National Women's Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman said on Friday that she thinks the league could grow to be the size of the NFL, which has 32 teams.

An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Md., is seen Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)2025-04-05T00:07:45Z WASHINGTON (AP) Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelous famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, were among the nearly 400 volumes removed from the U.S. Naval Academys library this week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths office ordered the school to get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.The Navy late Friday provided the list of 391 books that have been taken out of its library. The move marks another step in the Trump administrations far-reaching effort to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings and curriculum at schools. In addition to Angelous award-winning tome, the list includes Memorializing the Holocaust, which deals with Holocaust memorials; Half American, about African Americans in World War II; A Respectable Woman, about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York; and Pursuing Trayvon Martin, about the 2012 shooting of the Black 17-year-old in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling. Other books clearly deal with subjects that have been stridently targeted by the Trump administration, including gender identity, sexuality and transgender issues. A wide array of books on race and gender were targeted, dealing with such topics as African American women poets, entertainers who wore blackface and the treatment of women in Islamic countries. Also on the list were historical books on racism, the Ku Klux Klan and the treatment of women, gender and race in art and literature. In a statement, the Navy said officials went through the Nimitz Library catalog, using keyword searches, to identify books that required further review. About 900 books were identified in the search.Departmental officials then closely examined the preliminary list to determine which books required removal, said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, Navy spokesman. Nearly 400 books were removed from Nimitz Library to comply with directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President. The books were removed shortly before Hegseth arrived Tuesday for a visit to the academy, which had already been planned and was not connected to the library purge, officials said.The Pentagon has said the academies are fully committed to executing and implementing President Trumps Executive Orders.The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, had not been included in President Donald Trumps executive order in January that banned DEI instruction, programs or curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade schools that receive federal funding. That is because the academies are colleges.Pentagon leaders, however, turned their attention to the Naval Academy last week when a media report noted that the school had not removed books promoting DEI. A U.S. official said the academy was told late last week to conduct the review and removal. It isnt clear if the order was directed by Hegseth or someone else on his staff. A West Point official confirmed earlier this week that the school had completed a review of its curriculum and was prepared to review library content if directed by the Army. The Air Force and Naval academies had also done curriculum reviews as had been required.An Air Force Academy official said the school continually reviews its curriculum, coursework and other materials to ensure it all complies with executive orders and Defense Department policies. Last week, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, the Air Force Academy superintendent, told Congress that the school was in the middle of its course review, but there was no mention of books.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss academy policies.Hegseth has aggressively pushed the department to erase DEI programs and online content, but the campaign has been met with questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto

Donna Cooper holds up a dosage of Wegovy, a drug used for weight loss, at her home in Front Royal, Va., on Friday, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)2025-04-04T22:27:54Z President Donald Trumps administration has decided not to cover expensive, high-demand obesity treatments under the federal governments Medicare program.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Friday that it would not cover the medications under Medicares Part D prescription drug coverage. Medicare covers health care expenses mainly for people age 65 and older.Trumps predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule in late November after Trump won re-election that would have extended coverage of drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. The rule was not expected to be finalized until Trump took office.Trump returned to office in January. The Senate confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday. CMS did not offer an explanation Friday for its decision, and federal spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trumps Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been an outspoken opponent of the injectable drugs, which have exploded in popularity due to the potentially life-changing weight loss that some patients experience. Polls show Americans favor having Medicaid and Medicare cover the costs. But many insurers, employers and other bill payers have been reluctant to pay for the drugs, which can be used by a wide swath of the population and can cost hundreds of dollars a month. Bidens proposal was expensive: It would have included coverage for all state- and federally funded Medicaid programs for people with low incomes, costing taxpayers as much as $35 billion over next decade. Proponents of the coverage have argued that treating obesity can actually reduce longer-term costs by cutting down on heart attacks and other expensive health complications that can arise from the disease. The benefits consultant Mercer has said that 44% of U.S. companies with 500 or more employees covered obesity drugs last year. Medicare does pay for drugs like Wegovy for patients who have heart disease and need to reduce their risk of future heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems. The federal program also covers versions of the drugs that treat diabetes.More than a dozen state Medicaid programs already cover the drugs for obesity. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. TOM MURPHY Murphy covers how people and businesses navigate the U.S. health care system. He is a member of APs Health and Science team. mailto

Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record by scoring the 894th of his career, setting off a wild celebration on the ice with his teammates and chants of "Ovi! Ovi!" in a crowd that included the "Great One" himself.

USWNT coach Emma Hayes said she feels confident in her team's defensive personnel ahead of an Olympic gold medal-game rematch against Brazil, despite the "extremely unfortunate" injury to center-back Tierna Davidson.

Warriors stars Jimmy Butler (forearm strain) and Stephen Curry (pelvic contusion) both started in Friday's game against Denver.

Dwight Howard, an eight-time NBA All-Star and 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, sources told ESPN.

Here's a look at the players with the most game-winning goals in NHL history.

Formula 1's engine manufacturers will meet ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix next week to talk about a return to V10 engines, sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Former Red Bull junior team boss Franz Tost has given a scathing verdict of Liam Lawson, saying the Kiwi would still be slower than Yuki Tsunoda if he had 100 years of practice.

U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said the federation would strongly support expansion of the Women's World Cup to 48 teams in 2031.

Texas Tech landed another top outside linebacker, with sources telling ESPN that Stanford transfer David Baileym a former Freshman All-American, has committed to the Red Raiders.

