AP

By Associated Press Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. The IRS said it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed

By Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — 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

By Jennifer Selin Arizona State University The Conversation via AP Shortly after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to serve as U.S. attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi for the position. A former Florida attorney general, Bondi also worked for Trump as a defense lawyer during the first

By Associated Press The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in

By Metro Creative Turkey may be the first fowl to come to mind when pondering the main course during a holiday meal. After all, it might seem odd to sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner table and see chicken in place of the traditional turkey. Though turkey may never relinquish its spot as the go-to

By Metro Creative Baking during the holiday season is a tradition in many households across the globe. Family baking sessions provide a perfect holiday season bonding activity, and the payoff is both cherished family time and delicious, indulgent foods once the items are ready to eat. Holiday hosts know they’ll need to feed their guests

By Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is expected to play against Houston on Saturday, less than a week after sustaining a high-ankle sprain in a win over Cleveland, and he will likely have wide receiver Marquis Brown available for the first time in a regular-season game. Chiefs coach Andy Reid

By Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Texans coach Demeco Ryans was asked early in the week, long before anybody knew the severity of Patrick Mahomes’ high-ankle sprain, if he expected the Chiefs quarterback to play against them Saturday. “The light shines on Patrick a lot,” Ryans replied, “but if you watch the Chiefs play,

By Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri judge has rejected arguments that a bank mismanaged American painter Thomas Hart Benton’s estate by selling his artwork for less than what it was worth and losing more than 100 pieces. Judge Mark Styles ruled there were only five Benton pieces that UMB Bank could not

By Associated Press NEW YORK — An early rebound for U.S. stocks on Thursday petered out by the end of the day, leaving indexes close to flat. The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% following Wednesday’s tumble of 2.9% when the Federal Reserve said it may deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than

By Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — American farmers are hoping that aid to agriculture will be revived as Congress struggles to pass a short-term spending bill that would keep the federal government funded and avert a looming partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday night. A one-year extension of federal farm programs, around $30

By Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s two stuck astronauts just got their space mission extended again. That means they won’t be back on Earth until spring, 10 months after rocketing into orbit on Boeing’s Starliner capsule. NASA announced the latest delay in Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ homecoming on Tuesday. The two test

By Associated Press SCOTCHTOWN, N.Y. — Scholars are hailing the discovery of a fossilized mastodon jaw discovered by a man who spotted two giant teeth while gardening at his upstate New York home this year. The mastodon jaw and some other bone fragments were found in late September in a backyard near Scotchtown, a hamlet

By Associated Press KAIPING, China — Underneath a granite hill in southern China, a massive detector is nearly complete that will sniff out the mysterious ghost particles lurking around us. The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory will soon begin the difficult task of spotting neutrinos: tiny cosmic particles with a mind-bogglingly small mass. The detector is

By Associated Press 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 State, which

By Associated Press This is not about validation exactly. Still, it kind of is. For SMU and Penn State both. And each side knows it. When the 11th-seeded Mustangs (11-2) walk into wintry Beaver Stadium on Saturday to meet the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (11-2) in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, they

By Associated Press 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 two heavyweights

By Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — Police are trying to find out who taped a bulldog inside a trash bag and abandoned him in Des Moines. The emaciated dog was found Tuesday afternoon near a railroad viaduct with his head sticking out of a black plastic garbage bag. The dog was unable to walk

By Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed state Sen. Chris Cournoyer to be her lieutenant governor Monday, more than three months after her first and only No. 2 in elected office resigned to take over the state bankers association. Cournoyer was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018 and has

By Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas official who is an informal adviser to President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on immigration issues doesn’t expect mass deportations to prompt arrests of migrants at sensitive locations such as schools and churches. But Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach does expect Trump to take action that will spark

By Associated Press 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 trial out

By Associated Press 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 know that we

By Associated Press NEW YORK — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York by plane and helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of murder and stalking, escalating the case after his earlier state indictment. Luigi Mangione agreed to return to New York after a morning court appearance

By Associated Press WASHINGTON — A government shutdown at risk, House Speaker Mike Johnson is fighting to figure out how to meet President-elect Donald Trump’s sudden demands — and keep his own job — while federal offices are being told to prepare to shutter operations ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline. Trump said early Thursday that