AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson walked across the dew-soaked grass outside the Augusta National clubhouse to warm applause, and when they reached the first tee box shortly after sunrise Thursday, patrons who had staked out viewing spots with their green Masters folding chairs rose to their feet.
Then the three luminaries turned the traditional honorary tee shots that open the Masters into a comedy sketch about their aging bodies.
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Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus acknowledges the patrons after his shot on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Honorary Starter Tom Watson plays his shot from the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Honorary Starter Tom Watson hits from the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus places his ball on the tee on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Gary Player stretches on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus plays his shot on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The names of Honorary Starters' Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson are displayed on the tee box on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
From left: Honorary Starters Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson stand with their caddies as they pose on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus acknowledges the patrons, as fellow Honorary Starter Tom Watson applauds, on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
“The tee is yours,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said to Nicklaus.
“Maybe,” Nicklaus said. “If I don't fall down putting this (tee) in the ground.”
Nicklaus pumped his fist after successfully teeing up his golf ball, then felt the need to warn the spectators: “Oh boy. Woo! Watch out.”
The 85-year-old Nicklaus said later that a primary thought in his head was not to kill anyone with an errant shot. He hit it solidly enough and found the left edge of the wide fairway of Tea Olive, the scenic opening hole.
Player, 89, kicked his leg after his tee shot, and the 75-year-old Watson outdrove them both with a swing that has held up over time. Augusta National staffers positioned along the fairway scurried out to collect the three ceremonial golf balls, and the Masters was underway. The first official pairing was Davis Riley and Patton Kizzire, going off in a twosome before groups of three the rest of the day.
Thirty-nine years after winning his last green jacket, Nicklaus was joined by his wife, Barbara, known widely as the First Lady of Golf. She was dressed in the traditional white caddie bib of the Masters, and toted along her husband’s small bag with the single club he needed for his ceremonial duties — a purple-shafted driver.
The tradition of honorary starters began in 1963, when club co-founder Bobby Jones asked Scottish pros Fred McLeod and Jock Hutchinson to lead off the opening round. They served in the role into the 1970s, when the custom was paused for a handful of years. In 1981, Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson assumed the job. Sam Snead joined a few years later. And their opening tee shots became as much a part of the Masters experience as those pimento cheese sandwiches.
Arnold Palmer served as a starter from 2007 until his death in 2016. Nicklaus had joined him in 2010 and Player two years later. Watson made it a group of three again three years ago — a trio with a combined 11 green jackets and 35 major championships to their names.
After getting relief from the chilly morning air, the honorary starters donned their green jackets and took questions about a variety of topics at a freewheeling and occasionally awkward news conference.
“I've got a young girlfriend (who's) changed my life. How about that, at 90, finding a girlfriend. Tom's not as old as me, but he's also found a new one,” Player said.
Asked if he wanted to weigh in on that subject, Watson lifted his hands, smiled and shook his head.
Player, Nicklaus and Watson agreed on two topics: They think Rory McIlroy is going to win this year's Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, and they believe players should always talk to the media after their rounds, even if they played poorly — something McIlroy didn't do at Pinehurst No. 2 after his heartbreak at last year's U.S. Open.
“He has the best swing in golf, without a question. He's the fittest golfer. He does a deadlift of 400 pounds,” Player said. “It's just the right time for him to win now, and the golf course, there's no golf course that suits a man better than it does for Rory.”
Nicklaus said he had lunch with McIlroy last week and the world's second-ranked player detailed how he planned to play every shot.
“He got done with the round. I didn't open my mouth. I said, ‘Well: I wouldn’t change a thing. That's exactly how I would try to play the golf course,'” Nicklaus said.
As for players talking to reporters — a subject that came up again this spring when Collin Morikawa told the media, “I don't owe anyone anything” — Nicklaus said players could choose not to speak after their rounds, but he can't recall ever making that choice himself. Player said competitors should be required by the PGA Tour to talk.
