India's former foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, dies at 67

Sushma Swaraj, India's former external affairs minister and a leader of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, died Tuesday at a hospital in New Delhi. She was 67.

Swaraj died of a heart attack and was rushed to the emergency ward of All India Institute of Medical Science hospital, the Press Trust of India reported.

Swaraj was the external affairs minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet from 2014 to 2019. She distinguished herself with an active presence on social media, often replying to requests for help from Indians abroad.

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016 file photo, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj attends a meeting in New Delhi, India. Swaraj passed away in a New Delhi hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. She was 67. (AP PhotoSaurabh Das, File)

After undergoing a kidney transplant during her tenure as minister, Swaraj decided not to run for this year's general election, citing health issues.

In a series of tweets, Modi said that Swaraj's death was a "personal loss" and that she had worked tirelessly at India's external affairs ministry.

Swaraj's last tweets thanked Modi for bringing a measure to Parliament to revoke constitutional protections for the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. The bill lawmakers passed earlier Tuesday strips Jammu and Kashmir — India's only Muslim-majority state — of its statehood. The law also does away with the region's right to its own constitution and to Kashmiris' hereditary rights to land, jobs and scholarships.

FILE - In this May 8, 2010 file photo, India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj attends the autobiography release of party colleague Venkaiah Naidu in Hyderabad, India. Swaraj passed away in a New Delhi hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. She was 67. (AP PhotoMahesh Kumar A., File)

Swaraj called it a "bold and historic decision."

"Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime," she wrote.

Swaraj received a law degree and began her political career in the 1970s closely associated with socialist leaders. She actively opposed an emergency rule imposed in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress party. She later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and rose to become one of its top leaders, last serving as India's foreign minister, only the second woman in the role after Indira Gandhi.

FILE - In a Sept. 29, 2018 file photo, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters. India’s former external affairs minister and a leader of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party Sushma Swaraj died Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019 at a hospital in New Delhi. She was 67. (AP PhotoMary Altaffer, File)

She was a member of the Haryana state legislature from 1977 to 1982 and again from 1987 to 1990. She then entered national politics and served as information and broadcasting minister, parliamentary affairs minister and health minister.

She also served as the chief minister of Delhi in the late 1990s.

Swaraj is survived by her husband, Swaraj Kaushal, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India and a former governor of Mizoram state, and a daughter, Bansuri, also an advocate.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has for now denied the A's request to trademark the names “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.”

The club, which intends to move to Nevada in 2028, has three months from when the refusals were issued Dec. 29 to ask for an extension to file a new application within a six-month period.

The A's were told the nickname “Athletics” was too generic and could be confused with other activities even if associated with Las Vegas.

That, however, has been the club's nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began playing in 1901. The A's kept the nickname when they moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968.

The Patent and Trademark Office denied the NHL's Utah team to use the nickname “Yetis” on Jan. 9 because of potential confusion with companies such as Yeti Coolers. Utah, which moved from the Phoenix area in 2024, now uses the nickname “Mammoth.”

The A's relocated to West Sacramento, California, last year to play the first of three planned seasons in the city's Triple-A ballpark. The team is going solely by “Athletics” while playing in the Northern California city.

A $2 billion, 33,000-capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is under construction. Club officials told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Dec. 4 that the ballpark is on schedule to open in time for the 2028 season.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the ballpark, and the A’s have said they will cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher has been seeking investors to assist in the funding.

In preparing for the move to Las Vegas, the A's have signed some notable contracts. The most recent was an $86 million, seven-year deal for left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the richest in team history. Soderstrom signed his contract Dec. 30 at the A's Experience Center in Las Vegas.

The A's acquired second baseman Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets on Dec. 22.

Going back to last offseason, the A's also reached agreements on a $60 million, five-year contract with designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker and a $65.5 million, seven-year deal with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that takes him through 2028 with a club option for 2029.

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FILE - Athletics' Tyler Soderstrom sprints towards first after hitting an RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sept. 23, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall, File)