May 20, 2025.

Florida Panthers' Carter Verhaeghe (23) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during first period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Panthers look every bit like reigning Stanley Cup champs in routing Hurricanes to open Eastern final

May 20, 2025

The Florida Panthers showed their championship mettle from last year’s run to the Stanley Cup by taking control early in their 5-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes to open the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night. Florida scored two tone-setting goals in the first period and never trailed. They also got goals from five different players. That came roughly 48 hours after they had to win a Game 7 on the road to advance here. They beat a Hurricanes team that had won all five of their home games in the playoffs so far.

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FILE - Elon Musk speaks at a town hall March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File)

Elon Musk’s pullback from politics comes after his last big investment was a flop

May 20, 2025

Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk’s last big spend on a political campaign. And it was a flop. Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns, an announcement that came just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points. Musk’s spending helped make it the most expensive court race in U.S. history. And it came just five months after Musk spent at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win, reversing losses in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years earlier.

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dribbles the ball up court against Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder beat the rested Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1 of West finals

May 20, 2025

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half, and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-88 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP finalist, had nine assists. He made 8 of 14 field goals after halftime. Julius Randle scored 28 points for Minnesota, but just eight in the second half. Anthony Edwards, who had been averaging 26.5 points per game in the playoffs, was held to 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Oklahoma City was just two days removed from eliminating Denver in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Minnesota hadn’t played in a week.

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FILE - A sculler rows down the Charles River near Harvard University, at rear, April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Most AAPI adults oppose college funding cuts and student deportations, a new poll finds

May 20, 2025

A new AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll finds that as colleges and universities pull back on diversity practices, young Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are overwhelmingly against cutting federal funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education, and deporting students involved in protest activity on campus. Opposition, however, is lower among their parents and grandparents. That’s despite the fact that most AAPI adults, regardless of age, place a high value on a college education. The findings suggest that President Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back DEI on college campuses and crack down on international students could be landing differently among older and younger AAPI adults.

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FILE - Capital punishment protesters pray on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith, April 21, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Tennessee prepares to execute Oscar Smith, 3 years after last-minute reprieve

May 20, 2025

Oscar Smith came within minutes of being executed before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a surprise reprieve just over three years ago. It turned out there were problems with the lethal injection drugs that had been ongoing. The state now has a new execution process and is prepared to try again Thursday. Smith says his personal minister will be in the execution chamber praying for him. He’s grateful for that but also worried about her because “she doesn’t need any bad experiences.” The 75-year-old Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville, Tennessee, home in 1989.

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President Donald Trump speaks as Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace smiles during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump drafts America’s business titans to burnish his image at home and abroad

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump isn’t the only one who wrapped up a Middle East tour in recent days. American CEOs and other executives dropped everything to tail along with Trump on his travels and bolster the image he tried to sell on his first major foreign trip. Corporate titans are spending more time than ever working to curry favor with the current administration as part of their effort to score relief from tariffs and government regulations. Trump, in turn, is happy to use them as supporting cast members in his efforts to project the economy as booming at a time when growth is slowing.

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Dr. Austin Dennard holds her son as she poses for a portrait at her home in Dallas, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A Texas effort to clarify abortion ban reaches a key vote, but doubts remain

May 20, 2025

Several states with near-total abortion bans have introduced legislation seeking to make their medical exceptions clearer. In Texas, a similar bill would specify doctors cannot face criminal charges for performing an abortion in a medical emergency. It’s the first abortion bill to receive bipartisan support from lawmakers since the state ban took effect. Yet it has divided abortion rights advocates who say similar bills do not make bans easier to understand. Efforts by Republican lawmakers to introduce bills seeking to clarify medical exceptions for abortions have risen since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

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Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) has his shot frozen by Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the third period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Reigning Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers beat Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Eastern final opener

May 20, 2025

Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad scored two tone-setting first-period goals while Sergei Bobrovsky remained strong in net as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Tuesday night’s opener of their Eastern Conference final series. A.J. Greer added a goal by finishing off a perfect 2-on-1 transition chance in the second period for Florida. Sam Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen scored in the third period. Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake scored Carolina’s lone goals in the opener of a series that is a rematch of the 2023 Eastern final. Game 2 is Thursday night at Carolina.

