
"Donald Trump",
"Associated Press"
] |
# March megastorm may bring blizzards, tornadoes, flooding and even fires across much of US
By Isabella O'Malley
March 13th, 2025 07:35 PM
---
More than 100 million people in the U.S. will be in the path of an intense March storm starting Friday as the sprawling multi-day system threatens fires, blizzards, tornadoes, and flooding as it tracks eastward across the Great Plains.
Scientists said the storm's strength and potential for far-reaching impacts is notable, but its timing isn't particularly unusual. Extreme weather can pop up in spring because storms feed on big temperature differences between the warmth that's starting to show up and the lingering chill of winter.
"If there's a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it," said Benjamin Reppert, meteorologist at Penn State University.
The National Weather Service forecast strong winds stretching Friday from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande, with gusts up to 80 mph (130 kph), which creates a significant fire risk in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a winter blast was expected farther north in parts of the Rockies and Northern Plains, with possible blizzard conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota.
The central region from the Gulf Coast to Wisconsin is at risk of severe thunderstorms that could spawn tornadoes and hail. On Saturday, severe storms are forecast to move toward Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and then into Florida. Potential flooding was a concern from the Central Gulf Coast through the upper Ohio Valley.
The turbulent weather is expected to arrive on the East Coast Sunday with strong winds and a flash flooding risk in localized areas. Heavy rain was forecast along the Interstate 95 corridor south to Jacksonville, Florida.
Reppert noted that temperatures in the upper atmosphere in much of the central and eastern U.S. are close to record levels for this time of year, while a cool air mass behind the storm in the western states is one of the coolest on record for that region and this time of year. He said that combination could be behind part of this storm's expected strength.
Russ Schumacher, a climatologist at Colorado State University, said the storm could become a bomb cyclone Friday afternoon or evening β a designation given when a storm intensifies so rapidly that atmospheric pressure drops a certain amount in a 24-hour period. That would mean higher winds and more intense rainfall.
In addition to fuel from big temperature swings, the storm will be shaped by the jet stream. In a fairly typical position for this time of year, it's diving south across the U.S. and will help lift air and moisture into the atmosphere to fall back as rain.
The storm also will tap into heat and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, also referred to as the Gulf of America as declared by President Donald Trump, which is 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 to 2.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than historic averages.
"You kind of have this Goldilocks situation," said Ryan Torn, professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University at Albany, referring to the mix of ingredients in the atmosphere that will add to the storm's strength.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-20 04:25:53+00:00
|
[
"Matthew Boldy",
"Filip Gustavsson",
"Philipp Grubauer",
"Seattle Kraken",
"Minnesota Wild",
"Kirill Kaprizov",
"Frederick Gaudreau",
"Liam Ohgren",
"Seattle",
"NHL",
"Colorado",
"Sports",
"Minnesota",
"NHL hockey",
"Ryan Hartman"
] |
# Wild get three quick goals to start game, beat Kraken 4-0
By Mike Cook
March 20th, 2025 04:25 AM
---
ST. PAUL, MInn. (AP) β Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy and Liam Ohgren scored 1 minute, 42 seconds apart early in the first period and the Minnesota Wild beat the Seattle Kraken 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Boldy added an empty-net goal, and Minnesota moved within two points of third-place Colorado in the Central Division.
Gustavsson is 4-1-1 in his last six home games with a 1.48 goals-against average, a .949 save percentage and two shutouts.
Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots for Seattle.
Hartman scored from the slot 2:47 into the game, Boldy scored from almost the same spot at 3:59 and Ohgren completed a 2-on-1 with Frederick Gaudreau 30 seconds later for a 3-0 lead. The three goals in the opening 4:29 is the fastest to start a game in the NHL this season.
Prior to the outburst, the Wild had not scored a first-period goal in seven games, since March 4 in Seattle.
## Takeaways
Kraken: Playing its fourth game in six days, Seattle outshot Minnesota 34-28, but lost in regulation for just the second time in seven games.
Wild: Center Marco Rossi, third on the team with 21 goals, left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury after being hit by a Boldy shot. He's one of three Wild players to have played every game this season.
## Key moment
Boldy's goals were his first in 12 games. His 23 goals are tied with Kirill Kaprizov, who's missed all but three games since Dec. 23, for the team lead.
## Key stat
Seattle is 0-11 in the second game of the back-to-back contests this season. The Kraken won 6-2 in Chicago on Tuesday.
## Up next
Both teams play Saturday: the Kraken are in Edmonton and the Wild are home against Buffalo.
___
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-09 18:14:57+00:00
|
[
"Chicago Blackhawks",
"Artyom Levshunov",
"Chicago",
"Belarus",
"National Hockey League",
"Sports transactions",
"NHL",
"NHL hockey",
"Sports",
"Hockey"
] |
# Artyom Levshunov recalled by Chicago, could make NHL debut this week
March 9th, 2025 06:14 PM
---
DENVER (AP) β Artyom Levshunov was recalled by Chicago on Sunday, putting the No. 2 overall pick in last year's NHL draft on the brink of his Blackhawks debut.
Levshunov, a 19-year-old defenseman, has five goals and 17 assists in 50 games with Rockford of the American Hockey League. He missed the start of the season because of a fractured right foot.
The last-place Blackhawks are at Colorado on Monday night. They visit San Jose on Thursday night before closing out a four-game trip at Vancouver on Saturday night.
Levshunov, a Belarus native, had nine goals and 26 assists in his only season at Michigan State. He was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
He signed an entry-level contract with Chicago in July. The three-year deal carries a $975,000 cap hit.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 08:02:55+00:00
|
[
"Los Angeles Lakers",
"J.J. Redick",
"Luka Doncic",
"Gabe Vincent",
"New York Knicks",
"Austin Reaves",
"Jalen Brunson",
"Jaxson Hayes",
"LeBron James",
"NBA",
"New York City Wire",
"NBA basketball",
"Los Angeles",
"Sports"
] |
# At beginning of tough stretch, Lakers show grit with overtime victory over Knicks
By Joe Reedy
March 7th, 2025 08:02 AM
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) β It is fitting that in a town built on movies and television, JJ Redick likes to use a popular directing term to refer to different moments in his first season as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Thursday night, the Lakers provided Redick with another memorable callback moment.
Los Angeles began a stretch of five games against some of the top teams in the NBA with a 113-109 overtime victory over the New York Knicks.
The Lakers have won eight straight and are second in the Western Conference at 40-21.
"Our guys, in what felt like a playoff game at times, really just gutted out a win," Redick said.
The Lakers trailed by double digits midway through the fourth quarter, but rallied to force overtime. It was tied at 107 β on free throws by injured Knicks star Jalen Brunson β late in the extra session before Los Angeles closed it out with a 6-2 run.
"We haven't had many of those games because frankly, we've had the lead a lot lately," Redick said. "I think it's a good reminder for our group going forward that we can win games like this where we're not at our best offensively, where we get off to a slow start defensively but we have enough toughness and grit to get these games."
On a night when Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 32 points and LeBron James added 31, it was other players who also stepped up when needed.
Gabe Vincent made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and Jaxson Hayes made a pair of free throws to give the Lakers a 109-107 lead. Austin Reaves was 2 of 13 from the field after missing two games due to a right calf sprain, but hit a 3-pointer in overtime.
"A lot. I think Gabe won us the game with those 3s in the fourth quarter. That was huge for us," Doncic said. "That is how we got the energy up, that is how we got the crowd in.
"To win these types of games, especially at home, you build more chemistry."
The Lakers have won nine of 11 since Doncic made his LA debut on Feb. 10 and 20 of their last 24. But this stretch could provide a clearer picture of how much of a factor they can be in the postseason.
Los Angeles hits the road for four tough games. It begins on Saturday night with a nationally-televised game against Boston, followed by a visit to Brooklyn on Monday. After that is a back-to-back set on March 13 and 14 against Milwaukee and Denver.
"I think we're just holding each other accountable. We want to get better," James said. "So, guys are buying into what JJ and the coaches give us every single night. Our keys to success, our keys to goals and then we just try to go out and execute that. It's close to 48 minutes or 53, like I said tonight, and (we) live with the results."
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-26 16:53:11+00:00
|
[
"Lawsuits",
"Pregnancy and childbirth",
"Vermont",
"Legal proceedings",
"Health",
"David Groff"
] |
# Vermont child welfare agency seeks to dismiss lawsuit alleging it tracked pregnant women
By Holly Ramer
March 26th, 2025 04:53 PM
---
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) β Vermont's child welfare agency has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the state routinely targets and tracks pregnant women deemed unsuitable for motherhood.
The Department for Children and Families filed the request Monday, two months after it was sued by a woman who claims the state secretly investigated her when she was pregnant and won custody of her daughter before the baby was born. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont and the Pregnancy Justice advocacy group, seeks both an end to what it calls an illegal surveillance program and unspecified monetary damages for the woman, who is identified only by her initials, A.V.
According to the complaint, the director of a homeless shelter where A.V. briefly stayed in January 2022 told the child welfare agency that she appeared to have untreated paranoia, dissociative behaviors and post-traumatic stress disorder. The state opened an investigation and later spoke to the woman's counselor, midwife and hospital social worker. The suit alleges the state received updates from the hospital and won temporary custody of the fetus while she was in labor and then immediately took the baby away when she was born.
According to the lawsuit, the state had no jurisdiction before the baby was born, an argument the state rebuts in its filing.
"DCF is tasked with the difficult and delicate task of balancing the need to protect children from potential abuse and neglect against disruptions to families," wrote Assistant Attorney General David Groff. "Given its mission, DCF has the authority to investigate potential abuse to a soon-to-be-born child before the child is born. DCF need not wait for harm to occur after birth."
The state argues that its family court system has exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether a child needs care or supervision, and that the plaintiff can't relitigate custody decisions via a lawsuit. The motion neither confirms nor denies the existence of a "pregnancy calendar" used to track women, but says A.V. lacks standing to challenge it because she was never part of such a calendar and doesn't claim to have been.
The lawsuit also names the hospital where the woman gave birth and a counseling center where she sought treatment as defendants. Lund, the counseling center, has also filed a motion to dismiss the case. In its response to the suit, Copley Hospital said it cooperated with the state's investigation as required under state law. The hospital denied that it illegally disclosed confidential medical information about A.V. or that it routinely collects and disseminates sensitive information about pregnant patients.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-08 20:02:16+00:00
|
[
"Granit Xhaka",
"Florian Wirtz",
"Soccer",
"Bayern Munich",
"Bayer Leverkusen",
"Injuries",
"Athlete injuries",
"Sports",
"Bundesliga",
"Werder Bremen",
"Edmond Tapsoba"
] |
# Wirtz among three key players injured for Leverkusen before Bayern match
March 8th, 2025 08:02 PM
---
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) β Bayer Leverkusen is fretting about the fitness of three key players ahead of its Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka and Edmond Tapsoba were all taken off early in Leverkusen's 2-0 loss to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The club fears the worst for Wirtz, who suffered a right foot injury after going on as a halftime substitute.
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said Wirtz was on his way to hospital before the match ended.
Alonso said he took off Xhaka and Tapsoba at halftime because they were having difficulties.
"We don't know yet if they're injured or they just have knocks," Alonso said. "Granit and Edi had a few problems, that's why we took them off. We have to wait and see."
Leverkusen needs to overturn a three-goal deficit against Bayern on Tuesday after losing the first leg of their last 16 tie in Munich on Wednesday.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-05 23:37:25+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"District of Columbia",
"Amy Berman Jackson",
"Barack Obama",
"Courts",
"DC Wire",
"Jack Smith",
"Joe Biden",
"Government and politics",
"U.S. Department of Agriculture"
] |
# Appeals court allows removal of watchdog agency head as legal battle rages over Trump firing
By Alanna Durkin Richer
March 5th, 2025 11:37 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) β An appeals court in Washington removed the head of a federal watchdog agency on Wednesday in the latest twist in a legal fight over Republican President Donald Trump's authority to fire the special counsel.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with the Trump administration in allowing the immediate removal of Hampton Dellinger from the Office of Special Counsel while arguments continue over the legality of Dellinger's firing.
The case has become a flashpoint in the debate over how much power the president should have to replace the leaders of independent agencies as he moves to radically reshape and shrink the federal government. The Trump administration has argued that the law protecting the special counsel from removal is unconstitutional and unfairly prevents the president from rightfully installing his preferred agency head.
Dellinger's lawyers say allowing the president to fire the special counsel without cause would have a chilling effect on the important duties of the office to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Dellinger has also been working in recent days to challenge Trump's firing of thousands of probationary workers, but his sudden removal throws those efforts into doubt.
Dellinger didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening. He's likely to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dellinger sued Trump last month, saying he was illegally fired because special counsels can be fired by the president "only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, quickly reinstated Dellinger in the job while he pursued his case.
Jackson on Saturday ruled that Dellinger's firing was unlawful and ordered that he remain in his post. But the appeals court lifted Jackson's order blocking his removal, allowing the Trump administration to replace him while the judges weigh the legal arguments.
The Office of Special Counsel is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. It investigates whistleblower claims of reprisal, can pursue disciplinary action against employees who punish whistleblowers and provides a channel for employees to disclose government wrongdoing.
Dellinger was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term in 2024. The independent agency is separate from Justice Department special counsels like Jack Smith, who are appointed by the attorney general for specific investigations.
After a request from Dellinger's office, a government panel that enforces workers' rights ruled Wednesday that more than 5,000 employees fired by the Trump administration should be put back on the job at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
While the order applies only to the USDA workers, Dellinger released a statement "calling on all federal agencies to voluntarily and immediately rescind any unlawful terminations of probationary employees."
____
Associated Press reporter Chris Megerian in Washington contributed.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-17 16:55:51+00:00
|
[
"Pennsylvania",
"Mike Shaffer",
"Music",
"Automotive accidents",
"Bill Hetherson",
"Entertainment",
"Robert Urban"
] |
# Bus carrying bagpipers from St. Patrick's Day parade crashes into truck in Pennsylvania
March 17th, 2025 04:55 PM
---
MOUNT COBB, Pa. (AP) β Bagpipers returning from a St. Patrick's Day parade were taken to hospitals after their charter bus crashed into a tractor-trailer, officials said.
The bus was exiting westbound Interstate 84 in northeastern Pennsylvania shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday when it ran into the tractor-trailer, which had no one inside it, Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Shaffer said, according to WBRE-TV/WYOU-TV.
Seventeen people on the bus had minor injuries, according to Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper First Class Robert Urban. The crash was not weather related and is under investigation, he said.
The bus was carrying the Greater Scranton Black Diamonds Pipe Band back from a parade in Milford, according to Bill Hetherson, the band's business manager. The band expects everyone to make a full recovery. They cancelled group St. Patrick's Day events on Monday but some might be able to play solo, Hetherson said.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-28 15:57:34+00:00
|
[
"Brad Marchand",
"Florida Panthers",
"Sam Bennett",
"Boston Bruins",
"Paul Maurice",
"Mackie Samoskevich",
"Matthew Tkachuk",
"Sergei Bobrovsky",
"Florida",
"Stanley Cup",
"NHL",
"NHL hockey",
"Gus Forsling",
"Scott Mellanby",
"Sports",
"Sports transactions",
"Utah",
"Stanley Cup Playoffs"
] |
# Brad Marchand's 1st game day in Florida: a new sweater, an assist on the OT winner, and some rats
By Tim Reynolds
March 28th, 2025 03:57 PM
---
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) β Brad Marchand scooped up a couple of the toy plastic rats that Florida Panthers fans throw down to the ice to celebrate wins, skating off with them as souvenirs from his first game with the club.
Seemed fitting. He set up the goal that made them fly.
Marchand's perfect pass to Sam Bennett set up an overtime goal, an assist that capped a 2-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club in his debut with the Panthers. He's been with Florida for three weeks since being traded by Boston but hadn't been able to play until now while recovering from an upper-body injury.
"Every day that goes by, feeling much more comfortable and much more a part of the group," Marchand said. "And when you play and you're in everything day to day, it definitely helps that happen quicker. So, yeah, I'm excited to continue to build with the group here."
Marchand was greeted by plenty of fans around the ice during warm-ups and even flicked a puck into the stands toward one group to give them a keepsake. He got the loudest reception of any of Florida's skaters when the game-opening unit was announced.
It was the first time in 1,091 NHL games, 1,248 when adding in playoff contests, that Marchand took the ice in something other than a Bruins sweater. Marchand was on Florida's second line with Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich β who grew up in New England watching Marchand play for the Bruins.
"It's been a lot of fun," Samoskevich said of playing with Marchand. "He's such a good player. So silky. I feel like when he has the puck, he sees you β he's got eyes in the back of his head. It's a lot of fun. Excited for the future with him. He's such a good guy off the ice, too."
Marchand set up the winner β Bennett's second goal of the night β from behind the net, waiting for his new linemate and former adversary to get to the right spot in the slot. Bennett flicked the puck to his backhand, and just like that, Florida was 1-0-0 in the Marchand era.
"Seems like they played together the whole season," Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said.
Marchand had 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games with the Bruins this season, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice said when the deal got done that Marchand, he believes, helps fill what Florida will need in its playoff run and its quest to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup.
"He's had an incredible career," Maurice said. "He's a Stanley Cup champion, 1,000 games, 1,000 penalty minutes, lots of points. I don't want to see it all in one game. ... You know how tenacious this guy is, how physical he is, how hard he plays. Then you get him in practice and you're like, 'Oh my God, he's got hands on him.' And you start to realize how good the skill level is there."
It may have been strange at first, with the former captain of the Bruins wearing Florida colors after those teams had tough playoff battles β both won by the Panthers β in 2023 and 2024. But by all accounts, Marchand has fit perfectly into the Florida mix.
"He brings a lot of energy to the locker room, a lot of compete on the ice," said Panthers defenseman Gus Forsling, who got the second assist on Bennett's winner. "A huge veteran that's going to be big for us."
Marchand said it wasn't unusual pulling on a red sweater instead of one in Bruins colors. His new world, he said, hit him when he went onto the ice for warm-ups.
"It was odd when I stepped on the ice," Marchand said. "That was the first time it kind of hit me. Going out there and being cheered by Panthers fans was a lot different. But it's a great feeling. It's not often that you get to be part of a group like this. And I've been on a lot of teams throughout the years. And you know when you have something special. You know when you walk into a special room. And that's what they have here and it's what you want to be part of."
Now, back to those rats.
Marchand β who has been showered with them more than once after Florida got home wins over his Bruins β had absolutely no idea what they signify in Panthers history. He just picked them up because his kids asked about them. He actually wondered if they're some sort of tribute to injured Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.
That is not the case.
The rats go back to the 1995-96 season, when Florida's Scott Mellanby killed a rat in the locker room with his stick before opening night and then scored two goals in that game. "Rat trick" was the phrase coined that night, and the rats have been part of Florida lore ever since.
And now, he's part of that history.
"It's just nice to get out there and feel like you're part of it," Marchand said.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 23:24:34+00:00
|
[
"Arnold Palmer",
"Golf",
"Karl Vilips",
"William Mouw",
"Puerto Rico",
"Sports",
"Davis Riley",
"Kevin Roy",
"Austin Cook",
"Hao-Tong Li",
"Noah Goodwin",
"Denmark"
] |
# Rasmus Neergard-Petersen has 1-shot lead in Puerto Rico in his PGA Tour debut
March 7th, 2025 11:24 PM
---
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) β Rasmus Neergard-Petersen looked plenty comfortable in his PGA Tour debut, playing bogey-free through 36 holes and shooting a 7-under 65 on Friday for a one-shot lead in the Puerto Rico Open.
Ranked No. 88 in the world, Neergard-Petersen received a commissioner's exemption for international players into the event, which is played opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
"Once I get into the round and kind of get a couple holes in, it just kind of feels like any other day on the golf course really," Neergard-Petersen said. "I'm just trying to stay in the present."
The 25-year-old from Denmark plays on the European tour and was second in his previous start, shooting a final-round 65 to finish one shot behind Haotong Li at the Qatar Masters.
He shot 64 in Thursday's opening round at Grand Reserve Golf Club and was only one shot worse on Friday for a two-day total of 15-under 129.
Davis Riley made four straight birdies on his back nine for a 66 and was one shot back in soft conditions with light wind. Austin Cook (65) was two shots out of the lead, and the group at 12 under included William Mouw, Noah Goodwin and Karl Vilips.
"We haven't gotten crazy gusty winds, so just enough to make you think," Riley said. "I think there's definitely scorable opportunities out there, so I think you just kind of have to be pretty aggressive into the greens."
Fifteen players were 10 under or better. That group did not include Kevin Roy, who followed up his first-round 62 with a 1-over 73.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-18 13:45:35+00:00
|
[
"Soccer",
"FIFA",
"FIFA Womens World Cup",
"Womens sports",
"Womens soccer",
"Sports",
"Gianni Infantino"
] |
# FIFA report highlights the inequities in women's soccer
By Anne M. Peterson
March 18th, 2025 01:45 PM
---
Despite the growing attention on women's soccer globally, the vast majority of players and teams still struggle for resources and investment.
FIFA on Monday released its annual report on the women's game, highlighting the inequities across the sport.
Soccer's world governing body expanded the fourth edition's scope from 34 leagues to 86 leagues and some 669 teams, providing a more accurate picture of the state of the game. It analyzed data in six areas: sporting, governance, financial landscape, fan engagement, data and digital, and player-related matters.
The report separated the leagues into three tiers, based on various criteria including whether the leagues had senior level competitions, the number of players that were on a 2023 Women's World Cup roster or a premier tournament like the Women's Euros, and the member association's budget for women's soccer.
The report found that the average gross salary across all tiers was $10,900, but that number was skewed by 16 clubs in the top tier that paid players an average of more than $50,000. The average salary for top-tier teams was $24,030 globally β less than a living wage in many places.
Women's soccer is not yet profitable, with top-tier leagues generating an average of $4.4 million in revenue but spending an average of $7.6 million. The lowest tier averaged $76,000 in revenue, with $182,000 in expenses. FIFA did not identify the individual clubs within each each tier.
Only 22% of the clubs surveyed had women's coaches, the report said.
The majority of top-tier leagues had domestic broadcast deals (91%) compared to 32% in the bottom tier. Just 42% of the third-tier teams have a title sponsor, compared to 69% at the top.
The report comes as FIFA introduced two more international club tournaments, the 2026 Women's Champions Cup and the 2028 Women's Club World Cup.
The organization announced earlier this month that 19 teams will take part in the first-ever Women's Club World Cup in January-February 2028.
The new Women's Champions Cup will include the six continental club champions and will be played in January next year.
It is hoped that the competitions spur more investment by keeping attention on the players even when it's not a Women's World Cup year.
