Associated Press stories, Page 266

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense have faced a fierce gauntlet of defenses in their path to the College Football Playoff title game. The Fighting Irish battled their way through Penn State (No. 7 in total defense), Georgia (No. 30) and Indiana (No. 2)....

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors on Friday dropped bribery and fraud charges against former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, citing the death of a cooperating witness against the Democrat who the governor had once chosen to be her second-in-command. Judge J. Paul Oetken signed an order closing the case...

OS ANGELES — Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a move that many baseball...

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is listed as doubtful for Sunday night’s playoff game at Buffalo because of a knee injury. Flowers was hurt in the regular-season finale against Cleveland, and the second-year receiver missed last weekend’s 28-14 victory over Pittsburgh to open the postseason....

The Miami Dolphins will play in the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Spain when Madrid hosts a matchup next season at iconic Bernabeu Stadium, the league announced Friday. The Dolphins will be the designated “home” team at Real Madrid’s venue, which features a soccer pitch that retracts to make way...

The New York Jets interviewed Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on Friday for their head coach vacancy. The trio increased the list to 15 coaching candidates to meet with the Jets. The 43-year-old Flores has been...

NEW YORK — Turning their attention to the bullpen, the New York Mets have agreed with free agent left-hander A.J. Minter on a two-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement...

NEW YORK — Rapper Busta Rhymes has been accused of repeatedly punching another man in the face, police said Friday. Police said Rhymes, whose legal name is Trevor Smith, was issued a desk appearance ticket for third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, on Tuesday related to an incident in Brooklyn, N.Y., on...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NCAA added women’s wrestling as a sport Friday, bringing its total number of championships to 91. The sanctioning body approved the addition at the annual convention in Nashville, Tenn. Women’s wrestling had been under the “emerging sports for women” banner. Now, female athletes from Division I,...

A former CEO and one of his top executives with an Ohio energy company at the center of a $60 million bribery scheme have been indicted on racketeering charges, federal prosecutors announced Friday. The former FirstEnergy Corp. executives — ex-CEO Chuck Jones and Senior Vice President Michael Dowling — were...

A former Kentucky sheriff accused of gunning down a judge last year, stunning their tight-knit Appalachian community, appeared remotely from a jail Friday for a court hearing as defense attorneys and prosecutors discussed preliminary matters that will lead up to his murder trial. Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines...

A grand jury in Massachusetts has indicted a doctor who is accused of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients over a period of more than a decade. The patients sued Dr. Derrick Todd, who has been accused of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations and other...

The Federal Trade Commission sued PepsiCo on Friday, alleging that it has engaged in illegal price discrimination by giving unfair price advantages to one big-box retailer at the expense of other vendors and consumers. The benefiting customer wasn’t named in an FTC statement about the lawsuit. But a source familiar...

A Florida jury on Friday found CNN guilty of libeling a U.S. Navy veteran in a 2021 story about people paid to rescue endangered Afghans following the Taliban takeover of that country. The jury in Panama City, Fla., deliberated for more than eight hours starting Thursday before ruling in favor...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump will choose to lead the U.S. Secret Service one of the agents who covered him after a gunmen opened fire at the candidate during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump Jr. said his father will be naming Sean Curran, who heads the...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to select his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, on Friday to succeed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity before an announcement planned for Friday...

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the U.S. Constitution, making a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality. “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people,” Biden...

With a possible TikTok ban just days away, many U.S. users are looking for alternative social media platforms to help them keep up with pop culture or provide the type of entertaining videos that popularized the short-form video app. The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the federal law banning...

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold weather. “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “There...

TikTok has cemented itself as a quintessential entertainment app, offering everything from funny skits and makeup tutorials to social commentary and news. Without a sale to an approved buyer, the platform is expected to vanish from U.S. app stores by Sunday now that the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the the...

MOSS LANDING, Calif. — A major fire burning Friday at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants in Northern California is sending up flames of toxic smoke, leading to the evacuation of 1,700 people and the closure of a major highway. The blaze in Moss Landing started Thursday. Fire...

WASHINGTON — The Senate is heading toward a final vote on legislation that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes and give states power to challenge federal immigration policies, setting a new tone on immigration as Donald Trump enters the White House. Newly in...

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions. Russian and Iranian officials say the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas —- from trade and military cooperation...