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Rapper Kid Cudi expected to testify at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

May 20, 2025

Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is expected to testify at the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial. He is likely to take the witness stand either Wednesday or Thursday to tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. Cassie testified last week that Combs was enraged when she left him for a period of time in 2011 and began dating Cudi. Prosecutors say Combs was so upset that he arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that he oversaw a racketeering enterprise that controlled Cassie and others through threats and violence.

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For kids with autism, swim classes can be lifesaving

May 20, 2025

Some studies have shown that children with autism are more at risk of drowning. Experts say swimming instruction can help, but classes specifically designed for kids with autism aren’t always easy to get. One such class took place recently at the Small Fish Big Fish swim school in Florida. That’s a state where officials have documented more than 100 drownings of children with autism since 2021. The risk stems in large part from a propensity to wander off or underappreciate perils. Parents of children in the swimming class say they see it as potentially lifesaving.

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FILE - A ninth grader places his cellphone into a phone holder as he enters class at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file)

Half of US states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more to follow

May 20, 2025

Half of U.S. states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more likely to follow. Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023, while Alaska became the 25th on Tuesday. Bills have sprinted through legislatures this year in states as varied as New York and Oklahoma, reflecting a broad consensus that phones are bad for kids. Eight other states and the District of Columbia have rules or recommendations out to local districts. There’s an increasing focus on banning phones throughout the school day. But some states with traditions of local control are mandating only that districts adopt cellphone policies

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Mike Elias, executive vice president and general manager for the Baltimore Orioles, speaks to the media before a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Orioles GM Elias speaks 3 days after firing manager, says he’s evaluating reasons for team’s decline

May 20, 2025

Orioles general manager Mike Elias has broken his silence about his decision to fire manager Brandon Hyde. Elias said Tuesday he’s doing an across-the-board evaluation to determine what has caused Baltimore’s remarkably rapid decline. Elias fired Hyde on Saturday, and since then, the team has gone 0-4. Until Tuesday, only players and interim manager Tony Mansolino had answered questions about the firing. Elias praised Hyde for getting the Orioles back into contention but said the time had come for a new voice. He says he didn’t take questions earlier because it’s been “a pretty hectic few days.”

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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the New York City Mayoral Candidates Forum at Medgar Evers College Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Justice Dept. investigating former New York Gov. Cuomo over pandemic testimony, AP source says

May 20, 2025

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Republicans recommended that he be charged with lying to Congress over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington launched the investigation shortly after Republican Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked the Justice Department to prosecute Cuomo. A spokesperson for Cuomo said Tuesday that the former governor, who is now running for New York City mayor, was never informed of any such investigation and called the probe “lawfare and election interference.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani jogs back to the dugout after grounding out during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Ohtani mixes in breaking pitches for 1st time as he rehabs from elbow surgery

May 20, 2025

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has mixed in breaking pitches for the first time in a throwing session. The right-hander had been limited to fastball and splitters previously as he works to return to pitching this season following elbow surgery. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Ohtani is getting closer to facing live hitting for the first time since he underwent his second Tommy John procedure in September 2023. Ohtani’s return to the mound has been expected to come near the All-Star break in July

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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Judge homers late and Yankees beat Rangers 5-2 behind Warren and Rice

May 20, 2025

Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer, rookie Will Warren struck out a career-high 10 and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 5-2. Ben Rice also went deep for the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series between the past two American League champions. Anthony Volpe blooped an RBI double after Rice drove in the first two runs. New York has won nine of 12 to move a season-best nine games over .500. Texas manager Bruce Bochy was ejected by plate umpire Carlos Torres with Judge batting in the sixth inning, and the Rangers lost for the third time in four games following a six-game winning streak. Jonah Heim’s two-run homer off Ian Hamilton with two outs in the ninth prevented a shutout.