Director Paul Schrader poses for a portrait for the film 'Oh, Canada', at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)2025-04-05T00:33:14Z NEW YORK (AP) Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and director of American Gigolo, has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting his former personal assistant, firing her when she wouldnt acquiesce to advances and reneging on a settlement that was meant to keep the allegations confidential.The former assistant, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the filmmaker and his production company on Thursday. She is seeking a judges order to enforce the agreement after Schrader said he couldnt go through with it. The terms, including a monetary payment, were not disclosed.This is an open-and-shut settlement enforcement matter, Does lawyer, Gregory Chiarello, wrote in court papers accompanying the breach of contract claim.Schraders lawyer, Philip J. Kessler, deemed the lawsuit desperate, opportunistic and frivolous and said many of the allegations in it are false or materially misleading. We absolutely deny that there was ever a sexual relationship of any kind between Mr. Schrader and his former assistant, and we deny that Mr. Schrader ever made an attempt to have a sexual relationship of any kind with his former assistant, Kessler said. The lawsuit, filed in a New York court, laid bare allegations that the confidential settlement between Doe, 26, and Schrader, 78, had been intended to keep under wraps.They include her claim that the filmmaker trapped her in his hotel room, grabbed her arms and kissed her against her will last year while they were promoting his latest film, Oh, Canada, at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Two days later, the lawsuit said, Schrader called Doe repeatedly and sent her angry text messages claiming he was dying and couldnt pack his bags. When Doe arrived to help, the lawsuit said, Schrader exposed his genitals to her as he opened his hotel room door wearing nothing but an open bathrobe. Doe alleges Schrader fired her last September after she again rejected his advances. Soon after, the lawsuit said, he sent her an email expressing fear that hed become a Harvey Weinstein in her mind. Weinstein, the movie mogul turned #MeToo villain, was convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and is awaiting an April 15 retrial in his New York rape case.According to the lawsuit, Schrader agreed to the settlement on Feb. 5 but changed his mind after an illness and soul searching. Schrader conveyed through his lawyers last month that he could not live with the settlement, the lawsuit said. Kessler disputed that.The agreement that theyre trying to enforce against Mr. Schrader, in plain English, required both parties to sign it before it became legally effective, Kessler said. Mr. Schrader declined to sign it. Its frankly as simple as that.Doe worked for Schrader from 2021 until 2024, according to the lawsuit. During that time, Kessler said, she posted on social media about how much she loved her job and referred to Schrader as an extraordinary mentor and my man.Schrader rose to fame through his collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, beginning with Taxi Driver in 1976. Robert De Niros iconic line, You talkin to me, is seared into the lexicon and ranked among the American Film Institutes all-time greatest movie quotes. Schrader co-wrote Scorseses 1980 boxing drama Raging Bull, also starring De Niro, and authored his 1988 religious epic The Last Temptation of Christ and his 1999 paramedic drama Bringing Out the Dead.Hes also directed 23 of his own films, highlighted by 1980s American Gigolo, which he also wrote. He received his only Academy Award nomination for writing First Reformed, a 2017 thriller about a small-town minister that he also directed.Schrader told The Associated Press last year that he made Oh, Canada the film that Doe said brought them to Cannes as he reconciled his own mortality after a string of hospitalizations for long COVID.In 2016, Schrader told The Hollywood Reporter police visited him after he ranted on Facebook about Donald Trumps then-looming presidency. Schrader wrote Trumps election was a call to violence and said people should be willing to take arms. In 2023, he trashed the Oscars as scrambling to be woke with diversity efforts and more international voters. And in 2021, in the wake of #MeToo, he decried so-called cancel culture, telling Deadline it was so infectious, its like the Delta virus.If your friend says, Theyre saying these terrible things about me that arent true, youre afraid to come to their defense, because you might catch that virus too, Schrader told the entertainment news outlet. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto

Bryant Kagay, part owner of Kagay farms in Amity, Missouri, works on equipment to get ready for planting his crops this year while worrying about the effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)2025-04-04T22:52:27Z OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Heading into this year, most U.S. farmers were hoping to break even or maybe record a small profit if they could find a way to limit their sky-high costs. But now they are faced with losing the biggest export market for many of their crops after China retaliated against President Donald Trumps tariffs.Theres just not any margin for error in the current farm economy, said Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, who serves as president of the American Soybean Association.Soybean and sorghum farmers have particular reason to worry because at least half of those crops are exported and China has long been the biggest buyer. China has also bought a lot of American corn, beef, chicken and other crops as part of spending $24.65 billion on U.S. agricultural products last year. Now with China slapping 34% tariffs on all American products Friday on top of other tariffs it imposed earlier this year all of those products will be significantly more expensive in China Crop prices, much like the stock market, dropped after Trump announced his tariffs earlier this week. Tim Dufault, whose farm is in northwest Minnesota only about 80 miles south of Canada, said in a good year soybean farmers might make $50 to $75 an acre. But this isnt a good year because crop prices arent high enough to cover soaring costs, and the price drop in the past two days cost them about $25 an acre, he said. Dufault said he is worried that these new tariffs might put many farmers out of business, including the young farmers he rented his land to heading into this year as he retired because they likely wont make anything in 2025. I just I hope to God they can stay in business, said Dufault, who is active with the Farmers for Free Trade group that pushes for open markets.One of the biggest long-term concerns is that American farmers and ranchers will lose market share as China turns to Brazil and other countries to buy the soybeans, beef, chicken and other crops it consumes. China will buy lots of sorghum because it is distilled into the drink baijiu that is as popular there as whiskey is in the United States, but they will get it from other countries. Farmers endured Trumps previous trade war with China during his first term. But this time, Trumps tariffs extend around the globe, so China likely wont be the last country to retaliate with tariffs of its own. Could farmers get government aid? The only way most farmers survived Trumps last trade war was with tens of billions of government aid payments, but its not clear if he will do that this time. He gave them more than $22 billion in aid payments in 2019 and nearly $46 billion in 2020, though that year also included aid related to the COVID pandemic.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News this week that right now she doesnt believe massive aid payments will be necessary, although she wont know that for several months. But if it is, then this president has always said and he is resolute in his commitment to our farmers and our ranchers and our great rural communities in America, so we will well make sure were ready if in fact that is necessary, she said. But none of us like that, said farmer Andy Hineman, who is vice president of the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association. We dont want to live on government handouts. Wed rather sell the crops we grow.But farmer Bryant Kagay, part owner of Kagay farms in Amity, Missouri, said he doesnt have a lot of faith that these tariffs the way they are laid out today will stick around long term.He also doesnt like the idea of getting aid from the government. I really hate that seems to be the solution that, well, well just pay farmers some just off-the-cuff payment to help offset this, Kagay said. I think a federal government thats vastly overspending today, like this is not the way to solve that problem.The hope for farmers is that Trumps tariffs will lead to negotiations with other countries that will lower tariffs and other trade barriers.Thats the type of positive development that we can do thats good for everybody involved, and thats what we need to look for, Ragland said. Instead of beating each other up with higher and higher tariffs its just like punching each other in the face. Were not going to gain anything from it. Its just going to cause us to hurt. That would be my encouragement to the administration, is to look for opportunities and get some great deals done proactively.___Associated Press writer Nick Ingram contributed to this report from Missouri. JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and has been attending Buffetts Woodstock for Capitalists annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 19 years. twitter mailto

No matter where she's called home, the Final Four coach's story is held close by those who watched her rise.

