AP

By Associated Press President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, issuing another blunt warning to the West just days before an election in which he’s all but certain to secure another six-year term. The Russian leader has repeatedly talked about his readiness

By Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Tiger Woods never did it. Neither did Jack Nicklaus, even before The Players Championship found its home in a former swamp now known as the TPC Sawgrass. This is the 50th edition of the PGA Tour’s premier championship, and no one has ever defended his title. Next

By Associated Press ATLANTA— The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump and others, but the rest of the sweeping racketeering indictment remains intact. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee quashed six counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, the

By Associated Press NEW YORK — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish Wednesday, as a lull carried through financial markets worldwide. The S&P 500 slipped 9.96 points, or 0.2%, from its all-time high set a day before to 5,165.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.83, or 0.1%, to 39,043.32 and pulled within 90

By Associated Press Dollar Tree swung to a surprise fourth-quarter loss and will close nearly 1,000 stores after the discount retailer slashed the value of a rival chain it acquired almost a decade ago. Dollar Tree plans to close about 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of this year and 370 Family Dollar

By Associated Press LONDON — European Union lawmakers gave final approval to the 27-nation bloc’s artificial intelligence law Wednesday, putting the world-leading rules on track to take effect later this year. Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Artificial Intelligence Act, five years after regulations were first proposed. The AI Act

By Associated Press WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a national security threat. The bill, passed by a vote

By Associated Press Three Missouri men have been charged with federal firearms counts after a shooting at last month’s Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade and rally left one person dead and roughly two dozen others injured, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The federal charges were unsealed Wednesday, three weeks after state authorities charged two other

By Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have restructured quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ contract, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday, giving the Super Bowl champions some much-needed salary cap space. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the financial details were not

By Anthony Michael Kreis Georgia State University The Conversation via AP A Fulton County judge has tossed out six of the 41 state charges against Donald Trump and his allies in Georgia’s expansive election interference case against the former president and others. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a ruling on March 13,

By Associated Press TULTEPEC, Mexico | Every year, in the first week of March, hundreds of giant papier-mâché bulls stuffed with fireworks are erected in the front yards of the Mexican town of Tultepec. Thousands of restless fingers carefully cut, pasted and painted the colorful patterns that brought the “toritos” to life on Friday, during

By Associated Press NEW YORK — Longtime newsman Chris Wallace isn’t only thinking about this year’s presidential election. The CNN anchor has written a book on the race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, narrowly won by Kennedy, that featured the first televised presidential debates. Dutton announced Wednesday that “Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story

By Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Coming nearly straight from the Oscars with a truck full of Kenergy, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt rolled into the South By Southwest Film and TV Festival to premiere “The Fall Guy,” an affectionate, action-fueled ode to stunt work and the dedicated professionals that throw their bodies into filmmaking.

By Associated Press Just in time for election year, a new Max series called “The Girls on the Bus” follows female journalists who are part of a traveling press corps with presidential candidates on the campaign trail. These candidates are fictional but may be a reminder to people more familiar. They include Felicity Walker —

By Columbia Missourian via My Courier-Tribune JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Mike Parson is deploying members of the Missouri National Guard and State Highway Patrol to the Texas border with Mexico this week. Parson cited President Joe Biden’s border policies as the reason for his decision, which was announced Feb. 20. As many as 200 members

By Associated Press The launch of season 20 of “Grey’s Anatomy” and albums from Justin Timberlake and Kacey Musgraves are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: The dramedy “The Girls

By Missouri Independent via My Courier-Tribune Missouri Senate Democrats ended their filibuster Tuesday of a bill that seeks to expand the state’s K-12 tax-credit scholarship program — agreeing to let the legislation come to a vote after Republicans added provisions boosting public school funding and teacher retention efforts. The bill receiving first-round approval in the

By Missouri Independent via My Courier-Tribune A new poll shows plurality of Missourians support restoring abortion rights as they existed under Roe v. Wade, but a large undecided group holds the key to victory. The St. Louis University/YouGov Poll conducted in February found that 44% of those surveyed would vote for abortion rights after hearing

By Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. — Whenever bestselling author Robin Cook releases a new medical thriller, the head of the public library in West Haven knows demand for digital copies will be high. So will the price. Like many libraries, West Haven has been grappling with the soaring costs of e-books and audiobooks. The digital

By Metro Creative County fairs might be all about fun, but they’re also great for local economies. A team of economic analysts affiliated with the University of Minnesota Extension found that every dollar invested in county fairs provides a return in spending of $4.43. That’s a significant economic boost that can be especially valuable to

By Associated Press DENVER | Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck said Tuesday that he’ll resign next week, narrowing his party’s razor-thin House majority and potentially short-circuiting Rep. Lauren Boebert’s effort to succeed him. Buck, a staunch conservative who already declined to run for reelection as he became increasingly critical of his party’s handling of former

By Associated Press WASHINGTON | President Joe Biden, who took office aiming to steady a nation convulsed by the coronavirus pandemic and the Jan. 6 insurrection, clinched a second straight Democratic nomination Tuesday and set up an all-but-certain rematch with the predecessor he blames for destabilizing the country. Biden became his party’s presumptive nominee when

By Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four astronauts from four countries caught a lift back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to end a half-year mission at the International Space Station. Their capsule streaked across the U.S. in the predawn darkness and splashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle. NASA’s Jasmin