AP

By Associated Press LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue of Kobe Bryant on Thursday, honoring their late superstar with a 19-foot bronze likeness outside their downtown arena. The 4,000-pound statue depicts Bryant in his white No. 8 jersey with his right index finger raised as he walked off the court following

By Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Sahith Theegala spent time with his parents in the players’ dining room and grabbed a bite to eat during what ended up being a long weather delay. With no room to sit in the clubhouse at TPC Scottsdale, Theegala went out to his car to get warm, listen to

By Associated Press A bill that would allow teachers and other staff in schools to be armed in the hopes of deterring school shootings drew dozens of people and some emotional testimony to the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee on Tuesday. State Sen. Tom Brewer’s bill is among the latest in GOP-led state legislatures across the

By Associated Press Even if it’s not the game itself, millions of Americans will find something to be excited about when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday — and that’s before even factoring in the influence of Taylor Swift. Four in 10 U.S. adults are extremely or very excited for at least one part of

By Associated Press NEW YORK — Ever-present on the lips of Taylor Swift and the uniforms of both Super Bowl teams. In streetwear and along the Gucci runway. Amid the sea of Valentine’s Day goods and in bright, dopamine home decor. The color red has gone boom as loud as TNT. Not that TNT. We’re

By Associated Press HENDERSON, Nev. — Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco was relaxed Wednesday as reporters peppered him with questions, the opposite of his running style that has commonly been described as angry. When asked how he would describe his style, Pacheco deferred to the experts, or in this case the media. Kansas City coach

By Associated Press HENDERSON, Nev. — There is much that Clark Hunt will never forget about that night four years ago in Miami, when five decades of futility had finally ended, and the Kansas City Chiefs — the team his late father Lamar Hunt had founded — raised another Lombardi Trophy. The most front-and-center memory,

By Associated Press Kansas is poised to expand an income tax credit for goods and services purchased from companies and nonprofits employing disabled workers, a year after a debate over how much the state should buck a national trend against paying those workers below the minimum wage. A bill approved by the Legislature this week

By Associated Press LAS VEGAS — When the Super Bowl was in the balance in the fourth quarter a year ago, coach Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs put a twist on their frequent pre-snap motion. The result? Two wide-open touchdown passes that helped the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 for a Super Bowl title.

By Associated Press LAS VEGAS — The first Super Bowl in Las Vegas has everything the imaginary NFL scriptwriters could’ve wanted. There’s Patrick Mahomes and the underdog Kansas City Chiefs (14-6) aiming to become the first repeat champions in 19 years and trying to solidify their claim to a dynasty with a third Super Bowl

By Associated Press KARACHI, Pakistan | There’s a scrum of people trying to get photos with the married couple at the Radiance banquet hall, and you can barely hear someone talk above the din of 400 guests tucking into biryani and chicken tikka, music and the drone whirring around the room. The bejeweled bride and

By Metro Creative A total solar eclipse will be visible from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024. NASA notes that this phenomenal, awe-inspiring event occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. The National History Museum notes that solar eclipses occur between two and five

By NewsPress Now CHICAGO | The NHL Winter Classic is going back to Wrigley Field. The league announced Wednesday night that the Chicago Blackhawks will host the St. Louis Blues at the iconic ballpark for the next edition of one of hockey’s marquee events. The second Winter Classic was played at the home of baseball’s

By Associated Press Usher’s first new solo album in eight years and the “Abbott Elementary” debuting its third season on ABC 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: Justin Hartley

By Associated Press NEW YORK — “The Girl on the Train” author Paula Hawkins has a new thriller out this fall, and will release it through a new publisher. Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that Hawkins’ “The Blue Hour” is scheduled for Oct. 8. Hawkins sets the story on a remote

By Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Las Vegas will be flooded with so many pre- Super Bowl events that Shaquille O’Neal lowered the prices to his popular carnival-themed “ Shaq’s Fun House. “ Instead of raising the rate, O’Neal decided to offer potential attendees more bang for their buck to the NBA legend’s sixth annual

By Associated Press NEW YORK — The annual “Puppy Bowl” turns 20 this year, well over middle age in dog years. But does the sheer cuteness of it really ever get old? “Who doesn’t want to watch dogs play all day long?” asks Laurie Johnson, the director of Florida Little Dog Rescue in St. Cloud,

By Associated Press WASHINGTON | Self-help author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson on Wednesday announced the end of her long-shot Democratic challenge to President Joe Biden. The 71-year-old onetime spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey contemplated suspending her campaign last month after winning just 5,000 votes in New Hampshire’s primary, writing that she “had to decide

By Associated Press ST. LOUIS — A Missouri prosecutor on Wednesday filed a motion to vacate the conviction of a man imprisoned for more than three decades for the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy, the second time in two weeks that a St. Louis-area prosecutor has challenged a longstanding murder conviction. Christopher Dunn, now

By Associated Press QUETTA, Pakistan — Bombs ripped through two separate political offices in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people, officials said, a day before the country was set to elect a new parliament. The attacks in Baluchistan province — home to a low-level insurgency and various militant groups — have raised

By Associated Press SAN DIEGO | Rescuers were battling heavy snow Wednesday to reach a Marine Corps helicopter carrying five troops that went down in the mountains outside San Diego. The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter — the largest helicopter in the military, designed to fly in harsh conditions — had gone missing as an historic

By Associated Press NEW YORK — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has discussed the possibility of stepping down during a private meeting with former President Donald Trump, with both agreeing to delay a decision until after South Carolina’s primary later this month, according to two people familiar with the matter. McDaniel has not formally

By Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale plans to run for U.S. Senate, upending a race in which many national GOP officials already coalesced around a different candidate as they seek to unseat three-term Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. Rosendale’s intentions were disclosed Wednesday by two people close to the

By Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Nikki Haley was swamped in Nevada’s symbolic Republican presidential primary as GOP voters resoundingly picked the “none of these candidates” option on the ballot in a repudiation of the former U.N. ambassador who is the last remaining major rival to front-runner Donald Trump. Trump didn’t compete in Tuesday’s primary,

By Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas was still possible, despite the two sides being far apart on the central terms for a deal. Blinken was in the region trying to broker an arrangement that could bring

By Associated Press WASHINGTON — Wartime aid for Ukraine was left hanging in the Senate Wednesday after Republicans blocked a bipartisan border package that had been tied to the funding, then struggled to coalesce around a plan to salvage the aid for Kyiv. After GOP senators scuttled months of negotiations with Democrats on legislation intended