By CHRISTINA LARSON

The Geminids — among the few major meteor showers to come from asteroids — peak on Friday. It’s one of the year’s last chances to see fireballs in the sky.

The shower often produces meteors with a distinctly more yellow glow, likely due to the unusual origin material, said Sally Brummel, planetarium manager at the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum.

Under ideal viewing conditions, the Geminids typically put on one of the best and brightest shows of the year because of the high volume of meteors visible each hour. However, an almost full moon this year means up to 15 meteors per hour are expected at peak time, according to the American Meteor Society.

The moonlight “will wash out a lot of them,” Brummel said.

Viewing lasts until Dec. 21. Here’s what to know about the Geminids and other meteor showers.

What is a meteor shower?

Multiple meteor showers occur annually and you don’t need special equipment to see them.

Most meteor showers originate from the debris of comets, but a few — including the Geminids — result from the debris of asteroids. The Geminids come from the sun-orbiting asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

When rocks from space enter Earth’s atmosphere, the resistance from the air makes them very hot. This causes the air to glow around them and briefly leaves a fiery tail behind them — the end of a “shooting star.”

The glowing pockets of air around fast-moving space rocks, ranging from the size of a dust particle to a boulder, may be visible in the night sky.

The rocky nature of asteroid debris makes the Geminids especially likely to produce fireballs, said NASA’s William Cooke. “Those are pretty tough rocks that can penetrate deep into the atmosphere,” he said.

How to view a meteor shower

Meteor showers are usually most visible between midnight and predawn hours.

It’s easier to see shooting stars under dark skies, away from city lights. Meteor showers also appear brightest on cloudless nights when the moon wanes smallest.

And your eyes will better adapted to seeing meteors if you aren’t checking your phone.

When is the next meteor shower?

The next meteor shower, the Ursids, will peak on Dec. 22.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct.

Collins said after the hourlong meeting that she questioned Hegseth about the allegations amid reports of drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies. She said she had a “good, substantive” discussion with Hegseth and “covered a wide range of topics,” including sexual assault in the military, Ukraine and NATO. But she said she would wait until a hearing, and notably a background check, to make a decision.

“I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins told reporters as she left her office after the meeting. “I pressed him both on his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him, so I don’t think there was anything that we did not cover.”

The meeting with Collins was closely watched as she is seen as more likely than most of her Republican Senate colleagues to vote against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. She and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a fellow moderate Republican, did not shy from opposing Trump in his first term when they wanted to do so and sometimes supported President Joe Biden’s nominees for the judicial and executive branches.

And Hegseth, an infantry combat veteran and former “Fox & Friends” weekend host, is working to gain as many votes as he can as some senators have expressed concerns about his personal history and lack of management experience.

“I’m certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands,” Hegseth said as he left Collins’ office. “This is a process that we respect and appreciate. And we hope, in time, overall, when we get through that committee and to the floor that we can earn her support.”

Hegseth met with Murkowski on Tuesday. He has also been meeting repeatedly with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a military veteran who has said she is a survivor of sexual assault and has spent time in the Senate working on improving how attacks are reported and prosecuted within the ranks. On Monday, Ernst said after a meeting with him that he had committed to selecting a senior official to prioritize those goals.

Republicans will have a 53-49 majority next year, meaning Trump cannot lose more than three votes on any of his nominees. It is so far unclear whether Hegseth will have enough support, but Trump has stepped up his pressure on senators in the last week.

“Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform last week.

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and ELLEN KNICKMEYER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, facing questions for the last time about some of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency: the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The hearing comes at the twilight of Blinken’s diplomatic career, with only weeks left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and at the end of the chairmanship of Rep. Michael McCaul, who will no longer lead the committee in the next Congress. It’s the capstone to nearly four years of animosity between the two men over the end of America’s longest war.

“This catastrophic event was the beginning of a failed foreign policy that lit the world on fire,” McCaul, a Texas Republican, said in his opening statement. “I welcome your testimony today and hope you use this opportunity to take accountability for the disastrous withdrawal.”

