AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A sprawling blast of winter weather across the U.S. is likely to blame for the deaths of two people in Texas, where an unusually snowy emergency Monday knocked out power for more than four million people, shut down grocery stores and air travel and closed schools ahead of frigid days still to come.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dire harm from Donald Trump’s false and violent incitements will vex American democracy long into the future unless the Senate convicts him of impeachment and bars him from future office, House prosecutors insisted Thursday as they concluded two days of emotional arguments in his historic trial.

MIAMI (AP) — Newly filed lobbying records show Venezuela’s socialist government previously hired a longtime Democratic Party donor for $6 million at the same time it was lobbying to discourage the U.S. from imposing sanctions on the oil-rich nation.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The hand-picked successor to former House Speaker Michael Madigan's seat abruptly resigned Wednesday, under pressure from his sponsors who accused him of unspecified “questionable conduct."

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news are ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.

The Parliament on Thursday passed the final amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday formally revoked a series of presidential orders and memorandum signed by Donald Trump, including one that sought to cut funding from several cities the 45th president deemed “anarchist” havens and another mandating that federal buildings should be designed in a classical aesthetic.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The increasingly slim odds — and surprisingly thin outreach from the White House — for Neera Tanden’s nomination as head of the Office of Management and Budget are raising growing questions about how long the president will stick with her, in an early test of how he will use his limited political capital.

Federal auditors say U.S. regulators didn’t understand a flight-control system that played a role in two deadly crashes of a Boeing jet and must improve their process for certifying new planes.

The Transportation Department’s inspector general said in a report released Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t taken enough steps to focus its oversight on high-risk elements of new planes.

LEXINGTON, Ky.: The Rev. Jim Thurman counts himself among the converts who recognize the importance of taking a COVID-19 vaccine.

The prominent Black activist received his second dose of vaccine Wednesday as Kentucky’s governor highlighted efforts to encourage minority populations to roll up their sleeves for the shots.

“It’s a matter between life and death,” said Thurman, president of the Lexington-Fayette County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his team are getting the numbers wrong when they talk about the enormity of the mounting COVID-19 death toll and the looming climate change threat.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County sheriff on Wednesday characterized the crash that seriously injured Tiger Woods as “purely an accident" and appeared to rule out any potential criminal charges even as authorities were still investigating.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans rallied solidly Wednesday against Democrats' proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision by the Senate's parliamentarian that could bolster or potentially kill a pivotal provision hiking the federal minimum wage.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — All the groceries spoiled and the water was out for days. Then Melissa Rogers, a believer in the Texas gospel that government should know its place, woke up to a $6,000 energy bill before the snow and ice even melted.

It’s been more than three years since the #MeToo movement launched a culture-shifting conversation about sexual violence. But Tarana Burke, the activist who gave the movement its name, says concrete change has been incremental at best — and especially for Black survivors.

Now, Burke is part of a new initiative — called “We, As Ourselves” — in which three prominent groups are focusing on those survivors, who she says often feel that #MeToo has passed them by.

NEW YORK (AP) — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was selected Wednesday to replace injured Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis in the NBA All-Star Game.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver choose Booker to take Davis' spot a day after Booker was snubbed by the league's head coaches for a reserve spot in the March 7 game in Atlanta.

“Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that,” Lakers star LeBron James tweeted after Booker was left out Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — In November, Paula Mont did something new: The 86-year-old, who hasn't left her New Jersey senior living community in nearly a year, went shopping — online.

Mont used an iPad, equipped with a stylus to help her shaky hands, to buy a toy grand piano for her great-granddaughter. She picked it out from more than a dozen versions of the instrument on Amazon.

“It is like a wow feeling. I found it!” Mont said.

American League MVP José Abreu tested positive for COVID-19 and will spend a few days away from the Chicago White Sox, while Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller told a St. Louis newspaper he tested positive 10 days before reporting to camp.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Wednesday in a statement that Abreu is “completely asymptomatic.” Hahn said testing also showed the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, and the Cuban slugger believes he had a mild case of the virus in January.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Annika Sorenstam smiled and began shaking her head before she heard the rest of the question, already aware what others might think about one of the LPGA Tour's most dominant players returning to competition after 12 years.

She is among the 120 players in the field this week for the Gainbridge LPGA.

Next week she goes back to being a wife, mother and businesswoman.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated three postal experts to the governing board of the U.S. Postal Service, a move that could alter the course of an agency grappling with delivery delays and rumored cuts under its embattled Republican leader.

If confirmed by the Senate, the Board of Governors nominees would bring additional Democratic scrutiny on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor whose tenure has been mired by slow service and politicization.

Facebook, following in Google's footsteps, says it plans to invest $1 billion to "support the news industry” over the next three years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden offers comforting advice to Kelly Clarkson, telling the singer and talk-show host who is going through a divorce that things happen for the best and that life will eventually “look better.”