“I think there should be a PGA rule, that if you're requested to go after a round, it's our obligation to do this,” Player said. “If you ask for somebody to go to the press room, whether you shoot 90 or you shoot 60, you should have to go there.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus acknowledges the patrons after his shot on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Honorary Starter Tom Watson plays his shot from the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Honorary Starter Tom Watson hits from the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus places his ball on the tee on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Gary Player stretches on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus plays his shot on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The names of Honorary Starters' Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson are displayed on the tee box on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
From left: Honorary Starters Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson stand with their caddies as they pose on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Honorary Starter Jack Nicklaus acknowledges the patrons, as fellow Honorary Starter Tom Watson applauds, on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The White House is unveiling President Donald Trump’s budget, a sweeping framework proposing steep reductions in non-defense domestic spending while increasing expenditures on national security. The budget plan released Friday shows a desire to crack down on diversity programs and initiatives to address climate change.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported.
Here's the latest:
Lawyers for Babbitt’s estate and the Justice Department told a judge in Washington’s federal court that they have reached a settlement in principle, but the details are still being worked out and the final agreement has not yet been signed. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
Babbitt’s estate filed the $30 million lawsuit last year over her fatal shooting when she attempted to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Capitol Police officer who shot her was cleared of wrongdoing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which concluded that he acted in self-defense and in the defense of members of Congress. Capitol Police also cleared the officer.
The emergency appeal comes after a judge in Maryland restricted the team’s access to the systems under federal privacy laws.
Social Security holds personal records on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, bank details, salary information, and medical and mental health records for disability recipients, according to court documents.
The government says the DOGE team needs access to target waste in the federal government. Musk has been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud, describing it as a “ Ponzi scheme ” and insisting that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.
▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s appeal
The rally on Friday marks Wall Street’s longest winning streak since 2004, reclaiming the ground it lost since Trump escalated his trade war in early April.
The gains were spurred by a better-than-expected report on the job market and resurgent hope of a ratcheting down of the trade showdown with China.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.4%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%. Treasury yields rose in the bond market after the government reported that employers added more jobs than forecast in April.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in President Xi Jinping’s government: Come work with us.
America’s premier spy agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted to YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day.
The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost both the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted U.S. officials with its own espionage operations.
The videos are “aimed at recruiting Chinese officials to steal secrets,” Ratcliffe said in a statement to The Associated Press. He said China “is intent on dominating the world economically, militarily, and technologically.”
In response, the state will drop its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey announced.
The money that was suspended funds a statewide child nutrition program. A federal judge had ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze those funds last month after finding that Maine was likely to succeed in its legal challenge.
“It’s unfortunate that my office had to resort to federal court just to get USDA to comply with the law and its own regulations,” Frey said in a statement.
A letter from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained that the decision to suspend funding stemmed from a disagreement between Maine and the federal government over whether the state was complying with Title IX, the law that bans discrimination in education based on sex nationwide. Trump had accused Maine of failing to comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.
▶ Read more about the settlement between Maine and the Trump administration
The American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union said Friday they will work together to produce peer-reviewed research documents assessing the current and future national impacts of climate change in the U.S.
Earlier this week, Trump’s Republican administration told about 400 scientists working on the National Climate Assessment that they are no longer needed and that the report was being reevaluated.
That report, coming once every four to five years, is required by a 1990 federal law and was due around 2027. Preliminary budget documents show slashing funding or eliminating offices involved in coordinating that report, scientists and activists said.
AGU President Brandon Jones says they are “are filling in a gap in the scientific process.”
▶ Read more on the National Climate Assessment
The strategy is the main blueprint that lays out the department’s priorities as it moves to confront national security threats around the world.
It will be Hegseth’s opportunity to highlight what he wants the U.S. military to focus on for the next several years, and how the department will shift toward Trump’s America First doctrine.
The draft also will have to reflect the impact of Hegseth’s sweeping personnel cuts and decisions to merge a number of military commands.
The order was signed Friday.
The high-stakes meeting comes as Trump continues his trade war and annexation threats.
Carney’s Liberal Party scored a stunning comeback victory in a vote widely seen as a rebuke of Trump, whose trade war and attacks on Canadian sovereignty outraged voters.