"This month FIFA announced the timelines and formats for two new, landmark, global FIFA women's club competitions," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement Monday. "As we embark on the development of these tournaments, it is equally important that we offer insights and resources to women's football stakeholders so that together we can build on the solid foundations already in place. FIFA will utilize the findings to build tailor-made programs that will support member associations to continue to professionalize women's football β this is critical as we embark on a new era for women's club football on the global stage."
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 04:21:14+00:00
|
[
"Cyprus",
"Alcoholic beverage industry",
"London",
"Russia Ukraine war",
"Food and beverage manufacturing",
"Climate and environment",
"Henry Picard",
"Mediterranean Sea",
"Nikolas Christodoulides",
"Business",
"Lifestyle",
"Philippe Augustus",
"Climate"
] |
# Micro-wineries in Cyprus champion Commandaria, the world's oldest named wine
By Menelaos Hadjicostis
March 10th, 2025 04:21 AM
---
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) β Praised by the ancient Greek giants Homer and Euripides for its superb quality nearly 3,000 years ago, Cyprus' Commandaria is the world's oldest recorded and named wine.
Despite its rich heritage, the sweet wine has struggled to find its niche in the global market. Now a number of micro-wineries in this east Mediterranean island nation are reviving traditional wine-making techniques and giving Commandaria a chance at a long-awaited comeback.
Makers hope to tap rich legends around the ruby red wine.
It's said to have won the world's first known wine competition during the 13th century rule of French King Philippe Augustus. English King Richard the Lionheart is said to have served it to guests at his 1191 wedding in Cyprus. And 14th century Mayor of London Henry Picard reputedly indulged the leaders of England, France, Scotland, Denmark and Cyprus in the Feast of the Five Kings.
The wine, known as "nama" in antiquity, was renamed by the medieval Knights Hospitaller, who set up headquarters during the Third Crusade at an estate known for its wine production that they named Grande Commanderie.
The island's Orthodox Church later adopted Commandaria as its communion wine during Byzantine times.
Production peaked when Venice ruled Cyprus in the 15th and 16th centuries and prized the wine for its sweetness and complex bouquet.
Now bottles are sold for around 20 euros ($20) to up to 150.
The wine's notes of honey, raisin, walnut, fig, carob, cinnamon, coffee and caramel are attributed to the island's rich volcanic soil, said Christakis Nicolaou, community leader of Zoopigi village, home to the Commandaria museum.
Annual production of the wine in recent years hovered at around 200,000 bottles because demand tapered off, according to Savvas Constantinou, a beverage inspector with Cyprus' agriculture and environment ministry.
One factor is the exclusion of some 800,000 Commandaria-loving Russian tourists as a result of sanctions imposed following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Constantinou said a bid to expand into the massive Chinese market made headway five years ago but wavered after producers couldn't meet demand.
Wine expert Demetri Walters, who holds the prestigious title of Master of Wines, said Commandaria sales haven't gained much traction abroad primarily because of a lack of marketing. For instance, the island's main producer KEO have been slow to understand the potential of the wine, particularly their older vintages.
"A shame, as their Commandaria wines are very good," Walters told the Associated Press. "The unique and antique history, the extraordinary quality across the two styles and the terrific value for money. ... Everyone who tastes it for the first time with me is blown away by the complexity of the wine."
Walters said although sweet wines are "out of fashion" except in the specialist trade, this is slowly changing for Commandaria. He said the wine was entered the UK market in recent years, but as a niche offering.
Wineries such as Revecca in the mountain village of Ayios Mamas have found a steady domestic and foreign following, with sales on an upward swing since it opened in 2015.
Its Commandaria last year won top prize at the national wine competition. The winery employs three people and produces 3,000 bottles a year.
Winery curator Nikolas Christodoulides said he's experimenting with bespoke varieties catering to clients' tastes.
"Our focus is on improving quality rather than being fixated on quantity," Christodoulides said. The approach has worked for one Israeli couple who, according to Christodoulides, flies to Cyprus just to replenish their stock.
Commandaria is made with dark Mavro and white Xynisteri grapes that are indigenous to Cyprus. They are left in the sunshine after harvest for seven to 12 days to bring out the distinctive sweetness.
The wine is matured in reused oak barrels for at least two years in line with strict production laws to conform with the European Union's protected designation of origin. That means authentic Commandaria comes only from 14 villages on the southern face of the Troodos mountain range, where they're exposed to sunlight throughout the day.
Some wineries produce a darker, sweeter version made strictly from the Mavro grapes. That version is preferred at the Karseras winery in the village of Doros, with an annual average production of 40 tons.
Manager Philippos Karseras is encouraged by an upswing in domestic consumption, though it isn't quite enough to make up for the loss of the Russian market.
But those running the Revecca winery believe that these small wineries will gradually win back consumers.
"We have ensure the consistency of our product's quality first and win over the domestic market before we can make a collective push to market Commandaria abroad," Christodoulides said.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-29 08:45:47+00:00
|
[
"Pete Hegseth",
"Donald Trump",
"South China Sea",
"War and unrest",
"Shigeru Ishiba",
"Japan government",
"Japan",
"China government",
"China",
"Charles Cram",
"Joe Rosenthal",
"Reunion",
"Philippines",
"Beijing",
"Funerals and memorial services",
"United States government",
"Veterans"
] |
# Hegseth joins WWII memorial service on his first trip to Japan
By Mari Yamaguchi
March 29th, 2025 08:45 AM
---
TOKYO (AP) β U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Saturday praised American-Japanese friendship and trust while attending a memorial service on Iwo Jima to honor those who died in a pivotal World War II battle.
Japan is Hegseth's second stop after the Philippines on his first Asia trip. His visit comes as Beijing has been showing increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and President Donald Trump made threats to impose trade tariffs on the East Asian country, a key U.S. ally.
Hegseth landed on Iwo Jima, now known as Iwoto, the island where Japanese and American soldiers faced off in one of the war's fiercest battles. He joined several American veterans who survived the battle and bereaved Japanese families. He was joined by his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other officials at Saturday's Reunion of Honor event.
"Iwo Jima embodies our shared warrior ethos, our shared devotion to the nation, and to duty and our shared reverence for the men of valor who preceded us," Hegseth said in front of the cenotaph built in 1985 marking their first joint memorial.
"The U.S.-Japan alliance shows ... how yesterday's enemy has become today's friends," Hegseth said. "Our alliance has been and remains the cornerstone of freedom, prosperity, security and peace in the Indo-Pacific."
Most of those who fought on the tiny island are gone but their hallowed memory lives on, he said, and expressed appreciation for the six veterans aged about 100 who attended the memorial.
The veterans slowly walked to the epitaph with the help of service members to pay tribute to their fellow Marines and sailors who perished there. Charles Cram, a Navy corpsman who was wounded and awarded for his bravery, saluted the epitaph and gently touched the wreath of red, blue and white flowers, as did the others.
Cram, who landed on Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, spent the first night in a foxhole by himself feeling "terribly scared." A few days later, Cram was shot in his leg by a Japanese sniper while checking on a Marine and was evacuated. By then he had lost most of the 250 Marines he landed with.
"I felt some sadness in my heart that I realized that this is one of the futilities of war," Cram, 99, said during his first trip back since the battle.
In a sign of reconciliation, Cram said he brought a flag he took from a Japanese soldier and handed it over to one of Japanese officials at the ceremony, expressing his hopes it would be returned to the soldier's family.
Recent polls show the Japanese feel more affinity toward the U.S. than any other country. Most Americans and Japanese alive today were born after Japan surrendered in August 1945.
Japan, which faces growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia, has been accelerating its military buildup and increasingly working closely with the U.S. military.
On Sunday, Hegseth will hold talks with Nakatani in Tokyo to discuss further strengthening the alliance.
"We must not forget that the peace and prosperity we enjoy today have been built upon the noble sacrifices of those who died in the war and the tireless efforts of the people over the past 80 years since the end of the war," said Ishiba, who became the first serving Japanese prime minister to attend the joint Iwo Jima memorial.
The 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima is best known for the photo by The Associated Press' Joe Rosenthal showing six Marines raising the U.S. flag over Mount Suribachi 80 years ago.
About 70,000 American troops fought at Iwo Jima from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945, as the U.S. tried to take control of a key strategic point to advance to mainland Japan. Nearly 7,000 Marines and about 20,000 Japanese were killed. More than half of the remains of the Japanese are still unaccounted for.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 19:11:04+00:00
|
[
"Josh Heupel",
"Nebraska",
"Texas",
"Tennessee",
"College sports",
"Tennessee Volunteers",
"Ohio State Buckeyes",
"College football",
"Nebraska Cornhuskers",
"Ohio State Buckeyes football",
"Tennessee Volunteers football",
"Nebraska Cornhuskers football",
"Sports",
"Matt Rhule",
"Southern California Trojans",
"Texas Longhorns"
] |
# Vols' Josh Heupel says traditional spring game valuable for giving players experience on big stage
March 7th, 2025 07:11 PM
---
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β Tennessee will hold its spring game in the usual scrimmage format on April 12, with coach Josh Heupel saying Friday that creating a big stage for the players this time of year benefits their development.
The Volunteers' spring game attracted more than 58,000 fans in 2023. Neyland Stadium's spring-game capacity was reduced to 10,000 last year because of a renovation project, and the limit will be about 45,000 this year.
"It's important in particular for our young players to get a taste of what it's going to be like in the fall to play in front of a crowd, big stadium," Heupel said. "We open up on the road this year. You don't want that to be the first time they've played in front of a bunch of people.
"So that experience, it can create urgency, understanding what it's going to feel like as they finish up spring ball and go into summer. End of the day, we have to accelerate their growth curve. A spring game in those settings is part of accelerating their growth."
Schools such as Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas and Southern California have scrapped spring games and replaced them with skills contests and fan activities because of smaller rosters and the risk of player injuries. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule also expressed concerns about schools scouting his spring game and attempting to entice players to enter the transfer portal.
"I do love the spring game, the opportunity for our fans to be here inside of the stadium," Heupel said. "It's usually a great environment on campus that day."
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-21 19:01:36+00:00
|
[
"New York",
"New York City",
"Chicago",
"Las Vegas",
"New York City Wire",
"Business",
"Marion Johnson"
] |
# New Yorkers scramble for free eggs
March 21st, 2025 07:01 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) β Hundreds of people lined up Friday morning at three sites in New York City, some arriving more than an hour early, for the opportunity to snag one of the nation's hottest commodities: a dozen free eggs.
People were bundled up against the windy cold as they stood outside a Harlem restaurant, patiently waiting to be handed a carton. Less than 10 minutes later, the 100 cartons were gone, leaving many empty-handed.
"I heard from the news that they will be giving around, like, 1,500 eggs, or something like that. OK? And I just came because I needed some eggs, and then I'm waiting here in the line, and I don't see anything," said Jackeline Tejava, who was in a line that stretched around the block. "They say that the eggs are gone, but it hasn't been not even more than 20 people, so I don't know what happened."
Egg prices hit a record high last month as the U.S. contends with a bird flu outbreak, which has forced poultry farms to slaughter more than 168 million birds since 2022.
Trying to find eggs on grocery store shelves in New York City can be hit or miss. When they are in stock, they can be pricey.
Friday's giveaway was organized by FarmerJawn, a 128-acre (52-hectare) Pennsylvania farm that's focused on providing organic food to underserved communities. FarmerJawn held other egg giveaways Friday in Brooklyn and Queens. The group also handed out free cartons in New York last month.
"We're doing this egg giveaway because, as food producers, we believe it's our responsibility to support the communities that support us," the group said in a written statement. It partnered with a local butchery and a upstate New York farm to organize Friday's events.
"Food is medicine, and everyone - especially the often-forgotten middle class - deserves access to it," Farmerjawn said.
Other organizations, including churches, have recently held egg giveaways in New York and elsewhere around the country, including Las Vegas, Chicago, Philadelphia and Richland County, South Carolina.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects egg prices to rise 41% this year over last year's average of $3.17 per dozen. A carton of eggs in New York City can often run twice or three times that amount, depending on the store.
Marion Johnson, who waited more than two hours at the Harlem giveaway but didn't get a free carton, said she can't afford eggs.
"They're so expensive," she said. "This is not fair. ... They know everybody gonna be on line like this."
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-26 10:44:24+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Greenland",
"Denmark",
"Europe",
"JD Vance",
"Usha Vance",
"United States government",
"Denmark government",
"United States",
"Peter Viggo Jakobsen",
"United States Congress",
"Anne Merrild",
"Marc Jacobsen",
"Politics",
"North Atlantic Treaty Organization"
] |
# Change in itinerary for US Vice President JD Vance brings cautious relief for Greenland and Denmark
By Josh Boak, David Keyton, and Danica Kirka
March 26th, 2025 10:44 AM
---
Greenland and Denmark appeared cautiously relieved early Wednesday by the news that U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are changing their itinerary for their visit to Greenland Friday, reducing the likelihood that they will cross paths with residents angered by the Trump administration's attempts to annex the vast Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The couple will now visit the U.S. Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, instead of Usha Vance's previously announced solo trip to the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut.
President Donald Trump irked much of Europe by suggesting that the United States should in some form control the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of Denmark, a U.S. ally and NATO member. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources.
Trump, in an interview Wednesday on "The Vince Show," repeated his desire for U.S. control of Greenland. Asked if the people there are "eager" to become U.S. citizens, Trump said he didn't know "but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them."
The vice president's decision to visit a U.S. military base in Greenland has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. Yet Vance has also criticized long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonizing partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the U.S.
During his first term, Trump floated the idea of purchasing the world's largest island, even as Denmark insisted it wasn't for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Trump's plans.
## Timing of Vance's visit stirred concerns
Anne Merrild, a Greenlander and an expert on Arctic politics and development, said recent anti-U.S. demonstrations in Nuuk might have scared the Trump administration enough to revise the trip to avoid interactions with angry Greenlanders.
Still, Merrild said, even a visit to the space base shows that the U.S. administration still considers annexing Greenland to be on the table.
"It's a signal to the whole world, it's a strong signal to Denmark, it's a signal to Greenland," she said. "And of course it's also an internal signal to the U.S., that this is something that we're pursuing."
Vance is allowed to visit the base, said Marc Jacobsen, a professor at the Royal Danish Defense College, because of a 1951 agreement between Denmark and the U.S. regarding the defense of Greenland.
Jacobsen said the timing is controversial, particularly because coalition negotiations are ongoing to form a government after the election earlier this month.
Ahead of the vice president's announcement that he would join his wife, discontent from the governments of Greenland and Denmark had been growing sharper, with the Greenland government posting on Facebook Monday night that it had "not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish national broadcasts Tuesday that the visit was "unacceptable pressure."
## No clear end game
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, associate professor at the Danish Defense Academy, said the trip's flip-flop continues to cause major confusion on the island. The U.S. has not articulated specific demands from Greenland or Denmark at this point.
"We have no idea what the end game is," Jakobsen said.
In Greenland, the political group the most sympathetic to the U.S. president, the Naleraq party that advocates a swift path toward independence, has now been excluded from coalition talks to form the next government. The Trump administration's aspirations for Greenland could backfire and push the more mild parties closer to Denmark.
"But now Trump has scared most Greenlanders away from this idea about a close relationship to the United States because they don't trust him," Jakobsen added.
## Funding is key
One of the biggest remaining hurdles to Greenland's independence is diversifying the economy, where fishing accounts for 90% of exports. In the meantime, Greenland receives an annual block grant from Denmark of around 3.5 billion kronen ($506 million), which is more than half the public budget, to cover the island's Nordic-style social programs, including free health care.
It's therefore better for Greenland, strategically, to threaten Denmark with independence and a referendum than actually do it, Jakobsen said. As long as the threat is there, Greenland can push for more concessions and more money from Denmark.
If the island pins all its hopes on the U.S., Greenlanders have no guarantee they will be better off or have any power in a future relationship with America, he said.
"In that sense, Trump is the Danish realm's best friend at the moment," Jakobsen added.
__
Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-23 04:36:25+00:00
|
[
"Womens college basketball",
"San Diego State Aztecs",
"Flaujae Johnson",
"Louisiana State Tigers",
"College sports",
"Aneesah Morrow",
"NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championship",
"College basketball",
"March Madness NCAA Tournament",
"Louisiana State Tigers womens basketball",
"Womens sports",
"NCAA Womens Bracket",
"Sports",
"Spokane",
"Kim Mulkey",
"Texas",
"Stacie Terry Hutson"
] |
# Johnson and Morrow return in form as LSU dismantles San Diego State 103-48 in the NCAA Tournament
By Brett Martel
March 23rd, 2025 04:36 AM
---
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) β Flau'Jae Johnson scored 22 points, Aneesah Morrow had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and LSU set a school record for points in a women's NCAA Tournament game with a 103-48, first-round victory over San Diego State on Saturday night.
Morrow increased her nation-leading double-double tally to 28 in her first game since hurting her left foot during a March 8 loss to Texas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Johnson, who missed that tournament with a right shin injury, wore a compression sleeve over her lower leg but exhibited the explosiveness, shooting touch and all-around panache that has made her one of the most popular players in women's college basketball.
"I told myself when I came back that I want to be the energy for the team," Johnson said. "I feel like when you don't get a chance to play basketball, it really changes your perspective on coming out and giving everything you got.
Morrow termed LSU's landmark point total and 55-point victory margin "a confidence thing," and a "momentum builder for March."
Mikaylah Williams added 13 points for LSU (29-5), the third seed in the Spokane 1 region, which moves on to host No. 6 seed Florida State in a second-round game on Monday night.
And LSU's stars will enter that game without having exerted themselves too heavily in their March Madness opener. Tigers coach Kim Mulkey was able to limit Morrow's playing time to 25 minutes and Johnson's to 22.
"I'm watching a lot of these first-round games where (other teams') main players are having to play extended minutes just to win a game," Mulkey said. "Fortunately for us tonight we didn't have to do that."
San Diego State (25-10), winner of the Mountain West Conference, did not have a single player score in double digits. Adryana Quezado led the Aztecs with eight.
"We knew we were going to get outrebounded. We knew who was going to shoot the ball the majority of the time. And we knew about (LSU's) transition," San Diego State coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said. "But I think it was a little bit faster than we were ready for.
"If they can play that fast and score the way they did, it's going to be a hard out moving forward," Terry-Hutson said.
LSU began the game with an 11-0 run capped by Johnson's steal and layup, which she celebrated by blowing a kiss toward the student section behind the basket.
"And my boyfriend was there," Johnson said with a smile before clarifying that the gesture was in fact meant for all of the students at the game.
Sa'Myah Smith's layup made it 31-10 just two minutes into the second quarter, and LSU led by 32 in the first half when Morrow's jumper capped a 7-0 run.
## Takeaways
San Diego State: The Aztecs had won eight straight to get to their first NCAA Tournament since 2012, when SDSU also lost a first-round game to LSU in Baton Rouge. This trip went no better in large part because of the Tigers' size and defensive play. After shooting 43.6% all season, the Aztecs made just 32% (18 of 56) of their shots against LSU and were outrebounded 53-31.
LSU: After getting the rest they needed, the Tigers had their full complement of healthy players and wasted no time establishing their supremacy on both ends of the court. LSU shot 59% in the first half and made six of its first 10 shots from deep. The only real question after that was how big the final margin would be. The Tigers shot 50% (36 of 72) for the game and finished 10 of 18 from 3-point range.
## Key stat
LSU scored 25 points off of 19 SDSU turnovers. The Aztecs had two points off of 11 Tigers turnovers.
## Up next
LSU aims to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season, a streak that began during its 2023 national title run. Last season the Tigers advanced to the Elite 8 before losing to Iowa.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-17 15:58:45+00:00
|
[
"Shohei Ohtani",
"Los Angeles Dodgers",
"Chicago Cubs",
"Craig Counsell",
"Baseball",
"Retail and wholesale",
"Tokyo",
"Japan",
"MLB",
"Production facilities",
"Sports",
"Kohei Matsui",
"Jason Umbreit",
"MLB baseball",
"Nick Mah",
"Rosie Rosas",
"Business",
"Lillian Izawa",
"Yoshinobu Yamamoto"
] |
# Shohei Ohtani merchandise is prompting long lines β even in the rain β in Tokyo
By Stephen Wade
March 17th, 2025 03:58 PM
---
TOKYO (AP) β The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani an unprecedented $700 million contract hoping to drive interest β and the dollars that come with it β from fans across the Pacific.
It seems to be working. He's the main attraction as the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the MLB regular season on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome.
He's also producing off the field, the marquee name at a sprawling souvenir store that fills an exhibition hall in the Tokyo Dome complex.
MLB calls the setup its "largest ever special-event store."
"Isn't it crazy?" said Lillian Izawa, who did a slow walk through the store, wedged between shoppers and shelves of souvenirs, most carrying Ohtani's name, face or No. 17.
Just as thousands of others, Izawa stood for an hour just to get in with fans three or four abreast in a twisting line entering the 30,000-square-foot store. She chose a sunny day. But the lines seemed to grow longer, even on a rainy Sunday in Tokyo.
The daily flow will only intensify as Tuesday's and Wednesday's games approach and both the Dodgers and MLB cash in on Ohtani, who signed a $700 million, 10-year deal last offseason.
Let's call it a "Merch Museum" dedicated to Ohtani and his two Japanese teammates, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, and the Dodgers. There's even a small section for Chicago Cubs fans with most of the usual stuff β caps, jerseys, t-shirts and MLB knick-knacks.
"Japanese people will buy anything that's in a limited edition and hard to get, and they'll resell it," said Izawa, a Japanese American from Honolulu and a flight attendant with Hawaiian Airlines.
## World shopping center
The souvenir shop illustrates that Ohtani might be intensifying the worldwide interest in baseball.
"This is an important series," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "It highlights that baseball is on a world stage, a world platform."
Rosie Rosas, a Dodgers fans from San Diego, made the trip to Tokyo with her son to visit her husband who works in Japan. Tickets for the Dodgers-Cubs games were impossible. But shopping was not.
"It doesn't happen very often, games like this, and the Dodgers are champions," Rosas said. "And the Japanese players we have are amazing."
Ruby Yu and Nick Mah, two Canadians with roots in Hong Kong, traveled from Vancouver on vacation and made Ohtani part of the experience.
"Things are flying off the shelf," said Ruby as Nick stood alongside with a bag full or goodies.
They paid $200 apiece for two tickets to Friday's exhibition game between the Hanshin Tigers and Chicago Cubs. The Tigers won 3-0. The least expensive tickets for the Dodgers-Cubs games are fetching about $1,500 on the secondary market.
"We knew the Japanese were huge baseball fans," Ruby said.
Wearing a blue Chicago jersey, Cubs fan Jason Umbreit was spending modestly in the souvenir shop, happy to have found a corner with Chicago merchandise.
