By JENNIFER PELTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Say hello to the latest dog in the American Kennel Club’s lineup of recognized breeds. Or you might say “hej.”

The Danish-Swedish farmdog — yep, that’s the official name — joined the pack Thursday. The designation makes the breed eligible to compete for many best in show trophies, and it likely augurs more widespread interest in the small, sprightly dogs. The prospect both gladdens and concerns their biggest fans.

“We’re excited about it. We’re looking forward to it,” said Carey Segebart, one of the people who worked to get Danish-Swedish farmdogs recognized by the AKC. She proudly plans to debut one of her own at a dog show this month near her Iowa home.

Still, she thinks increased exposure is “a double-edged sword” for the fleet, versatile pups.

“We don’t want the breed to just explode too quickly,” she said.

Called the farmdog or DSF for short, the breed goes back centuries in parts of what are now Denmark, southern Sweden and some other European countries, according to the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America.

“They’re interesting, fun little dogs,” said Segebart, who has owned them since 2011 and is the club’s incoming president. “They’re essentially up for anything. They succeed at most everything.”

In their original homelands, the dogs’ main job was rodent patrol, but they also would herd a bit, act as watchdogs and play with farmers’ children. Some even performed in circuses, according to the club.

After Denmark and Sweden became more urban and suburban in the 20th century, farmdog fanciers set out to secure the breed’s place in both nations (where “hej” translates to the English “hello”). Kennel clubs there began registering farmdogs in 1987.

In the U.S., many of the just about 350 farmdogs nationwide compete in agility, obedience or other canine sports that are open to all dogs, including mixed breeds.

But until now, farmdogs couldn’t enter the traditional breed-by-breed judging that leads to best in show prizes at events including the prominent Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York. The entry deadline has passed for February’s Westminster show, so farmdogs will have to wait for 2026 there, but they may well appear later this year at two other major, televised shows, the National Dog Show and AKC National Championship.

The Danish-Swedish farmdog is the AKC’s 202nd breed and “a wonderful addition to a family that is able to provide it with the exercise and mental stimulation that it needs,” said the club’s Gina DiNardo.

The AKC is the United States’ oldest purebred dog registry and essentially a league for many dog competitions. Registration is voluntary, and requirements for breed recognition include at least 300 pedigreed dogs spread through at least 20 states. Some breeds are in other kennel clubs or none at all.

Danish-Swedish farmdog fanciers deliberated for several years before pursuing AKC recognition and the attention that’s likely to come with it, Segebart said. The number of farmdog puppy-seekers has grown substantially over the last decade; each of the few breeders receives multiple inquiries a week, and the typical wait for a puppy is a year or more, she said.

Farmdog folk fear that their appealing, relatively easy-care breed could quickly become too popular for its own good. They’re not the first to worry: Much fur has flown in dogdom over the rise of the French bulldog, which the AKC now ranks as the most popular breed in the country.

Some animal rights activists echo those concerns to argue against dog breeding in general. They say purebred popularity trends divert people from adopting shelter animals, fuel puppy mills and prize dogs’ appearance over their health.

The AKC says it promotes responsibly “breeding for type and function” to produce dogs with at least somewhat predictable traits, whether as basic as size or as specialized as bomb-sniffing skills. The club says it has given over $35 million since 1995 to its canine health research charity.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — Ruth. Gehrig. DiMaggio. Mantle. Giuliani?

As Rudy Giuliani’s life gets stripped for parts to satisfy a $148 million defamation verdict, the former New York City mayor is fighting to keep one gleaming set of sports memorabilia in the family: Yankees World Series rings bestowed to him by the team’s late owner, George Steinbrenner.

A lifelong Bronx Bombers fan, Giuliani contends that the rings — bejeweled behemoths commemorating the team’s four championships in five years while he was mayor — now belong to his son, Andrew, and shouldn’t be given up.

In sworn testimony made public this week, ahead of a pair of key court dates, Giuliani described the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Series rings as something of a family heirloom and Yankees good-luck charm.

He recounted how he and Andrew would each put one on for “a special Yankee occasion,” like the team’s last World Series win in 2009.

Giuliani testified that when Steinbrenner gave him the rings in 2002, he insisted on paying for them and told the owner, “These are for Andrew.” He said he then invited his son — a teenager at the time — to take one for himself while he held the others for safekeeping.

Realizing he wasn’t wearing them as much as the Yankees’ fortunes ebbed, Giuliani testified, he decided to give the rest to Andrew at a birthday party in 2018. He estimated that the rings, the same as the players received, were worth about $27,000.

“They are now yours,” Giuliani recalled saying. “These are your rings. I don’t know what I’m keeping them for. They belong to you.”

The ex-mayor took his swings at a Dec. 27 deposition, a week before the start of a courtroom doubleheader in a tug-of-war over assets sought by the two former Georgia election workers who sued him over his lies about them in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. A transcript was posted to the court docket on Monday.

Up first is Giuliani’s contempt hearing in Manhattan federal court Friday over what lawyers for the Georgia women say was his failure to turn over property in a timely fashion, such as his New York City apartment lease.

Then, on Jan. 16, Judge Lewis J. Liman will hold a trial to decide what happens not only to Giuliani’s World Series rings but also his condominium in Palm Beach, Florida. Giuliani claims the condo, estimated to be worth more than $3 million, is his primary residence and should be exempt.

For Giuliani, once heralded as “America’s Mayor” for his post-9/11 leadership, it’s the legal equivalent of two strikes, two out in the bottom of the ninth.

Lawyers for the former election workers, mother and daughter Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, argue that Giuliani has engaged in a “consistent pattern of willful defiance” of court orders to turn over items.

In a Monday filing, lawyer Aaron Nathan said Giuliani’s compliance has been spotty, noting that while he finally surrendered a Mercedes previous owned by actor Lauren Bacall, he failed to provide the vehicle’s title.

After listing 26 watches in a bankruptcy filing, Giuliani now claims without explanation that 18 watches he turned over to Freeman and Moss are all he has, Nathan wrote. He added that Giuliani also claims not to know the whereabouts of a shirt signed by Joe DiMaggio or a photo signed by Reggie Jackson, both Yankees legends.

Freeman and Moss asked the judge in August to award them the World Series rings, but the judge demurred and scheduled a trial after Andrew Giuliani, now 38, said they belong to him.

Giuliani’s eight hours of deposition testimony offered a vivid portrait of a still-proud, combative and downtrodden man who has lost almost everything and remains convinced that it has been unjustly taken.

Recalling his days as a two-term Republican mayor, he boasted that he “cured” homelessness in the city while acknowledging that he is now rejected by most clubs he would like to join, except for two.

Questioned by Nathan, he spoke at length about the rings, his ties to Trump and the Yankees, and his dismay over his once-beloved Big Apple’s liberal politics — a factor he said drove him to relocate to Florida and register to vote there last May.

“Frankly, I wanted my vote to count,” Giuliani testified.

Asked why it was important to him to cast a vote for president, Giuliani replied: “Because I am a very, very strong supporter of Donald Trump, which is the reason why you are doing all of this to me.”

Before Trump, it was the Yankees. Giuliani, who saw them win 10 titles during his childhood and college years, regularly cheered the team as mayor, often sitting next to the dugout.

“I was a very ardent Yankee fan,” he testified. “When I was the mayor, I was described as New York’s No. 1 Yankee fan.”

After the team triumphed in 1996 to snap a 15-year drought, Steinbrenner thought “New York’s No. 1 Yankee fan” deserved a World Series ring — but Giuliani wasn’t having it.

“I didn’t think it was appropriate that a mayor get a ring,” Giuliani testified.

By the time he left office in 2002, the Yankees had three more championships.

At spring training that year in Tampa, Florida, Steinbrenner presented him with a plaque and three World Series rings, Giuliani testified, each engraved with his name.

“I was very touched and moved by that,” he said.

The Yankees also gave him the 1996 ring that he turned down, he said. He recalled showing all four rings to his son and telling him: “These are going to be yours.”

Each ring was bigger and more extravagant than the last, Giuliani testified, so much so that “you’d look crazy wearing it.”

Giuliani lamented that his rings didn’t bring the Yankees more success, noting their 2003 World Series loss to the Marlins and 2004 playoff collapse against the hated Red Sox.

“I stopped wearing them after the Yankees stopped winning because it was no longer working,” he said. “And then I wasn’t using them anymore.”

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The new year will bring a pair of lunar eclipses, but don’t expect any sun-disappearing acts like the one that mesmerized North America last spring.

While the world will have to wait until 2026 for the next total solar eclipse, the cosmos promises plenty of other wow moments in 2025. It’s kicking off the year with a six-planet parade in January that will be visible for weeks. Little Mercury will join the crowd for a seven-planet lineup in February.

Five planets already are scattered across the sky — all but Mars and Mercury — though binoculars or telescopes are needed to spot some of them just after sunset.

“People should go out and see them sometime during the next many weeks. I certainly will,” said the Planetary Society’s chief scientist Bruce Betts.

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s ahead:

ECLIPSES

The moon will vanish for more than an hour over North and South America on March 14, followed two weeks later by a partial solar eclipse visible from Maine, eastern Canada, Greenland, Europe, Siberia and northwestern Africa.

The cosmic double-header will repeat in September with an even longer total lunar eclipse over Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and a partial solar eclipse two weeks later near the bottom of the world.

SUPERMOONS

Three supermoons are on tap this year in October, November and December.

The full moon will look particularly big and bright those three months as it orbits closer to Earth than usual.

November’s supermoon will come closest, passing within 221,817 miles (356,980 kilometers). Last year featured four supermoons, wrapping up in November.