Blinken opened his appearance before the committee by turning to families of U.S. forces killed in the withdrawal and apologizing to them. Cries of “genocide” and other protests from demonstrators in the audience repeatedly interrupted his testimony.

Blinken again defended the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal, saying that the pullout deal that Trump negotiated with the Taliban before leaving office left him no viable alternative.

“To the extent President Biden faced a choice, it was between ending the war or escalating it,” Blinken said. “Had he not followed through on his predecessor’s commitment, attacks on our forces and allies would have resumed and the Taliban’s assault on the country’s major cities would have commenced.”

His long-awaited testimony comes months after House Republicans issued a scathing report on their investigation into the withdrawal, blaming the disastrous end on Biden’s administration. They downplayed Trump’s role in the failures even though he had signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban.

The Republican-led review laid out the final months of military and civilian failures, following Trump’s February 2020 withdrawal deal, that allowed America’s fundamentalist Taliban enemy to sweep through and conquer all of the country even before the last U.S. officials flew out on Aug. 30, 2021. The chaotic exit left behind many American citizens, Afghan battlefield allies, women activists and others at risk from the Taliban.

Previous investigations and analyses have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidential administrations and concluded that Biden and Trump share the heaviest blame.

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By KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans teed up a vote this week on bipartisan legislation to gradually expand by 66 the number of federal judgeships across the country. Democrats, though, are having second thoughts now that President-elect Donald Trump has won a second term.

The White House said Tuesday that if President Joe Biden were presented with the bill, he would veto it. A Congress closely divided along party lines would be unlikely to overturn a veto, likely dooming the bill’s chances this year.

It’s an abrupt reversal for legislation that the Senate passed unanimously in August. But the GOP-led House waited until after the election to act on the measure, which spreads out the establishment of the new district judgeships over about a decade to give three presidential administrations the chance to appoint the new judges.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said the bill was negotiated with the understanding that three unknown, future presidents would have the chance to expand and shape the judiciary. No party would be knowingly given an advantage. He said he begged GOP leadership to take up the measure before the presidential election. But they did not do so.

“It was a fair fight and they wanted no part of it,” Nadler said.

Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, explained the timing this way: “We just didn’t get to the legislation.”

The change of heart about the bill from some Democrats and the new urgency from House Republicans for considering it underscores the contentious politics that surrounded federal judicial vacancies.

Senate roll-call votes are required for almost every judicial nominee these days, and most votes for the Supreme Court and appellate courts are now decided largely along party lines. Lawmakers are generally hesitant to hand presidents from the opposing party new opportunities to shape the judiciary.

Nadler said that the bill would give Trump 25 judicial nominations on top of the 100-plus spots that are expected to open up over the next four years.

“Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to expand the power of the presidency and giving him 25 new judges to appoint gives him one more tool at his disposal to do that,” Nadler said.

Nadler said he’s willing to take up comparable legislation in the years ahead and give the additional judicial appointments to “unknown presidents yet to come,” but until then, he was urging colleagues to vote against the bill.

Still, few are arguing against the merits. Congress last authorized a new district judgeship more than 20 years ago, while the number of cases being filed continues to increase with litigants often waiting years for a resolution.

“I used to be a federal court litigator, and I can tell you it’s desperately needed,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said of the bill.

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., first introduced the bill to establish new judgeships in 2020. Last year, the policy-making body for the federal court system, the Judicial Conference of the United States, recommended the creation of several new district and court of appeals judgeships to meet increased workload demands in certain courts.

“Judges work tirelessly every day to meet growing demands and resolve cases as quickly as possible, but with the volume we have and the shortage of judges we have, it just makes it a very difficult proposition,” Judge Timothy Corrigan, of the Middle District of Florida, said in a recent blog post on the website of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The blog post states that caseloads are creating delays that will erode public confidence in the judicial process, but the bill would meet many of the federal judiciary’s needs for more judges.