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Wilmer Escaray talks about his concerns about the future of his employees and customers during an interview inside a franchise of "Sabor Venezolano," one of 18 businesses he owns which employ scores of Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who are now potentially exposed to deportation, in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

US business owners are confused about Venezuelan employees with temporary status

May 20, 2025

Businesses face uncertainty after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans. The Miami-area city of Doral is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States. It’s coming to grips with Monday’s court decision. Some attorneys advise a case-by-case approach and urge employers and Venezuelans alike to explore alternatives to continue working legally. Venezuelan beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status work in the hospitality, construction, agriculture, health care, retail, and restaurant sectors. A restaurant owner in Doral says he is stressed after the ruling. Wilmer Escaray says at least 70% of his 150 employees are Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status.

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This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Matthew Lee Johnson, who was sentenced to death for a convenience store robbery in which he set an elderly clerk on fire in Garland, Texas. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

Texas man is executed 13 years to the day of a store robbery in which he set a clerk on fire

May 20, 2025

A Texas man has been executed 13 years to the day of a convenience store robbery in which he set a clerk on fire in a Dallas suburb. Matthew Lee Johnson received a lethal injection Tuesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 20, 2012, attack on 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a great-grandmother who he splashed with lighter fluid before setting her on fire. Badly burned, she died days afterward. Johnson expressed remorse Tuesday evening and asked for forgiveness from relatives of the victim who watched the execution through a window. Elsewhere, an Indiana man was executed earlier Tuesday for the killing of a police officer.

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FILE - Dr. Steven Hotze, president of Conservative Republicans of Texas, speaks at a Restrain the Judges news conference, while Janet Porter of Faith2Action listens at right, in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Charges dropped against conservative activist in Texas over false voter fraud claim

May 20, 2025

Texas prosecutors have dropped charges against a prominent conservative activist in Houston related to allegations he was part of what authorities have called a baseless voter fraud conspiracy theory. Dr. Steven Hotze had been facing four charges related to allegedly helping plan an assault against an air conditioner repairman in October 2020. The man was run off the road and held at gunpoint over false claims he was holding fraudulent voter ballots. On Tuesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office dropped all four counts against Hotze. Jared Woodfill, Hotze’s attorney, said he was surprised but pleased by the dismissal of the charges. A former Houston police officer accused of running the repairman off the road is still facing two charges in the case.

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New York Mets' Juan Soto flips his bat after striking out against Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler during the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Mendoza: Frustration may have played a role in Juan Soto’s lack of hustle on base hit

May 20, 2025

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza wouldn’t get into specifics on any conversion he had with slugger Juan Soto after a lack of hustle left him with a single rather than extra bases in New York’s series opener at Boston. Mendoza said frustration may have played a role in Soto’s response to a line drive in the sixth inning Monday night that bounced high off the Green Monster as Soto stood and watched from the batter’s box in the Mets’ 3-1 loss. Mendoza sounded somewhat more understanding Tuesday than he did after the game Monday night, when he said he would have a chat with the $765 million star who is in his first season with the Mets.

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Brian Lowery stands before what remains of his home, which was ripped apart by a tornado, in Tylertown, Miss., on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance

May 20, 2025

Mississippi’s request for federal disaster assistance is pending more than two months after 18 tornadoes ripped through the state. The delays offer a glimpse into what could be in store for communities around the country as the summer storm season arrives and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is mired in turmoil. And hurricane season is just around the corner. The emergency management director in one of the state’s hardest-hit counties says debris-removal operations have ground to a halt, and people who lost their homes aren’t getting the help they need.

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Shortage of overnight truck parking contributed to deadly Greyhound bus crash, regulators say

May 20, 2025

Federal regulators have ruled that a lack of overnight parking for long-haul truckers contributed to a deadly 2023 Greyhound bus crash in Illinois that killed three of the bus passengers. The National Traffic Safety Board said in a report Wednesday that other key contributors were bus-driver fatigue, Greyhound’s insufficient oversight and more. The bus was headed west on Interstate 70 east of St. Louis about 2 a.m. on July 12, 2023. It exited onto a rest-area ramp and sideswiped three semitrailers. None of the truck drivers was hurt. The bus driver and 11 passengers were injured.

