Associated Press stories, Page 54
Unheralded players who could make a big impact in the Super Bowl
SAN FRANCISCO — Much of the attention during Super Bowl week is usually on the star players like Drake Maye and Jaxon Smith-Njigba for good reason. But if history is any indication, some lesser-known players could have a big impact on the Super Bowl on Sunday between the New England...
Signs of forced entry found at Arizona home of ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s motherVideo
TUCSON, Ariz. — Investigators found signs of forced entry at the Arizona home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, a person familiar with the investigation said Tuesday, as the host asked for prayers to help bring back the 84-year-old, who is believed to have been taken against her will....
NASCAR preview: Denny Hamlin’s rollercoaster offseason included lawsuit win, father’s death
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There’s no telling what version of Denny Hamlin will race this upcoming NASCAR season, which unofficially begins Wednesday night with The Clash, an exhibition race held at grassroots Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina. Like most of the NASCAR community, Hamlin has had a rollercoaster of...
U.S. shoots down Iranian drone that ‘aggressively’ approached an aircraft carrier, military says
WASHINGTON — U.S. Central Command says a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. In an emailed statement Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said the drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent” and it...
NASA delays astronauts’ lunar trip until March after hydrogen leaks mar fueling test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s long-awaited moonshot with astronauts is off until at least March because of hydrogen fuel leaks that marred the dress rehearsal of its giant new rocket. It’s the same problem that delayed the Space Launch System rocket’s debut three years ago. That first test flight was...
House lawmaker raises new concerns over FDA’s ultra-fast drug review program
WASHINGTON — A Democratic lawmaker is raising new concerns about a Food and Drug Administration program designed to drastically shorten the review of certain drugs, including whether senior officials involved in the effort are complying with federal ethics rules. In a letter sent Tuesday, Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts took...
Alabama man faces execution despite not pulling the trigger in auto store customer’s death
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Charles “Sonny” Burton didn’t kill anyone. The state of Alabama could execute him anyway. Burton, 75, is facing execution for his role as an accomplice in a 1991 robbery at an auto parts store where customer Doug Battle was killed. No one disputes that another man, Derrick...
Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and missiles a day before planned peace talks
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia carried out a major attack on Ukraine overnight in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday was a breach of its commitment to hold off on attacks on energy infrastructure, a day before representatives of the two countries were due to attend U.S.-brokered talks on ending the...
UK politician Peter Mandelson will quit House of Lords in storm over Epstein ties
LONDON — British politician Peter Mandelson is quitting the House of Lords as he faces new questions over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Speaker of the House of Lords says Mandelson has announced he will retire from Parliament’s upper chamber effective Wednesday. Mandelson is also facing a potential police...
Vonn ‘confident’ she will race at Olympics despite ‘completely ruptured’ ACL in left knee
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn is “confident” she can compete at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics beginning this week despite the left knee injury she sustained in a crash four days ago. Vonn said on Tuesday she “completed ruptured” her ACL, has bone bruising “plus meniscal damage.” But after...
Speedskater Erin Jackson, bobsledder Frank Del Duca picked as U.S. flagbearers for Winter Olympics
Speedskater Erin Jackson already has made history, as the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Olympics. Bobsledder Frank Del Duca is a sergeant in the Army, hailing from a family with deep Italian roots. They might be the perfect pair to lead the U.S....
Three Dog Night’s Chuck Negron, voice behind ‘Joy to the World,’ dies at 83
LOS ANGELES — Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits including “Joy to the World,” “One” and “An Old Fashioned Love Song” for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early ’70s, died Monday. He was...
Trump signs bill to end partial government shutdown, setting stage for next fight
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding. The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House...
Trump’s $45 billion expansion of immigrant detention sites faces pushback from communities
With tensions high over federal immigration enforcement, some state and local officials are pushing back against the Trump administration’s attempts to house thousands of detained immigrants in jails, converted warehouses and privately run facilities in their communities. Federal officials have been scouting cities and counties across the U.S. for places...
NASA delays astronauts’ lunar trip until March after hydrogen leaks mar fueling testVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s long-awaited moonshot with astronauts is off until at least March because of hydrogen fuel leaks that marred the dress rehearsal of its giant new rocket. It’s the same problem that delayed the Space Launch System rocket’s debut three years ago. That first test flight was...
PepsiCo plans price cuts as demand for its drinks and snacks slip
PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo is cutting prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips this year to win back customers exasperated by years of price hikes. PepsiCo has leaned on price increases as the cost of packaging, ingredients and transportation rose, but it’s cost the Purchase, N.Y., company in volume....
India’s Modi praised for U.S. trade deal as opposition questions impact on agricultureVideo
NEW DELHI — Indian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for striking a deal with the U.S. that seeks to reduce tariffs on Indian goods, while the opposition raised questions on the impact on sensitive sectors such as agriculture. President Donald Trump on Monday...
The son of Norway’s crown princess pleads not guilty to rape charges as his trial opens in OsloVideo
OSLO, Norway — The son of Norway’s crown princess pleaded not guilty to rape charges as he went on trial Tuesday for multiple alleged offenses, opening weeks of proceedings in a case that has cast a shadow on the royal family’s image. Marius Borg Høiby, 29, is the eldest son...
Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of investigation into child abuse images and deepfakes
PARIS — French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying...
Patriots and Seahawks kick off Super Bowl festivities with a quieter, calmer, tamer Opening Night
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Maybe the game itself will live up to the hype — because Super Bowl Opening Night was calmer than usual. Drake Maye and the New England Patriots (17-3) take on Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks (16-3) on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San...
British politician Peter Mandelson faces pressure to quit House of Lords over Jeffrey Epstein ties
LONDON — A year ago, Peter Mandelson was Britain’s ambassador to Washington, the latest high-profile post in a rocky but consequential political career. Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein cost him that job. Now, after new revelations, Mandelson — like other powerful men including King Charles III’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — is...
NFL commish Roger Goodell: 18-game season is ‘not a given’
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Not so fast on an 18-game NFL season. A week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft made it seem inevitable, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said expanding the regular season to 18 games is “not a given.” “We have not had any formal discussions about it and, frankly,...
1 person is arrested after a suspected biolab found at Las Vegas home
LAS VEGAS — A suspected biolaboratory found in a Las Vegas home and now under investigation by authorities is linked to the owner of an unauthorized California biolab who was arrested in 2023, officials said Monday. SWAT officers served a search warrant on Saturday after receiving a tip that a...
Robotaxi pioneer Waymo gets $16 billion injection to accelerate expansion plans
Robotaxi pioneer Waymo has raised another $16 billion to help fuel its ambition for its fleet of self-driving cars to provide rides throughout the world while other deep-pocketed rival services backed by Tesla and Amazon try to catch up. The fundraising announced Monday values Waymo at $126 billion. The appraisal...
Judge blocks Trump administration from ending protections for Haitians
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A federal judge on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington granted a request to pause the termination of temporary protected status for Haitians...