Jordan said that as of June 30th, there were nearly 750,000 pending cases in federal district courts nationwide, with each judge handling an average of 554 filings. When asked if House Republicans would have brought the bill up if Vice President Kamala Harris had won the election, Jordan said the bill is “the right thing to do” and that almost half of the first batch of judges will come from states where both senators are Democrats, giving them a chance to provide input on those nominations before Trump makes them.

But in its veto threat, the White House Office of Management and Budget said the bill would create new judgeships in states where senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies.

“These efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of the law,” the White House said.

Shortly before the White House issued the veto threat, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would be curious to hear Biden’s rationale for such action.

“It’s almost inconceivable that a lame-duck president could consider vetoing such an obviously prudential step for any reason other than selfish spite,” McConnell said.

By Christopher Kimball, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street

Traybakes are valued for their simplicity. Everything cooks at the same temperature for the same amount of time, which doesn’t always translate to complex flavor development. But convenience doesn’t have to be boring and bland. A mix of honey, paprika and roasted orange delivers deep sweetness balanced by tangy citrus and hints of smokiness in this ultra-easy chicken traybake.

Even the knife-work is minimal in this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year.” You’ll only need to trim the chicken, quarter an orange and cut the vegetables into wedges. Don’t forget to pat the chicken dry to wick away excess moisture that would prevent the honey-oil mixture from clinging while also inhibiting flavorful browning.

In addition to smoked paprika, orange zest and cayenne are added to the honey mixture to bring brightness and heat. Sweet potatoes and onions round out the meal.

After you transfer the roasted chicken and vegetables to a platter, the drippings that remain on the baking sheet are combined with softened butter and the juice squeezed from the roasted orange, so not a single drop of flavor is left behind.

The ingredients come together into a glossy, savory-sweet sauce that will make dinner taste far more labor-intensive than it was. Pour half the sauce over the chicken and vegetables; serve the remainder on the side.

Smoky Chicken and Sweet Potato Traybake

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Grated zest of 1 orange, orange cut into quarters

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

½ to ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed and patted dry

2 medium sweet potatoes (1 pound total), cut lengthwise into ¾-inch wedges

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges, with root end intact

2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 2 pieces, room temperature

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 475°F with a rack in the middle position. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, orange zest, paprika, cayenne (if using), 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
2. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine the chicken, sweet potatoes and onion. Drizzle on the honey mixture and rub it into the chicken and vegetables. Arrange the chicken skin up in a single layer in the center, then arrange the vegetables in an even layer around the chicken. Place an orange quarter, cut side up, in each corner of the baking sheet. Roast until spotty brown and the thickest part of the thighs reach 175°F, 30 to 35 minutes.
3. Using tongs, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter; tent with foil. With the tongs, squeeze the juice from the orange quarters onto the baking sheet; discard the quarters. Add the butter and whisk, scraping up any browned bits, until melted and combined with the pan juices. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Pour half of the sauce over the chicken and vegetables; serve the remainder on the side.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press

Women should have the option of taking their own test samples for cervical cancer screening, an influential health panel said Tuesday.

Draft recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are aimed at getting more people screened and spreading the word that women can take their own vaginal samples to check for cancer-causing HPV.

Women in their 20s should still get a Pap test every three years. But after that — from age 30 to 65 — women can get an HPV test every five years, the panel said.

And those HPV tests can be done with samples collected either by a doctor or by the patient herself in a mobile clinic or medical office. Women ages 30 to 65 can still opt for a Pap test done by a doctor every three years, or a Pap plus an HPV test every five years.

“I’m very hopeful that self-collection will help even more women get screened and help us reduce even further the burden of cervical cancer among women,” said task force vice chair Dr. John Wong of Tufts University School of Medicine.

Earlier this year, U.S. regulators expanded the use of two HPV test kits to include self-collection. Studies show women and doctors take samples with similar accuracy.