Dwight Howard, an eight-time NBA All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, sources told ESPN.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reached 20 points for the 70th straight game, surpassing Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest single-season streak in NBA history.

One year after finishing with the worst record in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19 in a historic turnaround.

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South Carolina and UConn advanced to Sunday's NCAA title game. We tracked all the action live from Tampa.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand's sacrifice fly on Friday finally ended the Reds' 35-inning scoreless streak that tied for the fourth most in team history.

Lando Norris put McLaren top of the timesheets in third practice for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday with a sizzling lap of one minute 27.965 seconds that bettered Max Verstappen's time for pole position last year.

Prisoners look out from their cell as the Costa Rica Justice and Peace minister tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)2025-04-04T19:48:33Z TECOLUCA, El Salvador (AP) Costa Ricas security minister toured El Salvadors maximum-security gang prison on Friday as part of his review of the measures that El Salvador has taken to reduce violence caused by powerful street gangs during a now three-year offensive under a state of emergency.Costa Rica Justice and Peace Minister Gerald Campos Valverde said he was visiting on orders of President Rodrigo Chaves to see the good practices of the Salvadoran people with the goal of combating crime and to returning rights to all citizens.In November, Costa Rica bestowed its highest diplomatic honor on El Salvador President Nayib Bukele for his success in lowering levels of violence during his three-year campaign against powerful street gangs.El Salvador has lived under a state of emergency that suspends fundamental rights like access to a lawyer. Some 84,000 people have been arrested, accused of gang ties. Homicides have plummeted in El Salvador and the improved security has fueled Bukeles popularity.El Salvadors rescue from those nefarious claws is also helping the peace in our region, Chaves said when he presented Bukele with the recognition last year. The fight against organized crime in any part of Central America is welcome. The reach and influence and bad example of the gangs must be reduced. Campos came away impressed by the gang prison Bukele built at the start of the state of emergency where Campos said he saw fundamental rights being respected. The prisons director Belarmino Garca showed Campos one of the cells holding about 70 inmates. The prison director instructed the inmates to remove their shirts to show their tattooed torsos and asked some to identify their gang affiliation to show that members of rival gangs were sharing the same cell.After his tour, Campos said that Costa Rica would not continue allowing criminals to be arrest by police only to see them quickly freed by the judicial system. We are going to take all of the good practices back to Costa Rica to give Costa Ricans a place of peace and tranquility, he said.El Salvador Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said earlier Friday that El Salvador was pleased to share its experience with Costa Rica, a country that until recently had been a reference for peace, but now struggles with bloodshed like El Salvador once had.This is not a question of copy and paste, but rather of learning what we have done and implementing in each country what precisely can be done to rescue thousands of Costa Ricans, thousands of Salvadorans and imprisoning hundreds, Villatoro said.El Salvadors new gang prison, where inmates are held in large cells and never allowed outside, has gained more attention in recent weeks after the U.S. government sent nearly 300 migrants, including more than 200 Venezuelans, it accused of having gang ties to be held there.Costa Rica continues to struggle with historically high homicide numbers.In 2023, Costa Rica set a homicide record with 907, down somewhat in 2024 to 880. So far this year, the country is on nearly the same homicide pace as last year, according to government data. Unlike Bukele, Chaves does not hold a majority in Congress and has not remade Costa Ricas courts to remove opposition.Costa Rica long applauded for a robust ecotourism industry, environmental conservation and relative peace has been wracked by violence in recent years, largely attributed to drug trafficking. Costa Rica has become a key way station for cocaine exports to Europe and the United States.___Associated Press writer Javier Cordoba in San Jose, Costa Rica contributed to this report.

Protesters carry signs and chant slogans in protest to the policies of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk across from the Federal Building in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)2025-04-05T04:14:33Z WASHINGTON (AP) Opponents of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk plan to rally across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the administrations actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.More than 1,200 Hands Off! demonstrations have been planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and fair-elections activists. The protests are planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.The White House did not return an email message seeking comment about the protests. Trump has promoted his policies as being in the best interest of the U.S.Protesters are assailing the Trump administrations moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut federal funding for health programs. Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump or Musk multiple times since the new administration took power. But the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Womens March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trumps first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyds killing in 2020.Organizers say they hope Saturdays demonstrations will be the largest since Trump returned to office in January. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the second half, including a penalty, to guide Al-Nassr to a 3-1 win over Al-Hilal in the race for the Saudi Pro League title on Friday.

U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said the federation would strongly support expansion of the Women's World Cup to 48 teams in 2031.

Maryland center Derik Queen, who is projected as the No. 10 pick in ESPN's latest mock draft, told "SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt" that he will enter the NBA draft.

Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)2025-04-05T04:52:45Z HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) Another round of torrential rain and flash flooding was expected to hit Saturday in parts of the South and Midwest already heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that in some cases spawned deadly tornadoes. Floodwaters cover the entryway to the Weather Stone subdivision off Russellville Road in Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Grace McDowell/Daily News via AP) Floodwaters cover the entryway to the Weather Stone subdivision off Russellville Road in Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Grace McDowell/Daily News via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Round after round of heavy rains have pounded the central U.S., leading to rapidly rising waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies Friday night in Missouri, Texas and Arkansas. Meanwhile, many communities were still reeling from tornadoes that destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed at least seven people earlier this week. In Frankfort, Kentucky, floodwaters swept a 9-year-old boy away while he was walking to a school bus stop Friday morning, Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media. Officials said Gabriel Andrews body was found about a half-mile from where he went missing.The downtown area of Hopkinsville, Kentucky a city of 31,000 residents 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Nashville was submerged Friday. A dozen people were rescued from homes, and dozens of pets were moved away from rising water, a fire official said.Tony Kirves and some friends used sandbags and a vacuum to try to hold back rising waters that covered the basement and seeped into the ground floor of his photography business in Hopkinsville. Downtown was like a lake, he said. Were holding ground, he said. Were trying to maintain and keep it out the best we can. Marquetta Wheeler, right, with Samaria Williams and Jemaria Shaw walk through flood waters as they leave their home on Marietta Drive in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Marquetta Wheeler, right, with Samaria Williams and Jemaria Shaw walk through flood waters as they leave their home on Marietta Drive in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Drew's on the River Sports Bar and Grill manager, Carrie Haines, right, Frank left, and Steve Schmidt son of owner Ron Schmidt, center load furnature on to trailer in the rain as the Ohio River rises, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Drew's on the River Sports Bar and Grill manager, Carrie Haines, right, Frank left, and Steve Schmidt son of owner Ron Schmidt, center load furnature on to trailer in the rain as the Ohio River rises, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The Green River floods in Casey County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) The Green River floods in Casey County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Flood waters rise around homes on Bell Street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Flood waters rise around homes on Bell Street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Flash flood threat looms over many states Flash flood emergencies were issued Friday night in at least seven cities in Missouri, Texas and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. One was in Van Buren, Missouri, where there were at least 15 water rescues amid heavy rainfall and a rapidly rising Current River, said Justin Gibbs, weather service meteorologist. Another was in Texarkana, Texas, where the flooded streets resulted in several people having to be rescued from their vehicles, according to the citys police department. If you dont have darn good reason for being out (like one that involves a visit to the emergency room), please stay home and off the roads!! the police department said on social media.Heavy rains were expected to continue in parts of Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky and elsewhere Saturday and could produce dangerous flash floods. The weather service said 45 river locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads and other critical infrastructure possible. City of Owensboro workers put sandbags to protect the fountains in preparation for flooding of the Ohio River in Smothers Park in Owensboro, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP) City of Owensboro workers put sandbags to protect the fountains in preparation for flooding of the Ohio River in Smothers Park in Owensboro, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Cars sit in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Cars sit in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Brandon Sanderson, left, Josh Brashears set up sandbags after flooding in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Brandon Sanderson, left, Josh Brashears set up sandbags after flooding in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Signs at Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., stand in flooded waters on Friday, April 4, 2025, after excessive rainfall Thursday into Friday drenched southcentral Kentucky with more than four and a half inches of rain. (Grace McDowell /Daily News via AP) Signs at Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., stand in flooded waters on Friday, April 4, 2025, after excessive rainfall Thursday into Friday drenched southcentral Kentucky with more than four and a half inches of rain. (Grace McDowell /Daily News via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In Christian County, Kentucky, which includes Hopkinsville, 6 to 10 inches (15.2 to 25.4 centimeters) fell since Wednesday evening, the NWS said Friday afternoon. The rain caused the Little River to surge over its banks, and 4 to 8 inches (10.2 to 20.3 centimeters) more could fall by Sunday, it said. Hundreds of Kentucky roads were impassable Friday because of floodwaters, downed trees or mud and rock slides, and the number of closures were likely to increase with more rain Saturday, Beshear said. Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural Kentucky where water can rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding in the eastern part of the state.Extreme flooding across a corridor that includes Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis which have major cargo hubs could also lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.Swollen rivers and tributaries also swamped some parts in Ohio on Friday, and Gov. Mike DeWine said about 70 roads were closed. The southern half of the state was expected to see moderate flooding, which has not happened in four years, he added.Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf. At least 318 tornado warnings have been issued by the NWS since this weeks outbreak began Wednesday.The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of NWS forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts twice that of just a decade ago. Tornadoes leave a path of damage, and more could be comingAt least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the NWS.TAKE COVER NOW! the weather service said on X in response to the one on the ground around the small Missouri town of Advance.Earlier in the week, seven people were killed in the initial wave of storms that spawned powerful tornadoes on Wednesday and early Thursday in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana. Workers clear landslide debris, caused by heavy rains overnight, from Mary Ingles Highway, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Newport, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Workers clear landslide debris, caused by heavy rains overnight, from Mary Ingles Highway, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Newport, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A person rides a bike in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) A person rides a bike in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said entire neighborhoods in the hard-hit town of Selmer were completely wiped out, after it was hit by a tornado with winds estimated by the NWS of up to 160 mph (257 kph). Advance warning of storms likely saved lives as hundreds of people sheltered at a courthouse, the governor said.In neighboring Arkansas, a tornado near Blytheville lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin. The states emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.Mississippis governor said at least 60 homes were damaged. And in far western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, according to the emergency management office in Ballard County.___Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Obed Lamy in Hopkinsville; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A man looks at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)2025-04-05T05:04:14Z ASSISI, Italy (AP) With the upcoming canonization of its first millennial saint, the Catholic Church has turned to police in Italy to investigate the online sale of some purported relics of Carlo Acutis, who already has been drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to his shrine. Rev. Cristopher Pujol prays at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Rev. Cristopher Pujol prays at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Since the early days of the faith, many Catholics have prayed for intercession to saints relics usually small parts of their body or clothing that are authenticated by ecclesiastical authorities and preserved in churches. But their sale is strictly forbidden.Its not just despicable, but its also a sin, said the Rev. Enzo Fortunato, who leads the Vaticans World Childrens Day committee and has a tiny fragment of Acutis hair in a chapel by his office for veneration by visiting youth. Every kind of commerce over faith is a sin.An anonymous seller had put up for online auction some supposedly authenticated locks of Acutis hair that were fetching upward of 2,000 euros ($2,200 US), according to the Diocese of Assisi, before being taken down. Last month, Bishop Domenico Sorrentino asked authorities to confiscate the items and added that if fraudulent, the sale would constitute a great offense to religious belief. Young boys pray in front of the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Young boys pray in front of the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Photos of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Photos of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Acutis was precocious in developing and sharing his faithAcutis died of leukemia in 2006, when he was only 15 but had already developed a precocious faith life centered on devotion to the Eucharist which for Catholics holds the real presence of Christ. Savvy with technology, he had created an online exhibit about eucharistic miracles through the centuries.He will formally be declared a saint at a Mass in front of the Vaticans St. Peters Basilica on April 27. Over the past year, about 1 million pilgrims have flocked to the central Italian town of Assisi, where his body wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt lies in a shrine in a church dedicated to a key moment in the life of medieval hometown saint, St. Francis. Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A hair relic of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown to the Associated Press during an interview in Rome, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) A hair relic of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown to the Associated Press during an interview in Rome, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Acutis body was exhumed during the more-than-decade-long canonization process and treated so it could be preserved for public showing, including by removing certain organs. His face, which looks as if he were asleep, was reconstructed with a silicone mask, Sorrentino said. Acutis heart has been preserved at a dedicated altar in another Assisi church; it will be taken to Rome for the canonization Mass.The relics are little, little fragments of the body, to say that that body is blessed, and it explains to us the closeness of God, Sorrentino said.Handling of relics is a painstaking task for the churchThere are different classes of relics the most important are major body parts, such as the heart. Sorrentino gave Acutis pericardium the membrane enclosing the heart to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022 for the duration of its multi-year Eucharistic Revival.The bishop in charge of the saints body works with requests from other bishops around the world to give or lend relics always for free to be exhibited for veneration at parishes and other churches. People pray in front of the body of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) People pray in front of the body of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More We give this to communities, to parishes, to priests using the relics for the cult in their parish, Sorrentino said. Its not something magic. Its not something that works automatically, it works through faith.The practice of gathering relics dates to the earliest days of the church, when many faithful Christians died as martyrs in religious persecutions. Witnesses to the killings would collect blood or fragments of clothing to memorialize their sacrifice and to pray for the saints intercession, Fortunato said.In Acutis case, the first miracle in his canonization process was the healing of a boy in Brazil after a prayer service invoking his intercession with the presence of a relic, he added.For clergy and pilgrims who have been visiting Acutis shrine in Assisi this week, the relics take second place to the example of faith and the power of assisting with prayer that saints provide.I would never buy one, said Amelia Simone, an 18-year-old from Chicago who has been studying in Rome and credits Acutis for help smoothing out tricky visa paperwork. I think the intercession aspect is very cool, but I dont think Id ever want to own a first-class relic. It just would feel a bit weird to me. Two clergy leading a Holy Year pilgrimage to Italy from the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said it was a great tragedy that online relic sales were happening. The heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) The heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More We continue to pray for peoples conversion, said the Rev. Christopher Pujol.Bishop Larry Kulick added that relics are very reverent and very solemn for us as Catholics. And they are not only inspirational for us, but they are really ... opportunities to help us to pray.And so its unfortunate that such a thing would happen, because thats really a misuse of the relics and actually a disrespect to him and to his memory, he added. Some mixed views on this sainthood processAlready, the uncommon devotion and attention that Acutis canonization process has generated has been met with some skepticism. In hundreds of social media comments to a recent Associated Press article about the phenomenon, some called his sainthood a marketing ploy by the church to lure more young people back into the pews. Many others and those making pilgrimage to Assisi praised Acutis for his devotion and were glad hes become a role model for members of his generation.Its a joy for me to have encountered Carlo Acutis body, and especially to ask for his intercession for the transformation and the conversion of many youth, said Juana de Dios Euceda, a missionary nun from Honduras.___DellOrto reported from Miami.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

