From the circular muzzle with a little nose tip to the button eyes and two round fuzzy ears — what is it about the teddy bear that has wrapped children around its furry paws for over a century.

Arizona’s largest utility has agreed not to cut off electrical service to customers for nonpayment while forecasted high temperatures are 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) or above.

The defending champion Las Vegas Aces have completed the process of bringing back their core group by re-signing four-time MVP A’ja Wilson on Wednesday.

There are 10 teams done for the season.

Brittney Griner is finalizing a deal to join the Connecticut Sun, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

From Final Four to roster rebuild.

March has been the hottest month on record for the continental United States in 132 years, according to federal weather data.

New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier and Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum were all extended franchise tags by their WNBA teams worth potentially $1.4 million as free agency opened up.

The women’s Final Four looked as though it might be a classic, featuring a quartet of the game’s marquee programs along with a number of veteran stars and iconic coaches.

Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins are going to have to work hard to repeat as champions.

South Carolina’s quest to win a fourth national title ended in ugly fashion for a second straight season when the Gamecocks lost to UCLA 79-51 in the NCAA women’s basketball title game.

It seems there will be no pregame handshake drama at the national championship game.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 21 points, Lauren Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South Carolina 79-51 Sunday to win its first NCAA championship in women’s basketball.

Cheryl Miller and other women’s basketball trailblazers, including Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman and former UCLA standout Ann Meyers Drysdale, spoke about the state of college sports at “The AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience."

Justin Verlander’s long-awaited return to Comerica Park as a member of the Detroit Tigers has been put on hold.

Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in a familiar place, reaching the NCAA championship game for the fourth time in five years.

The impact of the transfer portal can be felt all around the basketball landscape, and that includes the women's Final Four.

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jose Fernandez strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during his first big-league game in a pressure-packed spot against four-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist A’ja Wilson will take part in a USA Basketball training camp in Phoenix during Final Four week.

Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson are still unsigned for the 2026 season.

Major League Baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike System changes how pitches get called, and some players gain while others lose.

Parts of California and Arizona are under extreme heat warnings again Saturday while sweltering summerlike weather stretched as far north as Nebraska — just a day into spring.

Baseball is changing at a dizzying speed in 2026 with the arrival of robot umpires, the return home of the Tampa Bay Rays and an alphabet soup of networks televising the games in perhaps the last season before a labor shutdown.

Abnormal heat on the last day of winter continues to set records in the U.S. Southwest.

A tiny desert community in Southern California has tied the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. The 108 degree day in North Shore, California, came amid a record-breaking winter heat wave in the Southwest that will stretch into the weekend and could produce even higher temperatures.

A rare March heat wave is pushing San Francisco close to 90 degrees and setting records across the West.

The United States is getting slammed by a stretch of weather extremes, from flooding rain to record heat and late-season snow.

A day of fun in the sun for a Major League Baseball spring training game in the Cactus League looks like it’s about to get toasty — even by Arizona standards.

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Arizona.

San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb will start on the mound for Team USA in its first World Baseball Classic game Friday night against Brazil, manager Mark DeRosa said Monday.

The Athletics had the highest success rate using the robot-umpire system to overturn ball/strike calls during the first 10 days of spring training, winning 69.2% of challenges as teams prepared for its regular-season debut March 25.

Waymo’s self-driving vehicles launched in four more cities on Tuesday, including here in Orlando.

A federal judge has ordered a takeover of health care operations in Arizona’s prisons and will appoint an official to run the system after years of complaints about poor medical and mental health care.

Phoenix is believed to be home to the world's largest colony of rosy-faced lovebirds outside of their native Africa.

President Donald Trump-endorsed housing developer Karrin Taylor Robson suspended her campaign Thursday for Arizona governor.

Spring training starts Tuesday as pitchers and catchers return to the field just 102 days after the World Series.

A judge has ruled that Arizona must stop enforcing abortion restrictions that predate and contradict a 2024 voter-approved constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Golden State's Stephen Curry, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Boston’s Jaylen Brown and San San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama were announced as NBA All-Star starters Monday.

“PBS News Weekend,” the companion to the weekday “NewsHour” program, has signed off, eliminated due to federal funding cuts to public broadcasting.

Michael McKee was charged in connection with the murders of his ex-wife and her husband, according to court and county records.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords returned to the House floor on the 15th anniversary of the assassination attempt that ended her political career.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's directors voted the organization out of business Monday.

Firefighters in Rhode Island rescued a yellow Labrador named Phoenix on New Year's Day after he fell through an ice-covered pond.

Austin Reaves could miss at least a month with a strained left calf, a damaging blow for the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.

An Arizona man has been sentenced to death in a string of fatal shootings in metro Phoenix in 2017.

A jury has sentenced a man to death in six murders in metro Phoenix in 2017, but was undecided on the punishment for his convictions in the killings of his mother and stepfather.

LeBron James made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Luka Doncic added 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers recovered from blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter to top the Phoenix Suns 116-114 on Sunday night.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing online retailer Temu and its parent company PDD Holdings Inc., claiming the Chinese company is stealing customers' data and violating state consumer protection laws.

This week, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation into the Campbell’s Company over potential “lab-grown meat.”

