Northwest Lady Vikings eliminate Clarksville, 62-50, to reach Region 7-4A championship game

Associated Press
Pakistani security forces battle to free about 300 hostages aboard a hijacked train
Pakistani security forces exchanged gunfire on Wednesday with hundreds of separatist militants as they sought to free about 300 hostages aboard a train in the country’s rugged southwest, officials said. Security forces were being cautious as officials said the hostages were surrounded by militants wearing vests loaded with explosives. At least 27 militants have been killed and security forces rescued more than 150 of the 450 people who were on the train when it was hijacked on Tuesday as it entered a tunnel in Bolan, a district in restive Balochistan province.
Associated Press
Center-right party wins most votes in Greenland's parliamentary election as Trump seeks control
The center-right Demokraatit Party won the most votes in Greenland’s parliamentary elections, a surprise result as the territory went to the polls in the shadow of President Donald Trump’s stated goal of taking control of the island one way or another. Both Demokraatit — the Democrats — and the second place party, Naleraq — “Point of Orientation” — favor independence from Denmark, but they have differences on the pace of change. Demokraatit’s upset victory over parties that have governed the territory for years indicates that many in Greenland care just as much about healthcare, education, cultural heritage and other social policies.
AFP
Pakistan launches 'full-scale' operation to free train hostages
Pakistan security forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest.A security official told AFP "a full-scale operation" would aim to free the rest of the captives.
Associated Press
What is the International Criminal Court, which had former Philippine President Duterte arrested?
The International Criminal Court where detained former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is being taken after his arrest in the Philippines is a court of last resort for the most serious international offenses, such as genocide and crimes against humanity. Duterte was expected to arrive Wednesday in the Netherlands after his arrest the previous morning on an ICC warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office. What is the International Criminal Court?
Associated Press
A baby sea lion performs rhythmic gymnastics feats in Washington state
A baby sea lion toting an artificial kelp strip was filmed performing intricate rhythmic gymnastics-esque circles through the waters of an aquarium in Washington state. Although only 9 months old and still reliant on her mother's milk, Pepper has become the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's most acrobatic sea lion, said Noelle Tremonti, a staff biologist for the aquarium. The dizzying circles performed in Tacoma, Washington, about 34 miles (55 kilometers) south of Seattle, last month are part of the sea lion’s many enrichment activities.
USA TODAY
Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect, escalating tensions with trade partners
Trump's action to bulk up protections for American steel and aluminum producers restores effective global tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals.
Reuters
Factbox-What is US-Ukraine proposed 30-day ceasefire deal about?
After more than eight hours of negotiations with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would now take the jointly-signed offer to Russia, and the ball is in Moscow's court. WHAT IS THE AGREEMENT ABOUT?
Associated Press
State attorneys generals grab headlines with lawsuits, but Missouri's Andrew Bailey stands out
When Missouri's attorney general says he'll seize Chinese-owned assets to force China to pay a $24.5 billion award won by the state in a lawsuit over COVID-19, the threat might be more important than actually collecting any money. Similarly, when Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued Starbucks last month, alleging that the coffee shop chain with a white male CEO discriminated against white men in hiring, the point might have been less about winning in court than the fight itself. Over the past decade, state attorneys general have become increasingly visible for suing presidential administrations of the opposite political party and pursuing policy goals through warnings and public demand letters.
AFP
What to know about Manus, China's latest AI assistant
A powerful new AI tool Manus is making waves in China, fuelling hopes that it could replicate the success of DeepSeek, which earlier this year rattled the global tech industry with its state-of-the-art chatbot.- Whether Manus can achieve mainstream success like DeepSeek will depend on its ability to scale to meet demand, RSIS's Harjani told AFP. But Manus is unlikely to be the next DeepSeek as they are different types of AI applications, he added.
Associated Press
Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street briefly dips more than 10% below its record
Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs after another day of losses on Wall Street. U.S. futures and oil prices were higher. Trump's escalation in his trade war briefly pulled the S&P 500 more than 10% below its record set last month.
Reuters
Cities face 'whiplash' of floods, droughts as temperatures rise, study warns
The weather in some of the world's most densely populated cities is swinging from droughts to floods and back again as rising temperatures play havoc with the global water cycle, a study commissioned by the charity WaterAid showed on Wednesday. "There will be winners and losers associated with climate change," said Michael Singer of the Water Research Institute at Cardiff University, one of the authors of the study. China's eastern city of Hangzhou and Indonesia's capital of Jakarta topped the list of cities suffering from "climate whiplash", or a rapid succession of prolonged floods and droughts, the study showed.