"I knew it was going to be crowded, and this is the biggest shop I've ever seen," he said.
He's also among the most fortunate baseball fans on earth. He said he paid only $60 for a ticket for one of the Dodgers-Cubs games.
"I got the ticket when they went on sale," he said. "I was lucky."
## The prices, the exchange rate
The value of the Japanese yen has fallen drastically in relation to the dollar in the last 2 1/2 years. That means it has become very expensive for Japanese to travel to the United States. The yen buys fewer and fewer dollars, making American prices seem very high for Japanese. Conversely, tourists with dollars find Japan affordable.
It means this MLB shop is a useful opportunity for many Japanese fans to buy coveted Ohtani and Yamamoto merchandise. Most suggested the prices β though expensive β might be cheaper than they are in the United States.
Star Dodgers pitchers Yamamoto was asked his reaction to seeing thousands of fans wearing Dodgers garb, some with his name on the back. Or seeing his face on billboards, or inside massive souvenir store.
"I see the support from my fans and I'd like to turn it into positive energy and carry it to the mound," he replied.
At the very high end, the store offers Dodgers white or blue jersey for about 75,000 yen β about $500. There are also other styles of Cubs and Dodgers jerseys for a bit less β about 25,000 yen β about $170.
Caps and t-shirt are among the favorites, many in the $30-50 range. There are key chains for about $18 and game programs for $20.
"I think the prices are reasonable," Kohei Matsui said, a 21-year-old Japanese student. He described the crowds and shopping mayhem as "beyond what I expected."
"Japanese all love baseball and Major League Baseball, and we want to see it once in our life," Matsui added. "This is the chance."
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-06 05:08:42+00:00
|
[
"Jenni Konner",
"Abdullah Saeed",
"Nora Silver",
"Iqbal Theba",
"Poorna Jagannathan",
"Comedy",
"Drug crimes",
"Brian George",
"Movies",
"Alfie Fuller",
"Television",
"Michelle Nader",
"Arts and entertainment",
"Asif Ali",
"Celebrity",
"Marijuana",
"Tan France",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] |
# Abdullah Saeed's 'Deli Boys' brings laughter and chaos to the screen
By Leslie Ambriz
March 6th, 2025 05:08 AM
---
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) β Abdullah Saeed wasn't looking to write a groundbreaking comedy. He was just looking for a job.
The "Deli Boys" creator wrote a sample script in 2019, hoping to secure a staff position in a writers' room after transitioning from journalism to screenwriting. ("Nobody was buying my documentaries," jokes Saeed.) He had recently co-written a script for a feature film, but needed something to showcase his own voice.
Saeed sat down to write without worry about representing his entire community, and decided to freely create a show that was as lighthearted as he is.
"The pressure was off because I didn't think it was going to be a TV show. I was just like, 'OK, whatever, I think that's funny,'" said the Pakistani American writer.
"Deli Boys" soon landed in front of television writers and producers Jenni Konner ("Girls") and Nora Silver ("Single Drunk Female"), who immediately wanted to do more than hire Saeed. They wanted to develop the half-hour pilot and bring it to life.
"It was so unique and so funny and fresh, and (there is) nothing like that in the world, ever," said Konner who later brought on showrunner Michelle Nader ("2 Broke Girls").
The 10-episode Hulu original comedy presented by Onyx Collective stars Saagar Shaikh ("Ms. Marvel"), Asif Ali ("WandaVision") and Poorna Jagannathan. Premiering Thursday, "Deli Boys" follows two Pakistani American brothers, Raj and Mir β played by Shaikh and Ali β who lose their comfortable lifestyles after their convenience store mogul father (Iqbal Theba) dies unexpectedly from a golfing accident. Raj and Mir must now work together to take over the family business, but soon learn they are in way over their heads when they discover the stores were a front for cocaine distribution.
Saeed, who used to cover stories centered on music, cannabis and recreational drugs, says he was inspired by the "unverified stories about stealth and smuggling" that he heard over the years.
"It's just lore," he said of the stories he was never able to report out. "But in this show, we can borrow all that stuff, right? And so, like, there's all these elements about, you know, stealth, like how you actually package and move drugs that really made their way into the show."
The brothers at the show's heart are two complete opposites who have to find themselves while being comically thrust into the drug-smuggling underworld: Raj is the free spirit who relies on cannabis, his shaman and good looks to get him by, while Mir is the buttoned-up, model child looking to make his father proud.
"It was great to finally, for the first time, be a flawed character not a model minority," said Shaikh. "The spectrum for white shows goes from like, 'Full House' to "It's Always Sunny.' And, you know, we are, like them, not a monolith, right? We have different stories. We have different values from house to house. We have different cultures from house to house. And we rarely get to see any nuance."
For Ali, portraying Mir was something he never would have imagined.
"It really is above just being, you know, an exploration of what being South Asian is," said Ali. "It's something that I have never seen our community have before. Just like straight-up crazy comedy."
Jagannathan plays their father's right-hand woman Lucky, who quickly takes the boys under her wing in an effort to salvage the family's dwindling drug operation. According to Jagannathan, Lucky was initially written as a man until Saeed was advised to go back to his script and change two characters from men to women. Soon, Lucky became a blend of Saeed's mother, whom he describes as a "self-starting, headstrong badass," executive producers Silver and Konner, Nader and Jagannathan's past roles as a mother on "Never Have I Ever" and "The Night Of."
"She's sweet and loving and nurturing and then the next scene is her putting a bullet in someone's head," said Jagannathan. "And I think the juxtaposition of that is so funny, but the script has so much of that. It's the expected with the unexpected right next door."
The cast also includes Alfie Fuller ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel") and Brian George, a familiar face to "Seinfeld" and "The Big Bang Theory" fans who is now front and center as Lucky's second-in-command. Guest stars for this season also include "Queer Eye's" Tan France, who makes his acting debut in the sixth episode.
"I saw the script, and it was a fully formed character. I was so nervous. But the first day I got on that set, I had the best experience," said France, who initially thought he was only going to play a small role.
Saeed and Konner hope the show will have the opportunity to welcome more South Asian guest stars in later seasons. "There's a lot of people we would die to have," said Konner.
"And then for each of them, we've now set this thing up for ourselves where they have to play someone against type," said Saeed. "So, that makes it more fun for us if we get somebody huge, right? And we've only seen them one way; we get to put them into something different."
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-11 20:18:02+00:00
|
[
"Brad Marchand",
"Paul Maurice",
"Florida Panthers",
"Matthew Tkachuk",
"Aleksander Barkov",
"Sports transactions",
"Boston",
"NHL",
"Bobby Orr",
"Sports",
"Compensation in sports",
"Charles McAvoy",
"NHL hockey",
"Aaron Ekblad"
] |
# Injured Brad Marchand returns to the Boston ice with the Panthers β but just in practice, for now
By Jimmy Golen
March 11th, 2025 08:18 PM
---
BOSTON (AP) β Brad Marchand stepped back onto the ice at the TD Garden on Tuesday β this time in a Panthers practice jersey as the longtime Bruin returned to Boston for the first time since he was traded to Florida.
Although Marchand is injured and was inactive for the game against his former team, the 11-minute morning skate was his first opportunity to practice with his new teammates.
"Definitely still a little bit that I've got to get through here," said Marchand, who did play in Boston as a visitor for Canada last month in the 4 Nations Face-Off. "I got a little bit of a feel for it. It still felt weird."
Marchand watched the game, which Boston rallied to win 3-2, from the locker room, then spent some time catching up with Charlie McAvoy and other former teammates in the hallway. A Bruins spokesman said the team had a video tribute ready but will hold it until Marchand can be in the arena to see it.
A four-time All-Star who is the Bruins' career leader in playoff, short-handed and overtime goals, Marchand helped Boston win the Stanley Cup as a rookie and guided the Original Six franchise to NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points in 2023.
But with the Bruins losing eight of nine games and likely to miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, he was sent to Florida on Friday for a second-round draft pick that could become a first-rounder if Marchand returns to the ice and helps the Panthers advance in the playoffs. The trade deadline fire sale signaled the end of the franchise's most successful era since Bobby Orr won two Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s.
Marchand, who is eligible to become a free agent after this season, had been offered a contract extension, but the sides could not agree on terms.
"I think they had the right intentions," Marchand told reporters on Tuesday, wearing a Panthers hat and T-shirt just down the hall from the locker room he called home for 16 seasons.
"They tried to do what was best for the team and also give me an opportunity to stay if I wanted to. And they put a position on the table that they felt was fair," he said. "But I also understand that it may be time to kind of reset and go in a different direction. I think they were at a crossroads as well."
Marchand has 21 goals and 26 assists this season but has not played since leaving the March 1 game against Pittsburgh with an unspecified upper-body injury. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he remains week to week, with the goal of getting him back at the end of the regular season.
"That was the hope, that was kind of the idea," Maurice said. "We wanted him to get on the ice and move some pucks around just to see where he was at. So that was a positive."
Maurice said he's liked what he's seen so far from Marchand, an oft-suspended gadfly who gained a reputation as a troublemaker before maturing into his role as the Bruins captain for the past two seasons. The Panthers coach said he wants Marchand to be himself and not try to change just to fit in with a defending championship roster that already includes leaders such as Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk.
"We have a lot of different personalities. It's not all the same guy," Maurice said. "But that's what makes it fun. So bring your own personality; be exactly who you are. Don't ever try to be somebody you're not. Because that's not what we traded for.
"If you're funny, be funny. If you're not, just sit there and laugh. Whatever it is that you are, be yourself," the coach said. "And I think when you come into a little more veteran team, you have a better chance of doing that."
Marchand said he didn't feel obligated to be a vocal leader on his new team. But on the other hand, he doesn't plan to tone down his outspoken style, either.
"Why would I do that? I think that's just me. I wouldn't be able to do that anyways," Marchand said. "Do you think I need to tone it down? My wife does.
"So, yeah," he said. "I'm just going to be me."
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-05 15:01:12+00:00
|
[
"London",
"England",
"Courts",
"Law enforcement",
"China",
"Juries",
"Asia",
"Asia Pacific",
"Sexual assault",
"Michael Spence",
"Kevin Southworth",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Crime",
"Drug crimes",
"Legal proceedings",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] |
# Chinese PhD student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China
By Pan Pylas
March 5th, 2025 03:01 PM
---
LONDON (AP) β A Chinese PhD student was found guilty Wednesday in a London court of drugging and raping 10 women in England and China, as police warned there could be more than 50 other victims.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offenses relating to one victim.
After more than 19 hours of deliberations, jurors concluded Zou raped three of the women in London and seven in China.
Police have only been able to identify two of the victims and said after the verdict that more than 50 other women may have fallen victim to Zou, which would make him one of the worst sex offenders in U.K. history.
Using hidden or handheld cameras to record the attacks, Zou filmed nine of the attacks as "souvenirs" and often kept a trophy box of women's belongings.
Zou, a mechanical engineering student who was doing his PhD at University College London, claimed that the sexual interactions were consensual. He will be sentenced on June 19.
Jurors, who had to watch footage of the attacks during the trial, were given regular breaks.
Judge Rosina Cottage described the defendant as a "dangerous and predatory sexual offender" and that his sentence will be "very long."
Zou, who showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out in court, was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offense, namely butanediol.
He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offense.
Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow students of Chinese heritage on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his apartments in London or an unknown location in China.
"He has done all that he can in these offenses to incapacitate his victims to the point where they could not resist his attack, and in many instances may not even remember what has occurred to them," said Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth.
He thanked the two women who testified against the "particularly cowardly and deceitful" Zou and said there is evidence that he "may have potentially attacked as many as 50 other women in the same awful nature."
The Met is appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force.
During the trial, a call to police from one of the women led to questions over the quality of the interpreter made available.
"It's a matter of severe regret that the victims didn't necessarily get that best translation at the time," Southworth added.
Zou moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen's University before heading to UCL in 2019 for a master's degree and then a PhD.
"Our thoughts are with the survivors and we wish to pay tribute to the bravery of the women who reported these crimes and gave evidence at the trial," said UCL's president, Dr. Michael Spence.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-14 12:02:24+00:00
|
[
"Sherrod Brown",
"Ohio",
"Vivek Ramaswamy",
"Donald Trump",
"Joe Biden",
"Elon Musk",
"JD Vance",
"Tim Ryan",
"Jon Husted",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"U.S. Democratic Party",
"Election 2024",
"Brian Hambley",
"Dave Yost",
"Cherie Strachan",
"Political action committees",
"Robert Sprague",
"Allison Russo",
"Amy Acton",
"Steven Dettelbach",
"Greg Beswick",
"Government and politics",
"Keith Faber",
"Katie Seewer",
"Elections",
"Elliot Forhan",
"Frank LaRose"
] |
# After bitter defeats last year, Ohio Democrats are biding time as GOP moves full swing into 2026
By Julie Carr Smyth
March 14th, 2025 12:02 PM
---
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) β The first television ads dropped this week in the Ohio governor's race that's still more than a year off. The early onslaught by a super PAC allied with Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy drove home how quickly the former bellwether state 's ruling Republicans are seizing the spotlight and staking claims to five statewide executive offices that are opening in 2026.
All that urgency begs a question: Where are Ohio Democrats?
Fresh off a pair of difficult losses last year β the bitter defeat of three-term U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown to Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno, and the rejection by voters of the anti-gerrymandering amendment known as Issue 1 β the party's efforts at building anything close to a winning 2026 ticket have so far been muted, and for some, moving too slowly.
Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director who helped guide Ohio through the early days of the pandemic, is running for governor as a Democrat β methodically building financial support and a statewide campaign. Though she gained recognition appearing on daily COVID-19 briefings that aired statewide in early 2020, Acton also is a newcomer to politics who lacks the political might of someone like Brown, who before last year had reliably won statewide victories going back decades.
Meanwhile, only two other Democrats β southwest Ohio oncologist and first-time candidate Brian Hambley for secretary of state, and tainted former state Rep. Elliot Forhan for attorney general β have launched campaigns.
The lack of activity accompanies Democrats' broader struggles nationally to coalesce around a strategy for countering actions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk and their Republican allies in Congress. The debate over how to respond has divided party leaders, with some advocating for lying low β even as crowds of angry citizens throng congressional town halls, clog Capitol Hill phone lines and stage protests and marches in the streets. Others want to see the party combat November's bitter defeats at both the national and state levels more strenuously.
"People are being quiet right now and sort of circling the wagons and kind of trying to figure out how to respond," said Dr. J. Cherie Strachan, director of the University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.
As he exited the Senate in December, Brown vowed he'd be getting back to politics in some way. That prospect is among reasons that other aspiring Ohio Democrats are biding their time, according to several party insiders granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Others say it's Republicans who are starting too early, not Democrats who are late.
It's unclear if Brown will run, and, if he does, what office he might seek. It could be the governorship, setting up a contested primary with Acton. It could be the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance, which successor Jon Husted must defend next year. Brown recently offered a treatise of sorts in The New Republic magazine for restoring the national Democratic Party with a pro-worker message, prompting speculation he might even be aspiring to the presidency.
Once Brown's plans are known, plenty of other Democrats will be ready to go, predicted Greg Beswick, a former Ohio Democratic Party executive director. Though it's been 20 years since Democrats won a statewide executive office in Ohio, he said the party is watching for falling approval ratings for Trump and Musk to create opportunities in 2026.
"I do think that they're going to be able to recruit folks and be able to run when they start seeing these items," he said. "I think it's been easier for the Republicans, quite frankly. It's the shuffling of the deck of folks that want to make sure they keep a job."
That shuffle includes Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost running for governor, Auditor Keith Faber running for attorney general, Secretary of State Frank LaRose running for auditor and Treasurer Robert Sprague running for secretary of state.
Besides Brown, other high profile Democrats believed to be weighing runs in 2026 are: former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who lost a tighter than expected Senate race to Vance in 2022; Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, who won key Republican concessions for her party last session; and former U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach, a former Ohio attorney general candidate who led the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under President Joe Biden.
Katie Seewer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party, said they anticipate at least one Democratic candidate will emerge for each of the statewide races. She said the party has been seeing lots of enthusiasm at organizing events across the state.
"People are fired up and ready to go," she said.
Strachan said contested primaries would strongly benefit the party, by garnering media attention and energizing voters.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-15 19:33:49+00:00
|
[
"Cristiano Ronaldo",
"Soccer",
"Carlo Ancelotti",
"Vedat Muriqi",
"Abdon Prats",
"Antonio Rudiger",
"Luka Modric",
"Robert Lewandowski",
"Thibaut Courtois",
"Real Madrid",
"Atletico Madrid",
"Barcelona",
"RCD Mallorca",
"Sports - Europe",
"Madrid",
"Lucas Vazquez",
"Sports",
"Ayoze Perez",
"Marcelino Toral",
"Juan Foyth",
"Cristhian Stuani",
"Joan Garca",
"Diego Conde",
"Alex Baena",
"FC Barcelona",
"Nicolas Pepe",
"Marcos Alonso",
"Chelsea FC",
"Girona FC",
"Celta Vigo",
"Valencia CF",
"Villarreal CF",
"Takuma Asano"
] |
# MbappΓ© scores twice to reach 31 goals for Madrid, bettering Ronaldo's debut season tally
By Joseph Wilson
March 15th, 2025 07:33 PM
---
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) β After a slow start to his Real Madrid career, Kylian MbappΓ© has already surpassed one of the club greats.
MbappΓ© scored twice in Madrid's 2-1 comeback win over Villarreal on Saturday to take his tally to 31 goals in all competitions this season β one more than Brazil striker Ronaldo managed in his first campaign at the club. It also helped Madrid open up a three-point lead atop the Spanish league over Barcelona, which has played two games less.
Long gone are the scoring troubles MbappΓ© endured in his first months at Madrid.
Having surpassed Ronaldo's tally from 2002-03, the former Paris Saint-Germain player is now closing in on the 33 goals that Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his first season with Madrid in 2009-10.
"They are legends who marked eras with the club," MbappΓ© said about the two Ronaldos. "If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano it doesn't mean that I am better, just that my first season is better. Scoring goals is important, but it is even more so if we win La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey."
His double at fifth-placed Villarreal took Mbappe's La Liga tally to 20 goals, only one fewer than Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski in the domestic competition.
## Leading the comeback
Villarreal made it a pulsating game as it attacked in waves with Alex Baena and Nicolas Pepe helping create a series of chances. Thibaut Courtois made three good stops for Madrid to deny Pepe, Ayoze PΓ©rez, and Pape Gueye in the first half.
But Villarreal paid at the other end where MbappΓ© ruthlessly exploited the holes in the Yellow Submarine's defense.
"MbappΓ© didn't participate much, but he was lethal," Villarreal coach Marcelino Toral said.
A one-handed save by Courtois to deny Ayoze led to a corner kick that resulted in Villarreal's eight-minute opener. Juan Foyth swept home a ball that fell to him inside the six-yard box after it had ricocheted off players in a packed area.
MbappΓ© leveled in the 17th after he teed up teammate Brahim DΓaz for a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Diego Conde, and the ball fell to the France striker to rifle home.
MbappΓ© was on the scoreboard again in the 23rd when Villarreal's defense lost track of him at the top of the area. He received a pass from Lucas VΓ‘zquez and had all the time he needed to place a shot into the right corner.
Halftime substitute Thierno Barry and Foyth both squandered scoring opportunities early in the second half before Madrid tightened its defense to see out the game.
Carlo Ancelotti left VinΓcius JΓΊnior and Antonio Rudiger on the bench until the final half hour β with Luka Modric going on shortly after β as the Madrid coach rotated his lineup three days after its grueling Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid that went to a penalty shootout.
"This was an important and difficult game against one of the best teams in the league," MbappΓ© said. "After the game against Atletico and its added time it was very tough today but we knew we had to win. We showed character and that we wanted this win."
Barcelona is three points behind Madrid ahead of its visit to third-placed Atletico Madrid, which is four points back, on Sunday. It also has a postponed game versus Osasuna still to be played.
## Madrid complains about schedule
Ancelotti said that Real Madrid was upset that the game in Villarreal wasn't pushed back as it had requested to give its players more rest. As a result the club said it won't agree to play another game without 72 hours of rest between matches.
Madrid's game at Villarreal game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT) on Saturday. Madrid had played a Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday that started at 9:00 p.m. and lasted 120 minutes plus a penalty shootout.
"This is the last time we will play within 72 hours," Ancelotti said.
## GarcΓa saves, Muriqi decides
Vedat Muriqi made up for an own goal and a missed penalty kick by converting a stoppage-time penalty to complete Mallorca's 2-1 comeback win over Espanyol.
Espanyol goalkeeper Joan GarcΓa delivered another top performance by saving two penalties.
GarcΓa stopped Muriqi's second-half penalty and appeared to have secured a point for the visitors when he also denied Abdon Prats in injury time, but the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken after an Espanyol player had entered the area ahead of time.
Muriqi, whose early own goal was canceled out by teammate Takuma Asano, stepped back up to the spot and redeemed himself by finally beating GarcΓa with his team's third attempt from the spot.
Also, former Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso converted a late penalty to give Celta Vigo a 1-0 win at last-place Valladolid, while Cristhian Stuani scored to salvage Girona a 1-1 draw at home with Valencia.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 19:28:53+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Canada",
"Justin Trudeau",
"Michael Bloomberg",
"Politics",
"Government policy",
"National security",
"Elections",
"United States government",
"Mark Carney",
"Canada government",
"International trade",
"Economic policy"
] |
# Canada's next prime minister Carney says transition will be quick after meeting with Trudeau
By Rob Gillies
March 10th, 2025 07:28 PM
---
TORONTO (AP) β Canada's next prime minister met with outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau on Monday and vowed a quick transition.
Mark Carney said he had a long meeting with Trudeau in which they discussed U.S.-Canada relations, national security issues and the timing of the handover in power.
"That transition will be seamless and it will be quick," said Carney, adding there would be an announcement soon.
Carney, a two-time central bank chief, will become prime minister after the governing Liberal Party elected him its leader Sunday in a landslide vote with 85.9% support.
Carney, 59, replaces Trudeau who announced his resignation in January but remains prime minister until his successor is sworn in.
Carney is widely expected to trigger a parliamentary election in the coming days or weeks amid U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff and annexation threats. Or the opposition parties in Parliament could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.
Carney is a former Goldman Sachs executive with no experience in politics.
He navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada from 2008, and then in 2013 when he became the first non-citizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. His appointment won bipartisan praise in the U.K. after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries. He helped managed the worst impacts of Brexit in the U.K.
The opposition Conservatives had hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.
But Trump's trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party's chances in a parliamentary election, and Liberal showings have been improving in opinion polls.
"There is tremendous energy in the Liberal caucus," Carney said. "This is a united party full of energy."