PLANET PARADE

Six of our seven neighboring planets will line up in the sky to form a long arc around mid-January. All but Neptune and Uranus should be visible with the naked eye just after sunset, weather permitting.

The parade will continue for weeks, with some of the planets occasionally snuggling up. Mercury will make a cameo appearance by the end of February. The planets will gradually exit, one by one, through spring.

NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN LIGHTS

The sun burped big time last year, painting the sky with gorgeous auroras in unexpected places.

Space weather forecasters anticipate more geomagnetic storms that could yield even more northern and southern lights.

That’s because the sun has reached its solar maximum during its current 11-year cycle that could continue through this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Shawn Dahl urges everyone to stay on top of space weather news, so as not to miss any pop-up, razzle-dazzle shows.

METEOR SHOWERS

The Perseids and Geminids are perennial crowd-pleasers, peaking in August and December, respectively. But don’t count out the smaller, less dramatic meteor showers like the Lyrids in April, the Orionids in October and the Leonids in November.

The darker the locale and dimmer the moon, the better it will be for viewing. Meteor showers are generally named for the constellation in which they appear to originate. They occur whenever Earth plows through streams of debris left behind by comets and sometimes asteroids.

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 BRIAN MELLEY

LONDON (AP) — Police in London are searching for a burglar who broke into an occupied mansion and stole more than 10.5 million pounds ($13.2 million) worth of jewelry, designer handbags and cash.

The owners of the estate, identified in British media as an Instagram influencer and her developer husband, were not home at the time on Dec. 7. But employees were there and a housekeeper had a near run-in with the armed intruder, according to surveillance footage.

“This is a brazen offense where the suspect has entered the property while armed with an unknown weapon,” Det. Constable Paulo Roberts of the Metropolitan Police said on Monday, when the theft was announced.

Among the stolen items were a 10.73-carat diamond ring, diamond earrings and a clip studded with gold, diamonds and sapphires. The haul also included 150,000 pounds ($189,000) worth of handbags.

The homeowners have offered a 500,000 pound ($628,000) reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect, and an additional reward of 10% of the value of recovered items.

Police said the suspect broke in by climbing through a second-floor window.

Surveillance footage obtained by the MailOnline showed the man walking down a corridor a minute before a maid stepped off an elevator in the same place.

The home near Regent’s Park in one of London’s wealthiest areas.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, LAURA UNGAR and MIKE STOBBE

Five years ago, a cluster of people in Wuhan, China, fell sick with a virus never before seen in the world.

The germ didn’t have a name, nor did the illness it would cause. It wound up setting off a pandemic that exposed deep inequities in the global health system and reshaped public opinion about how to control deadly emerging viruses.

The virus is still with us, though humanity has built up immunity through vaccinations and infections. It’s less deadly than it was in the pandemic’s early days and it no longer tops the list of leading causes of death. But the virus is evolving, meaning scientists must track it closely.

Where did the SARS-CoV-2 virus come from?

We don’t know. Scientists think the most likely scenario is that it circulated in bats, like many coronaviruses. They think it then infected another species, probably racoon dogs, civet cats or bamboo rats, which in turn infected humans handling or butchering those animals at a market in Wuhan, where the first human cases appeared in late November 2019.

That’s a known pathway for disease transmission and likely triggered the first epidemic of a similar virus, known as SARS. But this theory has not been proven for the virus that causes COVID-19. Wuhan is home to several research labs involved in collecting and studying coronaviruses, fueling debate over whether the virus instead may have leaked from one.

It’s a difficult scientific puzzle to crack in the best of circumstances. The effort has been made even more challenging by political sniping around the virus’ origins and by what international researchers say are moves by China to withhold evidence that could help.

The true origin of the pandemic may not be known for many years — if ever.

How many people died from COVID-19?

Probably more than 20 million. The World Health Organization has said member countries reported more than 7 million deaths from COVID-19 but the true death toll is estimated to be at least three times higher.

In the U.S., an average of about 900 people a week have died of COVID-19 over the past year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The coronavirus continues to affect older adults the most. Last winter in the U.S., people age 75 and older accounted for about half the nation’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths, according to the CDC.

“We cannot talk about COVID in the past, since it’s still with us,” WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

What vaccines were made available?

Scientists and vaccine-makers broke speed records developing COVID-19 vaccines that have saved tens of millions of lives worldwide – and were the critical step to getting life back to normal.

Less than a year after China identified the virus, health authorities in the U.S. and Britain cleared vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna. Years of earlier research — including Nobel-winning discoveries that were key to making the new technology work — gave a head start for so-called mRNA vaccines.

Today, there’s also a more traditional vaccine made by Novavax, and some countries have tried additional options. Rollout to poorer countries was slow but the WHO estimates more than 13 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally since 2021.

The vaccines aren’t perfect. They do a good job of preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, and have proven very safe, with only rare serious side effects. But protection against milder infection begins to wane after a few months.

Like flu vaccines, COVID-19 shots must be updated regularly to match the ever-evolving virus — contributing to public frustration at the need for repeated vaccinations. Efforts to develop next-generation vaccines are underway, such as nasal vaccines that researchers hope might do a better job of blocking infection.

Which variant is dominating now?

Genetic changes called mutations happen as viruses make copies of themselves. And this virus has proven to be no different.

Scientists named these variants after Greek letters: alpha, beta, gamma, delta and omicron. Delta, which became dominant in the U.S. in June 2021, raised a lot of concerns because it was twice as likely to lead to hospitalization as the first version of the virus.

Then in late November 2021, a new variant came on the scene: omicron.

“It spread very rapidly,” dominating within weeks, said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas. “It drove a huge spike in cases compared to anything we had seen previously.”

But on average, the WHO said, it caused less severe disease than delta. Scientists believe that may be partly because immunity had been building due to vaccination and infections.

“Ever since then, we just sort of keep seeing these different subvariants of omicron accumulating more different mutations,” Long said. “Right now, everything seems to locked on this omicron branch of the tree.”

The omicron relative now dominant in the U.S. is called XEC, which accounted for 45% of variants circulating nationally in the two-week period ending Dec. 21, the CDC said. Existing COVID-19 medications and the latest vaccine booster should be effective against it, Long said, since “it’s really sort of a remixing of variants already circulating.”

What do we know about long COVID?

Millions of people remain in limbo with a sometimes disabling, often invisible, legacy of the pandemic called long COVID.

It can take several weeks bounce back after a bout of COVID-19, but some people develop more persistent problems. The symptoms that last at least three months, sometimes for years, include fatigue, cognitive trouble known as “brain fog,” pain and cardiovascular problems, among others.

Doctors don’t know why only some people get long COVID. It can happen even after a mild case and at any age, although rates have declined since the pandemic’s early years. Studies show vaccination can lower the risk.

It also isn’t clear what causes long COVID, which complicates the search for treatments. One important clue: Increasingly researchers are discovering that remnants of the coronavirus can persist in some patients’ bodies long after their initial infection, although that can’t explain all cases.

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 TARA COPP, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, COLLEEN LONG and TY ONEIL, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The person who died when a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel was a highly decorated U.S. Army Green Beret who deployed twice to Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.

Two law enforcement officials identified the man inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck as Matthew Livelsberger. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said. He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.

The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday’s explosion but provided no other details.

The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver was not acting alone.

Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.

Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.

Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.”

“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.

Authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, Kevin McMahill, the elected sheriff of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, said Wednesday. He did not release the person’s ID, however.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jocelyn Tate scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Julia Ayrault also had a double-double and No. 21 Michigan State dominated the first half for a 77-59 win on Wednesday afternoon.

Ayrault had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten Conference), who had 18 steals and scored 23 points off 25 turnovers. Ines Sotelo added 16 points and Grace VanSlooten had 13 with three blocks. All eight players had at least one steal.

Destini Lombard and Lana McCarthy both scored 10 points for the Boilermakers (7-7, 0-3).

Tate had 13 points and Sotelo 11 at halftime as the Spartans took a 48-21 lead.

Sotelo made all four of her shots for nine points in the first quarter as the Spartans hit four 3-pointers and 6 of 9 free throws to take a 30-18 lead. Then they outscored the Boilermakers 18-3 in the second quarter, scoring the last 16 points with Tate getting 10.

MSU shot 50% with six 3-pointers in the second quarter, while Purdue was 1 of 12 with eight turnovers. Tate scored eight points with a pair of 3-pointers during the game-breaking surge.

The Boilermakers outscored Michigan State 38-29 in the second half, getting as close as 15 with three minutes to play in the game. Purdue shot 47% after the break with just seven turnovers while the Spartans shot 34%, going 1 of 16 behind the arc.

Purdue is home against No. 1 UCLA on Wednesday. The Spartans head to Nebraska next Thursday.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A driver behind the wheel of a pickup truck rammed into a crowd of New Orleans revelers on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 10 people in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

After the vehicle stopped, the driver emerged from the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said.

Here is the latest:

Road closed leading to suspect’s recent address

Law enforcement officers have closed off a road leading to a Houston residence that records indicate was a recent address of the suspect in the New Orleans attack.

The white mobile home was behind a gate and in a small neighborhood where goats and ducks were roaming the grass.

18-year-old who wanted to be a nurse is among the victims in New Orleans, friend says

A Mississippi man who was celebrating New Year’s Eve in New Orleans says his friend who dreamed of becoming a nurse was among the people killed in an attack on Bourbon Street.

Zion Parsons, 18, said a vehicle suddenly appeared and he watched it hit his friend, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux. At least 10 people were killed.