The first lady — a divorcee herself — also reveals what she looks forward to when COVID-19 clears up and explains why women should take time for themselves every day, as she does. She spoke during an interview with Clarkson that is set to air nationally on Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán gave a public apology Wednesday for actions that led to a lengthy suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, a day after he spoke with New York teammates and admitted he had engaged in dangerous conduct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Wednesday that he will vote for New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as interior secretary, clearing the way for her likely approval as the first Native American to head a Cabinet agency.

The PGA Tour without Tiger Woods was always inevitable purely because of age. His shattered right leg from his SUV flipping down a hill on a sweeping road through coastal Los Angeles suburbs only brings that closer.

NEW YORK (AP) — Katharine McPhee and David Foster may want to channel their musical talents into lullabies.

The couple, who wed in 2019, have welcomed a baby boy, McPhee's publicist confirmed Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday intended to boost manufacturing jobs by strengthening U.S. supply chains for advanced batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors.

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS News is launching a streaming version of “60 Minutes” on the new Paramount+ service, hoping to expose the durable brand to a younger and more diverse audience.

The “60 Minutes+” program will debut March 4 with three separate episodes, the network announced Wednesday.

The announcement was part of a rollout for Paramount+, which is replacing the “CBS All Access” service, offering Paramount movies as well as old and new programming from CBS and the Viacom stable of networks.

DALLAS (AP) — As many people in the southern U.S. hosted neighbors who had no heat or water during the vicious February storm and deep freeze, Kate Rugroden provided a refuge for shell-shocked bats.

Starving and disoriented, the winged mammals tumbled to the snow-coated ground as temperatures plunged to levels rarely seen in the region.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's foundation has helped support the completion of an emergency relief center in the Commonwealth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, according to an analysis released Wednesday by U.S. regulators that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.

A real-world test of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in more than half a million people confirms that it’s very effective at preventing serious illness or death, even after one dose.

Wednesday’s published results, from a mass vaccination campaign in Israel, give strong reassurance that the benefits seen in smaller, limited testing persisted when the vaccine was used much more widely in a general population with various ages and health conditions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders in the House and Senate say a proposed plan for an independent commission to study the Capitol insurrection is overly tilted toward Democrats, arguing that the panel should have an even party split like the one formed to study the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

HOUSTON (AP) — With its long-term facilities for immigrant children nearly full, the Biden administration is working to expedite the release of children to their relatives in the U.S.

The second half of the NBA schedule will be hectic, all the way to the end.

The league on Wednesday released the list of games that will be played between March 10 and May 16, with Memphis and San Antonio — two of the teams that dealt with long unplanned shutdowns because of coronavirus-related issues — set to play 40 times apiece, tied for the most in the league during the 68-day sprint to the end of the regular season.

NEW YORK (AP) — Yara Shahidi believes that all studio parking spaces should be created equal, so having to park a little further back from set would be a small price to pay in the name of inclusivity.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Not waiting for more federal help, states have been approving their own coronavirus aid packages, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help residents and business owners devastated by the the pandemic's economic fallout.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank will not start raising interest rates until it believes its goals on maximum employment and inflation have been reached.

Powell also warned that many who had worked in industries hardest hit by the pandemic and ensuing recession will likely need to find different jobs.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers plan on having quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for an 18th season.

Team president Art Rooney II released a statement Wednesday saying he and Roethlisberger have met to figure out a way to ease the financial pressure caused by Roethlisberger's contract.

Roethlisberger, who turns 39 next month, carries a $41 million salary cap number for 2021 and is due a $15 million roster bonus on March 20, shortly after the new league year begins.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to distribute millions of face masks to Americans in communities hard-hit by the coronavirus beginning next month as part of his efforts to ensure “equity” in the government’s response to the pandemic.

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana received the world’s first delivery of coronavirus vaccines from the United Nations-backed COVAX initiative on Wednesday — the long-awaited start for a program that has thus far fallen short of hopes that it would ensure shots were given quickly to the world’s most vulnerable people.

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul McCartney is finally ready to write his memoirs, and will use music — and a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet — to help guide him.

“The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present” will be released Nov. 2, according to a joint announcement Wednesday from the British publisher Allen Lane and from Liveright in the United States.

The government dropped drunken driving and reckless driving charges against Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday stemming from an incident in November, admitting that the rocker's blood-alcohol level was so low that it didn't warrant the charges.

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Demand for new homes in the U.S. surged 4.3% in January with the housing market still one of the strongest segments of the economy.

Last month's increase pushed sales of new homes to an adjusted annual rate of 923,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That's much stronger than the 855,000 that economists were expecting. December's new home sales figure was revised higher as well, from 842,000, to 885,000.

NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-five years ago, stage actors Adam Pascal and Daphne Rubin-Vega had been cast in a new, edgy musical downtown and wondered if anyone would remember it.

“Can you imagine us in 25 years talking about this show and singing these songs?” Pascal wondered to his co-star. "We laughed about it, as if like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s crazy. That’ll never happen.’”