For now, the tests are only for use in health care settings; home testing may be on the horizon.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is very common and is spread through sex. Most HPV infections clear up on their own, but persistent infection can lead to cancer of the cervix. Most cervical cancers occur in women who are inadequately screened, diagnosed or treated.

To collect a sample, a swab or brush from the kit is inserted into the vagina and rotated. It is put in a tube and processed at a lab.

The HPV tests detect high-risk types of the virus. In contrast, a Pap test looks for abnormal cells in the cervix.

Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden already use self-collection for cervical cancer screening.

Deaths from cervical cancers have declined in the U.S. in the past decade, and there is an HPV vaccine recommended for preteens that is preventing cancer in women and men. Still, nearly 14,000 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. this year and there were an estimated 4,360 deaths.

Black women, Native American women and Hispanic women still have higher death rates compared to white women. Women living in isolated areas also have higher than average death rates.

For many women, transgender men and nonbinary people, collecting their own sample could be more comfortable than the stirrups and speculum used by a doctor.

The draft advice remains largely the same as the group’s previous recommendations from 2018. For example, women younger than 21 don’t need to be screened for cervical cancer. Neither do women older than 65 who’ve had regular screenings with normal results. And women of any age who’ve had a total hysterectomy don’t need to be screened.

The recommendations are open for comment through Jan. 13.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Rhonda James was skeptical when her husband ordered a weighted blanket for her online. But five minutes after she wrapped it around her body, she zonked out.

“It felt like a really big hug,” said James, a banker in Charleston, South Carolina.

As outside temperatures grow chilly, weighted blankets can be a popular choice to warm up. Some people say the added pressure helps them soothe the worries of the day and get to sleep faster.

But research on the effectiveness of weighted blankets is limited. Here’s what to know.

What is a weighted blanket?

Weighted blankets come with extra heft in the form of glass beads, pellets, cotton or another filling. Scientists haven’t studied exactly how the blankets work, but they have a few ideas.

The blankets’ firm touch may calm the brain’s fight-or-flight response, said Dr. Neal Walia, a sleep medicine expert at UCLA Health.

“The evenly distributed weight on you tells your body, ‘Hey, you’re in a calm environment,’” he said.

The extra pressure also may signal the brain to release what’s called the love hormone, also known as oxytocin. It’s produced during bonding and cuddling, and can also lower anxiety, Walia said.

How do I use a weighted blanket?

For most healthy adults, experts say to choose a blanket that is about 10% of their body weight. So a 150-pound person may opt for a 15-pound blanket.

Weighted blankets are not recommended for babies or toddlers since they can hinder movement and breathing.

People with sleep apnea, sleep-related disorders or respiratory problems should check with a doctor before using a weighted blanket.

The blankets aren’t for everyone and each person gets the best out of their blanket differently. For example, some may find them too hot to use during warmer months.

And the extra swaddling comes at a cost: quality weighted blankets can range from $50 to over $300 depending on the size, weight and material.

James takes hers out of the closet to unwind when she’s watching TV or sipping a glass of wine.

Lucy Taylor, a freelance writer from Wales, uses her blanket to fall asleep when her anxiety spikes during the winter.

“If my body’s relaxed, my mind follows suit,” she said.

Can weighted blankets improve sleep?

There isn’t a ton of research on whether weighted blankets actually work, and the studies that do exist are on small groups. Most studies don’t focus on the average sleeper. Instead, they investigate whether weighted blankets can help people with chronic sleep problems, mental health conditions or developmental disorders.

There are some hints that weighted blankets can help with anxiety, chronic pain and sleep. But the research isn’t conclusive.

A study on 120 people with insomnia found that the weighted blankets helped them sleep better compared to a light blanket. Another study on 67 children with autism found the weighted blanket didn’t affect their sleep at all – but the children and their parents preferred it to a regular blanket.

And a third study on 94 adults with chronic pain found that a heavier weighted blanket didn’t affect sleep, but was better at reducing pain compared to a lighter one.

