Associated Press stories, Page 340
FDA approves painkiller designed to eliminate the risk of addiction associated with opioids
WASHINGTON — Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or...
Eagles are new America’s Team in Super Bowl vs. Chiefs
Move over, Dallas Cowboys. There’s a new and unlikely America’s Team in the NFL — at least for the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles have become the popular choice among many football fans who want to see the Kansas City Chiefs lose for various reasons. Despite a fan base known...
NFL had fewest concussions since league began tracking 9 years ago
NFL players suffered the fewest concussions in a season in 2024 since the league began tracking data nine years ago. The total decline from 2023 was 17%, including all practices and games in the preseason and regular season. League executive Jeff Miller and NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills...
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to oversee U.S. spy agencies, grilled about Snowden, Syria and Russia
WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, faced sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike Thursday during a fiery confirmation hearing focused on her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting with Syria’s now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward...
NASCAR champ Joey Logano tunes out critics, insists playoff format is ‘very entertaining’
Joey Logano has found a way to tune out months of negativity. Critics? Naysayers? Anyone who thinks his third Cup Series championship was a fluke? “I can’t hear it because my trophies, they kind of, like, echo around me,” Logano quipped during a Zoom call with media Wednesday. Logano won...
Utah Hockey Club narrows the choice of a name to 3 finalists. It won’t be the Yeti or WasatchVideo
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Hockey Club has chosen three finalists for the permanent team name it will adopt beginning with the 2025-26 NHL season. The franchise will use a final round of fan voting to decide among the Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and, now, Utah Outlaws. The...
Max Scherzer agrees to a $15.5 million, 1-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, AP source saysVideo
Max Scherzer is joining the Toronto Blue Jays, agreeing to a $15.5 million, one-year contract Thursday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced and was pending a physical. The 40-year-old...
Unusual betting patterns surrounding play of Terry Rozier in 2023 game with Charlotte investigatedVideo
MIAMI — Unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of then-Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game nearly two years ago are now under investigation by federal prosecutors, part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, the NBA confirmed Thursday. The...
Marianne Faithfull, singer and pop icon, dies at 78
NEW YORK — Marianne Faithfull, the British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul who inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones’ greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied, has died. She was 78. Faithfull passed away Thursday in...
ESPN extends media rights agreement with ACC through 2035-36Video
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — ESPN has exercised its option extending its media rights agreement with the ACC through the 2035-36 academic year. The network and the ACC announced the extension Thursday. The deal continues a rights deal that has spanned 35 years and the launch of the ACC Network in August...
FireAid, a benefit for LA wildfire relief, is almost here. Here’s how to watch and donate
LOS ANGELES — Some of the biggest names in music will come together Thursday for the FireAid benefit concert that is raising money for Los Angeles-area wildfire relief efforts. FireAid will take over two Inglewood, California, venues — the Kia Forum, starting at 6 p.m. Pacific, and the Intuit Dome...
2 aircraft that collided over Washington are both workhorses in use around world
The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ-700, officials said. Three service members were on a training flight on...
Trump consoles crash victims then dives into politics with attack on diversity initiatives
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned the actions of the army helicopter pilot and air traffic controller ahead of a deadly midair collision in Washington and quickly veered into politics to speculate that Democrats and diversity initiatives shared blame for the deaths of 67 people. As Trump spoke,...
Video appears to show American Airlines flight’s collision with a U.S. Army helicopter near D.C.Video
A grainy snippet of video footage taken in the dark of night, seemingly by an airport CCTV camera, appears to show the fatal mid-air collision of an American Airlines passenger plane and a military Black Hawk helicopter. American Airlines Flight 5342 was on approach at Ronald Reagan National Airport near...
Trump’s FBI chief pick, Kash Patel, insists he has no ‘enemies list’ and won’t seek retributionVideo
WASHINGTON — Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, insisted to deeply skeptical Democrats on Thursday that he did not have an “enemies list” and that the bureau under his leadership would not seek retribution against the president’s adversaries or launch investigations for political purposes. “I have...
Justice Department sues to block $14 billion Juniper buyout by Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The Justice Department sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of rival Juniper Networks on Thursday, the first attempt to stop a merger by a new Trump administration that is expected to take a softer approach to mergers. The Justice complaint alleges that Hewlett Packer Enterprise, under increased...
Shapiro rolls out plan to fast-track and subsidize power plants, hydrogen projects
HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that he wants to fast-track the construction of big power plants in Pennsylvania and offer hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks for projects that provide electricity to the grid and use hydrogen. Shapiro’s announcement comes a few days before he delivers...
Russian drone strikes apartment building in Ukraine, killing at least 6
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian drone blasted a hole in an apartment building in northeastern Ukraine during a nighttime attack, killing at least six people and wounding nine others, officials said Thursday. The Shahed drone blew out a wall and surrounding windows in the building in Sumy, a major city,...
Who are the hostages released as part of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in Gaza?
JERUSALEM — Hamas-led militants released eight hostages on Thursday after more than 15 months in captivity, including an Israeli soldier, bringing to 15 the number of captives freed since the start of a ceasefire in Gaza more than a week ago. Agam Berger, 20, was among five young, female soldiers...
Nora Roberts is happily defying genres, 250 books in
NEW YORK — Nora Roberts is so prolific she had to take up a pen name so her publisher could release more books by her each year. “I’m a fast writer,” Roberts told The Associated Press in a rare interview. She typically releases four books a year, and has for...
Japan tries to rescue man stuck in sinkholeVideo
TOKYO — A truck that fell into a sinkhole that suddenly opened on a road near Tokyo has captured national attention as attempts to rescue the elderly driver drag on. Residents near the hole have taken shelter at a local school, and there were worries Thursday about flooding and leaking...
6 members of Boston skating club are among those killed in plane crash
NORWOOD, Mass. — Two teenage figure skaters, their mothers and two world champion coaches from Boston were among the 14 members of the skating community killed when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River. Skating Club...
Jaromir Jagr selling majority stake in his hometown Czech ice hockey team
KLADNO, Czech Republic — Ice hockey great Jaromir Jagr is selling a majority stake in his hometown team the Kladno Knights in the Czech league. Jagr said on Thursday he’s selling an 80% stake to businessman Tomas Drastil while holding on to the remaining minority stake. Financial details were not...
President Trump sounds the same. His White House — so far — couldn’t be more different
NEW YORK — The marathon Q&A sessions are back, along with the cream Oval Office rug and the Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk. So, too, are the late-night social media posts that ricochet across the globe and the barrage of executive orders. But in 10 days, Donald Trump...
Hamas frees 8 more hostages. Israel begins releasing Palestinian prisoners after delay
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday after eight hostages in the Gaza Strip were freed by militants earlier in the day in a sometimes chaotic process that briefly called the exchange into question and underscored the fragility of a ceasefire that began this...
