Associated Press stories, Page 415
Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album ‘GNX’
LOS ANGELES — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present Friday with the surprise drop of a new album. The Grammy winner’s 12-track “GNX” is his first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” and his sixth studio album overall. It also comes just months after...
Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad
A social-media tribute to Coptic Christians. A billboard in Amish country. A visit to a revered Jewish gravesite. While Donald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, he and his campaign allies also wooed smaller religious groups, far from the mainstream. As it turned out, Trump won by...
Gaetz’s withdrawal highlights how incoming presidents often lose Cabinet nominees
MARTIN, Tenn. — Losing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn’t unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time. Matt Gaetz’s decision to pull his name Thursday from consideration for attorney general — amid continued fallout over a federal sex...
Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old canals used to fish by predecessors of ancient Maya
WASHINGTON — Long before the ancient Maya built temples, their predecessors were already altering the landscape of Central America’s Yucatan peninsula. Using drones and Google Earth imagery, archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old network of earthen canals in what’s now Belize. The findings were published Friday in Science Advances. “The aerial...
Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of U.S. land: ‘Drill.’
BISMARCK, N.D. — Donald Trump assigned Doug Burgum a singular mission in nominating the governor of oil-rich North Dakota to lead an agency that oversees a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore: “Drill baby drill.” That dictate from the president-elect’s announcement of Burgum for Secretary of Interior...
Matt Gaetz says he won’t return to Congress next year after withdrawing name for attorney general
WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz said Friday that he will not be returning to Congress after withdrawing his name from consideration to be attorney general under President-elect Donald Trump amid growing allegations of sexual misconduct. “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from...
2 convicted in human smuggling case after Indian family froze to death on U.S.-Canada border
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A jury convicted two men of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29,...
Colorado funeral home owners accused of letting 190 bodies decay plead guilty to corpse abuse
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The owners of a Colorado funeral home accused of piling 190 bodies inside a room-temperature building and giving the grieving relatives fake ashes pleaded guilty Friday to corpse abuse as aggrieved families looked on in court. Jon and Carie Hallford, who own the Return to Nature...
Giants release quarterback Daniel Jones just days after benching him
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Daniel Jones era in New York is over. The Giants quarterback was granted his release on Friday by the team just days after the franchise said it was benching him in favor of third-stringer Tommy DeVito. “Daniel came to see me this morning and asked...
What to know about Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick for attorney general
NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration after a federal sex trafficking investigation and ethics probe made his ability to be confirmed dubious. The 59-year-old has...
Amazon to invest an additional $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic
Amazon is investing an additional $4 billion in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic as major technology companies rush to fund generative AI. This will bring Amazon’s total investment in Anthropic — which began last year — to $8 billion. Anthropic said the Seattle-based tech giant will maintain its position as...
Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go now
NEW YORK — A judge confirmed Friday that President-elect Donald Trump won’t be sentenced this month in his hush money case, instead setting a schedule for prosecutors and his lawyers to expand on their ideas about what to do next. Amid a flurry of filings in the case since Trump’s...
Tariff hikes will backfire, and China can manage such ‘external shocks,’ a senior official says
HONG KONG — Higher tariffs on Chinese exports will backfire, just increasing prices paid by consumers, while China can manage to weather the impact of such “external shocks,” a senior Commerce Ministry official said Friday in Beijing. Responding to a reporter’s question about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose...
NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia’s attack with new hypersonic missile
KYIV, Ukraine — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s...
U.S. Embassy in London returns to normal after police blow up a package
LONDON — The U.S. Embassy in London returned to normal operations Friday afternoon after police carried out the controlled explosion of a suspicious package that was found in the area earlier in the day. London Metropolitan police later said it was a “hoax device.” “An investigation will now follow,” police...
DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit
DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company. The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them...
Proposed deal on climate cash at UN summit highlights split between rich and poor nations
BAKU, Azerbaijan — A new draft of a deal on cash to curb and adapt to climate change released Friday afternoon at the United Nations climate summit pledged $250 billion by 2035 from wealthy countries to poorer ones. The amount pleases the countries who will be paying, but not those...
McDonald’s to expand U.S. value menu as fast food chains battle for bargain seekers
McDonald’s will expand its U.S. value menu early next year as it continues to try to win back inflation-weary customers. Starting Jan. 7, the burger chain will let customers buy one full-priced item from a limited value menu and get another item on that menu for $1. Items on the...
No. 4 Penn State puts off playoff talk as it prepares for tough trip to MinnesotaVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — With Penn State’s strong push for a spot in the College Football Playoff still a couple of wins from completion, the biggest roadblock to a bid for the Nittany Lions in this favorable final third of their schedule has arrived: a trip to Minnesota. That’s why this week,...
Folgueiras’ 19 help Robert Morris knock off Cornell 86-76Video
ITHACA, N.Y. — Alvaro Folgueiras had 19 points in Robert Morris’ 86-76 win over Cornell on Thursday night. Folgueiras added 12 rebounds — which gave him four double-doubles this season — and three steals for the Colonials (5-2), who won their fifth in a row. Amarion Dickerson scored 15 points...
Frustrated Bengals still looking for ways to win close games
CINCINNATI — After the Cincinnati Bengals let yet another close game slip away, Joe Burrow acknowledged this is the most frustrating season of his NFL career. Someone asked why. “Self-explanatory,” Cincinnati’s star quarterback said. That it is. Burrow is playing great football. He’s making spectacular throws on the run and...
Ravens’ Jackson, Chargers’ Herbert will take center stage once Harbaugh Bowl kicks off Monday nightVideo
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Most of the attention surrounding Monday night’s showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers has been centered on the first coaching matchup since 2012 between John and Jim Harbaugh. Once the game kicks off, all the focus will be on quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and...
Police report reveals assault allegations against Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday. Hegseth, a former...
Remains found in Pennsylvania in 1973 are identified as a missing 14-year-old
LEBANON — A girl’s remains found under brush and a plastic tarp in the Pennsylvania woods 51 years ago were identified by state police Thursday as 14-year-old Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, who was last seen leaving for school in fall 1973. State police said genetic genealogy helped determine the identity of...
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment...
