AP National News

Associated Press YAKUTAT, Alaska (AP) — Forget the open-air sleigh overloaded with gifts and powered by a tuckered herd of flying reindeer. Santa and Mrs. Claus this week took supersized modes of transportation to southeast Alaska, riding in a C17 military cargo plane and a camouflaged Humvee from the airport to Yakutat to deliver Christmas

Associated Press 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 shooting there. “When

Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The toppling of Bashar Assad has raised tentative hopes that Syrians might live peacefully and as equals after a half century of authoritarian rule. While there have been bursts of deadly sectarian violence in the days since Assad was ousted, it’s nothing close to what was feared after nearly

AP Sports Writer SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — 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 straight

CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz. (AP) — Commercial air tours will soon be prohibited over Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeastern Arizona under a plan approved this week by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service. The park service said in a statement that the plan was was signed Thursday and

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Western New Mexico University’s president has agreed to resign. Joseph Shepard’s resignation Friday comes after a state audit found evidence of wasteful spending by top WNMU officials and regents that didn’t comply with university rules. Shepard’s last day will be Jan. 15. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Shepard’s

Associated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves. Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a fisherman, never returned home

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 to Social

Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Police say 11 people, including some members of a Venezuelan gang, are facing potential criminal charges in connection with the violent abduction and beating of a couple at an apartment complex in a Denver suburb. Police in Aurora said Friday that eight of the suspects are being held by the

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota House Republicans could start the 2025 legislative session in the majority after a judge ruled that a Democratic candidate didn’t meet the residency requirements for his suburban district. Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro ruled Friday that Curtis Johnson didn’t live in the Roseville-area district for the required six months

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The reopening of a section of Interstate 40 in western North Carolina that collapsed during Hurricane Helene has been delayed after more asphalt from eastbound lanes fell this week. The primary road connection between North Carolina and eastern Tennessee was severed in late September during flooding in the Pigeon River gorge.

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and James Lankford, R-Okla. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Chris Coons, D-Conn. __ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas;

Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Johnny Zuagar says he tried to hide his worries about a potential government shutdown from his three boys as he weighs how much to spend on Christmas presents. Like thousands of federal workers, the statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau was navigating the holidays with the spirit of the

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge ruled Friday that Missouri’s near-total abortion ban is unenforceable under a new constitutional amendment, though Planned Parenthood said the decision is still not sufficient for it to resume providing abortions in the state. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang said the abortion ban “is directly

AP Business Writer Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. The strikes that started Thursday and Friday followed other recent standoffs

Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A new report by a congressional subcommittee accused former top Coast Guard officials of hiding a yearslong investigation into sexual assault and harassment at the service’s academy in Connecticut from both Congress and the public. The Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations released the report Friday. It also accused Coast