Trump has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war. But he has threatened other tariffs on steel, aluminum, dairy and other products.
Carney said Sunday night that Canada will keep its initial retaliatory tariffs in place until "the Americans show us respect." He said Canada didn't start the fight but would win.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, called the U.S.-Canada relationship vital and said there's no one more prepared to strengthen it than Carney.
"Mark is one of the smartest, most capable, and steady-handed leaders I know," Bloomberg posted on X.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-24 16:15:27+00:00
|
[
"Viktor Hovland",
"Justin Thomas",
"NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championship",
"Duke Blue Devils",
"Sports betting",
"Brigham Young Cougars",
"Mississippi Rebels",
"Boston Celtics",
"Golden State Warriors",
"Kentucky",
"Cleveland Cavaliers",
"Los Angeles Lakers",
"Oklahoma City Thunder",
"Mens college basketball",
"Duke Blue Devils mens basketball",
"Mississippi Rebels mens basketball",
"NBA Finals",
"NBA basketball",
"Sports",
"College sports"
] |
# Sports betting roundup: Duke takes over as favorite to win men's March Madness
By Ryan Hannable Of Betmgm Sportsbook
March 24th, 2025 04:15 PM
---
Duke has taken over as the favorite after the first weekend of this year's NCAA Tournament.
There weren't as many buzzer-beaters and thrilling finishes as many have been accustomed to so far in March Madness, but there were a few upsets with teams like Arkansas, Mississippi and BYU reaching the Sweet 16.
Going into the tournament, Florida was the BetMGM online sportsbook's favorite to win the men's national championship, but after two dominant performances showing they are healthy, Duke is now the favorite at +225.
## Trends of the Week
In the Sweet 16 on Sunday, Duke crushed Baylor 89-66 to easily cover the 12.5-point spread. The Blue Devils took in 70% of the bets and 69% of the money. Baylor finished the year 0-11 straight up as an underdog of three or more points and 2-9 in those games against the spread.
While Florida knocked UConn (+9.5) out of the tournament with a 77-75 win Sunday afternoon, the Huskies continued their success against the spread. UConn has covered 14 straight NCAA Tournament games. They covered the spread in every game along the way to winning two straight national championships and then covered the spread in both games this year.
There was a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer of the Florida-UConn game, which made the score 77-75 instead of 77-72. That 3-pointer allowed the over bet (150.5 points) to win. Going into the game, 87% of the money was on the over.
Overall in the NCAA Tournament, favorites went 28-24 against the spread, including favorites of six or more points going 19-9. The Big Ten is the best conference in against-the-spread betting, currently 12-4.
## Upsets of the Week
There were two upsets on Sunday, with No. 6 Ole Miss taking down No. 3 Iowa State, and although Kentucky was a No. 3 seed, they were underdogs against No. 6 Illinois. Kentucky was +115 on the moneyline and took in 76% of the bets, while Ole Miss was +195 on the moneyline and took in 81% of the bets.
On the PGA Tour, Viktor Hovland won the Valspar Championship at 11 under, beating Justin Thomas by one stroke. In pre-tournament betting, Hovland was +5000 to win and took in just 1.4% of the bets and 0.8% of the money.
## Coming Up
The NBA is nearing the end of the regular season and two teams have pulled away from the rest when it comes to championship betting β the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City is +185 to win, while Boston is +220.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (+500), Los Angeles Lakers (+700) and Golden State Warriors (+1200) round out the top five.
___
This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-16 18:53:29+00:00
|
[
"College sports",
"John Poulakidas",
"Mens college basketball",
"Basketball",
"College basketball",
"Guy Ragland Jr.",
"Sports",
"Casey Simmons",
"Nick Townsend",
"Jake Fiegen"
] |
# Poulakidas' 5 3s help carry Yale past Cornell 90-84; Elis win Ivy title and claim the NCAA berth
March 16th, 2025 06:53 PM
---
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) β John Poulakidas knocked down five 3-pointers in the second half as regular-season champion Yale added the Ivy League Tournament championship with a 90-84 win over Cornell on Sunday to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
The senior guard got off to a slow start, scoring just two points in the first half and missing all four 3-point attempts as Yale took a 37-32 advantage into intermission. That changed to start the second half when he erupted for eight points during a 90-second span, burying two 3s and a jumper to push the Bulldogs' lead to 16 points, 50-34 with under 16 minutes to play.
Cornell clawed back. Guy Ragland Jr., Adam Hinton and Nazir Williams each hit 3-pointers in the span of just over a minute to get within seven and Ragland hit two more 3s to make it 60-58 with 9:18 left. Bez Mbeng answered with a 3 for Yale and Poulakidas hit from deep to make it 66-60, but Cornell got a three-point play from AK Okereke to make it a three-point game. Trevor Mullin and Poulakidas each hit a 3 and Nick Townsend scored twice during a 10-4 run for a76-68 lead with five minutes left.
Poulakidas finished 8 of 14 from the floor, including 5-for-9 from distance, while going 4-for-4 from the line. Townsend finished with 19 points with four assists and two steals, Mbeng contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Casey Simmons added 13 points.
Okereke led Cornell (18-11) with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Williams was 8-for-8 from the line and scored 20 points. Ragland hit 4 of 6 from deep to add 16 points with seven rebounds and Jake Fiegen contributed 11 points.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-03 19:56:13+00:00
|
[
"Florida Panthers",
"Matthew Tkachuk",
"Seth Jones",
"Sergei Bobrovsky",
"Paul Maurice",
"Sports transactions",
"NHL",
"Stanley Cup",
"Sports",
"Bill Zito",
"NHL hockey",
"Stanley Cup Finals"
] |
# Seth Jones makes debut for Panthers, who are losing Matthew Tkachuk for extended period
By Tim Reynolds and Alanis Thames
March 3rd, 2025 07:56 PM
---
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) β Seth Jones impressed his Florida Panthers teammates in his debut Monday night, but it's anyones guess when Matthew Tkachuk will be sharing the ice with his newest teammate.
Jones played just under 23 minutes and nearly scored a goal in the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers' 2-1 win over their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
"He's an unbelievable skater, a great guy," said goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 28 shots to help the Panthers stretch their win streak to four games. "Played well both sides of the puck. I'm excited to have him. He's a great addition to our team."
Earlier Monday, the Panthers confirmed that their star forward Tkachuk is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury. That means he won't be back for a few weeks β and possibly not until the postseason.
"Matthew's going to be out for an extended period of time," Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said at Jones' introductory news conference. "We hope to get him back for the playoffs. You have a projection, you have a diagnosis and a rehab course of action. How and where and in what manner is the progress of that rehab is yet to be determined."
Losing Tkachuk, who hasn't played since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last month, is a big blow. Adding Jones, the stellar defenseman who was acquired over the weekend in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a big boost.
"I wanted to play for a contender and Florida was obviously at the top of my list when it came to that," said Jones, who hasn't appeared in a playoff game since 2020. "I want to fit in with this team, be a part of the system, come and bring my game, play hard defensively, help a little bit offensively, really just fit into the system and bring what I can, whatever's asked of me."
Panthers fans were excited before the five-time all-star even took the ice Monday night β they welcomed Jones with a fervent applause and ovation when he was announced in the starting lineup at Florida's Amerant Bank Arena.
And they roared again when Jones nearly scored a goal in the second period.
The plan was to ease him into things while he learns the Eastern Conference and some new systems, but in a tight game between two bitter rivals, Jones got plenty of special teams action and helped Florida kill off seven penalties.
"He's gonna be really good for us," coach Paul Maurice said. "Moves the puck clean, and he's got a set of hands on him. So I thought for flying in yesterday to get here, and then everything (being) brand new, mostly he's playing on instinct out there ... I was really pleased."
Few Panthers players know what Jones can bring more than Bobrovsky, who played alongside him on the Columbus Blue Jackets from the 2015-16 season to 2018-19.
"He still was amazing," Bobrovsky recalled. "And, you know, he was an amazing skater. He was smart. It was a privilege to play with him. And I'm so, so happy to reunite with him again."
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-23 23:15:11+00:00
|
[
"Kansas City Royals",
"Carlos Hernndez",
"Arizona",
"Minor league baseball",
"Baseball",
"Softball",
"MLB",
"Sports",
"Nick Pratto",
"Ross Stripling",
"Philadelphia",
"MLB baseball",
"Luke Maile"
] |
# Kansas City Royals release right-hander Ross Stripling and catcher Luke Maile
March 23rd, 2025 11:15 PM
---
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) β The Kansas City Royals have released right-hander Ross Stripling and catcher Luke Maile after they opted out of their contracts.
The Royals also said Sunday that right-hander Carlos HernΓ‘ndez was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia. First baseman Nick Pratto and outfielder Nelson VelΓ‘zquez cleared waivers and were outrighted by the team to Triple-A Omaha.
The 35-year-old Stripling and 34-year-old Maile were in camp on minor league deals.
Stripling played for Oakland last season, going 2-11 with a 6.01 ERA in 22 games, including 14 starts. He is 40-54 with a 4.17 ERA in 248 career games, also playing for the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Giants.
Maile hit .178 with two homers in 55 games for Cincinnati last year. He is a .208 hitter with 21 homers and 113 RBIs in 440 career games, also playing for Tampa Bay, Toronto, Milwaukee and Cleveland.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-04-01 03:34:24+00:00
|
[
"Bill Burr",
"Kieran Culkin",
"Bob Odenkirk",
"Celebrity",
"Joe Mantegna",
"Lewis Black",
"Alan Alda",
"Bobby Cannavale",
"Alec Baldwin",
"Al Pacino",
"Theater",
"Florida",
"Chicago",
"New York City Wire",
"Liev Schreiber",
"Arts and entertainment",
"David Harbour",
"Michael McKean",
"Richard Roma",
"George Aaronow",
"Donald Webber Jr.",
"Dave Moss",
"David Mamet",
"Patrick Marber",
"Entertainment"
] |
# 'Glengarry Glen Ross' review: A triumph of casting
By Mark Kennedy
April 1st, 2025 03:34 AM
---
Here it comes, almost like clockwork: Another "Glengarry Glen Ross" opens on Broadway with a new set of actors trying their luck with David Mamet's cutthroat look at business, like a "Hunger Games" for real estate.
"Succession" breakout Kieran Culkin joins "Better Call Saul" star Bob Odenkirk and comedian Bill Burr in a crackling, non-showy and well-balanced production that opened Monday at the Palace Theatre.
The trio will likely get a standing ovation every night, but it's the casting that really sings. None of the leads are outside their comfort zones.
Culkin is really just playing a more spikey, foul-mouthed version of Roman Roy, portraying the smug, big dog salesman with his trademark off-kilter sarcasm, a natural with Mamet's angular psycho-babble.
Other Richard Roma portrayers have been snarling, muscle-and-bone heavies, but not the slight Culkin, here preening from a desk or mocking others by childishly mimicking their movements. He went from Roman to Roma.
Odenkirk also retains some of Saul's small-time con artist as Shelly "The Machine" Levene, the once-winning-but-now-struggling salesman. Odenkirk wrestles with the desperation in the first act but struts about marvelously after he's gotten a boost in the second, like an injection of B12. He channels a little Lewis Black, with fluttering hand gestures and a tendency to go unhinged.
Burr β perhaps the least expected to shine on theater's biggest stage β almost steals the show, perfect for the volcanic Dave Moss, a twitchy ball of fury unleashing f-bombs at a machine-gun rate, which seems in synch with Burr's diatribes about modern culture. He turns out to be the most comfortable with Mamet's tricky dialogue.
The cast also includes a wonderfully sad sack salesman, Michael McKean as George Aaronow β a little slow on the uptake in Act One and utterly flustered in Act Two β and a superbly slow-building Donald Webber Jr. as the manager.
This is the third revival of the play on Broadway, having previously attracted the likes of Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale, David Harbour, Alan Alda, Liev Schreiber and Joe Mantegna. A movie version starred Pacino, Jack Lemmon and Alec Baldwin.
The rhythm for this verbal joust-fest β filled with pauses, italicized words, cross-talk and repetition β has to be fast and furious, and director Patrick Marber nails it with military precision. The lighting team has this down to the millisecond, hitting the blackout trigger perfectly.
A slack "Glengarry Glen Ross" is deadly, and Marber keeps everything tight right until the end, when McKean speaks the famous "Oh, God, I hate this job" and Roma launches the play's last line simultaneous with the word "job."
The play is set in a seedy Chicago real estate firm whose business consists mostly in trying to con old folks into buying dubious Florida properties with picturesque names like "Glengarry Highlands." The other setting is a Chinese restaurant, this time rendered a little more elegant than expected.
The salesmen are loathsome, with no moral center other than winning. Each scene has someone trying to sell someone else β on a property, an idea or a scam, even if they'll commit a robbery at the office. They think they're swashbuckling pirates, of course.
"It's not a world of men, Machine," Roma tells Levene. "It's a world of clock watchers, bureaucrats, officeholders ... there's no adventure to it."
The dialogue is filled with casual racism and sexism, a reminder of where we were in the early 1980s in testosterone-filled offices. What's fascinating today is that the play opens just as the U.S. president β from Florida who got his start in real estate and brags he knows how to close a deal β blusters his way through a second term, promising to eliminate progressivism.
A new "Glengarry Glen Ross" arriving just as we turn back the clock seems appropriate.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-30 01:07:22+00:00
|
[
"Moana Pasifika",
"Patrick Pellegrini",
"Clark Laidlaw",
"Rugby",
"Ruben Love",
"Max Jorgenson",
"Joey Walton",
"Isaia Walker Leawere",
"Sports",
"Dan McKellar"
] |
# After blowing hot and cold, the Hurricanes find form in Super Rugby
By Steve Mcmorran
March 30th, 2025 01:07 AM
---
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) β The Hurricanes have been late to the party in Super Rugby this season.
While other teams shone in the first weeks of a tight competition, the Wellington-based Hurricanes lacked their usual luster.
But with a 57-12 win over the New South Wales Waratahs in Round 7, the Hurricanes catapulted themselves into playoffs contention, finally grabbing a place in the spotlight.
The Hurricanes had a 1-3 record through their first four games, which contained only flashes of their usually inspired attacking play.
While their set piece generally has been reliable, ball security and control of possession has not. While the Hurricanes have been able to create opportunities, they haven't always been able to finish.
In a season in which all advantages appear to be with the team in possession, the Hurricanes have been too careless of possession. Their defense has been solid but they have been imprecise and impatient on attack.
On Friday everything clicked. The Waratahs scored first before the Hurricanes seized control and ran in nine tries.
The effort started at the back with strong defense and the outstanding ability of Hurricanes captain and open side flanker DuPlessis Kirifi to win breakdown turnovers. Kirifi is pressing a strong case for All Blacks selection this year.
Lock Isaia Walker Leawere was a standout performer and winger Kini Naholo produced the finishing touch with three tries.
The Hurricanes got back their confidence and with it their creativity in attack which was seen at its best in the reverse pass from fullback Ruben Love which created a 57th minute try for winger Ngane Punivai.
The first green shoots of the Hurricanes' revival were seen in their 20-18 win over the Highlanders in Round 5 and two rounds later it has come into full bloom.
"It was nice rugby wasn't it?" coach Clark Laidlaw said. "If you watched that Highlanders game, we had to work hard for everything we got, so it's always pleasing when you get a half chance and you take it.
"If you back it up with another one quickly then you can get a bit of daylight (on the opposition)."
The Waratahs lost Max Jorgenson to injury then Joey Walton to a yellow card which also cost a penalty try. That helped the Hurricanes to take control of the match, especially when they scored twice close to halftime.
"The game is won and lost around the physical collision and the Hurricanes dominated that area," Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said. "We turned the ball over too much, both at the breakdown and at the set piece and they got on a roll.
"They've got some talent in that group and they showed that tonight, so some harsh lessons for us."
## Magnificent Moana
On the subject of revivals, Moana Pasifika's magnificent 45-29 over the much higher-ranked Crusaders was another example of a team which had hinted at better form than it had produced.
Again, confidence played a key role. The Moana Pasifika players felt that they were on the verge of a complete performance and produced that on Saturday, going out with the intention of starting well, then keeping up the tempo and pressure when the Crusaders tried to rally.
Moana Pasifika's kicking game was outstanding, implemented by flyhalf Patrick Pellegrini. Sydney-born and of Tongan heritage, Pelligrini played for Coventry in England's RFU Championship and for Tonga at the 2023 World Cup.
All Blacks backrower Ardie Savea, who moved from the Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika between seasons, has played a major role in the team's improvement. Savea scored two tries and Pellegrini touched down once in Saturday's victory.
As with the Hurricanes, a strong performance in their last match β a narrow loss to the Chiefs, who led the competition after Round 6 β laid the foundation for a win in this weekend.
"We talked about moments and winning each moment," Savea said. "I felt like the boys stacked a lot of those moments together tonight.
"We knew no one was expecting us to win so the message was for the boys just to jam and play with nothing to lose."
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-09 22:18:14+00:00
|
[
"Alexander Ovechkin",
"Washington Capitals",
"John Carlson",
"Dylan Strome",
"Spencer Carbery",
"Sidney Crosby",
"Wayne Gretzky",
"Connor McMichael",
"Seattle Kraken",
"National Hockey League",
"DC Wire",
"NHL",
"Sports",
"NHL hockey",
"Dan Bylsma"
] |
# Ovechkin scores 886th career goal into an empty net to move 9 back of breaking Gretzky's NHL record
By Stephen Whyno
March 9th, 2025 10:18 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) β Alex Ovechkin scored his 886th career goal into an empty net Sunday to move nine back of breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record.
Ovechkin backhanded the puck in from center ice with 1:29 left in the third period to seal the Washington Capitals' 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken that extended their winning streak to four games.
"He's still getting a couple of looks here and there, but he's finding ways to score," linemate Dylan Strome said. "It's what he's done his whole career and especially this year. He's getting to the right areas. And obviously when the goalie is pulled, we're all thinking it. I'm sure everyone else is thinking it, too. It's still a pretty skilled play to go backhand through a guy's leg or stick and find a way to score that. Nine more."
It was Ovechkin's league-leading eighth empty-netter of the season and 65th of his career, which is the most of any player in NHL history.
Fans chanted, "Ovi! Ovi!" as the red, white and blue goal counter that was unveiled in one corner of Capital One Arena earlier in the week flipped from 885 to 886.
"We all know what's happening and how historic it is," Strome said. "It's incredible. We obviously want to get him on the ice. He does a great job of finding ways to get open. I know Carbs said it a couple of weeks ago, but he goes to where the puck is going to be and the right spots and those are huge goals."
The 39-year-old's 33rd goal of the season was also the 1,600th point of his two-decade career. He is the 11th player reach that mark and the second active after Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
"What I've learned with 'O' is you never underestimate β or even when he's off a little bit and it doesn't look great or his line is struggling or whatever it might be, then it just takes one moment," coach Spencer Carbery said. "We win a hockey game and he's got another goal, another one down. You just can never underestimate what he's capable of doing."
Ovechkin remains on pace before the end of this season to pass Gretzky's mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable before the end of this season.
"We all thought it was an unreachable mark at some point in time," said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma, who saw a lot of Ovechkin during his time with Pittsburgh. "We all put it in the category of, 'Well, that's never going to be reached.' But Ovechkin has been scoring 50 goals (a season) for an awful long time now. The number is what the number is, but I think what Alex has done is he's going to be the greatest goal scorer of all time. He shows no signs of stopping, so it's just a matter of time now that he will ... officially take the mark as the greatest goal scorer of all time."
Longtime teammate John Carlson, who set up Connor McMichael's go-ahead goal with 4:16 left that set the stage for Ovechkin to add to his total, said the final part of this pursuit is "going to be a movie," and more specifically a documentary.
Asked about potentially assisting on No. 895, Carlson joked, "I think that's up to him, who he wants in the documentary."
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-25 12:52:18+00:00
|
[
"Israel-Hamas war",
"Movies",
"Israel government",
"West Bank",
"Shem Tov Luski",
"Academy Awards",
"Middle East",
"Israel",
"Military and defense",
"Documentaries",
"Lea Tsemel",
"Los Angeles",
"Palestinian territories government",
"Assault",
"Entertainment",
"Religion"
] |
# Oscar-winning Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal released from detention
By Julia Frankel
March 25th, 2025 12:52 PM
---
HEBRON, West Bank (AP) β Only a few weeks ago, Hamdan Ballal stood on a stage in Los Angeles accepting an Oscar for the film "No Other Land," a documentary depicting his West Bank village's struggle against Israel's occupation.
On Tuesday, Ballal β his face bruised and clothes still spotted with blood β recounted to The Associated Press how he was heavily beaten by an Israeli settler and soldiers the night before. The settler, he said, kicked his head "like a football" during a settler attack on his village.
The soldiers then detained him and two other Palestinians. Ballal said he was kept blindfolded for more than 20 hours, sitting on the floor under a blasting air conditioner. The soldiers kicked, punched or hit him with a stick whenever they came on their guard shifts, he said. Ballal doesn't speak Hebrew, but he said he heard them saying his name and the word "Oscar."
"I realized they were attacking me specifically," he said in an interview at a West Bank hospital after his release Tuesday. "When they say 'Oscar', you understand. When they say your name, you understand."
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the claims that Ballal was beaten by soldiers. The settler whom Ballal identified as his attacker, Shem Tov Luski β who has threatened Ballal in the past β denied he or the soldiers beat him and told the AP that he and other Palestinians in the village had thrown stones at his car. He said he didn't know Ballal was an Oscar winner.
The Israeli military said Monday it had detained three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks as well as one Israeli civilian, who was soon released. Ballal denied throwing stones.
## 'I'm dying!'
The attack took place Monday night in the southern West Bank village of Susiya. It's part of the Masafer Yatta region featured in "No Other Land," which depicts the Palestinian residents' attempts to fend off settler attacks and the military's plans to demolish their homes.
At around sunset, as residents were ending their daylong Ramadan fast, roughly two dozen Jewish settlers along with police entered the village, throwing stones at houses and breaking property, witnesses say. Around 30 soldiers arrived soon after. Jewish Israelis in an activist group supporting the villagers showed video of themselves also being attacked, with settlers hitting their car with sticks and stones.
Ballal said he filmed some of the damage caused by the settlers. Then he went to his own home and locked it, with his wife and three young children inside.
"I told myself if they will attack me, if they kill me, I will protect my family," he said.
Ballal said Luski approached with two soldiers. He said Luski hit him on the head, knocked him to the ground and kept kicking and punching him in the head. At the same time, one soldier hit him on the legs with his gun butt, while the other pointed his weapon at him, he said.
Lamia Ballal, the director's wife, said she was huddling inside with their children and heard him screaming, "I'm dying!"
