# Baylor opens new basketball arena on banks of Brazos River
By **STEPHEN HAWKINS**
January 2, 2024. 8:36 PM EST

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**WACO, Texas (AP)** - Baylor's basketball teams are playing in a new home along the banks of the Brazos River after 35 years under the golden dome of the Ferrell Center.

The 18th-ranked Bears christened the brand-new Foster Pavilion in their nonconference finale on Tuesday night against Cornell. The sixth-ranked women's team debuts Wednesday night against instate rival and 23rd-ranked TCU in a matchup of undefeated Big 12 teams.

While there are parts of the $212 million facility not yet completed away from the court, the 7,000-seat arena with standing-room space for about 500 more spectators was ready for games. It came 18 months after ground was broken in May 2022.

Athletic director Mack Rhoades said there were a lot of conversations about whether to move in for games without everything done.

"There were two primary drivers for us when we thought about that decision. One was our student-athletes, giving our student-athletes, particularly our seniors, an opportunity to play in a venue like this," Rhoades said. "And then I think for our basketball programs, we knew both of them were going to be really, really good teams this year, but giving them the best home-court advantage that they could have during the Big 12 season."

Before tipoff Tuesday, when most seats were filled, the school's mascot delivered the game ball with a rappel from the rafters, where there are banners that commemorate the men's 2021 national championship and three national titles won by the women's team. Former player Matt Sayman delivered an invocation.

Foster Pavilion is on the edge of campus across Interstate 35 from McLane Stadium, the football stadium that opened in 2014. The basketball arena is part of a $700 million riverfront development in partnership between the school and city of Waco.

"We were very intentional about the fieldhouse design, about walking in, about clean sightlines, big volume, about holding noise, making sure that in the arena portion, it can be as loud as possible for our fans and for our basketball programs," Rhoades said.

It is just over a mile from the Ferrell Center, which had a basketball capacity for more than 10,000 fans. It was built for about $12.5 million and opened in 1988.

Ferrell Center will remain home to the school's national champion acrobatics & tumbling team, and the women's volleyball squad.

The men's and women's basketball teams will continue to use their practice gyms at the Ferrell Center. The Development Center at the new arena with practice courts, dedicated locker rooms and team lounges will be completed later this year.

If the Baylor women make the NCAA Tournament and host first- and second-round games, those would be played at the Ferrell Center because of the extra space needed that wouldn't yet be available in the new building.


# Rookies are getting additional playing time at the end of the Chargers' lost season
By **JOE REEDY**
January 2, 2024. 8:24 PM EST

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Before their 2023 campaign turned into a lost season, the Los Angeles Chargers gave plenty of playing time to rookies Quentin Johnston, Tuli Tuipulotu and Derius Davis.

The rest of the Chargers' draft class is getting some valuable regular-season snaps as Los Angeles (5-11) concludes one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

Offensive lineman Jordan McFadden, linebacker Daiyan Henley and defensive lineman Scott Matlock saw extended playing time during Sunday's 16-9 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The loss was the Chargers' fourth straight and seventh of their last eight. They have lost both games since coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired on Dec. 15.

McFadden, a fifth-round pick, had seen only 15 offensive snaps before playing all 62 at left guard against the Broncos with Zion Johnson inactive due to a neck injury.

McFadden graded well in his first NFL start. He didn't allow a pressure or sack in pass blocking.

"When you do not hear a guy on the offensive line, it is a good thing," interim coach Giff Smith said. "I think he proved he is an NFL player and obviously a good draft pick for us. Hopefully we can get Zion back, but definitely with McFadden moving forward we are really pleased."

When Henley was selected in the third round, it was with the expectation he would contribute on special teams. Henley has done that, but against the Broncos he had three tackles in eight snaps at middle linebacker.

Smith said Henley struggled early but improved in the second half.

Sixth-round pick Matlock saw a season-high 32 snaps and is getting more playing time after Sebastian Joseph-Day was waived on Dec. 22. Joseph-Day ended up signing with the San Francisco 49ers.

Most of the attention related to the rookies continues to be on Johnston, who has faced a tough learning curve. With Keenan Allen and Joshua Palmer inactive due to injuries, Johnston was held to three receptions for 29 yards, all during the fourth quarter.

Johnston was covered by Denver cornerback Pat Surtain II on 32 of his 34 routes. Johnston was targeted three times when matched up against Surtain and had two catches for 20 yards.

"I thought Quentin is making strides. It showed out there with some big catches in the fourth quarter. I think that is the stuff as a rookie that you can build on," Smith said. "That is a tough matchup against Patrick, and I thought he held his own. He competed hard and made some catches for us down the stretch."

The entire draft class is likely to see more playing time in the finale against Kansas City. With a new general manager and coaching staff coming in over the next couple months, getting snaps and time on tape is valuable.

## WHAT'S WORKING
Getting sacks. The Chargers have 47 on the season after sacking Jarrett Stidham twice. That is tied for the fifth-most by the franchise since 1982, when sacks became an official statistic, and the most since 2010, when the Chargers finished with 47. They lead the league with 29 third-down sacks.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
Scoring touchdowns. Los Angeles has not reached the end zone in two of its last five games. It is also tied with Carolina with a league-low eight touchdowns over the last seven games.

## STOCK UP
Alex Erickson. The seventh-year receiver, who was on the practice squad at the beginning of the season, had seven receptions for 98 yards. It was Erickson's best game since 2019, when he had eight receptions for 137 yards for Cincinnati in a loss to Jacksonville.

## STOCK DOWN
Essang Bassey. The cornerback was a couple steps behind Lil'Jordan Humphrey on what ended up being a 54-yard touchdown. Bassey had a chance to bring down Humphrey at the Chargers 35-yard line and limit him to a 19-yard gain, but he slipped while trying to make the tackle.

## INJURIES
LB Joey Bosa remains on injured reserve but continues to practice under the 21-day window to return.

## KEY NUMBER
16 - Sacks for Khalil Mack, a career high for the 11th-year linebacker. Mack recorded his 100th career sack in his 150th game on Sunday.

## NEXT STEPS
The Chargers have dropped eight of their last nine games to division opponents and haven't defeated the Chiefs when hosting them since 2013.


# A congressman and a senator's son have jumped into the Senate race to succeed Mitt Romney in Utah
By **MEAD GRUVER**
January 2, 2024. 9:07 PM EST

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A congressman and a senator's son jumped into the race Tuesday for the Utah U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mitt Romney.

Republican U.S. Rep. John Curtis announced his campaign to a TV station after saying last fall he had decided not to run.

After people asked him to reconsider, he decided he could carry over his work representing Utah but with a bigger platform, Curtis told KSL-TV.

Curtis has served eastern Utah's Third District since 2017. He was previously mayor of Provo, Utah, for seven years and for a time was a county-level Democratic Party official.

Brent Orrin Hatch also announced his candidacy Tuesday. Hatch is one of six children of the late Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, who retired after 42 years in office in 2019 and died in 2022.

Brent Hatch is a trial lawyer who is treasurer and past director of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization that advocates interpreting the U.S. Constitution according to the context in which it was written.

He was an associate White House counsel under President George H.W. Bush and a Utah delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention.

He described himself as "not a professional politician" in a statement through his campaign.

"I have worked for over 33 years here in Utah as a lawyer protecting the rights of individuals and companies. But I still have an insider's knowledge of the highest levels of government," he said in the statement.

Romney, 76, announced in September he won't seek a second term in the Senate, saying it was time for younger leaders to step in. Romney also served as governor of Massachusetts and was the 2012 Republican nominee for president.

Romney is among several Republicans who opposed former President Donald Trump and have been voted out or not sought re-election.

Others running to succeed Romney include former Utah House speaker Brad Wilson, a Republican who announced his campaign in September, and lesser-known Republicans including Riverton, Utah, Mayor Trent Staggs and Roosevelt, Utah, Mayor Rod Bird Jr.

Republicans carry a substantial advantage in Utah, outnumbering Democrats by a more than 3-to-1 margin.


# New Mexico regulators revoke the licenses of 2 marijuana grow operations and levies $2M in fines
By **SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN**
January 2, 2024. 8:14 PM EST

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**ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)** - New Mexico marijuana regulators on Tuesday revoked the licenses of two growing operations in a rural county for numerous violations and have levied a $1 million fine against each business.

One of the businesses - Native American Agricultural Development Co. - is connected to a Navajo businessman whose cannabis farming operations in northwestern New Mexico were raided by federal authorities in 2020. The Navajo Department of Justice also sued Dineh Benally, leading to a court order halting those operations.

A group of Chinese immigrant workers sued Benally and his associates - and claimed they were lured to northern New Mexico and forced to work long hours illegally trimming marijuana on the Navajo Nation, where growing the plant is illegal.

In the notice made public Tuesday by New Mexico's Cannabis Control Division, Native American Agricultural Development was accused of exceeding the state's plant count limits, of not tracking and tracing its inventory, and for creating unsafe conditions.

An email message seeking comment on the allegations was not immediately returned by Benally. David Jordan, an attorney who represented him in the earlier case, did not return a phone message Tuesday.

The other business to have its license revoked was Bliss Farm, also located in rural Torrance County within miles of Benally's operation. State officials said the two businesses, east of Albuquerque, are not connected in any way.

The state ordered both to immediately stop all commercial cannabis activity.

"The illicit activity conducted at both of these farms undermines the good work that many cannabis businesses are doing across the state," Clay Bailey, acting superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, said in a statement. "The excessive amount of illegal cannabis plants and other serious violations demonstrates a blatant disregard for public health and safety, and for the law."

State regulators cited Bliss Farm for 17 violations. Regulators said evidence of a recent harvest without records entered into the state's track and trace system led the division to conclude that plants were transferred or sold illicitly.

Adam Oakey, an Albuquerque attorney representing the group of investors that own the operation, told The Associated Press in an interview that the company had hoped the state would have first worked with it to address some of the issues before revoking the license.

"We did our best to get into compliance but we fell below the bar," he said, adding that he's afraid the state's action might discourage others in the industry from coming to New Mexico.