Even though there’s not yet strong evidence to back up the benefits of weighted blankets, sleep experts say there’s no harm in giving them a try if you’re willing to splurge.

Dr. Daniel Barone, a sleep medicine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine, suggests it to his patients after other traditional therapies and medicines.

“If it doesn’t hurt and it may help, it’s worth a shot,” he said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Michigan Democrats are charting their path forward after significant setbacks in the 2024 election.

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Today is Tuesday, Dec. 10, the 345th day of 2024. There are 21 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 10, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to win a Nobel Prize, winning the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate peace in the Russo-Japanese War.

Also on this date:

In 1861, the Confederacy admitted Kentucky as it recognized a pro-Southern shadow state government that was acting without the authority of the pro-Union government in Frankfort.

In 1898, a treaty was signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War.

In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, saying he accepted it “with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.”

In 1967, singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed when their plane crashed into Wisconsin’s Lake Monona; trumpeter Ben Cauley, a member of the group the Bar-Kays, was the only survivor.

In 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize, pledging to pursue their mission of healing the anguished Middle East.

In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis and stop waging war on the environment.

In 2022, Morocco became the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals by beating Portugal 1-0.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor Fionnula Flanagan is 83.
• Actor-singer Gloria Loring is 78.
• Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., is 74.
• Actor Susan Dey is 72.
• Jazz musician Diane Schuur is 71.
• Actor-director Kenneth Branagh (BRAH’-nah) is 64.
• Actor Nia Peeples is 63.
• TV chef Bobby Flay is 60.
• Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 50.
• Actor Emmanuelle Chriqui is 49.
• Actor Raven-Symone is 39.
• Actor/singer Teyana Taylor is 34.
• Actor Kiki Layne is 33.
• NFL quarterback Joe Burrow is 28.
• Cyclist Jonas Vingegaard is 28.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Andrew Copp scored twice as the Detroit Red Wings snapped a five game skid by rallying to beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in a shootout on Monday night.

Copp’s second goal started Buffalo’s comeback at 10:27 of the third period after trailing 5-3. Defenseman Moritz Seider tied it 5:14 later. Dylan Larkin scored the decider in the shootout to seal the victory.

Detroit’s Sebastian Cossa made 12 saves in relief of Ville Husso and earned a win in his NHL debut. He entered at the start of the second period after Husso made four saves on seven shots in the first.

Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond also scored for the Red Wings.

Jason Zucker had two goals and an assist for the Sabres, who are winless in seven straight games (0-5-2). James Reimer made 26 saves in his first start since Nov. 30. Zach Benson, Tage Thompson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored for the Sabres.

Takeaways

Sabres: Thompson, who returned from injury on Nov. 27, scored his 15th goal of the season, putting him among the top 10 in the NHL. He has four goals in his last four games.

Red Wings: Detroit ended its losing streak with its first multi-goal third period comeback of the season. The Red Wings accomplished that feat three times last season.

Key moment

Sabres forward Ryan McLeod’s breakaway attempt at 2:57 of overtime had Cossa beat, but went off the post.

Key Stat

Raymond’s assist on Seider’s tying goal was his 122nd and moved him past Peter Forsberg and tied him with Gabriel Landeskog for fourth-most in assists by a Swedish player before turning 23 years old.

Up next

The Sabres conclude a five-game homestand against the Rangers on Wednesday. The Red Wings face the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday.

— By JOE YERDON, Associated Press

By LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country’s hardline Assad rule.

Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm Trump’s unusual nominees.

But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump’s America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas.

“I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting.

The incoming president’s Cabinet and top administrative choices are dividing his Republican allies and drawing concern, if not full opposition, from Democrats and others. Not just Gabbard, but other Trump nominees including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, were back at the Capitol ahead of what is expected to be volatile confirmation hearings next year.

The incoming president is working to put his team in place for an ambitious agenda of mass immigrant deportations, firing federal workers and rollbacks of U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO allies.

