Associated Press stories, Page 18
Kirk Cousins leads Falcons to comeback win over reeling Buccaneers
TAMPA, Fla. — Maybe Kirk Cousins should’ve been starting the entire season. Cousins threw three touchdown passes to Kyle Pitts Sr., and Zane Gonzalez kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired to complete the Atlanta Falcons’ rally for a 29-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night....
Japan issues tsunami advisory after 6.7 magnitude quake in country’s northeast
TOKYO — Japan on Friday issued a tsunami advisory after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook the country’s northeast, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The quake occurred off the east coast of Aomori prefecture, in the north of Honshu, the main Japanese island, at a depth of 12.4 miles at...
Trump signs executive order to block state AI regulations
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both...
House votes to nullify Trump order and restore bargaining rights for federal workers
WASHINGTON — Nearly two dozen House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday to pass a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, an attempt to overturn an executive order that President Donald Trump issued earlier this year. The measure passed 231-195 after reaching the floor...
Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley is out at least 8 weeks with a lower-body injury
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks with what the team is calling a lower-body injury. General manager Bill Armstrong announced Cooley’s timeline Thursday. Cooley, 21 and a West Mifflin native, was injured Dec. 5 in Vancouver when he...
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel hires Penn State’s Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel hired Jim Knowles as the Volunteers’ defensive coordinator. Heupel moved quickly after firing coordinator Tim Banks on Monday, and the Volunteers coach said Thursday that hiring Knowles was a priority from the start. “Jim has a proven track record of developing elite defenses...
Guardians sign ex-Pirates reliever Colin Holderman to $1.5 million, 1-year deal
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians added to their bullpen Thursday, signing right-hander Colin Holderman to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. The 30-year old Holderman spent the past four seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then became a free agent three weeks ago when the Pirates failed to offer a 2026 contract....
Indiana Republicans block Trump’s redistricting push in rare break with the president
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s Republican-led senate voted against a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party in the 2026 elections, despite months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting. Twenty-one senators from the Republican supermajority and all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats voted down...
Bears look to bounce back against Garrett, Browns with rematch against Packers looming
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears were rolling along and on top of the NFC before they got tripped up at Green Bay last week. They will get their shot at payback when Jordan Love and the Packers visit Soldier Field next week. But before they can turn their attention toward...
Homeland Security Secretary Noem defends Trump’s hard-line immigration policies under scrutinyVideo
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defiantly defended the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies on Thursday during a House committee hearing, portraying migrants as a major threat faced by the nation that justifies a crackdown that has seen widespread arrests, deportations and a dizzying pace of restrictions on foreigners....
Army tries to turn the tables on No. 22 Navy when they renew their rivalry in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — At most schools, players try to stay hyper-focused on the task at hand. Future opponents can wait. No looking ahead. It is, needless to say, different at Army and Navy. “We say ‘Beat Navy’ for 365 days of the year,” Army linebacker Gavin Shields said. “It’s the whole...
The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk appears in court for 1st time as judge weighs media access
PROVO, Utah — The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance Thursday as his attorneys push to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case. A Utah judge is weighing the public’s right to know details in the prosecution of Tyler Robinson...
Justice Department again fails to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A grand jury declined for a second time to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, refusing to resurrect a mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. It’s another major blow to the Justice Department after...
NASCAR settles federal antitrust case, gives all teams the permanent charters they wanted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan and NASCAR chairman Jim France stood side-by-side on the steps of a federal courthouse as if they were old friends following a stunning settlement Thursday of a bruising antitrust case in which the Basketball Hall of Famer was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing...
Sherrone Moore was a once-promising coach until sudden and stunning fall from grace at MichiganVideo
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore’s rise was stirring, a rugged lineman at Oklahoma who climbed the ranks to lead Michigan, the winningest program in college football, and a rare Black head coach at the top of the sport. “If you work your tail off, dreams can come true,” Moore...
Noem links seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela to U.S. antidrug efforts
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela to the Trump administration’s counterdrug efforts in Latin America as tensions escalate with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Noem’s assertion, which came during her testimony to the House Homeland Security...
Tens of thousands ordered to flee flooding after torrential rain in Pacific Northwest
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Surging floodwaters turned farmland into vast pools, washed out bridges and stranded people Thursday, with evacuation orders issued for tens of thousands of Washington state residents and authorities hoping levees prevent far worse damage. “The flooding levels we’re looking at are potentially historic in nature, so...
Senate rejects extension of health care subsidies as costs are set to rise for millions of Americans
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday rejected legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, essentially guaranteeing that millions of Americans will see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year. As Republicans and Democrats have failed to find compromise, senators voted on two partisan bills instead...
Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be immediately released from immigration detentionVideo
GREENBELT, Md. — Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be freed from immigration detention while he fights to stay in the U.S., a judge ruled Thursday, handing a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration...
Disney invests $1B in OpenAI in deal to bring characters like Mickey Mouse to Sora AI video tool
Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and will bring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Luke Skywalker to the AI company’s Sora video generation tool, in a licensing deal that the two companies announced on Thursday. The agreement makes the Walt Disney Co. the first major content licensing...
MyPillow founder and Trump supporter Mike Lindell says he’s running for Minnesota governor in 2026
SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Mike Lindell, the fervent supporter of President Donald Trump known to TV viewers as the “MyPillow Guy,” officially entered the race for Minnesota governor Thursday in hopes of winning the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in 2026. Lindell made the announcement at a news...
Office holiday parties can be dreadful for introverts and people with social anxiety
NEW YORK — The year the radio station company where he worked held its holiday party at a dive bar, Ryan Arnold walked in and saw coworkers passing around a tall glass boot filled with beer. He heard the office manager belting out ’80s power ballads between whiskey shots. Arnold’s...
U.S. jobless benefit applications jump to 236,000, but continuing claims are lowest since April
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week, but the total number of those collecting benefits fell to the lowest level in eight months. U.S. jobless claim applications for the week ending Dec. 6 climbed by 44,000 to 236,000 from the previous week’s 192,000, the...
Trump’s handling of the economy is at its lowest point in AP-NORC polling
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approval on the economy and immigration have fallen substantially since March, according to a new AP-NORC poll, the latest indication that two signature issues that got him elected barely a year ago could be turning into liabilities as his party begins to gear up for...
What are parents to do as doctors clash with Trump administration over vaccines?
It’s normal for parents, or anyone, to have questions about vaccinations — but what happens if your pediatrician urges a shot that’s under attack by the Trump administration? That’s getting more likely: The nation’s leading doctors groups are in an unprecedented standoff with federal health officials who have attacked long-used,...