Parsons described the crowd scattering and the gruesome aftermath.

“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” Zion Parsons said.

He said he watched as authorities put a tarp over Dedeaux’s body. He later called Dedeaux’s family to tell them what had happened.

“I hadn’t had time to cry up until I called her mother and she asked me, ‘Where’s my baby’,” Parsons said. “That broke me.”

Officials insist people should feel safe in New Orleans even as they seek additional suspects

Officials say residents and visitors should feel safe in New Orleans even as they have repeatedly acknowledged that they are aggressively seeking additional possible suspects in the attack.

During a news conference, Gov. Jeff Landry bristled at a question about how officials were confident that Jabbar did not act alone, saying, “Why would we tell you?”

But a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press and circulated among law enforcement contained a possible clue. The document said surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices.

Truck used in attack was rented using Turo app, company says

The pickup truck used in the attack was rented via Turo, an app that connects drivers, known as “guests,” with vehicle owners, known as “hosts,” according to Steve Webb, the company’s vice president of communications.

“We are heartbroken to learn that one of our host’s vehicles was involved in this awful incident,” Webb said in an email. “We are actively partnering with the FBI. We are not currently aware of anything in this guest’s background that would have identified him as a trust and safety threat to us at the time of the reservation.”

Investigators have reviewed video of people placing an explosive device, document shows

Investigators have reviewed video showing three men and a woman placing an improvised explosive device in connection with the car attack that killed at least 10 people in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

That’s according to a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.

The revelation could help explain why officials at a Wednesday news conference said that they were aggressively hunting for additional suspects and did not believe the driver of the pickup truck, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, acted alone.

New Orleans attacker drove around police car and onto sidewalk, authorities say
Authorities say that the driver of the truck that rammed into the crowd in New Orleans drove onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic and protect Bourbon Street revelers.

A barrier system designed to prevent vehicle attacks was undergoing repairs in preparation for the Super Bowl, which is being played in the city in February.

Sugar Bowl postponed after New Orleans attack

The Sugar Bowl has been postponed for 24 hours after an attack during New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans left 10 people dead and at least 35 injured.

AllState Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame will be held Thursday. It had been scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Hundley says the decision was made in the interest of public safety.

FBI believes New Orleans attacker may have had help

The FBI says it does not believe that the Texas man who killed at least 10 people in a suspected New Orleans terror attack acted alone.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said at a news conference that officials are actively seeking any possible associates of the man, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

Authorities are set to hold a media briefing

Authorities plan to hold a joint media briefing at 2 p.m. EST after an attack during New Year’s celebrations in New Orleans left 10 people dead and at least 35 injured.

Gov. Jeff Landry, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne E. Kirkpatrick, and Louisiana State Police Col. Robert P. Hodges will speak at the briefing.

FBI identifies driver who killed 10

The FBI confirmed that it has identified the driver who killed 10 people and injured dozens in New Orleans as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. Investigators are working to gather additional information about Jabbar’s background and investigating an Islamic State flag that was with the vehicle, the FBI said.

Islamic State group flag found in vehicle used in New Orleans attack, FBI says

An Islamic State group flag was recovered in the vehicle used by the attacker who killed at least 10 people early Wednesday in New Orleans, the FBI said in a statement.

The FBI says it is still investigating the attacker, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas, to determine “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.”

Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. in an area teeming with New Year’s revelers, the FBI said.

— By Erik Tucker, Jim Mustian, Zeke Miller, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Balsamo

Law enforcement identifies driver who killed 10

Law enforcement has identified the driver who killed 10 people and injured dozens in New Orleans as a 42-year-old man, six law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press.

The officials identified the suspect as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar.

Investigators were working to gather additional information about Jabbar’s background and investigating an unfurled black flag that was with the vehicle, the officials said.

A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed by police.

The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Louisiana governor urges people to stay away from French Quarter

Louisiana’s governor says people should stay away from the French Quarter because of the investigation into the deadly attack by a pickup driver that killed 10 people.
Gov. Jeff Landry posted on the social media platform X that authorities face “a fluid situation” as they investigate.

Landry posted, “We recognize that there are tourists around us, and we urge all to avoid the French Quarter as this is an active investigation.”

Superdome in New Orleans on lockdown for security sweeps after deadly truck attack
The Superdome, set to host a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night, is on lockdown for security sweeps.

People with offices in the Superdome — including officials with the Sugar Bowl and Sun Belt Conference — were told not to come into work until further notice.

However, there was no immediate word that the Sugar Bowl, scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m., might be delayed.

What we know after a driver crashes into pedestrians on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, killing 10

Driver rams New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing 10. FBI investigating as ‘act of terrorism’

A driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of New Orleans revelers early on New Year’s Day, killing 10 people and injuring more than 30 in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

The driver was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street in the city’s bustling French Quarter, the FBI said.

Investigators were combing the French Quarter for potential explosive devices, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said officials were investigating at least one suspected improvised explosive device at the scene.

There’s never quite been a division like this season’s NFC North and there has never been a wild-card team like whoever loses the division title showdown between Detroit and Minnesota.

Led by the Lions and Vikings, both 14-2, the NFC North is set to be the winningest division since the NFL realigned to eight divisions of four teams each in 2002, with 43 wins for the four division teams with two head-to-head games remaining.

The only other divisions to combine for 43 wins since 2002 were the AFC North last season and NFC East in 2022. The NFC North will top that barring two Week 18 ties when Detroit hosts Minnesota and Green Bay (11-5) hosts Chicago (4-12).

The NFC North teams combined to go 33-11 in non-division games, with the .750 win percentage tied for the second best ever behind the .775 for the 1984 AFC West.

The Week 18 showdown between the Lions and Vikings will feature the first matchup ever in the regular season between teams with at least 14 wins. There have been only five postseason games between teams that won at least 14 regular- season games, with Kansas City beating Philadelphia in Super Bowl 57, New England beating Pittsburgh in the 2004 AFC title game, Denver beating Atlanta in Super Bowl 33, Atlanta beating Minnesota in the 1998 NFC title game and San Francisco beating Miami in Super Bowl 19.

The loser of the game in Detroit on Sunday night will drop all the way to the No. 5 seed as a wild-card team and have to open the playoffs on the road against a team that will have at least four more losses.

There has never been a wild-card team with at least 14 wins, with the previous high coming in 1999 when Tennessee went 13-3 and lost the AFC Central to Jacksonville. The Jaguars lost two games in the regular season that year — both to the Titans — and also dropped the AFC title game to Tennessee.

If Detroit has to hit the road to start the playoffs, the Lions at least have comfort in the fact that they went 8-0 away from home this season. They were the 10th team to go 8-0 or better on the road, with three of the previous nine winning the championship: New England in 2016 and San Francisco in 1984 and 1989.

Only two of those teams had to play a road game in the playoffs, with the 2014 Cowboys losing a divisional round game at Green Bay and the 1934 Bears losing the NFL title game to the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. The Chiefs also lost the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay in the 2020 season in the Buccaneers’ home stadium in what was officially designated as a neutral-site game.

Greener pastures

When Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were teammates for Carolina in 2022, they combined to throw 13 TD passes for a seven-win team that fired coach Matt Rhule early that season.

The two former first-round picks from the 2018 draft are having far more success this season. Mayfield has thrown 39 touchdown passes in his second season in Tampa Bay and has the Bucs in position to win the NFC South with one more win. Darnold has thrown 35 TD passes for the Vikings.

There was only one other time in NFL history, according to Sportradar, that two players who appeared in at least one game in the same season for one team both went on to throw at least 35 TD passes for another after leaving.

The 1950 Baltimore Colts featured Hall of Famers Y.A. Tittle and George Blanda. That version of the Colts folded after that season, while Tittle went on to throw 36 TD passes for the Giants in 1963 and Blanda had 36 for the Oilers in 1961.

Turnaround coach

Jim Harbaugh’s turnaround skills had another success story in his first year coaching the Los Angeles Chargers.

Harbaugh clinched a playoff spot when Los Angeles beat New England 40-7 on Saturday after going 5-12 last season. This is the second time Harbaugh has taken over a team with a losing record and gone to the playoffs in his first season, having San Francisco go from 6-10 in 2010 before he arrived to 13-3 in 2011.

Harbaugh is the first coach in the Super Bowl era to take over two teams that had losing records the year before he arrived and take them to the playoffs in his first season.

Harbaugh also had an immediate impact in college, helping Stanford improve by three wins in his first season in 2007 and Michigan improve by five wins in 2015.

Harbaugh has gone to the postseason in four out of five seasons as an NFL coach, a rate exceeded only by four coaches with at least four seasons in the Super Bowl era: Nick Sirianni (4 for 4), Sean McDermott (7 for 8), Tony Dungy (11 for 13) and Matt LaFleur (5 for 6).

Under pressure

Caleb Williams hasn’t had nearly as much success as Harbaugh in his transition from college to the pros.

The No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Bears is enduring a rough rookie season, losing 10 straight starts headed into the season finale. The only other QB picked first overall to lose that many consecutive starts as a rookie was Troy Aikman, who went 0-11 for Dallas in 1989.

Williams has been sacked 67 times thanks to a shaky offensive line and his inability to get rid of the ball quickly. He is nearing the record for most sacks taken in a season, with only three QBs taking more. David Carr was sacked a record 76 times as a rookie in 2002 for the expansion Houston Texans, Randall Cunningham was sacked 72 times in 1986 and Carr took 68 more sacks in 2005.

The Bears have lost 10 straight games in a season for the second time in franchise history, having also dropped the final 10 games in 2022.