The company already has invested tens of millions of dollars into the operation and will likely have to go to court to reopen the farm, Oakey said.

As for Native American Agricultural Development, regulators said there were about 20,000 mature plants on site - four times more than the number allowed under its license. Inspectors also found another 20,000 immature plants.

The other violations included improper security measures, no chain of custody procedures, and ill-maintained grounds with trash and pests throughout. Compliance officers also saw evidence of a recent harvest but no plants had been entered into the state's track-and-trace system.

The violations were first reported last fall by Searchlight New Mexico, an independent news organization. At the time, Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch told the nonprofit group that the tribe and the Shiprock area still deserved justice for the harm done previously by the grow operation that had been set up in northwestern New Mexico years earlier.

Federal prosecutors will not comment, but the New Mexico Attorney General's Office confirmed Tuesday that in general it "continues to investigate, with our federal partners, potential criminal activity within the New Mexico cannabis industry."


# Souvenir sellers have flooded the Brooklyn Bridge. Now the city is banning them
By **JAKE OFFENHARTZ**
January 2, 2024. 8:12 PM EST

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**NEW YORK (AP)** - Visitors to New York City hoping to take home a souvenir from the Brooklyn Bridge will now have to settle for a photograph, as vendors are about to be banned from the iconic span.

The new rule, which goes into effect Wednesday, aims to ease overcrowding on the bridge's heavily trafficked pedestrian walkway, where dozens of trinket sellers currently compete for space with tourists and city commuters.

As crowds flocked to the bridge over the holiday season, the situation turned dangerous, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He pointed to videos that showed pedestrians leaping from the elevated walkway onto a bike lane several feet below in order to bypass a human traffic jam.

"It's not only a sanitary issue, it's a public safety issue," Adams said on Tuesday. "People would've trampled over each other. We need order in this city. That is one of our major landmarks."

The new rules will apply to all of the city's bridges - though none have close to as many vendors as the 140-year-old Brooklyn Bridge, which is often lined with tables offering phone cases, knock-off Yankees caps, novelty license plates and more.

Those who sell items on the bridge acknowledge that vendors have proliferated in recent years, driven by relaxed enforcement during the coronavirus pandemic and the availability of low-priced merchandise. A decision two years ago to relocate cyclists to a lane of the roadway also freed up space for stalls.

In the middle span of the bridge, entrepreneurs have now set up nearly a dozen rotating selfie platforms where tourists can pay to take panoramic photos.

MD Rahman, who has sold hot dogs and pretzels out of a cart on the bridge for 15 years, said he understands the need to crack down on the illicit vendors. But he criticized the city's plan as overly broad, since it also applies to veteran sellers, like himself, who hold mobile vending licenses.

"The problem is the illegal and unlicensed people selling things up there," Rahman said, pointing to the newer group of vendors in the middle of the bridge. "To punish everyone, it's crazy. I don't know what is going to happen to my family now."

In recent days, police officers have posted flyers in multiple languages across the bridge, telling vendors they will have to leave. But some had doubts about whether the city would actually follow through on the plan.

"Maybe I come back in a few weeks," said Qiu Lan Liu, a vendor selling hats and T-shirts, many of them featuring the New York Police Department's insignia, NYPD. "I'll see what other people do."

As news spread of the coming ban, some tourists said they were taking advantage of the low-priced souvenirs while they were still available. Ana Souza, an Oklahoma resident, proudly held an "I Love New York" tote she'd found for just $10, a fraction of the price she'd seen at brick-and-mortar shops.

Jenny Acuchi was visiting New York from Oakland, California. "It's a little crowded, but not as much as I expected," she said. "The thing that makes it crowded is that everyone is taking photos."

Among the supporters of the new rules were some disability rights advocates, who said the ban would immediately improve access for wheelchair users. In a statement, the city's transportation chief Ydanis Rodriguez celebrated the improvements to an attraction he dubbed "America's Eiffel Tower."

Rashawn Prince, who uses the bridge to sells copies of his self-published book, "How to Roll a Blunt for Dummies!" said he was unmoved by the comparison.

"I've been to the Eiffel Tower," Prince said. "There's vendors there, too."


# Bucs down to one more chance to clinch 3rd straight NFC South title, 4th consecutive playoff berth
By **FRED GOODALL**
January 2, 2024. 8:12 PM EST

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**TAMPA, Fla. (AP)** - There's no more room for error in Tampa Bay's bid for a fourth straight playoff appearance.

Win Sunday's regular-season finale at last-place Carolina, and the Buccaneers are in as NFC South champions.

Lose and they're out.

"By any means necessary, we have to show up," coach Todd Bowles said.

"All we need is a chance to get in," quarterback Baker Mayfield reiterated, "and we're still sitting where we need to be."

While beating the Panthers to earn what would be a franchise-record third consecutive division title may not appear to be a daunting challenge, the Bucs (8-8) have not performed consistently enough this season to draw any conclusions about how they might play this week.

At 2-14, Carolina has the worst record in the NFL and is coming off a 26-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But the Bucs are looking to rebound from a stinker of their own after wasting an opportunity to clinch the division title in a listless 23-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

"Very disappointing. It was like we didn't know what's at stake," linebacker Lavonte David said. "We came out very flat on both sides of the ball."

Mayfield threw a pair of interceptions and the Bucs also fumbled twice to lose the turnover battle 4-0. Offensively, they were held scoreless into the fourth quarter. Defensively, they struggled to stop the Saints in critical situations while falling behind 20-0.

New Orleans (8-8) climbed into a tie with Tampa Bay for the division lead. If the Bucs lose to the Panthers, then the winner of Sunday's Saints-Atlanta Falcons finale will win the NFC South and host a playoff game the following weekend.

"Our thing is we can't beat ourselves. We don't care if they were 14-2. In the NFL anybody can beat anybody any given week, and division games are always tough," Bowles said.

"We have to play our game, make less mistakes, and then we'll worry about the opponent on Sunday," the coach added. "If we can do that, we will have a chance to win."

## WHAT'S WORKING
Coming off the clunker they played against the Saints, it's hard to identify anything that's working. The offense was shut out until the middle of the fourth quarter. The defense contributed to a 17-point halftime deficit by allowing New Orleans to convert six of nine third downs through the first two quarters. Even usually superb punter Jake Camarda struggled with a couple of bad kicks.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
The pass rush remains inconsistent. The Bucs had one sack against the Saints, and that came on a play in which Derek Carr scrambled out of bounds. The defense finished with no quarterback hits.

## STOCK UP
With teams doing everything they can to try to slow down Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, rookie WR Trey Palmer is developing into a reliable option for Mayfield. He had four receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown against New Orleans, hiking his season totals to 37 catches for 375 yards and three TDs.

## STOCK DOWN
On a play that typified how poorly things went against the Saints, a wide-open Palmer caught a deep pass before stumbling - and not only falling, but fumbling - on a 54-yard gain to the New Orleans 21. Saints CB Isaac Yiadom recovered.

## INJURIES
Mayfield took a hard hit to the ribs after releasing a pass on a 2-point conversion try with 1:37 remaining against the Saints. Bowles said while the quarterback is sore, he should be fine to play against the Panthers. LB Shaquil Barrett (groin) and CB Carlton Davis (concussion) were inactive against New Orleans. Their status will be determined later in the week.

"They're trending in the right direction," Bowles said of Barrett and Davis. "Once I see them Wednesday, I'll have a better feel."

## KEY NUMBER
3,907. In throwing for 309 yards and two TDs vs. the Saints, Mayfield established new career single-season bests for passing yards (3,907) and touchdown passes (28).

## NEXT STEPS
A win at Carolina not only would give the Bucs their third straight division title, but ensure a home playoff game the following week.


# Court rules absentee ballots with minor problems OK to count
January 2, 2024. 8:09 PM EST

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**MADISON, Wis. (AP)** - Wisconsin election clerks can accept absentee ballots that contain minor errors such as missing portions of witness addresses, a court ruled Tuesday in a legal fight that has pitted conservatives against liberals in the battleground state.

Dane County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin in its lawsuit to clarify voting rights protections for voters whose absentee ballots have minor errors in listing their witnesses' addresses.

The ruling means that absentee ballots with certain technical witness address defects will not be rejected in future elections, the league said.

A Waukesha County Circuit Court, siding with Republicans, barred the Wisconsin Elections Commission in 2022 from using longstanding guidance for fixing minor witness address problems on absentee ballots without contacting the voter. That ruling left absentee voters at risk of having their ballots rejected due to technical omissions or errors with no guarantee that they would be notified and given the chance to correct any errors and have their votes counted.

The League's lawsuit argued that rejecting absentee ballots for the omission of certain witness address components violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits denying the right to vote based on an error that has no material bearing on determining voting eligibility.

In Tuesday's order, the Dane County Circuit Court wrote, "the Witness Address Requirement is not material to whether a voter is qualified. . . . As such, rejecting ballots for trivial mistakes in the Witness Address requirement directly violates the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964."

"All voters deserve to have their votes counted regardless of whether they vote in person or absentee," Debra Cronmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said in a news release. "Small errors or omissions on the absentee certificate envelope should not prevent voters from exercising their constitutional rights."

The Fair Elections Center, a Washington-based, nonpartisan voting rights and election reform advocate, sued on behalf of the league.

"Wisconsinites should not have their right to vote denied due to technical errors, especially when they are not uniformly given an opportunity to remedy such issues," said Jon Sherman, the center's litigation director. "Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act to prohibit exactly this type of disenfranchisement, and the court's order today enforces that federal law's protections as to four categories of absentee ballots."

A telephone message seeking comment on the ruling was left Tuesday evening at the offices of the Wisconsin Republican Party.


# Seahawks needing help to reach playoffs shows what's gone wrong this season for Seattle
By **TIM BOOTH**
January 2, 2024. 8:00 PM EST

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**RENTON, Wash. (AP)** - Going into the final week of the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks find themselves in the exact same position as a year ago when they needed a win and a Green Bay loss to make the postseason.

