By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, Associated Press

As technology distracts, polarizes and automates, people are still finding refuge on analog islands in the digital sea.

The holdouts span the generation gaps, uniting elderly and middle-aged enclaves born in the pre-internet times with the digital natives raised in the era of online ubiquity.

They are setting down their devices to paint, color, knit and play board games. Others carve out time to mail birthday cards and salutations written in their own hand. Some drive cars with manual transmissions while surrounded by automobiles increasingly able to drive themselves. And a widening audience is turning to vinyl albums, resuscitating an analog format that was on its deathbed 20 years ago.

The analog havens provide a nostalgic escape from tumultuous times for generations born from 1946 through 1980, says Martin Bispels, 57, a former QVC executive who recently started Retroactv, a company that sells rock music merchandise dating to the 1960s and 1970s.

“The past gives comfort. The past is knowable,” Bispels says. “And you can define it because you can remember it the way you want.”

But analog escapes also beckon to the members of the millennials and Generation Z, those born from 1981 through 2012 — younger people immersed in a digital culture that has put instant information and entertainment at their fingertips.

Despite that convenience and instant gratification, even younger people growing up on technology’s cutting edge are yearning for more tactile, deliberate and personal activities that don’t evaporate in the digital ephemera, says Pamela Paul, author of “100 Things We’ve Lost To The Internet.”

“Younger generations have an almost longing wistfulness because because so little of their life feels tangible,” Paul says. “They are starting to recognize how the internet has changed their lives, and they are trying to revive these in-person, low-tech environments that older generations took for granted.”

Here are some glimpses into how the old ways are new again.

Keeping those cards coming

People have been exchanging cards for centuries. It’s a ritual in danger of being obliterated by the tsunami of texting and social media posts. Besides being quicker and more convenient, digital communication has become more economical as the cost of a first-class U.S. postage stamp has soared from 33 to 78 cents during the past 25 years.

But tradition is hanging on thanks to people like Megan Evans, who started the Facebook group called “Random Acts of Cardness” a decade ago when she was just 21 in hopes of fostering and maintaining more human connections in an increasingly impersonal world.

“Anybody can send a text message that says ‘Happy Birthday!’ But sending a card is a much more intentional way of telling somebody that you care,” says Evans, who lives in Wickliff, Ohio. “It’s something that the sender has touched with their own hand, and that you are going to hold in your own hand.”

More than 15,000 people are now part of Evans’ Facebook group, including Billy-Jo Dieter, who sends at least 100 cards per month commemorating birthdays, holidays and other milestones. “A dying art,” she calls it.

“My goal has been to try to make at least one person smile each day,” says Dieter, 48, who lives in Ellsworth, Maine. “When you sit down and you put the pen to the paper, it becomes something that’s even more just for that person.”

The singularity of a stick shift

Before technology futurist Ray Kurzweil came up with a concept that he dubbed the “Singularity” to describe his vision of computers melding with humanity, the roads were crammed with stick-shift cars working in concert with people.

But automobiles with manual transmission appear to be on a road to oblivion as technology transforms cars into computers on wheels. Fewer than 1% of the new vehicles sold in the U.S. have manual transmission, down from 35% in 1980, according to an analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

But there remain stick-shift diehards like Prabh and Divjeev Sohi, brothers who drive cars with manual transmissions to their classes at San Jose State University along Silicon Valley roads clogged with Teslas. They became enamored with stick shifts while virtually driving cars in video games as kids and riding in manual transmission vehicles operated by their father and grandfather.

So when they were old enough to drive, Prabh, 22, and Divjeev, 19, were determined to learn a skill few people their age even bother to attempt: mastering the nuances of a clutch that controls a manual transmission, a process that resulted in their 1994 Jeep Wrangler coming to a complete stop while frustrated drivers got stuck behind them.

“He stalled like five times his first time on the road,” Prabh recalls.

Even though the experience still causes Divjeev to shudder, he feels it led him to a better place.

“You are more in the moment when you are driving a car with a stick. Basically you are just there to drive and you aren’t doing anything else,” Divjeev says. “You understand the car, and if you don’t handle it correctly, that car isn’t going to move.”

Rediscovering vinyl’s virtues

Vinyl’s obsolescence seemed inevitable in the 1980s when compact discs emerged. That introduction triggered an evisceration of analog recordings that hit bottom in 2006 when 900,000 vinyl albums were sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. That was a death rattle for a format that peaked in 1977, when 344 million vinyl albums were sold.

But the slump unexpectedly reversed, and vinyl albums are now a growth niche. In each of the past two years, about 43 million vinyl albums have been sold, despite the widespread popularity of music streaming services that make it possible to play virtually any song by any artist at any time.

Baby boomers expanding upon their decades-old album collections aren’t the only catalyst. Younger generations are embracing the lusher sound of vinyl, too.

“I really love listening to an album on vinyl from start to finish. It feels like I am sitting with the artist,” says 24-year-old Carson Bispels. “Vinyl just adds this permanence that makes the music feel more genuine. It’s just you and the music, the way it should be.”

Carson is the son of Martin Bispels, the former QVC executive. A few years ago, Martin gave a few of his vinyl records to Carson, including Bob Marley’s “Talkin’ Blues,” an album already played so much that it sometimes cracks and pops with the scratches in it.

“I still listen to it because every time I do, I think of my dad,” says Carson, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

After starting off with about 10 vinyl albums from his dad, Carson now has about 100 and plans to keep expanding.

