By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — They warned about him. Now they’ll have to work with him.

A handful of prominent Democratic governors are quickly adjusting their approach to President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office, hoping to avoid antagonizing him to ensure they’ll have a working relationship with his new administration.

They’re in a precarious position: adopting caution while also weighing their party’s desires to stake out early, and often combative, positions against Trump’s agenda.

“It’s a combination of fighting like hell if your values are attacked or if your innocent communities or innocent people are attacked. And then on the other hand, you’re trying like heck also to find common ground on things that we could agree on,” New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is walking a similar tightrope, vowing to push back against Trump on potential policies against reproductive rights, while also appearing hopeful that she and the Republican can work together.

Hochul, who slammed Trump during a speech at the Democratic National Convention and was a prominent campaign surrogate for Democrats this year, has said she and Trump spoke at length after his election victory and were able to find common ground.

“There are areas where we can work together, like infrastructure where we rely on federal money, and he seems to share my priorities, but also I’m going to stand up for protecting rights, reproductive rights and other rights,” she said at a news conference.

Asked this week whether as governor she would consider pardoning Trump in his New York hush money criminal conviction, Hochul notably didn’t shut down the question. “There is a pardoning process in the state of New York. It is lengthy. It requires a couple of elements. One is remorse,” she said, letting out a quick laugh.

A New York jury convicted Trump earlier this year on all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

Other Democrats have taken decidedly more combative stances.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fierce Trump critic, summoned lawmakers back to work this month to allocate more money to the state attorney general’s office so it can launch anticipated legal battles against the Trump administration. Newsom’s goal, as he put it, is to “Trump-proof” California’s progressive state laws.

Shortly after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polisformed a group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy to “fortify democratic institutions in the states and ensure the rule of law serves all people,” according to the group’s website.

Still, Polis has put on a balancing act in his relationship with Trump. He’s expressed excitement for Trump’s pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, saying he was hopeful Kennedy would take on “big pharma and corporate ag.”

In Massachusetts, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has taken a somewhat less confrontational attitude toward Trump than she did four years ago when she was the state’s attorney general. Back then, Healey initiated or joined dozens of lawsuits targeting Trump on everything from immigration policy to health care and environmental issues.

Now as governor of a state that Harris easily won but where Trump got more than 35% of the vote, Healey has sounded more muted in her criticism.

“I think I’ve spoken quite a bit about Donald Trump and my feelings about him,” Healey told reporters after Trump’s win. “We have to see whether he makes good on what he promised and ran on in terms of Project 2025 or other things,” she said, referring a hard-right policy plan.

Healey has indicated that state police won’t help enforce violations of federal immigration law — a key Trump priority — but has been less clear about whether she would bar the state National Guard from helping detain those in the country illegally.

As co-chair of Harris’ presidential campaign, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer frequently warned about the dangers of a second Trump presidency, describing him as “deranged” and declaring that his reelection would signify that “we failed as a country.”

But after Trump’s victory, the second-term governor has largely stayed out of the spotlight and said little about how she will address some of his policy proposals, such as mass deportations.

“I know that some of my colleagues have staked out some pretty aggressive strategies,” Whitmer told reporters days after the election. “As I’m thinking about what a Trump administration will mean for our work, I’m trying to focus on where we can find some shared priorities.”

Those close to Whitmer describe her approach as a wait-and-see strategy, with hopes of working with the president-elect on areas of shared interest, such as economic development.

“We have worked with the Trump administration before and we will figure out how to work with a Trump administration going into this last two years of my term,” said Whitmer.

Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report.

By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The smooth economy that Donald Trump was poised to inherit suddenly looks a bit rockier — with critics saying the president-elect is contributing to the uncertainty.

The Dow Jones stock index essentially ended Thursday flat after having posted 10 days of losses. The Federal Reserve now sees inflation as staying stubbornly elevated as it has become cautious about further interest rate cuts planned for next year.

On Wednesday, Trump blew up a bipartisan budget deal, which means the government could shut down after midnight Saturday. He then promoted a deal reached with Republicans on Thursday that Democratic lawmakers and President Joe Biden see as unacceptable. It failed to get the two-thirds threshold needed for House passage. This comes on top of a spate of tariff threats by Trump that the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday would raise prices and hurt growth without raising enough revenues to cover the rest of his planned tax cuts.

As Trump prepares for a second term in the White House, his actions to undo a deal and replace it in under 24 hours test the proposition that markets — a favored Trump barometer of success — will accept his mix of uncertainty and reality TV drama.

But from the vantage of Trump world, the economy was already a mess. That’s because of inflation, which is currently 2.7%, and public dissatisfaction with Biden.

“On day one, President Trump will get to work to launch the largest deregulatory agenda in history, cut taxes, and expedite permitting for drilling and fracking to lower energy costs and inflation for all Americans,” said Karoline Leavitt, the transition spokeswoman and incoming press secretary.

Turbulence already starting

The past few days are a reminder that the economic growth in the Republican’s first term was often accompanied by turmoil. It remains to be seen if voters already exhausted by inflation are ready for another round of blame games and uncertainty that the past few days have foreshadowed.

Trump vowed on social media Wednesday to “fight ’till the end” unless Democrats agreed to lift the debt ceiling as a condition for the short-term funding to keep the federal government open. He and his billionaire friend and adviser Elon Musk also promised to fund challengers in the 2026 primary elections to any Republican lawmaker who opposed the president-elect.

His social media postings came after Musk blasted the bipartisan package reached by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to fund the government through March 14. When the government last had a partial shutdown for five weeks starting at the end of 2018, the CBO estimated it cut economic growth by $3 billion, a small but symbolic sum.

By Thursday, Trump was claiming on social media that a new deal reached among Republicans was a “SUCCESS” because it would push the debt ceiling out until January 30, 2027. He insisted that Democrats “do what is best for Country,” but the White House and leading Democratic lawmakers came out against the proposal.

Democrats were also quick to seize on the seeming Republican dysfunction, with Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., saying, ”Trump’s made a lot of promises, but he’s also going to be accountable for the impact he’s having on families.”

“I guess Elon Musk is making the decisions now, because Republicans in Congress are incapable of making decisions on their own,” DelBene said in an interview. “They just wait for someone to tell them what to do.”

Trump won the election, but public still wary

Trump’s ability to project strength and assure voters that he would reduce inflation helped him win November’s election. Stocks initially climbed on the prospect of tax and regulatory cuts, but Trump still faces a skeptical public and appears to be starting his presidency from a more delicate position than Biden did four years ago.

Most U.S. adults — 54% — have an unfavorable view of Trump, according to the latest survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey found that small majorities have slight to no confidence in his ability to manage the White House or government spending. By contrast, Biden began his presidency with an approval rating above 60% only to see it steadily decline as inflation worsened.

In a sense, Trump has to preserve the momentum of an economy still recovering from pandemic-era distortions while going through a series of tough policy choices. First, there is the need to increase the government’s legal borrowing authority that he insists be part of any short-term funding bill in order to avoid a shutdown. He will also push to renew his 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire after next year. On top of that, there is a budget deficit that has become less sustainable with higher interest rates.

“The U.S. economy is in very good shape — it has a strong underlying growth trend,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist and president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank. “All of the risks are policy risks. They’re risks that the Fed didn’t get it right, risks that come with the clock — we’ve got to do the debt ceiling, we’ve got to fund the government.”