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FILE - Charging bays are seen at the new Electrify America indoor electric vehicle charging station in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Senate will try to block California vehicle standards that would phase out gas-powered cars

May 20, 2025

The U.S. Senate will move this week to block California from enforcing a series of vehicle emissions standards that are tougher than the federal government’s, including first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the Senate will consider three House-passed resolutions this week that would roll back the standards. His announcement came despite significant pushback from Democrats, questions from some Republicans and the advice of the Senate Parliamentarian, who has sided with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in saying California’s policies are not subject to the review mechanism used by the House.

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FILE -State Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, speaks with a colleague, Feb. 14, 2023, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Supreme Court orders Maine House to restore vote of GOP lawmaker who ID-ed trans teen athlete online

May 20, 2025

The Supreme Court is siding with a GOP state lawmaker in Maine who was blocked from voting after she identified a transgender student athlete in a critical social-media post. The court majority on Tuesday ordered the Maine House to allow Rep. Laurel Libby to cast legislative votes while her lawsuit over the censure plays out. The case comes after the Democratic-controlled state House found that Libby’s viral post had violated its code of ethics by putting the student at risk. She was blocked from speaking and voting on the floor after refusing to apologize. Libby said the punishment violates her right to free speech and leaves her district without representation.

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FILE - A customer holds the door for a family arriving at Leavitt's Country Bakery, Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Conway, N.H. Lawyers in a First Amendment lawsuit that pits a New Hampshire bakery owner against a town zoning ordinance over a large painting of doughnuts and other pastries are hoping that a judge can resolve the matter after voters didn't. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Bakery in New Hampshire wins in free speech case over a pastry shop painting

May 20, 2025

A federal judge says a New Hampshire town’s attempt to force a bakery to remove or alter its painting featuring pastries is unconstitutional. The judge ruled Monday that the town of Conway infringed on the free speech rights of bakery owner Sean Young. The town was ordered to stop enforcing its sign code for the mural painted by high school students atop Leavitt’s Country Bakery. The mural shows sunbeams shining down on a mountain range of doughnuts, a muffin, a cinnamon roll and other pastries. The zoning board had said that because the painting showed what’s sold inside — baked goods — it was considered a sign and was larger than what code allows. Young sued in 2023.

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FILE - A billboard is seen in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, June 10, 2023, near the health care facility of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which has been affected by a gigantic Medicaid fraud scheme involving sober living homes that promised help to Native Americans seeking to kick alcohol and other additions. (AP Photo/Anita Snow, File)

20 people, health care business and church charged in sober living scheme in Arizona

May 20, 2025

Twenty people, a behavioral health business and a church were charged in an indictment that alleged Arizona’s Medicaid program was defrauded $60 million in a scheme involving billing for mental health treatment and addiction rehabilitation. Its the latest indictment in a series of crackdowns in the state focusing on sober living homes. The indictment alleged Happy House Behavioral Health LLC was paid the money for services that were either never provided or only partially completed. In all, over 100 people and several companies have been charged in cases brought by Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office in crackdowns on Medicaid fraud and unlicensed sober living homes, many of which targeted tribal members.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hegseth orders new review of Afghanistan withdrawal and suicide bombing at Kabul airport

May 20, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another review of the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed American troops and Afghans. President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly blasted the Biden administration for the withdrawal, which Hegseth said Tuesday was “disastrous and embarrassing.” He says the new review will interview witnesses, analyze the decision-making and “get the truth.” There have already been multiple reviews of the withdrawal by the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and Congress, which have involved hundreds of interviews and studies of videos, photographs and other footage and data.

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FILE - Arkansas guard Boogie Fland (2) runs a play against Florida during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods, File)

Former Arkansas standout Boogie Fland commits to national champion Florida

May 20, 2025

Former Arkansas standout Boogie Fland, widely considered the top guard in the transfer portal, has chosen to play for defending national champion Florida. Fland committed to coach Todd Golden following a two-day visit to Gainesville and posted his decision on Instagram. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Fland averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 21 games with the Razorbacks last season. He joins Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee and Ohio University transfer AJ Brown in Florida’s revamped backcourt.

