Associated Press stories, Page 171
Chipmaker Nvidia becomes most valuable company in the world at $4 trillion
NEW YORK — Chipmaker Nvidia became the first public company to top $4 trillion in value on Wednesday after a two-year investor frenzy. Nvidia shares rose 2.5%, or $3.97, in early trading Wednesday, topping $164 each. At the beginning of 2023, Nvidia shares were around $14 each. The poster child...
Texas flooding, and politics around it, underscore the challenges Trump faces in replacing FEMA
Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this hurricane season to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.” But after months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the federal agency charged with responding...
How the Know-Nothings, Free Soilers and other third parties shaped U.S. politics
Elon Musk’s plan to create a new political party puts him in the company of a long line of business and political titans looking to upend the two-party system that has dominated U.S. politics since almost the beginning. From the Anti-Masonic Party in the early 1800s to last year’s ill-fated...
Trump’s trade blitz produces few deals but lots of uncertainty
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his advisers promised a lightning round of global trade negotiations with dozens of countries back in April. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro predicted “90 deals in 90 days.” Administration officials declared that other countries were desperate to make concessions to avoid the massive...
Philadelphia workers and city reach a deal to end strike that halted residential trash pickup
PHILADELPHIA — A union representing thousands of city workers in Philadelphia and the city have reached a deal to end a more than weeklong strike that halted residential curbside trash pickup and affected other services, officials said Wednesday. Nearly 10,000 blue-collar employees from District Council 33 of the American Federation...
Musk’s AI company scrubs inappropriate posts after Grok chatbot makes antisemitic comments
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it’s taking down “inappropriate posts” made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler. Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s...
Russia launches another record drone attack on Ukraine, Ukrainian officials say
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday, in the latest escalation after weeks of mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war. The city...
Europe’s human rights court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine and was behind Flight MH17
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Europe’s top human rights court delivered two rulings against Russia Wednesday, stating in the first ruling that Russia violated international law during the conflict in Ukraine, the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses since the full-scale invasion in 2022....
40 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Netanyahu and Trump meet over a ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 40 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Wednesday, as international mediators raced to complete a ceasefire deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a second meeting in two days with U.S. President Donald Trump at the...
Trump caught off guard by Pentagon’s abrupt move to pause Ukraine weapons deliveries
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week — a move that he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House, according to three people familiar with...
UCF’s Scott Frost ‘ready for another chance’ after failed Nebraska tenureVideo
FRISCO, Texas — Scott Frost’s celebrated return as coach at UCF comes with the backdrop of a failed tenure at Nebraska, the alma mater he said he didn’t want to talk about at Big 12 football media days Tuesday. Even though he did. Frost said, “I really want to keep...
Big 12 making no official predictions, so no last-to-first narrative this year like Arizona StateVideo
FRISCO, Texas — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut. Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn’t conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish...
Texas inspectors approved Camp Mystic’s disaster plan 2 days before deadly flood, records show
Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic’s emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children. The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations...
Top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna says he’s committing to Penn State
Gavin McKenna said he is committing to Penn State, leaving the Canadian Hockey League for the U.S. college ranks in a long-anticipated decision by one of the sport’s most anticipated prospects since Connor McDavid. McKenna’s jump highlights how much the junior developmental hockey landscape has changed in North America since...
Army will end most of its ceremonial horse programs, adopt out animals
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s history is closely tied to its cavalry units, those soldiers who rode into battle on horseback. But the service announced Tuesday that it’s moving toward a future without the ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption. The Army, however, will keep...
Trump administration pulls back on plans to rewrite Biden-era asbestos ban
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is dropping plans to allow continued use of the last type of asbestos legally allowed in U.S. manufacturing after an outcry from asbestos opponents. The Environmental Protection Agency said in a court filing Monday that it will now defend the Biden administration’s ban of chrysotile...
Trash and tension mount in Philadelphia on Day 8 of workers strike, while some seek pop-up haulers
PHILADELPHIA — As trash and tempers heat up across Philadelphia on Day 8 of a strike by blue-collar city workers Tuesday, some residents and small business owners are hiring pop-up hauling services to clear their blocks of garbage, even as they broadly support the union’s quest for higher pay. Mayor...
Impostor uses AI to impersonate Marco Rubio and contact foreign, U.S. officials
WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates. The warning came after the department...
‘Tiger King’ star ‘Doc’ Antle sentenced to 1 year in prison for animal trafficking
CHARLESTON, S.C. — “Tiger King” star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle is going to prison — but not for as long as prosecutors wanted — after admitting he broke federal law buying endangered animals to keep at his zoo in South Carolina. Antle was sentenced to one year and one day behind...
Supreme Court clears way for Trump’s plans to downsize federal workforce
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs. The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily...
Texas governor says more than 160 people are still missing after deadly floodsVideo
KERRVILLE, Texas — More than 160 people are believed to be missing in Texas in the aftermath of the flash floods that killed more than 100 over the July Fourth weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday. Abbot said many of those who are not accounted for were staying in state’s...
Sabalenka gets past Siegemund and faces Anisimova in the Wimbledon semifinals. Fritz vs. Alcaraz
LONDON — Aryna Sabalenka was having a hard time dealing with her Wimbledon quarterfinal opponent’s unusual game style. The mistakes were mounting Tuesday. The stress was rising. The deficit was troubling. As things went awry, Sabalenka would look at her box with a quizzical expression and raise her hands. After...
Wisconsin Supreme Court clears the way for a conversion therapy ban to be enacted
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for the state to institute a ban on conversion therapy in a ruling that gives the governor more power over how state laws are enacted. The court ruled that a Republican-controlled legislative committee’s rejection of a state agency rule...
Intense downpours like those in Texas are more frequent, but there’s no telling where they’ll happen
It’s not just Texas and North Carolina. Intense rain is falling more frequently in many areas of the U.S. — though where it occurs and whether it causes catastrophic flooding is largely a matter of chance, according to experts. More than 100 people died in Texas Hill Country over the...
Get ready to pass through airport security checkpoints with your shoes on your feet
For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media...