— By JOSH DUBOW, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — One person died and seven more were injured Wednesday when a Tesla truck caught fire and exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, authorities said.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials said at a news conference that a person died inside the vehicle and that they were working to get the body out.

Another seven people nearby received minor injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment.

A county spokeswoman said in a statement that the fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m.

No cause was given and details were sketchy.

“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Las Vegas office, said at the news conference. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”

Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire on the social media platform X. He praised the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”

The 64-story hotel is just off the famed Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed a day after a truck plowed into a New Year’s crowd about a mile away early Wednesday, killing at least 10 people.

The game, originally scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Central at the 70,000-seat Superdome, has been pushed back to Thursday night Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said.

“Public safety is paramount,” Hundley said at a media briefing alongside federal, state and local officials, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “All parties all agree that it’s in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours.”

Said U.S. Rep. Troy Carter: “Rest assured the decision that was made to postpone the game was not done lightly. It was done with one single thing in mind: public safety — making sure that the citizens and visitors of this great city, not only for this event, but for every event you come to in Louisiana, that you will be safe. And we will use every resource possible.”

Hundley said work was underway to “set up a safe and efficient and fun environment” at the Superdome on Thursday night. “We live in the fun and games world with what we do, but we certainly recognize the importance of this and support (public safety efforts) 100%.”

The Superdome was on lockdown for security sweeps on Wednesday morning, when people with offices in the Superdome — including officials with the Sugar Bowl and Sun Belt Conference — were told not to come into work until further notice.

Some credentialed Superdome employees were permitted into offices by Wednesday afternoon.

The casualties occurred when a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day. The driver was killed in a firefight with police following the attack at about 3:15 a.m. along Bourbon Street near Canal Street, the FBI said.

The Georgia and Notre Dame football teams arrived in New Orleans on Sunday and have been staying at downtown hotels just blocks away from where the violence occurred.

Statements from the University of Georgia Athletic Association and from Notre Dame said both schools had accounted for all team personnel and members of official travel parties.

“To be in solidarity with those who suffer is to exemplify the spirit of Notre Dame,” said university president the Rev. Robert A. Dowd. “Today, we are in solidarity with all those impacted by this tragedy.”

A statement from Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks offered prayers for “everyone involved in this horrific event, and we are here to support them in any way possible.”

New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno told WDSU-TV earlier Wednesday that the security perimeter around the Superdome was being “extended to be a larger zone.”

“So expect obviously extra security,” she said. “There are more police officers who are coming in.”

The Superdome, which is about 20 blocks away, also is scheduled to host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.

The first Super Bowl after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, also was held in New Orleans, and there was a massive security perimeter for that game including street closures surrounding the Superdome and officers — including snipers — on the tops of surrounding high-rise buildings, as well as on the roof of the dome itself.

“We are deeply saddened by the news of the devastating incident in New Orleans,” the NFL said in a statement. “The NFL and the local host committee have been working collaboratively with local, state and federal agencies the past two years and have developed comprehensive security plans.

“These planning sessions will continue as they do with all major NFL events,” the statement continued. “We are confident attendees will have a safe and enjoyable Super Bowl experience.”

— By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Seven years ago, New Orleans officials began installing adjustable barriers at intersections in the famed French Quarter to temporarily prevent vehicles from entering the tourist area where the narrow streets are typically teeming with pedestrians every night of the week. But the stainless-steel columns known as bollards were in the process of being replaced and some were apparently not engaged early on New Year’s Day when a motorist rammed a pickup truck through a crowd of revelers, killing 10 people.

The project to remove and replace the bollards along about eight blocks of bustling Bourbon Street, from St. Ann Street to Canal Street, began Nov. 18, city documents show. Temporary asphalt patches were installed in the spots where the steel columns were removed, according to the documents.

City officials have not confirmed whether the intersection where the pickup sped through was actively under construction or if the replacement project created a vulnerability.

One day before New Year’s Eve, New Orleans officials issued a traffic advisory about its vehicle barrier replacement project, stating that crews would work until 2 p.m. on Monday and try to “minimize road closures as much as possible to reduce impacts” during the celebration.

“Currently, Bourbon Street is fully open from Canal Street to Toulouse Street,” the city said in its Dec. 30 advisory.

The intersection of Bourbon and Canal is where the pickup rammed into the mass of people. The driver was shot to death by police and the FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism, authorities said.

As vehicle attacks have increased globally in recent decades, cities around the world have installed bollards in pedestrian-heavy areas. Following the 9/11 attacks, New York City put up similar adjustable steel columns around Times Square, City Hall and Wall Street. They are also a common sight in London, Paris and Tokyo.

FBI doesn’t believe New Orleans attacker was ‘solely responsible,’ asks public’s help in tracking down associates

Initially installed beginning in Dec. 2017 as part of a $40 million safety plan, the New Orleans' bollards system consists of four sets of barriers placed at either side of Bourbon Street intersections. The inner two columns can be pushed back when unlocked by a ground-level control panel, allowing for a roughly 13-foot (4-meter) berth for vehicles to navigate through, NOLA.com reported when construction began.

Aaron Miller, director of the city's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said at the time that the bollards would go up nightly in keeping with city rules that close off stretches of the popular French Quarter boulevard exclusively to pedestrians. Otherwise, they would only be used to block intersections either by a city ordinance or during special events, he said.

The barriers were "designed to mitigate against what we believe the risk is for pedestrians" in a part of the city he said was "an iconic or symbolic target," Miller said in Dec. 2017.

There have been proposals over the years to turn much of Bourbon Street into a pedestrian plaza and managed by a team focused on making it safe, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said Wednesday. He said it's important to look at every aspect of safety following the New Year's Day carnage.

What we know after a driver crashes into pedestrians on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, killing 10

"You can't prevent something like this when you've got a crazy person that is wanting to cause havoc and take lives," Nungesser told WDSU-TV.

Wednesday's rampage happened amid the ongoing "Bourbon Street Bollard Assessment and Replacement Project."

On Dec. 10, the city posted a photo on social media of a torn-up street in the French Quarter, with two bollards sitting atop a pallet. Work was scheduled to continue through Feb. 2025, when New Orleans will host the Super Bowl, city records show.

"The project includes replacing old bollards with new removable stainless-steel bollards and sidewalk repairs at various locations," a Department of Public Works document states.

In a Nov. 26 update, city officials said work including concrete pouring was occurring on both sides of Bourbon Street "without closing intersections to vehicle traffic."

Michigan’s new laws that go into effect in 2025

It was a life that took him from peanut farming to the presidency. While former President Jimmy Carter s time in the White House only lasted one term, the decades afterward were defined by humanitarian work that affected people all around the world.

Founding the Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, he became a global champion for democracy, human rights and public health. And he still took time to teach Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Georgia.

Carter was the nations longest-lived president when he died Sunday at age 100.

But he was just one of many noteworthy people who died in 2024.

Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February, was a fierce political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, crusading against corruption and staging protests against the Kremlin. He had been jailed since 2021 when he returned to Russia to face certain arrest after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

Other political figures who died this year include: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi; former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Vietnamese politician Nguyen Phu Trong; U.S. congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov; pundit Lou Dobbs; Greek politician Vasso Papandreou; former U.S. senators Joe Lieberman, Jim Inhofe, Tim Johnson and Jim Sasser; Namibian President Hage Geingob; and former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss.

The year also brought the deaths of several rights activists, including the reverends Cecil L. Chip Murray and James Lawson Jr.; Dexter Scott King; Hydeia Broadbent; and David Mixner.

Business leaders who died this year include: Indian industrialist Ratan Tata, The Home Depot co-founder Bernard Bernie Marcus, financier Jacob Rothschild and Daiso retail chain founder Hirotake Yano.

O.J. Simpsons trial of the century over the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend bared divisions over race and law enforcement and brought an intersection of sports, crime, entertainment and class that was hard to turn away from. His death in April brought an end to a life that had become defined by scrutiny over the killings.

Other noteworthy sports figures who died include: basketball players Jerry West and Dikembe Mutombo; baseball players Willie Mays and Fernando Valenzuela; and gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi.

The music industry lost a titan in producer Quincy Jones, who died in November. His many contributions included producing Michael Jacksons Thriller album and working with hundreds of other musicians over a long and storied career.

Other artists and entertainers who died this year include: actors James Earl Jones, Chita Rivera, Donald Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Louis Gossett Jr., Shelley Duvall, Kris Kristofferson, Sandra Milo, Anouk Aime, Carl Weathers, Joyce Randolph, Tony Todd, Shannen Doherty and Song Jae-lim; musicians Sergio Mendes, Toby Keith, Phil Lesh, Melanie, Dickey Betts, Franoise Hardy, Fatman Scoop, Duane Eddy and Frankie Beverly; filmmakers Roger Corman and Morgan Spurlock; authors Faith Ringgold, Nikki Giovanni and N. Scott Momaday; TV fitness guru Richard Simmons; sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer; talk show host Phil Donahue; and poets Shuntaro Tanikawa, John Sinclair and Kazuko Shiraishi.

Here is a roll call of some noteworthy figures who died in 2024 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):

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JANUARY

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Zvi Zamir, 98. A former director of Israels Mossad spy service who warned that Israel was about to be attacked on the eve of the 1973 Mideast war. Jan. 2.

Glynis Johns, 100. A Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie Mary Poppins and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be Send in the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim. Jan. 4.

David Soul, 80. The actor-singer was a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo Starsky & Hutch and topped the music charts with the ballad Dont Give Up on Us. Jan. 4.