In a speech this month at the Brookings Institution, Biden took stock of the roughly 3% economic growth and the inflation rate easing since its 2022 spike, saying Trump would come into office with a solid economy. But he also warned that the policies of Trump allies in the form of tariffs and deportations could unleash an “economic disaster.”

The president never translated his investments in infrastructure, renewable energy and new factories into political momentum. But he said “it’s going to be politically costly and economically unsound for the next president to disrupt or cut” those programs.

Trump is also inheriting a higher national debt from Biden that could limit the benefits and scope of his planned tax cuts. When he was last president in 2020, the government was spending $345 billion annually to service the debt. That cost now exceeds $1 trillion. On Thursday, the president-elect said on social media that the federal government “will cut Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in spending next year” in an effort to fund his tax cuts and limit deficits.

The Fed sees uncertainty ahead

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told reporters at a Wednesday news conference that some members of the central bank’s rate-setting committee started to incorporate the possible effects of Trump’s policies into their economic forecasts.

But Powell stressed that there is a lack of clarity about what Trump would do. It’s unknown whether he would deliver on tariff threats against Canada, Mexico, China and Europe. Nor is there much official guidance on how Trump would fund tax cuts that could add $4.6 trillion to deficits over a decade.

“Some did identify policy uncertainty as one of the reasons for their writing down more uncertainty around inflation,” Powell said. “The point about uncertainty is it’s kind of common sense thinking that when the path is uncertain you go a little bit slower.”

Powell added for emphasis about what happens with uncertainty: “It’s not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down.”

Today is Friday, Dec. 20, the 355th day of 2024. There are 11 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 20, 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of Gen. Manuel Noriega.

Also on this date:

In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed as ownership of the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States.

In 1946, the classic holiday film “It’s a Wonderful Life” premiered at the Globe Theater in New York City.

In 1986, three Black men were attacked by a group of white youths in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York, resulting in the death of one of the men, Michael Griffith.

In 1987, more than 4,300 people were killed when the Doña Paz (DOHN’-yuh pahz), a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.

In 2019, the United States Space Force was established when President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Rock drummer Peter Criss (Kiss) is 79.
• Producer Dick Wolf (“Law & Order”) is 78.
• Musician Alan Parsons is 76.
• Author Sandra Cisneros is 70.
• Actor Michael Badalucco is 70.
• Rock singer Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes) is 58.
• Filmmaker Todd Phillips is 54.
• Actor Jonah Hill is 41.
• Soccer player Kylian Mbappé is 26.

By MEG KINNARD, Associated Press

A debate over the debt ceiling is at the center of a dispute over funding that is pushing Washington to the brink of a federal government shutdown.

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded that a provision raising or suspending the nation’s debt limit — something that his own party routinely resists — be included in legislation to avert a government shutdown. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” Trump said in a statement Wednesday.

Republicans quickly complied, including a provision in a revamped government funding proposal that would suspend the debt ceiling for two years, until Jan. 30, 2027. But the bill failed overwhelmingly in a House vote Thursday evening, leaving next steps uncertain.

Here’s what to know about the debate over the debt ceiling and the role it’s playing in the shutdown saga:

What is the debt ceiling?

The debt ceiling, or debt limit, is the total amount of money that the United States government can borrow to meet its existing legal obligations. For the Treasury Department to borrow above that amount, the limit must be raised by Congress.

The federal debt stands at roughly $36 trillion, and the spike in inflation after the coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the government’s borrowing costs such that debt service next year will exceed spending on national security.

The last time lawmakers raised the debt limit was June 2023. Rather than raise the limit by a dollar amount, lawmakers suspended the debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025. At that point, the limit will be automatically raised to match the amount of debt that has been issued by the Treasury Department.

The debt limit vote in recent times has been used as a political leverage point, a must-pass bill that can be loaded up with other priorities.

What is the debt ceiling fight all about?

Trump has tied a demand for dealing with the debt ceiling to the dispute over government funding, saying one should not be addressed without the other.

When he rejected the spending proposal on Wednesday, Trump said that he wanted the debt ceiling debate settled before he takes office next month.

Warning of trouble ahead for Johnson and Republicans in Congress, Trump told Fox News Digital, “Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible.”

What happens if the debt ceiling isn’t raised?

There’s actually no need to raise the debt limit right now. On Jan. 1, when the debt limit is triggered, the Treasury Department can begin using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to ensure that America doesn’t default on its debts.

Some estimate these accounting maneuvers could push the default deadline to the summer of 2025 — but that’s exactly what Trump wants to avoid, since an increase would then be needed while he is president.

Lawmakers have always raised the debt ceiling in time because the consequences of failure are stark. Without action, the government would go into default on its debts, a first-ever situation that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and economic experts have said could be “catastrophic” for the economy and global markets.

Raising or suspending the debt limit does not authorize new spending or tax cuts; it merely acknowledges past budgetary decisions — that is, current budget law — and so allows the federal government to meet its existing legal obligations. For that reason and others, some have advocated doing away with the limit altogether.

What could the debt ceiling fight mean for Speaker Mike Johnson?

Dealing with the debt ceiling could have ramifications for Johnson, as he angles to keep his job in the new Congress that begins on Jan. 3.

Trump said early Thursday that Johnson will “easily remain speaker” for the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” in coming up with a new plan to also increase the debt limit, a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays that has put the beleaguered speaker in a bind.

The last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, worked for months with President Joe Biden to raise the debt limit. Even though they struck a bipartisan deal that cut spending in exchange for additional borrowing capacity, House Republicans said it didn’t go far enough, and it ended up costing McCarthy his job.

Now, Trump is looking for Johnson to pass a debt ceiling extension just hours before a partial government shutdown.

What are Democrats saying about the debt ceiling debate?

After meeting with his caucus, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected any possibility that his members would bail out Republicans as the shutdown threat looms.

“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check,” Jeffries posted Thursday on social media. “Hard pass.”

Jeffries and other Democrats say Republicans should honor the spending agreement that was negotiated before Trump got involved. He called the new GOP plan “laughable.”

Kinnard reported from Charleston, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

By THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

In the first major flex of his influence since Donald Trump was elected, Elon Musk brought to a sudden halt a bipartisan budget proposal by posting constantly on his X megaphone and threatening Republicans with primary challenges.

The social media warnings from the world’s wealthiest man preceded Trump’s condemnation of a measure negotiated by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, which effectively killed the stopgap measure that was designed to prevent a partial shutdown of the federal government.

Washington was scrambled a day after Musk’s public pressure campaign. Trump on Thursday declined to say if he had confidence in Johnson, telling NBC News, “We’ll see.” And there was no clear path to keeping the government open beyond Friday, raising the specter of a government shutdown heading into the holidays. Congressional Democrats mocked their GOP counterparts, with several suggesting Trump had been relegated to vice president.

“Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency,” Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California wrote on X.

What was clear, though, is Musk’s ascendance as a political force, a level of influence enabled by his great wealth. In addition to owning X, Musk is the CEO of Tesla and Space X.

“There is no doubt he does wield a lot of influence over Republicans right now due to his proximity to Trump,” said Chris Pack, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund.

But Pack also said that Musk’s threats pose potential risks for House Republicans, who begin next year with a five-seat majority that will shrink temporarily because of Trump’s nomination of some GOP lawmakers to administration posts.