The fact Seattle is in this spot yet again is an indictment on what's gone wrong with this season.

Back in the summer, the tone was that this would be the season where Seattle closed the gap in the NFC West and made the jump from surprise playoff participant to possibly challenging San Francisco as the best in the division.

Instead, Seattle (8-8) is already locked into finishing in third place in the NFC West and lost control of its path to the playoffs with Sunday's 30-23 loss to Pittsburgh.

Rather than just needing a win over Arizona in the regular-season finale, the Seahawks must beat the Cardinals and have Green Bay lose at home to Chicago in order for Seattle to reach the postseason for a second straight year.

"It just felt like a really crappy outing as we all saw that at a time we needed it the most," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said during his weekly radio show on Tuesday.

The Seahawks are without question a heavily flawed team. The regression of their defense throughout the season and the inconsistencies on offense have provided enough evidence of their shortcomings.

What the loss to Pittsburgh brought into question is the competitive desire of this group. Seattle had won two straight to gain control of its playoff path and then gave it all away over 60 minutes.

Even if Seattle beats Arizona and gets the help it needs from Chicago, there is little reason to believe a playoff trip this season will be any different than it was a year ago when the Seahawks squeaked in with help from other teams and then were blown out by San Francisco in the wild-card round.

"We've got to go out there in their place and make it happen," quarterback Geno Smith said. "We're the type of team that's going to always bounce back. We've got the right leadership. We've got the right coaches, right players, and we're going to make it happen."

## WHAT'S WORKING
Smith had an excellent performance that got overshadowed by the defensive issues. Smith threw for 290 yards and one touchdown, and added another 33 yards rushing, including Seattle's longest run play of 25 yards.

After missing two games because of a groin injury, Smith has completed 69% of his passes with three TDs and no interceptions the past two weeks.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
It can't get worse for Seattle's run defense, can it? While the 208 yards Seattle allowed weren't a season high, the manner in which Pittsburgh gained all those yards might be the most demoralizing of the season. The Steelers duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren broke countless tackles and turned a number of short runs into longer gains, such as Harris' 9-yard touchdown run. Seattle gave up three runs of 18 yards or longer and is allowing 159.1 yards per game rushing over the past 11 games.

## STOCK UP
It's going to get lost in the issues with the defense, but DK Metcalf had another big game and has posted another 1,000-yard season. Metcalf had five catches for 106 yards. It was his third 100-yard game of the season and gave him 1,104 yards receiving going into the season finale. It's the third time in five seasons Metcalf has topped the 1,000-yard mark and the first time doing it in consecutive seasons after having 1,048 yards last season.

## STOCK DOWN
There are plenty of options of those who didn't play well on the defensive side. And while the run defense was the crux of the issues, Seattle didn't do a good job defending the Pittsburgh passing game. The Seahawks had just one sack and two QB hits on Mason Rudolph - all from Leonard Williams - and the secondary got hit for five pass plays of 20 or more yards.

## INJURIES
Seattle lost a pair of offensive linemen in the defeat to Pittsburgh. Center Evan Brown left with a concussion and right tackle Abe Lucas continued to have issues with a balky knee. Carroll said Tuesday that Brown is in concussion protocol but progressing. He sounded pessimistic that Lucas would be able to make it back for Sunday's game.

## KEY NUMBER
17 - Seattle's defense has gone 17 consecutive drives without forcing a three-and-out from the opponent. The Seahawks forced a three-and-out on the opening drive against Tennessee two weeks ago and have not since. In those 17 drives, the Seahawks have allowed scores on nine of those possessions.

## NEXT STEPS
Seattle's only path to the playoffs requires winning in a place where it been challenging in the past. The Seahawks have won four of their past five trips to Arizona, but two of those were one-score games and last season the Seahawks got a late touchdown for a 31-21 win.


# Arizona border crossing with Mexico to reopen a month after migrant influx forced closure
January 2, 2024. 8:23 PM EST

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**LUKEVILLE, Ariz. (AP)** - A border crossing on the most direct route from Phoenix to the nearest beaches will reopen Thursday, authorities said, one month after it closed in response to a large migrant influx.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it was also reopening a pedestrian border crossing in San Diego on Thursday and resuming full operations at a bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, and a crossing in Nogales, Arizona.

The moves reflect a drop in illegal crossings from December highs, authorities said. Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner, said last month that crossings had reached "unprecedented" heights, topping 10,000 on several days.

The Lukeville closure on Dec. 4 brought heavy pressure on CBP from Arizona's top elected officials. While remote, it is used to travel to Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point, a resort area on Mexico's Sea of Cortez. Americans also visit the border community of Sonoyta to eat, shop and get dental and medical care.

Cargo rail crossings in the Texas border cities of Eagle Pass and El Paso closed for five days last month in what U.S. authorities said was a response to large numbers of migrants riding freight trains through Mexico to the U.S. border. Businesses complained of major economic losses.

Lukeville and other crossings closed because CBP said it needed to reassign officials to processing migrants.


# The Saints realized their potential in Week 17, but was it too late?
By **BRETT MARTEL**
January 2, 2024. 7:52 PM EST

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**NEW ORLEANS (AP)** - Now that the New Orleans Saints have avoided the dreaded fate of playing meaningless late-season football, all they can do is try to replicate their most recent performance - easily among their best during an up-and-down 2023 campaign - and hope that fortune favors them.

The Saints demonstrated during their 23-13 victory at Tampa Bay on Sunday that they're capable of seizing control of a game against a playoff-contending rival, overcoming injuries and winning convincingly with their season on the line.

"Everything was clicking; everything worked out," tight end Juwan Johnson said. "The defense was playing lights out and the offense was playing really well. Just from the first drive, we were hitting on all cylinders."

New Orleans found the end zone on its opening drive and remained in front, building a 20-point third-quarter lead that proved too much for the NFC South-leading Buccaneers to overcome.

The Saints' defense produced four Tampa Bay turnovers. New Orleans' offense never coughed up the ball.

Derek Carr, whose bouts of inconsistency have gotten him booed at times, was efficient and effective. He completed 24 of 32 passes with two touchdowns.

Whether one of New Orleans' best and most complete performances came a little too late will be known soon enough.

The Saints (8-8) pulled even with the Buccaneers (8-8) in the win-loss column, but Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker by virtue of its superior record against common opponents.

Still, the Saints remain alive in both the NFC South and wild-card races, even if winning this weekend is not enough by itself to assure New Orleans a postseason berth.

"We're guaranteed one more opportunity to go and prove it a little bit more," coach Dennis Allen said. "That's what we're going to focus on."

## WHAT'S WORKING
New Orleans' pass defense has ranked in the top 10 virtually all season and is currently ninth. The Saints also rank fifth in interceptions per pass attempt (3.1%) after Alontae Taylor and Jonathan Abram each picked off Baker Mayfield.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
The defense's approach to protecting late leads has caused consternation.

After stifling Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense with aggressive, opportunistic play for three quarters, New Orleans allowed touchdown passes of 22 and 47 yards in the last eight minutes. The Saints also gave up another 54-yard reception in the fourth quarter that might have been more costly if Trey Palmer hadn't fumbled the ball away as he fell to the ground without being touched.

"We've got to fix that because that's inexcusable to let the ball go over your head," said Allen, who oversees the defense. "When you get in those situations, you've been playing well for such a long time doing it one way, don't change how you're playing."

## STOCK UP
Johnson's production had fallen below expectations for much of this season, but at Tampa Bay, the 27-year-old, fourth-year pro had eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. Abram had his best game this season with five tackles, one interception, a pass defended and a forced fumble.

## STOCK DOWN
Chris Olave, who leads the Saints with 87 catches for 1,067 yards, experienced a dip in production at Tampa Bay, finishing with three catches for 26 yards.

## INJURIES
Top running back Alvin Kamara has a sprained ankle that sidelined him for the second half at Tampa Bay. Linebacker Nephi Sewell was carted off with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. Offensive tackle Landon Young also left with a knee injury.

## KEY NUMBER
1 - The number of New Orleans' opening offensive series that have ended in a touchdown this season after the Saints got in the end zone on their first possession at Tampa Bay.

## NEXT STEPS
The Saints close out the regular season at home against Atlanta. If New Orleans wins, it needs a loss by Tampa Bay to win the NFC South, or it needs losses by both Seattle and Green Bay to capture the NFC's last wild-card playoff spot.


# Vikings still struggling to stop the quarterback carousel from spinning with Cousins out
By **DAVE CAMPBELL**
January 2, 2024. 7:38 PM EST

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**MINNEAPOLIS (AP)** - Kirk Cousins naturally evoked the loudest roar of the night in Minnesota, further amping up a high-energy atmosphere for a crucial game against Green Bay.

Who could've predicted earlier this season that such a sight would signal a big problem for the Vikings?

Recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, Cousins was relegated to the role of hype man when he ripped his shirt off to fire up the crowd from a perch above the stadium right before kickoff. His encouraging and insightful presence on the sideline did little to help his replacements.

When Jaren Hall was benched for Nick Mullens at halftime, after an interception and a fumble each set up a Packers touchdown, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell switched quarterbacks for the fifth time in nine games. Though there was little reason to doubt Cousins would avoid injury in 2023 as he did over the first 11 years of his NFL career, the lack of a proven backup has bitten the Vikings (7-9) badly.

The spinning carousel has also further laid bare their conundrum for 2024 and beyond with Cousins bound for free agency and the dire need to begin developing the next franchise quarterback, whether or not the four-time Pro Bowl pick returns. That player is likely not currently on the roster, as evidenced by the 16 turnovers the quarterbacks have been responsible for in eight games since Cousins went down.

O'Connell held off on announcing a starter for the final game of the regular season, with Hall, Mullens and Joshua Dobbs all under consideration.

"I think we've been able to move the football most of the time consistently. We've had some spurts where we haven't, and we've had to take a long look at that," O'Connell said.