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FILE - Josef Newgarden crosses the finish line to win the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, file)

Indy 500 announces first grandstand sellout since 2016 with 350,000 expected for the race on Sunday

May 20, 2025

The Indianapolis 500 is sold out for the first time in nearly a decade. That means about 350,000 fans, or about 1 for every 1,000 people living in the U.S., will be at the historic racetrack for the 109th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday. It also means the local TV blackout that has been in place since 1951 has been lifted so fans living in central Indiana will be able to watch the race live. The last sellout was in 2016 for the 100th running of the race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles says general admission infield tickets are still available.

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Awaiting Trump’s ‘sanctuary’ list, a sheriff who rejected pact with ICE warns of possible shaming

May 20, 2025

An Iowa sheriff is warning his county may be publicly shamed by the Trump administration for insufficiently backing the president’s immigration agenda. Dubuque County Sheriff Joe Kennedy says he is “more than happy” to help but he doesn’t want to get stuck paying for immigration enforcement and he wants to retain enough jail space for other responsibilities. President Donald Trump ordered a list by May 28 of “sanctuary” jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities but didn’t elaborate on the criteria. Kennedy has made clear that his reluctance to enforce immigration law is not about politics.

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FILE - The Pentagon is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Racist memes shared by Navy SEALs prompt investigation, disciplinary actions

May 20, 2025

A defense official says that two Navy SEALs based in Virginia are facing disciplinary action for racist conduct, and several of their platoon and team leaders are being disciplined for leadership failures. The two enlisted Team 4 members are being punished for developing racist memes targeting a Black sailor in their platoon and circulating them in a group chat with other team members. The investigation found that platoon and team leaders did not adequately address the sailor’s concerns about racist behavior. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of an ongoing investigation.

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before a House Republican conference meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

How much did Mideast countries promise to invest in the US? Trump keeps jacking up the number

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump loves big numbers —- and he’s always happy to talk them up. After all, Trump years ago coined the phrase “truthful hyperbole” in his book “The Art of the Deal.” Over the last few days he has been steadily increasing the amount of money he says that countries in the Mideast pledged to invest in the U.S. when he visited the region last week. He didn’t provide underlying details. Based on statements from Trump and the White House, the figure has gone from $2 trillion last week to potentially $7 trillion as of Tuesday.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with children during a briefing for children during a Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump’s sweet tooth: He eats a ‘good amount’ of candy and likes pink Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump has a sweet tooth. That’s according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who made the revelation at a briefing Tuesday for the children of White House reporters. It was part of a day of events as the White House observed Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. The president and first lady Melania Trump also held separate events with groups of children. One child asked Leavitt how much candy does the president eat every day and she said, “a good amount.” She said he likes pink Starburst candies and Tootsie Rolls.

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FILE - A firefighter carries a drip torch as he ignites a backfire against the Hughes Fire burning along a hillside in Castaic, Calif., Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Trump plans to merge wildland firefighting efforts into one agency, but ex-officials warn of chaos

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to merge the government’s wildland firefighting efforts into a single agency. Some former federal officials warn the change could sow chaos and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes with fire season already underway. Trump’s budget would centralize firefighting efforts now split among five agencies into a single Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Interior Department. The Trump administration in its first months sharply reduced the ranks of firefighters through layoffs and retirement offers. The personnel declines and reshuffling of agencies come as global makes fires more severe and destructive.

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FILE - Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., asks questions during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP File)

IRS nominee who sponsored legislation to abolish the agency faces pointed questions

May 20, 2025

A former congressman who sponsored legislation to abolish the IRS and is now the nominee to lead that agency has faced pointed questions from senators. Billy Long of Missouri was asked at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday about his past promotion of questionable tax credits, his lack of background in tax administration and the timing of political contributions he received after being nominated to lead the agency. Long told senators he wants to make “real, transformational change to an agency that needs it more than any other.” Long’s hearing comes as the IRS has hemorrhaged employees and churned through acting leaders.

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This undated photo provided by the Library of Congress shows the Thomas Indian school in Irving, N.Y. (Library of Congress via AP)

NY governor apologizes for ‘atrocities’ at state boarding school for Native Americans

May 20, 2025

New York’s governor has formally apologized for the “atrocities” she says were committed at an upstate boarding school where Native American youths were forcibly separated from their families and forced to assimilate into American society. Gov. Kathy Hochul also said on her Tuesday visit to Seneca Nation land that her budget will include funding to create new education materials about local indigenous communities and their contributions. Seneca President J. Conrad Seneca, who invited the Democrat, said the apology was overdue. The Thomas Indian School in western New York operated from 1875 to 1957 and was among hundreds of such boarding schools across the U.S.