“This isn’t going to help pass the agenda if you are going to cost a bunch of Republicans in very razor-thin moderate seats if you’re going to make them lose in primaries,” Pack said. “All that does is give the keys to these districts over to the Democrats.”

Musk spent an estimated $250 million during the presidential campaign to support Trump, contributing heavily to America PAC, a super political action committee that deployed canvassers, aired TV ads and reached voters digitally in battleground states. He had signaled after the election he was willing to back GOP primary challenges to Republican members of Congress seeking re-election in 2026 who waver on Trump’s appointments and agenda.

He renewed the threat pointedly Wednesday.

“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” he wrote on X. He also called it “one of the worst bills ever written.”

Musk wasn’t alone in fanning GOP anger against the bill, which included several compromise measures to get Democratic support in the Senate in the final weeks before Republicans take control of that chamber. Biotech entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is Musk’s partner leading the new Department of Government Efficiency, also posted against the bill, as did Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

Musk played down his role at times, suggesting after some praise online, “All I can do is bring things to the attention of the people, so they may voice their support if they so choose.” And the president-elect told NBC News that he had spoken to Musk prior to the Tesla CEO’s first posts.

“I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” Trump said.

Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary, pushed back against Democratic critics who suggested Musk was calling the shots.

“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view,” Leavitt said in a statement, referring to the continuing resolution. “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”

Throughout the day Wednesday, Musk replied to posts on X from Republican House members announcing opposition to the bill with words of thanks, and punctuating their public commitments.

And he took a victory lap after Trump came out against the bill: “The voice of the people was heard. This was a good day for America.”

He was responding to Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr’s post: “The phone was ringing off the hook today. And you know why? Because they were reading tweets…from Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.”

Conservative activists at the annual AmericaFest gathering in Phoenix cheered Musk Thursday and hailed the suggestion he could replace Johnson as speaker. There’s no requirement that the speaker be an elected member of the House of Representatives.

“Should Mike Johnson remain speaker of the House?” conservative media host Jack Posobiec asked his audience during a live taping of his talk show, prompting a chorus of “Noooooo!!!” from his audience.

Johnson had been scheduled to attend AmericaFest, but canceled after the budget deal fell apart.

“Should Elon Musk be speaker of the House?” Posobiec asked his audience, prompting cheers.

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press Bill Barrow contributed to this report from Phoenix.

By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Soccer Writer

U.S. women’s team forward Trinity Rodman has opened up about her strained relationship with father, Dennis Rodman, saying he is largely absent from her life.

“He’s not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else,” Trinity Rodman told host Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

Rodman said that growing up, her mother tried to shield her two children from the chaotic lifestyle of the former NBA star. Rodman’s mother, Michelle Moyer, divorced Dennis Rodman in 2012.

Trinity Rodman, who won a gold medal with the United States this summer at the Paris Olympics, has a brother, DJ Rodman, who currently plays in the NBA’s G League.

Dennis Rodman responded to his daughter on Instagram, saying he is sorry he “wasn’t the dad you wanted me to be” and said he tried to be a father and will keep trying.

“I will try even when it’s difficult and if it takes a long time. I’m always here And tell you all the time rather it’s your voice or voicemail how proud I am. I always had one wish and it was I wish my kids would call me and come see me. Hopefully one day I can get that,” he wrote in the post.

Trinity Rodman, who also plays for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League, recalled how her father showed up unannounced at a Spirit playoff game in 2021.

She hadn’t spoken to her father in months and was emotional during the game, then was photographed crying in his arms afterward.

“The whistle blew and I was so mad, like, ‘You took this happy moment from me. You (expletive) with my head again,’” she said on the podcast.

“I think after that was when I lost hope of ever getting him back. It was just like, he’s popping in whenever he’s going to be on a camera,” Trinity Rodman said. “Even at that game, I don’t think it was for me, I think he wanted to have a good conscience. and then be like, ‘Headline, Dennis Rodman showed up to his daughter’s game.’”

Trinity Rodman went on to win a title with the Spirit that year and was named NWSL Rookie of the Year. She said that after that game she didn’t speak to her father again until after the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Dennis Rodman won five NBA championships over a 14-year career. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

This is not about validation exactly. Still, it kind of is. For SMU and Penn State both.

And each side knows it.

When the 11th-seeded Mustangs (11-2) walk into wintry Beaver Stadium on Saturday to meet the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (11-2) in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, they know there’s more than a few people — particularly those that live in Alabama — who think they have no right to be there in the first place.

“I think we feel like not necessarily want to prove doubters wrong,” said safety Jonathan McGill, a graduate transfer from Stanford. “But I feel like we want to prove ourselves right more than anything. … We deserve to be at this stage and on this platform.”

A platform Penn State has finally reached after spending the last decade on the fringe of the playoff conversation but unable — thanks largely to nearly annual pratfalls against Ohio State — to actually butt in.

If the 12-team field had existed from the CFP’s inception, the Nittany Lions might have been a fixture. Only, the field was limited to four teams during its first 10 iterations. And despite finishing in the top 12 in the final CFP ranking a half-dozen times before 2024, they never saw “Penn State” pop up on the bracket until the selection committee gave them a home game against a program that’s gotten awfully comfortable awfully quickly at upending the status quo.

The Nittany Lions are wary to be sure. They also believe they are primed for a breakthrough that feels long overdue during coach James Franklin’s solid if not wildly successful — by Penn State’s exacting standards anyway — 11-year tenure.

“Something we always talk about is ‘Win the national championship, get in the playoffs’ and now we’re here,” said defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. “We have this opportunity. We got to do everything in our power to make sure we take advantage.”

The winner earns a trip to Arizona on New Year’s Eve to face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, this year a CFP quarterfinal. To get there, the Mustangs will have to survive the elements — temperatures are expected to hover in the mid-20s with the wind chill dipping lower than that — and a massive white-clad crowd eager for catharsis.

“Everybody’s against us,” Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings said. “It’s supposed be like 100,000 people there and everybody just booing you. So probably one of the best feelings in the world, just going in and be able to upset a talented team.”

Agent Carter

If Jennings and the rest of SMU’s up-tempo offense wants to pull off a stunner, they will have to do what few have done this fall: stop Carter.

The junior, who moved from outside linebacker to defensive end this season, ranked third in the FBS with 19 1/2 tackles for loss and his 10 sacks tied for the Big Ten lead. While he’s not keeping particularly close tabs on what honors come his way, he admitted getting “snubbed” for the Nagurski Award — given annually to the best defensive player in the country — adding more fuel to a fire that’s ever-present.

“Did some pushups that night,” Carter said. “Maxed out. I just use as motivation, I try not to get discouraged. I still feel like I’m the best defensive player, but not just defensive player. I feel like I’m the best player in general.”

Punishing Ponies

Lost in the glare Jennings provides is the play of an SMU defense that allows just 20.8 points per game and has racked up 40 sacks, which coach Rhett Lashlee pointed to as proof his Mustangs are more well-rounded than they’ve been given credit for in some circles.

It helps that the Mustangs are willing to play with physicality, something SMU will need to rely on against the bigger, deeper Nittany Lions and an offense featuring do-everything tight end Tyler Warren.

“We take pride in that,” safety Isaiah Nwokobia said. “Obviously you’re going to have your bangs, your bruises, it’s going to hurt. It’s football, man. But we love it.”

Beau’s a ‘no go’

Penn State will be without backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who made what he called an “impossible decision” to enter the transfer portal in search of other opportunities in 2025.