Associated Press
Court stays execution of Texas man days before he was set to die by lethal injection
A Texas appeals court on Tuesday halted the execution of a man who has spent more than 30 years on death row and had been set to die by lethal injection this week over the killings of six girls and young women found buried in the desert near El Paso. It was the second scheduled execution in the U.S. halted on Tuesday after a federal judge stopped Louisiana’s first death row execution using nitrogen gas, which was to take place next week. In Texas, the order was another reprieve for David Leonard Wood, who in 2009 was about 24 hours away from execution when it was halted over claims he is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for execution.
Associated Press
Most AAPI adults don't support cutting agencies and want a focus on costs: AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll
Most Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders do not agree with the strategy of putting entire federal agencies on the chopping block, nor are they broadly on board with mass layoffs of federal workers, according to a new poll. The survey, released Wednesday from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, shows that AAPI adults want the government to concentrate more on everyday costs. About 8 in 10 AAPI adults say the federal government should make health care costs “a high priority," while about 7 in 10 say the same about the cost of food, and roughly 6 in 10 feel similarly about housing.
Associated Press
The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence?
As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department, officials have suggested other agencies could take over its major responsibilities: civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department, perhaps; student loans to Treasury or Commerce; oversight of student disability rights to Health and Human Services. Less clear is what could happen with a more lofty part of its mission — promoting equal access for students in an American education system that is fundamentally unequal. The department has cut its workforce in half, including a layoff of 1,300 people announced Tuesday.
Associated Press
Federal court hearing set in Columbia student's detainment over pro-Palestinian protests
A Manhattan federal court hearing is scheduled Wednesday in a suit challenging the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student that the Trump Administration is trying to deport over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests at the school. Immigration enforcement agents arrested Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident, in New York on Saturday and he has been moved to an immigration detention center in Louisiana.
Associated Press
Mahmoud Khalil didn't wear a mask. He's now the face of Trump's crackdown on campus protests
When protests over the Israel-Hamas war took root on Columbia University's campus last spring, Mahmoud Khalil became a familiar, outspoken figure in a student movement that soon spread to other U.S. colleges. The international-affairs graduate student was a fixture in and around the protest encampment on Columbia's Manhattan campus, serving as a spokesperson and negotiator for demonstrators who deplored Israel's military campaign in Gaza and pressed the Ivy League school to cut financial ties with Israel and companies that supported the war. “We want to be visible,” Khalil said last April.
Associated Press
In his own words: Trump takes credit for stock market rises but casts aside blame for sell-off
President Donald Trump in recent days has dismissed fears of a recession and brushed aside the stock market sell-off, going so far as to say, “You can’t really watch the stock market." Over the last year, while President Joe Biden was in office, Trump took credit for stock market rallies as a vote of confidence in his electoral prospects. When the market dipped, he blamed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Associated Press
Trump administration halts $1 billion program that keeps aging affordable housing livable
The Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing, threatening projects that keep tens of thousands of units livable for low-income Americans, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press. The action is part of a slew of cuts and funding freezes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, largely at the direction of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, that have rattled the affordable-housing industry. Preserving these units gets less attention than ribbon-cuttings, but it's a centerpiece of efforts to address the nation's housing crisis.
Associated Press
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates to square off in their only debate in the hotly contested race
Candidates in a race that will determine ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will square off Wednesday in their only scheduled debate before the April 1 election. The contest, which has caught the attention of presidential adviser Elon Musk, will be a litmus test early in President Donald Trump’s term in a key presidential swing state. The race pits Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, against Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, who is backed by Democrats and is running in her first statewide race.
Reuters
Trump's steel, aluminum tariffs take effect as global trade war intensifies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's increased tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade norms in favor of the U.S. that drew swift retaliation from Europe. Trump's action to bulk up protections for American steel and aluminum producers restores effective global tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals and extends the duties to hundreds of downstream products made from the metals, from nuts and bolts to bulldozer blades and soda cans. The European Commission responded almost immediately, saying it would impose counter tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods from next month.

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