## WHAT'S WORKING
Finding a success story from the 33-10 loss to the Packers is a stretch, but the combination of play design and route-running consistently had receivers open for Hall and Mullens. Much of the problem was them either not making fast enough reads or not having enough time to throw.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
The pass protection was as weak as it's been all season against the Packers. LT Christian Darrisaw allowed the most damaging of the four sacks, when Preston Smith swam past him to knock the ball out of Hall's arm and give Green Bay the ball at the Minnesota 37 with 26 seconds left before halftime. The Packers scored a touchdown three plays later for a 23-3 lead.

## STOCK UP
CB Najee Thompson leads the Vikings with seven special teams tackles this season. He had his punt coverage skills on full display on Sunday, setting up their only touchdown by forcing a fumble by Packers returner Samari Toure and recovering the ball at the 7-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter.

"I told a lot of kids when I was a freshman in college, 'I'm going to go play in the league on special teams,'" said Thompson, who was undrafted out of Georgia Southern. "I just kept working at it."

## STOCK DOWN
CB Akayleb Evans, who was benched down the stretch against Detroit on Dec. 24 after some costly missed tackles, was vulnerable again in pass coverage and run stopping. The absence of fellow starter Byron Murphy for the past two games with a knee injury made the struggles by Evans more pronounced.

## INJURY REPORT
Murphy will have an opportunity to return this week, but there's no guarantee he'll be cleared. RG Ed Ingram avoided significant injury to his shoulder, O'Connell said, after being forced out on Sunday. WR Jordan Addison (ankle) and CB Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder) played against the Packers after being listed as questionable, and O'Connell lauded their toughness.

## KEY NUMBER
2-6. That's tied for their fourth-worst home record in history, their worst such mark since going 1-7 in 2011.

## UP NEXT
The Vikings will have a slim chance to return to the playoffs by beating the Lions on Sunday. They would then need Green Bay to lose to Chicago, New Orleans to lose to Atlanta and Seattle to lose at Arizona to claim the last wild-card berth. If the Saints win, the Vikings could tack a loss by Tampa Bay at Carolina onto losses by the Packers and the Seahawks and still get in if they win.

On the flip side, losing at Detroit would significantly improve their draft position this spring. The Vikings have the same record as Atlanta, Chicago and Las Vegas, and wins by two of those three teams with a loss to the Lions would land them in the top 10.


# Former Packers center Ken Bowman, who played on three straight championship teams, dies at 81
January 2, 2024. 7:43 PM EST

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**GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)** - Ken Bowman, who played center for the Green Bay Packers from 1964-73 and was part of three consecutive championship teams, has died. He was 81.

The Packers announced Tuesday that Bowman died last Wednesday in Oro Valley, Arizona. The team did not disclose a cause of death, but the Packers' statement cited Bowman's wife, Roseann, saying he died of natural causes.

Bowman was part of the Packers' NFL title-winning team in 1965, the year before the first Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl-winning teams of the next two seasons.

He is perhaps best known for snapping the ball to Bart Starr and delivering a block on the Hall of Fame quarterback's game-winning 1-yard touchdown sneak in the "Ice Bowl," the Packers' 21-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in a 1967 NFL championship game that had a kickoff temperature of minus-13 degrees Fahrenheit.

That sent the Packers to the Super Bowl, where they beat the Oakland Raiders. A year earlier, Bowman stepped in for an injured Bill Curry at center during the first Super Bowl, helping the Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Packers selected Bowman out of Wisconsin in the eighth round of the 1964 draft. He played in 123 games and made 107 starts, all with Green Bay.

Bowman was the Packers' player representative for part of his career. He also was an NFL Players Association vice president.


# Police say Massachusetts man shot wife and daughter before shooting himself
January 2, 2024. 7:06 PM EST

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**DOVER, Mass. (AP)** - A Dover, Massachusetts, man shot and killed his wife and daughter before taking his own life last week, investigators said Tuesday.

"Preliminary results provided to investigators confirms that Teena Kamal, 54, and her daughter Arianna Kamal, 18, were victims of homicide by gunshot," Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office said in a statement. "Rakesh Kamal, 57, their husband and father respectively, died by gunshot wound consistent with being self-inflicted."

Police in Dover, located about 19 miles (31 kilometers) west of Boston, discovered the bodies Thursday after responding to a 911 call from a relative who had stopped by to check on the family.

While full forensic and ballistics testing of the gun have not been finalized, the firearm found with Rakesh Kamal is consistent with a .40-caliber Glock 22 pistol, investigators said.

The gun was not registered to Rakesh Kamal and he was not licensed to possess it, investigators said. Massachusetts State Police have contacted the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for help in determining the origin of the firearm.

The deaths remain under investigation by Dover and Massachusetts State Police.

Dover is one of the richest communities in the state.

Morrissey said last week that law enforcement hadn't received any reports of violence at the address.


# Rivera won't announce the Commanders' QB vs. the Cowboys yet
By **STEPHEN WHYNO**
January 2, 2024. 7:03 PM EST

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Ron Rivera refused Tuesday to reveal who will start at quarterback for the Washington Commanders in their season finale this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.

It could be an 18th consecutive start for Sam Howell, the first of the season for Jacoby Brissett or even Jake Fromm's first NFL game action in nearly two years.

"We don't have to let anybody know until tomorrow, so we're just going to wait," Rivera said on a video call with reporters. "We don't want to give them any head start on anything."

No matter who starts, the Commanders need to do a better job helping that QB. Howell has been sacked a league-high 61 times, the product of a lack of offensive balance with the team largely abandoning the run for a pass-heavy approach.

Brissett was 18 of 23 for 224 yards and three touchdowns in two recent games in relief of Howell. Rivera last week benched Howell for Brissett, who then popped up on the injury report Friday with a hamstring injury that kept him out against San Francisco.

Not learning until two hours before kickoff that he'd be starting, Howell threw two more interceptions against the 49ers in a 27-10 loss, Washington's seventh in a row, to give him a league-worst 19 this season.

Asked about the switch back to Howell after practicing with Brissett during the week, veteran tight end Logan Thomas said: "Both of them are obviously different. But we're all professionals. We know how to work with either guy."

It's unclear if Brissett, on a one-year contract and set to be a free agent again this offseason, is healthy enough to practice this week or play Sunday against Dallas.

"He's just been working with the trainers and everybody, and we'll see how he is," Rivera said.

## WHAT'S WORKING
Arizona's stunning comeback win at Philadelphia not only allowed the Niners to celebrate clinching the NFC's top seed, it boosted the Commanders' draft status. They could pick as high as second, pending the result of their game and New England's at home against the New York Jets.

That would give whoever's next in charge the chance to take one of the top quarterback prospects available, Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. or a standout offensive tackle.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
The offense isn't the only problem, and there are plenty of holes to fill on defense, too. Cornerback Kendall Fuller, safety Kam Curl and linebacker Cody Barton are all pending free agents, and Washington will need new edge rushers after trading Chase Young and Montez Sweat prior to the deadline.

## STOCK UP
One of the few bright spots this season has been second-year running back Brian Robinson Jr., who averaged 4.9 yards a carry against San Francisco. Robinson has eight total touchdowns this season with 358 yards receiving to go with 708 on the ground as he has shown he can catch as well as run in the pros.

## STOCK DOWN
Right tackle Trent Scott had a rough time filling in for injured starter Andrew Wylie. Scott was flagged three times and struggled in pass and run blocking.

## INJURIES
Already depleted in the secondary, the Commanders lost two young cornerbacks to injury Sunday: Tarik Castro-Fields injured a shoulder and Christian Holmes had a concussion.

"It was unfortunate," Rivera said. "They were playing pretty well. It was kind of fun to watch those guys get those opportunities."

## KEY NUMBER
13 1/2 - Points the Cowboys are favored to win by on FanDuel Sportsbook, the second consecutive home game Washington has been a double-digit underdog.

## NEXT STEPS
Brace for an invasion of Dallas fans, similar to 2018 when Eagles fans flooded FedEx field to watch their team clinch a playoff spot. The Cowboys can win the NFC East simply by beating Washington, which they did 45-10 on Thanksgiving.


# Elections head in Nevada's lone swing county resigns, underscoring election turnover in key state
By **GABE STERN**
January 2, 2024. 8:41 PM EST

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**RENO, Nev. (AP)** - The rapid turnover among election officials in Nevada continued on Tuesday, when the top election official in the state's lone swing county abruptly announced her resignation less than a month before early voting commences for the Feb. 6 presidential preference primary.

Washoe County Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez said in her resignation letter that she wanted to pursue opportunities away from elections and spend more time with family ahead of a crucial 2024 election cycle.

Her last day will be March 15, though she will use her accrued time before then.

Eleven of Nevada's 17 counties have had turnover in top county election positions since the 2020 election, most of which occurred between 2020 and the 2022 midterms, according to an Associated Press tally.

That already included Washoe County, whose past registrar of voters, Deanna Spikula, submitted her resignation in June 2022 in part because she received death threats and harassment.

The county had no additional comment on Rodriguez's departure, other than forwarding along Rodriguez's resignation letter, which was first reported by KRNV-TV in Reno.

Washoe County was the subject of an extensive elections audit that found rapid turnover and understaffing among the office hindered smooth election processes, communication with county residents and ballot development and preparation.

The county has hired additional elections staff since then - including Rodriguez's replacement, current deputy registrar of voters Cari-Ann Burgess, who joined the department in September after previously working in elections in Minnesota and rural Douglas County, Nevada.

In an interview with The Associated Press last month before Rodriguez resigned, Burgess said preparation for the Feb. 6 primary, which will mostly remain symbolic for Republicans, was on schedule and that there had not been a lot of outside inquiries yet about the primary.

"We're sitting really well," she said last month. "The road to February sixth is going to be pretty smooth."

The resignations across the Western swing state since 2020 were due to a confluence of factors: some received threats and harassment because of false claims of a stolen 2020 presidential election perpetrated by former president Donald Trump. Others resigned over a lack of support from the state. And many struggled with drastic changes in Nevada voting processes that fell on their small county offices to implement, including a universal mail ballot system, where ballots were sent to every registered voter in the mail.