Franklin supported Pribula’s choice while also bemoaning the timing of the winter transfer portal window, which left the Nittany Lions without a player who had been effective in certain packages designed to maximize his mobility.

Freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer takes over behind starter Drew Allar, though its uncertain whether Grunkemeyer — who has yet to take a snap — will see the field.

“Grunk’s done a really good job, and put himself in a position,” Franklin said. “We have a lot of confidence in him.”

Return trip

This is the second year in a row in the playoff for SMU’s Matt Hibner. He played primarily on special teams the past three seasons at Michigan, but has emerged as a tight end for the Mustangs. The 6-foot-5, 254-pounder has 20 catches for 299 yards and four touchdowns over the past five games.

“We thought he was this kind of a player,” Lashlee said. “We always felt like he was an all-around, every-down player and that he could really help us in the run game where we needed a boost, but also could still make plays.”

___

AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Dallas and Associated Press writer Travis Johnson in State College, Pa. contributed to this report.

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.

Trump’s sudden entrance into the debate and new demands sent Congress spiraling as lawmakers are trying to wrap up work and head home for the holidays. It leaves Johnson scrambling to engineer a new plan before Friday’s deadline to keep government open.

“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH,” Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.

The president-elect made an almost unrealistic proposal that combined the some continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the nation’s debt limit — something his own party routinely rejects. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” they wrote.

Democrats decried the GOP revolt over the stopgap measure, which would have also provided some $100 billion in disaster aid to states hammered by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“And hurt the working class Americans they claim to support. You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow.”

Already, the massive 1,500-page bill was on the verge of collapse, as hard right conservatives rejected the increased spending, egged on by Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk who rejected the plan almost as soon as it was released late Tuesday night.

Rank-and-file lawmakers complained about the extra spending — which includes their first pay-raises in more than a decade — a shock after one of the most unproductive chaotic session in modern times. A number of Republicans were waiting for Trump to signal whether they should vote yes or no.

Even the addition of much-needed disaster aid, some $100.4 billion in the aftermath of hurricanes and other natural calamities that ravaged states this year, plus $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers failed to win over the budget-slashing GOP.

“This should not pass,” Musk posted on his social media site X in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

The outcome comes as no surprise for Johnson, who like other Republican House speakers before him, has been unable to convince his majority to go along with the routine needs of federal government operations, which they would prefer to slash.

It all shows just how hard it will be for Republicans next year, as they seize control of the House, Senate and White House, to unify and lead the nation. And it underscores how much Johnson and the GOP leaders must depend on Trump’s blessing to see any legislative package over the finish line.

“What does President Trump want Republicans to do: vote for the CR or shut down government? Absent direction, confusion reigns,” said retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, in a sly post on X.

Musk, who is heading the his new Department of Government Efficiency was leading the charge against it, warned that “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!”

It’s not an idle threat coming from Musk, the world’s richest man, who helped bankroll Trump’s victory and can easily use his America PAC to make or break political careers.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said this is the problem with “an oligarchy a handful of wealthy people run everything and everyone is supposed to live in fear of them; and their wealth becomes an instrument of coercive power over everything.”

Democrats, who negotiated the final product with Johnson and Senate GOP leadership, will be expected to provide enough support to help Johnson ensure passage, as is often the case on big bills. Federal government funding runs out at midnight Friday.

“The sooner Congress acts, the better,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The final package extends existing government programs and services at their current operating levels for a few more months, through March 14, 2025.

The stopgap measure is needed because Congress has failed to pass its annual appropriations bills to fund all the various agencies in the federal government, from the Pentagon and national security apparats, to the health, welfare, transportation and other routine domestic services. When the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30, Congress simply punted the problem by passing a temporary funding bill that expires Friday.

But the inches-thick bill goes beyond routine funding and tacks on several other measures that lawmakers are trying to push through to passage before the end of this congressional session, especially as some elected officials will not be returning in the new year.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a called it essentially a junk sandwich, using a swear word. The chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said a lot of lawmakers “are a little disappointed at how this last week has worked out.”

And then there’s the pay-raise.

Some lawmakers expressed concern that the bill turns off a pay freeze provision that was included in the previous short-term spending measure. That change could allow a maximum pay adjustment of 3.8% or $6,600 in 2025, bringing their annual pay to $180,600, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Members of Congress last got a raise in 2009, when the salary was increased 2.8% to $174,000 annually. If member pay had not been frozen since 2009, salaries would be about $217,900.

When adjusted for inflation, salaries have decreased about 31% from 2009, the research report said.

“By what measure do we deserve a pay increase?” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.

Among other provisions in the package, there’s full federal funding to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when struck by a cargo ship that reported losing power just before the crash. Federal taxpayers will be reimbursed through proceeds from insurance payments and litigation.

And there’s also a provision to transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which could potentially lead to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders.

On the health care front, the legislation seeks to extend coverage of telehealth appointments for Medicare enrollees and rein in how much money pharmacy benefits managers — the companies that negotiate how and what drugs are covered by insurance plans — make off those deals.

The bill also includes provisions focused on countering China, including expanding on President Joe Biden’s executive order that seeks to restrict investments into countries that pose a national security threat to the United States. Blocking China’s high-tech ambitions is one of the few issues that enjoys broad support in Washington from both Republicans and Democrats.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense is expected to face his first public questioning from U.S. senators on Jan. 14.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters Wednesday that the committee is planning to hold Pete Hegseth’s hearing in mid-January as the former Fox News host and veteran has visited Senate offices in an effort to rally Republicans around him. Some senators have questioned his fitness for the role amid allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct.

Hegseth has told senators that he wouldn’t drink while defense secretary and pushed back on the reports of misbehavior, and Trump has publicly boosted his nomination, posting on his social media platform last week that “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Hegseth also attended the Army-Navy football game with the president-elect over the weekend.

More confirmation hearings are expected after the new Republican Senate is sworn in on Jan. 3 and Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he wants to confirm Trump’s cabinet as quickly as possible once Trump is in office.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will consider South Carolina’s move to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, the latest abortion-related case since the justices overturned Roe v. Wade.

The court agreed to take up the state’s appeal of a lower-court ruling focused on whether Medicaid patients can sue over their right to choose their own qualified provider. The case will be argued in the spring.

South Carolina moved in 2018 to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood. The organization uses Medicaid funding for family planning health services rather than abortions, but Gov. Henry McMaster said any public money sent there “results in the subsidy of abortion.”

Medicaid does not pay for abortion except in cases when a pregnant woman’s life is at risk or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Planned Parenthood has previously said it gets less than $100,000 in South Carolina, one of many conservative-leaning states that sought to halt or reduce public funding for the nation’s largest U.S. abortion provider.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the move after a challenge from the organization and a patient. It found that federal law lets Medicaid patients choose their providers, and sue if necessary.

Planned Parenthood’s medical services include birth control, cancer screenings and STD testing as well as abortions. Its two clinics in South Carolina serve hundreds of patients a year covered by Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that covers health services for low-income people.

South Carolina now bans abortion around six weeks of pregnancy, or when cardiac activity is detected, with limited exceptions. Most Republican-controlled states have move to restrict it since the high court overturned constitutional protections for abortion in 2022.

