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LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jimmy Carter was honored with a moment of silence before the Atlanta Falcons’ game at the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, hours after the 39th president of the United States died at the age of 100 in Plains, Georgia. Beyond being a Georgia native who led the country from the White House less than 8 miles (12 kilometers) away during his time in office from 1977-81, Carter was the first president to host the NFL's Super Bowl champions there when he welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1980. Falcons owner Arthur Blank in a statement released by the team before kickoff said he was deeply saddened by the loss of his dear friend and mentor, calling Carter “a great American, a proud Georgian and an inspirational global humanitarian.” “He lived his life with great civic responsibility and took it upon himself to be the change he wished to see amongst other,” Blank said, recalling meeting Carter at The Home Depot. “President Carter’s kind and uniting spirit touched so many lives. He was a man of deep faith, and did everything with principal and grace, doing things the right way for the right reasons." AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflPolice hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO's masked killer after 'brazen, targeted' attack on NYC street NEW YORK (AP) — UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been shot and killed in what police say is a “brazen, targeted attack” outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding its investor conference. The shooting rattled the city and set off a massive dragnet hours before the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. Police say 50-year-old Brian Thompson was shot around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says the shooter appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Thompson from behind and opening fire. Police have not yet established a motive. UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the US but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's chief executive on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk Wednesday became a mystery that riveted the nation. Police say it was a targeted killing. Thompson was 50. He had worked at the company for 20 years and had run health care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s insurance business since 2021. It provides health coverage for more than 49 million Americans and brought in $281 billion in revenue last year. Thompson's $10.2 million annual compensation made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives. Supreme Court seems likely to uphold Tennessee's ban on medical treatments for transgender minors WASHINGTON (AP) — Hearing a high-profile culture-war clash, the Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use. The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people. The Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender healthcare for minors. Hegseth fights to save Pentagon nomination as sources say Trump considers DeSantis WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s Pentagon pick, is fighting to hold on to his Cabinet nomination amid growing questions about his personal conduct as the president-elect’s team considers alternatives, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Hegseth says, “We’re not backing down one bit." The Trump transition team is concerned about Hegseth’s path to Senate confirmation and is actively looking at potential replacements, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hegseth is under pressure as senators weigh a series of allegations that have surfaced against him. Beyond DeSantis, there have been discussions about shifting Michael Waltz, who was named by Trump as his national security adviser, to the Defense Department Peter Navarro served prison time related to Jan. 6. Now Trump is bringing him back as an adviser WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is bringing Peter Navarro back to the White House for his second administration. Trump announced Wednesday on Truth Social that Navarro will serve as a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing. He was a trade adviser in Trump's first term. Navarro served four months in prison after being held in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump also chose former Rep. Billy Long of Missouri as IRS commissioner, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler as administrator of the Small Business Administration, Daniel Driscoll as Army secretary, Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator and Adam Boehler as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. Israeli strikes on a Gaza tent camp kill at least 21 people, hospital says KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian health official said Wednesday that at least 21 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a camp housing displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military said it struck senior Hamas militants. The strikes hit in the Muwasi area, a sprawling coastal camp housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people. It came after Israeli forces struck targets in other areas of Gaza. According to Palestinian medics, strikes in central Gaza killed eight people, including four children. The war in Gaza is nearly 14 months old and showing no end in sight, despite international efforts to revive negotiations toward a ceasefire. South Korean President Yoon's martial law declaration raises questions over his political future SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning martial law declaration lasted just hours, but experts say it raised serious questions about his ability to govern for the remaining 2 1/2 years of his term. The opposition-controlled parliament overturned the edict, and