“The current digital age of music is fantastic, too, but there’s nothing like the personal aspect of going into the record store and thumbing through a bunch of albums while making small talk with some of the other patrons to find out what they’re listening to,” Carson says.

Paul, the author of the book about analog activities that have been devoured by the internet, says the vinyl music’s comeback story has her mulling a potential sequel. “A return to humanity,” she says, “could turn out to be another book.”

By Anne Snabes, asnabes@detroitnews.com

When he was to gather with family at his grandparents’ house for Christmas dinner this year, Edward Constantineau of Sterling Heights planned to be surrounded by the people who pushed him to fight to recover from the hardest thing he’s ever faced in his young life, a hurdle he’s still working to overcome.

Constantineau was just 19, working out at his local gym in March of this year, when he suffered the unimaginable for a teenager: a stroke. He underwent immediate surgery on a bleed in his brain and later went through six weeks of inpatient rehab at a facility in Detroit, learning how to move again, talk and regain fine motor skills.

But through it all, Constantineau said his biggest motivator as he’s gone through rehab and fought to recover has been “my family and friends.”

“My family was always there,” said Constantineau, now 20. “I mean, my mom never left my side.”

Henry Ford Health officials say Constantineau’s story highlights the importance of early detection and rapid treatment of strokes, only about 10-15% of which occur in people younger than 50. Constantineau’s stroke was caused by a rare condition called arteriovenous malformation, in which arteries and veins mesh together without capillaries connecting them, said his neurologist, Dr. Mohammed Rehman.

Constantineau didn’t know he had the malformation at the time, but it ruptured.

Rehman said that in Edward’s case, the gym receptionist called 911 “right away.”

“If you ever have a neurological deficit … or you think something is going on and something is off, don’t hesitate” to call 911, Rehman said.

Looking back on her son’s ordeal and how it started, Stephanie Constantineau, Edward’s mom, thinks he “saved his own life” by asking for help when he was in the gym and felt his arm weaken. He was the one who asked the receptionist to call 911.

“I definitely believe there was a stronger force with him, watching over him,” she said. “I don’t know, a guardian angel, if you will.”

And Rehman believes Constantineau’s steadfast support system and drive to get better have played a role in his “remarkable” recovery.

“That’s a very rare thing I see, because at his age, when you face something like this, it’s very tough to cope with a lot of things,” Rehman said. “And I could tell, Eddie was driven.”

The stroke

Constantineau, a 2023 graduate of Henry Ford II High School, where he played varsity baseball, said he doesn’t have any memory of the stroke, but he has been told that it started soon after he got to his gym, The Edge Fitness Clubs, on March 14.

As he was doing lat pulldowns, an exercise that involves pulling down a weighted bar attached to a gym machine while seated, he felt his left arm go weak. He asked the gym’s receptionist to call 911; she also called his parents.

Paramedics brought Constantineau to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township, where they quickly performed surgery.

The next couple of days were “kind of a blur,” Stephanie Constantineau recalled. She describes them as “emotional” and “hard.” She felt helpless as a parent.

“I think the first 48 to 72 hours were really touch and go with him, like it was just like getting him through those first three days to see how, if he was going to recover from the surgeries,” she said.

A rare medical condition

Rehman, a neuroendovascular physician at Henry Ford Health, said most strokes are caused by a blockage of a blood vessel, while others are caused by a bleed in the brain. He said one of the rare causes of a bleed in the brain is an arteriovenous malformation.

Capillaries connect arteries to veins in the body. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a jumble of arteries and veins with no capillaries between them, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The incidence of the condition is around 1 in 100,000 people. The malformations typically occur in the brain, and they’re usually present from birth, according to Henry Ford Health.

Rehman said AVMs often present in young people, and bleeding most commonly occurs between the ages of 10 and 40. He said the Henry Ford Health system sees three to five ruptured arteriovenous malformations a year, and it also sees around 40 to 50 people a year whose malformations haven’t ruptured. AVMs cause symptoms such as severe headaches, seizures or weakness as damage builds, he said.

Dr. Mark Goldberger, a neurosurgeon, did the initial surgery on Constantineau, removing a significant amount of blood from the brain. In the following weeks, his doctors did a few angiograms, or blood vessel tests. In the second angiogram, they discovered the AVM, Stephanie Constantineau said.

Rehman said it took Constantineau at least five to seven days to wake up from the initial surgery ― he was in a coma. Overall, he spent 27 days in the intensive care unit.

“It’s heartbreaking to see your son go through something like this and not know how it’s gonna end up,” Stephanie Constantineau said, tearfully. “Like I say, ‘You just put all your faith in God and the doctors, and just trust that everything’s going to be OK.’ But it’s hard, because we have two other kids.”

She said she never left her son’s side. She spent every night at the hospital and would return home briefly to shower.

The therapy process

After leaving the hospital, Constantineau spent 43 days in inpatient rehabilitation. He said the beginning of the recovery process was “the toughest.”

“I was at a stage where I couldn’t even sit up straight,” he said, referring to when he was in the hospital and the early days of rehab. “I had lost all my muscle and was just sitting in a wheelchair, which was tough every single day. I just felt like stuck in a place where I couldn’t even move.”

He said therapy was “intense” and “very constant,” occurring five or more days a week. He underwent occupational, physical and speech therapy, the latter of which was necessary because he had “no voice after coming off of intubation,” he said.

Constantineau said fine motor skills were “the most frustrating” part of therapy, and he’s still working on it.

“He still doesn’t have, like, mobility of his left hand, like the wrist and fingers, yet,” said Stephanie Constantineau, adding that the recovery takes “a good 18 months.”