“South Carolina is free to use its limited funding to subsidize life-affirming care,” said John Bursch, an attorney with the group Alliance Defending Freedom who is representing the state. Other appeals courts have differed from the 4th Circuit, making it more important for the Supreme Court to take up the issue, he said.

Planned Parenthood had urged the court not to take up the case, saying in court papers that its affiliates “provide essential medical care to low-income individuals” and the law clearly gives patients the right to sue if cut off from accessing it.

The case is “politics at its worst,” Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said in a statement. Black’s organization operates the South Carolina clinics.

“Everyone should be able to access quality, affordable health care from a provider they trust,” she said.

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 17, the 352nd day of 2024. There are 14 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conducted the first successful manned, powered airplane flights near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.

Also on this date:

In 1933, in the inaugural NFL championship football game, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants, 23-21, at Wrigley Field.

In 1944, the U.S. Army’s Western Defense Command rescinded orders to incarcerate people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast during World War II; more than 110,000 men, woman and children of Japanese ancestry, about two-thirds of whom were American citizens, had been forced into camps and held by armed guards following a February 1942 executive order by President Franklin Roosevelt.

In 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced in Sacramento, California, to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was paroled in August 2009.)

In 1979, Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance broker and former Marine, was beaten by police after leading them on a chase with his motorcycle in Miami. McDuffie died in a hospital four days later. (Four white police officers accused of beating McDuffie were acquitted the following year, sparking riots in the city that led to several deaths and millions of dollars in damages.)

In 1989, the animated television show ‘The Simpsons’ made its debut.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies.

In 2014, the United States and communist Cuba restored diplomatic relations after decades of mutual animosity, sweeping away one of the last vestiges of the Cold War.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 94.
• Pope Francis is 88.
• Actor Ernie Hudson is 79.
• Political commentator Chris Matthews is 79.
• Comedian-actor Eugene Levy is 78.
• Actor Wes Studi is 77.
• Rock singer Paul Rodgers is 75.
• Actor Bill Pullman is 71.
• Filmmaker Peter Farrelly is 68.
• Rock musician Mike Mills (R.E.M.) is 66.
• Country singer Tracy Byrd is 58.
• Actor Laurie Holden is 55.
• Actor Claire Forlani is 53.
• Filmmaker Rian Johnson is 51.
• Actor Sarah Paulson is 50.
• Actor Giovanni Ribisi is 50.
• Actor Milla Jovovich (YO’-vuh-vich) is 49.
• Boxer Manny Pacquiao is 46.
• Actor-singer Nat Wolff is 30.

DETROIT (AP) — Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three 3-pointers in overtime to help the Detroit Pistons end the Miami Heat’s four-game winning streak with a 125-124 victory on Monday night.

Cade Cunningham had 20 points, a career-high 18 assists and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, his sixth triple-double of the season. Jimmy Butler had 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for Miami.

Malik Beasley led the Pistons with 28 points and went 7 of 13 on 3-pointers.

Miami trailed by 19 points in the second half, but finished regulation on an 18-2 run before scoring the first eight points of overtime.

Hardaway’s first two 3s pulled Detroit within 122-120 with 1:35 left in OT. After Tyler Herro missed an off-balance jumper, Hardaway hit another 3 to put the Pistons ahead 123-122.

Butler and Cunningham traded baskets before Herro missed again with 19 seconds to play. A turnover gave Miami one more chance, but Herro missed a 3 at the buzzer.

The Pistons, who had lost four of five, shot 50% (20 of 40) from 3-point range.

Takeaways

Heat: Herro went 4 of 17 from long range, extending his streak to 58 games with at least one 3 — the second-longest run in franchise history. Duncan Robinson holds the record with a 69-game streak.

Pistons: Detroit played without Jaden Ivey (knee) and Tobias Harris (thumb), then lost Isaiah Stewart in the first half to a hyperextended left knee. That meant playing time for Paul Reed.

Key moment

The Pistons outscored Miami 11-2 in the first four minutes of the second half.

Key stat

Butler became the third player in NBA history to finish with at least 35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals in a game. The others were DeMarcus Cousins in 2018 and George McInnis in 1976.

Up next

Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Friday.

Pistons: Host Utah on Thursday.

— By DAVE HOGG, Associated Press

By ERIC OLSON
The Associated Press

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of Colorado was a first-team selection at two spots and a second-team pick at another on The Associated Press All-America team announced Monday.

Hunter and Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts were repeat first-team selections, and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty was the only unanimous pick after he posted one of the highest single-season rushing totals in college football history.

A total of 24 schools are represented on the first team, selected by a panel of AP Top 25 voters. Texas and Miami had two players apiece on the first team.

Michigan offensive lineman Mason Graham made the first team after making the second team a year ago. Offensive lineman Addison West is the first Western Michigan player to make the first team since receiver Corey Davis in 2016.

Hunter, named the AP player of the year last week, is regarded as one of the greatest two-way college athletes since football shifted away from such players in the 1940s. He was named first-team cornerback, first-team all-purpose player and second-team receiver.

The junior from Suwanee, Georgia, has totaled 1,443 snaps on offense, defense and special teams over 12 games, according to Pro Football Focus. He played at least 120 snaps in 10 games, including a season-high 170 against Texas Tech on Nov. 9. His snaps were limited in two other games because of injury.

Hunter, who announced last month he would enter the 2025 NFL draft, said he would play in Colorado’s game against BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.

As a receiver, Hunter finished the regular season ranking among the national leaders with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 21 catches that went 20-plus yards lead the country.

As a cornerback, he made 31 tackles and was among the national leaders with 11 pass breakups and four interceptions. His biggest defensive play came in the Buffaloes’ overtime win over Baylor when his hard hit on Dominic Richardson near the goal line forced a fumble on the final play.

Notre Dame’s Watts has five interceptions, tied for most among safeties, and he’s responsible for six of the Irish’s nation-leading 28 takeaways. Against Southern California, he became the first Notre Dame player to return an interception 100 yards. His 12 career picks are most by a Notre Dame player since 1996.

Boise State’s Jeanty has run for 2,497 yards, the fourth-most ever in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and he went over 200 yards in six games. His 29 rushing touchdowns are tied for the national lead.

First-team All-Americans (by conference)

SEC — 6

ACC — 5

Big Ten — 5

Big 12 — 4

MAC — 3

Mountain West — 2

Sun Belt — 1

Independent — 1

First-team offense

Wide receivers — Nick Nash, San Jose State, senior, 6-3, 195, Irvine, California; Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona, junior, 6-5, 212, Waimanalo, Hawaii; Xavier Restrepo, Miami, senior, 5-10, 198, Coconut Creek, Florida.

Tackles — Kelvin Banks, Texas, junior, 6-3, 320, Humble, Texas; Will Campbell, LSU, junior, 6-6, 323, Monroe, Louisiana.

Guards — Addison West, Western Michigan, senior, 6-3, 305, Cary, Illinois; Willie Lampkin, North Carolina, senior, 5-11, 290, Lakeland, Florida.

Center — Jake Slaughter, Florida, junior, 6-5, 308, Sparr Florida.

Tight end — Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green, junior, 6-4, 230, Canton, Ohio.

Quarterback — Cam Ward, Miami, senior, 6-2, 223, West Columbia, Texas.

Running backs — u-Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, junior, 5-9, 215, Jacksonville, Florida; Cam Skattebo, Arizona State, senior, 5-11, 215, Rio Linda, California.