his rivals on Wednesday took steps to impeach him. Yoon's move baffled many experts. One analyst called his action “political suicide.” Yoon’s political fate may depend on whether a large number of people in coming days take to the streets to push for his ouster. Yoon hasn't commented on the impeachment bid. But the political instability he unleashed could make it more difficult for his government to nurse a decaying economy. French lawmakers vote to oust prime minister in the first successful no-confidence vote since 1962 PARIS (AP) — France’s far-right and left-wing lawmakers have joined together to vote on a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet to resign. The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed. President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027. However, he will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time after July’s legislative elections led to a deeply divided parliament. Macron will address the French on Thursday evening, his office said, without providing details. Barnier is expected to formally resign by then. White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official says at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered the new details Wednesday about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow. Harris found success with women who have cats, but Trump got the dog owner vote: AP VoteCast WASHINGTON (AP) — The lead-up to the 2024 election was all about cat owners. But in the end, the dogs had their day. Donald Trump won more than half of voters who own either cats or dogs, and he had with a big assist from dog owners. That's according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. Dog owners were much more likely to support Trump over Kamala Harris. Cat owners were evenly split between the two candidates. Harris did end up decisively winning support from women who own a cat but no dog. Past comments by Trump's running mate, JD Vance, about “childless cat ladies” briefly became a campaign issue.xslot 。

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Thomas Brown insists he's focused on the job at hand and not the one he might have down the line. His immediate task as the interim coach of the Chicago Bears is helping the team finish strong over the final five games, starting this weekend at San Francisco. The rest of his life can wait. “I think about just the moment. ... I obviously understand the role that I'm in, understand what might come with it," he said Wednesday. "But I also understand that we make most situations bigger than what it has to be because of the outside noise, what everybody else puts a value on it.” The Bears are in a moment unlike any other in the history of the founding NFL franchise. They fired a head coach for the first time during a season when they let Matt Eberflus go on Friday with a 4-8 record and the team in a six-game losing streak marked by head-scratching decisions. They promoted Brown, who in a span of three weeks went from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator and now the person in charge. The tipping point was a 23-20 loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving, when the Bears let the clock run down rather than call a timeout following a sack. It led to Caleb Williams throwing an incomplete pass from the Lions 41 as time expired when Chicago should have been able to run more than one play. Star cornerback Jaylon Johnson interrupted Eberflus' postgame speech and made his feelings clear. Other players had gone public in recent weeks with their frustrations over the coaching decisions, and they didn't exactly hide their emotions following the Detroit game. On Wednesday, defensive end DeMarcus Walker said he sensed a change was coming after the loss to the Lions. “You guys just look at the whole turnaround, how everything had been going, we just knew some changes were going to be made,” he said. The 38-year-old Brown now has a huge opportunity. He spent last season as Carolina's offensive coordinator and the previous three on Sean McVay's staff with the Los Angeles Rams — the final two as assistant head coach. Prior to that, he spent nine years as a college assistant, including stops at Wisconsin, Georgia, Miami and South Carolina. It's his job to help right a team that came into the season thinking a playoff spot was in reach. Williams' development obviously will be front and center. To that end, the No. 1 overall draft pick has looked more comfortable in the three games since Brown took over for the fired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, completing 75 of 117 passes for 827 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a rating of 99.2. Though Brown will continue to call plays, the Bears have another new offensive coordinator in wide receivers coach Chris Beatty. “I think it is a stepping stone actually with my development because I think down the line I’ll have different OCs or different head coaches or whatever the case may be,” Williams said. “And so being able to handle it my first year, handle a new playbook, handle all these different changes, handle all of this I think it definitely will help the development instead of hurting it or anything like that.” Beyond the development of the prized quarterback, Brown also will be judged during his audition for the regular job on his preparation, decisions during games and command of the locker room. He said he reached out to each player individually on Friday and Saturday and tried to set a tone when the team met on Monday. “I want them to be excellent,” Brown said. “I can nitpick at every single play and tell a guy how he wasn’t perfect. And, so, perfection’s not the goal. It’s to excel at your craft.” Notes: The Bears had a lengthy injury report on Wednesday. WRs Keenan Allen (ankle) and DJ Moore (quad), RBs D'Andre Swift (quad) and Roschon Johnson (concussion), DB Elijah Hicks (ankle) and OL Ryan Bates (concussion) all missed practice. S Kevin Byard (shoulder) and OLs Darnnell Wright (knee) and Coleman Shelton (knee) were limited. AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLWATCH: Trump rings opening bell at NY Stock Exchange, celebrates Time magazine cover

