Associated Press stories, Page 389
Penn State roars back after dropping 1st 2 sets, beats Nebraska in volleyball Final Four
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jess Mruzik had 26 kills, Caroline Jurevicius had 20 and Penn State rallied from an 0-2 semifinal hole for a five-set victory over Nebraska early Friday to reach the NCAA championship. Penn State will face host Louisville, which eliminated No. 1 overall seed Pitt 3-1 in the...
Justin Herbert TD passes, rare free kick spark Chargers to comeback win over Broncos
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Justin Herbert passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead 19-yarder to Derius Davis early in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Chargers got closer to wrapping up a playoff spot by rallying past the Denver Broncos, 34-27, on Thursday night. The Chargers’ comeback...
2 killed, 3 injured when freight train derails in small West Texas city after collisionVideo
Two Union Pacific employees were killed and three people were injured when a freight train collided with a tractor-trailer and derailed in a small West Texas city, authorities said Thursday. The train derailed around 5 p.m. Wednesday in Pecos after the collision at a railway crossing, authorities said. Union Pacific,...
Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Doc Rivers, Mark Few among candidates for Basketball Hall of Fame classVideo
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Carmelo Anthony might go into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice next year. The Hall of Fame released its list of candidates for the Class of 2025 on Thursday, with the list of first-time nominees including Anthony and fellow retired NBA stars Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol....
Pro tennis player Jenson Brooksby talks about living with autismVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jenson Brooksby tugged at the right shoulder of his red T-shirt and fiddled with some strands of his dirty blond hair as he spoke to the Associated Press about what he’d like the world — the tennis world, yes, but also everyone else — to know about...
Notre Dame-Indiana playoff game a twist for those with dual loyalties in the Hoosier StateVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — Jim O’Donnell’s legacy will be felt inside Notre Dame Stadium on Friday night. His son, Jim, will attend the first playoff game in major college football to be played at a campus site, dressed in the cream-and-crimson color garb of his dad’s alma mater, Indiana. The younger O’Donnell’s...
Playoff QBs include a hometown recruit, a prep title rematch and some 1-year hired gunsVideo
Kevin Jennings wasn’t even the player Rhett Lashlee was going to watch when he went to his first Texas high school playoff game a week after becoming SMU’s coach. Three years later, Jennings is the only quarterback starting for his hometown team in the debut of the expanded 12-team College...
Ohio State wants redemption, Tennessee seeks respect in 1st-round CFP matchupVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Coach Josh Heupel doesn’t much care for the narrative that No. 7 Tennessee, with its checkered history over the past 15 years, is content just to have reached the College Football Playoff. The fourth-year coach knows that mindset won’t work facing a team like No. 6 Ohio...
Heavyweights Texas, Clemson meet for 1st time in College Football PlayoffVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — No. 13 Clemson got into the College Football Playoff on a thunderous kick in the final seconds of the ACC championship. No. 4 Texas limped in after a great regular season was deflated by a frustrating overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC title game. Now these...
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Marquise Brown expected to play SaturdayVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is expected to play against Houston on Saturday, less than a week after suffering a high-ankle sprain in a win over Cleveland, and he will likely have wide receiver Marquise Brown available for the first time in a regular-season game. Chiefs coach...
Gisèle Pelicot thanks backers after her ex-husband, his co-defendants are convicted in rape trialVideo
AVIGNON, France — Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her “very difficult ordeal” after 51 men were convicted Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that riveted France and turned her into an icon, expressing support for other victims whose cases don’t get such attention and “whose stories remain untold.” “I want you to...
FBI: Knife-wielding man shot at federal courthouse in Harrisburg was on parole in 1988 murder
HARRISBURG — A man who attempted to stab security guards at the federal courthouse in Harrisburg was released on parole just seven months ago, after serving decades in prison for third-degree murder, authorities said Thursday. Joseph Camino, who was shot and wounded in Monday’s attack, was charged with assault of...
Former Uvalde schools police chief loses bid to toss criminal charges related to 2022 shooting
UVALDE, Texas — A Texas judge on Thursday refused to throw out criminal charges accusing the former Uvalde schools police chief of putting children at risk during the slow response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, while a lawyer for his co-defendant said they want to move the upcoming...
Oklahoma man dies by lethal injection in the nation’s final execution of 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma man who killed a 10-year-old girl in a cannibalistic fantasy died by lethal injection Thursday in the nation’s 25th and final execution of the year. Kevin Ray Underwood was pronounced dead at 10:14 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. It was Oklahoma’s fourth...
Veteran Fox News business anchor Neil Cavuto leaving after 28 years
Neil Cavuto, a business journalist at Fox News Channel whose weekday afternoon news show frequently annoyed President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters, left the network after 28 years following a final show on Thursday. A workhorse who had been with Fox since its inception in 1996, Cavuto also hosted programs...
Advocates train immigrants to ‘prepare to stay’ in the U.S. under Trump
LOS ANGELES — Winston Leiva rattles off a long list of things immigrants should do to protect themselves against President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to conduct mass deportations when he returns to the White House. Make a plan for someone to care for your children if you are arrested. Don’t open...
Immigration drives U.S. population growth to highest rate in 23 years as residents pass 340 million
Immigration to the United States in 2024 drove U.S. population growth to its fastest rate in 23 years as the nation surpassed 340 million residents, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. The 1% growth rate this year was the highest it has been since 2001, and it was a marked...
U.S. home sales hit fastest pace since March with more properties up for sale
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November to their fastest pace since March with home shoppers encouraged by a wider selection of properties on the market, even as mortgage rates mostly ticked higher. Existing home sales rose 4.8% last month, from October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Prosecutor Fani Willis removed from Georgia election case against Trump and others
ATLANTA — A state appeals court on Thursday removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others, the latest legal victory for the president-elect in criminal cases that once threatened his career and freedom. The case against Trump and more than...
Former top aide to New York City’s mayor surrenders to DA’s office to face charges
NEW YORK — The former chief advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered Thursday to face corruption charges in the latest blow to the administration of a mayor under indictment amid investigations into multiple aides and allies. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned Sunday from her role as one of...
Power grab by Republicans in N.C. becomes a referendum on democracy in the states
RALEIGH, N.C. — Democrats in North Carolina were celebrating big wins in the swing state after the November election, including victories in races for governor and other top statewide offices. But the political high didn’t last long. Republican lawmakers are stripping away some core powers of the newly elected officials...
James Madison secures its 1st bowl win after topping Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Backup Billy Atkins threw for 181 yards and a touchdown in his first start since 2022, leading James Madison to the program’s first bowl win after topping Western Kentucky, 27-17, on Wednesday night in the Boca Raton Bowl. JMU was without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III,...
Hajj-Malik Williams throws 2 TDs passes to help No. 24 UNLV beat Cal in the LA Bowl
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Despite losing its starting quarterback after three games and head coach 10 days ago, UNLV had its best season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 24th-ranked Rebels picked up their 11th win and first bowl victory in 24 years Wednesday night when they pulled away in the...
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits come back down after recent big rise
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell markedly last week following a big increase the week before. Jobless claim applications declined by 22,000 to 220,000 for the week of Dec. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 229,000 analysts were forecasting. Continuing claims, the total...
U.S. economy grows at 3.1% pace in 3rd quarter, an upgrade from previous estimate
WASHINGTON — The American economy grew at a healthy 3.1% annual clip from July through September, propelled by vigorous consumer spending and an uptick in exports, the government said in an upgrade to its previous estimate. Third-quarter growth in U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and...