“Canadians elected a new government to stand up to President Trump and build a strong economy,” Carney said in his first remarks since since election night.
Carney also said King Charles III will deliver a speech outlining the Canadian government’s priorities on May 27, when Parliament resumes. Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
▶ Read more about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
Vance says the Trump administration is keeping its promises.
In an opinion piece published by the Washington Post, Vance writes that he and Trump campaigned on reversing what they said are failures by the previous administration and returning to “successful, proven policies” from Trump’s first term.
“And we’re delivering,” Vance says.
He cites the crackdown on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, “reindustrializing” of the American economy and “rebalancing” relations with trading partners. He doesn’t mention tariffs.
Trump’s tariffs plans have caused worldwide economic uncertainty.
Vance ends by promising that “the best is yet to come.”
Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger said the Republican president’s order “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.”
“We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans,” Kerger said.
Trump signed the order late Thursday, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.
The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to “cease Federal funding” for PBS and National Public Radio and further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”
▶ Read more about Trump’s executive order on PBS and NPR
President Trump’s 2026 budget plan would slash non-defense domestic spending by $163 billion while increasing expenditures on national security, according to statements released by the White House on Friday.
The budget showed a desire to crack down on diversity programs and initiatives to address climate change. But the administration has yet to release detailed tables on what it wants income taxes, tariffs or the budget deficit to be — a sign of the political and financial challenge confronting Trump when he’s promising to cut taxes and repay the federal debt without doing major damage to economic growth.
Budgets do not become law but serve as a touchstone for the upcoming fiscal year debates. Often considered a statement of values, this first budget since Trump’s return to the White House carries the added weight of defining the Republican president’s second-term pursuits, alongside his party in Congress.
▶ Read more about Trump’s budget plan
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to remain in the Middle East for the second time, a U.S. official says.
Hegseth is keeping it there one more week to maintain two carrier strike groups in the region to battle Yemen-based Houthi rebels, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
In late March, Hegseth also extended the deployment of the Truman and the warships in its group for a month as part of a campaign to increase strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis.
The official said Hegseth signed the latest order Thursday and it’s expected that the Truman will head home to Norfolk, Virginia, after the week is up.
It has been rare in recent years for the U.S. to have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time.
— Lolita C. Baldor
The Food and Drug Administration is bringing back some of the 100 recently fired staffers who process document requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
Staffers across several parts of the agency were notified of the decision Thursday in writing or by phone, according to two agency staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss agency matters. The notifications went out to employees who work in the centers for drugs, tobacco and other product areas. The FDA responds to thousands of FOIA requests each year from lawyers, journalists, companies and physicians.
In recent days, the FDA has missed multiple court-ordered deadlines to hand over documents to parties suing the agency, which can result in hefty fines. The missed deadlines prompted the decision to bring back FOIA staffers.
— Matthew Perrone
Hiring in April was down slightly from a revised 185,000 in March and came in above economists’ expectations for a modest 135,000. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.2%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Trump’s aggressive and unpredictable policies – including massive import taxes – have clouded the outlook for the economy and the job market and raised fears that the American economy is headed toward recession.
But Friday’s report showed the job market remains solid.
“The labor market refuses to buckle in the face of trade war uncertainty,’’ said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at fwdbonds, a financial markets research firm. “Politicians can count their lucky stars that companies are holding on to their workers despite the storm clouds forming that could slow the economy further in the second half of the year.’’
▶ Read more about the U.S. jobs report
Abbe Lowell’s clients have included Hunter Biden, Jared Kushner and Sens. John Edwards and Bob Menendez.
His current clients include New York Attorney General Letitia James. Lowell sent a letter to the Justice Department last week urging it to refuse a Trump administration official’s request to prosecute the Democrat for mortgage fraud, calling it “improper political retribution.”
Lowell is also representing Miles Taylor, a former Trump administration official who was singled out in a presidential memo last month in which Trump called for a Justice Department investigation of his activities, and Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer whose security clearance Trump has moved to revoke.
In a statement announcing the creation of Lowell & Associates, Lowell said he was “excited to once again lead a small yet nimble team ready to represent companies, non-profits and individuals in need of our experience and dedication.”