National Women's Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman said Friday that she thinks the league could grow to be the size of the NFL, which has 32 teams.

Jamal Musiala is set to miss the first leg of Bayern Munich's Champions League quarterfinal against Inter Milan on Tuesday, adding to the Bundesliga side's injury woes at a crucial stage of the season.

Jose Ramirez went deep three times and tied a franchise record with his 26th multi-homer game in Friday's 8-6 win over the Angels.

UConn center Jana El Alfy (8) and UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) react during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)2025-04-05T03:38:18Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness. Get the AP Top 25 womens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd didnt even need much help from superstar Paige Bueckers to propel UConn into the national title game, leading the Huskies to a remarkably easy 85-51 victory over UCLA on Friday night in the Final Four of the womens NCAA Tournament.Strong finished with 22 points and Fudd scored all of her 19 points in the first half for the second-seeded Huskies, who are one win away from their 12th national championship and first since the team won four straight from 2013-16, led by Breanna Stewart. The eight-year title drought is the longest for the Huskies since they won their first in 1995.We arent worried about the past. Every single day you walk into the gym and live up to the standard of playing UConn basketball, Bueckers said. Not comparing yourself to other teams and players before. We want to fill their shoes and make them proud. Wear the jersey with pride. UConn will face defending champion South Carolina on Sunday for the title after the Gamecocks beat Texas 74-57 earlier Friday night. Its a rematch of the 2022 championship game, which the Gamecocks won 64-49. The teams met in February and UConn shocked South Carolina with a 29-point road victory. Theyve played basketball at an exceptionally high level when you think about the Final Fours theyve been too and the consistency in their program, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. The ability to win national championships multiple times and (they) are in a position to win back-to-back ones. Bueckers, the likely top pick in the WNBA draft on April 14, finished with 16 points after topping 30 in each of the previous three games for the Huskies (36-3).If Paige had 16 last year, we wouldnt have made it to the Final Four, Auriemma said. If she had the game she had today the previous year, it would be almost impossible for us to win. All-America center Lauren Betts scored 26 points for top overall seed UCLA (34-3).UConn got off to a hot start with Strong and Fudd leading the way. Even when shots looked off, they found their way in. Fudd, one of the best shooters in the country whose career at UConn has been interrupted by multiple injuries, banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, prompting Auriemma to throw his arms in the air and smile.Its just so much fun to watch her play with joy and be at this stage, Bueckers said of Fudd. You see all the ups and downs, the bad days, the good days and to be at this spot where its the light at the end of the tunnel and for her to perform and be at this stage, it means everything to us.The Huskies led 23-13 at the end of the first quarter. They continued the onslaught behind Fudd to open a 42-22 advantage at the break. Bueckers had the play of the half with a touch pass in the air to Kaitlyn Chen for a layup late in the second quarter.UCLA never threated in the second half as the 6-foot-7 Betts had little help. UConn ended up breaking its own record for margin of victory in the Final Four or national title game the Huskies won the 2013 championship by 33 points over Louisville. UCLAs run endsThe Bruins fell short in their first appearance in the NCAA Final Four. UCLA won a national title in 1978 in the pre-NCAA era of womens basketball. The Bruins were looking to become the first team from the Big Ten, a conference they joined this season, to win a championship since Purdue did it in 1999.UCLA cruised through its best regular season, earning the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 for the first time and holding the spot for 14 weeks.The Bruins only lost twice this year before Friday, both to JuJu Watkins and USC. UCLA got a measure of revenge by beating USC to win the Big Ten Tournament in its first year in the league after the dismantling of the Pac-12. The Bruins set a program record for wins in a season and won 23 consecutive games, including 22 in a row by double digits. Weve obviously gone to new heights this year, but we got to let the pain of this hopefully teach us to go to new heights next year, UCLA coach Cori Close said. Learn from this and be better the next time. (Its) really unusual to be in this position at the Final Four and have zero seniors in your locker room and have an opportunity to come back stronger, more connected, learning from this experience and be better the next time.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Rob Blackwell stands next to an EV he started leasing right before U.S. President Donald Trump announced expansive new import tariffs, in Richmond, Va., on April 3, 2025. (Maia Curtis via AP)2025-04-05T04:10:39Z John Gutierrez had been thinking about buying a new laptop for the past year. The Austin, Texas, resident needed a computer with faster processing and increased storage for his photography work and had his sights set on a product from a Taiwanese brand.Then President Donald Trump announced expansive new import tariffs Wednesday, including a 32% tax on imports from Taiwan. That same day, Gutierrez ordered the laptop, with a base price of $2,400, from a retailer in New York specializing in photo and video gear.I thought Id bite the bullet, buy it now, and then that way Ill have the latest technology on my laptop and dont have to worry about the tariffs, he said.Gutierrez was among the U.S. consumers rushing to buy big-ticket items before the tariffs take effect. Economists say the tariffs are expected to increase prices for everyday items, warning of potentially weakened U.S. economic growth. The White House hopes the tariffs prod countries to open their economies to more American exports, leading to negotiations that could reduce tariffs, or that companies increase their production in the U.S. to avoid higher import taxes. Rob Blackwell and his wife needed a new car that could handle long drives from Arlington, Virginia, to their sons college. Their current electric vehicle is older with a limited range, and it will soon be used by his daughter, who is on the verge of getting her drivers license. I have been telling my wife that for some time we were going to need to do it, he said, and I was watching to see what the president did with tariffs.Blackwell wanted another EV, but said leasing made more economic sense because the technology is ever-changing. He had his eye on the new General Motors Optiq; its an American car but made in Mexico, which could be subject to tariffs on supply chains that might increase the cost. After hearing that tariffs would be announced, they made plans the weekend before to lease the car. He said the dealership honored the agreement they worked out before the tariffs were finalized. And although he said the salespeople were a pleasure to deal with, Blackwell sensed a shift in their stance.They know what we know, which is suddenly it flips from a buyers market to a sellers market very quickly, Blackwell said, adding that he is happy with his choice. It was just a simple rational decision, he said. If this is what the governments going to do, I need to get my act together.Lee Wochner, CEO of the Burbank, California-based Counterintuity marketing and strategy firm, also needed a new vehicle. He wanted a more presentable car for business meetings, but kept putting it off because of his busy work schedule.On March 27, a Thursday, he told his firms car broker: Ed, I need a car pronto and its got to happen by Sunday.The broker gave him some car and pricing options and he leased an Audi Q3, which was delivered Sunday to his house by a nearby dealership.A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation showed how much he saved by leasing before the tariffs were implemented. If he had waited, Wochner said, it would have cost about another $4,300. One of the things my car broker said was that deals that were already written, some of the dealerships were ripping them up already and renegotiating them because they were afraid that they werent going to be able to get enough new inventory at a price anybody would buy, he said.He believes prices will continue to increase because the U.S. has lost the trust of the international trade market.If you need a new car, if you can get that pre-tariff deal still, you should go get it, he said, because who knows what next Wednesday might be like. CLAIRE RUSH Rush is an Associated Press reporter covering Oregon state government and general news in the Pacific Northwest more broadly. twitter mailto MARK THIESSEN Thiessen is an Associated Press all-formats reporter based in Anchorage, Alaska. He covers Alaska Native issues and other general assignments. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The Warriors won their fifth straight game with Friday's 118-104 victory over the Nuggets, and Stephen Curry said the team is playing with a "sense of urgency down the stretch."

The Celtics broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season Friday night against the Suns, connecting on their 1,364th to pass the Warriors' mark set in 2022-23.

The Warriors won their fifth straight game with Friday's 118-104 victory over the Nuggets, and Stephen Curry said the team is playing with a "sense of urgency down the stretch."

Max Verstappen pulled off a near-perfect lap of the Suzuka circuit to snatch pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix from McLaren's Lando Norris.