It remains unclear if those factors resulted in Rodriguez's resignation. She did not respond to a text sent to her work phone requesting comment on her departure.

The resignations across Nevada had slowed slightly since the 2022 midterms. Rodriguez is the second top county election official to resign in the past year.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, the state's top election official, has focused on better retaining election officials across the state amidst the turnover. He pushed new state laws last legislative session that make it a felony to harass or intimidate election officials while on the job, along with training courses and a manual that would streamline preparation for new officials thrust into leading elections roles.

"We have to be ready and prepared to deal with the team changing talent," Aguilar testified in front of state lawmakers last March while pushing for the manual.

His office did not have an immediate response to Rodriguez's departure on Tuesday.


# Mike Vrabel wants his Titans to beat the Jags in season finale because losing 'sucks'
By **TERESA M. WALKER**
January 2, 2024. 6:53 PM EST

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**NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)** - Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel wants his Titans to finish off the most painful and ugly season of his tenure with a victory.

Not just to build momentum for 2024. There are many reasons, and Vrabel summed up the biggest motivation succinctly.

"It sucks to lose," Vrabel said Tuesday.

"Losing. Awful. That's why I want to win. Because you don't sleep. You want to win for the players that bust their tail. That's it. You know? I mean, it's not about, 'Hey, we'll go into the offseason with a good note.' Nobody knows what you did on January 7th ... in April when you come back."

Vrabel had the Titans (5-11) in position to play for a postseason berth in each game of his six seasons until Dec. 17, when they were eliminated from contention. Now they are mired in a second three-game skid this season after a 26-3 loss at Houston, and they've lost 18 of 23 games dating back to last season.

That's when a seven-game skid ended Tennessee's bid for a third straight AFC South title. They were about three minutes from winning the game and the division, but a late turnover cost the Titans both.

The Titans host Jacksonville (9-7) on Sunday with the Jaguars in the reverse position from a year ago, needing to win to clinch a consecutive title. Tennessee has lost its last three home games by three points each, two in overtime.

"We need a win for a lot of reasons," Vrabel said.

## WHAT'S WORKING
Despite a revolving door at spots on defense, the Titans remain the NFL's stingiest unit when backed up inside their own 20, allowing touchdowns on 37.9% of drives. They held Houston to three field goals.

The Texans scored only one touchdown on offense.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
The offensive line. Tennessee already has allowed more sacks with 62 through 16 games than in any of its previous 24 seasons as the Titans. The line has allowed 13 sacks in the past two losses alone, the first resulting in an injury to quarterback Will Levis for the second time in three games.

The Titans may wind up replacing as many as four starters this offseason. Only the Jets (63) and Giants (83) have allowed more sacks.

## STOCK UP
Ryan Tannehill. The veteran quarterback, whose contract is up after this season, came off the bench and completed his first nine passes. He finished 16 of 20 for 168 yards and a 101.7 passer rating despite being sacked five times. Tannehill told reporters later he felt like John Wick at the end of a movie, while not specifying which chapter of the gunslinger series starring Keanu Reeves.

## STOCK DOWN
WR Treylon Burks. The 18th pick overall in the 2022 draft dropped a deep pass from Levis on the second play from scrimmage. At a minimum, a deep completion might've eased the pressure on the Titans' woeful offensive line and kept Levis healthy.

## INJURIES
Vrabel said Levis (right foot) will be evaluated throughout the week. Tannehill will start if the rookie is unable to play. The Titans listed 18 players last week on their injury report, which included Levis with a sprained left ankle.

RG Daniel Brunskill lasted 12 snaps after starting with an injured ankle that cost him a start a week ago. Rookie Colton Dowell hurt a knee while being the gunner on punt coverage. TE Kevin Rader appeared to take a helmet off a knee.

## KEY NUMBER
0 - The Titans are another loss from going winless in the AFC South. Before this latest loss, they had the best record in the division since 2018 at 19-15 under Vrabel. They will finish last for the first time since the 2015 season. They've lost eight straight divisional games.

Worse? Vrabel has yet to beat any of the AFC South's current coaches.

## NEXT STEPS
Finish this season as quickly as possible. Assess the coaching staff, then get ready for free agency with the second-most cap space in the NFL for the 2024 season. The Titans also are poised to draft inside the top eight for the first time since 2017, when they had the fifth overall pick.


# The Steelers' pursuit of a playoff berth in the present has led to questions about the future
By **WILL GRAVES**
January 2, 2024. 6:49 PM EST

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**PITTSBURGH (AP)** - Mike Tomlin doesn't want to talk about the future. Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett either.

Considering the Pittsburgh Steelers still have plenty to play for when their topsy-turvy regular season wraps up on Saturday in Baltimore with a chance to inch toward a playoff berth that seemed unlikely just two weeks ago, that's probably wise.

There's still plenty on the line - in the short term anyway - for a team that has ping-ponged between intriguing and inert for four solid months. The Steelers can reach the postseason in multiple ways, most of them reliant on beating the Ravens (13-3) and getting help on Sunday from either Tennessee or Miami.

No matter how the weekend goes, given Pittsburgh's wildly uneven play it's hard to imagine the Steelers sticking around in the playoffs for long should they get there, setting the stage for an offseason where they might have to re-evaluate the most important position on the team.

And it's all thanks to a player rendered an afterthought on the depth chart for the better part of four years.

Rudolph's solid and occasionally spectacular play has given Pittsburgh's moribund offense a welcome if somewhat unexpected jolt. The Steelers have topped 30 points in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2020. They put up 468 yards in Seattle, a place the franchise had won just once in nine tries previously.

Now, the player set to become a free agent in March who wondered if he would be getting into commercial real estate by the end of 2024 looks like someone who will be on an NFL roster this time next year. Maybe even in Pittsburgh.

"I love playing for this team and love winning games," Rudolph said Tuesday. "We'll keep trying to do that."

Rudolph has been able to do - over the course of two games anyway against defenses ranked near the bottom of the league - what Pickett and Mitch Trubisky have mostly failed to for the past two years: make plays downfield with his arm and get the Steelers to the end zone with regularity.

The player who first caught the eye of then-Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert while lighting up the University of Pittsburgh for 497 yards passing and five touchdown passes in an Oklahoma State win at Acrisure Stadium in 2017 is averaging 11.1 yards per pass attempt since taking over for an ineffective Trubisky.

Yes, it's a small sample size. Still, it's symbolic of what Tomlin called Rudolph's "calculated risk-taking" approach, an approach that Pickett has failed to truly embrace.

In the span of two weeks, Rudolph's emergence has shifted the focus away from things such as Tomlin's hold on the locker room and wide receiver George Pickens' fickle relationship with reporters (and run blocking) and toward what the Steelers will do at quarterback in 2024.

Tomlin has been Pickett's biggest supporter from the day Pittsburgh selected the former Pitt star in the first round of the 2022 draft. He began the 2023 season bullish on Pickett's development, saying he expected Pickett to "kill it."

For a variety of reasons, it simply hasn't happened. Pickett has just six touchdown passes on the season, the fewest in the league among any quarterback with at least 300 pass attempts.

On Tuesday, rather than talk about starting during a potentially season-defining game against their biggest rival, Pickett spent it denying rumors he refused to serve as Rudolph's backup in Seattle after recovering from right ankle surgery.

It's not exactly what the Steelers envisioned in September after a high-flying preseason that sent expectations soaring.

Those expectations haven't been met. Still, maybe Rudolph and the Steelers find a way to sneak in. It's happened before. If they do, Rudolph probably keeps his job and Pittsburgh heads into the offseason likely having to rethink the configuration of its quarterback room.

For a team seemingly stuck in NFL purgatory - too good to be bad, too bad to be good - the Steelers never are boring.

## WHAT'S WORKING
The shared workload of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The two running backs have each surpassed 1,000 yards of total offense, giving the Steelers perhaps the best one-two combination at the position in the league. They've also done it without any underlying drama, refreshing for a team that has seen a season full of it among other position groups.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
While the defense is finding a way to keep points down despite a seemingly never-ending string of injuries at inside linebacker and safety, yards have been easy to come by. The Steelers have given up an average of 353 yards over their past four games and now face the NFL's second-highest-scoring offense, though one that could be without MVP favorite Lamar Jackson if the Ravens choose to rest him for the playoffs.

## STOCK UP
Watt became the second Steeler to be voted team MVP by his teammates for a fourth time when he received the honor on Tuesday. The perennial All-Pro is tied for the NFL lead with 17 sacks and has a chance at winning a second AP Defensive Player of the Year Award if he can make a late push with another dynamic performance against the Ravens.

## STOCK DOWN
Center Mason Cole's shotgun snaps have been an issue at times throughout the season and while he's worked at it repeatedly, there are still a handful of snaps a game that threaten to get away from Rudolph, whose quick reflexes averted disaster on a couple of occasions in Seattle.

## INJURIES
Safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) and LB Elandon Roberts (pectoral) didn't practice on Tuesday and odds of them playing seem remote at best.

## KEY NUMBER
1 - the number of regular-season games - out of 275 - during Tomlin's 17-year tenure in which the Steelers have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

## NEXT STEPS
Try to keep the momentum going in Baltimore on Saturday and hope for a little help from Miami and/or Tennessee on Sunday to reach the playoffs.


# Voter challenges in Georgia before 2021 runoff didn't violate Voting Rights Act, judge says
By **KATE BRUMBACK**
January 2, 2024. 8:53 PM EST

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**ATLANTA (AP)** - A conservative group did not violate the Voting Rights Act when it announced it was challenging the eligibility of more than 360,000 Georgia voters just before a 2021 runoff election for two pivotal U.S. Senate seats, a judge ruled Tuesday. But he expressed concerns about the group's methods.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued a 145-page decision in favor of Texas-based nonprofit True the Vote. Fair Fight, a group founded by former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, had sued True the Vote and several individuals, alleging that their actions violated a section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prohibits voter intimidation.