Kicker — Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana-Lafayette, senior, 6-2, 252, Clute, Texas.

All-purpose — Travis Hunter, Colorado, junior, 6-1, 185, Suwanee, Georgia.

First-team defense

Edge rushers — Abdul Carter, Penn State, junior, 6-3, 252, Philadelphia; Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College, senior, 6-2, 247, Williamstown, New Jersey.

Interior linemen — Mason Graham, Michigan, junior, 6-3, 320, Mission Viejo, California; Walter Nolen, Mississippi, junior, 6-3, 305, Powell, Tennessee.

Linebackers — Jay Higgins, Iowa, senior, 6-2, 232, Indianapolis; Shaun Dolac, Buffalo, graduate, 6-1, 225, West Seneca, New York; Carson Schwesinger, UCLA, junior, 6-2, 225, Moorpark, California.

Cornerbacks — Jahdae Barron, Texas, senior, 5-11, 200, Austin, Texas; Travis Hunter, Colorado, junior, 6-1, 185, Suwanee, Georgia.

Safeties — Xavier Watts, Notre Dame, graduate, 6-0, 203, Omaha, Nebraska; Caleb Downs, Ohio State, sophomore, 6-0, 205, Hoschton, Georgia.

Defensive back — Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina, junior, 6-3, 227, Irmo, South Carolina.

Punter — Alex Mastromanno, Florida State, senior, 6-1, 241, Melbourne, Australia.

Second

-team offense

Wide receivers — Travis Hunter, Colorado, junior, 6-1, 185, Suwanee, Georgia; Tre Harris, Mississippi, senior, 6-3, 210, Lafayette, Louisiana; Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, freshman, 6-3, 215, Miami Gardens, Florida.

Tackles — Spencer Fano, Utah, sophomore, 6-5, 304, Spanish Fork, Utah; Wyatt Milum, West Virginia, senior, 6-6, 317, Kenova, West Virginia.

Guards — Tyler Booker, Alabama, junior, 6-5, 325, New Haven, Connecticut; Donovan Jackson, Ohio State, senior, 6-4, 320, Cypress, Texas, and Dylan Fairchild, Georgia, junior, 6-5, 315, Cumming, Georgia.

Center — Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State, graduate, 6-4, 305, Buford, Georgia.

Tight end — Tyler Warren, Penn State, senior, 6-6, 261, Mechanicsville, Virginia.

Quarterback — Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, senior, 6-2, 215, Dallas.

Running backs — Omarion Hampton, North Carolina, junior, 6-0, 220, Clayton, North Carolina; Kaleb Johnson, Iowa, junior, 6-0, 225, Hamilton, Ohio.

Kicker — Dominic Zvada, Michigan, junior 6-3, 180, Chandler, Arizona, and Alex Raynor, Kentucky, senior, 6-0, 185, Kennesaw, Georgia.

All-purpose — Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh, junior, 5-8, 175, Miami Gardens, Florida.

Second-team defense

Edge rushers — Kyle Kennard, South Carolina, senior, 6-5, 254, Atlanta; Mike Green, Marshall, sophomore, 6-4, 238, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Interior linemen — Derrick Harmon, Oregon, junior, 6-5, 310, Detroit; Alfred Collins, Texas, senior, 6-5, 320, Bastrop, Texas.

Linebackers — Anthony Hill Jr., Texas, sophomore, 6-3, 235, Denton, Texas; Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma, senior, 6-4, 243, Windermere, Florida; Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh, sophomore, 6-0, 225, East Orange, New Jersey.

Cornerbacks — Nohl Williams, California, senior, 6-1, 200, Oxnard, California; Jermod McCoy, Tennessee, sophomore, 6-0, 193, Whitehouse, Texas.

Safeties — Malaki Starks, Georgia, junior, 6-1, 205, Jefferson, Georgia; Malachi Moore, Alabama, graduate, 6-0, 201, Trussville, Alabama.

Defensive back — Michael Taaffe, Texas, junior, 6-0, 195, Austin, Texas.

Punter — Brett Thorson, Georgia, junior, 6-2, 235, Melbourne, Australia.

Third-team offense

Wide receivers — Tai Felton, Maryland, senior, 6-2, 186, Ashburn, Virginia; Jayden Higgins, Iowa State, senior, 6-4, 215, South Miami, Florida; Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State, sophomore, 6-1, 195, Allen, Texas and Eric Rivers, Florida International, senior, 5-11, 174, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Tackles — Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon, junior, 6-4, 315, Seattle; Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota, senior, 6-3, 330, Kansas City, Missouri.

Guards — Tate Ratledge, Georgia, senior, 6-6, 330, Rome, Georgia; Paolo Gennarelli, Army, sophomore, 6-1, 310, Campton Hills, Illinois.

Center — Jacob Gardner, Colorado State, graduate, 6-4, 300, Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Tight end — Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse, junior, 6-5, 236, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Quarterback — Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, graduate, 6-0, 200, Mililani, Hawaii.

Running backs — Dylan Sampson, Tennessee; junior, 5-11, 201, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; RJ Harvey, UCF, senior, 5-9, 208, Orlando, Florida.

Kicker — Ryan Fitzgerald, Florida State., senior, 6-1, 190, Coolidge, Georgia.

All-purpose — Brashard Smith, SMU, 5-10, 196, senior, Richmond Heights, Florida.

Third-team defense

Edge rushers — Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Virginia Tech, senior, 6-3, 252, Portsmouth, Virginia; Mikail Kamara, Indiana, junior, 6-1, 265, Ashburn, Virginia.

Interior linemen — Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech, graduate, 6-1, 290, Raleigh, North Carolina; Kenneth Grant, Michigan, junior, 6-3, 339, Gary, Indiana.

Linebackers — Chris Paul Jr., Mississippi, junior, 6-1, 235, Cordele, Georgia; Barrett Carter, Clemson, senior, 6-1, 230, Suwanee, Georgia; Jalon Walker, Georgia, junior, 6-2, 245, Salisbury, North Carolina.

Cornerbacks — Chandler Rivers, Duke, junior, 5-10, 180, Beaumont, Texas; Will Johnson, Michigan, junior, 6-2, 202, Detroit.

Safeties — Lathan Ransom, Ohio State, graduate, 6-1, 210, Tucson, Arizona; Jalen Catalon, UNLV, senior, 5-11, 205, Mansfield, Texas.

Defensive back — Mello Dotson, Kansas, senior, 6-1, 190, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Punter — Eddie Czaplicki, Southern California, senior, 6-1, 207, Charlotte, North Carolina.

By LARRY LAGE
The Associated Press

ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions are coming off their first loss in three months.

“This is not time to freak out and panic and start acting like things are worse than they are,” coach Dan Campbell said Monday.

Campbell, though, doesn’t like that Detroit gave up 48 points in a six-point loss to the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills on its home turf.

“Losing is one thing, it’s also how we lost that puts a bad taste in your mouth,” he said.

Detroit (12-2) lost more than its franchise-record 11-game winning streak against Buffalo.

The Lions’ long list of injured players now includes running back David Montgomery, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, cornerback Carlton Davis and special teams ace Khalil Dorsey.

Campbell said Montgomery and McNeill, two of the team’s best players, need to have season-ending knee surgeries after both were hurt in the loss to the Bills. Dorsey had season-ending surgery Sunday night after breaking his leg against Buffalo. Davis is out indefinitely with a jaw injury.