“I mean, we haven’t lost hope,” she said. “He works hard every single day.”

At home, Constantineau continues to do therapy each day, he said. In his family’s basement, he does exercises his therapist has recommended and rides on a stationary bike.

“I’ve been trying to adjust to getting back into my regular life by hanging out with friends” and taking an online class at Macomb Community College this fall, he said.

The signs of stroke

Rehman said in an email that strokes can affect anyone at any age, though the likelihood of it increases with age. He said about 10-15% of strokes occur in people under 50. He urged everyone, including young people, to be aware of the signs of a stroke and shared the acronym F.A.S.T. It stands for “Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Slurred speech, Time to call 911.”

He said that if you or anyone around you experiences these symptoms, you should seek medical attention immediately.

“The fact that Eddie sought help immediately when he began experiencing symptoms is incredibly important,” he said. “That allowed 911 to be called and emergency care to be administered quickly. When a stroke occurs, every second counts. The faster a person seeks treatment, the better their outcome.”

His plans for the future

In January, Constantineau will resume in-person classes at MCC, where he is studying exercise science. He plans to re-do the classes he was taking when the stroke occurred earlier this year.

After finishing his associate’s degree, he plans to transfer to Oakland University and is planning to go into health care, either as a nurse or a physician assistant. Constantineau said he originally wanted to go into health care because of his interest in sports, but after everything he’s experienced since his stroke, it has reinforced his decision to go into the field.

Looking back on his experience, Constantineau said the early days of his recovery were “rough” — “I think I was stuck in that ‘why me?’ mentality” — but is now “very confident” with the progress he has made. But he also knows that recovery takes time.

“I think that’s the tough part … just waiting all that time, but … I’m definitely optimistic for the future,” he said.

 

With New Year’s Day fast approaching, I want to plan on making the holiday delicious and easy. I have a one-dish lunch or dinner in mind. At my house, Jan. 1 is primarily spent relaxing in front of the TV watching the parade and football games. It’s part of our tradition.

Everyone seems to love this one-dish wonder, a baked pasta dish with sausage and black olives. You can change its personality by using a sausage that you prefer. Hot Italian sausage will yield a dish that is fiery, while mild Italian sausage makes a more kid-friendly meal. I like to use half hot and half mild. The choice is yours.

Happy New Year!

Baked Pasta with Sausage and Olives

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
• 1 pound Italian sausage removed from casings, sweet or hot, or some of both
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup pitted black olives, such as Kalamata, drained
• Salt
• 1 pound penne or ziti
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided use; see cook’s notes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Cook’s notes: Use the low-moisture style of mozzarella that is harder and often used for melting, not the fresh mozzarella.

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil. Cook sausage in a large, deep skillet until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes, breaking it up with spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer sausage to a bowl.

2. Drain all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and garlic; cook until fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute. Add crushed and diced tomatoes, return sausage to the skillet. Add olives and simmer until thickened, 15 to 18 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

3. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until slightly underdone. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot along with reserved water. Stir in tomato sauce.

4. Pour half of pasta into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half of each cheese. Pour remaining pasta into dish, sprinkle with remaining cheeses and sprinkle with parsley. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.

By DEVI SHASTRI, Associated Press

The new year is a time when many try to start new good habits and commit to improving health and wellness.

But resolutions, lofty as they may be, can turn daunting quickly with all the advice and sometimes contradicting information coming at you from news reports, advertisers, influencers, friends and even politicians.

But they don’t have to be.

This year, The Associated Press got the downlow on all manner of health and wellness claims and fads. The good news is that the experts mostly say to keep it simple.

As 2026 arrives, here’s what you can skip, what you should pay attention to and how to get credible information when you are inevitably faced with more confusing claims next year.

Protein and fiber are important, but you probably don’t need to pay more

When it comes to your diet, experts say most people can skip the upcharge. If you’re eating enough, you’re probably getting enough protein and don’t need products that promise some big boost.

And it’s true that most people could use more fiber in their diets. But, please, ditch the “fiber-maxxing” trend. Instead, eat whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

A good skin care routine is not expensive or complicated

That 20-step skin care routine and $200 serum some TikToker sold you on? Dermatologists say you really don’t need it. Stay away from the beef tallow and slather on a good sunscreen instead (yes, even if you have darker skin ), they say.

And the same rule for simplicity applies to that hourlong “everything shower.” The best showers are simple and short, dermatologists say, no “double cleansing” required.

There are many simple ways to get that workout in

If the gym and all its equipment feel intimidating, you can drop the illusion that a good workout requires either. This year, the comeback of calisthenics put the focus back on no frills, bodyweight workouts you can do in the comfort of home. Research shows calisthenics helps with muscle strength and aerobic conditioning. You may eventually need weightlifting or other equipment, but it is a great place to start to build consistency and confidence.

Be wary of wellness fads and treatments — they are often too good to be true

Even if you imbibe too much this New Year’s Eve, doctors say you can do without “IV therapy” which have vitamins you can get more easily and cheaper in pill form — if you even need more, which is unlikely if you have a balanced diet. You’re pretty much just paying for “expensive urine,” one doctor said.

Same for “wellness” focused products like microbiome testing kits that generate information that doctors can’t actually act on. And if you don’t have diabetes, there’s scant evidence that you need a continuous glucose monitor.

To improve your health, go back to the basics

The idea of a panacea pill, product or routine can be enticing. But science already knows a lot about how to improve mental and physical health, and they are tried and true:

1. Whether you’re in the city or the country — walk more. Research shows walking is great for physical and mental health. It’s so good for you, doctors are literally prescribing time in the outdoors to their patients.