Grocery store prices have been on the rise in recent years, and many Americans feel the financial pinch on Thanksgiving — a holiday where food is the star of the show.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Jewell Loyd announced on Tuesday that she would join Project B, the new women’s basketball league that is expected to begin in Europe and Asia in November 2026.

Waymo is hitting the highway.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal is out for the season due to a hip fracture.

WNBA MVP finalist Alyssa Thomas became the second player to join Project B, the new women’s basketball league that is expected to begin in Europe and Asia in November 2026.

A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces are in rarified air.

The sheriff’s office for metro Phoenix has spent millions of dollars budgeted for compliance costs in a racial profiling case over Joe Arpaio’s immigration crackdowns on things that had little or nothing to do with a court-ordered overhaul of the agency.

The Phoenix Mercury are trailing 2-0 in the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces.

The Las Vegas Aces have shown resilience as they head into Game 3 of the WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday.

Las Vegas and Phoenix have both reached the WNBA Finals after overcoming significant challenges.

A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces are looking to accomplish something only done once before by winning a third WNBA championship in four seasons.

Baseball's economic disparity is evident in the playoffs.

The Minnesota Lynx have seen their season end after losing to the Phoenix Mercury 86-81 in Game 4 of the playoff semifinal.

In a story published Sept. 29, 2025, about the sentencing phase of Cleophus Cooksey Jr.'s trial in Phoenix, The Associated Press erroneously reported one of his convictions.

The WNBA has suspended Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve for one game for her conduct and comments during and following the Lynx’s 84-76 loss to the Mercury on Friday night.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve lost her cool during during the Lynx's 84-76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA playoff semifinals.

The Kissimmee Fire Department has activated a new Fire Station Alerting (FSA) system designed to significantly improve emergency response times and enhance firefighter safety.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have celebrated their 12th NL West title in 13 years, and Clayton Kershaw reflected on his last division championship after an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Shohei Ohtani tied his career high with his 54th home run, hitting a splash shot into the Chase Field swimming pool for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

An Arizona jury has convicted a man accused of killing eight people during a shooting spree in the metro Phoenix area in 2017.

Shohei Ohtani is showing his dominance on the mound as October baseball nears.

The WNBA semifinals are set and a new champion is guaranteed after all four remaining teams were challenged in the opening round.

In hardly any time at all, the footage of the horrifying moment when a bullet hit conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the neck ricocheted across the internet.

The New York Liberty are finally healthy heading into the playoffs and the defending champions have confidence they can win another title.

Alyssa Thomas took back the WNBA single-season assist record, topping Caitlin Clark’s mark of 337 set last season.

Angel Reese was suspended by the Chicago Sky for the first half of the team’s game against Las Vegas on Sunday for comments she made that were “detrimental to the team.”.

Angel Reese aired her frustrations with the Chicago Sky as the franchise finishes another losing season.

The playoff picture in the WNBA is unclear with nine days remaining in the regular season.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is being honored with the Television Academy’s Governors Award even as it winds down after nearly 60 years.

Crews are cleaning up downed trees and electricity largely is restored after a powerful dust storm hit the Phoenix area.

An Ohio man has been arrested for the throwing of a sex toy at a WNBA game in New York.

When Courtney Anderson and her family arrived for a routine ultrasound to learn the sex of their baby, they expected joy — not life-changing news.

San Diego Padres reliever Mason Miller was bringing the heat.

Historically dry and windy conditions are making it harder for crews to contain a wildfire burning along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The Kansas City Royals acquired veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.

DeWanna Bonner is thrilled to be back in Phoenix.

Lori Vallow Daybell's two Arizona murder conspiracy trials were marked by tensions between her and the judge.

The market is heating up in the last week before the July 31 trade deadline.

Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison on two murder conspiracy convictions in Arizona.

Arizona Democrats have removed their chair just six months into a tumultuous tenure.

Major League Baseball is testing automated ball-strike systems in the All-Star Game for the first time.

Major League Baseball plans to use its robot umpire technology for ball-strike challenges in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Atlanta, another step toward possible regular-season use next season.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation that provides public funding to renovate Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A U.S. district judge in Arizona has opened the door for the next round of legal wrangling as environmentalists and some Native Americas seek to stop the federal government from transferring land in Arizona for a massive copper mining project.

The normally budget-conscious Arizona Diamondbacks have been willing to spend big money over the past several years, taking chances on the notoriously volatile market of free agent starting pitching.

The Washington Nationals put an exclamation point on an encouraging month of May, scoring 10 runs in the first inning during an 11-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night.

The group Apache Stronghold is vowing to carry on the fight against a massive copper mining project on land the Apaches hold sacred, after a Supreme Court decision that is expected to let the mine proceed.

Arizona is planning to carry out a second execution this year, this time for a man convicted of killing four people 31 years ago in metro Phoenix.

A 29-year-old former tire shop manager who quit his job and cashed in his retirement savings to buy a sailboat has become a social media sensation as he sails from Oregon to Hawaii with his cat, Phoenix.

There are no shortages of challengers to the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty or star power across the league.

Corbin Burnes threw seven scoreless innings, Eugenio Suarez hit his 12th homer of the season and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Saturday night.