The Lions, who still have hopes of defending their NFC North title and earning the top seed in the conference playoffs, play at Chicago on Sunday.

“I’m sure there will be a ton of stuff written about the sky falling, but no, internally, we’re good,” Jared Goff said after matching a career high and team record with five touchdown passes and throwing for 494 yards against Buffalo. “We would’ve loved to win every game out, all the way through the Super Bowl.

“I hope we can look back on this one as a good learning lesson for us and move on and use some of the stuff that we learned in this game to help us win these next three before we hit the playoffs.”

After traveling to play the Bears, the Lions will play at San Francisco the following week before closing the season at home against rival Minnesota, perhaps with the division title at stake.

What’s working

Scoring. The NFL’s top-scoring team scored 40-plus points for the fifth time, matching the 1952 team’s franchise record.

What needs help

Hurry-up offense. The Lions had slim odds of coming back to beat Buffalo, but they did not have a sense of urgency on their, 16-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by a touchdown to pull within six points.

“No excuse for that,” Campbell said. “That’ll be something that we talk about.”

Stock up

Tim Patrick. Detroit didn’t know who its No. 3 receiver would be after letting Josh Reynolds leave in free agency. Patrick has been the answer. After missing the previous two seasons with injuries, he has 31 receptions for 379 yards, and his three touchdowns have come in the last two games.

Stock down

Frank Ragnow. The three-time Pro Bowl center was called for holding twice against Buffalo. He was also part of an offensive line that didn’t create many holes for running backs and allowed Goff to get sacked three times after giving up a total of two sacks over the previous two games.

Injuries

The impact of the season-ending injuries to Montgomery, McNeill and Dorsey could be massive.

“Nobody cares,” Campbell said. “Nobody is going to give us a pass, or put an asterisk next to your record.”

Key number

8 — When McNeill is put on injured reserve, he will become the eighth Lions defensive lineman to be on the list no one wants to be on.

Next steps

Campbell plans to put his team through some relatively tough practices this week to find out who can fill in for injured players, particularly McNeill and Davis.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden is closing the book on her teaching career at a Virginia community college.

The first lady, who has taught in classrooms for 40 years, announced Monday that she had taught her final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria. The surprise announcement came during a virtual “thank you” event with teachers tuning in from around the country.

“Being your first lady has been the honor of my life. But being your colleague has been the work of my life,” she said. “Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College.”

“I will always love this profession, which is why I continued to teach full time while serving as your first lady,” said Jill Biden, who has taught English and writing at NOVA for 15 years. She was the first woman to continue her professional career outside the White House while serving the United States as first lady.

The announcement comes as she and President Joe Biden are preparing to leave the White House in a little over five weeks after the Democrat dropped his bid for reelection after he performed poorly in a debate against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over the summer.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris succeeded Biden on the ticket, but lost the presidential race to Trump, who is set to be inaugurated to a second term on Jan. 20.

Jill Biden started teaching English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College in 2009 after Barack Obama and Joe Biden were elected president and vice president. She continued to teach there after he left office in 2017, riding the train down from their home in Delaware.

She often said, “teaching isn’t what I do, it’s who I am.”

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By JULIE CARR SMYTH

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Before the November presidential election, Ohio’s secretary of state and attorney general announced investigations into potential voter fraud that included people suspected of casting ballots even though they were not U.S. citizens.

It coincided with a national Republican messaging strategy warning that potentially thousands of ineligible voters would be voting.

“The right to vote is sacred,” Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said in a statement at the time. “If you’re not a U.S. citizen, it’s illegal to vote -– whether you thought you were allowed to or not. You will be held accountable.”

In the end, their efforts led to just a handful of cases. Of the 621 criminal referrals for voter fraud that Secretary of State Frank LaRose sent to the attorney general, prosecutors have secured indictments against nine people for voting as noncitizens over the span of 10 years — and one was later found to have died. That total is a tiny fraction of Ohio’s 8 million registered voters and the tens of millions of ballots cast during that period.

The outcome and the stories of some of those now facing charges illustrate the gap — both in Ohio and across the United States — between the rhetoric about noncitizen voting and the reality: It’s rare, is caught and prosecuted when it does happen and does not occur as part of a coordinated scheme to throw elections.

The Associated Press attended in-person and virtual court hearings for three of the Ohio defendants over the past two weeks. Each of the cases involved people with long ties to their community who acted alone, often under a mistaken impression they were eligible to vote. They now find themselves facing felony charges and possible deportation.

Among them is Nicholas Fontaine, a 32-year-old precision sheet metal worker from Akron. He was indicted in October on one count of illegal voting, a fourth-degree felony.

Fontaine is a Canadian-born permanent resident who moved to the U.S. with his mother and sister when he was 2 years old. He is facing a possible jail term and deportation on allegations that he voted in the 2016 and 2018 elections.

He recalls being a college student when he was approached on the street about registering to vote.

“I think in my young teenage brain, I thought, ‘Well, I have to sign up for the draft, I should be able to vote,’” Fontaine said in an interview.

Permanent residents such as Fontaine are just one of several categories of immigrants who must register for a potential military draft through the Selective Service but who cannot legally vote.

Fontaine said he received a postcard from the local board of elections in 2016 informing him of his polling place. He voted without issue. He even showed his ID before receiving his ballot.

“No problems. Went in, voted, turned my voter stuff in, that was it,” he said. “There was no, like, ‘Hey, there’s an issue here,’ or, ‘There’s a thing here.’ Just, here’s your paper (ballot).”

Fontaine said a Department of Homeland Security official visited him at his home in either 2018 or 2019, alerted him to the fact that his votes in 2016 and 2018 had been illegal and warned him not to vote again. Since then, he never has. That’s one reason why his indictment this fall came as a shock.

He said he never received notice that he was indicted and missed his court hearing in early December, being informed of the charges only when an AP reporter knocked on his door after the scheduled hearing and told him.

Fontaine said he was raised in a household where his American stepfather taught him the value of voting. He said he would never have cast an illegal vote intentionally.

“I don’t know any person, even like Americans I’ve talked to about voting, who would consider illegally voting for any reason,” he said. “Like, why would you do that? It doesn’t make sense. They’re going to find out — clearly, they’re going to find out. And it’s turning one vote into two. Even doing that, can you get a hundred? There’s how many millions of voters in America?”

Faith Lyon, the Portage County election director, said local officials in the county where Fontaine is charged would not have had any way to independently verify his immigration status. Each voter registration form includes a checkbox asking whether a person is a U.S. citizen or not and explaining that people cannot vote unless they are, she said.

In two other illegal voting cases moving through the Ohio courts, the defendants left that box unchecked, according to their lawyers, believing the omission would result in the election board not registering them if they were indeed ineligible. Yet they were registered anyway, and now face criminal prosecution for voting.

A day before Fontaine’s scheduled hearing, one of those defendants, 40-year-old Fiona Allen, wept outside a Cleveland courtroom when a public defender explained the charges she faced.

She had moved to the U.S. from Jamaica nine years ago. After turning in the voter registration form and receiving her registration, Allen voted in 2020, 2022 and 2023, prosecutors say. The mother of two, including a son in the U.S. Navy, and her husband of 13 years, a naturalized citizen who also is a serviceman, declined to comment at the courthouse. Allen has pleaded not guilty.

Another, 78-year-old Lorinda Miller, appeared before a judge over Zoom last week. She appeared shell-shocked about facing charges.

