Associated Press stories, Page 288
A$AP Rocky decides not to take the stand at his felony assault trial
LOS ANGELES — A$AP Rocky will not take the stand at his trial over two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and the defense rested its case Tuesday without calling him to testify. The 36-year-old hip-hop star said “Absolutely, your honor” when asked by Superior Court Judge Mark...
Survivors of child abuse at Illinois youth detention centers file more lawsuits in hopes of change
CHICAGO — Marcus Walker said the sexual abuse he experienced two decades ago as a teenager at an Illinois youth detention facility has haunted his life. After a staff member gave him drugs and sexually abused him, he joined a gang hoping it would protect him. It didn’t. For years...
Storm makes for treacherous travel as snow, ice track through mid-AtlanticVideo
A snowstorm blew into the mid-Atlantic states on Tuesday, causing dozens of accidents on icy roads, prompting school closures and stoking worries about possible power outages. The heaviest snowfall — up to 10 inches — was expected in parts of Virginia and West Virginia. Ice accumulations could range from a...
Philadelphia plans for huge crowd to cheer on Eagles at Super Bowl parade FridayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia officials are expecting a huge turnout of fans in the city Friday for a parade honoring the Philadelphia Eagles after their Super Bowl win. The team plans to descend the Rocky steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at around 2 p.m. for a 75-minute ceremony, city...
Raiders, Cowboys and Dolphins go another season long removed from their championship daysVideo
HENDERSON, Nev. — The sayings “commitment to excellence” and “just win, baby” encapsulated what the Raiders represented as they bulldozed their way to three Super Bowl titles with a take-no-prisoners style that endeared and villainized them. Dallas became the self-proclaimed “America’s Team” as the Cowboys built one of the NFL’s...
Guy Gaudreau joins U.S. team for practice at the 4 Nations Face-OffVideo
MONTREAL — Guy Gaudreau spoke softly, cracked a joke about how bad a hockey player he was and nodded his head with appreciation. On the lapel of his jacket was a pin honoring the memory of his sons, John and Matt. Gaudreau thought John — the NHL star known as...
Roses are red, violets are blue, 940 million flowers are traveling (through Miami) to you
MIAMI — If any husbands or boyfriends mess up Valentine’s Day this week, it’s not because of a shortage of flowers. In the run up to Feb. 14, agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport have processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection....
After meeting with Trump, Jordan’s king says his country opposes displacing Palestinians in GazaVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday and renewed his insistence that Gaza could somehow be emptied of all residents, controlled by the U.S. and redeveloped as a tourist area. It’s an audacious, but highly unlikely, scheme to dramatically remake the...
Salman Rushdie testifies about his shock and pain as a stranger repeatedly stabbed him on stage
MAYVILLE, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie described in graphic detail Tuesday the frenzied moments in 2022 when a masked man rushed at him on a stage in western New York and repeatedly slashed him with a knife, leaving him with terrible injuries and fearful he would die. Rushdie took the stand...
Trump steel, aluminum tariffs likely to drive up car costs, industry leaders say
DETROIT — President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel imports this week could wreak havoc on American auto manufacturing, industry leaders say. The moves align with the Trump administration’s aggressive global trade agenda and ambitions to strengthen U.S. industry, but they could have an inverse effect. On March 12, all steel...
DOGE cuts $900 million from agency that tracks American students’ academic progress
WASHINGTON — A federal research agency that tracks the progress of America’s students is being hit with almost $900 million in cuts after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency found no need for much of its work. It’s unclear to what degree the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences will...
White House fires USAID inspector general after warning about funding oversight, officials say
WASHINGTON — The White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, U.S. officials said, a day after his office warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian funds. The White...
Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning coordinator Kellen Moore will become the Saints head coachVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Kellen Moore, who oversaw the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles ’ offense this season, has agreed to return to the site of his latest triumph as the next coach of the New Orleans Saints. The 36-year-old Moore will join an organization that has been floundering since the...
It’s time to revalue running backs after Saquon Barkley caps best rushing year with Super Bowl win
It’s time to revalue the devalued running back position in the NFL after Saquon Barkley’s mere presence, if not his production, helped the Philadelphia Eagles dismantle the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the most lopsided Super Bowls ever. Barkley capped a great year for free-agent running backs by hoisting...
‘Back to plastic’: Trump signs order for plastic straws as he declares paper ones ‘don’t work’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he is banning federal use of paper straws, saying they “don’t work” and don’t last very long. Instead he wants the government to exclusively move to plastic. “It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump said as he signed an...
Hegseth renames North Carolina military base Fort Roland L. Bragg
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed an order restoring the name of a storied special operations forces base back to Fort Bragg. The North Carolina base was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023 as part of a national effort under the Biden administration to remove names that honored Confederate...
27 religious groups sue Trump administration to protect houses of worship from immigration arrests
More than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans — ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists — filed a federal court lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests...
What to know about proposals to ban abortion pills and punish women who seek abortion
Lawmakers in some states where abortion is already banned are seeking to explicitly bar abortion pills or take a step that most leading anti-abortion groups oppose: punish women who seek to end their pregnancies. It’s too early in some legislative sessions to know whether the measures will get serious consideration....
Rep. Nancy Mace accuses ex-fiancé and associates of assaulting her and raping others in House speech
CHAPIN, S.C. — Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina on Monday used a nearly hour-long speech on the U.S. House floor to accuse her ex-fiancé of physically abusing her, recording sex acts with her and others without their consent, and conspiring with business associates in acts of rape and sexual...
Pope rebukes Trump administration over migrant deportations, and appears to take direct aim at Vance
ROME — Pope Francis issued a major rebuke Tuesday to the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their illegal status deprives them of their inherent dignity and “will end badly.” Francis took the remarkable step of addressing the U.S. migrant...
EU vows countermeasures to Trump’s tariffs; bourbon, jeans, peanut butter, motorcycles easy targets
BRUSSELS — U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc. It means iconic U.S. industries like bourbon, jeans and motorcycles should beware. “The EU will act to...
How Elon Musk’s crusade against government could benefit Tesla
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied his electric car company Tesla and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles. Now, Musk’s close relationship with President Donald Trump means many...
Hamas’ threat to delay the next release of Israeli hostages raises fears for Gaza ceasefire
JERUSALEM — Hamas’ threat to delay the next planned release of Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip has jolted a fragile ceasefire that’s seen as having the potential to wind down the war. It has brought new dismay for Israelis who watched the latest Hamas handover of hostages in growing...
Trump once again slaps taxes on foreign steel, aluminum, a move that proved costly in his 1st term
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is hitting foreign steel and aluminum with a 25% tax. If that sounds familiar, it’s because he did pretty much the same thing during his first term. Trump’s original metals tariffs gave America’s struggling steel and aluminum producers some relief from intense global competition, allowing...
As egg prices continue to soar, grocers like Trader Joe’s limit how many cartons customers can buy
Not only are eggs expensive because of the ongoing bird flu outbreak. Now they are getting hard to find. And even when stores do have eggs, consumers are starting to face limits on how many they can buy. Eggs have even become such a hot commodity that there have even...
