Associated Press stories, Page 2204

A green jacket. A heart-melting embrace. A stirring return to the top of golf by one of the sport’s all-time greats. In choosing Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters as The Associated Press sports story of the year, voters went with the uplifting escape of a great comeback over options...

DOVER, Del. — The remains of a 33-year-old American soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan have been returned to the United States, arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble of Washington Township, New Jersey, was killed Monday in a roadside bombing in northern...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A 65-year-old Colorado man is jailed after witnesses say he robbed a bank in Colorado Springs, walked outside and threw money out of the bag and then said “Merry Christmas.” The man walked to the coffee shop next door, “sat down and waited for the cops,”...

LOS ANGELES — Allee Willis, a songwriter whose work included the Broadway musical “The Color Purple” as well as the theme song from the TV show “Friends” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” has died. She was 72. The cause of death Tuesday was a cardiac event, her publicist, Ellyn...

PHILADELPHIA — A man was killed and a woman wounded when almost two dozen shots were fired at a car in southwest Philadelphia on Christmas Eve, police said. Chief Inspector Scott Small told The Philadelphia Inquirer that two gunmen ambushed the car just after 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Elmwood...

BRISTOL, Conn. — ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff, known for his outgoing and friendly personality, dapper dress and great love of sports, has died. He was 34. The sports network announced Aschoff died Tuesday after a brief illness. “We are very sorry to have to share the devastating news...

LAKELAND, Fla. — Three adults were killed in an apparent murder-suicide on Christmas Eve while four young children were inside the home, authorities in Florida said. The children were safely removed from the home after the shooting Tuesday night, Lakeland Police Capt. Ed Cain told reporters. The three dead adults...

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended a music-filled Christmas Eve service at a Southern Baptist Convention-affiliated church before celebrating the holiday with dinner in the ballroom of his private club. The pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach, Florida, Jimmy Scroggins, and...

OXFORD, Miss. — A Mississippi police officer created a Christmas caper for her preschool neighbor to investigate. Oxford police Officer Rachel Ratcliffe knew Bailey Stacey’s family had had a rough year. The 3-year-old and his parents had stayed in her house when their house next door flooded and the Staceys...

A new study has found no evidence to corroborate that a beaver-skin stovepipe hat — for years a centerpiece of Illinois’ Abraham Lincoln museum — ever actually belonged to the 16th U.S. president, according to a published report. Among the findings spelled out in a 54-page report was that the...

NEW YORK — When the family-friendly Hallmark Channel recently pulled, under pressure from a conservative group, a set of ads featuring a kiss between two happy brides at the altar, backlash was swift — to say the least. Within hours, stars like Ellen DeGeneres and William Shatner were tweeting in...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis assured the faithful on Christmas Eve that God loves everyone — “even the worst of us” — as he celebrated the joyous birth of Christ after a less-than-joyful year of scandals and opposition. With a choir singing the classic Christmas hymn “The First Noel,” Francis...

McCOMB, Miss. — A scraggly metal Christmas tree planted in a pothole has inspired a Mississippi minister to pen a holiday song. One bit asks, “If a man can take a pothole and bring the whole world together, the question is what are you doing to spread the Christmas joy?”...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma warns that real-life court cases don’t unfold like “Perry Mason.” But he’s afraid this one might come to resemble “Dr. Strangelove.” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of White Plains, N.Y., has a reputation for thorough preparation,...

NEW YORK — Holiday shopping doesn’t end with Christmas. Shoppers can take advantage of fatter discounts on clothing, home decor and other items well into January. In fact, a National Retail Federation survey of nearly 8,000 adults conducted Nov. 27 through Dec. 5 found that 68% of holiday consumers will...

SAN FRANCISCO — A new cafe culture is brewing in the San Francisco area, where a growing number of coffee houses are banishing paper to-go cups and replacing them with everything from glass jars to rental mugs and BYO cup policies. What started as a small trend among neighborhood cafes...

GRANDVIEW, Mo. — A 20-year-old man was shot and killed in an apparent fight over shoes in suburban Kansas City, police said. Grandview police said an officer responded Sunday night to a reported shooting and found Jaylen Blackmon, of Kansas City, dead on a sidewalk. Witnesses told police that the...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby was detained in North Carolina hours after he gave away toys to children and shortly after his concert. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police issued citations to the rapper, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resisting an officer Monday night, news outlets...

NEW YORK — Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is resigning from the board of directors, severing ties with the ride-hailing company that he co-founded a decade ago and ran until a series of scandals led to his downfall. The departure, announced Tuesday, did not come as a surprise. Kalanick recently...

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday as his Senate impeachment trial remains at an impasse, with Republican and Democratic leaders at odds over its format and whether witnesses should be called. Speaking at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, after a teleconference call with troops...

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is calling members of the military stationed across the world to share greetings ahead of the Christmas holiday. Trump is speaking by video conference with service members from all five branches from his private club in Florida, where is he is on a...