Franz Beckenbauer, 78. He won the World Cup both as a player and coach and became one of Germanys most beloved personalities with his easygoing charm. Jan. 7.

Joyce Randolph, 99. A veteran stage and television actor whose role as the savvy Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners provided the perfect foil to her dimwitted TV husband. Jan. 13.

Jack Burke Jr., 100. He was the oldest living Masters champion and staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors. Jan. 19.

Marlena Shaw, 81. The jazz and R&B vocalist whose California Soul was one of the defining soul songs of the late 1960s. Jan. 19.

Mary Weiss, 75. The lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Shangri-Las, whose hits included Leader of the Pack. Jan. 19.

Gigi Riva, 79. The all-time leading goalscorer for Italys mens national team was known as the Rombo di Tuono (Rumble of Thunder). Jan. 22.

Dexter Scott King, 62. He dedicated much of his life to shepherding the civil rights legacy of his parents, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Jan. 22.

Charles Osgood, 91. He anchored CBS Sunday Morning for more than two decades, was host of the long-running radio program The Osgood File and was referred to as CBS News poet-in-residence. Jan. 23.

Melanie, 76. The singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene, performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits including the enduring cultural phenomenon Brand New Key. Jan. 23.

N. Scott Momaday, 89. A Pulitzer Prize-winning storyteller, poet, educator and folklorist whose debut novel House Made of Dawn is widely credited as the starting point for contemporary Native American literature. Jan. 24.

Herbert Coward, 85. He was known for his Toothless Man role in the movie Deliverance. Jan. 24. Car crash.

Sandra Milo, 90. An icon of Italian cinema who played a key role in Federico Fellinis 8 and later became his muse. Jan. 29.

Jean Carnahan, 90. She became the first female senator to represent Missouri when she was appointed to replace her husband following his death. Jan. 30.

Chita Rivera, 91. The dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and shrugged off a near-fatal car accident. Jan. 30.

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FEBRUARY

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Carl Weathers, 76. A former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies, starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator and teaching golf in Happy Gilmore. Feb. 1.

Ian Lavender, 77. An actor who played a hapless Home Guard soldier in the classic British sitcom Dads Army. Feb. 2.

Hage Geingob, 82. Namibias president and founding prime minister who played a central role in what has become one of Africas most stable democracies after returning from a long exile in Botswana and the United States as an anti-apartheid activist. Feb. 4.

Bob Beckwith, 91. A retired firefighter whose chance encounter with the president amid the rubble of ground zero became part of an iconic image of American unity after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Feb. 4.

Toby Keith, 62. A hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who both riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans. Feb. 5. Stomach cancer.

John Bruton, 76. A former Irish prime minister who played a key role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Feb. 6.

Sebastin Piera, 74. The two-time former president of Chile faced social upheaval followed by a pandemic in his second term. Feb. 6. Helicopter crash.

Seiji Ozawa, 88. The Japanese conductor amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Feb. 6.

Henry Fambrough, 85. The last surviving original member of the iconic R&B group The Spinners, whose hits included Its a Shame, Could It Be Im Falling in Love and The Rubberband Man. Feb. 7.

Robert Badinter, 95. He spearheaded the drive to abolish Frances death penalty, campaigned against antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and led a European body dealing with the legal fallout of Yugoslavias breakup. Feb. 9.

Bob Edwards, 76. He anchored National Public Radios Morning Edition for just under 25 years and was the baritone voice who told many Americans what had happened while they slept. Feb. 10.

Hirotake Yano, 80. He founded the retail chain Daiso known for its 100-yen shops, Japans equivalent of the dollar store. Feb. 12.

Alexei Navalny, 47. The fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests. Feb. 16.

Lefty Driesell, 92. The Hall of Fame coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs. Feb. 17.

Hydeia Broadbent, 39. The HIV/AIDS activist came to national prominence in the 1990s as a young child for her inspirational talks to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus she was born with. Feb. 20.

Jacob Rothschild, 87. The financier and philanthropist was part of the renowned Rothschild banking dynasty. Feb. 26.

Richard Lewis, 76. An acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname The Prince of Pain. Feb. 27.

Nikolai Ryzhkov, 94. A former Soviet prime minister who presided over botched efforts to shore up the crumbling national economy in the final years of the USSR. Feb. 28.

Brian Mulroney, 84. The former Canadian prime minister forged close ties with two Republican U.S. presidents through a sweeping free trade agreement that was once vilified but is now celebrated. Feb. 29.

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MARCH

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Iris Apfel, 102. A textile expert, interior designer and fashion celebrity known for her eccentric style. March 1.

Akira Toriyama, 68. The creator of the best-selling Dragon Ball and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics. March 1. Blood clot.

Chris Mortensen, 72. The award-winning journalist covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN. March 3.

David E. Harris, 89. He flew bombers for the U.S. military and broke barriers in 1964 when he became the first Black pilot hired at a major U.S. airline. March 8.

Eric Carmen, 74. The singer-songwriter fronted the power-pop 1970s band the Raspberries and later had soaring pop hits like All by Myself and Hungry Eyes from the hit Dirty Dancing soundtrack. March 11.

Paul Alexander, 78. A Texas man who spent most of his life using an iron lung chamber and built a large following on social media, recounting his life from contracting polio in the 1940s to earning a law degree. March 11.

David Mixner, 77. A longtime LGBTQ+ activist who was an adviser to Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign and later called him out over the Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer personnel in the military. March 11.

M. Emmet Walsh, 88. The character actor brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including Blood Simple and Blade Runner. March 19.

Lou Whittaker, 95. A legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state. March 24.

Joe Lieberman, 82. The former U.S. senator of Connecticut nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election and almost became Republican John McCains running mate eight years later. March 27. Complications from a fall.

Louis Gossett Jr., 87. The first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries Roots. March 28.

William D. Delahunt, 82. The longtime Massachusetts congressman was a Democratic stalwart who postponed his retirement from Washington to help pass former President Barack Obamas legislative agenda. March 30.

Chance Perdomo, 27. An actor who rose to fame as a star of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Gen V. March 29. Motorcycle crash.

Barbara Rush, 97. A popular leading actor in the 1950s and 1960s who co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman and other top film performers and later had a thriving TV career. March 31.

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APRIL

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Lou Conter, 102. The last living survivor of the USS Arizona battleship that exploded and sank during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. April 1.

John Sinclair, 82. A poet, music producer and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him. April 2.

The Rev. Cecil L. Chip Murray, 94. An influential pastor and civil rights leader who used his tenure at one of Los Angeles oldest churches to uplift the predominantly Black neighborhoods following one of the countrys worst race riots. April 5.

Peter Higgs, 94. The Nobel prize-winning physicist proposed the existence of the so-called God particle that helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang. April 8.

Ralph Puckett Jr., 97. A retired Army colonel awarded the Medal of Honor seven decades after he was wounded leading a company of outnumbered Army Rangers in battle during the Korean War. April 8.

O.J. Simpson, 76. The decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial. April 10.

William Strickland, 87. A longtime civil rights activist and supporter of the Black Power movement who worked with Malcolm X and other prominent leaders in the 1960s. April 10.

Robert MacNeil, 93. He created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades. April 12.

Faith Ringgold, 93. An award-winning author and artist who broke down barriers for Black female artists and became famous for her richly colored and detailed quilts combining painting, textiles and storytelling. April 12.

Carl Erskine, 97. He pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series. April 16.

Bob Graham, 87. A former U.S. senator and two-term Florida governor who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks and as an early critic of the Iraq war. April 16.

Dickey Betts, 80. The guitar legend who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, Ramblin Man. April 18.

Roman Gabriel, 83. The first Filipino-American quarterback in the NFL and the league MVP in 1969. April 20.

Terry Anderson, 76. The globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent became one of Americas longest-held hostages after he was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years. April 21.

William Laws Calley Jr., 80. As an Army lieutenant, he led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history. April 28.

Duane Eddy, 86. A pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as Rebel Rouser and Peter Gunn helped put the twang in early rock n roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless others. April 30.

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MAY

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Dick Rutan, 85. He, along with copilot Jeana Yeager, completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling. May 3.

Jeannie Epper, 83. A groundbreaking performer who did stunts for many of the most important women of film and television action of the 1970s and 80s, including star Lynda Carter on TVs Wonder Woman. May 5.

Bernard Hill, 79. An actor who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and went down with the ship as the captain in Titanic. May 5.

Steve Albini, 61. An alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more. May 7.

Kim Ki Nam, 94. A North Korean propaganda chief who helped build personality cults around the countrys three dynastic leaders. May 7.

Pete McCloskey, 96. A pro-environment, anti-war California Republican who co-wrote the Endangered Species Act and co-founded Earth Day. May 8.

Ralph Kennedy Frasier, 85. The last surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the first to desegregate the undergraduate student body at North Carolinas flagship public university in the 1950s. May 8.

Roger Corman, 98. The King of the Bs helped turn out such low-budget classics as Little Shop of Horrors and Attack of the Crab Monsters and gave many of Hollywoods most famous actors and directors early breaks. May 9.

Alice Munro, 92. The Nobel laureate was a Canadian literary giant who became one of the worlds most esteemed contemporary authors and one of historys most honored short story writers. May 13.

Dabney Coleman, 92. The mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in 9 to 5 and the nasty TV director in Tootsie. May 16.

Peter Buxtun, 86. The whistleblower who revealed that the U.S. government allowed hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama to go untreated for syphilis in what became known as the Tuskegee study. May 18.

