Associated Press stories, Page 387
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe aims to fly closer to the sun like never before
NEW YORK — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun’s corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a...
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 22 as Vatican envoy visits Christians for pre-Christmas Mass
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 22 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said, while Gaza’s small Christian community celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass. Israeli authorities allowed a rare Gaza visit by the leader of the Catholic Church...
When 2025 arrives, so will the end of the amateur athlete in college sports
When the page turns on 2024, it will be time to say goodbye, once and for all, to the amateur athlete in college sports. In theory, the concept held on stubbornly via the quaint and now all-but-dead notion that student-athletes played only for pride, a scholarship and some meal money....
An architect designed custom clocks for Pennsylvania’s Capitol a century ago and they’re still ticking
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. The seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately — and frequently capped by a dome. Visitors to Pennsylvania ‘s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, polished marble and intricate carvings, but hidden behind the doors...
USC beats UConn in marquee matchup between JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers
HARTFORD, Conn. — JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers both showed out in a primetime matchup between two of the brightest stars in women’s basketball. Watkins got the best of the rematch from last season’s Elite Eight that UConn won, helping No. 7 USC to a 72-70 victory over the fourth-ranked...
Ohio State routs Tennessee to set up rematch with Oregon
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard threw two touchdown passes to freshman Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State routed Tennessee, 42-17, on Saturday night in a first-round College Football Playoff game, setting up a New Year’s Day rematch with No. 1 Oregon at the Rose Bowl. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson rushed...
2 U.S. Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, U.S. military says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both pilots were recovered alive...
Giant sloths and mastodons lived with humans for millennia in the Americas, new discoveries suggest
SAO PAULO — Sloths weren’t always slow-moving, furry tree-dwellers. Their prehistoric ancestors were huge — up to 4 tons — and when startled, they brandished immense claws. For a long time, scientists believed the first humans to arrive in the Americas soon killed off these giant ground sloths through hunting,...
Texas beats Clemson, advances to face to Arizona State in College Football Playoff quarterfinals
AUSTIN, Texas — Jaydon Blue ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, the last a 77-yard burst in the fourth quarter, and Texas beat Clemson 38-24 on Saturday in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff. Blue’s fourth-quarter touchdown came after Clemson rallied from down 31-10 to 31-24...
What Trump’s decision to wade into spending fight tells us about the next 4 years
WASHINGTON — After days of threats and demands, Donald Trump had little to show for it once lawmakers passed a budget deal in the early hours of Saturday, narrowly averting a pre-Christmas government shutdown. The president-elect successfully pushed House Republicans to jettison some spending, but he failed to achieve his...
Shutdown saga exposes new fault lines for Speaker Johnson and tests his grip on the gavel
WASHINGTON — One of the most turbulent sessions of Congress in the modern era is about to make way for the next one. Midnight passage of the government shutdown package put in sharp focus the political fault lines emerging in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House,...
Biden signs bill that averts a government shutdown and brings a close to days of Washington upheaval
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Saturday that averts a government shutdown, bringing a final close to days of upheaval after Congress approved a temporary funding plan just past the deadline and refused President-elect Donald Trump’s core debt demands in the package. The deal funds the...
Trump taps ‘Apprentice’ producer, Mark Burnett, as special envoy to the United Kingdom
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with “The Apprentice,” is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration. “With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark...
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid working through injuries and mental health struggles
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is trying to believe in the good that can come from asking for help. Embiid’s career has yielded an MVP — and so many more DNPs — with a biography littered by the kind of devastating injuries that can, in time, heal. Ask even the most...
Stolen base king Rickey Henderson dies at 65
OAKLAND, Calif. — Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball’s leadoff position, has died. He was 65. Henderson died Friday. The Athletics said Saturday they were “shocked and heartbroken by his passing,” but did not specify a cause of death. Known...
History looms in NCAA volleyball championship with female coaches poised as first to win a title
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Players and coaches who will make history at the NCAA volleyball championship still find it hard to believe a female coach hasn’t already won a title. After all, a female coach has influenced almost every stage of their volleyball lives. It was assumed a woman had already...
Patrick Mahomes throws for TD, runs for score in Chiefs win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes knew he could run on the ankle he sprained last week. The bigger concern for the Chiefs quarterback was how he would stop, when all the weight and pressure and momentum would land squarely upon it. The solution against Houston was simple: Mahomes didn’t...
Konan Niederhauser scores 18, Ace Baldwin adds 15 in Penn State win
PHILADELPHIA — Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 18 points, Ace Baldwin Jr. had 15 points and six assists and Penn State defeated Drexel, 75-64, on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center. Penn State led 51-38 with 15 minutes left in regulation before Drexel went on an extended rally to get within 58-56...
After shooting, Wisconsin school and church lean into Christmas message for comfort
For Christians around the world, Christmas is the joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus. To affirm their beliefs — that God is present and hasn’t abandoned them — the faith community at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, is embracing its holiday traditions just days after a deadly...
Senate review of Supreme Court ethics finds more luxury trips and urges enforceable code of conduct
WASHINGTON — A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct. Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the...
Santa and Mrs. Claus use military transports to bring Christmas to an Alaska Native village
YAKUTAT, Alaska — Forget the open-air sleigh overloaded with gifts and powered by flying reindeer. Santa and Mrs. Claus this week took supersized rides to southeast Alaska in a C-17 military cargo plane and a camouflaged Humvee, as they delivered toys to the Tlingit village of Yakutat, northwest of Juneau....
It’s eggnog season. The boozy beverage dates back to medieval England but remains a holiday hit
SAN FRANCISCO — At Scoma’s Restaurant in San Francisco, this holiday season ‘s batch of eggnog began 11 months ago. The process typically starts in late January, just after the previous year’s celebrations are over. Nearly a thousand egg yolks, gallons upon gallons of heavy cream and roughly $1,000 worth...
Thousands greet the winter solstice at the ancient Stonehenge monument
LONDON — Thousands of tourists, pagans, druids and people simply yearning for the promise of spring marked the dawn of the shortest day of the year Saturday at the ancient Stonehenge monument. Revelers cheered and beat drums as the sun rose at 8:09 a.m. over the giant standing stones on...
Senate passes Social Security benefits boost for many public service retirees
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation early Saturday to boost Social Security payments for millions of people, pushing a longtime priority for former public employees through Congress in one of its last acts for the year. The bipartisan bill, which next heads to President Joe Biden, will eliminate longtime reductions...
Notre Dame christens new playoff era with dominant win over Indiana
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jeremiyah Love tied the Notre Dame record with a 98-yard touchdown run, Riley Leonard added two more scores and the Fighting Irish shut down the highest-scoring team in the College Football Playoff, overwhelming Indiana, 27-17, on Friday night. The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-1) won their 11th...