Her attorney said Miller, who arrived in the U.S. from Canada as a child, is affiliated with an Indigenous tribe that issued her paperwork identifying her as “a citizen of North America.” She was told that was sufficient to allow her to register and vote. She’s even been called for jury duty, said lawyer Reid Yoder.

He plans to take the case to trial after Miller pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“I think the integrity of the vote should be protected, wholeheartedly,” Yoder said. “I think the intent of the law is to punish people who defrauded the system. That is not my client. To really defraud the system, you have to know you’re doing it. My client’s nothing like that. She believes in the sanctity of the vote, which is why she participated. She didn’t know she was doing anything wrong.”

The Ohio cases are just one example of what is true nationally — that the narrative of widespread numbers of immigrants without the necessary legal documents registering to vote and then voting is simply not backed up by the facts, said Jay Young, senior director of the Voting and Democracy Program for Common Cause.

State voter rolls are cleaned regularly, he said, and the penalties for casting an illegal ballot as a noncitizen are severe: fines, the potential for a prison sentence and deportation.

He said the role of such immigrants and their potential to sway the election “was the most enduring false narrative that we saw throughout this election.” But he also said it served a purpose, to keep the country divided and sow distrust in the election system.

“If your guy doesn’t win or you’re a candidate that doesn’t win, you have an excuse that you can tell yourself to justify it,” he said.

Associated Press writer Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.

By COLLEEN LONG and JILL COLVIN

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said in a far-ranging news conference that ihe would consider pardoning embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams. Separately he called on the Biden administration to stop selling off unused portions of border wall that were purchased but not installed during his first administration.

“Yeah I would,” consider pardoning Adams, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, before saying that he was not familiar with the specifics of the charges Adam is facing.

Adams is facing federal fraud and corruption charges,, accused of accepting flight upgrades and other luxury travel perks valued at $100,000 along with illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence. Multiple members of his administration have also come under investigation.

Speaking at his first press conference since winning the election, Trump also threatened legal action against the Biden administration over sales of portions of border wall, saying he has spoken to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other Texas officials about a potential restraining order.

“We’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on building the same wall we already have,” Trump said. “It’s almost a criminal act.”

Congress last year required the Biden administration to dispose of the unused border wall pieces. The measure, included in the massive National Defense Authorization Act, allows for the sale or donation of the items to states on the southern border, providing they are used to refurbish existing barriers, not install new ones. Congress also directed the Pentagon to account for storage costs for the border wall material while it has gone unused.

“I’m asking today, Joe Biden, to please stop selling the wall,” Trump said.

While Trump described the handover between Biden and his incoming team as “a friendly transition,” he also took issue with efforts to allow some members of the federal workforce to continue working from home. Trump said that if government workers don’t come back into the office under him, they will be dismissed.

Trump was joined at the appearance by SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son, who announced that the Japanese company is planning to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years.

It was a win for Trump, who has used the weeks since the election to promote his policies, negotiate with foreign leaders and try to strike deals.

In a post on his Truth Social site last week, Trump had said that anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.”

“GET READY TO ROCK!!!” he wrote.

Deals announced with much fanfare have sometimes failed to deliver on promised investments. But the announcement nonetheless represents a major win for Trump, who has boasted that he has done more in his short transition period than his predecessor did in all four years.

“There’s a whole light over the entire world,” he said Monday. “There’s a light shining over the world.”

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans hoping for lower borrowing costs for homes, credit cards and cars may be disappointed after this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed’s policymakers are likely to signal fewer interest rate cuts next year than were previously expected.

The officials are set to reduce their benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, by a quarter-point to about 4.3% when their meeting ends Wednesday. At that level, the rate would be a full point below the four-decade high it reached in July 2023. The policymakers had kept their key rate at its peak for more than a year to try to quell inflation, until slashing the rate by a half-point in September and a quarter-point last month.

The problem is that while inflation has dropped far below its peak of 9.1% in mid-2022, it remains stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target. As a result, the Fed, led by Chair Jerome Powell, is expected Wednesday to signal a shift to a more gradual approach to rate cuts in 2025. Economists say that after cutting rates for three straight meetings, the central bank will likely do so at every other gathering, or possibly even less often than that.

“We’re on the cusp of a transition to them not cutting every meeting,” said David Wilcox, a former senior Fed official who is an economist with Bloomberg Economics and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “They’re going to slow the tempo of cuts.”

The economy has fared better than officials expected it would as recently as September. And inflation pressures have proved more persistent. The presidential election added a wild card, too: President-elect Donald Trump has promised to enact policies — from much higher taxes on imports to mass deportations of people living illegally in the United States — that most economists say threaten to accelerate inflation.

“Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming in a little higher,” Powell said recently. “So the good news is, we can afford to be a little more cautious” as the Fed’s officials seek to lower rates to what they consider a “neutral” level — one that neither spurs nor restricts growth.

On Wednesday, the policymakers will also issue their quarterly projections for growth, inflation, unemployment and their benchmark interest rate over the next three years. In September, they had collectively envisioned that they’d cut rates four times next year. Economists now expect just two or three Fed rate cuts in 2025. Wall Street traders foresee even fewer: Just two cuts, according to futures prices.

Fewer rate cuts by the Fed would mean that households and businesses would continue to face loan rates, notably for home mortgages, that would far exceed their levels before inflation began surging more than three years ago.

Some economists question whether the Fed even needs to cut this week. Inflation, excluding volatile food and energy costs, has been stuck at an annual rate of about 2.8% since March. A year ago, the policymakers had forecast that that figure would have fallen to 2.4% by now and that they’d have cut their key rate by three-quarters of a point. Instead, inflation has become stuck at a higher level, yet the Fed after Wednesday’s meeting will likely have lowered its benchmark rate by a cumulative full point.

Fed officials, including Powell, have said they still foresee inflation heading lower, however slowly, while their key rate is still high enough to restrain growth. As a result, reducing rates this week is more akin to letting up on a brake than stepping on an accelerator.

The potential for major changes to tax, spending and immigration policies under Trump is another reason for the Fed to take a more cautious approach. Former Fed economists say the central bank’s staff has likely begun factoring the effects of Trump’s proposed corporate tax cuts into their economic analyses, but not his proposed tariffs or deportations, because those two policies are too difficult to assess without details.

Tara Sinclair, an economist at George Washington University who is a former Treasury Department official, suggested that the uncertainty surrounding whether Trump’s policy changes will keep inflation elevated — and necessitating higher rates — could also lead the Fed to cut rates more gradually, if at all.

“It seems easier to explain not cutting than to find themselves in a position where they would have to raise rates in this political environment,” Sinclair said.

Powell has said the Fed is seeking to lower its rate to the so-called “neutral” level. Yet there is wide disagreement among the policymakers about how high that rate is. Many economists peg it at 3% to 3.5%. Some economists think it could be higher.

And Richard Clarida, a former vice chair of the Fed who is a managing director at PIMCO, said that if inflation becomes stuck above the Fed’s target level, then the policymakers will likely keep rates above the neutral level.

During the July-September quarter, the economy expanded at a solid 2.8% annual rate. On Tuesday, the government will report the November retail sales figures, which are expected to show healthy consumer demand.

“There doesn’t seem to be any sign of weakness emerging overall,” said David Beckworth, a senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “I don’t see in my mind the justification for rate cuts.”