2. Take steps to get certain health metrics under control, like high blood pressure, which often goes undiagnosed and is known to cause a range of health problems down the road. Prioritize getting enough sleep, and make sure your family does too. Don’t just eat right — eat slower.

3. Give your mind some care too. Set better boundaries with your technology and regain and retrain your attention span. Build out your social networks and invest in all forms of love for the people around you.

These lifestyle changes don’t just make you feel better in the moment. Research shows they impact your life for years to come, by lowering the risk of dementia and many other health issues.

Don’t know who to trust? Start with your doctor

It can be tough to know who to listen to about your health, faced with compelling personal stories on social media from people who swear something worked from them, or clever marketing and advertising from companies that scare you or promise an easy fix.

Doubts have been raised this year about established medicine, including the safety of food dyes, fluoride dental treatments,hepatitis B shot for newborns, and hormone therapies for menopause.

While the medical system is not perfect, your doctor remains the best person to talk to about prevention, health concerns and potential treatments.

If you can’t get to a human doctor and turn to Dr. Google instead, be sure to follow these tips and never use it to diagnose yourself. When you do get that doctor’s appointment, you can make the most of it by bringing a list of written questions — and don’t hesitate to ask for any clarification you need.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

On Reddit, a user recently asked if spending money on an expensive hobby can be justified.

Sure, expensive hobbies may bring joy. But does it make sense to splurge on something like golf, sailing or world travel? What if that splurge takes money away from other more “responsible” goals, such as saving or paying off debt?

Responses were mixed: Some encouraged the poster to spend now on what makes them happy. After all, you never know what the future might bring. Those folks shared stories of spending on luxury cars, video gaming accessories and musical instruments.

Others recommended a more balanced approach, suggesting a responsible split between spending on future savings and today’s hobbies.

It turns out financial experts think it’s OK to indulge — in a balanced way, of course.

Take care of your essentials

Before splurging on non-essentials, do a review of your basic needs, suggests Andi Wrenn, an accredited financial counselor and founder of Coaching Capability in the Raleigh, North Carolina area.

Are you covering the important stuff and still feeling good about your financial situation?

It’s a good idea to make sure your bills are paid and you’re saving for the future before turning to hobby-related spending, Wrenn says.

Reflect on bigger goals

What’s your master plan? Thinking about your goals and values is a useful way to decide how to prioritize your discretionary funds, says John Jones, a certified financial planner and investment advisor representative at Heritage Financial in Newberry, Florida.

If you have a partner, it’s useful to talk together about where you want to be in five, 10 and 15 years, he adds.

“How do you want to spend your time? How do you want to spend your financial assets? Is it on golfing, boating or sailing? One might appeal more to one person than the other,” Jones says.

Build hobby spending into your budget

Once you’ve set your financial priorities, you can make room for your expensive hobby in your overall budget, Jones says.

“I like to think through what is sustainable,” he says.

A sustainable expense is one you can pay for with your current cash flow instead of turning to savings or loans.

There might be ways to cut back in other areas to make room for the extra expense. “Maybe we save $10,000 a year for this hobby,” Jones suggests.

Wrenn takes that approach in pursuit of her passions, which include travel and crafting.

“For me, it was important to have money in the budget to do the things that I enjoy doing,” she says, which means scaling back spending in other categories to compensate.

Find creative ways to fund your hobby

To fund her travel passion, Wrenn strategically uses credit cards. She pays them off each month to earn travel rewards. Done right, she can purchase airplane tickets with points instead of savings.

She recently took her family on a trip to Scotland, which was paid for largely by those travel rewards. “I could afford it because I planned for it,” she says.

Another option is to brainstorm ways to make your hobby pay for itself. If you’re a crafter, you can try to sell some of your creations on Etsy. If you love to sail, maybe you can offer charters to paying clients, Jones suggests.

Embrace patience and planning

Sometimes, a big hobby-related purchase requires extra planning, Wrenn says.

For example, she spends big on craft supplies, but only stocks up during her favorite store’s annual sale.

“For me, going to the craft store and spending $300 makes me happy, so I save for that,” she says.

In her case, savvy planning pays off. She used the stamps, ink and paper — all bought on sale — to make her annual holiday, thank-you and greeting cards.

Another tip: Create a separate savings account for the hobby and deposit money into it each month, says Wrenn. That can make it easier to accrue funds for a passion while avoiding debt.

This method also helps head off any potential fights with your partner about how the money is spent. “If the spending is pre-planned, you don’t need to fight about it,” she says.

Taking that approach allowed her to purchase a large sewing machine and a computer to assist with crafting projects.

“Having a dedicated savings account that I just put money into every month makes it very purposeful and allows me to save without being tempted to spend on something else,” Wrenn says.

Expensive hobby. Justified.

Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like spending and saving, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article Asked on Reddit: Can I Justify an Expensive Hobby? originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By JAMEY KEATEN, STEFANIE DAZIO and JOHN LEICESTER The Associated Press

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — A fire ripped through a bar’s New Year celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours after midnight Thursday, with dozens of people feared dead and about 100 more injured, most seriously, police said.

The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue, and overnight, its crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of potentially one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.

“Several tens of people” were presumed killed at the bar, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, but “that will take time and for the time being, it is premature to give you a more precise figure,” Gisler said, adding that the community is “devastated.”

