Associated Press stories, Page 288
Trump’s bluntness powered a White House comeback. Now his words are getting him in trouble in court
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s shoot-from-the-lip style kept Americans on the edge of their seats during last year’s campaign. But now that he’s speaking as a president and not as a candidate, his words are being used against him in court in the blizzard of litigation challenging his agenda. The spontaneity...
Trump orders a plan to dismantle the Education Department while keeping some core functions
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to take apart an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives. Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing...
March Madness: Xavier rallies to beat Texas 86-80 in First FourVideo
DAYTON, Ohio — Marcus Foster scored 22 points and Zach Freemantle added 15 while overcoming foul trouble as Xavier rallied past Texas, 86-80, in the First Four on Wednesday night. The Musketeers (22-11) erased a 13-point deficit in their biggest comeback win this season and advanced to play No. 6...
March Madness: Mount St. Mary’s beats American 83-72 in First Four to earn date with No. 1 DukeVideo
DAYTON, Ohio — Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilla scored 22 points each as Mount St. Mary’s defeated American University, 83-72, in an NCAA Tournament matchup of No. 16 seeds at the First Four on Wednesday night. The Mountaineers (23-12) earned a date with No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in...
Ben & Jerry’s alleges parent company Unilever removed its CEO over social activism
Ben & Jerry’s says its CEO was unlawfully removed by its parent company, Unilever, in retaliation for the ice cream maker’s social and political activism. In a federal court filing late Tuesday, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever informed its board on March 3 that it was removing and replacing Ben...
Trump will order a plan to dismantle the Education Department, advancing a campaign promise
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives. Trump has derided the Education Department as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However,...
American believed to be last person to see missing Pitt student has left Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota who is believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki in the Dominican Republic, left the Caribbean country on Wednesday, his lawyers said. Following a trial exceeding five...
West Virginia’s Baker is ‘resilient’ after NCAA Tournament snub and losing DeVries to IndianaVideo
First, West Virginia was a surprising omission from the NCAA Tournament. Then, the Mountaineers lost their coach. It has been a lousy week for a school now facing its third men’s basketball coaching change in 21 months, all occurring since Wren Baker became West Virginia’s athletic director. He has become...
Struggling with free throws, Wofford’s Filewich turns to granny-style — with help from Rick BarryVideo
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kyler Filewich doesn’t go to the free-throw line looking for style points, just those that count on the scoreboard for Wofford. That’s why the 6-foot-9 center from Winnipeg, Manitoba, asked coaches for tips, leading him to switch from the traditional shot attempt to a throwback style. Granny-style....
Newly released JFK assassination files reveal more about CIA but don’t yet point to conspiracies
DALLAS — Newly released documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 gave curious readers more details Wednesday into Cold War-era covert U.S. operations in other nations but didn’t initially lend credence to long-circulating conspiracy theories about who killed JFK. Assessments of the roughly 2,200 files posted by...
How will the universe end? A changing understanding of dark energy may provide a new answer
NEW YORK — 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 — it makes up nearly 70% of the universe. And it is powerful — it is...
Israeli troops advance in Gaza to retake part of corridor dividing north from south
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel said Wednesday its troops retook part of a corridor that bisects Gaza, and its defense minister warned that attacks would intensify until Hamas frees dozens of hostages and gives up control of the territory. The military said it had retaken part of the Netzarim...
Canada in talks with EU to reduce U.S. defense reliance
TORONTO — Canada is in discussions with the European Union to join an EU drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defense equipment, including fighter jets, in Europe, a senior Canadian government official confirmed Wednesday. The official, who spoke on condition...
Zelenskyy agrees to limited ceasefire as Trump floats U.S. ownership of Ukraine’s power plants
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed Wednesday to a limited ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, as U.S. President Donald Trump suggested during a call with the embattled country’s leader that he consider American ownership of Ukraine’s power plants to ensure their long-term security. Trump told Zelenskyy that the...
Trump administration suspends $175 million in federal funding for Penn over transgender swimmer
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program, the White House said Wednesday. The Ivy League school has been facing an Education Department investigation focusing on in its swimming...
Miami Beach mayor withdraws call to end lease of theater that screened Israeli-Palestinian documentary
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — The mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, is backing off a proposal to terminate an independent theater’s lease and financial support after it screened an Oscar-winning documentary about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Mayor Steven Meiner introduced a resolution last week describing the film “No Other...
Appeals court blocks Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional and must be permanently blocked from being enforced, a three-judge panel of appellate judges ruled Tuesday. The law also banned trans women and girls from participating in female sports. The state attorney general vowed an immediate appeal. On...
A judge has moved the Columbia student activist’s detention challenge to New Jersey
NEW YORK — A Columbia University student activist detained by the U.S. government over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations can challenge the legality of his detention, but the case should be heard in New Jersey, rather than in New York or Louisiana, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Mahmoud Khalil, 30,...
California has a $6.2 billion Medicaid funding gap partly due to expanding immigrant coverage
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California faces a $6.2 billion budget gap in the state’s Medicaid services, which could force Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers to reevaluate future coverage for some of the 15 million people who receive health care through the program, including immigrants. The shortfall comes a year...
Fishermen want to go green but say DOGE cuts prevent that
BREMEN, Maine — Commercial fishermen and seafood processors and distributors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems say the federal funding they relied on for this work is either frozen or unavailable due to significant budget cuts promoted by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. The changes are...
Banning the tush push and changes to playoff seeding are among proposed NFL rule changes
The Green Bay Packers have formally proposed a rule change to ban the tush push and the Detroit Lions proposed that playoff seeding be done based on record instead of automatically placing division winners in the top four spots. Teams made several other proposals released Wednesday that will be added...
After a challenging season, UConn is hoping to make a run at 3rd straight national title
STORRS, Conn. — Not long after seeing the path ahead in UConn’s quest for a third consecutive national title, coach Dan Hurley was determined not to repeat the error of his ways. The last time the Huskies lost an NCAA Tournament game they had not gotten over a loss in...
Social Security in-person identity checks opposed by advocates and retirees alike
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration’s plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices has sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already...
Legal showdown as Justice Department resists judge’s demand for more details on deportation flights
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is resisting a federal judge’s demand for more information about flights that took deportees to El Salvador, arguing on Wednesday that the court should end its “continued intrusions” into the authority of the executive branch. It’s the latest development in a showdown between the Trump...
Commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL and NHLPA will begin CBA talks in early April
MANALAPAN, Fla. — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league and the Players’ Association will sit down to begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement the week of April 1. At his news conference wrapping up the general managers’ annual spring meeting, Bettman said he did not expect either...
