Associated Press stories, Page 295
Schumer to support GOP funding bill, unwilling to risk government shutdown as deadline nears
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer relented Thursday rather than risk a government shutdown, announcing he’s ready to start the process of considering a Republican-led government funding bill that has fiercely divided Democrats under pressure to impose limits on the Trump administration. Schumer told Democrats privately during a spirited...
Trump administration yanks CDC director nomination just before Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — The White House withdrew the nomination of former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because he wasn’t assured of getting enough Republican support to be confirmed. The Republican-controlled Senate health committee announced Thursday morning that it was canceling a planned...
Trump threatens retaliatory 200% tariff on European wine after EU proposes American whiskey tax
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey. The European import tax, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration, is expected...
Federal student loan site experiences outage, a day after layoffs gutted Education Department
WASHINGTON — An hours-long outage Wednesday on StudentAid.gov, the federal website for student loans and financial aid, underscored the risks in rapidly gutting the Department of Education, as President Donald Trump aims to dismantle the agency. Hundreds of users reported FAFSA outages to Downdetector starting midday Wednesday, saying they were...
A government program made tax filing free and more efficient. Musk and DOGE may get rid of it anyway
WASHINGTON — Mia Francis, a 22-year-old barista from Boston, filed her taxes on her own this year for the first time, using a free government tax filing program that made it easy because it did most of the work for her. Francis said it took 45 minutes to finish her...
Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech. Critics say his actions as president threaten it
DENVER — When President Donald Trump gave his joint address to Congress last week, he boasted that in his first few weeks back in the White House he had “brought free speech back to America.” But First Amendment advocates say they’ve never seen freedom of speech under attack the way...
Vaccinating poultry could help cut soaring egg prices but U.S. remains hesitant
OMAHA, Neb. — Vaccines could be a key means of suppressing bird flu and avoiding the slaughter of millions of chickens, which is blamed for egg prices averaging nearly $6 a dozen. But the move has been delayed in part because of concerns it could jeopardize chicken exports worth billions...
Greenland’s election winners push back against Trump’s wish to take control of the island
NUUK, Greenland — Greenland’s likely new prime minister on Wednesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to take control of the island, saying Greenlanders must be allowed to decide their own future as it moves toward independence from Denmark. Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s Demokraatit, a pro-business party that favors a slow path...
Ukraine loses ceasefire bargaining chip as its troops cede ground in Russia
As momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia, Ukraine has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip. The Ukrainian army stunned Russia in August by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 500 square miles of land. It was a much-needed morale boost for Ukraine — but...
A volcano near Alaska’s largest city could erupt in the coming weeks or months, scientists say
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A volcano near Alaska’s largest city is showing new signs of unrest, with experts saying the likelihood of an eruption at Mount Spurr in the next few weeks or months has increased. The Alaska Volcano Observatory said Wednesday that it had measured during recent overflights “significantly elevated...
Maintenance hole explosion at Texas Tech University causes fires, outages and cancels classes
LUBBOCK, Texas — An explosion inside a maintenance hole on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock set off fires and power outages, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week, university police said. The explosion happened Wednesday evening...
Former Texas megachurch pastor indicted in Oklahoma on child sexual abuse charges
DALLAS — A former pastor of a Texas megachurch who resigned after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s has been indicted in Oklahoma on child sexual abuse charges, that state’s attorney general’s office said Wednesday. Robert Preston Morris, 63, has been charged with five counts...
Amazon Prime to stream Trump’s ‘The Apprentice’ reality show
“The Apprentice,” the long-running reality TV show that boosted Donald Trump’s profile, will begin streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video, the company announced Monday. The show’s first seven seasons will be available on Amazon’s streaming platform, with the first season premiering Monday and subsequent seasons arriving every week until late April....
NFL free agency roundup: Vikings sign DL Javon Hargrave; 49ers add QB Mac JonesVideo
The NFL league year kicked off Wednesday with a flurry of moves as teams continued to fill holes: • The Minnesota Vikings made another major move on interior redesign, agreeing to terms with two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Javon Hargrave on a two-year, $30 million contract with $19 million guaranteed,...
After latest injury, has golf seen the last of Tiger Woods?
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Golf without Tiger Woods was inevitable simply because of age. He turns 50 at the end of this year and once leaned on the adage that “Father Time remains undefeated.” But for Woods, it has been the mother lode of injuries that is keeping him...
Trump administration resumes detention of immigrant families after Biden-era pause
McALLEN, Texas — The Trump administration resumed family detention of immigrants last week in a South Texas facility after a Biden-era pause, a legal nonprofit group providing services to migrant families said Wednesday. Fourteen immigrant families with children as young as one year old were in the detention facility in...
Copeland leads as McNeese goes back-to-back in Southland
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Quadir Copeland scored 18 points, and McNeese defeated Lamar, 63-54, in a cold-shooting, defensive battle Wednesday, giving the Cowboys back-to-back Southland Tournament championships. The top-seeded Cowboys (27-6) will be making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cowboys led wire-to-wire. The gap was 31-22 with...
SpaceX delays flight to replace NASA’s stuck astronauts after launch pad problem
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A launch pad problem prompted SpaceX to delay a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts. The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months...
West Virginia’s NCAA Tournament hopes take hit with Big 12 loss
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Elijah Malone scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, helping No. 16 seed Colorado deal No. 8 seed West Virginia’s at-large NCAA Tournament hopes a massive blow with a 67-60 victory in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday. RJ...
Republicans in Florida’s Capitol restart push to lower the gun-buying age to 18
TALLAHASSEE — Gun rights advocates have fought to overturn a Florida law banning gun purchases by people under 21 ever since the day the measure was signed in 2018 as a result of the Parkland school shooting, one of the deadliest mass killings in the U.S. With new leadership in...
Rams officially release Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper KuppVideo
The Los Angles Rams cut Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp after being unable to find a trade partner for their former No. 1 wide receiver. The Rams officially moved on from the 2021 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year at the start of the league year Wednesday. Kupp...
USDA ends program that helped schools serve food from local farmers
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Agriculture Department is ending two pandemic-era programs that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farmers and producers. About $660 million of that went to schools and childcare centers to buy food for meals through the Local Foods...
Wall Street rises after encouraging inflation data, but the trade war keeps knocking stocks around
NEW YORK — Stock indexes rose Wednesday after Wall Street got some relief from an encouraging inflation update. But even on a rare up day for the market, President Donald Trump’s trade war still knocked stocks around. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% after skidding between an early gain of 1.3%...
Archaeologists uncover the oldest known partial face fossil of a human ancestor in western Europe
WASHINGTON — A fossil of a partial face from a human ancestor is the oldest in western Europe, archaeologists reported Wednesday. The incomplete skull — a section of the left cheek bone and upper jaw — was found in northern Spain in 2022. The fossil is between 1.1 million and...
Explainer: What’s a recession and why is rising anxiety about it roiling markets?
WASHINGTON — Stock markets are plunging, consumers and businesses have started to sour on the economy, and economists are marking down their estimates for growth this year, with some even seeing rising odds of a recession. The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index slipped into a correction last week, defined as a...