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

An evening of celebration turns tragic

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders. The barmaid was holding a lit candle in a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames quickly spread and collapsed the ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

Officials described how the blaze likely triggered the release of combustible gases that ignited violently and caused what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Reynard said.

Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people, including many children, were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.

Resort town sits in the heart of the Alps

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February. The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.

The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Year’s Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the government’s “thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences.”

Thursday was Parmelin’s first day in office as the seven members of Switzerland’s government take turns holding the presidency for one year. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he delayed a traditional New Year’s address to the nation meant to be broadcast Thursday afternoon, Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS reported.

 

_

By ALI SWENSON The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year.

Democrats forced a 43-day government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for a solution to save their 2026 political aspirations. President Donald Trump floated a way out, only to back off after conservative backlash.

In the end, no one’s efforts were enough to save the subsidies before their expiration date. A House vote expected in January could offer another chance, but success is far from guaranteed.

The change affects a diverse cross-section of Americans who don’t get their health insurance from an employer and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare — a group that includes many self-employed workers, small business owners, farmers and ranchers.

It comes at the start of a high-stakes midterm election year, with affordability — including the cost of health care — topping the list of voters’ concerns.

“It really bothers me that the middle class has moved from a squeeze to a full suffocation, and they continue to just pile on and leave it up to us,” said 37-year-old single mom Katelin Provost, whose health care costs are set to jump. “I’m incredibly disappointed that there hasn’t been more action.”

Some families grapple with insurance costs that are doubling, tripling or more

The expired subsidies were first given to Affordable Care Act enrollees in 2021 as a temporary measure to help Americans get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats in power at the time extended them, moving the expiration date to the start of 2026.

With the expanded subsidies, some lower-income enrollees received health care with no premiums, and high earners paid no more than 8.5% of their income. Eligibility for middle-class earners was also expanded.

On average, the more than 20 million subsidized enrollees in the Affordable Care Act program are seeing their premium costs rise by 114% in 2026, according to an analysis by the health care research nonprofit KFF.

Those surging prices come alongside an overall increase in health costs in the U.S., which are further driving up out-of-pocket costs in many plans.

Some enrollees, like Salt Lake City freelance filmmaker and adjunct professor Stan Clawson, have absorbed the extra expense. Clawson said he was paying just under $350 a month for his premiums last year, a number that will jump to nearly $500 a month this year. It’s a strain for the 49-year-old but one he’s willing to take on because he needs health insurance as someone who lives with paralysis from a spinal cord injury.

Others, like Provost, are dealing with steeper hikes. The social worker’s monthly premium payment is increasing from $85 a month to nearly $750.

Effects on enrollment remain to be seen

Health analysts have predicted the expiration of the subsidies will drive many of the 24 million total Affordable Care Act enrollees — especially younger and healthier Americans — to forgo health insurance coverage altogether.

Over time, that could make the program more expensive for the older, sicker population that remains.

An analysis conducted last September by the Urban Institute and Commonwealth Fund projected the higher premiums from expiring subsidies would prompt some 4.8 million Americans to drop coverage in 2026.

But with the window to select and change plans still ongoing until Jan. 15 in most states, the final effect on enrollment is yet to be determined.

Provost, the single mother, said she is holding out hope that Congress finds a way to revive the subsidies early in the year — but if not, she’ll drop herself off the insurance and keep it only for her four-year-old daughter. She can’t afford to pay for both of their coverage at the current price.

Months of discussion, but no relief yet

Last year, after Republicans cut more than $1 trillion in federal health care and food assistance with Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill, Democrats repeatedly called for the subsidies to be extended. But while some Republicans in power acknowledged the issue needed to be addressed, they refused to put it to a vote until late in the year.

In December, the Senate rejected two partisan health care bills — a Democratic pitch to extend the subsidies for three more years and a Republican alternative that would instead provide Americans with health savings accounts.

In the House, four centrist Republicans broke with GOP leadership and joined forces with Democrats to force a vote that could come as soon as January on a three-year extension of the tax credits. But with the Senate already having rejected such a plan, it’s unclear whether it could get enough momentum to pass.

Meanwhile, Americans whose premiums are skyrocketing say lawmakers don’t understand what it’s really like to struggle to get by as health costs ratchet up with no relief.

Many say they want the subsidies restored alongside broader reforms to make health care more affordable for all Americans.

“Both Republicans and Democrats have been saying for years, oh, we need to fix it. Then do it,” said Chad Bruns, a 58-year-old Affordable Care Act enrollee in Wisconsin. “They need to get to the root cause, and no political party ever does that.”

By Luke Ramseth, lramseth@detroitnews.com

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealers were in open revolt against parent company Stellantis NV for much of last year.

Poor corporate decision-making had tanked sales, the retailers said, while a mishmash of overpriced vehicles piled up on their lots and their profits plummeted to Great Recession-era lows. They sent sharply worded letters and publicly griped that the once-proud company had lost touch with the American consumer.

Much has changed since then. A new CEO, Antonio Filosa, is in charge and based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, not Europe. He’s promised to listen to the U.S. dealer body’s input, unlike former chief Carlos Tavares. The company has adjusted prices and streamlined trim levels, and is launching a series of new and refreshed models that dealers say better align with an American audience that appreciates V-8 engines and hybrids.

The automaker has launched a hiring spree to better support its more than 2,000 U.S. stores in sales, parts and service, and has also pledged to spend more on local advertising.

Stellantis dealers have cheered many of the changes and are finally starting to feel optimistic about the future of their businesses, according to multiple interviews this week.