Ebrahim Raisi, 63. The Iranian president was a hard-line protege of the countrys supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels, launched a major attack on Israel and experienced mass protests. May 19. Helicopter crash.

Hossein Amirabdollahian, 60. Irans foreign minister and a hard-liner close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who confronted the West while also overseeing indirect talks with the U.S. over the countrys nuclear program. May 19. Helicopter crash.

Ivan F. Boesky, 87. The flamboyant stock trader whose cooperation with the government cracked open one of the largest insider trading scandals in the history of Wall Street. May 20.

Morgan Spurlock, 53. The documentary filmmaker and Oscar nominee whose most famous works skewered Americas food industry and who notably ate only at McDonalds for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet. May 23. Complications of cancer.

Bill Walton, 71. He starred for John Woodens UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting. May 27.

Robert Pickton, 74. A Canadian serial killer who took female victims to his pig farm during a crime spree near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s. May 31. Injuries from a prison assault involving another inmate.

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JUNE

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Tin Oo, 97. One of the closest associates of Myanmars ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as a co-founder of her National League for Democracy party. June 1.

Janis Paige, 101. A popular actor in Hollywood and in Broadway musicals and comedies who danced with Fred Astaire, toured with Bob Hope and continued to perform into her 90s. June 2.

David Levy, 86. An Israeli politician born in Morocco who fought tirelessly against deep-seated racism against Jews from North Africa and went on to serve as foreign minister and hold other senior governmental posts. June 2.

Brigitte Bierlein, 74. The former head of Austrias Constitutional Court became the countrys first female chancellor in an interim government in 2019. June 3.

Paul Pressler, 94. A leading figure of the Southern Baptist Convention who was accused of sexually abusing boys and young men and later settled a lawsuit over the allegations. June 7.

The Rev. James Lawson Jr., 95. An apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction. June 9.

Lynn Conway, 86. A pioneer in the design of microchips that are at the heart of consumer electronics who overcame discrimination as a transgender person. June 9.

Franoise Hardy, 80. A French singing legend and pop icon since the 1960s. June 11.

Jerry West, 86. Selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, his silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo. June 12.

George Nethercutt, 79. The former U.S. congressman was a Spokane lawyer with limited political experience when he ousted Democratic Speaker of the House Tom Foley as part of a stunning GOP wave that shifted national politics to the right in 1994. June 14.

Kazuko Shiraishi, 93. A leading name in modern Japanese beat poetry, she was known for her dramatic readings at times with jazz music. June 14.

Willie Mays, 93. The electrifying Say Hey Kid whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseballs greatest and most beloved players. June 18.

Anouk Aime, 92. The radiant French star and dark-eyed beauty of classic films including Federico Fellinis La Dolce Vita and Claude Lelouchs A Man and a Woman. June 18.

Donald Sutherland, 88. The Canadian actor whose wry, arresting screen presence spanned more than half a century of films from M.A.S.H. to The Hunger Games. June 20.

Bill Cobbs, 90. The veteran character actor became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man. June 25.

Martin Mull, 80. His droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including Roseanne and Arrested Development. June 27.

Pl Enger, 57. A talented Norwegian soccer player turned celebrity art thief who pulled off the sensational 1994 heist of Edvard Munchs famed The Scream painting from the National Gallery in Oslo. June 29.

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JULY

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Jim Inhofe, 89. A powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for over six decades, the Republican U.S. senator was a conservative known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change. July 9.

Joe Bonsall, 76. A Grammy award winner and celebrated tenor of the country and gospel group the Oak Ridge Boys. July 9.

Tommy Robinson, 82. A former U.S. congressman who gained notoriety as an Arkansas sheriff for tactics that included chaining inmates outside a state prison to protest overcrowding. July 10.

Shelley Duvall, 75. The intrepid, Texas-born movie star whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a mainstay in the films of Robert Altman and who co-starred in Stanley Kubricks The Shining. July 11.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 96. The diminutive sex therapist became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics. July 12.

Shannen Doherty, 53. The Beverly Hills, 90210 star whose life and career were roiled by illness and tabloid stories. July 13.

Richard Simmons, 76. He was televisions hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. July 13.

James Sikking, 90. He starred as a hardened police lieutenant on Hill Street Blues and as the titular characters kindhearted dad on Doogie Howser, M.D. July 13.

Jacoby Jones, 40. A former NFL receiver whose 108-yard kickoff return in 2013 remains the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history. July 14.

Cheng Pei-pei, 78. A Chinese-born martial arts film actor who starred in Ang Lees Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. July 17.

Bob Newhart, 94. The deadpan accountant-turned-comedian became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album. July 18.

Lou Dobbs, 78. The conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade. July 18.

Nguyen Phu Trong, 80. He was general secretary of Vietnams ruling Communist Party and the countrys most powerful politician. July 19.

Sheila Jackson Lee, 74. The longtime congresswoman from Texas helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. July 19.

Abdul Duke Fakir, 88. The last surviving original member of the beloved Motown group the Four Tops, which was known for such hits as Reach Out, Ill Be There and Standing in the Shadows of Love. July 22.

Edna OBrien, 93. Irelands literary pride and outlaw scandalized her native land with her debut novel The Country Girls before gaining international acclaim as a storyteller and iconoclast that found her welcomed everywhere from Dublin to the White House. July 27.

Francine Pascal, 92. A onetime soap opera writer whose Sweet Valley High novels and the ongoing adventures of twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and other teens captivated millions of young readers. July 28.

Betty Prashker, 99. A pioneering editor of the 20th century who as one of the first women with the power to acquire books published such classics as Kate Milletts Sexual Politics and Susan Faludis Backlash and helped oversee the careers of Jean Auel, Dominick Dunne and Erik Larson among others. July 30.

Ismail Haniyeh, 62. Hamas top leader in exile landed on Israels hit list after the militant group staged its surprise Oct. 7 attacks. July 31. Killed in an airstrike in Iran.

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AUGUST

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Jack Russell, 63. The lead singer of the bluesy 80s metal band Great White, whose hits included Once Bitten Twice Shy and Rock Me, and who was fronting his band the night 100 people died in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island. Aug. 7.

Juan Chi Chi Rodriguez, 88. A Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sports most popular players during a long professional career. Aug. 8.

Susan Wojcicki, 56. A pioneering tech executive who helped shape Google and YouTube. Aug. 9.

Wallace Wally Amos, 88. The creator of the Famous Amos cookie empire went on to become a childrens literacy advocate. Aug. 13.

Gena Rowlands, 94. She was hailed as one of the greatest actors to ever practice the craft and a guiding light in independent cinema as a star in groundbreaking movies by her director husband, John Cassavetes. She later charmed audiences in her sons tear-jerker The Notebook. Aug. 14.

Peter Marshall, 98. The actor and singer turned game show host who played straight man to the stars for 16 years on The Hollywood Squares. Aug. 15.

Alain Delon, 88. The internationally acclaimed French actor embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world. Aug. 18.

Phil Donahue, 88. His pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that brought success to Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others. Aug. 18.

Ruth Johnson Colvin, 107. She founded Literacy Volunteers of America, was inducted into the National Womens Hall of Fame and received the nations highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Aug. 18.

Al Attles, 87. A Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador. Aug. 20.

John Amos, 84. He starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom Good Times and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries Roots. Aug. 21.

Salim Hoss, 94. The five-time former Lebanese prime minister served during some of the most tumultuous years of his countrys modern history. Aug. 25.

Leonard Riggio, 83. A brash, self-styled underdog who transformed the publishing industry by building Barnes & Noble into the countrys most powerful bookseller before it was overtaken by the rise of Amazon.com. Aug. 27.

Edward B. Johnson, 81. As a CIA officer, he traveled into Iran with a colleague to rescue six American diplomats who fled the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. Aug. 27.

Johnny Gaudreau, 31. An NHL player known as Johnny Hockey, he played 10 full seasons in the league. Aug. 29. Killed along with his brother when hit by a car while riding bicycles.

Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, 69. As New Zealands Mori King, he was the seventh monarch in the Kiingitanga movement. Aug. 30.

Fatman Scoop, 56. The hip-hop artist topped charts in Europe with Be Faithful in the early 2000s and later lent his distinctive voice and ebullient vibe to hits by artists including Missy Elliott and Ciara. Aug. 30. Died after collapsing on stage.

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SEPTEMBER

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Linda Deutsch, 80. A special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years wrote glittering first drafts of history from many of the nations most significant criminal and civil trials including Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson. Sept. 1.

James Darren, 88. A teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film Gidget. Sept. 2.

Sergio Mendes, 83. The Grammy-winning Brazilian musician whose hit Mas Que Nada made him a global legend. Sept. 5.

James Earl Jones, 93. He overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen, eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, The Lion King and Darth Vader. Sept. 9.

Frankie Beverly, 77. With his band Maze, he inspired generations of fans with his smooth, soulful voice and lasting anthems including Before I Let Go. Sept. 10.

Jim Sasser, 87. He served 18 years in the U.S. Senate and six years as ambassador to China. Sept. 10.

Alberto Fujimori, 86. His decade-long presidency began with triumphs righting Perus economy and defeating a brutal insurgency only to end in autocratic excess that later sent him to prison. Sept. 11.

Joe Schmidt, 92. The Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team. Sept. 11.

Tito Jackson, 70. One of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5. Sept. 15.

John David JD Souther, 78. A prolific songwriter and musician who helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s with his collaborations with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. Sept. 17.

Kathryn Crosby, 90. She appeared in such movies as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Anatomy of a Murder, and Operation Mad Ball before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby. Sept. 20.