“We’re going to sit down and visit, that’s what this is all about,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as he welcomed Gabbard into his office.

The president-elect announced other appointments Monday, including his lawyer Harmeet Dhillon for assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department and Mark Paoletta as the returning general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary pick Hegseth appeared to be picking up support from once-skeptical senators, the former Army National Guard major denying sexual misconduct allegations and pledging not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed.

The president-elect’s choice to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, who has written extensively about locking up Trump’s foes and proposed dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation, launched his first visits with senators Monday.

“I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on social media.

Despite widespread concern about the nominees’ qualifications and demeanors for the jobs that are among the highest positions in the U.S. government, Trump’s team is portraying the criticism against them as nothing more than political smears and innuendo.

Showing that concern, nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on Gabbard.

Trump’s allies have described the criticisms of Hegseth in particular as similar to those lodged against Brett Kavanaugh, the former president’s Supreme Court nominee who denied a sexual assault allegation and went on to be confirmed during Trump’s first term in office.

Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about Hegseth: “Anonymous accusations are trying to destroy reputations again. We saw this with Kavanaugh. I won’t stand for it.”

One widely watched Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and sexual assault survivor who had been criticized by Trump allies for her cool reception to Hegseth, appeared more open to him after their follow-up meeting Monday.

“I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement.

Ernst said that following “encouraging conversations,” he had committed to selecting a senior official who will “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.”

Ernst also had praise for Patel — “He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies” — and for Gabbard.

Once a rising Democratic star, Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in Congress, arrived a decade ago in Washington, her surfboard in tow, a new generation of potential leaders. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020.

But Gabbard abruptly left the party and briefly became an independent before joining with Trump’s 2024 campaign as one of his enthusiasts, in large part over his disdain for U.S. involvement overseas and opposition to helping Ukraine battle Russia.

Her visit to Syria to meet with then-President Bashar Assad around the time of Trump’s first inauguration during the country’s bloody civil war stunned her former colleagues and the Washington national security establishment. The U.S. had severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Her visit was seen by some as legitimizing a brutal leader who was accused of war crimes.

Gabbard has defended the trip, saying it’s important to open dialogue, but critics hear in her commentary echoes of Russia-fueled talking points. Assad fled to Moscow over the weekend after Islamist rebels overtook Syria in a surprise attack, ending his family’s five decades of rule.

She said her own views have been shaped by “my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism.”

Gabbard said, “It’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election, where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bring about an end to wars.”

Last week, the nearly 100 former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said in the letter to Senate leaders they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.

They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the nation’s intelligence agencies and act as the president’s main intelligence adviser.

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

SMU captured the last open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, bumping Alabama out of the first 12-team bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1.

The selection committee preferred the Mustangs (11-2), losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama (9-3) of the SEC but, ultimately, still one fewer loss.

The expanded bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear that there is no perfect formula for identifying a champion.

The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games involving teams seeded 5-12. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.

Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State join Oregon with first-round byes

Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye.

All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU -- the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner.

Texas, Penn St, Notre Dame and Ohio St get home field in first round

There was some tension around how the rest of the teams were seeded because that determined who gets home-field advantage in the first round. The games, with exact dates and times still pending, are No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas; No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame; and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State.

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Today is Sunday, Dec. 8, the 343rd day of 2024. There are 23 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 8, 1980, rock star and former Beatle John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman.

Also on this date:

In 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Imperial Japan a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty at the White House calling for the destruction of intermediate-range missiles.

In 2012, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy.

In 2014, the U.S. and NATO ceremonially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan, 13 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government.

In 2016, John Glenn, whose 1962 flight as the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career in the U.S. Senate, died in Columbus, Ohio, at age 95.

In 2017, Japanese pitching and hitting star Shohei Ohtani announced that he would sign with the Los Angeles Angels.