However, recent sales and market share figures show the company’s turnaround effort remains stuck in first gear.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done still — got to get through some bad product, and praying that the R&D comes through,” said Jerry Romano, a Hawaii dealer. “But I think that they’re making the right moves. It’s definitely a better position than it was last year at this time.”

Romano and several other dealers told The Detroit News that their monthly sales are essentially flat from a year ago, though others said they are starting to see growth in recent months. In the third quarter, Stellantis’ overall U.S. sales increased 6%, snapping a series of quarterly declines that stretched back two years; full-year sales will be released in the coming days.

“Sales have been, I don’t want to say stagnant, but year-over-year it’s pretty similar,” said Mark Trudell, general manager at Extreme Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Jackson, Michigan, who added he’s found some momentum in December and is optimistic about 2026. He said corporate communication with dealers has improved, as have the automaker’s vehicle incentive programs.

Stellantis U.S. market share has fallen sharply in recent years — from 12.5% in 2020 to just 7.7% through the first 11 months of this year, according to car-shopping firm Edmunds.com Inc. That’s a lower share than predecessor Chrysler Group plunged to during the Great Recession when the company went through bankruptcy.

Filosa told investors earlier this month that the company’s U.S. market share has improved slightly for the second half of the year, and that the company has “fixed the dealer inventory management issue that was so bad last year.”

The Edmunds data confirms that Stellantis models aren’t usually sitting as long on dealer lots as they did in 2024. But the company’s vehicles still take many more days to sell than the industry average, with Rams and Chryslers moving especially slowly in recent months. In October and November, for example, Ram’s trucks and vans were taking more than twice as long as the industry’s 63-day average to sell, the Edmunds data shows, which is substantially worse than earlier in the year.

Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, said he expects the automaker’s U.S. turnaround to take several years as it slowly seeks to win back customers that it increasingly lost to competitors over the last half-decade.

“It’s not gonna happen overnight,” he said. “It’s not gonna happen from one or two products, or a few motor swaps, things like that. It’s gonna be incremental. It’s gonna be potentially painful.”

Stellantis executives have acknowledged the recovery will take time but stress they are laying the groundwork and listening to dealer input in a bid to rebuild trust.

After cutting dealer support staff in recent years, the automaker said it has added 200 people to support sales, service and parts field operations across the country. In 2026, it will also reopen physical business centers around the country that support dealers and add a new business center location in Chicago, spokesperson Ann Marie Fortunate said.

The dealer-focused hiring spree is part of a larger push to add about 2,000 positions in areas also including manufacturing, quality and engineering. Much of the hiring focus has been centered on the automaker’s Michigan headquarters, which dealers see as a welcome shift after Tavares had focused on American job cuts and outsourcing.

Fortunate also confirmed that the company will increase its local advertising spending to support dealers in 2026. It recently brought back dealer ad associations, a system where the company pools resources with dealers in certain large markets and makes collective decisions around advertising, incentives and stocking levels. Dealers said the automaker ditched the regional associations years ago as a cost-saving measure, and they view it as a positive sign that the organizations are back.

Mike Bettenhausen, a Chicago-area dealer who heads the company’s national dealer council, said retailers appreciate Filosa’s willingness to try out new strategies to bring more customers into stores. He said dealers “desperately need the traffic.”

Stellantis is launching several new vehicles in the coming months, including the redesigned Jeep Cherokee and gas-powered versions of the Dodge Charger, both of which are shipping to dealer lots now.

Retailers said these vehicles will start to fill glaring holes in the automaker’s lineup, and ideally, they can “provide that much-needed boost to dealer profitability that has been missing for some time,” Bettenhausen said.

Stellantis’ models had become too “vanilla” the last few years, said Randy Dye, who owns a Florida Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealership. “Our cars are not just appliances, they’re fun,” he said, yet the company’s past leadership “took all the fun out.”

Now that’s starting to change — including as Dodge brings back its loud, gas-powered muscle car and as both Ram and Dodge put Hemi V-8s back inside pickups and SUVs: “These are car people running this company now,” Dye said.

“The more we get these cool vehicles into our lineup … that’s a big deal,” said Ralph Mahalak Jr., who owns Stellantis dealerships in Michigan, Ohio and Florida.

He’s instructed his team to heavily promote the new models on social media as they land at his stores. Models like the Charger might not sell in huge numbers, he added, but can bring “some enthusiasm to my showroom.”

One vehicle dealers do anticipate can juice sales: the reintroduced Cherokee, which, for now, is offered solely as a hybrid, part of a wider push into hybrids underway inside Stellantis.

The company ended production of the last generation of the Cherokee about three years ago and didn’t have a replacement, a move that flummoxed dealers, considering the model competes in the best-selling midsize SUV segment.

“Cherokee, Cherokee, Cherokee — I’ve been missing that one, big time,” said Bill Golling, who operates Stellantis stores in Metro Detroit. Under Tavares, he said, “we discontinued too many car lines, too soon. How do you not have a Cherokee for three years?”

Other reinforcements will take longer to arrive. Ram plans to introduce an all-new midsize truck that dealers expect to sell in large numbers, but it won’t be ready until 2027. Jeep is soon releasing an all-electric model called the Recon. Still, the retailers say they are most looking forward to when the brand offers the same boxy off-roading model in a gas-powered variant, which they expect will be more popular; timing for that isn’t yet available.

Drury said he expects it will be a slog for Stellantis to once again approach double-digit market share in the United States — especially at a time when the overall new car market is expected to shrink next year. But it can make some gradual improvements.

