Associated Press stories, Page 228
Defense and goaltending unlikely reasons why Oilers have moved on to Western Conference finalVideo
LAS VEGAS — The Edmonton Oilers have been the team that didn’t seem bothered by giving up four goals because they were more than capable of scoring at least five. And, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl anchoring the team, Edmonton can still win shootouts. But winning a Stanley Cup...
Mud balls! Schauffele and Scheffler have rounds muddied by double bogeys at PGA ChampionshipVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The PGA Championship put the top three players in the world together for the first time in three years Thursday, and the conversation turned to mud. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele had clumps of mud on their golf balls from the middle of the 16th fairway —...
Alex Smalley goes from alternate to contending in a span of 20 hours at PGA ChampionshipVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Alex Smalley was on the putting green at Quail Hollow, going through his drills and looking like any of the other 156 players at the PGA Championship. But he wasn’t. On the eve of the major, Smalley wasn’t sure he would have a tee time. And then,...
Retail sales slow in April after a spending splurge as Americans sought to front-run tariffs
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumers spent slightly more at retail stores last month after ramping up their shopping in March to get ahead of tariffs. Sales at retail stores and restaurants rose just 0.1% in April from March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That is much lower than the previous month’s...
Supreme Court could block Trump’s birthright citizenship order but limit nationwide injunctionsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed intent Thursday on maintaining a block on President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship while looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders. It was unclear what such a decision might look like, but a majority of the court expressed concerns about...
Mexican security chief confirms cartel family members entered U.S. in a deal with Trump administration
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s security chief confirmed this week that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration. Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed a...
DeSantis signs a bill making Florida the 2nd state to ban fluoride from its water system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure Thursday prohibiting local governments from adding fluoride to their water systems, making it the second state in the country after Utah to implement a statewide ban on the mineral. DeSantis signed the bill at a public event...
Chris Brown arrested in UK for alleged attack at London club in 2023
LONDON — Singer Chris Brown was arrested Thursday in England for allegedly hitting someone with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023. The Metropolitan Police did not name Brown but said it took a 36-year-old into custody at a Manchester hotel on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. Under...
Average rate on a U.S. 30-year mortgage rises to 6.81%, its highest level since late April
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged above 6.8% this week, returning to where it was just three weeks ago. The rate increased to 6.81% from 6.76% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.02%. Borrowing costs on 15-year...
UN aid chief defends using ‘genocide’ in Gaza remarks to the Security Council that Israel rejects
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations’ humanitarian chief has defended using the term “genocide” to describe what aid workers are trying to prevent in Gaza, saying the world should not make the same mistakes seen in past violations of international law, when it wasn’t “called out soon enough.” Tom Fletcher,...
Wisconsin judge pleads not guilty to helping a man evade federal immigration agents
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges accusing her of helping a man who is illegally in the country evade U.S. immigration authorities seeking to arrest him in her courthouse. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan entered the plea during a brief arraignment in federal court....
Walmart says it will raise prices due to tariff costs after posting solid first quarter sales
NEW YORK — Walmart’s first-quarter profit slipped, and it said it must raise prices due to higher costs from tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump. The nation’s largest retailers posted strong quarterly sales Thursday and said it expects sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% in the second quarter. Like many...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Turkey for peace talks but Russia’s Putin stays away
ANKARA, Turkey — Russian President Vladimir Putin stayed away Thursday from proposed direct peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine, leaving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy waiting in the Turkish capital of Ankara after he had challenged the Kremlin leader to face-to-face negotiations. With Putin absent, the Russian delegation was...
Dick’s Sporting Goods to buy struggling shoe chain Foot Locker for $2.4 billion
Dick’s Sporting Goods is buying the struggling footwear chain Foot Locker for about $2.4 billion, the second buyout of a major footwear company in as many weeks as business leaders struggle with uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Dick’s said Thursday that it expects to run Foot Locker as...
What to know about the upcoming Supreme Court arguments in the birthright citizenship case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Thursday in its first case stemming from the blitz of actions that have marked the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Before the court are the Trump administration’s emergency appeals of lower court orders putting nationwide holds on the Republican president’s...
Older people in crosshairs as government restarts Social Security garnishment on student loans
NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she’s put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she...
Those who’ve worked with Pope Leo XIV are optimistic he’ll elevate women’s roles — with limits
VATICAN CITY — Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis’ pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. But he also has said decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests, and...
Missouri lawmakers approve referendum to repeal abortion-rights amendment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Six months after Missouri voters approved an abortion-rights amendment, Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday approved a new referendum that would seek the amendment’s repeal and instead ban most abortions with exceptions for rape an incest. The newly proposed constitutional amendment would go back to voters in...
Beauty influencer fatally shot during her TikTok livestream at a Mexican beauty salon
MEXICO CITY — A social media influencer was shot to death while doing a TikTok livestream at a beauty salon in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, state authorities confirmed Wednesday. The stark show of violence fueled shock in the Latin American nation at a time when rival cartels have...
Divisions emerge among House Republicans over how much to cut taxes and Medicaid in Trump’s bill
WASHINGTON — Cheers broke out early Wednesday as Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee signed off on the GOP tax breaks bill after a grueling round-the-clock session that pushed President Donald Trump’s package past overwhelming Democratic opposition. But there’s still more work to do. House Speaker Mike Johnson,...
Ravens reach 2-year, $30 million extension with running back Derrick Henry, AP source saysVideo
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens agreed Wednesday to a two-year contract extension with star running back Derrick Henry. The deal is worth $30 million — $25 million guaranteed — according to a person with knowledge of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press because the terms...
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips feels good about the league’s newfound stability after chaosVideo
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The ACC is entering a period of stability. How long it lasts is anyone’s guess. Not even commissioner Jim Phillips knows for sure. “I still live one day at a time,” Phillips quipped. The ACC wrapped up its spring meetings Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia...
The Twins turned their season around. The Orioles are showing few signs of doing thatVideo
BALTIMORE — The Minnesota Twins lost a couple mainstays in their lineup and even their manager, too. They had to use every reliever they had over the course of a doubleheader. The Baltimore Orioles still couldn’t beat them. Minnesota rallied from a three-run deficit in the opener and a two-run...
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers go into offseason disappointed
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers won 64 games during the regular season, captured the top seed in the Eastern Conference and had two winning streaks of at least 15 games. Mitchell, though, goes into the offseason feeling one thing. Embarrassed. That’s because, despite all the good...
Preakness notes: Jockey who broke 24 bones, spent 5 weeks in coma to ride
BALTIMORE — Raul Mena was a young jockey in a race in his native Chile in 2011 when the horse he was riding jumped the rail, throwing him to the ground with severe injuries. “It was a scary accident,” Mena recalled Wednesday. “I broke 24 bones in all my body,...
