Madoff seeks prison release, citing terminal kidney failure
NEW YORK — Epic Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff asked a federal judge Wednesday to grant him a “compassionate release” from his 150-year prison sentence,...
Biden casts top rivals as a risk for party that wants to win
SOMERSWORTH, N.H. — Facing questions about his campaign's viability, Joe Biden escalated his criticism of his top Democratic rivals on Wednesday, sugg...
Andy Reid tells parade-goers Chiefs will win again next year
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hundreds of thousands of Kansas City Chiefs fans braved sub-freezing wind chills on Wednesday to celebrate the team's first Super B...
Weinstein accuser says he ‘trapped’ her during hotel assault
NEW YORK — The final accuser at Harvey Weinstein's rape trial testified Wednesday that he stripped off his clothes, pulled down her dress and groped h...
Top heavy: Handful of elite programs hoard most top recruits
McKinnley Jackson, a huge and talented defensive tackle from Mississippi, was one of the few five-star recruits whose college choice was a mystery com...
Flyin’ high: No. 6 Dayton having best season in half-century
DAYTON, Ohio — NCAA Tournament fans will be talking about Dayton a lot this year, and not only because of the First Four.
Black lawmakers demand Biden disavow surrogate’s comments
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Black lawmakers in South Carolina are calling on former Vice President Joe Biden to disavow statements from a longtime friend and cam...
Abortion is unlikely complication in Senate race in Kansas
OLATHE, Kan. — A fight in the Kansas Legislature over protecting its power to restrict abortion has become an unlikely complication in the Republican ...
No. 2 Gonzaga gets boost from international contingent
SPOKANE, Wash. — Assistant coach Tommy Lloyd has been to so many countries looking for the best international talent during his 19 seasons on the Gonz...
No sanctions for Montana lawmaker over socialism comments
HELENA, Mont. — The speaker of the Montana House conceded Wednesday that the Legislature will likely do nothing to sanction a Republican state represe...
Merck to spin off assets with $6.5B in sales; 4Q profit up
Drugmaker Merck beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter profit expectations, but investors weren't as happy with the biggest move Merck's made in years: dec...
Oscar Predictions: Can ‘Parasite’ upset ’1917′?
NEW YORK — Ahead of Sunday’s 92nd Academy Awards, Associated Press Film Writer Jake Coyle shares his predictions for a ceremony with a lot of locks bu...
Jeff Bezos asks court to dismiss defamation suit
NEW YORK — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is asking a California court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against him by his girlfriend's brother, Micha...
Warrants served in 1996 disappearance of California student
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Search warrants were served Wednesday at locations in California and Washington state in the investigation of the disappeara...
CEO Rob DeMartini takes USA Cycling in bold, new directions
When Rob DeMartini took over at USA Cycling about a year ago, the longtime businessman immediately noticed parallels between the sport's governing bod...
How’s the economy? Fed increasingly turns to private data
WASHINGTON — About a year ago, Federal Reserve officials were nervous. Markets were cratering. Fear about a trade war was rising. The officials needed...
‘Homeland’ stars say farewell to their Showtime spy series
NEW YORK — As the Showtime spy thriller “Homeland” comes to an end, Claire Danes hopes that her portrayal of a character with bipolar disorder helps d...
California firefighters return from battling Australia fires
LOS ANGELES — Twenty firefighters from California returned to the United States on Wednesday after spending nearly a month battling wildfires in Austr...
Supercars champ McLaughlin gets IndyCar seat with Penske
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Team Penske will give Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin a shot at IndyCar with a seat in the road course race at Indianapolis Mo...
A guide to all the new condiments lining grocery shelves
Sauces, dressings, salsas, mustards, honeys, international ingredients. The selection of condiments at grocery stores has expanded dramatically in rec...
Partial Iowa results give Buttigieg slight edge over Sanders
DES MOINES, Iowa — Pete Buttigieg held a slight lead over Bernie Sanders in the opening contest of the Democratic race for the presidential nomination...
The Latest: WHO seeks $675M to fight new virus
BEIJING — The Latest on a virus outbreak that began in China (all times local):
At least 2 die as bad weather batters Eastern Europe
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — At least two people died Wednesday in central and eastern Europe as strong winds, heavy rain and snow battered the regi...
Vatican seeks to explain absence of aide after book scandal
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican sought Wednesday to explain the absence of a key member of Pope Francis' protocol team following the scandal over a book on...
At the Oscars, ‘The Cave’ aims to provide hope to Syria
NEW YORK — Home is a complicated notion for Feras Fayyad, the director of the Oscar-nominated Syrian documentary “The Cave.” His family home in Syria ...
Italy, Turkey screen all arriving passengers for coronavirus
ROME — Italy and Turkey said Wednesday they were taking the temperatures of all arriving airline passengers in new prevention measures aimed at haltin...
GM churns out profit in 2019 despite strike, slumping sales
DETROIT — Despite a 40-day strike by factory workers and slumping sales in the U.S. and China, General Motors still made money last year.
Stocks rise on hopes China virus damage can be curbed
TOKYO — Stock markets rose Wednesday on optimism that China's latest actions may help curtail some of the expected economic damage from the virus outb...
California pardons gay civil rights leader in new initiative
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s governor announced Wednesday that he is posthumously pardoning a gay civil rights leader while creating a new pardon...
Youth parole officer kept job amid child abuse investigation
CONCORD, N.H. — A former employee of a New Hampshire youth detention center continued working with children in a state job for nine months after polic...