“This has been a rough year for them, right?” he said. “But I do think that next year, at least, there’s some light there. There’s at least something to look forward to.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham, appearing on the UM radio network during the Citrus Bowl, where he’s in attendance, said he spent the last four days, since being formally introduced Sunday, interviewing every current player.

Whittingham said in total, he spent 24 hours talking to the players at the team hotel and added he has spoken with about 20 parents. Whittingham, who spent the last 21 seasons coaching Utah, was hired on Dec. 26. He arrived in Orlando Saturday night and watched the Michigan-Texas bowl game from a suite on Wednesday.

“It’s very apparent this team has a lot of character individuals,” Whittingham said during the radio broadcast.

He has not yet watched film of the players and planned to use this game to get a head start, but said he spent most of the first half on the phone with donors.

Whittingham said he will be in Ann Arbor on Friday and anticipates having most of his staff in place. He is retaining current Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford.

“We should be just about full force by this weekend. Might be short one or two,” Whittingham said, saying he needs to also hire analysts. “We should be full strength within a week.”

The transfer portal opens Jan. 2 for 15 days. Whittingham said roster retention is his priority, and when he arrives in Ann Arbor he plays to “lock” himself in the building to watch film. He will then turn his focus to the portal.

“We’re flying the airplane while we’re building it,” he said.

Whittingham was asked about Michigan’s rivalry games against Michigan State and Ohio State, with particular emphasis on the Buckeyes.

“It’s huge,” Whittingham said of the UM-OSU game. “A good friend of mine, Urban Meyer, has indoctrinated me with that.”

Jon Jansen, the UM radio analyst and former two-time captain, asked if that friendship with Meyer will change.

“We’ll find out,” Whittingham said. “He just called me an hour ago; I missed it. Maybe he called to break things off.”

What are their futures at Michigan?

Linebacker Cole Sullivan said he had a “great” meeting with Whittingham.

“I really, really like him and what he’s bringing to this team and this program,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said that as far as his future, he wasn’t certain.

“There’s too many uncertainties at this point, but I love this university,” Sullivan said.

Bryson Kuzdzal, who led the team in rushing in the bowl game, said he’s planning on returning to Michigan.

“That’s where I want to be,” he said.

Kendrick Bell, who caught his first career touchdown in the Citrus Bowl, said his decision is made and he is “100%” returning.

“Michigan through and through,” Bell said.

Marshall didn’t feel he could play

Jordan Marshall, the team’s leading rusher, was still hampered by an injury to his right shoulder and decided Monday he didn’t think he could play.

“There’s these things where you’re medically cleared but nobody knows your body like you do,” interim head coach Biff Poggi said. “He was medically cleared but he just didn’t feel like he could go, and he’d been banged up for a while.

“He’s the type of player, his physicality is what makes him special, so if he doesn’t feel right, especially in the upper body, that’s hard.”

Quotable

Sullivan on saying goodbye to teammates and coaches: “I don’t know if it’s goodbye or see ya later. Hopefully, we cross paths again. It was an honor to be able to play with those guys. So grateful for them and everything they’ve poured into me.”

By Sarah Atwood

satwood@detroitnews.com

Presidents of Michigan public universities aren’t sticking around as long as they once did.

At least, it seems that way. Two high-profile research university presidents departed in 2025: University of Michigan’s Santa Ono and Wayne State University’s Kimberly Andrews Espy. When UM-Dearborn’s Chancellor, Domenico Grasso, filled in as interim president of UM with plans to retire after his term, another public university lost a president.

“It’s always been a difficult job. You run basically what are equivalent to small cities,” said Robert LeFevre, president of the Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities association. “The demands are ever-increasing. Presidents are fundraising non-stop; they’re on the road a lot.”

And it’s not just public universities that have experienced more leadership loss this past year. Six community college presidents left their roles for retirement or other jobs, including at one of Michigan’s public universities.

Private universities, however, have largely been spared the leadership changes this year. One reason for this is that the presidents of those institutions don’t typically leave for another job, LeFevre said. Instead, presidents stay in the job until retirement, or in the rare cases, dismissal, he said.

The longevity of Michigan’s higher education leaders is largely in line with national trends, said Erica Orians, vice president of the Michigan Community College Association.

Nationwide, university presidents are sticking around for less time as a result of the challenges that affect the entire sector. Enrollment decline, lingering post-pandemic burnout and increasing concerns about federal funding for operations and student financial aid are all top of mind for leaders in higher education.

Despite this, the job is as rewarding as ever, said Dan Hurley, president of the Michigan Association of State Universities.

“(Michigan’s) institutions have missions that excite and drive those who want to serve as presidents,” he said. “… Leading the change is one of the most impactful things someone can do.”

Why presidents leave

Higher education sectors can have varying missions and different ways of operating. Public universities tend to be larger, for example, and independent colleges do not receive direct state or federal appropriations. However, all are impacted by a decade of declining enrollment, decreasing funding for operations and student aid and leadership burnout.

Fewer students are graduating high school because of decades of declining birth rates in Michigan, and some high school graduates are choosing to join the workforce immediately, rather than earn degrees. However, schools are finding their footing. But Michigan has experienced enrollments inching up as of late after a decade of decline.

Universities in Michigan experienced millions in research funding losses from President Donald Trump’s administration’s shift in priorities for higher education. This impacted public universities, like the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, but also, to a lesser extent, independent colleges, like Alma College and Lawrence Technological University, the Center for American Progress reports.

Orians said turnover in community college presidencies was the highest since she began at the Michigan Community College Association a decade ago. However, she said there has been a wave of retirements this year that left more schools looking for leaders, and she doesn’t think the trend will continue.