Retired coal miner Stanley "Goose" Stewart holds a helmet he wore inside the Upper Big Branch mine when it blew up on April 5, 2010, killing 29 men, as he stands for a portrait at his home in Orgas, W.Va., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/John Raby)2025-04-05T04:07:04Z CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Retired coal miner Stanley Goose Stewart questions whether its safe for anyone to work in the industry right now.The Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, has been targeting federal agencies for spending cuts. That includes terminating leases for three dozen offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for enforcing mine safety laws. The proposals for MSHA are idiotic, Stewart said, and would give coal companies the green light to do as they please.Safety laws and their enforcement played a significant role before and after the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia blew up 15 years ago Saturday, killing 29 of Stewarts co-workers.Stewart was there that day but soon stepped away for good, focusing on his love for hunting, fishing and tending to his chickens and his garden when the weather warms. Coal mining in West Virginia, meanwhile, spent the ensuing years in a political fight that Republicans largely won. As a 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was slammed for saying that her plans to shift away from carbon-based fuels like coal would put miners out of business. Trump vowed to save the industry, and while mining jobs have not made a comeback, coal states like West Virginia have become reliable Republican strongholds. Advocates for the mining industry argue that state government is up to the task of keeping mines safe, although some lawmakers in West Virginias Republican majority have used the existence of federal inspectors as justification for curtailing the state inspectors enforcement power. They also point to the dwindling number of mining fatalities and mines in general. Republican Tom Clark, a West Virginia state lawmaker and a former MSHA inspector and supervisor who worked in one West Virginia office slated for closure, said he expected it to shutter years ago. Eight MSHA employees currently work in the Summersville office, Clark said, less than a third of the workforce that existed there about 10 years ago. Clark said he doesnt have any concerns for miners, as long as those inspectors are transferred to other coalfield-based offices. Clark, who worked on MSHAs Upper Big Branch investigation, said he supports the Trump administrations efforts to streamline government and stimulate the economy. Its going to take time and theres going to be some pain for all the American people, I think, he said. But if we can hang in there and battle through, we all may be better off. I hope so.Clark said the federal government should not cut down on inspectors and said black lung benefits need to be funded. He said the government should use money theyre saving to make sure those programs have what they need. Funding shouldnt be a consideration for keeping people healthy, he said. It really shouldnt. But Stewart, the former miner, said the MSHA office closures will impact safety.I wouldnt recommend anybody get in the mining industry right now because of whats going on with Trump and Musk, he said. Stewart said hes never supported Trump and never would, but he struggles to explain the loyalty of many West Virginians, including coal miners, to the president. He said Trump had never done anything to help them.I cant wrap my brain around why they cant see what a con man he is. I just hope someday theyll wake up. It may already be too late.What does MSHA do?Congress created MSHA within the Department of Labor in 1978, in part because state inspectors were seen as too close to the industry to force coal companies to take the sometimes costly steps necessary to protect miners. MSHA is required to inspect each underground mine quarterly and each surface mine twice a year. MSHA inspectors are supposed to check every working section of a mine. They examine electrical and ventilation systems that protect miners from deadly black lung disease, inspect impoundment dams and new roof bolts, and make sure mining equipment is safe, said Jack Spadaro, a longtime mine safety investigator and environmental specialist who worked for MSHA. Mining fatalities over the past four decades have dropped significantly, in large part because of the dramatic decline in coal production. But the proposed DOGE cuts would require MSHA inspectors to travel farther to get to a mine, and Spadaro said that could lead to less thorough inspections. Its a stupid proposal made by stupid people who obviously have no concept or no knowledge about mine safety, Spadaro said. Robert Cash, a 55-year-old mine roof bolt operator from Foster, West Virginia, said miners feel in the dark about how closing offices will impact safety. Its just a big scare around here, he said. If we have a disaster and they closed down an MSHA office close to us, now whats the response time to get someone out there to start the investigation? Hurricane forceStewart was inside Upper Big Branch when it exploded on April 5, 2010, with a blast he described as hurricane force winds. Before reaching the surface, he tried to revive some of his fallen co-workers, then covered their bodies with blankets.Investigations determined that worn and broken cutting equipment created a spark that ignited coal dust and methane gas. After the disaster, MSHA sent inspection teams to conduct impact inspections at mines with a history of repeated problems, many of them underground operations in West Virginia and Kentucky, which have nearly half of the nations coal mines. Under the second Trump administration, the impact inspections have stopped. Joe Main, MSHAs chief during the Obama administration, said on Musks social media site X that weakened MSHA enforcement staffing contributed to the Upper Big Branch disaster and that the proposed DOGE cuts can risk miners lives in an agency already short staffed. Some 34 MSHA offices in 19 states have been targeted for closure. Hundreds of federal occupational health employees doing mining-related work and research were laid off this past week as part of cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you take away all those protections, youre kind of making the workers disposable, said Dr. Carl Werntz, a West Virginia physician who conducts black lung examinations. Thats terribly concerning.Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said no federal agency has reached out to confirm that seven MSHA offices are closing there. My concern is that what Elon Musk is trying to do is break government, not fix it, Beshear said.Recipe for disasterConflicts within the coal industry go back over a century. The West Virginia Mine Wars involved a long-running dispute between coal companies and miners fed up with deadly work and poor wages and living conditions. When union organizers showed up, the companies retaliated. Membership in the United Mine Workers union peaked in 1946, then plummeted as government support waned and the industry waged an all-out war on union mines. Today, a majority of U.S. coal mines are nonunion and the UMW is a shell of the powerful safety advocate it once was.UMW President Cecil Roberts said workers safety will be left solely in the hands of employers in the absence of protections from the union and the federal government.History has shown us time and time again that doing so is a recipe for disaster, especially in the mining industry, he said. ___Associated Press writer Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