In 2022, Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in a high-profile prisoner exchange with the U.S., which released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Flutist James Galway is 85.
• Author Bill Bryson is 73.
• Actor Kim Basinger (BAY’-sing-ur) is 71.
• Actor Wendell Pierce is 62.
• Actor Teri Hatcher is 60.
• Basketball Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon is 59.
• Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Mussina is 56.
• Actor Dominic Monaghan is 48.
• Singer Nicki Minaj is 42.
• Country singer Sam Hunt is 40.
• Actor AnnaSophia Robb is 31.

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 29 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks 120-111 on Saturday night.

Malik Beasley had 23 points off the bench and Jaden Ivey chipped in 16 for the Pistons, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

It was Cunningham’s fifth triple-double of the season, three behind league leader Nikola Jokic.

Jalen Brunson had 31 points and 10 assists, and Mikal Bridges finished with 20 points for the Knicks, who had their four-game winning streak stopped.

New York played without Karl-Anthony Towns, who was held out due to a sore right knee, and reserve Cam Payne. The Knicks also lost Josh Hart in the fourth quarter after he picked up his second technical foul.

Detroit led by 17 points in the third quarter before the Knicks outscored them over 27-14 over the final 10 minutes of the period to cut the lead 89-85.

New York made it a two-point game in the opening minute of the fourth quarter on Ariel Hukporti’s dunk. The Pistons responded with a 12-2 run and took advantage of four turnovers by New York to increase the lead to 103-89 with 7:55 left in regulation.

Takeaways

Pistons: Cunningham had 21 points during the first half on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, including 5 for 7 from long distance

Knicks: Jericho Sims started in Towns’ place and was scoreless in just six first-half minutes.

Key Moment

New York honored a number of its former players who attended the game during a halftime ceremony on the court.

Key Stat

Detroit shot 26 for 46 from the field and 13 for 23 beyond the arc in the first half.

Up Next

New York visits Toronto on Monday night. Detroit visits Boston on Thursday night.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf had double-doubles and Roddy Gayle Jr. scored with 4.6 seconds remaining to give Michigan an 85-83 win over Iowa on Saturday for its seventh straight win.

Gayle drove to the hoop and was credited with a basket on a close goaltending call to give Michigan (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) the two-point margin. Iowa advanced the ball past halfcourt and called timeout with 1.1 remaining. The inbounds pass made it across court to Pryce Sandfort but he missed an awkward baseline 3-point attempt.

Golden scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Wolf had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Tre Donaldson added 18 points and Gayle had 17 for Michigan, which shot 55%. The Wolverines were only 4 of 20 from 3-point range and gave up 19 points off 17 turnovers but were plus-15 on the boards.

Payton Sandfort missed his first five 3-point attempts before hitting four of his last five, including a pair in the final two minutes to help Iowa (7-2, 1-1) tie at 83. He finished with 19 points. Pryce Sandfort and Josh Dix added 16 points each, Owen Freeman 13 and Drew Thelwell 10. Iowa shot 42% and made 9 of 27 3-point tries.

The Wolverines led by as many as 11 after taking the lead early in the second half and were up 80-72 at the final media timeout.

Michigan led 40-37 at the half after having been up by 16 early in the game.

Iowa is host to Iowa State on Thursday. Michigan plays Arkansas at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jaden Akins scored 18 points and Jaxon Kohler finished a rebound shy of tying a career high with 12 and Michigan State throttled Nebraska 89-52 on Saturday.

Michigan State (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten) reserves Jase Richardson scored 16 points and Xavier Booker scored 11 and the two combined to finish 9-for-13 shooting. Each played 15 minutes.

The Spartans shot 51.8% (29 of 56) and 95.7% (22 of 23) from the foul line.

Reserve Andrew Morgan scored 14 points and Brice Williams 11 in Nebraska’s (6-2, 0-1 Big Ten) conference opener.

The Spartans built a 7-0 lead before Nebraska scored seven straight to tie it. The Cornhuskers’ Williams made a pair of free throws to again tie it, this time at 11, but the Spartans outscored Nebraska 13-2 in a span of a little more than 5 1/2 minutes and were up 24-13 with 7:36 left before halftime.

