Associated Press stories, Page 242
Social Security Administration backtracks on some ID requirements after backlash
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration is partially backtracking on a plan that would require all new and existing beneficiaries to travel to a Social Security field office to verify their identity. The Social Security Administration on Wednesday said that people applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or Supplemental...
Now with Arizona, Caleb Love takes on Duke again
NEWARK, N.J. — He’s back. If there’s a single player Duke or any of its fans would love to not run into when the stakes are this high, Caleb Love would be that player. Love used to play for Duke’s biggest rival, North Carolina. Now he plays for Duke’s next...
Copper prices have soared as the U.S. threatens tariffs on the metal and China boosts its economy
NEW YORK — Copper prices have hit record highs as an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners threatens to squeeze supplies of the vital metal. Buyers in the U.S. have been stocking up on copper ahead of potential tariffs. Future prices for the base metal’s...
Appeals court won’t halt order barring Trump administration from deportations under wartime law
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court refused Wednesday to lift an order barring the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wouldn’t block a March 15...
Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. “This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll...
West Virginia hires Ross Hodge of North Texas as men’s basketball coachVideo
West Virginia hired Ross Hodge of North Texas as its men’s basketball coach Wednesday. The 44-year-old Hodge replaces Darian DeVries, who left after one season for Indiana. Hodge agreed to a five-year deal. Terms of the contract weren’t immediately disclosed. “Ross Hodge is a proven winner and leader who has...
4 American soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have died, NATO leader says
WARSAW, Poland — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that four U.S. soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, but that he did not yet know the details. A U.S. official would say only that the four soldiers were involved in a training accident. The official, who...
Will Smith gets a street named in the Philadelphia neighborhood where he was born and raised
PHILADELPHIA — In West Philadelphia where he was born and raised, now there’s a street called Will Smith Way. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and city leaders honored the Oscar and Grammy winner on Wednesday, renaming a street next to Smith’s old high school. “Philly, I love you. I am yours....
Democrats take hope from upset win in GOP-leaning Pa. state Senate district
MANHEIM — Democrat James Andrew Malone narrowly won a special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat in Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities, scoring an upset in a district that a Democrat hasn’t represented in the chamber for 136 years. Malone’s victory over Republican Josh Parsons in Tuesday night’s election...
NFL competition committee proposes moving touchback to 35 and making dynamic kickoff permanent
The NFL competition committee is recommending making the dynamic kickoff rule permanent and moving touchbacks to the 35-yard line in hopes of generating even more returns. The competition committee released several potential rule changes for 2025 on Wednesday, including an expansion of instant replay that will be considered next week...
30 years after music icon Selena’s murder, Yolanda Saldívar is up for parole
Thirty years ago, music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed by her fan club’s president, Yolanda Saldívar. For the last three decades, Saldívar has served her life sentence in Texas. Now 64, Saldívar has a petition for parole under review, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice online records. On Sunday,...
Motorcyclist who disappeared into huge Seoul sinkhole found dead after overnight searchVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — A motorcyclist who fell into a cavernous sinkhole that opened on a Seoul street was found dead after an overnight search, officials in South Korea’s capital said Tuesday. The roughly 20-meter-wide, 20-meter-deep sinkhole appeared at an intersection in the Myeongil-dong neighborhood in eastern Seoul on Monday...
Trump asks Supreme Court for OK to cut teacher-training money as part of anti-DEI push
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is at the Supreme Court with a new emergency appeal Wednesday, this time seeking approval to go ahead with cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already affecting training programs...
Numbers to know for each of the 16 teams remaining in March Madness
The smaller the number, the larger the impact at this year’s NCAA Tournament. Arkansas, the No. 10 seed in the West Region, is the only double-digit seed still alive heading into the regional semifinals. All four No. 1 seeds and three of the four No. 2 seeds are still standing....
A year after the Baltimore bridge collapse, a long road to recovery is ahead
BALTIMORE — A year after the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland leaders are honoring the six construction workers who were killed that night when the road they were repairing buckled underneath them. While police were able to stop traffic in the moments before a massive cargo...
Dollar Tree sells Family Dollar to private equity firms after a decade of trying to find a fit
Dollar Tree is selling Family Dollar to a pair of private equity firms for $1 billion after a decade of trying to make its acquisition of the bargain chain fit. Dollar Tree Inc. acquired Family Dollar for more than $8 billion in 2015 after a bidding war with rival Dollar...
Supreme Court upholds Biden rule requiring serial numbers and background checks for ghost guns
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration regulation on the nearly impossible-to-trace weapons called ghost guns, clearing the way for continued serial numbers, background checks and age verification requirements for buying the kits online. The 7-2 opinion found that existing gun laws allow regulation of the...
Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding
NEW YORK — When President Donald Trump canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University over its handling of student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, much of the financial pain fell on researchers a train ride away from the school’s campus, working on things like curing cancer and studying...
Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans for a post-DEI era
NEW YORK — The co-founders of a company that makes lip products for darker skin tones no longer hope to get their line into Target. A brother and sister who make jigsaw puzzles celebrating Black subjects wonder if they need to offer “neutral” images like landscapes to keep growing. Pound...
The Atlantic releases Signal chat showing Hegseth’s detailed attack plans against Houthis
WASHINGTON — The Atlantic on Wednesday released the entire Signal chat among senior national security officials, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women flying those attacks against Yemen’s Houthis this month on behalf...
A new Chili’s near Scranton will be a throwback to ‘The Office,’ ‘awesome blossom’ and all
It has been nearly two decades since the workplace mockumentary “The Office” first set an episode inside a Chili’s, where Michael Scott handed out Dundie awards to his ever-tolerant employees, including trophies for the whitest sneakers and for stinking up the bathroom. Over nine seasons, “The Office” regularly name-dropped real...
NATO leader warns Russia to expect a ‘devastating’ reaction if it ever attacks Poland
WARSAW, Poland — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Russia on Wednesday that the alliance would always stand by Poland or any other member and that its reaction to an attack would be “devastating.” Rutte spoke during a visit to Warsaw, the Polish capital, in brief comments made alongside Polish Prime...
Homeland Security Secretary Noem visits the El Salvador prison where deported Venezuelans are held
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday will visit the high-security El Salvador prison where Venezuelans who the Trump administration alleges are members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang have been held since their removal from the U.S. Noem’s trip to the prison — where inmates are...
Palestinians protest Hamas in rare public show of dissent in Gaza
CAIRO — Palestinians chanted against Hamas during anti-war protests in the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses and videos circulating online. It was a rare show of public anger against the militant group, which has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel. The...
Arkansas’ John Calipari not backing off relying on freshmen in NIL, transfer portal eraVideo
Moon native John Calipari embraced the one-and-done era like few college basketball coaches, becoming one of the best annually at bringing in talented freshmen and routinely getting them to Final Fours before shipping them off to the NBA. The formula served him well during his 15-year run at Kentucky that...