Luski told the AP that he and other settlers had come to the village to help a fellow settler who said he was being attacked by Palestinian stone-throwers. He said dozens of masked Palestinians attacked his car with stones, including Ballal. "He broke my window, threw a stone at my chest," he said.
He said when soldiers arrived, he led them to Ballal's house to identify him as one of the attackers but denied that he hit him or that settlers attacked any property in the village. Luski said he had footage of the night's events but when asked to show it to the AP, he responded with a string of expletives.
On Tuesday, a small bloodstain could be seen outside Ballal's home, and the family car's windows were shattered. Neighbors pointed to a nearby water tank with a hole in the side that they said had been punched by the settlers.
## Detention
Lea Tsemel, the attorney representing Ballal and the two other Palestinians detained with him, said they were taken to an army base, where they only received minimal care for their injuries from the attack. She said they had no access to them for several hours after their arrest.
Ballal said he had no idea where he was being held, could see nothing and was "freezing" from the hours spent blindfolded under the air conditioner.
The three were transferred to an Israeli police station at the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba and were released Tuesday afternoon.
"All my body is pain," he told the AP immediately after his release as he walked, limping, toward a hospital in the nearby Palestinian city of Hebron.
Doctors at the hospital said Ballal had bruises and scratches all over his body, abrasions under his eye and a cut on his chin but no internal injuries. The two other detained Palestinians also had minor injuries.
## Confrontations with settlers
In a widely circulated video from August, Luski and several other masked settlers are seen arguing with Ballal. Luski shouts profanity at him and tries to provoke him into a fight.
"This is my land, I was given it by God," Luski says. "Next time it won't be nice." He taunts Ballal with the prospect of being sent to Sde Teiman, a notorious military prison holding Palestinians detained from Gaza, where five soldiers have been charged with raping a detainee with a knife.
"Rape for a higher cause," he says in Hebrew, then blows Ballal a kiss.
The film "No Other Land," a joint Israeli-Palestinian production, chronicles the situation in Masafer Yatta, which the Israeli military designated as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered the expulsion of the residents, mostly Arab Bedouin. Around 1,000 residents have largely remained in place, but soldiers regularly come in to demolish homes, tents, water tanks and olive orchards.
Settlers have also set up outposts around the area and at times destroy Palestinian property. Palestinians and rights groups say Israeli forces usually turn a blind eye or intervene on behalf of the settlers.
The film has drawn ire in Israel and abroad, as when Miami Beach proposed ending the lease of a movie theater that screened it.
Basel Adra, another of the film's co-directors and a prominent Palestinian activist in the area, said there's been a massive upswing in attacks by settlers and Israeli forces since the Oscar win.
"We're living in dark days here, in Gaza, and all of the West Bank," he said. "Nobody's stopping this."
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for their future state.
Israel has built well over 100 settlements, home to over 500,000 settlers who have Israeli citizenship. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal.
The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.
The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, with the Israeli military carrying out widescale military operations that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. There has been a rise in settler violence as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
___
AP correspondent Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-23 01:45:28+00:00
|
[
"Stephen Curry",
"Atlanta Hawks",
"Georges Niang",
"Trae Young",
"Golden State Warriors",
"Jimmy Butler",
"Onyeka Okongwu",
"Moses Moody",
"Steve Kerr",
"Toronto Raptors",
"Basketball",
"NBA",
"Brandin Podziemski",
"Sports",
"Miami",
"NBA basketball"
] |
# Trae Young, Georges Niang lead the Hawks past the Warriors 124-115
By Sean Holohan
March 23rd, 2025 01:45 AM
---
ATLANTA (AP) β Trae Young had 25 points with 10 assists for his 41st double-double of the season and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors 124-115 on Saturday night.
Golden State was without star guard Stephen Curry, who was injured Thursday night in a victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Georges Niang added 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point distance, and Onyeka Okongwu had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
Jimmy Butler led the Warriors with 25 points, and Moses Moody added 20 points. Golden State lost for just the third time since the All-Star break.
## Takeaways
Warriors: Curry missed the first of a six-game trip after sustaining a pelvic contusion in the third quarter of Thursday's 117-114 win over Toronto. An MRI on Friday revealed no structural damage and Curry will be reevaluated on Monday. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said before the game that he's "very hopeful that at some point he'll (Curry) join on the trip."
Hawks: Atlanta held the lead for all but 11 seconds Saturday. After going down 3-0 to start the game, the Hawks took the lead and never relinquished it. Despite winning by nine, the Atlanta lead by as many as 22 points in the contest.
## Key moment
Early in the fourth quarter, Niang sank his fifth 3-pointer of the game, giving the Hawks a commanding 21-point lead at 106-85, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
## Key stat
In Curry's absence, Warriors' backup point guard Brandin Podziemski shot 63% (5 of 8) from 3-point range and finished with 19 points.
## Up next
Atlanta will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, while Golden State travels to Miami to take on the Heat on Wednesday.
___
AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-31 16:30:20+00:00
|
[
"Jason Holder",
"Cricket",
"Australia",
"England",
"Miles Bascombe",
"Sports",
"Ireland"
] |
# Brathwaite steps down as West Indies test captain after 4 years
March 31st, 2025 04:30 PM
---
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) β Opening batter Kraigg Braithwaite resigned as the West Indies test captain on Monday after four years in the role.
Brathwaite said he'd warned the selectors at the start of the year and wanted to give a new captain time to bed in before Australia visit in June for three tests. That series also marks the start of a new World Test Championship cycle.
Brathwaite replaced Jason Holder as captain during the pandemic and on his watch the West Indies won or drew nine of 16 series.
They beat England at home in 2022, and won in Australia for the first time in 27 years in Brisbane in 2024. In his last game as captain, in January, West Indies ended a 34-year drought in Pakistan.
Brathwaite has played 98 tests, the last 88 in a row since 2014, eclipsing Garfield Sobers' national record streak, but the job appeared to increasingly weigh on his batting.
His 54 in Multan in January, when he went after the Pakistan spinners, helped to set up an historic 120-run series-levelling win, but it was first half-century in 13 innings, and third half-century in two years.
"Kraigg Brathwaite has been an outstanding leader for our test team, guiding the squad with discipline, resilience, and a deep understanding of the game," West Indies director of cricket Miles Bascombe said. "His contributions have been invaluable, and under his leadership we have witnessed historic moments that will be remembered for years. We thank Kraigg for his service as captain and look forward to his continued impact as a senior player."
West Indies also announced a change in white-ball captain, with Shai Hope adding the Twenty20 job to his one-day international captaincy. Hope replaced fellow batter Rovman Powell, and his first series' in charge will be on the tours of Ireland and England in May.
___
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-07 18:01:41+00:00
|
[
"Glenn Youngkin",
"Donald Trump",
"Cedric T. Wins",
"Military and defense",
"Diversity",
"equity and inclusion",
"Virginia",
"Black experience",
"Richmond",
"George Marshall",
"United States government",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Sherry Wallace",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] |
# VMI's first Black superintendent says ouster is based on politics, not job performance
By Ben Finley
March 7th, 2025 06:01 PM
---
The first Black superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute says his forced departure by the board stems from bias, ideology and politics in the wake of diversity efforts rather than his job performance.
In his first statement since the board voted against renewing his contract, retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins said the decision was "a partisan choice that abandons the values of honor, integrity, and excellence upon which VMI was built."
"Unfortunately, the winds of resistance by the few have drowned out those who desire to bring the institute into the 21st Century," wrote Wins, a 1985 graduate of the public college in the Shenandoah Valley.
Schools and colleges across the U.S. have been rolling back diversity programs after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding. But resistance to such efforts at VMI, a 189-year-old school that educated Gens. George Patton and George Marshall, has been notably present among some alumni for several years.
Wins officially became superintendent in 2021 β a year when VMI was undergoing a racial reckoning and diversity programs were being put into place.
A state-sponsored report had blasted VMI for tolerating and failing to address institutional racism and sexism. In response, Wins highlighted changes that included a committee focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
The school had removed a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who taught at VMI. It hired its first chief diversity officer and created a cultural awareness training program. And it changed a student-run honor court that disproportionately expelled Black cadets, according to The Washington Post.
VMI did not accept African Americans until 1968 or accept women until after a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Some alumni said the changes were crucial for training cadets for the real world and for aligning with the U.S. military's goals at the time.
Shah Rahman, a 1997 VMI graduate, told The Associated Press in 2021 he was hopeful about the changes.
"Wins attending VMI as a man of color is an important part of the overall reason for my hope," Rahman said.
But others called the efforts "woke" or on par with "critical race theory."
A group called The Spirt of VMI has been particularly critical. It said in 2023 that VMI's DEI efforts sowed division and were designed "to cow Americans into agreeing with the fundamental premise that white people are inherently and irredeemably racist."
The efforts began to meet some resistance as the political climate changed. For example, VMI changed the name of its DEI office to Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion to match the title of Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's diversity office in Richmond, The Washington Post reported. Youngkin's chief diversity officer also visited VMI's campus in 2023 and said "DEI is dead."
The school's chief diversity officer, a Black woman, resigned later that year.
Last week, VMI's board voted 10 - 6 against extending Wins' contract. It said in a statement that it was grateful for his service "during some very difficult times." Wins will step down in June.
Sherry Wallace, a VMI spokesperson, said Friday that the board would not be commenting on Wins' statement.
In his statement, Wins warned against focusing "on our distant past believing it will produce tomorrow's leaders of character."
"I believe their choice to subject cadets to a cycle of politicization is misfeasance that endangers VMI and the future of our nation," he said.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-26 21:21:49+00:00
|
[
"Kaori Sakamoto",
"Alysa Liu",
"Figure skating",
"Isabeau Levito",
"2024 Paris Olympic Games",
"District of Columbia",
"DC Wire",
"Sports retirements",
"Nancy Kerrigan",
"Doug Zeghibe",
"Boston",
"Carol Heiss",
"Luka Berulava",
"Dan Wilson",
"Dick Button",
"Amber Glenn",
"Sports",
"Maxime Deschamps",
"Nikita Volodin",
"Ryuichi Kihara",
"Laufey",
"Danny OShea"
] |
# American figure skater Alysa Liu takes the lead on the opening night of the world championships
By Dave Skretta
March 26th, 2025 09:21 PM
---
BOSTON (AP) β Alysa Liu rarely wavers when it comes to anything, whether it be her abrupt decision to retire after the 2022 Winter Olympics, or the American figure skater's similarly stunning decision to announce her comeback early last year.
So when the 19-year-old was pondering what to do for her entrance Wednesday night, when Liu's name was announced for the warm-up to her short program at the world championships, she found herself in a rare situation: She was indecisive.
"Then I saw there was a lot of space," Liu said, "and I thought, 'What a great place to do a cartwheel!'"
So she cartwheeled, right there on the carpet leading to the ice. And Liu landed it perfectly, just like everything in her program. The result was her international-best of 74.58 points, putting Liu ahead of Mone Chiba of Japan and American teammate Isabeau Levito β in the midst of her own comeback from an injury β going into Friday night's free skate.
Liu and Levito will be trying to become the first U.S. women's world champion since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
"Moments like these made me realize 16-year-old me was so right. I wouldn't be here if I didn't decide to retire a little bit," said Liu, who was simply burnt out when she stepped away, the sport feeling less like a joy and more like a job back then.
"People would tell me not to make the decisions I made," she added, "but I'm really glad. I have good intuition, I think."
Chiba scored 73.44 points and Levito scored 73.33. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan was fifth with 71.03 points as she tries to become the first to win four consecutive titles since Carol Heiss in the 1950s and '60s. Two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn, who was among the favorites in Boston, fell on her opening triple axel and was ninth with 67.65.
"Just going to have to rely on my training," Glenn said, when asked about bouncing back Friday night.
In the pairs short program Wednesday night, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara took a big step toward regaining the title they lost a year ago with their energetic program to "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones. The Japanese skaters earned 76.57 points to land in first place ahead of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macci, the surprising Italians, who scored 74.61.
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany were third, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia fourth, and Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the U.S. were within range of the podium in fifth place.
The biggest surprise was defending champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada. They earned negative grades of execution for their twist, throw triple loop and side-by-side spin, leaving them in seventh with 67.32 points.
The men's competition and ice dance begin Thursday. All of the medals will be decided by Saturday night.
The worlds are being hosted by the renowned Skating Club of Boston, which had six members killed nearly two months ago, when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. Skaters from the world over said this week that they hoped their performances could be a cathartic experience for a tight-knit community still grieving.
"The kids we lost β across the country β were the future of the sport," said Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the club, which produced such champions as Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Nancy Kerrigan. "So it's really nice to see this being acknowledged."
The final worlds before the Milano-Cortina Olympics are also important for establishing the quotas for the Winter Games. The number of entries for each nation will be decided by how its best skaters finish in each discipline this week.
In that respect, the American women are in good shape after Wednesday night.
Not only do they have Liu in first place, they have Levito β the reigning silver medalist β holding down a podium spot in her first competition since Skate America in October. The 18-year-old has been dealing ever since with a lingering foot injury.
While Liu scored big points for her triple flip-triple toe and her triple lutz, Levito piled up the points not only by landing all of her jumps but getting her typical high marks for composition, presentation and skating skills.
"I think that was the best score I could have had today," Levito said. "Everything I went through and everything that I missed this year, I was very happy to have kept it all together."
If the Americans want to hold down their podium spots, they will have to outscore the Japanese in the free skate.
Chiba, a former Four Continents champion, pumped her fist after a short program that earned her a standing ovation. Wakaba Higuchi was behind Levito in fourth, while Sakamoto was fifth, despite doubling a planned triple flip in her combination.
"We'll just have to see Friday if any of us win or not," Liu said.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-20 10:00:06+00:00
|
[
"College sports",
"NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championship",
"Womens college basketball",
"College basketball",
"Womens sports",
"March Madness NCAA Tournament",
"NCAA Womens Bracket",
"Lifestyle",
"Sports",
"Dawn Staley",
"Caitlin Clark"
] |
# Women's teams in the NCAA Tournament getting individual revenue share for 1st time. What's a 'unit'?
By Doug Feinberg
March 20th, 2025 10:00 AM
---
Women's basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament for the first time will be getting an individual share of the March Madness revenue pie.
Women's teams will earn financial incentives, known as units, for playing in the tournament. It is one of the final equity pieces that was missing between the men's and women's tournament. In the past, schools received no financial reward other than the NCAA covering the cost of a team's expenses to play in the tournament.
The formula can be complicated, but the bottom line is conferences will receive $113,000 for each game a women's team plays in the NCAA Tournament. The conferences will divvy that money up to their schools however they see fit.
Last season's women's tournament was the most successful ever, which included a record audience of 18.7 million for the title game won by South Carolina over Iowa and Caitlin Clark. The Gamecocks and Hawkeyes didn't receive a dime from the NCAA for their efforts last year.
Now that will change.
## What is a March Madness unit?
"Units" are what the NCAA calls its tally of wins, automatic qualifiers and at-large bids that determine how much conferences are paid.
A unit is money paid to conferences when one of its teams appears in the NCAA Tournament.
The women's March Madness financial incentive program is now similar to the men's basketball unit program. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was one of the most outspoken advocates for the women's teams to get the same financial rewards men's teams receive.
Each of 32 conferences that receive an automatic bid to the tournament now receives a unit, and additional units are rewarded for teams that receive at-large bids.
A team will earn an additional unit for every game it plays in the tournament this year up until the title game.
## Do players get any money from the unit share?
Currently the money generated by units is only disbursed to the school. However, that could change as NIL and revenue sharing with student-athletes continues to evolve.
## Where does the money for unit shares come from?
Units are paid to conferences by the NCAA from revenue generated mostly through TV deals.
The NCAA signed a new media rights deal with ESPN which values the women's basketball tournament at $65 million annually. There will be $15 million awarded to teams in the first year of the fund, which is 26% of the women's basketball media revenue deal. That number will grow to $25 million, which is 41% of the revenue, by 2028. The 26% is on par with what men's basketball teams received the first year the performance units program was established.
After reaching the fully funded amount of $25 million, the funds will grow at the same rate as all other Division I funds, which is approximately 2.9% each year.
The women have a higher percentage of the media revenue deal to bolster the value of each performance unit.
## Do schools get the full amount of unit shares?
Conferences receive money from the units and divide it among its member schools.
The units earned by participating teams is paid to the schools' respective conference offices starting in 2026 on a rolling three-year basis. A unit this year is worth just over $113,000 and a total of $251,000 for the three years. The Big Ten has a record 12 teams in the tournament and if somehow none of them wins a game, they've already earned $3 million for the conference.
If an individual team makes the Final Four this season, it could earn over $1.25 million for its conference. It's up to the conference to decide how to divvy up the money earned to each of its member schools.
In comparison, a men's unit for the 2024 tournament was worth $2 million total for a six-year rolling basis. The men have an $8.8 billion deal over eight years.
## How to win March Madness units
The units come from two funds. The Equal Conference Fund is a baseline through which the NCAA awards one unit to each of the 32 Division I conferences that have an automatic bid. Through the performance fund, the NCAA also awards a single unit to every team that makes the tournament via an at-large berth.
There are 68 women's teams that make the tournament; each accounts for one unit just for getting in.
Units are also awarded from the performance fund for teams that advance. One unit is awarded for every win until teams reach the Final Four. Wins in the semifinals or final don't count for units.
___
The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
___
AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-21 21:57:59+00:00
|
[
"South Carolina Gamecocks",
"NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championship",
"College sports",
"Tennessee",
"Joyce Edwards",
"South Carolina",
"Womens college basketball",
"College basketball",
"Womens sports",
"March Madness NCAA Tournament",
"NCAA Womens Bracket",
"South Carolina Gamecocks womens basketball",
"Sports",
"Caitlin Clark",
"Dawn Staley",
"Lisa Leslie",
"Aliyah Boston",
"Kim Rosamond"
] |
# Edwards leads No. 1 seed South Carolina to 108-48 win over Tennessee Tech to start March Madness
By Pete Iacobelli
March 21st, 2025 09:57 PM
---
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) β Freshman Joyce Edwards scored 22 points in her first women's NCAA Tournament game as No. 1 seed South Carolina began its run at a second straight national title with a 108-48 victory over Tennessee Tech on Friday.
The Gamecocks (31-3) improved to 17-1 in the past four women's tournaments, winning in 2022 and 2024. The lone defeat came to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the national semifinals in 2023.
With Edwards, named to the all-Southeastern Conference first-team this season, leading the way, the top seeds of the Birmingham 2 Regional looked poised for another title in a few weeks.
The 6-foot-3 forward swears she's always nervous before games and felt some jitters before stepping out for to start her NCAA Tournament career. But she looked and played as poised as she has all season for the Gamecocks.
"Everything comes at you, you don't know what to expect," Edwards said. "Once you get your first rebound, the nerves settle down."
Edwards had more points in her NCAA debut than Gamecocks national champ and WNBA No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, who went for 20 in a win over Mercer in the 2021 event.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said Edwards' relentless approach has endeared her to her older teammates. Edwards rarely stops moving on the court and when she sees a layup go in, Staley thinks it opens the floodgates for her all-SEC player.
"The basket gets big," Staley said.
South Carolina will face ninth-seeded Indiana on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Hoosiers outlasted eighth-seeded Utah 76-68 earlier Friday.
Edwards scored six straight points to open up the game as the Gamecocks went ahead 31-11. The Golden Eagles (26-6), champions of the Ohio Valley Conference, saw their 17-game win streak come to an end.
Taris Thornton led Tennessee Tech with 13 points.
MiLaysia Fulwiley added 15 points as all 12 Gamecocks who played scored baskets.
Tennessee Tech coach Kim Rosamond was impressed with the Gamecocks overall skill and discipline. South Carolina made 43 of 67 field goals.
"If they shoot the basketball like that the rest of the way, they're going to be almost impossible to beat," Rosamond said.
## Takeaways
Tennessee Tech: A bit was made about the Golden Eagles beating South Carolina in the NCAAs 36 years ago. And maybe some memories were stirred when Tech took a 2-0 lead. But things quickly turned against the Eagles as the Gamecocks went on a 20-4 run.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks had have their share of opening NCAA blowouts β they've beaten their past three first-round opponents by an average margin of 47 points β and this was not that much different except for the team reaching 100 points for the third time this season.
## Key moment
It came early as South Carolina dominated from the start with Edwards scoring six straight after Tech trailed 5-4 to get her team going.
## Help from a friend
South Carolina's Staley had her good friend and Olympic teammate Lisa Leslie at the game and says she might take advantage of Leslie's knowledge of the game at her team's Saturday morning film sessions in preparation for Indiana.
"We absolutely love basketball," Staley said. "I'm going to pick her brain about some of the things that we need to do to continue to help our players."
## Rematches
The first of what could be a few recent rematches take place for South Carolina on Sunday with the Hoosiers, who fell to the Gamecocks 79-75 a year ago in the Sweet 16. The Gamecocks also have faced the second, third and fourth seeded teams in Duke, North Carolina and Maryland in recent seasons with the ACC Tournament champion Blue Devils losing at South Carolina this past December.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 14:59:56+00:00
|
[
"Stephen Curry",
"College sports",
"Mens college basketball",
"Steve Kerr",
"Davidson Wildcats",
"Erica Berman",
"Golden State Warriors",
"Basketball",
"College basketball",
"Steph Curry",
"Sports",
"Chris Clunie",
"Matt Berman",
"North Carolina"
] |
# Stephen Curry joins alma mater Davidson as assistant GM for basketball
By Steve Reed
March 10th, 2025 02:59 PM
---
DAVIDSON, N.C. (AP) β Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will serve as an assistant general manager for Davidson College's basketball teams.
The four-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP will be the first active player in U.S. major professional sports to take an administrative job with a college team. He will continue to play with the Warriors while serving in this newly created role.
Curry and his wife, Ayesha, and longtime Davidson supporters Don, Matt and Erica Berman, are creating an eight-figure fund to support the college's men's and women's basketball teams. The college asked them to serve in these advisory roles, investing their time and sharing their experience with both men's and women's basketball, according to a news release on Monday.
Curry will draw resources and support from the Under Armour global sports marketing team, one of his major sponsors.
He said he wants Davidson's scholar-athletes to be able to compete in the top ranks of college athletics in an ever-changing landscape where athletes are now allowed to profit from their name, image and likeness β something that wasn't available when he played there for three seasons from 2006-09.
"The Davidson experience is top notch," said Curry said, a three-time Southern Conference first-team selection at Davidson. "My journey from when I got to Davidson in 2006 to now demonstrated that I had the opportunity to play basketball at the highest level, got a great education, an amazing network through the Davidson alumni and continue to wave the Davidson flag. I want very talented, high character student-athletes to have that same experience."