Ahead of Ohio State's appearance in the College Football Playoff, head coach Ryan Day received a vote of confidence from his athletic director despite the Buckeyes' latest loss to Michigan. Ohio State AD Ross Bjork appeared on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus on Thursday, where a radio host asked him whether Day would be the Buckeyes' coach at the start of next season regardless of how the playoffs shake out. "Absolutely," said Bjork, who came to Ohio State from the same role at Texas A&M in July. "Coach Day and I have just hit it off so well. I've been really, really impressed. Every single time I've talked to him, I've learned something. He's innovative. He recruits at the highest level. He's got a great staff. There's always tweaks. There was tweaks after last year, right? You're always going to tweak things. You're always going to make adjustments. You're always going to make improvements." Bjork continued by addressing the "championship or bust" attitude held by some of the fanbase. "This whole mentality about -- and look, we live it, and we sign up for it -- but if you get fixated on the end result and not have the process fully baked every time, you're going to lose," Bjork said. "The mindset's going to lose because you're only fixated on one thing. And so what we have to do is this whole ‘championship or bust' mentality, you want that as the goal, but it has to be about the process. "To me, we've got to maybe change some conversations a little bit. I think we need to maybe just approach things a little bit differently." Day is 66-10 as Ohio State's coach and led the Buckeyes to one national championship game appearance, a 52-24 loss to Alabama to cap the 2020 season. Ohio State went 10-2 in the regular season but missed out on a place in the Big Ten championship game when rival Michigan defeated the Buckeyes 13-10 on Nov. 30. It was Michigan's fourth straight win in The Game, and Day is now 1-4 as a head coach against the Wolverines. At the time, Bjork released a statement of support for Day, and he doubled down during Thursday's radio hit. "He's great to work with. He totally gets it. He loves being a Buckeye, and so we're going to support him at the highest level throughout," Bjork said. "But here's the thing too, and the reason why we needed to say something after that game is we're still breathing. They're still alive. The season's not over. The book is not closed, right? And so we've got to have confidence. I mean, Ohio State should be confident every single day. We're Ohio State. "But we also have to make sure we stay to our values and we stick to what we believe in. And so to me, it's the process as much as it is about the end result." --Field Level Media

Colorado hands No. 2 UConn second straight loss in MauiLAS VEGAS (AP) — A team that previously boycotted at least one match against the San Jose State women's volleyball program will again be faced with the decision whether to play the school , this time in the Mountain West Conference semifinals with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line. Five schools forfeited matches in the regular season against San Jose State, which carried a No. 2 seed into the conference tournament in Las Vegas. Among those schools: No. 3 Utah State and No. 6 Boise State, who will face off Wednesday with the winner scheduled to play the Spartans in the semifinals on Friday. Wyoming, Nevada and Southern Utah — which is not a Mountain West member — also canceled regular-season matches, all without explicitly saying why they were forfeiting. Nevada players cited fairness in women’s sports as a reason to boycott their match, while political figures from Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Nevada suggested the cancellations center around protecting women’s sports. In a lawsuit filed against the NCAA , plaintiffs cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team, even naming her. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans women’s volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity and through school officials has declined an interview request. A judge on Monday rejected a request made by nine current conference players to block the San Jose State player from competing in the tournament on grounds that she is transgender. That ruling was upheld Tuesday by an appeals court. “The team looks forward to starting Mountain West Conference tournament competition on Friday,” San Jose State said in a statement issued after the appeals court decision. “The university maintains an unwavering commitment to the participation, safety and privacy of all students at San Jose State and ensuring they are able to compete in an inclusive, fair and respectful environment.” Boise State did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. “Utah State is reviewing the court’s order," Doug Hoffman, Aggies associate athletic director for communications, said in an email. "Right now, our women’s volleyball program is focused on the game this Wednesday, and we’ll be cheering them on.” San Jose State, which had a first-round bye, would be sent directly to the conference title game if Utah State or Boise State were to forfeit again. If the Spartans make the title game, it's likely the opponent would not forfeit. They would face top-seeded Colorado State, No. 4 Fresno State or No. 5 San Diego State — all teams that played the Spartans this season. The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Colorado hands No. 2 UConn second straight loss in MauiGibson Energy Announces Contract Extension at Gateway, Sanctioning of the Gateway Dredging Project and $200 million in 2025 Growth Capital & Share Buybacks