A Bhutan medical volunteer attends to a patient at their make-shift tent after last week's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo)2025-04-05T04:05:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) Day after day, Chinese rescue teams haul children and elderly people from collapsed buildings as cameras beam the thanks of grateful survivors around the world. Russian medical teams show off field hospitals erected in a flash to tend the wounded.Notably absent from the aftermath of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in the poor Southeast Asian nation Myanmar: the uniquely skilled, well-equipped and swift search-and-rescue teams and disaster-response crews from the United States.At least 15 Asian and Western government rescue teams have landed crews reaching hundreds of workers in size, alongside initial pledges of financial aid reaching tens of millions of dollars, as the death toll of the March 28 quake tops 3,000, Myanmars government says. Cameras showed Vietnams team on arrival, marching square-shouldered to the rescue behind their countrys flag. While Myanmars military junta and civil war have posed challenges, the U.S. government has worked with local partners there previously to successfully provide aid for decades, including after deadly storms in 2008 and 2023, aid officials say. The American government dwarfs other nations rescue capacity in experience, capacity and heavy machinery able to pull people alive from rubble. But in Myanmar after the most recent quake, the U.S. has distinguished itself for having no known presence on the ground beyond a three-member assessment team sent days after the quake. We all worried what would be the human impact of President Donald Trumps dismantling of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, said Lia Lindsey, a senior humanitarian policy adviser for Oxfam, which scrambled to provide tents, blankets and other aid to quake survivors.Now, Lindsey said, were seeing it in real time. Were seeing it in increased suffering and increased death. A retreat from decades of American policy may be fueling the absenceThe United States, the worlds largest economy, long saw its strategic interests and alliances served by its standing as the worlds top humanitarian donor. Myanmars quake is as close to a no-show as the nation has had in recent memory at a major, accessible natural disaster. Current and former senior private and government officials say the Myanmar disaster points to some of the results for people in need on the ground, and for U.S. standing in the world of the Trump administrations retreat from decades of U.S. policy. That approach held that Washington needs both the hard power of a strong military and the soft power of a robust aid and development program to deter enemies, win and keep friends and steer events.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Europe for a NATO gathering, rejected a suggestion that the administration was ceding influence abroad by canceling thousands of its aid and development contracts, including for disasters. He told reporters that those complaining were the aid groups, which he accused of profiting off past U.S. aid.We will do the best we can, Rubio said Friday. But we also have other needs we have to balance that against. Were not walking away. He pointed to a lot of other rich countries in the world. They should all be pitching in and do their part.Leading Senate Democrats wrote Rubio this week, urging him to scale up U.S. disaster aid to Myanmar and fast. Separately, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke of watching a news broadcast of the disaster showing Chinese government teams at work. It hurt my heart to see where, instead of a USAID ... team leading the response, there was a team from the PRC that was being celebrated for having saved some people in the rubble, Coons said.The 2 1/2-month-old Trump administration, through Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency teams, has frozen USAID funding, terminated thousands of contracts and is firing all but a handful of its staff globally. It accuses the agency of waste and of advancing liberal causes. The Myanmar quake is the first major natural disaster since that work started.The Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say they will reassemble a reduced slate of aid and development programs under the State Department, fitting their narrower interpretation of work that serves U.S. strategic and economic interests. The first announcement of help came days laterDays after the Myanmar quake, the U.S. made its first announcement of help: It was sending a three-member assessment team of non-specialist advisers from a regional USAID office in Bangkok, Thailand. Coincidentally, like hundreds of other USAID staffers around the world, the three had received layoff notices from the Trump administration on March 28 within hours of the quake, current and former USAID officials confirmed.The administration also promised $2 million in aid, and announced another $7 million Friday. But theres a much larger number at play. That $9 million total is dwarfed by the roughly $2 billion in payments for previously rendered services and goods that the Trump administration has owed nonprofit humanitarian groups and other contractors and government and nongovernment foreign partners, aid officials say. The Trump administration abruptly shut down USAID and State foreign assistance payments including for work already done on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.Combined with abruptly terminated aid contracts and the freeze on the USAID and State aid and development payments, the U.S. back debt is forcing larger aid operations and businesses to scale back their services to people in need and to slash staff. Some smaller organizations were driven out of business. That was even before the Myanmar quake.Under court order, the administration is slowly making good on those back payments.In the meantime, nonprofit groups are having to draw on reserve funds they would normally use for sudden unplanned disasters like the Myanmar quake to pay the bills that the U.S. should have paid, said Lindsey, the Oxfam official.Asked about the burden that the non-government organizations another name for aid groups say USAIDs unpaid back bills are placing on their work, the State Department said in an email, The U.S. government cannot comment on how NGOs manage their financing.Typically, the United States itself would have provided $10 million to $20 million in the initial phase of response to a disaster like the Myanmar quake, with more later for long-term aid and rebuilding, said Sarah Charles, who ran disaster response and overall humanitarian affairs at USAID in the Biden administration. We have a long history in Burma, Charles said, adding, Its an environment that the U.S. government has been operating in over the last many decades.Normally, the United States also would have had 20 to 25 specialized disaster workers on the ground in as few as 24 hours, Charles said. That number would have jumped to 200 or more if USAID had flown in urban rescue teams from California and Virginia. They deploy as self-contained units, with dog handlers and the capacity to feed and provide clean water to the teams, Charles said.The Trump administration preserved contracts for the California and Virginia rescue teams under pressure from lawmakers. But the contracts for their transport are believed among the thousands of USAID contracts that the administration canceled. That left the U.S. no quick way to move search-and-rescue crews when disaster struck, Charles said.Britain has pledged $13 million in aid and said it will match up to $5 million in private donations, and China and others have promised financial aid. At least 15 countries sent in dozens or hundreds of rescuers or aid workers, including Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, according to Myanmar officials.China shares a border and close ties with Myanmar. Chinese rescuers had their first success Sunday, fewer than 48 hours after the quake, when they joined hands with local people to pull an elderly man from a badly damaged hospital in the capital city of Naypyitaw. By Wednesday, Chinese rescuers had pulled out nine survivors, including a pregnant woman and a child. In Mandalay, Chinese rescuers saved a 52-year-old man who trapped for nearly 125 hours.-Rising reported from Bangkok. Matthew Lee and Didi Tang contributed from Washington and Jill Lawless from London.- ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter DAVID RISING Rising covers regional Asia-Pacific stories for The Associated Press. He has worked around the world, including covering the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, and was based for nearly 20 years in Berlin before moving to Bangkok. twitter mailto

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Rescue workers work on a site after Russian rocket strike on residential neighbourhood killing civilians including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, April 4, 2025. (Na Chasi media via AP)2025-04-05T09:20:48Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The death toll from a Russian missile strike in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has risen to 18, including nine children, regional governor Serhii Lysak said Saturday.A further 61 people were injured in Fridays attack, ranging from a 3-month-old baby to elderly residents. Forty remain hospitalized, including two children in critical condition and 17 in serious condition.There can never be forgiveness for this, said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the citys defense council. Eternal memory to the victims.Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The missile struck an area right next to residential buildings hitting a playground and ordinary streets, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.Local authorities said the strike damaged about 20 apartment buildings, more than 30 vehicles, an educational building and a restaurant. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday that it had carried out a high-precision missile strike with a high explosive warhead on a restaurant where a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors was taking place. Russian military claimed that the strike killed 85 military personnel and foreign officers and destroyed 20 vehicles. The militarys claims could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian General Staff rejected the claims.A later drone strike on Kryvyi Rih killed one woman and wounded seven other people. Zelenskyy blamed the daily strikes on Russias unwillingness to end the war: Every missile, every drone strike proves Russia wants only war, he said, urging Ukraines allies to increase pressure on Moscow and bolster Ukraines air defenses.The United States, Europe, and the rest of the world have enough power to make Russia abandon terror and war, he said. Russian forces launched 92 drones into Ukraine overnight, with 51 shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian air force wrote on social media Saturday. A further 31 decoy drones also failed to reach their targets, it said. Elsewhere, one person died Saturday in the Russian-occupied town of Horlivka in Ukraines Donetsk region due to shelling, Moscow-installed Gov. Denis Pushilin said. Security officials told Russian state news channels that they had destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones over the Donetsk region overnight, marking the first time that the occupied territory had been targeted by such long-range strikes.