Associated Press stories, Page 287
As DOGE hammers away at the U.S. government, Republicans stir with quiet objections
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Katie Britt has been working to make sure the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency doesn’t hit what she called “life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions,” including her state’s beloved University of Alabama. Kansas GOP Sen. Jerry Moran is worried that food from heartland farmers would...
Lawsuit describes Musk’s DOGE teams overseeing the ending of hundreds of USAID programs abroad
WASHINGTON — Newly filed affidavits of U.S. Agency for International Development workers describe a lieutenant of Trump ally Elon Musk and other outsiders directing the immediate termination of hundreds of American aid and foreign assistance programs abroad this week, without required documentation or justification. Other affidavits described some agency employees...
Trump upends US Ukraine policy and says he and Putin have agreed to begin negotiations on ending war
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a dramatic prisoner swap. Trump said in a social media post that he and Putin held a...
Senate confirms Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans fall in line
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination. Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her...
Education Department rescinds Biden memo that threatened to upend college NIL payments
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Education Department is scrapping last-minute guidance issued by the Biden administration that threatened to upend colleges’ plans to pay athletes for their name, image and likeness by making those payments subject to federal Title IX rules. In a move that was largely expected, President Donald Trump’s...
Eagles’ roster overhaul between 2 Super Bowl titles is NFL rarity
NEW ORLEANS — Seven years after Doug Pederson and Nick Foles delivered Philadelphia its first Super Bowl title, Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts did it again with a 40-22 win over Kansas City in Super Bowl 59. Winning multiple titles in that short a time period is far from rare...
Chibuzo Agbo’s 7 3-pointers pace USC in win over Penn State
LOS ANGELES — Chibuzo Agbo scored 21 points with a career-high seven 3-pointers and Desmond Claude scored 16 points and USC broke it open in the second half and beat Penn State, 92-67, on Tuesday night. USC (14-10, 6-7 Big Ten) shot a blistering 67.3% (33 for 49), including 75%...
Austrian far-right leader’s efforts to form a new government collapse
VIENNA — Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl said Wednesday that his talks on forming a coalition government with a conservative party have collapsed. Austria’s president gave Kickl a mandate to try to form a new government on Jan. 6 after efforts to put together a governing alliance with his Freedom...
Frontier makes another takeover bid for Spirit Airlines and it is rejected, again
Spirit Airlines has again rejected a third takeover bid from budget rival Frontier, saying that it would focus on its own plan to emerge from bankruptcy and stabilize its finances. The offer this week, like the last bid, offers Spirit shareholders $400 million in debt and a 19% stake in...
U.S. inflation got worse with rising groceries and gasoline prices
WASHINGTON — U.S. inflation accelerated last month as the cost of groceries, gasoline and rents rose, a disappointment for families and businesses struggling with higher costs and likely underscoring the Federal Reserve’s resolve to delay further interest rate cuts. The consumer price index increased 3% in January from a year...
Musk appears at White House defending DOGE’s work but acknowledging mistakes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s most powerful adviser, Elon Musk, made a rare public appearance at the White House on Tuesday to defend the swift and extensive cuts he’s pushing across the federal government while acknowledging there have been mistakes and will be more. Musk stood next to the Resolute...
Who are the Americans still in Russian custody?
Russia has released an American teacher imprisoned over what his family said was prescribed medical marijuana, but several other Americans remain in Russian custody. Teacher Marc Fogel was released in what the White House described Tuesday as a diplomatic thaw. Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and is serving a...
Convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik being freed as part of swap for American Marc Fogel
MOSCOW — Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of American Marc Fogel, two U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday. Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited...
BYU tops West Virginia 73-69 behind 16 points from freshman Egor DeminVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Freshman Egor Demin scored 16 points to lead BYU to a 73-69 win over West Virginia on Tuesday night. Kanon Catchings added 11 points for BYU (16-8, 7-6 Big 12). Toby Okani scored 16 points, and Jonathan Powell and Joseph Yesufu added 11 apiece for the Mountaineers...
Apple changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America based on Trump’s order
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its maps Tuesday after an order by President Donald Trump was made official by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. The move follows Google, which announced last month that it would make the change once...
Teacher questioned in stabbing death of first-grader in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police Tuesday were questioning an elementary school teacher who allegedly stabbed a first-grader to death in the city of Daejeon. The killing Monday during after-school care has shocked the nation and prompted the country’s acting president to order school safety standards reviewed. The female...
10 new cases of measles reported in West Texas county and New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. — Public health authorities said Tuesday that an outbreak of measles in western Texas has expanded, while a new case was confirmed nearby across state lines in New Mexico. The Texas Department of State Health Services has identified 24 measles cases in connection with the onset of...
NASCAR drivers divided on new rule that could guarantee Helio Castroneves spot in Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A controversial new NASCAR rule designed for “world-class drivers” could give Helio Castroneves an automatic berth into the Daytona 500, and, should the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner use the provisional, it would make for the largest field in a decade. It’s a complicated rule written into...
Fugitive dog recaptured in New Orleans after gaining national fame for escapades
NEW ORLEANS — A scruffy New Orleans rescue dog famed for evading a monthslong effort to recapture him using nets and tranquilizer rifles has finally been caught and returned to domestic life Tuesday. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt who has become a Louisiana folk hero, first escaped from his adopted family...
Goaltending depth is a ‘luxury’ for the U.S. that could come up big at the 2026 Milan OlympicsVideo
MONTREAL — When Jeremy Swayman played hockey for the Alaska Jr. Aces and at South Anchorage High School, he did not have a goaltending coach, and his home state did not have a goalie school. “Now there’s two or three, just in Alaska alone, so you can only imagine what...
Ex-FEMA worker who directed staff to avoid homes with Trump signs violated Hatch Act, agency says
WASHINGTON — A federal agency is seeking disciplinary action against a former Federal Emergency Management Agency worker who directed workers helping hurricane survivors to avoid homes with yard signs supporting President Donald Trump, according to a complaint filed Tuesday. The complaint with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board was filed...
Appeals court won’t halt judge’s order requiring Trump administration to unfreeze all federal cash
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to immediately halt a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in federal grants and loans that remain frozen even after a court blocked a sweeping pause on federal funding. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of...
White House bars Associated Press reporter from Oval Office because of AP style policy on ‘Gulf of America’
The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday after demanding the news agency alter its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has ordered renamed the Gulf of America. The reporter tried to enter the White House event...
New Mexico celebrates hydraulics and heritage with lowrider car holiday
SANTA FE, N.M. — State lawmakers are embracing New Mexico’s time-honored culture of transforming customized lowrider cars into rolling canvases of artistic expression and a source of community pride. House and Senate lawmakers designated Tuesday as Lowrider Day at the state Capitol, marked by celebrations of Latino tradition and history....
NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts may return to Earth sooner under new plan
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s two stuck astronauts may end up back on Earth a little sooner than planned. The space agency announced Tuesday that SpaceX will switch capsules for upcoming astronaut flights in order to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home in mid-March instead of late March or...

