Associated Press stories, Page 399
No. 19 Tennessee back in women’s AP Top 25 after year out of poll; UCLA, UConn remain 1-2
Tennessee has returned to The Associated Press Top 25 at No. 19, ending the school’s longest drought in the 48-year history of the women’s basketball poll. The Lady Vols (7-0) had not been ranked since Nov. 27, 2023, a span of 22 polls. Since the rankings began in 1976, Tennessee...
Military pauses Osprey flights again after more metal failures are found in near-crash in November
The Pentagon is temporarily pausing flights again of its V-22 Osprey fleet after weakened metals in a part inside one of the aircraft broke apart in flight in November, causing an engine failure and a near crash in New Mexico, based on an initial investigation of the incident. The pause...
Veteran Daniel Penny is acquitted in NYC subway chokehold case over Jordan Neely’s death
NEW YORK — A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism. A Manhattan jury delivered the verdict, clearing Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan...
What are the matchups in the College Football Playoff?
After a chaotic end to the regular season in college football, the matchups are set for the first 12-team version of the College Football Playoff. The first-round games are Dec. 20-21 on campuses before the games shift to bowl games for the quarterfinals and semifinals. Here is what to know:...
Rust vs. rest: Extra time off or potentially losing edge brings another worry for CFP coaches
CLEMSON, S.C. — The expanded College Football Playoff brings something new for coaches who are used to planning for one game, maybe two: rust vs. rest. The 12-team bracket released Sunday features four teams — Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State — with first-round byes, whose games will take...
‘Emilia Pérez’ leads Golden Globe nominations with 10, followed by ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Conclave’
Jacques Audiard’s audacious musical “Emilia Pérez,” about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery to become a woman, led nominations to the 82nd Golden Globes on Monday, scoring 10 nods to lead it over other contenders like the musical smash “Wicked,” the papal thriller “Conclave” and the postwar...
How should the opioid settlements be spent? Those hit hardest often don’t have a say
People with substance use disorder across the country are not getting a formal say in how most of the approximately $50 billion in opioid lawsuit settlement money is being used to stem the crisis, a new analysis found. Some advocates say that is one factor in why portions of the...
In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own
WASHINGTON — In the history of American politics, there’s no shortage of presidents who promised to shake up Washington once they got to the White House. But Donald Trump may prove to be in a class of his own, and he appears more interested in beating the federal government into...
New York prosecutors charge suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing with murderVideo
ALTOONA — Authorities arrested a suspect and charged him with murder Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s customer in Pennsylvania spotted a man who officers found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush. The chance sighting at the restaurant...
U.S. believes journalist Austin Tice is alive after disappearing in Syria in 2012, Biden says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. government believes missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar Assad’s ouster from power in Damascus. “We think we can get...
Assad’s fall in Syria is a ‘fundamental act of justice,’ but also ‘a moment of risk,’ Biden says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. Biden spoke at the White House hours after rebel...
Syrian prime minister says government is still functioning but foreign and domestic challenges loom
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed in from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future. But there were already...
Lara Trump steps down as RNC co-chair and addresses speculation about Florida Senate seat
Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House. Among those possibilities is replacing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump tapped to be the next secretary...
Reports: Juan Soto agrees to record $765 million, 15-year contract with MetsVideo
DALLAS — Star outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets have agreed to a record $765 million, 15-year contract, according to multiple reports. Soto’s deal is the largest and longest in Major League Baseball history, topping Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a deal...
Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he is appointing one of his defense attorneys in the New York hush money case as counselor to the president. Alina Habba, 40, defended Trump earlier this year, also serving as his legal spokesperson. Habba has been spending time with...
Jackson scores 23, Purdue Fort Wayne beats Robert Morris 82-77Video
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Jalen Jackson scored 23 points as Purdue Fort Wayne beat Robert Morris, 82-77, on Sunday. Jackson had six rebounds and three steals for the Mastodons (6-4, 1-1 Horizon League). Corey Hadnot II scored 13 points, and Rasheed Bello finished with 12 points. Alvaro Folgueiras finished with...
Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU’s wins over Tide’s strong scheduleVideo
The College Football Playoff committee took SMU’s wins over Alabama’s strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot Sunday after a furious public debate and days of lobbying and arguing over which teams should make the 12-team field. SMU (11-2) showed it could compete against a traditional...
NFL Week 14: Sam Darnold sets 2 new career highs with 347 yards thrown, 5 TDs as Vikings thump FalconsVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Darnold threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, and the Minnesota Vikings pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 on Sunday for their sixth straight victory. Darnold added another highlight to his brilliant first season in Minnesota following the departure of...
N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson named head coach at Marshall
N.C. State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was named head coach at Marshall on Sunday, shortly after Thundering Herd coach Charles Huff’s hiring was announced at Southern Miss. Gibson, 52, will take his first head-coaching job in college and return to his home state, where he served two stints at West...
Gaza health officials say latest Israeli airstrikes kill at least 14 including children
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 14 people including children Sunday, Palestinian health officials said, while the bombing of a hospital in northern Gaza wounded a half-dozen patients. Israel’s military continues its latest offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza, whose remaining...
Clintons urge voters agitated by today’s politics to remain involved in public service
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. The former president urged audience members in a packed theater...
Trump says U.S. should stay out of fighting in Syria as opposition forces gain
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military should stay out of the fast-escalating conflict in Syria, where a dramatic rebel offensive reached the capital and threatened the rule of Syria’s Russian- and Iranian-allied president. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” Trump declared on social media. As world...
Penn State gets home game, SMU edges Alabama for last spot in College Football Playoff, while Oregon seeded 1st
The new, 12-team College Football Playoff brings with it a promise to be bigger, more exciting, more lucrative. Perfect or 100% fair? Well, nobody ever believed that. The first expanded playoff bracket unveiled Sunday left a presumably deserving Alabama team on the sideline in favor of an SMU squad —...
Trump says he can’t guarantee tariffs won’t raise U.S. prices and promises swift immigration action
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect, in a wide-ranging...
AP Top 25: Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State top poll going into playoff; Tide ranked ahead of SMU
Georgia moved up to No. 2 behind Oregon in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, Texas and Penn State remained in the top five after losing conference championship games and Arizona State appeared in the top 10 for the first time in a decade. Unbeaten Oregon, with its win...