Vice president and director of athletics Chris Clunie said basketball remains Davidson's flagship sport, but the benefits of focusing on that game extend further.
"When our basketball programs are successful," Clunie said, "they provide much-needed revenue and exposure to support all our athletics programs and raise the overall visibility of the college."
Davidson is 16-15 this season in men's basketball.
Curry said the goal is to invest in the next student-athlete that's coming into Davidson.
"They don't have to take cuts on what the market says they deserve to be part of the brand of what it means to be a Davidson scholar-athlete with integrity in your academic experience," Curry said. "The commitment to a four-year graduation process provides countless opportunities professionally in sports or as a game changer in life."
Matt Berman will also serve as assistant GM alongside Curry.
"Our ability to be a resource and a sounding board for the program, but also support each student athlete, to develop personal relationships with each of them to help guide them every step of the way through their Davidson experience," Curry said.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr doesn't expect Curry to miss games and start scouting players around the country.
"I'm wondering is he going to clean house? Is he going in there and firing everybody? I don't know, we'll see, he's got a big job on his hands," Kerr cracked before the Warriors hosted Portland on Monday night. "I think he's kind of busy so I'm hoping it's a ceremonial role more than anything. If he asks me if he can leave and not play a game so he can go scout some college games, I'm probably going to say no, although it is Steph Curry so I'll probably say yes actually. But I hope he does not ask."
___
AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley contributed. ___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-15 17:16:46+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Lockheed Martin Corp.",
"Bill Blair",
"Canada",
"Military and defense",
"Canada government",
"Joe Biden",
"Laurent de Casanove",
"Justin Trudeau",
"United States government",
"United States",
"Mark Carney",
"The Boeing Co.",
"Politics"
] |
# Canada to review the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump's trade war
By Rob Gillies
March 15th, 2025 05:16 PM
---
TORONTO (AP) β Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked Defense Minister Bill Blair to review the purchase of America's F-35 fighter jet to see if there are other options "given the changing environment," a spokesman for Blair said Saturday.
Defense ministry press secretary Laurent de Casanove said the contract to purchase U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin's F-35 currently remains in place and Canada has made a legal commitment of funds for the first 16 aircraft. Canada agreed to buy 88 F-35's two years ago.
Carney, who was sworn in on Friday, has asked Blair to work with the military "to determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada's needs," de Casanove said.
"To be clear, the F-35 contract has not been canceled, but we need to do our homework given the changing environment, and make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces," de Casanove said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and has threatened economic coercion to make it the 51st state. Trump's threats have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
The government had budgeted about $19 billion Canadian (US$13 billion) for the F-35 purchase in what is the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in more than 30 years. The full life cycle of the program is expected to cost $70 billion Canadian.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the company values it's strong history with the Royal Canadian Air Force and said "questions about Canada's procurement of the F-35 are best addressed by the Canadian and U.S. governments."
The agreement to buy 88 jets came in 2023 as former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to meet with former U.S. President Joe Biden.
The Canadian government said in 2022 that Lockheed Martin was deemed to be the top-ranked bidder for a new fighter jet to replace aging F-18s, deciding against Boeing's Super Hornet and the Swedish-built Saab Gripen. That ended years of deliberations over its aging fleet. The purchase would fulfill Canada's obligations to defend North America's air space.
The Swedish Saab proposal promised that assembly and maintenance would take place in Canada.
Portugal's outgoing defense minister, Nuno Melo, said in an interview with a Portuguese newspaper published Thursday that "recent positions" taken by the U.S. compelled a rethink about the purchase of F-35s because the U.S. has become unpredictable.
Melo said the U.S. could in the future impose limits on the planes' use, their maintenance or their components. Portugal is considering various options to replace F-16s.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-03 21:23:26+00:00
|
[
"Anthony Davis",
"Luka Doncic",
"Dallas Mavericks",
"Los Angeles Lakers",
"NBA",
"Sports",
"NBA basketball"
] |
# The Dallas Mavericks are raising season tickets prices one month after trading away star Luka Doncic
March 3rd, 2025 09:23 PM
---
DALLAS (AP) β The Dallas Mavericks revealed on Monday that they are raising season ticket prices for next season, just weeks after dealing star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Mavericks said season tickets will go up by an average of 8.61% next season and the increase is due to "ongoing investments in the team and fan engagement."
The Mavs have dealt with widespread fan discontent since last month's trade that sent the popular Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for a package that includes Anthony Davis, the talented but often injured 10-time All-Star.
Davis scored 26 points in his Mavericks debut on Feb. 8, but left the game late with a groin injury and hasn't played since.
Meanwhile, Doncic has thrived with the Lakers, immediately reviving their title hopes. The five-time All-Star led the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.
The Mavericks say that despite the price adjustments, full-season ticket holders will continue to save 15% to 23% compared to projected secondary market prices. The team also said that roughly 4,200 seats per game are still below $40.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-01 14:24:44+00:00
|
[
"Czech Republic",
"Europe",
"JWD-evergreen",
"David Vencl",
"Poland",
"Sports",
"Oddities"
] |
# Czech swimmers set new world record for largest polar dip
March 1st, 2025 02:24 PM
---
PRAGUE (AP) β Czech cold-water swimmers on Saturday set a new world record for the largest polar bear dip.
A total of 2,461 participants were involved in the successful attempt on the Most lake in northwest Czech Republic.
The previous record was 1,799 swimmers who participated in the polar bear dip in Mielno, Poland, on the Baltic Sea on Feb. 15, 2015, according to Guinness World Records.
For the record to be recognized, the participants have to be wearing bathing suits, be at least waist-deep in water and stay there all together for at least one minute.
The temperature of the water during the record attempt was 3.5 degrees Celsius (38.2 degrees Fahrenheit). It has to be lower than 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).
"Czechs are a nation of polar swimmers," said David Vencl, the organizer of the event.
Vencl, a freediver, himself set a world record four years ago in men's swimming under ice when he swam a record distance of 80.9 meters (265 feet).
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-12 01:12:54+00:00
|
[
"Arizona State Sun Devils",
"Kansas State Wildcats",
"College sports",
"Coleman Hawkins",
"Brendan Hausen",
"David NGuessan",
"Arizona",
"Kansas",
"College basketball",
"Mens college basketball",
"Sports",
"Jayden Quaintance",
"Missouri",
"Adam Miller",
"Bobby Hurley",
"Shawn Phillips Jr.",
"Kansas City"
] |
# Hawkins scores 26 as No. 10 seed K-State beats No. 15 seed Arizona State 71-66 in Big 12 tourney
March 12th, 2025 01:12 AM
---
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) β Coleman Hawkins had a season-best 26 points, David N'Guessan converted a crucial three-point play in the final minute, and No. 10 seed Kansas State beat No. 15 seed Arizona State 71-66 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday night.
Dug McDaniel added 14 points and Max Jones and Brendan Hausen scored 10 apiece for the Wildcats (16-16), who had won two of their last three entering the tournament and now get No. 7 seed Baylor in the second round Wednesday night.
Alston Mason had 17 points to lead the Sun Devils (13-19). Joson Sanon and Basheer Jihad scored 13 apiece and Shawn Phillips Jr. finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Kansas State opened the game on a 17-4 run, watched Arizona State counter with a 20-4 run of its own, and then used another 11-0 run later in the first half to take control. But the outcome was never assured until N'Guessan, who dealt with foul trouble all game, slashed through the lane to convert his three-point play for a 71-64 lead with 37.2 seconds remaining.
The Sun Devils played their fifth consecutive game without freshman Jayden Quaintance, who continued to deal with a right knee injury. The forward had 18 points and seven rebounds against Kansas State in his most recent game on Feb. 23.
Adam Miller returned from a strained oblique for the Sun Devils, but they still played just seven the entire game.
Before tipoff, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley was expected to return for an 11th season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
## Takeaways
Arizona State finished with a losing record for the fourth time in five years.
Kansas State finished with a 20-10 advantage in points off turnovers, despite committing three more than the Sun Devils.
## Key moment
N'Guessan's slashing layup on which he was fouled. He's just a 58.5% foul shooter but made the free throw.
## Key stats
Kansas State led for 35 minutes, 39 seconds.
## Up next
The Wildcats will play the Bears on Wednesday night.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-28 11:48:34+00:00
|
[
"North Sea",
"Mark Angelo Pernia",
"Business",
"Paddy OCallaghan",
"Boat and ship accidents",
"Vladimir Motin",
"Fires",
"Climate and environment",
"Climate"
] |
# Cargo ship that collided with US tanker in North Sea towed to Scottish port of Aberdeen
March 28th, 2025 11:48 AM
---
LONDON (AP) β A badly damaged cargo ship which collided with a U.S. tanker in the North Sea earlier this month arrived in the Scottish port of Aberdeen Friday, following a fire that lasted for nearly a week.
Following a tug-assisted journey that lasted a few days, the Portugal-flagged Solong docked in Aberdeen for "safe berthing" and damage assessment.
The damage to the ship following its collision on March 10 with an anchored tanker, the MV Stena Immaculate, and the ensuing fire, was clearly visible from the shore. The tanker was transporting jet fuel for the U.S. military in the North Sea.
"Salvage of the Solong has progressed to enable its relocation to the Port of Aberdeen for safe berthing," said chief coastguard Paddy O'Callaghan. "The Stena Immaculate remains in a stable condition with salvage ongoing."
A spokesperson for Ernt Russ, the company which owns the Solong, said the fire-stricken ship will be "fully assessed by specialist marine assessors and insurers" in Aberdeen.
The Solong's Russian captain, Vladimir Motin, has been remanded in custody over the death of a crew member, 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia., who is missing and presumed dead. Motin, 59, has been charged with "gross negligence manslaughter" and is due to appear at the Central Criminal Court in London, better known as the Old Bailey, on April 14.
Rescuers saved 36 people from both ships.
U.K. authorities have said there is nothing to indicate the collision was connected to national security, but investigations are ongoing.
Fortunately, the environmental damage from the collision was far less than first thought, though thousands of pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, from the ruptured containers on the Solong have begun washing up on beaches in the east of England.
According to conservationists, the nurdles are not toxic but can harm animals if ingested.
Local authorities are working to remove the nurdles.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-15 01:09:27+00:00
|
[
"NWSL soccer",
"Soccer",
"NWSL",
"Womens sports",
"Womens soccer",
"Sports",
"Jennifer Epstein"
] |
# Boston NWSL team to shed BOS Nation nickname
March 15th, 2025 01:09 AM
---
BOSTON (AP) β Boston's expansion National Women's Soccer League team is rebranding before the team ever plays a match.
The team scheduled to kick off next year will get a new name to replace BOS Nation in the coming weeks, the club announced on Friday night.
The name BOS Nation was unveiled in October with a widely criticized marketing campaign, "Too Many Balls," which some considered offensive. A day later, the team apologized, saying it "missed the mark" with an attempt to "create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign."
The decision to rebrand was made after conversations with fans and stakeholders, as well as surveys and other analysis, the team said.
"The club extends our heartfelt thanks to our supporters, whose passionate voices we deeply value β not just for their unwavering support but also for their honest and critical feedback," majority partner Jennifer Epstein said in a statement. "We could not have completed this process without your input. We aim to build a lasting legacy that makes all our fans feel welcome, connected, and proud to wear our colors and cheer our name for generations to come."
Boston and an expansion team in Denver will bring the NWSL to 16 teams when they begin play next year.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-12 22:55:29+00:00
|
[
"Mexico",
"New Haven",
"Andrea Reyes",
"Connecticut",
"Missing persons",
"Carlos Reyes Couvertier",
"Law enforcement",
"U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation",
"Lucia Rafala",
"Mexico government",
"John Bischoff III",
"Rosa Tenorio",
"United States government",
"Child abuse"
] |
# Child illegally taken by her mother from US to Mexico in 1999 is found and reconnects with dad
By Dave Collins
March 12th, 2025 10:55 PM
---
Carlos Reyes-Couvertier spent the past quarter century trying to find his missing daughter. There were multiple trips to Mexico, where police believed she was living after having been abducted by her mother. Local and federal authorities worked the case, while national missing person groups helped with publicity pleading for information.
Andrea Reyes was nearing her second birthday in 1999 when her mother, Rosa Tenorio, who did not have custody rights, illegally fled with the girl from a scheduled visitation in New Haven, Connecticut, police said.
The search for Reyes went cold, but Reyes-Couvertier never gave up hope. Years later, news finally came: a detective who had renewed the investigation in 2023 discovered that Reyes, now 27, was living in Mexico, and DNA testing would confirm they were father and daughter.
Now the two are hoping to meet in-person soon after talking on the phone and messaging. Reyes-Couvertier spoke at a news conference Wednesday in New Haven with police, FBI agents and others.
"It was a moment of joy," the father, now 55, said about reconnecting with his daughter for the first time in more than 25 years. "We have some sense of happiness, but the chapter is not closed yet. There's a lot of steps that we have to take."
Reyes was in Mexico and was not present Wednesday. A message seeking comment was sent to an Instagram account for an Andrea Reyes who lives in Puebla, Mexico, southeast of Mexico City, where authorities say Reyes-Couvertier's daughter now resides.
Reyes-Couvertier, a second-grade teacher in New Haven, had legal custody of Reyes. After she disappeared, New Haven police worked with the FBI to try to find her. City police obtained an arrest warrant for Tenorio for alleged felony custodial interference. The warrant is still valid today, but only within the U.S., authorities said.
In the spring of 2000, officials in Puebla notified authorities in Connecticut that Reyes and her mother had been located, but they declined to take any action, New Haven police said. Mexican officials said they did not consider parental kidnapping an extraditable offense under a treaty between Mexico and the U.S., police said.
The case eventually went cold, despite multiple visits to Mexico by Reyes-Couvertier, investigative work by New Haven police and the FBI and efforts by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
In 2023, New Haven Detective Kealyn Nivakoff renewed the investigation, as part of her work focusing on missing persons in the department's Special Victims Unit. Officials said Nivakoff identified a woman in Puebla she believed could be Reyes-Couvertier's daughter and contacted her, through the use of search warrants, interviews and social media.
Working with the DNA testing company Othram, Nivakoff persuaded Reyes to send in a DNA sample, and a comparison with a sample provided by Reyes-Couvertier confirmed they were father and daughter, police said.
Nivakoff said she believed from the outset that there was a good probability of solving the case.
"I'm really pleased with the outcome. At the same time, for us as a police department, this might be closure on our end but it's certainly not closure on their part. This is really just the beginning of a whole healing process for them," she said.
Neither Nivakoff nor Reyes-Couvertier would discuss specific communications with Reyes.
Reyes-Couvertier, who was New Haven's Teacher of the Year for 2017, and his wife, Lucia Rafala, thanked police, federal authorities and missing persons groups for all their help.
"After 25 years, God has answered our prayers and blessed us with the chance to know her again," Rafala said. "We recognize that this reacquaintance will have challenges. However, we are confident that God is building the path before us and leading our steps."
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is helping to prepare the father and daughter for an in-person reunion, said John Bischoff III, vice president for the center's missing children division.
"As you can imagine, it's a very emotional time for the family," Bischoff said in a phone interview. "He found his daughter that he had not seen, not spoken with for 25 years."
One task for setting up the reunion is finding an appropriate place for them to meet that will be comfortable for both of them, he said. Another is helping them through the range of emotions from such a traumatic separation long ago, he said.
"It's absolutely going to be, I'm sure, a scary time for everyone involved," Bischoff said. "A lot of unknowns. But it's all positive in the end because she's been found."
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-24 14:15:13+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"HIV and AIDS",
"United States government",
"United States",
"United Nations",
"Geneva",
"Politics",
"Health",
"George W. Bush"
] |
# UNAIDS director proposes that President Trump make an 'amazing deal' to end HIV
March 24th, 2025 02:15 PM
---
GENEVA (AP) β
The head of the U.N. AIDS agency said Monday that the sudden loss of American money has been "devastating" for efforts to stop HIV and will cost many lives of the world's most vulnerable people. But she also proposed an "amazing deal" for U.S. President Donald Trump that she said could result in "the end of AIDS."
At a news briefing in Geneva, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that the deal would involve Trump enabling the U.S. company Gilead to produce and license its "magical" prevention drug lenacapavir across the world to the millions of people who need it.
Lenacapavir, sold as Sunlenca, has been shown through twice-yearly injections to completely prevent HIV infection in women and which works nearly as well in men.
"President Trump likes deals," Byanyimasaid, acknowledging that it was President George W. Bush who first started paying for the widespread roll-out of HIV drugs more than two decades ago.
"It could be President Trump, another Republican president, who leads the prevention revolution towards the end of AIDS," Byanyima said.
She added that the deal would result not only in profits for Gilead and create jobs for Americans, but save millions of lives in poorer countries.
Byanyima said that American money made up about 35% of UNAIDS' core budget last year but it was unclear whether that might be restored for next year. She said the agency was in talks with the U.S. government but was also preparing for a worst-case scenario, in which there was no funding available from the U.S.
Byanyima said it was unlikely any other donors would be able to fill that vacuum, adding that European donors have told the agency they would be cutting back on their support in order to redirect their funds to defense and other priorities.
Byanyima said that unless support to HIV efforts is restored, there could be more than 6.3 million additional deaths in the next four years and an additional 2,000 people per day becoming infected.
She acknowledged that there has been some valid criticism regarding how HIV aid has been delivered, calling it "an opportunity to rethink and develop more efficient ways of delivering life-saving support."
Byanyima also said African countries were trying to become more self-sufficient and that even some of the poorest nations were now "trying to stretch very weak, fragile health systems to absorb people living with HIV."
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-14 20:47:58+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Department of Government Efficiency",
"Elon Musk",
"Baltimore",
"Alethea Anne Swift",
"Barack Obama",
"Government programs",
"Fraud",
"DC Wire",
"Tiffany Flick",
"Lawsuits",
"Ronnie Bailey",
"Retirees",
"Privacy",
"Courts",
"Agnes Watkins",
"Politics",
"Information security",
"Ellen Hollander",
"Government budgets"
] |
# Federal judge considers blocking DOGE from accessing Social Security data of millions of Americans
By Lea Skene and Lindsay Whitehurst
March 14th, 2025 08:47 PM
---
BALTIMORE (AP) β A federal judge is considering whether to temporarily block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Social Security Administration systems that hold sensitive data on millions of Americans.
A group of labor unions and retirees sued the Trump administration and asked the court to issue an emergency order limiting DOGE's access to the agency and its data.
DOGE's "nearly unlimited" access violates privacy laws and presents massive information security risks, they said. A recently departed Social Security official who saw the DOGE team sweep into the agency said she is deeply worried about sensitive information being exposed.
The administration has said DOGE is targeting waste and fraud in the federal government.
During a Friday hearing on the issue in federal court in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander repeatedly questioned attorneys for the government about why the DOGE team needed such a large quantity of sensitive personal information about Social Security recipients, including health records for disability applicants. She questioned whether a more targeted approach would allow DOGE to uncover improper payments without accessing so much data.
"This is like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer," she said of the Trump administration's approach.
While alluding to technical issues that could affect her ruling, the judge said she was struggling to understand why DOGE's actions were necessary, calling them "extremely worrisome and surprising."
"What's the excuse for that β or the justification?" she asked.
The Trump administration says DOGE has a 10-person team of federal employees at the Social Security Administration, seven of whom have been granted read-only access to agency systems or personally identifiable information. They have received privacy training, and eight had passed background checks as of Wednesday, government lawyers said in court documents.
They argued in court that the DOGE access doesn't deviate significantly from normal practices inside the agency, where employees and auditors are routinely allowed to search its databases.
But attorneys for the plaintiffs called it unprecedented.
"This is, in fact, a sea change" in terms of how the agency protects personal information, said Alethea Anne Swift, an attorney with the legal services group Democracy Forward, which is behind the lawsuit.
Outside the courthouse ahead of the hearing, dozens of union workers and retirees rallied in support of the plaintiffs and expressed concern over whether their Social Security benefits are at risk.
"We want Elon Musk and the DOGE group to take their hands off Social Security," said Ronnie Bailey, 75, a retired Maryland corrections officer and Vietnam veteran. "When you talk about people's lifelines, Social Security is not waste."
Agnes Watkins, a retired nurse, said she relies on Social Security checks to pay her mortgage and cover other basic necessities. She said she's disturbed at the thought that "anybody can just come in and gain access to private information."
"It doesn't feel secure," she said.
The group held signs calling for the protection of Social Security benefits and shouted "Down with DOGE" and other chants.
DOGE has also accessed other government databases, including at the Treasury and IRS.
At Social Security, DOGE staffers swept into the agency days after Trump's inauguration and pressed for a software engineer to quickly get access to data systems that are normally carefully restricted even within the government, a former official said in court documents.
The team appeared to be searching for fraud based on inaccuracies and misunderstandings, according Tiffany Flick, the former acting chief of staff to the acting commissioner.
"I am deeply concerned about DOGE's access to SSA systems and the potential to inappropriately and inaccurately disclose this information, especially given the rushed nature in which we were required to onboard," she said.
Hollander, who is based in Baltimore and was appointed by President Barack Obama, is the latest judge to consider a DOGE related case. The team has drawn nearly two dozen lawsuits, some of which have shed light on staffing and operations that have largely been kept under wraps.
Several judges have raised questions about DOGE's sweeping cost-cutting efforts, but they have not always agreed that the risks are imminent enough to block the team from government systems.
___
Whitehurst reported from Washington.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-29 23:12:39+00:00
|
[
"Anthony Graziano",
"California",
"Shootings",
"California state government",
"U.S. Department of Justice",
"Injuries",
"Tracy Martinez",
"Teens",
"Rob Bonta",
"Government policy",
"Indictments"
] |
# Deputies won't face charges in deadly 2022 shootout on California highway, prosecutors say
By Susan Montoya Bryan
March 29th, 2025 11:12 PM
---
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies involved in a 2022 shootout along a California freeway that killed a teenage girl and her fugitive father will not face any criminal charges, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday.
Bonta released a report compiled by the California Department of Justice following an investigation that included interviews with officers, witnesses who were driving along the road that day and family members who recalled that the man and his daughter had a close relationship. The attorney general called the incident a tragic situation with a tragic outcome.
"This report was quite difficult to publish, and I sincerely hope it provides the community with the answers they've been waiting for," Bonta said in a statement. "The California Department of Justice aims to partner with law enforcement to build a just and equitable legal environment, ensuring that the rule of law is upheld, and justice is accessible to everyone."
Video and audio released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department showed Savannah Graziano, 15, was shot and killed as she approached deputies amid a hail of gunfire on Sept. 27, 2022. The video footage recorded by a sheriff's helicopter and witness dashboard cameras was released in 2024 in response to public records requests made by The Associated Press and other media outlets.