That’s after China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing is evaluating overtures from the U.S. regarding Trump’s tariffs.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.3% before the bell and were on track for a ninth straight day of gains. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% and Nasdaq futures ticked up 0.2%.
Exxon Mobil’s reported its lowest first-quarter profit in years, stung by weaker crude prices and higher costs. Its shares ticked up less than 1% before markets opened Friday.
Shares in rival Chevron fell more than 2% after it also reported its smallest first quarter profit in years.
▶ Read more about the financial markets
Japan’s massive holdings of U.S. Treasurys can be “a card on the table” in negotiations over tariffs with the Trump administration, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said Friday.
“It does exist as a card, but I think whether we choose to use it or not would be a separate decision,” Kato said during a news show on national broadcaster TV Tokyo.
Kato didn’t elaborate and he didn’t say Japan would step up sales of its holdings of U.S. government bonds as part of its talks over Trump’s tariffs on exports from Japan.
Earlier, Japanese officials including Kato had ruled out such an option.
Japan is the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, at $1.13 trillion as of late February. China, also at odds with the Trump administration over trade and tariffs, is the second largest foreign investor in Treasurys.
▶ Read more about Japan’s talks with the U.S. over tariffs
“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status,” he wrote on his social media site Friday morning. “It’s what they deserve!”
Trump and his White House have repeatedly gone after Harvard. In addition to threatening its tax-exempt status, the administration has halted more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard and wants to block the school from being able to enroll international students.
The detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned.
The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed.
The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14.
While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size.
▶ Read more about the Army’s military parade plans
As Trump faces significant pushback from federal judges, a new poll shows U.S. adults are more likely to believe the president is the one overstepping his power rather than the courts -- although Republicans largely think the opposite.
According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about half of Americans say the president has “too much” power in the way government operates these days. On the other hand, Americans are more likely to believe the federal courts have an appropriate amount of authority. Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say that federal judges have “too much” power.
Republicans see it the other way: Roughly half say the federal judiciary has too much power, and only about 2 in 10 say the president does.
▶ Read more about the latest AP-NORC poll
When the Justice Department lifted a school desegregation order in Louisiana this week, officials called its continued existence a “historical wrong” and suggested that others dating to the Civil Rights Movement should be reconsidered.
The end of the 1966 legal agreement with Plaquemines Parish schools announced Tuesday shows the Trump administration is “getting America refocused on our bright future,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said.
Inside the Justice Department, officials appointed by Trump have expressed a desire to withdraw from other desegregation orders they see as an unnecessary burden on schools, according to a person familiar with the issue who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Dozens of school districts across the South remain under court-enforced agreements dictating steps to work toward integration, decades after the Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in education. Some see the court orders’ endurance as a sign the government never eradicated segregation, while officials in Louisiana and at some schools see the orders as bygone relics that should be wiped away.
▶ Read more about the end to the desegregation order
— Collin Binkley
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.
The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”
It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with. Since taking office, Trump has ousted leaders, placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists, libraries, museums, theaters and others, through takeovers of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
▶ Read more about the executive order
Rubio has been thrown into two top national security jobs at once as Trump presses forward with his top-to-bottom revamp of U.S. foreign policy, upending not only longstanding policies that the former Florida senator once supported but also the configuration of the executive branch.
Trump’s appointment of Rubio to temporarily replace Mike Waltz as national security adviser is the first major leadership shake-up of the nascent administration, but Waltz’s removal had been rumored for weeks — ever since he created a Signal group chat and accidentally added a journalist to the conversation where top national security officials shared sensitive military plans.
So, just over 100 days into his tenure as America’s top diplomat, Rubio now becomes just the second person to hold both positions. He follows only the late Henry Kissinger, who served as both secretary of state and national security adviser for two years under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s.
▶ Read more about Rubio’s new role
The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month.
The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.
A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request.
Trump’s administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for a total of 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments.
The emergency appeal to the high court came the same day a federal judge in Texas ruled illegal the administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law. The cases are not related.
▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s request
President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump arrives to give a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