John Ashton, 76. The veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop films. Sept. 26.

Maggie Smith, 89. The masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Sept. 27.

Hassan Nasrallah, 64. The Hezbollah leader who transformed the Lebanese militant group into a potent paramilitary and political force in the Middle East. Sept. 27. Killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Kris Kristofferson, 88. A Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor. Sept. 28.

Drake Hogestyn, 70. The Days of Our Lives star appeared on the show for 38 years. Sept. 28.

Pete Rose, 83. Baseballs career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied. Sept. 30.

Dikembe Mutombo, 58. A Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game. Sept. 30. Brain cancer.

Gavin Creel, 48. A Broadway musical theater veteran who won a Tony Award for Hello, Dolly! opposite Bette Midler and earned nominations for Hair and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Sept. 30. Cancer.

Humberto Ortega, 77. The Nicaraguan guerrilla fighter and a Sandinista defense minister who later in life became a critic of his older brother President Daniel Ortega. Sept. 30.

Ken Page, 70. A stage and screen actor who starred alongside Beyonc in Dreamgirls, introduced Broadway audiences to Old Deuteronomy in Cats and scared generations of kids as the voice of Oogie Boogie, the villain of the 1993 animated holiday film The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sept. 30.

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OCTOBER

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Megan Marshack, 70. An aide to Nelson Rockefeller who was with the former New York governor and vice president when he died under circumstances that spurred intense speculation. Oct. 2.

Mimis Plessas, 99. A beloved Greek composer whose music was featured in scores of films, television shows and theatrical productions and who provided the soundtrack to millions of Greeks lives. Oct. 5.

Cissy Houston, 91. A two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist who sang with Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and other stars and knew triumph and heartbreak as the mother of singer Whitney Houston. Oct. 7.

Tim Johnson, 77. The former U.S. senator was the last Democrat to hold statewide office in South Dakota and was adept at securing federal funding for projects back home during his nearly three decades in Washington. Oct. 8.

Ratan Tata, 86. One of Indias most influential business leaders, the veteran industrialist was former chairman of the $100 billion conglomerate Tata Group. Oct. 9.

Leif Segerstam, 80. The prolific Finnish conductor and composer was one of the most colorful personalities in the Nordic countrys classical music scene. Oct. 9.

Ethel Kennedy, 96. The wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the familys legacy for decades thereafter. Oct. 10.

Lilly Ledbetter, 86. A former Alabama factory manager whose lawsuit against her employer made her an icon of the equal pay movement and led to landmark wage discrimination legislation. Oct. 12.

Philip G. Zimbardo, 91. The psychologist behind the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment that was intended to examine the psychological experiences of imprisonment. Oct. 14.

Liam Payne, 31. A former One Direction singer whose chart-topping British boy band generated a global following of swooning fans. Oct. 16. Died after falling from a hotel balcony.

Yahya Sinwar, 61. The Hamas leader who masterminded the surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel that shocked the world and triggered the longest, deadliest and most destructive war in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Oct. 16. Killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Mitzi Gaynor, 93. The effervescent dancer and actor starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film South Pacific and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. Oct. 17.

Vasso Papandreou, 79. A trailblazing Greek politician who served as a government minister, European commissioner and leading advocate for womens representation in politics. Oct. 17.

Thelma Mothershed Wair, 83. One of nine Black students who integrated a high school in Arkansas capital city of Little Rock in 1957 while a mob of white segregationists yelled threats and insults. Oct. 19.

Fethullah Glen, 83. A reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a global social movement while facing unproven accusations that he masterminded a failed 2016 coup in his native Turkey. Oct. 20.

Fernando Valenzuela, 63. The Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired Fernandomania while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981. Oct. 22.

The Rev. Gustavo Gutirrez, 96. The Peruvian theologian was the father of the social justice-centered liberation theology that the Vatican once criticized for its Marxist undercurrents. Oct. 22.

Phil Lesh, 84. A classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeter who found his true calling by reinventing the role of rock bass guitar as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Oct. 25.

Teri Garr, 79. The quirky comedy actor rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star in such favorites as Young Frankenstein and Tootsie. Oct. 29. Multiple sclerosis.

Colm McLoughlin, 81. An Irishman who landed in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates and helped lead Dubai Duty Free into becoming an airport retail behemoth generating billions of dollars. Oct. 30.

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NOVEMBER

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Quincy Jones, 91. The multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jacksons historic Thriller album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists. Nov. 3.

Bernard Bernie Marcus, 95. The co-founder of The Home Depot, a billionaire philanthropist, and a big Republican donor. Nov. 4.

Murray Sinclair, 73. A former First Nation judge, senator and chair of the commission that delved into Canadas troubled history of residential schools for First Nations students. Nov. 4.

Elwood Edwards, 74. He voiced America Onlines ever-present Youve got mail greeting. Nov. 5.

Tony Todd, 69. An actor known for his haunting portrayal of a killer in the horror film Candyman and for roles in many other films and television shows. Nov. 6.

Bobby Allison, 86. He was founder of racings Alabama Gang and a NASCAR Hall of Famer. Nov. 9.

Reg Murphy, 90. A renowned journalist whose newsgathering career included stints as an editor and top executive at newspapers in Atlanta, San Francisco and Baltimore and who found himself the subject of national headlines when he survived a politically motivated kidnapping. Nov. 9.

Vardis J. Vardinoyannis, 90. A powerful and pivotal figure in Greek shipping and energy who survived a terrorist attack and cultivated close ties with the Kennedy family. Nov. 12.

Timothy West, 90. A British actor who played the classic Shakespeare roles of King Lear and Macbeth and who in recent years along with his wife, Prunella Scales, enchanted millions of people with their boating exploits on Britains waterways. Nov. 12.

Song Jae-lim, 39. A South Korean actor known for his roles in K-dramas Moon Embracing the Sun and Queen Woo. Nov. 12.

Shuntaro Tanikawa, 92. He pioneered modern Japanese poetry poignant but conversational in its divergence from haiku and other traditions. Nov. 13.

Bela Karolyi, 82. The charismatic, if polarizing, gymnastics coach turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport. Nov. 15.

Olav Thon, 101. A billionaire entrepreneur recognizable for his bright red cap who went from selling leather and fox hides in his youth to building one of Norways biggest real estate empires. Nov. 16.

Arthur Frommer, 95. His Europe on 5 Dollars a Day guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad. Nov. 18.

Alice Brock, 83. Her Massachusetts-based eatery helped inspire Arlo Guthries deadpan Thanksgiving standard, Alices Restaurant Massacree. Nov. 21.

Fred Harris, 94. A former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, presidential hopeful and populist who championed Democratic Party reforms in the turbulent 1960s. Nov. 23.

Chuck Woolery, 83. The affable, smooth-talking game show host of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection and Scrabble who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19. Nov. 23.

Barbara Taylor Bradford, 91. A British journalist who became a publishing sensation in her 40s with the saga A Woman of Substance and wrote more than a dozen other novels that sold tens of millions of copies. Nov. 24.

Mary McGee, 87. A female racing pioneer and subject profiled in the Oscar-contending documentary Motorcycle Mary. Nov. 27.

Prince Johnson, 72. The Liberian former warlord and senator whose brutal tactics shocked the world. Nov. 28.

Ananda Krishnan, 86. One of Malaysias richest tycoons with a vast business empire including telecommunications, media, petroleum and real estate. Nov. 28.

Lou Carnesecca, 99. The excitable St. Johns coach whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his teams rousing Final Four run in 1985 and who was a treasured figure in New York sports. Nov. 30.

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DECEMBER

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Debbie Nelson, 69. The single mother of rapper Eminem whose rocky relationship with her son was known widely through his hit song lyrics. Dec. 2.

Nikki Giovanni, 81. The poet, author, educator and public speaker who rose from borrowing money to release her first book to decades as a literary celebrity sharing her blunt and conversational takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality. Dec. 9.

George Joseph Kresge Jr., 89. He was known to generations of TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist The Amazing Kreskin. Dec. 10.

Jim Leach, 82. A former congressman who served 30 years as a politician from eastern Iowa and later headed the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dec. 11.

John Spratt, 82. A former longtime Democratic congressman from South Carolina who successfully pushed for a balanced budget deal in the 1990s but was unseated decades later when his district turned Republican. Dec. 14.

Zakir Hussain, 73. One of Indias most accomplished classical musicians who defied genres and introduced tabla to global audiences. Dec. 15.

Fred Lorenzen, 89. A NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1965 Daytona 500 champion. Dec. 18.

Tsuneo Watanabe, 98. The powerful head of the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japans largest newspaper, who had close ties with the countrys powerful conservative leaders. Dec. 19.

Rickey Henderson, 65. The baseball Hall of Famer was the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseballs leadoff position. Dec. 20.

Shyam Benegal, 90. A renowned Indian filmmaker known for pioneering a new wave cinema movement that tackled social issues in the 1970s. Dec. 23.

Desi Bouterse, 79. A military strongman who led a 1980 coup in the former Dutch colony of Suriname then returned to power by election three decades later despite charges of drug smuggling and murder. Dec. 24.

Osamu Suzuki, 94. The charismatic former boss of Suzuki Motor Corp. helped turn the Japanese mini-vehicle maker into a globally competitive company. Dec. 25.

Warren Upton, 105. The oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah. Dec. 25.

Manmohan Singh, 92. Indias former prime minister who was widely regarded as the architect of Indias economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States. Dec. 26.

