Associated Press stories, Page 256

LAS VEGAS — The first Super Bowl in Las Vegas has everything the imaginary NFL scriptwriters could’ve wanted. There’s Patrick Mahomes and the underdog Kansas City Chiefs (14-6) aiming to become the first repeat champions in 19 years and trying to solidify their claim to a dynasty with a third...

WASHINGTON — The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that it expects the federal budget deficit to drop by $188 billion this fiscal year to $1.5 trillion, a short-lived dip as the annual shortfall is likely to rise over the next nine years. Two major factors are behind the decline in...

PARIS — A strawberry dessert contaminated by her grandfather’s heart medication might have caused Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s positive doping test, her lawyers argued at sport’s highest court, which rejected the explanation and banned her for four years. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday published the 129-page...

LAS VEGAS — The underdog Kansas City Chiefs are playing for history against the San Francisco 49ers. No team has been the underdog in consecutive Super Bowls and won both games. The two previous defending champions to return as an underdog both lost. But the Chiefs (14-6) have been defying...

LAS VEGAS — Even without Donald Trump on Nevada’s Republican ballot, Nikki Haley was denied her first victory. The indignity of a distant second-place finish behind “none of these candidates” was a fresh blow for Haley, facilitated by the staunch Trump allies who lead Nevada’s GOP. They had already maneuvered...

Tens of thousands of Americans are hospitalized with covid-19 every week. Thousands die from it every month. And yet, an antiviral treatment proven to lessen the chances of severe outcomes is going underused. The drug, Paxlovid, is lauded by experts as a powerful tool that can prevent hospitalization and death...

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas proposed to the NFL in December 2021. “Let’s just marry these brands, and let’s bring the Super Bowl here,” Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, recalled telling a room of NFL franchise owners. They said yes. The betrothal...

For some people with covid-19, antiviral pills that can be taken at home can lessen the chances of winding up in the hospital. But the pills have to be taken right away, so you must get tested, obtain a prescription and get the medication within five days of symptoms appearing....

BALTIMORE — The new chief of the World Meteorological Organization said it looks to her that the rate of human-caused climate change is accelerating and that warming has triggered more Arctic cold outbreaks in North America and Europe, weighing in on two issues that divide climate scientists. In her first...

Federal investigators say they will determine the cause of last year’s fiery Norfolk Southern derailment in eastern Ohio at a hearing in East Palestine this June. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Wednesday that it will hold the hearing at East Palestine High School on June 25 to approve the...

NEW YORK — If you watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, you no longer have to wait until the big game to see what advertisers have in store for viewers. Many companies now release ads ahead of the game in the hope of capitalizing on the buzz that builds...

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at six regions across Ukraine on Wednesday morning, authorities reported, killing at least five civilians and wounding almost 50 others, including a pregnant woman. The attacks hit at least three major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, where the...

NEW YORK — Think of food and movies and your mind could quickly whip up a five-course meal. Maybe a few hard-boiled eggs, to start, from “Cool Hand Luke.” A side order of toast from “Five Easy Pieces,” followed by the soup from “Ratatouille.” A main course of octopus from...

QUETTA, Pakistan — Bombs ripped through two separate political offices in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people, officials said, the day before the country was set to elect a new parliament. The attacks in Baluchistan province — home to a low-level insurgency and various militants groups —...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s attorney general is expected to ask the state Supreme Court to keep an abortion-rights measure off November’s ballot on Wednesday, saying it misleads voters and could be used to expand abortion rights in the future. Proponents of the proposed amendment say the language is clear and...

WASHINGTON — The fate of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to return to the White House is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. On Thursday, the justices will hear arguments in Trump’s appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that he is not eligible to run again for...

DAMASCUS, Syria — Israeli airstrikes over Syria’s central city of Homs and nearby areas killed and wounded civilians, the Syrian military said Wednesday without giving details. There was no immediate comment from Israel. The strikes come as tensions across the Middle East grow with the Israel-Hamas war and a drone...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is setting tougher standards for deadly soot pollution, saying that reducing fine particle matter from tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources could prevent thousands of premature deaths a year. Environmental and public health groups hailed the new Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Wednesday as a...

LAS VEGAS — Chandler Stephenson scored the go-ahead goal, Adin Hill stopped 30 shots, and the Vegas Golden Knights brought an end to the Edmonton Oilers’ 16-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night. Edmonton was looking to tie the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest NHL win...

WASHINGTON — A bill to provide Israel with more military aid went down to defeat Tuesday in the House, spoiling Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to separate Israel from other national security priorities, including helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s military invasion and deterring crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. The vote...

NEW YORK — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed the possibility of stepping down during a private meeting with former President Donald Trump, with both agreeing to delay a decision until after South Carolina’s primary later this month, according to two people familiar with the matter. McDaniel has...

WASHINGTON— In a dramatic setback, House Republicans failed Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forced to shelve a high-profile priority — for now — after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan. The stunning roll call fell just a single vote short of...