The evidence presented at trial did not show that the actions of True the Vote "caused (or attempted to cause) any voter to be intimidated, coerced, or threatened in voting," Jones concluded. But he wrote that the list of voters to be challenged compiled by the group "utterly lacked reliability" and "verges on recklessness."

"The Court has heard no testimony and seen no evidence of any significant quality control efforts, or any expertise guiding the data process," he wrote.

In the weeks after the November 2020 general election, then-President Donald Trump and his supporters were promoting false claims of widespread voter fraud that had cost him the election. In Georgia, two U.S. Senate races that would ultimately decide control of the Senate were headed for an early January runoff election.

True the Vote announced the voter challenges just after early in-person voting began for that runoff. The group said it had good reason to believe the voters no longer lived in the districts where they were registered and were ineligible to vote there.

Georgia election officials rejected only a few dozen ballots cast in the runoff, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The two Democratic challengers went on to beat the Republican incumbents by ten of thousands of votes, securing control of the Senate for their party.

Jones wrote that to succeed in proving a violation of the Voting Rights Act, Fair Fight and the individual voters who sued along with it would have had to show that True the Vote's actions caused or could have caused someone to be "intimidated, threatened, or coerced" from voting or trying to vote.

Fair Fight's arguments "suggest that any mass challenge of voters near an election (especially if negligently or recklessly made) constitutes intimidation or an attempt to intimidate," Jones wrote, adding that he disagreed. He noted that county election boards ultimately decide whether someone is eligible once a challenge is filed. The law doesn't limit the number of voter challenges or their proximity to an election, he wrote.

"In making this conclusion, the Court, in no way, is condoning TTV's actions in facilitating a mass number of seemingly frivolous challenges," Jones wrote in a footnote. "The Court, however, cannot under the operative legal framework say that these actions were contrary to Georgia law (which is unchallenged by Plaintiffs)."

Fair Fight had argued that public statements True the Vote made about the challenges amounted to voter intimidation. But Jones disagreed, pointing out that the statements were not aimed at any particular voter and none of the challenged voters who testified said they had seen the statements.

True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht celebrated the ruling, saying in an emailed statement that it "sends a clear message to those who would attempt to control the course of our nation through lawfare and intimidation."

Fair Fight Executive Director Cianti Stewart-Reid expressed disappointment, saying in an emailed statement that in the past two years other groups have drawn "from True the Vote's anti-voter playbook to launch their own mass voter challenge efforts that continue to this day." She vowed that Fair Fight would continue to push back against the challenges.


# Kentucky secretary of state calls for a 'tolerant and welcoming society' as he starts his 2nd term
By **BRUCE SCHREINER**
January 2, 2024. 6:34 PM EST

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**FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)** - Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams called on Bluegrass State policymakers to promote a "tolerant and welcoming society" as he joined four fellow Republicans for their public swearing-in ceremony Tuesday as they started their terms as statewide officeholders.

A crowd that included U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell looked on as the five officials ceremonially took the oath of office at the state Capitol. They were officially sworn in on New Year's Day.

Along with Adams, they included Attorney General Russell Coleman, State Auditor Allison Ball, State Treasurer Mark Metcalf and State Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell.

Adams was reelected to a second term last November, while the other Republican victors are in their first terms. As usual, the oaths included the archaic passage in which they swore they've never fought a duel with deadly weapons or been involved in one in any way.

Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, both Democrats, were sworn in to their second terms last month. Beshear attended the ceremony for the GOP officials Tuesday.

In his speech after taking the oath, Adams quipped: "It is great to not be fired." His speech quickly turned serious, as Adams bemoaned that Kentucky remains atop "far too many undesirable categories." He urged state leaders to continue creating a business and tax environment that attracts more people.

"Just as important, are we going to offer a tolerant and welcoming society that won't repel those otherwise interested in becoming Kentuckians?" Adams added.

If the state fails on that front, he warned, it could "lose our next generation to other states, too. A generation uninterested in relitigating the culture wars of the '80s."

Last year, Kentucky's GOP-dominated Legislature enacted a measure banning access to gender-affirming health care for young transgender people, joining several other Republican-leaning states in the action. Adams didn't mention the legislation in his speech Tuesday, but his comments appeared to double down on his interview late last year with the Lexington Herald-Leader, in which he told the newspaper that his biggest takeaway from the 2023 election results, led by Beshear's victory, was that Republicans had a messaging problem. Republicans tried to push the transgender issue to the forefront of the governor's race.

The other Republican officeholders offered glimpses of their top priorities in their new jobs. McConnell - the main architect of the GOP's rise to dominance in Kentucky - spoke in personal terms about his connections to them in his speech.

Coleman, a former federal prosecutor, promised to make Kentucky safer and to enforce the rule of law as attorney general. After serving two terms as state treasurer, Ball said that as auditor she'll serve as a watchdog of taxpayer dollars at an even "deeper level." Metcalf vowed to "protect Kentucky's money, to safeguard its pensions, to give taxpayers true value." And Shell said that he'll team with his staff to "make a difference for rural Kentucky, for urban Kentucky and for agriculture in this state."

At the end of his remarks, Coleman said: "Now, let's get to work," echoing the comments of his fellow officeholders.


# Chicago Bulls hopeful injured guard Zach LaVine can return to the lineup on Friday
By **DAN GELSTON**
January 2, 2024. 6:40 PM EST

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**PHILADELPHIA (AP)** - Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine could return to the lineup as early as Friday's game against Charlotte if there are no setbacks in his recovery from a sore right foot.

LaVine has not played since Nov. 28 and is testing out his foot this week in a rehab stint with the G League's Windy City Bulls. A two-time All-Star, LaVine averaged 21 points in 18 games this season. The Bulls entered Tuesday's game in Philadelphia with a 10-5 record this season without LaVine - they were just 15-19 overall.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Tuesday he was encouraged by LaVine's health reports following two days of practice with Windy City. LaVine was scheduled to practice at least one more time this week with the G League team.

"The part that we're most concerned about is when he started having to do all that cutting, how he responded," Donovan said. "He responded well. So now we've gotten through that and now he's ramping up. I just don't know from the medical staff how many days they want to see him because he's been out (17) games. What do they feel is an adequate enough time for him to get his legs back under him? Do they feel that he's got at least enough physical contact that they would feel comfortable with him going back into playing?"

The 28-year-old LaVine signed a five-year, $215.16 million extension after the 2021-22 season, largely considered one of the worst max deals in recent NBA history. He's been the subject of recent trade rumors and Bulls executive Arturas Karnisovas could look to move LaVine in a package deal before the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Chicago's recent run of success without him could embolden Karnisovas to shop LaVine.

"I think he sees how we're playing, what we're doing, and the thing he'd want to do is come in and contribute and enhance that and make it better," Donovan said of LaVine. "It's been very, very positive, our conversations. I think he wants to help the group as much as he can. I don't think it's necessarily so much that he has to change his game. It's what he does really, really, really well. Can he bring that to the table for us?"

Through only 18 games, LaVine's 44% shooting percentage was his lowest since 2017-18, when he played just 24 games because of injuries. He was also shooting a career-worst 34% from 3-point range.

"I don't think he was finishing at the level he has throughout his career; shooting it at the level he was throughout his career," Donovan said. "I think he takes great pride in those things. I think as hard as he works, and all these guys work, when they don't see the ball go into the basket, for a lot of them it's disappointing or it's frustrating. I think there's no question before the injury happened, I think if you look at his numbers compared to what he has been doing, there was certainly a difference there."


# Housing, climate change, assault weapons ban on agenda as Rhode Island lawmakers start new session
January 2, 2024. 6:26 PM EST

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**PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)** - Rhode Island lawmakers met Tuesday for the start of the state's new Legislative session, with the top issues under consideration including investing in public transit and safe affordable housing, defending against climate change and weighing a call for same-day voter registration.

Advocates are also pushing lawmakers to act on gun safety initiatives by passing two bills - one that would require the secure storage of all firearms and a second that would ban the manufacture, sale and possession of assault-style weapons while providing current owners a pathway to keep their guns.

Speaker Joseph Shekarchi said he is hopeful Rhode Island has dodged a recession but warned that tough choices loom as federal pandemic relief funds dry up.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he told fellow House members, adding that lawmakers must continue to address the challenge of creating more affordable housing while also confronting strains on the state's health care system.

Among other bills being reintroduced during the new session are proposals to address driving under the influence. One would require the license plates of a vehicle be confiscated by police if the driver was arrested for driving while their license was suspended, revoked or cancelled for refusing to submit to a chemical test or for operating under the influence. Another proposal would increase sentences and fines for driving to endanger, resulting in death or personal injury.

Under a proposed "baby bond" bill, a child born in Rhode Island to a family eligible for Medicaid would receive a lump sum of money that would be invested by the state treasury until the child reaches 18 years of age.

The goal is to help lower-income families build wealth. When the child reaches 18, they can use the money to buy a home, pay for higher education or start a small business. A similar program has been created in Connecticut.


# Pakistan slumps to 75-4 on Day 1 of 3rd test in Warner's farewell for Australia
January 2, 2024. 9:03 PM EST

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**SYDNEY (AP)** - Much of the pre-match attention may have been on veteran David Warner's last test for Australia, but it was the pace bowlers who stole the spotlight Wednesday by ripping through Pakistan's fragile top order in a torrid opening session.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins snared two wickets as Pakistan slumped to 75-4 at lunch after winning the toss and opting to bat at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Cummins, coming off a ten-wicket haul in the Boxing Day test at Melbourne, took the key wicket of Babar Azam. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood set the tone by each taking a wicket in the first two overs.

At the break, Pakistan captain Shan Masood was unbeaten on 32 and Mohammad Rizwan was 12 not out, digging-in for a 28-run stand as the tourists try and avoid a series sweep.

Starc (1-28) struck with the second ball, teasing Shafique into an uncontrolled swipe which the opener could only edge through to Steve Smith at second slip.

Hazlewood (1-23) struck in the next over when he had test rookie Saim Ayub edging through to Alex Carey in his debut innings.