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FILE - New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the second half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Friday, May 10, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Knicks and Pacers set for Round 9 in their playoff rivalry, with the winner going to the NBA Finals

May 20, 2025

When Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton glared at each other in a WWE wrestling ring last summer, it seemed like a fitting next step in the rivalry between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks that’s already featured headbutts and chokes. The teams go at it again starting Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Knicks’ first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years, with the winner of their ninth playoff matchup headed to the NBA Finals. The Knicks and Pacers met six times in an eight-year span starting in 1993, then again last year when Indiana won Game 7 at Madison Square Garden in the second round.

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FILE - Lab staff prepare small petri dishes, each holding several 1-7 day old embryos, for cells to be extracted from each embryo to test for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File)

White House says Trump is reviewing IVF policy recommendations promised in executive order

May 20, 2025

A White House official says the Trump administration is reviewing a list of recommendations to expand access to in vitro fertilization. It comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February that instructed his administration to give him a list of policy recommendations for protecting access to IVF and making the common fertility treatment more affordable. A White House official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the recommendations had been delivered to Trump but did not offer additional details about when a plan would be released or give details about the report. It comes days after a bombing outside a Southern California fertility clinic.

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Shift Garage: A Non-Profit’s Mission to Keep Rapid City Moving

May 20, 2025

In the heart of the Black Hills, a unique non-profit organization is making a significant impact on the lives of those facing transportation challenges in Rapid City and the surrounding areas. Shift Garage, an automotive repair and education center, is providing crucial services to individuals and families experiencing financial hardship, often charging only for parts […]

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Tradition and change intertwine to create beauty at a century-old arboretum

May 20, 2025

Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park is a rare old estate with its original acreage intact. At 409 acres on Long Island, New York, it’s also the largest existing residential commission of the famous Olmsted brothers landscape designers. But the century-old estate isn’t frozen in time. A multimillion-dollar revitalization project includes a focus on biodiversity and native plantings. It’s a shift in emphasis that’s gaining traction in many historic gardens across the country. The focus on sustainability was also evident when the arboretum recently replaced its half-mile-long double allee (al-AY) of European beech trees with native oaks. A new book about the Planting Fields park shows the continued craftsmanship at the gardens and estate.

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Former Team Penske driver and Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud works on the timing stand as a driver coach for Scott McLaughlin during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Pagenaud easing back into motorsports after serious injury in 2023. Finding a new career outside car

May 20, 2025

Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later. He wants no sympathy and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Frenchman now is Scott McLaughlin’s driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

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FILE - A Levi's banner adorns the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, March 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Levi Strauss agrees to sell Casual Friday staple Dockers for up to $391 million

May 20, 2025

Levi Strauss is set to finally part ways with Dockers — inking a deal to sell its brand once credited with propelling the popularity of “Casual Fridays” to Authentic Brands Group. In an announcement Tuesday, the denim giant said it had agreed to sell Dockers to Authentic for up to $391 million. The transaction will start at an initial value of $311 million, with the potential of adding another $80 million to the price tag based on business performance under the new ownership. The sale arrives as San Francisco-based Levi Strauss boosts its focus on the chain’s core Levi’s brand — as well as Beyond Yoga, which the company acquired in 2021, as more and more consumers continue to cozy up to athleisure wear.

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Tony Award nominee Marjan Neshat makes history in celebrated Broadway play ‘English’

May 20, 2025

Marjan Neshat, a veteran of stage and screen, teaches fledgling actors. This spring, her students got to celebrate her becoming a Tony Award nominee. Neshat earned the nod for her work — appropriately enough — playing a teacher in Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated play “English,” which premiered on Broadway in the fall. The play has made history by making Neshat and her co-star Tala Ashe the first female actors of Iranian descent to be Tony-nominated. Neshat adores the plays of Anton Chekhov and watching movies on the Criterion Channel and she’s obsessed with the novel “Anne of Green Gables.”