According to the Department of Justice review, 45-year-old Anthony Graziano drove off with his daughter after he shot and killed Tracy Martinez β his 45-year-old estranged wife β as she tried to flee from his pickup truck. Authorities said the teen was in the truck when her mother was shot, and an Amber Alert was issued.
San Bernardino County deputies spotted the truck the next day, and a 41-mile (66-kilometer) pursuit ensued on Interstate 15. As Anthony Graziano was driving, authorities said numerous rounds were fired at deputies from the rear and passenger-side windows of the vehicle. Audio from the deputies' belt recorders included the sounds of rounds hitting their patrol vehicles. One deputy sustained gunshot wounds to his arm and to fingers on both of his hands.
Authorities said shots continued to be fired from Graziano's truck after he drove off the freeway and up an embankment. About 65 spent casings and four firearms were found in the truck. The investigation also determined that 21 deputies returned fire.
The report states that the vehicle came to a stop and the teen β wearing a tactical helmet and vest β got out of the front passenger door and initially crouched on the ground. She then got up and moved toward a deputy as he called out to her. She raised her right hand, and that is when other deputies opened fire, according to the report.
Anthony Graziano was found dead in the driver's seat. Autopsy results showed he died from a gunshot wound to the head and also suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder, lower back and leg. A toxicology report showed he had methamphetamine and amphetamine as well as morphine and hydrocodone in his blood and urine.
No drugs or alcohol were found in Savannah Graziano's blood or urine. Her cause of death was listed as gunshot wounds.
Gunshot residue was present in samples taken from the hands of both the teen and her father. The report notes that gunshot residue particles can be deposited by firing a firearm, being in proximity of a discharging firearm, or by handling a firearm or ammunition.
The report states "no conclusion" can be drawn from the residue testing as to whether the teen or her father fired a firearm. But in attempting to recreate multiple shooting positions from inside the truck given the location of powder burns left by the muzzle of a rifle found in the vehicle, investigators found that the driver would not have been able to shoot the rifle and still maintain control of the gas and brake pedals.
Prosecutors noted in the report that evidence suggested that deputies believed both Graziano and his daughter β who was experienced at handling firearms and had participated in firearms training drills with her father β posed an imminent threat and that the need to use lethal force was reasonable.
Family members told authorities that Graziano had been living in his truck and that his daughter would often stay with him, sleeping in the truck next to a park. They said the teen was upset about her parents' divorce.
The report also included recommendations related to training and dash-mounted and body-worn camera policies. The attorney general's office said the sheriff's department had implemented the training recommendations following the incident.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-10 23:22:53+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Steve Simon",
"Shenna Bellows",
"Minnesota",
"Campaign finance",
"United States government",
"Maine",
"Election 2024",
"United States",
"Kristi Noem",
"Larry Norden",
"Elections",
"Technology",
"Center",
"U.S. Department of Homeland Security",
"Government and politics"
] |
# Trump administration halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts
By Christina A. Cassidy
March 10th, 2025 11:22 PM
---
ATLANTA (AP) β The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, has ended about $10 million in annual funding to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, a CISA spokesperson said in an email Monday.
It's the latest move by Trump administration officials to rein in the federal government's role in election security, which has prompted concerns about an erosion of guardrails to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections.
CISA announced a few weeks ago that it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen staffers who have worked on elections were placed on administrative leave. That followed an administration move to disband an FBI task force focused on investigating foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections.
"I have grave concern for state and local election officials and for the security of our elections going forward," said Larry Norden, an election security expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU's School of Law.
In recent years, CISA has faced sustained criticism from Republicans over past efforts to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic. Previous CISA leadership had said the agency never engaged in censorship and only worked with states to help them notify social media companies about misinformation spreading on their platforms.
When asked Monday if the review of CISA's election work was complete and if the agency could share a copy of the report, an agency spokesperson said it was an internal review to "help inform how the agency moves forward to best support critical infrastructure" and was not planned for public release.
The two cybersecurity initiatives facing cuts are the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which included state and local election officials along with representatives of voting system manufacturers, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which has benefited state, local and tribal government offices.
Both have been organized within a nonprofit, the Center for Internet Security.
The activities no longer being funded include cyber threat intelligence, cyber incident response and engaging with state and local government officials. In a statement, the agency said ending the funding will help "focus CISA's work on mission critical areas, and eliminate redundancies."
Following CISA's decision, the Center for Internet Security posted a notice online that it was no longer supporting the election-specific initiative. A spokesperson for the Center for Internet Security did not respond to questions sent by email about the effects of the cuts.
The National Association of Secretaries of State, comprised of top state election officials from across the country, was seeking information from CISA about the move and its recent election-specific review, said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who is president of the bipartisan group.
Simon said he was waiting for more information before drawing conclusions. He said the group's executive board recently sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging CISA to continue services to state and local election officials, including support for the election information sharing center.
"We got a lot out of it," Simon said Monday.
CISA falls under the Department of Homeland Security, although it has its own Senate-confirmed director. President Donald Trump has yet to nominate someone as CISA director. The agency was formed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and is charged with protecting the nation's critical infrastructure, from dams and nuclear power plants to banks and voting systems.
A spokesperson for the National Association of State Election Directors said the group was hoping to learn more from the Center for Internet Security about the effect of the federal cuts on its operations.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who served as chair of the executive committee for the election information sharing initiative, said it provided crucial support during last year's presidential election. Election officials were reporting malicious cyberattacks and sharing important details in real time, which she said allowed Maine to preemptively block those attempting to target her state's networks.
"We will find a way to protect our elections," said Bellows, a Democrat. "But given the sophistication of these threats, the elimination of the (information sharing initiative) is both inefficient and extremely dangerous."
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-24 21:34:28+00:00
|
[
"Florida",
"College sports",
"Florida Gators",
"Mens college basketball",
"College basketball",
"NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championship",
"March Madness NCAA Tournament",
"NCAA Mens Bracket",
"Florida Gators mens basketball",
"Todd Golden",
"Sports",
"Thomas Haugh"
] |
# Todd Golden's homecoming hits a snag, with Florida rejected from the coach's favorite eatery
By Mark Long
March 24th, 2025 09:34 PM
---
Florida's cross-country trip hit a snag Monday.
Coach Todd Golden called his favorite restaurant in San Francisco, Original Joe's, and got rejected. It didn't help that he was trying to find space for 17 players, six coaches and at least a dozen more managers and staff.
"They're too busy. I tried," Golden said. "They don't have enough room for the team."
Golden and the top-seeded Gators (32-4) might have to settle for takeout from the popular Italian-American eatery.
"We'll figure something out," he said.
The 39-year-old Golden is counting on the rest of his return trip to Northern California going much smoother β and ending with Florida celebrating the program's first Final Four in more than a decade.
The Gators play fourth-seeded Maryland (27-8) on Thursday in the Sweet 16 at the Chase Center. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Golden, who played at Saint Mary's College (2004-08) in nearby Moraga and returned to the Bay Area to coach at San Francisco (2016-22), first as an assistant and then as the head coach for three seasons.
"It's a handful. It's a lot," he said.
His phone has barely stopped buzzing since the Gators rallied past two-time defending national champion UConn, with calls and texts from friends and family members β some looking for tickets and others hoping to line up some time with Golden before his most important game of the season.
"I got a million friends who are like, 'Hey, do you have 10 minutes for coffee?' Well, I have 10. But I don't six different 10s," Golden said. "Big picture, it sounds great to be able to try to do all these things. But you get there and you're not going to be able to do that much (stuff)."
Golden has a plan, though. He is inviting those closest to him to Florida's practice Tuesday and/or walkthrough Wednesday at War Memorial Gym on San Francisco's campus. The Gators are leaving Gainesville early Tuesday and trying to take advantage of the time difference to practice on the West Coast for a couple days.
"It's going to be awesome being able to go back," Golden said. "I'm trying to do everything I can to enjoy it, too."
Playing better would help.
Florida dominated the first 15 minutes of its NCAA Tournament opener against Norfolk State, leading 51-19 before the Spartans rallied and outscored the Gators the rest of the way. And Golden's team trailed UConn by six midway through the second half Sunday before wearing the Huskies down and escaping with a 77-75 victory in Raleigh, North Carolina.
"I do feel like it was a little bit of a weight off of our team's shoulders," Golden said. "We got the 1 seed, and we played great the first 15 minutes against Norfolk and then we just kind of coasted. And there was pressure going into (UConn). We've had an incredible year. But if we're somehow not able to win this game, I certainly mentally was like, 'It's going to be a letdown.' Like the season's going to feel like a letdown if we can't get through this UConn game, which is crazy considering we won 31 games up until that point.
"But that's the pressure of a 1 seed. That's the pressure of trying to get a program back to its glory days. And I felt it, and our guys felt that way, especially for the first 30 or so minutes of the game."
Golden believes his guys played tight early, started pressing after falling behind and made uncharacteristic mistakes along the way. All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Thomas Haugh bailed the Gators out with several huge plays down the stretch.
"After winning, I do feel like the pin popped the balloon," Golden said. "We can kind of play loose this week."
Even if they don't get to go to Joe's.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-01 19:11:10+00:00
|
[
"Brandon Johnson",
"North Carolina Tar Heels",
"Miami Hurricanes",
"Matthew Cleveland",
"North Carolina",
"Allen Lubin",
"College sports",
"Basketball",
"Mens college basketball",
"College basketball",
"North Carolina Tar Heels mens basketball",
"Miami Hurricanes mens basketball",
"Tyler Hansbrough",
"Sports"
] |
# Lubin leads UNC's balanced scoring in 92-73 win over Miami for Tar Heels' 5th straight victory
March 1st, 2025 07:11 PM
---
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) β Ven-Allen Lubin scored 19 points, Jae'Lyn Withers had 11 points and 10 rebounds and North Carolina beat Miami 92-73 on Saturday for its fifth straight victory, the Tar Heels' longest win streak this season.
Lubin was 9-of-10 from the floor and Withers collected his third double-double this season. Drake Powell added 16 points, RJ Davis 13, Ian Jackson 11 and Seth Trimble 10 for the Tar Heels (19-11, 12-6 ACC), who shot 59%, made 10 of 18 3-pointers and outrebounded the Hurricanes 38-26. Davis went over 2,600 career points, second all-time at UNC behind Tyler Hansbrough.
Matthew Cleveland was 12-of-21 shooting to finish with 25 points for Miami (6-23, 2-16), which lost its fifth straight. Brandon Johnson added 20 points. The Hurricanes shot 43% while putting up 30 3-pointers, making nine.
The Tar Heels took a double-digit lead for good late in the first half and cruised to the victory with two regular-season games left before the ACC Tournament. UNC stretched a 15-point halftime lead to as many as 21.
Led by Withers' nine points and seven rebounds, nine UNC players scored in the first half in taking a 46-31 lead. The Tar Heels shot 52%, made 7 of 12 from the 3-point line and were plus-nine on the boards. Cleveland had 14 points for the Hurricanes, who led only at 3-0. Trimble hit a pair of 3-pointers to kick off a 12-2 run to end the half for UNC.
North Carolina plays at Virginia Tech on Tuesday and finishes the regular season at home against No. 2 Duke next Saturday.
Miami plays at Georgia Tech on Tuesday and at home against N.C. State next Saturday.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-03 17:17:13+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Volodymyr Zelenskyy",
"Vladimir Putin",
"Ukraine",
"Mike Waltz",
"Joe Biden",
"JD Vance",
"War and unrest",
"Kyiv",
"United States government",
"Markwayne Mullin",
"Lindsey Graham",
"Thom Tillis",
"Russia",
"Foreign aid",
"International agreements",
"Government programs",
"United States",
"Government and politics",
"Sean Hannity",
"Russia Ukraine war",
"Brian Fitzpatrick",
"Ukraine government",
"Angela Stent",
"Mike Johnson",
"Andriy Yermak",
"Dan Goldman",
"Politics"
] |
# Trump hits 'pause' on US aid to Ukraine after Oval Office blowout with Zelenskyy
By Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, and Lisa Mascaro
March 3rd, 2025 05:17 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) β President Donald Trump on Monday directed a "pause" to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.
The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion U.S. has appropriated for military aid and other assistance to Kyiv since the start of Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy "committed" to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was "pausing and reviewing" its aid to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution." The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.
The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said.
The halting of military aid comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump's first impeachment.
In the leadup to the 2024 election, Trump vowed a quick end to the war in Ukraine, even once boasting that he could bring a halt to the fighting in one day. He has shown increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has long admired, can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce is reached.
Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of the war likely "is still very, very far away." Zelenskyy had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week's White House meeting.
"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, responding to comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday to reporters.
Trump, at a White House event later Monday, referred to Zelenskyy's reported comments and asserted the Ukrainian leader "better not be right about that."
Zelenskyy later took to social media in an effort to further explain his thinking. He did not directly refer to Trump's comments, but underscored that it "is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible."
"We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns," Zelenskyy added. "We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security."
Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelenskyy's visit last week that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals in part to pay back the U.S. for aid it has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House had billed such a pact as a way to tighten U.S.-Ukrainian relations in the long term.
Vance, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that aired Monday evening, said European allies were doing Ukraine a disservice by not pressing Zelenskyy to find an endgame to the war.
"A lot of our European friends puff him up," Vance said. "They say, you know, you're a freedom fighter. You need to keep fighting forever. Well, fighting forever with what? With whose money, with whose ammunition and with whose lives?"
Democrats said the pausing of aid to Ukraine was dangerous and ill-advised.
Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who is co-chair of the Congressional EU Caucus, said the decision "is reckless, indefensible, and a direct threat to our national security."
The Biden administration provided Kyiv with more than $66.5 billion in military aid and weapons since the war began. It had left unspent about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding to send more weapons to Ukraine from existing U.S. stockpiles β a sum that had not been affected by the foreign aid freeze that Trump put in place when he first took office.
"This aid was approved by Congress on a bipartisan basis β Republicans and Democrats alike recognized that standing with Ukraine is standing for democracy and against Putin's aggression," Boyle said in a statement. "Yet, Trump, who has repeatedly praised Putin and undermined our allies, is now playing political games with critical military assistance."
Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who served as counsel to House Democrats in the first impeachment inquiry against Trump, said the pausing of aid was "another extortion" of Zelenskyy.
"This is the exact opposite of peace through strength," Goldman said. "Instead, what it is is it's another extortion of President Zelenskyy, illegally withholding aid in order to get President Zelenskyy to agree to a minerals deal."
Trump's national security adviser said Zelenskyy's posture during Friday's Oval Office talks "put up in the air" whether he's someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.
"Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?" Mike Waltz said Monday on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?"
Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.
Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and between Europe and the U.S. about the way ahead.
"He thinks Russia is winning. ... And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured," said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Trump on Monday suggested he hasn't given up on the economic pact, calling it "a great deal." He added that he expected to speak about the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, spoke with Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, earlier Monday about getting the mineral rights deal back on track.
Key GOP senators also indicated before the announcement of paused aid that they see a path to put U.S.-Ukraine relations back on track.
"We got to lower the temperature," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., "and get to a deal that's economically beneficial and takes care of our interests as well as the interests of the Ukrainian people."
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who is a close ally of Trump, said he believes the president and Zelenskyy can "move past it."
"Getting the minerals deal done is a first step," Mullin said. After that, he said, Zelenskyy needs to be "realistic on what a peace deal looks like."
___
Associated Press writers Tracy Brown, Lolita C. Baldor and Marc Levy contributed to this report.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-19 18:23:31+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Georgia",
"Courts",
"Election 2024",
"2024 United States presidential election",
"Kamala Harris",
"Voting",
"Bryan Tyson",
"Thomas Cox",
"Lawsuits",
"Politics",
"Georgia Supreme Court",
"Chris Anulewicz",
"Elections",
"Chris Carr"
] |
# Georgia Supreme Court considers whether judge was right to block new election rules
By Kate Brumback
March 19th, 2025 06:23 PM
---
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (AP) β Georgia's highest court heard arguments Wednesday on whether a lower court judge ruled correctly when he blocked seven rules passed by the State Election Board just before last year's general election and declared that the board didn't have the authority to pass them.
The board passed a slate of new rules in August and September that mostly had to do with processes after ballots are cast, spawning a flurry of lawsuits. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox ruled in mid-October that seven of the rules were "illegal, unconstitutional and void."
Cox failed to exercise appropriate judicial restraint when he issued his "consequential, far-reaching" order that implicates every rule created by the State Election Board and calls into question the existence of the board and other state agencies with similar enabling legislation, lawyers for the state argued in a court filing. Critics of the rules say Cox got it right.
President Donald Trump narrowly lost the state in 2020 and he alleged without evidence that election fraud had cost him victory. Three Trump-endorsed Republicans hold the majority on the five-person State Election Board.
Democrats and voting rights groups had worried Trump allies would use the rules to cast doubt on results if he lost the crucial swing state again in November's presidential election. Trump beat Democratic former Vice President Kamala Harris to win Georgia.
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and many county election officials advised against the addition of new rules so close to the election. Attorney General Chris Carr, also a Republican, warned in a memo before the board passed the rules that some appeared to conflict with existing law.
Cox's ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed against the state by Eternal Vigilance Action, which was founded and led by former state Rep. Scot Turner, a Republican. The suit argued that the State Election Board had overstepped its authority. The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party joined the litigation to defend what they called commonsense rules to increase transparency and the integrity of elections.
Bryan Tyson, a lawyer for the state argued that the organization and individuals who challenged the rules lacked standing to sue because there was no specific harm suffered and no concrete imminent injury, that they "do not have a violation of their own legal rights." He argued that the justices should reverse the lower court ruling for that reason alone without even addressing the merits of their arguments.
Cox held that while the General Assembly can delegate some rulemaking authority to executive agencies if the appropriate guidelines are in place to constrain it, that was not the case here so the State Election Board lacked the authority to enact the rules.
But lawyers for the state wrote in a court filing that the General Assembly provided sufficient guidelines and that the board "cannot itself make laws, but it is authorized to fill in the blanks and administer the laws the Legislature has made."
Lawyers for Eternal Vigilance argue that an executive agency like the State Election Board cannot enact rules that are inconsistent with or unauthorized by state law. The state Constitution doesn't allow an executive agency to legislate and doesn't allow the Legislature to delegate legislative authority to an executive agency, they wrote in filings.
The board "is acting in violation of the separation of powers doctrine by engaging in legislative activity," lawyer Chris Anulewicz told the justices.
The court generally rules within several months of a hearing.
Three of the rules that Cox invalidated received a lot of attention prior to his ruling β one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results.
The other rules Cox said are illegal and unconstitutional are ones that: require someone delivering an absentee ballot in person to provide a signature and photo ID; demand video surveillance and recording of ballot drop boxes after polls close during early voting; expand the mandatory designated areas where partisan poll watchers can stand at tabulation centers; and require daily public updates of the number of votes cast during early voting.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-27 23:30:24+00:00
|
[
"JuJu Watkins",
"NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championship",
"Lauren Betts",
"North Carolina",
"UCLA Bruins",
"Mens college basketball",
"College sports",
"Athlete injuries",
"Mississippi Rebels",
"Southern California Trojans",
"College basketball",
"Womens college basketball",
"Mississippi Rebels mens basketball",
"Womens sports",
"NCAA Womens Bracket",
"UCLA Bruins womens basketball",
"Mississippi Rebels womens basketball",
"March Madness NCAA Tournament",
"Southern California Trojans womens basketball",
"Southern California Trojans mens basketball",
"Sports",
"Paige Bueckers",
"Saniya Rivers",
"Kim Mulkey",
"Kiki Rice"
] |
# UCLA players send well wishes to rival JuJu Watkins while preparing for Ole Miss in March Madness
By Anne M. Peterson
March 27th, 2025 11:30 PM
---
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) β As top overall seed UCLA and star center Lauren Betts prepared for a Sweet 16 meeting with Mississippi, the Bruins' thoughts were also on a familiar foe.
UCLA won't get a rematch against JuJu Watkins further down the line in the NCAA Tournament because the Southern California star suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second round.
"I watched it live. It was just so hard to watch and I feel so sorry for her," the 6-foot-7 Betts said. "And I feel so bad for that team and that program, to be honest. I know she's such a crucial part of that program. I feel for her as a person and that's not something that's easy to come back from, but I know she's going to be OK."
UCLA (32-2) plays fifth-seeded Ole Miss (22-10) on Friday night for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight, facing the winner of Friday's earlier game between third-seeded LSU and No. 2 seed N.C. State.
The Bruins earned the trip north with a second-round 84-67 victory over Richmond in Los Angeles. Betts had 30 points and 14 rebounds.
Mississippi defeated Baylor in Waco, Texas, to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.
This time, the Rebels aren't just happy to be here.
"The difference is, I think, we're hungry. I mean, to be honest, back then we were just happy to do something that hadn't been done in a very long time," guard Madison Scott said. "But now we've done it again. So we're not complacent, we're not satisfied. We want to keep going. We want to keep dancing."
UCLA's only two losses this season came against Watkins and the Trojans before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament, beating USC 72-67.
The Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 victory over Mississippi State.
Watkins planted her right leg awkwardly as she drove to the basket between two defenders and crumpled to the floor, wincing and as she was carried off. USC later said she had season-ending surgery as the Trojans look to win their first national title in 41 years.
Should USC get past the Wildcats, it will face either Paige Bueckers and UConn or Oklahoma in the Elite Eight.
There's still a chance for a rematch between the two Los Angeles rivals in the Final Four, but if it happens, it will be without Watkins.
"To see, even a competitor, but someone who is a face of the sport, too, to just have her season end just like that? It sucks," UCLA guard Kiki Rice said. "I mean, obviously we play against each other and it's a rivalry, but you hate to see anyone go down with an injury like that. And she's a great player, a great person."
## We meet again
LSU and N.C. State met earlier this season in a very different setting: the Bahamas. Then-No. 7 LSU won, 82-65.
But anyone looking to that game as an indication of how Friday's Sweet 16 meeting might play out would be mistaken, according to players on both sides.
"I think we're a much different team. I think at the beginning of the season, we were still trying to get a feel of each other," Wolfpack senior guard Saniya Rivers said. "Obviously we have a lot of returners, but I feel like with the freshmen coming in, and obviously people playing out of position, we just weren't very comfortable and confident. So as the season went along, we started putting pieces together."
N.C. State reached the Final Four last year before falling to eventual champion South Carolina. The Wolfpack (28-6) advanced this year with a second-round victory over Michigan State.
The Tigers (30-5) routed Florida State 101-71 in the second round.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey also said the Nov. 27 meeting with N.C. State was irrelevant.
"To look at the previous, game, we just think that we're both trying to advance to an Elite Eight and we don't really even think about that game," Mulkey said. "We talked about it once or twice, we've looked at some film, but they're better. We're better. They're ACC champs. We finished third in the SEC. They're supposed to win, they're the two seed, we're the three seed."