From 4-2, Babar and Massood started the rebuild for Pakistan, with Babar especially attacking the Aussie quick bowlers.

But the rally was short-lived as Cummins removed Babar (26) with a ball that came back at the right-hander and struck him on the pad. Umpire Michael Gough turned down the initial Australian appeal, but the TV umpire overturned the decision to reduce Pakistan to 39-3 at the end of the first hour.

Saud Shakeel was Cummins' second wicket, edging behind to Carey to leave Pakistan's first innings in tatters at 47-4.

The lead up to the match has been almost exclusively about Warner's last test for Australia, and the 112-test veteran, flanked by his three daughters, led the home team out on to the SCG for his final test.

On Tuesday, Warner took to social media to plead for the return of his "baggy green" test cricket cap which was in a bag that went missing in transit between Melbourne and Sydney this week. On Wednesday, he was wearing a new cap.

Australia won the first two tests in Perth and Melbourne to clinch the three-match series but with World Test Championship points at stake, Australia named an unchanged lineup for the third consecutive match.

Pakistan, which hasn't beaten Australia in a test Down Under since 1985, rested pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi to bring in a second spinner, Sajid Khan, and dropped Imam-ul-Haq to bring in 21-year-old Ayub.


# Gypsy Rose Blanchard is free and reflecting on prison term for conspiring to kill her abusive mother
By **HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH**
January 2, 2024. 8:20 PM EST

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard said she has found a way to forgive her mother - and herself. But it has been a long journey from years of abuse and the darkest parts of her life splashed across tabloids to living in prison.

Blanchard, now 32, was paroled last week from a Missouri women's prison. Her release came 8 1/2 years after she persuaded her boyfriend at the time to kill her abusive mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard - in a desperate bid to be free of her.

For years, her mother forced her to pretend that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses.

"At first I was really angry with her, very confused. And I'm still confused," Blanchard told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. "But I understand that she had a lot of mental issues. And so I think that's brought me to a place of forgiveness by just trying to understand where she was coming from. I don't believe that she was evil.

"I know, that she was very sick," she continued. This journey, Blanchard explained, also involved forgiving herself.

Dee Dee Blanchard had essentially kept her daughter prisoner and duped doctors into doing unnecessary procedures by telling them that her daughter's medical records had been lost in Hurricane Katrina. Gypsy Rose Blanchard's attorney said the mother had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek sympathy through the exaggerated or made-up illnesses of their children.

The mother-daughter duo received charitable donations, and even a home near Springfield from Habitat for Humanity.

Forced to use a wheelchair and feeding tube, Gypsy felt trapped. She said her mother, who lied about Gypsy's age to make her seem younger, prevented her from having much of a relationship with her father - or with anyone else.

"I wish I could go back and tell my younger self, 'Call your dad. Reach out for help with people because they will actually believe you,'" she said. "The main reason why I didn't is because I really felt like nobody would believe me whenever I said that things just wasn't right at home."

When she turned 23, she supplied a knife to her boyfriend, and hid in a bathroom while he repeatedly stabbed her mother, according to the probable cause statement. Then Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn, who she met on a Christian dating website, made their way by bus to Godejohn's home in Wisconsin, where they were arrested.

Godejohn is serving a life sentence in Missouri while prosecutors cut Blanchard a deal because of the abuse she had endured.

Incarceration was "nothing but self-discovery," she said. She made friends, earned her GED and overcame early shortcomings in her education that left her unable to do basic math. While behind bars, she even met and married someone who forged a relationship with Gypsy by writing to her on a whim.

"I was in a little cocoon. And now that I'm free, I've emerged as a butterfly," she said.

She describes her husband Ryan Scott Anderson, a 37-year-old special education teacher from Lake Charles, Louisiana, as a "teddy bear." In the pre-dawn hours last Thursday, Anderson picked her up at the prison. They had planned to go to the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday; she dreamed she might even bump into superstar Taylor Swift as she cheered on her boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce. Swift's music had been an inspiration to Blanchard.

But going to the game was deemed too much, too soon. Instead she headed to Louisiana and started to settle into post-prison life. Her father also lives in the state, and she said she is finally "getting to know him as an adult."

"This is what I've been wanting for so long," she said. "But it's an adjustment. But it's a wonderful adjustment." She added that given her childhood, it also is her "first taste of actual, real, full fledged freedom."

This week, she is delighting in the little things. She used a Keurig coffee maker for the first time Tuesday. She played video games with her father using a virtual reality headset. She described both experiences as "amazing."

She isn't sure yet what will come next and said she wants to give herself a little bit of time before she decides. Eventually, she wants to have children with her husband. But when is a question mark, as is possibilities for employment. The only jobs she has ever had were all in prison, where she took photos and helped out with janitorial tasks.

"Right now, I'm really not sure what my skill is," she said, "so I'm going to have to kind of discover that over time."

As she adjusts, there has been a fresh round of media coverage. A Lifetime docuseries "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard" and her own eBook, "Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom" (Penguin Random House) are coming out this month.

Around the U.S. people learned about the bizarre case from the 2017 HBO documentary "Mommy Dead and Dearest" and the 2019 Hulu miniseries "The Act."

While there have been many TV specials and interviews over the years, she steered clear of watching them, fearing it would be "emotionally traumatizing," she said. This docuseries will be the first she has ever watched.

"I am at least putting myself out there to be a cautionary tale," she said. "because I don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through."


# Surprising Colts control their playoff destiny entering prime-time showdown with Texans
By **MICHAEL MAROT**
January 2, 2024. 6:09 PM EST

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**INDIANAPOLIS (AP)** - The Indianapolis Colts weren't supposed to be here, playing a prime-time game in Week 18 with a chance to make the playoffs.

Not with a rookie quarterback who then suffered a season-ending injury that forced Indy (9-7) to rely on a veteran backup for its final 12 games. Not with an inconsistent running game or a first-time head coach. And certainly not with a defense allowing 24.5 points per game.

Yet this gritty bunch is here, one win away from reaching the postseason for the first time since 2020, completing a mission perhaps only they believed possible and, yes, proving the critics wrong. They can't wait.

"One thing I've learned is how scrappy, how tough this team is," 2021 NFL rushing champ Jonathan Taylor said after Sunday's 23-20 win over Las Vegas. "We knew we had tough players, but it's a different story when you say you have a tough team."

Taylor is one of many Indy players who have overcome obstacles.

He opened training camp and the regular season on the physically-unable-to-perform list with an ankle injury, forcing him to miss Indy's first four games. Thumb surgery kept him out of three late-season contests. Now, he appears to be rounding into form.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew struggled with turnovers during a three-game losing streak after replacing the injured Anthony Richardson in Week 5. He rebounded by leading the Colts (9-7) to four straight wins before alternating wins and losses over the past four weeks to forge a three-way tie with Houston and Jacksonville atop the AFC South.

If Minshew extends his career-best single-season victory total to eight Saturday night against the Texans, Indy will be playoff bound. With a win and a Jaguars loss Sunday at Tennessee, the Colts would claim their first division crown since 2014.

"In this league, everybody's got a chance," Minshew said. "There's a lot of parity, and then I think even when you're struggling a little bit there at 3-5, I think everybody pulled together instead of growing apart. We were able to get us in this position. So, I think everybody is fired up for the opportunity."

Now that they are here, the Colts don't intend to fritter away this opportunity - playing at home, playing for the postseason and playing to prove they are every bit the playoff team they thought they could be.

"We know what's at stake," Steichen said. "It's go out and take care of business. It's win or go home."

## WHAT'S WORKING
Run defense. After watching Las Vegas' Zamir White run for 145 yards against Kansas City in Week 16, the Colts cut those numbers in half. He finished with 20 carries for 71 yards as the Raiders averaged 3.4 yards per carry.

## WHAT NEEDS HELP
Takeaways. Indy still ranks in the top half of the league, but after recording at least one turnover in 19 consecutive games, it has gone two weeks without one. The Colts must find a way to force turnovers against the Texans and dynamic rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

## STOCK UP
Trey Sermon. While Taylor looks like he has fresh legs after missing so much time, Sermon has filled in nicely for injured RB Zack Moss. He had 17 carries for 88 yards in a win over Pittsburgh and had a 27-yard run to set up a late field goal against Las Vegas.

## STOCK DOWN
Pass defense. Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell tested the coverage early and often, going 30 of 47 for 299 yards with two TD passes one week after completing no passes in the final three quarters against Kansas City. All-Pro receiver Davante Adams did the heavy lifting, but the Colts' young secondary, which had a pick-6 negated by a pass interference call, needs to find a quick fix before facing Stroud.

## INJURIES
WR Michael Pittman Jr. (concussion protocol) and RT Braden Smith (knee) returned from injuries last weekend. The Colts are hoping CB Kenny Moore II (back) and Moss (right forearm) can play this week.

## KEY NUMBER
1 - Since producing double-digit win seasons in 12 of 13 years from 2002-14, Indy has only done it twice since - in 2018 and 2020. The Colts need one more win to hit that milestone and if they get it Saturday, Steichen will become the fifth straight non-interim, first-year coach to lead Indy to the playoffs.

## NEXT STEPS
What must the Colts do to beat the Texans? Re-establish home-field advantage against a team they have historically dominated, and do something that has proved tricky - replicate last week's strong performance.


# Air Canada had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America, report says
January 2, 2024. 6:01 PM EST

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**MONTREAL, Quebec (AP)** - Air Canada, Canada's largest carrier, had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023, according to a report from Cirium, the aviation analytics company.

The country's flag-carrying airline landed 63% of its 276,451 flights on time last year, placing it last among the continent's 10 largest airlines. That means roughly 140,000 planes arrived at the gate more than 15 minutes after scheduled arrival.

Delta Air Lines led the list for the most on-time airline in North America with its over 1.6 million flights arriving on time 85% of the time. Alaska Airlines was second at 82% of its 404,925 flights arriving on time.

Canada's other major airline, WestJet, placed seventh in North America with a score of 69% for 182,296 flights.