Nebraska rallied to get within 26-21 on Andrew Morgan’s jump shot with 6:01 left. The Spartans countered with a Coen Carr dunk plus a 3-pointer and two free throws from Richardson and Michigan State led by double digits for the remainder. The lead reached 20 (53-33) on an Akins jumper with 14:26 left and 30 (65-34) with a Tre Holloman 3-pointer with 10:48 remaining.

It was the Spartans’ first home game at the Breslin Center in 18 days. Michigan State now leads the all-time series 24-10.

For most of a century, the Detroit Lions making the playoffs was a banner day.

Suddenly, it has become old hat.

After winning their last NFL championship in 1957, the Lions only played 13 playoff games in the next 75 seasons. They only won one of them a 38-6 rout of the Dallas Cowboys in 1991.

That all changed last season. The Lions beat the Rams 24-23 on Jan. 14 and then defeated Tampa Bay 31-23 a week later. They led the NFC championship game 24-7 at halftime, but the San Francisco 49ers rallied to win 34-31.

This year, things have been even better. A week after a Thanksgiving win over the Chicago Bears, the Lions beat Green Bay 34-31 to move to 12-1 and clinch a second straight postseason berth the first time they've done that since going three years in a row from 1993-95.

Coach Dan Campbell didn't even notice his team had secured a playoff spot after beating the Packers.

I just found that out I didn't even realize, he said after the game. It's good. It's good, but it's like, man, we've got four (games) left and we want to get in a different way. We want to go in on our terms and find a way to get this one seed. That's the priority.

Campbell was so oblivious to locking up a spot that he didn't even mention it to the team after the game although they might have seen Playoffs Clinched plastered all over the scoreboards.

I wish I had told the team, but I had no idea, he said. Honestly, I think they know. They feel like I feel. We can do the old golf clap, but we know what we want to do.

Jared Goff, who followed Campbell into the interview room, agreed with his coach.

I just heard that, he said. It's pretty cool, but it is certainly not what our ultimate goal is. We want to win this division, and we've still got some work to do.

What's working

At 12-1 and on an 11-game winning streak, it is hard to find something that isn't working. The Lions offense, though, has been remarkable. They have scored at least 23 points in 10 straight games, including six games over 30, four over 40 and two over 50. They are leading the league in scoring at 32.1 points per game and are fourth in both passing touchdowns (27) and rushing touchdowns (22).

What needs help

The Lions are second in the league in scoring defense (18.0 ppg), but injuries are starting to catch up to them. Jordan Love averaged 10.3 yards per attempt and 17.2 yards per completion on Thursday both season-worsts for Detroit's defense and the Packers were the first team this season to score 30 points against them.

Stock up

Seven Lions defenders registered a quarterback hit on Thursday night. Linebacker Jack Campbell was a first-round pick in 2023 and has been a fixture on the Detroit defense, but the other six Al-Quadin Muhammad, Myles Adams, Trevor Nowaske, Za'Darius Smith, Ezekiel Turner and Jonah Williams have joined the team during the regular season to replace injured players.

Stock down

Rookie CB Terrion Arnold had a rough day, including yet another pass-interference penalty in the end zone, this one wiping out a Lions interception. He hasn't recorded an interception in his 12-game career and is averaging 0.6 passes defended per game.

Injuries

The Lions were missing 11 defensive linemen and linebackers against the Packers, then lost key defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a head injury. Most of those players are on injured reserve, but it isn't clear if McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring), Josh Paschal (knee) or D.J. Reader (shoulder) will be available to face Buffalo on Dec. 15.

Key number

18 the number of Lions on injured reserve, more than any other team in the NFL. If anything can derail them between now and the Super Bowl, it is going to be running out of healthy players in places other than the defensive front seven.

Next steps

Get as much rest and healing as possible with a long week ahead.

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AP NFL:

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