Associated Press stories, Page 25
WNBA players union authorizes negotiators to call a strike if needed during CBA talks
NEW YORK — WNBA players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the union announced Thursday as it continues to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the league. The WNBPA and league have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the...
Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash
STATESVILLE, N.C. — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said. The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It...
Anthony Richardson cleared to practice, but Colts plan to keep Philip Rivers as starting quarterback
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson returned to practice Thursday, marking the first time in two months he has taken snaps. He’s still not ready to challenge 44-year-old Philip Rivers for the starting job. Coach Shane Steichen said Richardson’s fractured orbital bone has healed sufficiently enough for him to...
Romanian court sentences Wiz Khalifa to 9 months for drug possession
BUCHAREST, Romania — American rapper Wiz Khalifa was sentenced by a court in Romania on Thursday to nine months in jail for drug possession, more than a year after he took part in a music festival in the Eastern European country. Khalifa was stopped by Romanian police in July 2024...
Trump’s handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump Kennedy CenterVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump Kennedy Center, the White House said, in a move that made Democrats fume, saying the board had overstepped its legal authority. Congress named the center after President John F. Kennedy in...
Deaths reported after business jet crashed at an airport in North Carolina
STATESVILLE, N.C. — A sheriff said there were deaths Thursday in the crash of a business jet that was trying to land at a regional airport in Statesville, North Carolina. “I can confirm there were fatalities,” Iredell County Sheriff Grant Campbell said, though he declined to say how many. The...
Trump administration moves to cut off transgender care for children
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to block access to gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions targeting transgender Americans. The sweeping proposals — the most significant moves this administration has taken so far...
Dry needling is common around the NFL, and players aren’t worried despite T.J. Watt’s collapsed lung
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride heard about what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt — and McBride plans to continue his weekly dry-needling sessions. “It’s something I do frequently. I’ve never had an issue like that,” he said. “But with every treatment, everything that...
Judge says he’ll rule in May on Luigi Mangione’s fight to exclude evidence from NY murder trial
NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione’s pretrial hearing wrapped up Thursday with a judge saying he plans to rule in May on what evidence prosecutors will be able to use in his New York trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Prosecutors rested their case after calling nearly 20...
Oklahoma, Alabama to meet for 3rd time in 13 months with Rose Bowl berth on the line
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma and Alabama will meet Friday for the third time in 13 months in the most significant game of their budding rivalry. Last year, underdog Oklahoma stunned the Crimson Tide, 24-3, and cost the Crimson Tide a spot in the College Football Playoff. Last month, Oklahoma won...
One Tech Tip: Spend quality time with loved ones, not a screen, over the holidays
The Christmas holiday season is a time to step back from the busy pace of modern life and connect with our nearest and dearest instead of screens, apps and chatbots. Here are some suggestions on how to unplug from the online world for the next few weeks as you sit...
Trump Media to merge with nuclear fusion company that wants to power AI
Trump Media & Technology will merge with a fusion power company in an all-stock deal that the companies said Thursday is valued at more than $6 billion. Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company...
DOJ vowed to punish those who disrupt Trump’s immigration crackdown. Dozens of cases have crumbled
WASHINGTON — The federal agent described her wounds as “boo-boos.” Nevertheless, the Justice Department aggressively pursued the alleged perpetrator. They jailed Sidney Lori Reid on a charge of felony assault, accusing her of injuring the agent during a July protest of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Washington, D.C. When...
Rural schools hit by Trump’s grant cuts have few options for making up for the lost money
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — When the funding for Shannon Johnson’s job as a school mental health counselor came to an abrupt end, two years into a five-year grant, she thought about the work left to be done. Johnson taught elementary and middle-school students in rural Kentucky how to navigate conflict, build...
Delaware holds off Louisiana for 68 Ventures Bowl win in 1st season of FBS play
MOBILE, Ala. — Jo Silver ran for 116 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown, and Delaware wrapped up its first year in the FBS with a 20-13 victory over Louisiana in the 68 Ventures Bowl on Wednesday night. The Fightin’ Blue Hens, who went 6-6 in their first year of FBS...
U.S. jobless claim applications fell by 13,000 last week as layoffs remain low
WASHINGTON — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell by 13,000 last week, remaining in the same historically healthy range of the past few years even as concerns grow about the health of the labor market. The number of Americans applying for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 13 declined...
Top EU court rules Polish Constitutional Tribunal is not independent
WARSAW, Poland — The European Union’s top court ruled on Thursday that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal was not “independent and impartial” because of politicized appointments made under the previous conservative Polish government. In its ruling, the EU’s Court of Justice said the Polish Constitutional Tribunal had “infringed the principle of effective...
Belgium seeks protection from Russian retaliation as EU leaders weigh a massive loan for Ukraine
BRUSSELS — Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan for Ukraine. At a high-stakes EU summit in Brussels, the 27-nation bloc’s leaders are set to decide on whether to...
Lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria could spur refugee returns, says UN official
BEIRUT — The head of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon said Thursday that the move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country. The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the...
Israel launches intense airstrikes in Lebanon as deadline looms to disarm Hezbollah
BEIRUT — Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon on Thursday as a deadline looms to disarm the militant Hezbollah group along the countries’ tense frontier. The strikes came a day before a meeting of the committee monitoring the enforcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that...
Old Dominion wins Cure Bowl with 24-10 victory over South Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — Redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Henicle rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns to help Old Dominion beat South Florida, 24-10, and win the StaffDNA Cure Bowl on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium. Henicle carried 24 times for Old Dominion (10-3) and clinched the victory with a 51-yard...
Trump demands Venezuela pay for seized U.S. oil assets after calling for ‘blockade’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Venezuela return assets that it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a “blockade” against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions. Trump cited the lost U.S. investments in Venezuela...
Trump gives a partisan prime-time address insisting the economy is stronger than many voters feelVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump delivered a politically charged speech Wednesday carried live in prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats while announcing he is sending a $1,776 bonus check to U.S. troops for Christmas. The remarks came as the nation is...
Penn State players encouraged by their 1st impressions of new coach Matt CampbellVideo
UNIVERSITY PARK — Trebor Peña has advice for his younger teammates who must decide soon whether to stay at Penn State and play for new coach Matt Campbell or look for opportunities elsewhere. The senior receiver transferred to Penn State in May after experiencing Syracuse’s transition from coach Dino Babers...
Sanders has plenty to focus on as Browns prepare to host Bills on Sunday
BEREA, Ohio — Shedeur Sanders quickly turned the page after he threw three interceptions in the Cleveland Browns’ 31-3 loss to the Chicago Bears last Sunday. The rookie quarterback didn’t have a choice, considering what is up next on the schedule. Sanders was well into preparations on Wednesday for Sunday’s...