In the past, Air Canada has pointed to a shortage of air traffic controllers, bad weather and a network running at full tilt amid high demand, which can mean longer recovery times after a disruption.

CEO Michael Rousseau has acknowledged Air Canada's relatively low ranking, including after a wave of flight delays in June and July.

Despite more staff and revamped technology, the carrier's operations failed to meet "expected levels," he told analysts on a conference call in August.


# Kentucky lawmakers return to work, and the next state budget is on top of their agenda
By **BRUCE SCHREINER**
January 2, 2024. 12:14 PM EST

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky lawmakers returned to work Tuesday for a 60-day session that'll be dominated by negotiations over the next state budget, with Republican supermajorities in both chambers once again shaping Bluegrass State policies even as voters have extended an era of divided government by reelecting Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

Both the House and Senate gaveled in at midday to begin the grind of legislating through mid-April. Efforts to craft the next two-year budget - the state's overarching policy document - likely won't wrap up until late in the session.

Beshear offered his budget blueprint in a televised speech last month, calling for massive funding increases for public education topped by a proposed 11% pay raise for teachers and all other public school employees. The governor also is resuming his push for state-funded preschool for every 4-year-old in Kentucky. Republican lawmakers have charted their own course on education policies.

Lawmakers will review hundreds of other bills in the coming months. Familiar issues that could grab headlines include abortion and school choice. New issues for Kentucky could include efforts to rein in diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education.

A push to relax Kentucky's near-total abortion ban could resurface. Last year, a bill to add exceptions to the ban for pregnancies caused by rape or incest made no headway in the legislature. Beshear, an abortion-rights supporter, made his support for those exceptions a prominent part of his successful reelection campaign. Kentucky's current abortion law bans the procedure except when carried out to save a pregnant woman's life or to prevent a disabling injury.

Another potential high-profile issue could be efforts to put a school-choice constitutional amendment on the fall ballot in Kentucky. The goal would be to remove constitutional hurdles for school choice initiatives. It comes after school choice advocates suffered setbacks in courts. A state judge last month struck down a law aimed at setting up a funding method for charter schools. In 2022, Kentucky's Supreme Court struck down another law meant to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition.

One dynamic that will be watched closely is the relationship between the governor and GOP lawmakers. Beshear's first term featured annual policy clashes with Republican lawmakers, who overrode numerous gubernatorial vetoes. Beshear has noted that he also signed more than 600 bipartisan bills into law, including signature measures to legalize sports betting and medical marijuana and to expand early voting.


# Vehicle fleeing from suburban Madison traffic stop crashes, killing all 3 people inside
January 2, 2024. 12:14 PM EST

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**MONONA, Wis. (AP)** - A vehicle fleeing a suburban Madison police traffic stop crashed overnight, killing all three people who were riding inside, authorities said.

Monona police tried to stop "a suspicious vehicle" about 9 p.m. Monday, but the driver fled, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation said.

After a Dane County deputy deployed a tire deflation device, the vehicle crashed in the nearby town of Cottage Grove and all three people in the vehicle died at the scene, DCI said in a statement.

The agency's statement did not elaborate on the circumstances of the crash, including whether the driver may have lost control after running over the device or swerved to avoid it.

DCI did not immediately respond Tuesday to messages left by The Associated Press asking about the specific circumstances of the crash and also why Monona police had deemed the vehicle "suspicious."

The AP also left a message for the Dane County Medical Examiner asking whether the three crash victims have been identified.

Monona Police Chief Brian Chaney said in a statement that he has requested the assistance of DCI and the Wisconsin State Patrol in investigating the pursuit and fatal crash.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative duty while DCI investigates with assistance from the Wisconsin State Patrol.

DCI said it will turn over its findings to the Dane County District Attorney when the investigation is completed.


# After 180 years, a small daily newspaper in the US Virgin Islands says it is closing
January 2, 2024. 12:09 PM EST

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**SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)** - A small daily newspaper in the U.S. Virgin Islands whose owner credited past generations of literate slaves for its survival is closing after 180 years in print.

The St. Croix Avis, which published its first edition in 1844, can no longer compete with social media and digital newspaper subscription services, according to owner and publisher Rena Brodhurst.

"That is an impossible mission we are unable to fulfill," she said in a statement published Sunday.

It wasn't immediately clear when the paper would stop publishing, although Brodhurst said the company would soon exhaust its final shipment of newsprint.

"I give thanks to the Moravian Church that insisted the enslaved learn to read, write, and comprehend. The St. Croix Avis would never have been possible without that concept of ensuring a literate Black population," she said.

The paper is based on the island of St. Croix, home to some 41,000 people, the majority of them Black of slave descent.

Slavery in the Danish West Indies was abolished in 1848.

When it was founded, the St. Croix Avis published most of its content in Danish until shifting primarily to English after the U.S. government bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.

In the years following its first publication, the St. Croix Avis covered multiple weather events, including an apparent hurricane that hit the neighboring island of St. Thomas in 1867. A portion of the headline read, "Frightful Loss of Lives and Property!!!"

The paper also covered events such as Citizenship Day, remarking that "the catching of the greased pig afforded much merriment to onlookers."

Brodhurst thanked the community for supporting the St. Croix Avis in her open letter as she lamented its closure.

"What an incredible journey we have had together, learning, growing, rejoicing, and crying together," she wrote. "The road we traveled together has been monumental."


# Somalia dismisses Ethiopia-Somaliland coastline deal, says it compromises sovereignty
By **OMAR FARUK**
January 2, 2024. 11:58 AM EST

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**MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)** - Somalia's president on Tuesday rejected an agreement signed between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland to give landlocked Ethiopia access to its coast, calling it a violation of international law.

"We will not stand idly by and watch our sovereignty being compromised," President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told a joint session of Somalia's federal parliament.

Somaliland, a region strategically located by the Gulf of Aden, broke away from Somalia in 1991 as the country collapsed into warlord-led conflict. The region has maintained its own government despite its lack of international recognition.

On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi signed a memorandum of understanding to allow Ethiopia to lease a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) stretch of coastline to establish a marine force base.

Somaliland's president said the agreement also included a clause that Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country in the near future.

Somalia's president said Somalia and Ethiopia share a long history and that embracing a peaceful coexistence is the only way to ensure lasting peace in the region.

He also expressed concern that Ethiopia's presence could give rise to extremism, saying that Ethiopia's incursion into Somalia in 2006 to fight the Islamic Courts Union led to the rise of the extremist group al-Shabab, which still poses a significant threat.

"We need to be cautious to avoid jeopardizing the significant strides we've made towards defeating this group, and this move is creating another opportunity for al-Shabab to recruit," Mohamud said,

Al-Shabab through its spokesman, Sheik Ali Dhere, urged the Somali people to unite and defend their land and sea against perceived external threats. The statement was carried by the group's radio arm, Andalus.

With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.

The agreement strengthens the security, economic and political partnership between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a statement from the Ethiopian prime minister's office said.

The agreement "is unlikely to affect regional stability in the short term," said Matt Bryden, strategic advisor for Sahan Research, a Nairobi-based think tank.

Somalia has no means to impose its will by force on Somaliland, but it is likely to deploy instruments of juridical sovereignty to isolate it, Bryden said. These include restricting the activities of aid agencies and donor governments, restraining international flights and warning foreign commercial interests against doing business with Somaliland, he said.

However, an escalation in political and diplomatic posturing by neighboring countries such as Djibouti and Eritrea is "very likely" in the longer term, Bryden said.


# Republican-led Mississippi Legislature begins 4-year term with new leadership in the House
By **EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS**
January 2, 2024. 11:36 AM EST

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**JACKSON, Miss. (AP)** - The Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature begins its annual session Tuesday, with all members being sworn in for a four-year term and the House electing new leaders after the previous speaker chose not to seek reelection.

Rep. Jason White of West secured promises of support from his Republican colleagues weeks ago to become the next House speaker. He will succeed Republican Philip Gunn of Clinton, who held the leadership post for the past 12 years.

White was speaker pro tempore under Gunn, the second-highest leadership post in the 122-member House. Republican Rep. Manly Barton of Moss Point is in line to become the new speaker pro tem. In that role, he will be a close adviser to White and will preside over the House when White is away.

Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann returns for his second term presiding over the 52-member Senate. He and six other statewide officials will be inaugurated Thursday.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will be inaugurated Jan. 9, beginning his second term in that job after previously serving as state treasurer and lieutenant governor.

Reeves is pushing legislators to eliminate the state income tax, saying that will help Mississippi compete with Florida and Texas, which don't tax income. In 2022, legislators and Reeves enacted Mississippi's largest-ever tax cut, which reduces the income tax over four years beginning in 2023.

Hosemann said legislators could consider another income tax cut or a reduction in the 7% grocery tax, depending on how the economy is faring. Any income tax reduction would continue to be phased in rather than happening suddenly, he said.

"We may well get to the elimination of the income tax, probably at the rate we're going faster than they proposed last time, by doing it in a cogent, fiscally responsible way versus some political statement," Hosemann said.

Conservative groups are pushing "school choice" plans, which could allow parents to send their children to other public schools outside their attendance zone if those schools accept the students, or could allow public money to go toward private schools or homeschooling.

Legislators could consider reviving a way for people to petition to put issues on the statewide ballot. In 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that the state's initiative process was invalid because it required people to gather signatures from five outdated congressional districts rather than the four current districts.

For the first time, they could also give serious consideration to expanding Medicaid to people who work in jobs that provide modest wages and no health insurance.

Medicaid expansion is an option under the health care overhaul signed into law in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have not taken the option, with Reeves calling Medicaid "welfare." Gunn also opposed expansion.

The incoming House speaker said he wants legislators to get a firm idea of how many people could become eligible for Medicaid coverage if it's expanded. White also said he wants to talk to business leaders about whether they could cover part of the state's cost.

"It's got to be something we can afford and that makes sense," White said. "We are one of the poor states, if not the poorest. It's foolish for us to not figure out a way to make this work."