Associated Press stories, Page 721
Pope acknowledges resistance to same-sex blessings but doubles down: ‘The Lord blesses everyone’
ROME — Pope Francis has defended his controversial decision to let priests bless same-sex couples but admitted that “solitude is a price you have to pay” when you make difficult decisions. Francis doubled down and insisted that the “Lord blesses everyone,” during a Sunday interview with an Italian talk show....
Biden and the Democrats raise $97M to close out 2023 after a December fundraising blitz
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee said they raised more than $97 million in the final three months of last year, boosted by a star-studded December fundraising blitz that came even as the political world’s attention shifted to the start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary....
King Frederik X visits Danish parliament on his 1st formal work day as Denmark’s new monarch
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s new King Frederik X visited the Danish parliament Monday, on his first formal day on the job, a day after his mother, Queen Margrethe, abdicated after 52 years on the throne. “We begin our responsible work as Denmark’s king in the belief that the Danish parliament...
Houthi rebels strike a U.S.-owned ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, raising tensions
JERUSALEM — Houthi rebels fired a missile, striking a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea, officials said. The attack on the Gibraltar Eagle,...
Arctic freeze continues to blast huge swaths of the U.S. with sub-zero temperatures
PORTLAND, Ore. — A dangerous Arctic blast will continue sweeping across the U.S. on Monday and linger through at least midweek, prolonging a bitter cold that set record-low temperatures in parts of the country and threatens to further disrupt daily life, including an NFL playoff game and the first-in-the-nation presidential...
Ukraine claims it shot down 2 Russian command and control aircraft in a significant blow to Moscow
KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian air force shot down a Russian Beriev A-50 early warning and control plane and an Il-22 command center aircraft in a significant blow for the Kremlin’s forces, Ukraine’s military chief claimed Monday. The planes are key tools in helping orchestrate Russian battlefield movements in Ukraine....
Jared Goff leads Lions to 1st playoff win in 32 years, 24-23 over Matthew Stafford, Rams
DETROIT — Jared Goff threw for a touchdown and completed a game-sealing first down against the team that cast him away, and the Detroit Lions won a playoff game for the first time in 32 years, beating Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 on Sunday night. The Lions...
Washington hires Arizona’s Jedd Fisch to be Huskies head coach, quickly replacing Kalen DeBoer
Washington hired Arizona’s Jedd Fisch to succeed Kalen DeBoer as the next coach of the Huskies on Sunday. A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that Fisch had agreed to a seven-year contract that will pay him an average of $7.75 million annually. Less than a week...
J.J. McCarthy entering NFL draft, skipping senior season after leading Michigan to national title
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — J.J. McCarthy, Michigan’s national-championship winning quarterback, is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft. McCarthy made the announcement Sunday, a day after being begged to stay. “The decision was not easy and how could it be — I love my teammates, I love my...
Jordan Love and the Packers pull a wild-card stunner, beating Dak Prescott and the Cowboys 48-32Video
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jordan Love threw for three touchdowns, Aaron Jones ran for three more, Darnell Savage returned an interception 64 yards for a score and the Green Bay Packers handed the Dallas Cowboys their first home loss since the 2022 opener in a 48-32 wild-card stunner Sunday. Romeo Doubs...
Defending champion Djokovic fends off first-timer Prizmic in 4 hours to advance in AustraliaVideo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Until he took on defending champion Novak Djokovic at Rod Laver Arena on opening Sunday in Australia, Dino Prizmic never had played a Grand Slam match. The 18-year-old Croatian qualifier, who was born seven months after Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut in 2005, made it last...
Migrant deaths in Rio Grande intensify tensions between Texas, Biden administration over crossings
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — After Texas fenced off a park along the U.S.-Mexico border and began turning away Border Patrol agents, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott explained why at campaign stop near Houston. “We are not allowing Border Patrol on that property anymore,” Abbott said Friday, drawing applause from supporters at a...
Baker Mayfield focused on defeating Eagles in playoffs, not his future with BuccaneersVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — A rejuvenated Baker Mayfield said he is focused on defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, not the future of a career he has revived by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the playoffs. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft arguably has had his best season as...
Judge says Trump can wait a week to testify at sex abuse victim’s defamation trial
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump can wait a week to testify at a New York defamation trial where he could face millions of dollars in damages after a jury concluded that he sexually abused a columnist in the 1990s, a federal judge said Sunday. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan...
Jim Harbaugh set to meet with Chargers next week about their head coach vacancy, AP source saysVideo
The Jim Harbaugh derby for NFL teams is about to heat up. A week after leading Michigan to a national title, Harbaugh will meet with the Los Angeles Chargers about their head coaching vacancy this week, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press. The person spoke to...
4 killed, 1 injured in hot air balloon crash south of Phoenix
ELOY, Ariz. — Four people were killed and another critically injured after a hot air balloon crash Sunday morning near Eloy, Arizona, authorities said. Eloy police said the crash occurred about 7:50 a.m. Sunday in a rural desert area about 60 miles south of Phoenix. The victims’ names are being...
Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland, sending lava flowing toward a nearby settlementVideo
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday, sending lava snaking toward a nearby community and setting at least one home on fire. The eruption, which began just before 8 a.m. local time, came after authorities evacuated the...
District attorney defends the qualifications of a prosecutor hired in Trump’s Georgia election case
ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Sunday defended the qualifications of a special prosecutor she hired for her case against Donald Trump and others over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia after a defense lawyer accused Willis of professional impropriety. In her first public remarks...
Republican candidates try to lock down undecided Iowans in the countdown to the leadoff caucuses
INDIANOLA, Iowa — Marc Smiarowski hunched over to fight off the minus 18-degree Fahrenheit (minus 28 degrees Celsius) chill on Sunday, waiting for the doors to open for Donald Trump’s midday rally at a small college outside Des Moines. But as the weak winter sun hung low in the sky,...
Millions of Americans face below-zero temperatures as storms bring blast of Arctic air, snow and ice
Subfreezing temperatures across much of the U.S. left millions of Americans facing dangerous cold over the weekend as Arctic storms knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the Northwest, brought snow to the South, and walloped the Northeast with blizzard conditions that forced the postponement of an NFL game....
‘The Honeymooners’ actress Joyce Randolph has died at 99; played Ed Norton’s wife, Trixie
NEW YORK — Joyce Randolph, a veteran stage and television actress whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners” provided the perfect foil to her dimwitted TV husband, has died. She was 99. Randolph died of natural causes Saturday night at her home on the Upper West Side...
U.S. military academies focus on oaths and loyalty to Constitution as political divisions intensify
WEST POINT, N.Y. — For 75 minutes, Maj. Joe Amoroso quizzed his students in SS202, American Politics, about civilian leadership of the military, the trust between the armed forces and the public, and how the military must not become a partisan tool. There was one answer, he said, that would...
As legal challenges mount, some companies retool diversity and inclusion programs
NEW YORK — Sophia Danner-Okotie’s has ambitious plans for her Nigerian-inspired clothing line but a sense of dread has punctured her optimism as she watches a legal battle being waged against a small venture capital firm that has provided funding instrumental to her boutique brand’s growth. The case against the...
Fire from Lebanon kills 2 Israeli civilians as the Israel-Hamas war rages for 100th day
JERUSALEM — Two civilians were killed in northern Israel on Sunday after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit their home in a town near the border, raising new concerns of a second conflict erupting against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The deadly strike came on the 100th...
Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs past Dolphins in near-record low temps
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, had his helmet shattered when he took a hit in the second half and proceeded to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 26-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins in the fourth-coldest game in NFL history Saturday...