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FILE - Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney answers a reporter's question, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Bruins give GM Don Sweeney a 2-year extension to lead rebuild after first playoff miss since 2016

May 20, 2025

The Boston Bruins have signed general manager Don Sweeney to a two-year contract extension, trusting him to rebuild the roster after the team missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 2016. The move comes a month after team president Cam Neely said he needed to think about whether to keep Sweeney around after a decade in which the Bruins have seen unprecedented regular-season success followed largely by playoff flops. Sweeney fired coach Jim Montgomery in November and then sold off the roster at the trade deadline when it failed to respond under interim Joe Sacco.

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FILE - Josef Newgarden crosses the finish line to win the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, file)

Hot dog: Oscar Mayer’s Weinermobile fleet set to race during Indy 500’s Carb Day festivities

May 20, 2025

Oscar Mayer’s iconic Wienermobile fleet will be “hot dogging” it later this week at the inaugural “Wienie 500.” The six vehicles will be starting their engines Friday at 2 p.m. as part of the Indianapolis 500’s Carb Day festivities. It’s the first time in a decade all six Wienermobiles will be at the same location — and it’s the first time they’ll ever race. Each vehicle will represent regional hot dog favorites for six American regions. The race will be streamed on the FOX Sports app with highlights being shown during Sunday’s pre-race show.

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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is shown at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Reimagined and reopened museum at Indianapolis Motor Speedway aims to be more than just a museum

May 20, 2025

The rebuilt and recently reopened museum at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is more than just a bunch of old cars and artifacts hidden behind glass. It is an immersive experience designed to appeal to more fans — especially young ones — and better tell the story of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” It took nearly 18 months and cost more than $60 million to complete. But when it opened last month, it was met with rave reviews. The museum, tucked inside Turns 1 and 2 of the speedway, is preparing for its busiest week of the year. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 is Sunday.

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Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, poses for a portrait at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Ky., Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Madeleine Hordinski)

With a massive ark and museum, he spreads creationism a century after Scopes trial. He’s not alone

May 20, 2025

The 1925 Scopes monkey trial famously put the spotlight on evolution and appeared to mark a defeat for biblical fundamentalism. But a century later, many Americans still embrace creationism, the belief that the biblical story of human origins is literally true. That’s most evident at a giant replica of the biblical Noah’s Ark in Kentucky, which draws 1.5 million visits per year along with a related Creation Museum. The message is that “the history in the Bible is true,” contends founder Ken Ham. This trend alarms science educators, who say the evidence for evolution is overwhelming and who see creationism as part of an anti-science movement affecting responses to climate change.

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The Ark Encounter is seen in Williamstown, Ky., Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Madeleine Hordinski)

Takeaways from AP’s report on creationist beliefs 100 years after the Scopes trial

May 20, 2025

Some people thought the 1925 Scopes monkey trial marked a cultural defeat for biblical fundamentalism. But a century after what was dubbed the Trial of the Century, the issue is far from settled. Many American adults still embrace creationism — a belief in the literal truth of the Genesis account of the origins of the Earth and humanity. Polls generally show that somewhere between 1 in 6 and 1 in 3 Americans hold beliefs consistent with young-Earth creationism. That belief is most evident in a region of northern Kentucky that hosts a Creation Museum and a gargantuan replica of the biblical Noah’s Ark.

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President Donald Trump speaks during a Kennedy Center board dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House, Monday, May 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump vows to turn the Kennedy Center around as he seeks to remake arts and culture in America

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump hosted the Kennedy Center’s leadership, reinforcing how much time he’s devoting to remaking one of the nation’s premier cultural centers in a larger effort to ideologically and socially overhaul the nation’s arts scene. Monday night’s meeting in the White House’s State Dining room of the center’s board of trustees follows Trump firing its previous members and announcing that he’d serve as chair. Trump called it a “hot board” and said of the center, “We’re gonna turn it around.” He also said of running the board, “When I said, ‘I’ll do this,’ I hadn’t been there” and joked, “That’s the last time I’ll take a job without looking at it.”

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