Richard Parsons, 76. One of corporate Americas most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup. Dec. 26.

Greg Gumbel, 78. The longtime CBS sportscaster who became the first Black announcer in the U.S. to call play-by-play of a major sports championship. Dec. 27.

Olivia Hussey, 73. The actor won a Golden Globe for her role as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, and later brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over nude scenes in the film. Dec. 27.

Dayle Haddon, 76. The actor, activist and trailblazing former Sports Illustrated model who pushed back against age discrimination by reentering the industry as a widow. Dec. 27.

Jimmy Carter, 100. The peanut farmer who won the U.S. presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian. Dec. 29.

Linda Lavin, 87. The Tony Award-winning stage actor who became a working class icon as a paper-hat-wearing waitress on the TV sitcom Alice. Dec. 29.

Aaron Brown, 76. The veteran television news anchor whose steady hand helped guide CNN viewers through the unfolding tragedy of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Dec. 29.

The post Driver rams New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing 10; FBI doesn’t believe he acted alone appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities say the driver of a pickup truck sped through a crowd of pedestrians gathered on New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district early on New Year’s Day, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 other revelers. Two police officers were also injured in a shootout with the suspect, who authorities said died after that firefight.

The attack occurred on Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties, and with crowds in the city in anticipation of the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game later Wednesday at the nearby Superdome.

Here’s what we know about the attack:

What happened?

Police said the driver sped through a crowd along Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday as revelers had gathered to celebrate the start of the New Year. Ten people were killed and more than 30 others were injured and taken to five local hospitals. Two police officers were also wounded in a shootout with the suspect.

Authorities also found potential explosive devices in the French Quarter, the FBI said. Surveillance footage showed three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.

Who is the driver and what was his motive?

The FBI said the driver was 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran from Texas.

A flag representing the Islamic State group was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, the FBI said. The bureau is trying to determine if Jabbar was associated with any terrorist organizations.

Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said during a news conference that the agency does not believe Jabbar acted alone.

Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did” and he tried “to run over as many people as he could.”

Jabbar enlisted in the Army in March 2007, working in both human resources and information technology. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, then transferred into the U.S. Army Reserve in 2015, the service said in a statement. Jabbar served until July 2020, leaving the military with the rank of staff sergeant.

What are police saying about a possible motive?

The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did” and he tried “to run over as many people as he could.” Kirkpatrick said two police officers were shot after the driver emerged from the truck and are in stable condition.

What happened to the driver?

FBI said the suspect is dead after a firefight with police. New Orleans police said that after the vehicle came to a stop, the suspect reportedly opened fire on responding officers, who returned fire. The suspect was struck and subsequently declared dead at the scene. Further information on the suspect was not immediately released.

Who was in the crowd?

Authorities said Bourbon Street was filled with revelers toasting the start of 2025 and attending New Year’s Eve parties when the attack occurred. Crowds in New Orleans have been ballooning in anticipation of Wednesday night’s Sugar Bowl college football playoff game between No. 2 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame. Officials said that game would go on as scheduled.

What protections are there for pedestrians on Bourbon Street?

City documents show New Orleans has been in the midst of a major project to remove and replace post-like barriers called bollards designed to prevent vehicle attacks along Bourbon Street. That project began in November and involves replacing old bollards with new removable stainless steel bollards.

Have there been similar deadly attacks involving vehicles?

Wednesday’s attack in New Orleans is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon around the world to carry out mass violence. The trend has alarmed law enforcement officials because such attacks can be difficult to protect against. Last month, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor plowed into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg, killing four women and a 9-year-old boy.

Today is Monday, Dec. 30, the 365th day of 2024. There is one day left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 30, 2006, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi High Tribunal.

Also on this date:

In 1860, 10 days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the state militia seized the United States Army arsenal in Charleston.

In 1896, José Rizal, whose writings inspired the Philippine Revolution, was executed by Spanish army troops after being convicted of rebellion, sedition and conspiracy.

In 1903, more than 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.

In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) officially came into existence.

In 2009, seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer were killed by a suicide bomber at a U.S. base in Khost (hohst), Afghanistan.

In 2015, Bill Cosby was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. (Cosby’s first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked; he was convicted on three charges at his retrial in April 2018 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June 2021, setting Cosby free.)

Today’s Birthdays:

• Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax is 89
• TV director James Burrows is 84
• Football Hall of Famer Mel Renfro is 83
• Singer-author Patti Smith is 78
• Musician Jeff Lynne is 77
• TV personality Meredith Vieira is 71
• Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph is 68
• Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 68
• Actor-comedian Tracey Ullman is 65
• TV commentator Sean Hannity is 63
• Golfer Tiger Woods is 49
• TV personality-boxer Laila Ali is 47
• Singer-actor Tyrese Gibson is 46
• Actor Eliza Dushku is 44
• Actor Kristin Kreuk is 42
• NBA star LeBron James is 40
• Singer-actress Andra Day is 40
• Pop-rock singer Ellie Goulding (GOL’-ding) is 38.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 31 points, making 13 of 14 free throws, and No. 4 Southern California beat No. 23 Michigan 78-58 on Sunday night in the Trojans’ Big Ten home opener.

Watkins had five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks. Kiki Iriafen added 18 points for the Trojans (12-1, 2-0). The duo combined to score USC’s first 16 points in the fourth when the Trojans outscored Michigan 21-9.

Jordan Hobbs scored 19 points for Michigan (10-3, 1-1). Greta Kampschroeder added 14 and Olivia Olson had 11.

Takeaways

Michigan: The Wolverines have lost to all three ranked opponents they’ve faced so far this season, including a six-point defeat to then-No. 1 South Carolina. They’ll get another crack at the top team at UCLA on Wednesday.

USC: Iriafen was on the bench with four fouls before returning in the fourth. She scored the Trojans’ first eight points to stretch their lead to 18 points and provided solid defense in the low post.

Key moment

With Michigan trailing by 10 points, Hobbs scored 14 straight points, including four 3-pointers in a row, to help the Wolverines trail 34-31 at halftime.

Key stat

The Trojans were 20 of 23 from the free-throw line, making 13 of 14 in the third when they trailed by two before getting their lead back up to 10 going into the fourth.

Up next

Michigan visits top-ranked UCLA, and USC hosts Nebraska, both Wednesday.

— By BETH HARRIS, Associated Press

By ROB MAADDI
The Associated Press

The NFC’s No. 1 seed will come down to the final week when the Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings.

The winner takes the NFC North and gets a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. The loser becomes the No. 5 seed and must play on the road in the wild-card round.

The Vikings (14-2) held on for a 27-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers to set up the high-stakes showdown in Week 18. The Lions (13-2) visit the San Francisco 49ers (6-9) on Monday night in a rematch of the NFC title game. Win, lose or tie, they have to beat the Vikings again. Detroit beat Minnesota 31-29 in Week 7.

The Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East and locked up the No. 2 seed with a 41-7 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. However, coach Nick Sirianni has a tough decision to make this week. Saquon Barkley is 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record for yards rushing in a season.

Sirianni has to decide whether to rest Barkley and most of his starters to prepare for the playoffs or let his star try for the 40-year-old record.

The Los Angeles Rams (10-6) were on the verge of clinching the NFC West. They would lock it up Sunday night if the Commanders beat the Falcons.

The outcome of the Atlanta-Washington game has a major impact on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7). If the Falcons win, they’d remain first in the NFC South and would win the division with a victory against Carolina next week. If the Falcons lose, the Buccaneers would take over first place and would secure the division with a victory over New Orleans next week.

The Commanders would secure a wild-card spot with a win against Atlanta. If they lose, Seattle stays mathematically alive for a wild card and the Buccaneers could also find a path to the playoffs as a wild-card team.

Three teams in the AFC have already secured their seeds. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (15-1) won the AFC West weeks ago and clinched the No. 1 seed.

The AFC East champion Buffalo Bills (13-3) are the No. 2 seed. The AFC South champion Houston Texans (9-7) are the No. 4 seed.

The Baltimore Ravens (11-5) would win the AFC North and get the No. 3 seed with a win or tie against Cleveland next weekend or a loss or tie by Pittsburgh, which hosts Cincinnati.

If they don’t win the division, the Steelers have already clinched a wild-card berth. The Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) also secured a wild-card spot. They’ll be no lower than the sixth seed.

The final AFC playoff spot comes down to the Broncos (9-7), Dolphins (8-8) or Bengals (8-8).

Denver clinches with a win or tie against the Chiefs. The Dolphins need the Broncos to lose and they must beat the Jets on the road to get in. The Bengals must win and the Broncos and Dolphins have to lose for them to get in.

By The Associated Press

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Kaylene Smikle scored 19 points to help No. 8 Maryland remain undefeated with a 72-66 victory over No. 19 Michigan State on Sunday.

The Terrapins (12-0, 2-0 Big Ten) have equaled the second-best start in team history, bettered only by the 2006-07 squad which was 18-0. The Terps withstood a scrappy Michigan State team, holding the Spartans (11-2, 1-1) to 32% shooting from the field.

Michigan State trailed by 17 in the second quarter but fought back to a 57-all tie in the fourth. Maryland, which had gone over six minutes without scoring, broke that deadlock with a 3-pointer by Saylor Poffenbarger.

Maryland led 65-63 when Michigan State’s Jocelyn Tate was whistled for traveling on a fast break. Smikle pushed the lead to five with a three-point play, but Jaddan Simmons answered with a 3-pointer to make it 68-66.

Christina Dalce finally gave the Terps some breathing room, making a layup with 36.3 seconds left and then adding a steal at the other end.