Mulkey's players agreed that Friday's opponent was a different team. While LSU (30-5) thrives on post play, N.C. State plays four guards at times and has a strong perimeter game.
"I'm sure their their posts have developed and are better, but they have four outstanding guards and they're not going to change their philosophy and all of a sudden become a post-dominant team," Mulkey said. "So we know what their strengths are. We know what their improvements are. And we're going to try to win one more game."
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-26 00:24:24+00:00
|
[
"Jasmine Paolini",
"Tennis",
"Aryna Sabalenka",
"Jessica Pegula",
"Alexandra Eala",
"Miami",
"Miami Hurricanes",
"Martina Trevisan",
"Magda Linette",
"Sports",
"Iga Swiatek",
"Qinwen Zheng"
] |
# Paolini becomes 1st Italian women's player to make Miami Open tennis semifinals
March 26th, 2025 12:24 AM
---
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) β Jasmine Paolini is headed to the Miami Open semifinals for the first time.
The sixth-seeded Paolini defeated unseeded Magda Linette of Poland 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to make the tournament's final four this year.
Paolini is the first Italian woman to make the semifinals at Miami. There were six instances of Italian women making the quarterfinals there, most recently Martina Trevisan in 2023.
Paolini will face top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. Sabalenka topped ninth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China 6-2, 7-5 in their quarterfinal match on Tuesday night, capping a day where rain postponed many matches by several hours.
The other side of the women's bracket is set for quarterfinal matches Wednesday, with fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula of the U.S. taking on Britain's Emma Radacanu, and second-seeded Iga Swiatek facing Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-31 01:58:07+00:00
|
[
"Jason Adam",
"Jeremiah Estrada",
"Atlanta Braves",
"Fernando Tatis Jr.",
"Grant Holmes",
"San Diego Padres",
"Baseball",
"Sports transactions",
"MLB",
"Sports",
"San Diego",
"AJ Smith-Shawver",
"Marcell Ozuna",
"Jackson Merrill",
"Brandon Lockridge",
"Orlando Arcia",
"Xander Bogaerts",
"Manny Machado",
"MLB baseball",
"Luis Ortiz",
"Nick Pivetta",
"Luis Arraez"
] |
# Pivetta brilliant in debut for Padres, who beat Braves 5-0 for 4-game sweep
By Bernie Wilson
March 31st, 2025 01:58 AM
---
SAN DIEGO (AP) β Nick Pivetta threw seven innings of one-hit ball in a brilliant debut with the Padres and Manny Machado returned to the lineup and hit an RBI double as San Diego beat the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Sunday night to sweep a season-opening, four-game series.
The Padres are 4-0 for the first time since 1984, when they made their first World Series appearance. The Braves were shut out a second straight game and are 0-4 for the first time since 2021. The Braves haven't been swept in a season-opening, four-game series since 1980 at Cincinnati, and in a four-game series in San Diego since 1979.
The Braves have lost six straight games at Petco Park, including last season's two-game sweep in the wild-card round.
Pivetta (1-0), who signed a four-year contract in February, faced the minimum 21 batters. He allowed a a leadoff single in the third to Orlando Arcia, who was forced out at second. Pivetta struck out four and walked none.
The Braves sent the minimum 27 batters to the plate. Marcell Ozuna drew Atlanta's only walk, off Jason Adam leading off the eighth. Adam and Jeremiah Estrada each threw one hitless inning.
Machado left Saturday night's game after the fourth inning with a cramp in his right calf that flared up during an at-bat. He doubled to the base of the right field wall with one out in the first on Sunday night to bring in Fernando Tatis Jr., who hit a leadoff double on a checked swing against AJ Smith-Shawver and advanced on Luis Arraez's groundout.
Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge each hit an RBI double and Tatis singled in a run before getting thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
Smith-Shawver allowed two runs and six hits in four innings.
## Key moment
Tatis checked his swing on a 2-0, 97-mph fastball and ended up with a leadoff double to right.
## Key stat
Reigning NL batting champ Arraez of the Padres is 0 for 13 to open the season.
## Up next
Braves RHP Grant Holmes is scheduled to start Monday night at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Padres RHP Luis Ortiz is set to go Monday night at home against Cleveland.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
___
This version has been corrected to show this is the first time San Diego has started 4-0 start since 1984.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-06 17:51:24+00:00
|
[
"Athlete injuries",
"Luis Gil",
"Brian Cashman",
"Max Fried",
"Gerrit Cole",
"Baseball",
"New York Yankees",
"Sports Stories",
"MLB",
"New York City Wire",
"Giancarlo Stanton",
"Sports",
"DJ LeMahieu",
"MLB baseball",
"Marcus Stroman",
"Clarke Schmidt",
"Health",
"New York"
] |
# Gil sidelined for at least 3 months, Stanton gets more elbow injections, LeMahieu out a few weeks
March 6th, 2025 05:51 PM
---
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) β Yankees pitcher Luis Gil will be sidelined for at least three months because of his lat strain and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton would have surgery on his elbows only as a last resort, according to general manager Brian Cashman.
Infielder DJ LeMahieu told reporters Thursday he has a grade 1 or 2 left calf strain and will be sidelined for several weeks in his fifth straight injury-hampered season.
Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, cut short a bullpen session last Friday because of tightness in his pitching shoulder and the 26-year-old right-hander went to New York for a second MRI that revealed a high-grade lat strain.
"As long as we handle it right, we'll get him back sometime in the summer," Cashman said. "But he's going to be down for a long time, obviously. Being a starter, he's got six weeks minimum of no throw and obviously it could be longer if it takes longer. They'll reimage and re-MRI it and see where he's at during that rest period. So, is it six, is it going to be seven weeks, is it eight weeks, whatever, and then we'll get him going, and then he's got to go through flat-ground throwing program and obviously bullpens and then rehab games, so you're talking three months."
Gil was 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts last year, striking out 171 and walking a major league-high 77 in 151 2/3 innings. Marcus Stroman likely will replace him in a starting rotation that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos RodΓ³n and Clarke Schmidt.
Stanton said on Feb. 17 after reporting to camp that he had not swung a bat in three or four weeks because of elbow pain. The Yankees said he has been in New York, where he received a second round of platelet-rich plasma injections in both of his elbows.
Cashman said he expected Stanton to return to Tampa by the weekend.
"We'll clearly look forward to getting him back at some point but obviously in the near term that won't be the case," Cashman said.
Surgery is not yet being contemplated for the 35-year-old designated hitter, a five-time All-Star.
"It'd be a last resort," Cashman said. "I can't rule out a surgery but I know it's not recommended in the front end of this thing but obviously if you have a number of different failed attempts, then obviously you start looking at different ways of intervention."
Stanton hit .233 with 27 homers and 72 RBIs while playing 114 games last year, his season interrupted by a strained left hamstring that sidelined him between June 22 and July 29. Stanton batted .273 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in the postseason.
He signed a then-record $325 million, 13-year contract with the Marlins ahead of the 2015 season and had 59 homers and 132 RBIs in 2017, winning the NL MVP award. He was acquired by the Yankees that December and hit 38 homers with 100 RBIs in his first season with New York.
He missed 266 of 708 games over the next five seasons because of a series of injuries that included strains of right biceps, right knee, left hamstring (twice) and left quadriceps along with right ankle inflammation and left Achilles tendinitis.
LeMahieu was hurt Saturday in his first spring training game of the year.
"I don't have the exact result of the MRI yet," Cashman said.
The 36-year-old LeMahieu ended last season on the injured list because of his right hip. He didn't make his season debut until May 28 after fracturing his right foot on a foul ball in spring training.
Those injuries limited the three-time All-Star and two-time batting champion to just 67 games last season where he hit a career-worst .204 with just two homers and 26 RBIs.
LeMahieu has two years remaining in a $90 million, six-year contract.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-12 20:26:11+00:00
|
[
"Donald Trump",
"Joe Biden",
"Michelle Bowman",
"Government regulations",
"District of Columbia",
"Financial services",
"Michael Barr",
"Federal Reserve System",
"Christopher Waller",
"Business",
"Associated Press"
] |
# Trump to name Michelle Bowman as top bank regulator at Federal Reserve, AP source says
By Christopher Rugaber
March 12th, 2025 08:26 PM
---
The Trump administration is expected to choose Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman to be the central bank's top financial regulator, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bowman, who has been a member of the Fed's governing board for six years, would replace Michael Barr, who stepped down last month. Barr, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, came under attack from big U.S. banks after proposing that they hold more capital in reserve in a 2023 regulatory reform proposal. Bowman's appointment was reported earlier Wednesday by Bloomberg News.
Bowman, along with Fed governor Christopher Waller, voted against Barr's proposal. She was appointed to the Fed's governing board by President Donald Trump in 2018 during his first term in the White House.
Barr resigned from his post as vice chair for supervision but has remained on the Fed's seven-member board of governors. As a result, Trump was forced to choose from among the existing seven governors, rather than appointing someone from outside the Fed.
Prior to joining the Fed, Bowman was the state bank commissioner in Kanas in 2017-2018, after serving as vice president at a local bank. She also had previous stints in Washington at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-06 13:46:11+00:00
|
[
"France",
"Emmanuel Macron",
"Europe",
"Brussels",
"Tom Wells",
"Keir Starmer",
"Olaf Scholz",
"Volodymyr Zelenskyy",
"Friedrich Merz",
"Donald Tusk",
"Sergey Lavrov",
"Belgium government",
"European Union",
"Poland government",
"Russia government",
"France government",
"Ukraine",
"Belgium",
"Poland",
"North Atlantic Treaty Organization",
"Gitanas Nauseda",
"Nuclear weapons",
"Ukraine government",
"Politics",
"Dmitry Peskov"
] |
# Poland and Baltic nations welcome Macron's nuclear deterrent proposal
By Sylvie Corbet
March 6th, 2025 01:46 PM
---
BRUSSELS (AP) β Poland and Baltic nations welcomed Thursday a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to launch talks about using France's nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats, a move Moscow quickly dismissed as "extremely confrontational."
The comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined European Union leaders in Brussels for an emergency summit on defense and security.
On Wednesday, Macron said he has decided to open a "strategic debate" on using France's nuclear deterrent to protect European allies amid concerns over potential U.S. disengagement. The French president described Moscow a "threat to France and Europe," in a televised address to the nation.
France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday Macron's speech was "extremely confrontational."
"One can conclude that France thinks more about war, about continuing the war," he said during a regular call with journalists.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed Peskov, saying during a news conference in Moscow that Macron's comments were a "threat" against Russia.
## Poland praises a "significant" proposal
In Brussels, several eastern European nations welcomed Macron's move.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said "we must seriously consider this proposal."
He noted that "as always, the details matter, but France's willingness in this regard is very significant."
Baltic nations also showed interest in Macron's offering as they push for more defense spending by EU countries to avoid any future aggression by neighboring Russia.
Lithuania's President Gitanas NausΔda praised a "very interesting idea."
"We have high expectations because a nuclear umbrella would serve as really very serious deterrence towards Russia," NausΔda said.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika SiliΕa called the French proposal "an opportunity to discuss," stressing that more time was needed to have talks with other European allies and at the domestic level.
## France has an estimated 290 nuclear warheads
The Federation of American Scientists, or FAS, says France maintains the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 290 nuclear warheads.
France's arsenal consists of ballistic missiles deployed on its nuclear-powered submarines, which represent approximately 80% of the country's warheads, and air-launched cruise missiles carried by long-range bombers.
Although France is a member of NATO, its nuclear forces are not part of the alliance's integrated military command structure.
The FAS estimates the United States and Russia possess over 5,000 warheads each, all together representing approximately 88% of the world's total inventory of nuclear weapons. They are followed at a distance by China.
The United Kingdom, which is no longer an EU member but is working on restoring closer ties with the 27-nation bloc, also has nuclear weapons.
"In terms of extending our nuclear deterrent or using it to protect other European nations β- we already do," said Tom Wells, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "The U.K. already commits its nuclear forces to NATO, helping to safeguard European Euro-Atlantic security."
## Many countries count on U.S. umbrella
During the Cold War, the U.S. nuclear umbrella was aimed at ensuring that allies, especially NATO members, would be protected by American nuclear forces in case of a threat. That's one of the reasons why many nations in Europe and across the world haven't pursued their own nuclear arsenals.
Last month, Germany's election winner and likely future chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a discussion on "nuclear sharing" with France. Germany is among the European countries that host U.S. nuclear weapons under NATO's nuclear sharing policy,
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed reservations on Thursday in Brussels. In response to questions from journalists, he said the existing NATO system of nuclear deterrence "should not be abandoned."
Macron said Wednesday any decision to use France's nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.
β-
Associated Press Writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London and Harriet Morris contributed.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-19 22:01:46+00:00
|
[
"JWD-evergreen",
"Physics",
"Planets",
"Science",
"Space exploration"
] |
# New hints about mysterious dark energy could change the fate of the universe
By Adithi Ramakrishnan
March 19th, 2025 10:01 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) β Scientists are homing in on the nature of a mysterious force called dark energy, and nothing short of the fate of the universe hangs in the balance.
The force is enormous β it makes up nearly 70% of the universe. And it is powerful β it is pushing all the stars and galaxies away from each other at an ever faster rate.
And now scientists are getting a little closer to understanding how it behaves. The big question is whether this dark energy is a constant force, which scientists have long thought, or whether the force is weakening, a surprising wrinkle tentatively proposed last year.
Results presented at a meeting of the American Physical Society Wednesday bolster the case that the force is weakening, though scientists are not yet certain and they still haven't worked out what this means for the rest of their understanding of the universe.
The updated findings come from an international research collaboration that is creating a three-dimensional map to see how galaxies have spread and clustered over 11 billion years of the universe's history. Carefully tracking how galaxies move helps scientists learn about the forces that are moving them around.
Called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, the collaboration released its first analysis of 6 million galaxies and quasars last year and has now added more data, bringing the count to nearly 15 million. Their updated results, taken with other measurements β exploding stars, leftover light from the young universe and distortions in galaxy shape β support the idea presented last year that dark energy may be waning.
"It's moving from a really surprising finding to almost a moment where we have to throw out how we've thought about cosmology and start over," said Bhuvnesh Jain, a cosmologist with the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved with the research.
It's not time to completely rule out the idea that dark energy is constant because the new results are still shy of the gold standard level of statistical proof physics requires. The collaboration aims to map around 50 million galaxies and quasars by the end of its survey in 2026. And other efforts around the globe have an eye on dark energy and aim to release their own data in the coming years, including the European Space Agency's Euclid mission and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.
"We want to see several different collaborations having similar measurements" at that gold standard to be sure that dark energy is weakening, said cosmologist Kris Pardo with the University of Southern California who was not involved with the new research.
If dark energy is constant, scientists say our universe may continue to expand forever, growing ever colder, lonelier and still.
If dark energy ebbs with time, which now seems plausible, the universe could one day stop expanding and then eventually collapse on itself in what's called the Big Crunch. It might not seem like the cheeriest fate, but it offers some closure, said cosmologist and study collaborator Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki of the University of Texas at Dallas.
"Now, there is the possibility that everything comes to an end," he said. "Would we consider that a good or bad thing? I don't know."
β-
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-14 02:48:07+00:00
|
[
"Brooklyn Nets",
"Chicago Bulls",
"Coby White",
"Kevin Huerter",
"NBA Playoffs",
"Cameron Thomas",
"Josh Giddey",
"Nicolas Claxton",
"Chicago",
"NBA",
"Cam Johnson",
"Sports",
"Julian Phillips",
"Tre Jones",
"Tyrese Martin",
"NBA basketball"
] |
# Coby White scores 31 points as Bulls rally to beat Nets 116-110
By Andrew Seligman
March 14th, 2025 02:48 AM
---
CHICAGO (AP) β Coby White scored 31 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 116-110 on Thursday night.
White extended his streak of 20-point games to a career-best seven, helping the Bulls rally to win their season-high fourth in a row.
Kevin Huerter added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Tre Jones scored 18 points. Julian Phillips set career highs with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Chicago is 10th in the Eastern Conference at 28-38 and holds the final play-in spot.
Cam Thomas led Brooklyn with 24 points and a career-high 10 assists, and Nic Claxton added 18 points and a season-best 14 rebounds. Tyrese Martin scored 19 points and Cam Johnson had 16, but the Nets lost for the 10th time in 12 games.
## Takeaways
Nets: The Nets once again couldn't protect a lead, letting a 12-point advantage slip away after Cleveland rallied from 18 down in the third to beat them on Tuesday night.
Bulls: Josh Giddey sat out this one after spraining his right ankle against Indiana on Monday. The Bulls hope to get him back during a season-high, six-game trip.
## Key moment
The Nets led 92-80 in the closing minute of the third quarter, only to have the Bulls answer with a 17-3 run. Brooklyn then led 101-99 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining when Chicago reeled off eight straight points, with Jones' reverse layup putting the Bulls up by six with just under three minutes remaining.
## Key stat
White is averaging 28.6 points in his past seven games.
## Up next
Nets: Host Boston on Saturday.
Bulls: Open a season-high, six-game trip at Houston on Saturday. ___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-21 22:18:15+00:00
|
[
"John Roberts",
"Donald Trump",
"Sandra Day OConnor",
"James E. Boasberg",
"Neil Gorsuch",
"Clarence Thomas",
"United Kingdom",
"Supreme Court of the United States",
"Courts",
"Malinda Dunn",
"Government and politics",
"Ketanji Brown Jackson",
"Warren Burger",
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg",
"United States government"
] |
# FACT FOCUS: Posts falsely claim federal judiciary members are in secret club, undermining Trump
By Melissa Goldin
March 21st, 2025 10:18 PM
---
After Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked calls this week by the Trump administration to impeach judges, social media users falsely claimed that he and other high-level legal professionals are part of a "secretive, invite only club."
Many questioned the motives of members, hinting at coordinated efforts to oppose President Donald Trump.
Among those named was U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who Trump had demanded be removed from the bench for his order blocking deportation flights that the president was carrying out by invoking wartime authorities from 18th century law.
But the group in question β the American Inns of Court β is hardly secretive given its large public presence, and there is no evidence that members are involved in nefarious activities targeting Trump. Roberts is no longer an active member and Boasberg is the president of a chapter that is no longer affiliated with the parent association.
Here's a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: Roberts, Boasberg and other powerful legal professionals are part of a secret, invite-only club that is working against Trump.
THE FACTS: This is false. Roberts was a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court chapter of the organization prior to his confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005, but he is not currently an active member of the organization, according to Executive Director Malinda Dunn.
Boasberg is the president of the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court, but the chapter disaffiliated from the parent association about 10 years ago when it decided it no longer wanted to pay dues to the national group, Dunn said. He was an active member prior to the chapter's decision to operate independently.
Information on the American Inns of Court is readily available online. Chapters also have their own websites, which often include details about programs they host for members, typically focused on networking, education and mentorship. Dunn said that members have a wide range of political opinions, but that the organization itself is "assiduously apolitical."
Some on social media, however, baselessly claimed that there is more to the group than meets the eye.
"It has been revealed that Chief Justice John Roberts is part of an elite, invite-only group called the American Inns of Court, alongside some of the most openly anti-Trump judges in D.C.," reads one X post.
And yet a check of other members reveals a diverse group. Many current and former Supreme Court justices have been members of the American Inns of Court, according to Dunn, including Sandra Day O'Connor, Neil Gorsuch, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Clarence Thomas.
Inns of Court have existed in the United Kingdom for hundreds of years. The American system, founded in 1980 out of discussions among legal professionals, including Chief Justice Warren Burger, is loosely based on this concept from across the pond.
The American Inns of Court states on its website that it is "dedicated to professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence" and that its mission is to "inspire the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring."
O'Connor said in a 2015 video that "maintaining and improving an ethics of professionalism is what the American Inns of Court are all about."
There are more than 300 active chapters across the U.S. Each one manages its own membership and some are limited to practitioners in a certain legal field. Roberts' former chapter, for example, states that "members are elected to the Inn after being nominated by a current member" and that they must be "actively engaged in appellate practice."
Dunn said chapters are advised to ensure that their members include legal professionals with different levels of experience. Some may hold membership drives to recruit new faces.
Roberts is currently an honorary bencher in The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, an inn of court in the U.K. This is a purely ceremonial role that, according to Dunn. British inns of court will always offer such a position to Supreme Court justices when they are confirmed, she said.
Representatives for Roberts and Boasberg did not respond to a request for comment.
___
Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
|
Associated Press News
|
2025-03-09 19:18:57+00:00
|
[
"North Carolina",
"Duke Blue Devils",
"North Carolina State Wolfpack",
"College sports",
"Womens college basketball",
"College basketball",
"Atlantic Coast Conference",
"Womens sports",
"AP Top 25 Womens College Basketball Poll",
"Duke Blue Devils womens basketball",
"North Carolina State Wolfpack womens basketball",
"Jordan Wood",
"Sports",
"Kara Lawson"
] |
# No. 11 Duke takes over after halftime to beat No. 7 NC State 76-62, win 1st ACC title since 2013
By Aaron Beard
March 9th, 2025 07:18 PM
---
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) β Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 N.C. State 76-62 on Sunday for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.
The win secured the Blue Devils' first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson.
Okananwa, who came off the bench to match her career high for scoring, was the voted the tournament's MVP for third-seeded Duke (26-7), which took over after halftime against the tournament's top seed and regular-season co-champion Wolfpack (26-6).
Ashlon Jackson also scored 22 for Duke.
Aziaha James scored 18 points for N.C. State, which scored the game's first seven points and took its largest lead at 24-10 on her 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
## Takeaways
Duke: The Blue Devils treated Greensboro like a redemption tour, avenging regular-season losses to Louisville, No. 6 Notre Dame and finally N.C. State to claim their ninth tournament title β this one coming in their first final since 2017.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack survived a close call against Georgia Tech before beating 14th-ranked rival North Carolina on Saturday to earn the program's fifth trip to the finals in six seasons. But things steadily went awry after halftime Sunday.
## Key moment
Duke made its third-quarter move with a 10-0 run to break a 46-all tie, starting with Jackson burying a 3-pointer over James followed by Okananwa's jumper and Jordan Wood's transition layup to close the third.
Then Okananwa struck again to open the fourth with a straightaway 3, pushing the Blue Devils to a 56-46 lead. That margin wouldn't slip below six again and grew to 18 late.
## Key stat
Duke shot 55.2% after halftime and locked down defensively to hold the Wolfpack to 32.3% shooting (10 of 31). Okananwa and Jackson's 24 points nearly matched the Wolfpack's team total (26) after halftime.
## Up next
The Blue Devils and Wolfpack are set to start the NCAA Tournament as opening-week hosts.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
|
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