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By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated PressBOSTON (AP) — A second federal judge on Friday ordered a temporary pause in Trump administration efforts to freeze federal funding in the latest twist over the spending of trillions of dollars in grants and loans.Judge John McConnell sided with nearly two dozen states that requested an order preventing most federal agencies from halting funding until the court rules on a request from the states for a preliminary injunction.“During the pendency of the Temporary Restraining Order, Defendants shall not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate Defendants’ compliance with awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Clippers are perfecting their finishing kick, and they needed it to secure another road win Friday night.Norman Powell scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard added 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Clippers held off the pesky Charlotte Hornets, 112-104, in a game that tightened up midway through the fourth quarter.All-Star James Harden finished with 14 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, while Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Derrick Jones Jr. had 12 points and Amir Coffey added 10 off the bench as the Clippers won for the fourth time in their past…

By MELISSA GOLDIN, ALI SWENSON and ALEXANDRA OLSONNEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump wasted little time this week trying to assign blame for the nation’s deadliest air disaster in more than two decades. Among his chief targets: An FAA diversity hiring initiative he suggested had undermined the agency’s effectiveness.“But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior,” Trump said at a news conference Thursday.No evidence has emerged that rules seeking to diversify the FAA played any role in the collision Wednesday between an American Airlines regional jet…

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JOSHUA GOODMANCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, announced the release of the six men on social media. The visit by Grenell came as a shock to many Venezuelans who hoped that Trump would continue the “maximum pressure” campaign he pursued…

LOS ANGELES — It’s not like he hasn’t tried.“I mean, look – this is my third time signing with the reigning World Series champs,” Kirby Yates said Friday as he was officially introduced as the Dodgers’ latest acquisition.In November 2021, Yates signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves, just weeks after the Braves had beaten the Houston Astros in the World Series. Yates had not pitched in 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and his comeback season ended in September due to inflammation in that elbow. He watched from the sidelines as the defending champ Braves lost to…

A San Bernardino man has been charged with two counts of murder after police say he intentionally crashed into a car occupied by his wife and her lover, sending the car plummeting into a flood control channel in San Bernardino.Isaac Albert Perez, 31, pleaded not guilty to both charges on Tuesday, Jan. 28.San Bernardino County Superior Court records show that Perez’s wife, identified by the Coroner’s Office as Asia Guercy, filed for a temporary restraining order against Perez in 2021, citing domestic violence. A judge denied the request, records show.Guercy and the man, whose name has not been publicly announced,…

By AAMER MADHANI and WILL WEISSERTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict.“We will be speaking, and I think will perhaps do something that’ll be significant,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. “We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.”Trump did not say who from his administration has been in contact with the Russians but insisted…

“Hey, Tito, how you doing?”“Life has been good,” Ernesto “Tito” Mercado tells me over the phone. “Been a pretty fun last couple days.”Heh. Well, let’s see … he made a bunch of people mad. Got accused of clout-chasing. Had a torrent of profanity directed his way.All in all, a great couple of days.I can hear him smiling, this gutsy Pomona performer who just took a few big steps toward his dreams of boxing glory.In a monumental feat of multi-tasking, the 23-year-old junior welterweight won – via knockout, of course – the biggest fight of his career so far while also…

Legoland has announced it is laying off nearly 100 employees at its Carlsbad park, part of a broader companywide restructuring of how it delivers shows and other entertainment offerings.The vast majority of the layoffs documented in a required filing with the California Employment Development Department are identified as performers — 87 out of a total 97 job cuts. Others listed include stage managers, an events assistant manager and production specialist.Legoland California characterized the staff reduction as a way to “elevate the guest experience” and better compete in the theme park sector.“The decision to reduce the size of our entertainment team…

By LOLITA C. BALDORWASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is readying orders for the deployment of at least 1,000 additional active duty troops to bolster President Donald Trump’s expanding crackdown on immigration, U.S. officials said Friday.They said roughly 500 more soldiers — largely a headquarters unit from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York — will be sent to the southwest border. And about 500 Marines will go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some of the detained migrants will be held.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because announcements have not been made, said there have been…