“No one is running away from the challenges of higher education,” she said. “That’s why they’ve gotten into this work.”

But it’s hard for a president to pass up an opportunity they might see as a better fit.

Russ Kavalhuna left his role at Henry Ford Community College for the presidency at Western Michigan University. Mike Gavin left his role at Delta College to continue his work “defending equity in higher education,” Inside Higher Ed reported in October.

Adding to this, tensions with a governing board might cause a president to feel pressured to leave. All of the last permanent presidents at Michigan’s top research universities, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, left after reported disputes with their boards.

UM’s Ono left for a job he didn’t end up getting at the University of Florida after rising tensions between him and the board over refusing to stand up to President Donald Trump’s directives for higher education. MSU’s Samuel Stanley resigned after “losing confidence” in the school’s board, a month after the board asked him to resign over failing to report an instance of alleged sexual misconduct. WSU’s Espy was pressured to resign by the board, sources told The News, after concerns over her leadership and the handling of placing a well-liked dean on paid administrative leave without stating why.

LeFevre said that although presidents at Michigan independent schools don’t typically leave for other jobs, it didn’t mean that the sector hadn’t had its own massive vacancies in leadership in the past year. A couple of years ago, seven presidents either retired or were dismissed, he said.

“Once presidents fit with their boards, the school and the community, they have a tendency to stay,” he said.

How long presidents stay

Of all sitting university presidents in Michigan, the average length of tenure is about three years, with most having been in the role for about 18 months, an analysis of presidential term lengths by The Detroit News shows. Three presidents have been hired this year.

Hurley attributes this to a “cyclical” transition over the last 12-18 months. While the number of public universities that have looked for a permanent president in 2025 is higher than in previous years, he doesn’t believe it’s a trend that is here to stay.

Independent college and university presidents who are currently in the role have stuck around a little longer, a review shows. The average tenure for a sitting president is a little over five years, with most having served for three.

Four private university presidents have been in the role for over a decade: Adrian College’s Jeffrey Docking, Kettering University’s Robert McMahan, the University of Olivet’s Steven Corey and Spring Arbor University’s Brent Ellis.

The length of tenure for sitting community college presidents is longer, at about seven years, with most presidents having served for about five, a review shows.

Two community college presidents in Michigan have some of the longest tenures of any higher education president in Michigan. Daniel Phelan of Jackson College has held his role since 2001, and Curtis Ivery of Wayne County Community College has served since 1995.

In a 2020 interview with Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Ivery, who was awarded the magazine’s Champion Award that year, said he was passionate about the work he did because of the impact it had on his students.

“When I talk about curriculum and outcomes, it’s not abstract to me,” he told the magazine. “Nothing replaces the passion and love I have for people. I really sincerely believe that education is the only way out. And I don’t stutter about that. I am so committed to that.”

Orians said the Michigan Community College Association’s Leadership Academy tries to prepare potential community college presidents who are administrators or senior faculty to take on the role if the current president leaves. Those who’ve been through the academy have found work as presidents at colleges in Michigan or other states.

“Future leaders are equipped to lead (through the academy),” she said. “And they know the schools, the community … it’s a real hallmark of community colleges.”

DETROIT (AP) — John Gibson kept up his hot December with 24 saves, Dylan Larkin and Mason Appleton scored goals, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the slumping Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Gibson won for the ninth time in 10 starts as the Red Wings improved to 11-3-1 in December.

The Jets lost their seventh straight game (0-4-3) on a night where Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves. Logan Stanley scored Winnipeg’s goal.

The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 8:22 of the first period when Larkin ripped a shot through traffic over Hellebuyck’s glove while on the power play. Larkin and Hellebuyck, who grew up a few miles apart in Detroit’s western suburbs, are expected to be teammates on Team USA in the upcoming Olympics.

Appleton put the Red Wings ahead 2-0 with 5:12 left in the first, finishing off a two-on-one break with J.T. Compher. Hellebuyck made the initial save, but defenseman Luke Schenn knocked the puck into the net while trying to clear the crease.

Gustav Nyquist nearly made it 2-1 late in the second period against his former team, but hit the crossbar from a sharp angle.

Stanley made it 2-1 at 7:04 of the third with a shot along the ice that seemed to fool Gibson.

No sooner had John F. Kennedy’s granddaughter died of leukemia at age 35, than President Trump got busy dusting off previous social media posts to cast shade at her bereaved family.

Though he didn’t mention the late Tatiana Schlossberg by name or reference her death, Trump harvested screenshots of his supporters’ posts belittling the famous family after his newly handpicked board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to tack the president’s name onto the venue.

The Kennedy family announced Schlossberg’s death on Tuesday from a rare form of leukemia with the simple message, “Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning. She will always be in our hearts.”

Schlossberg had written poignantly about her diagnosis and treatment in The New Yorker in November, a powerful account of a year-long journey that paralleled her cousin Robert Kennedy Jr.’s attack on the nation’s public health system as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

As condolences poured in, Trump, reportedly miffed at the raft of performance cancellations in the wake of the board’s Dec. 18 name change, pulled supporters’ social media posts out of mothballs and onto Truth Social. He re-upped such gems as, “The Kennedy Family have LONG neglected the Kennedy Center, btw. They don’t raise money for it. They never show up. And the only Kennedy who has been there recently is a member of Trump’s cabinet,” and, “The Trumps have always been supporters of the arts. The Kennedys are supporters of the Kennedys.”

The Kennedys themselves were especially vocal during the public backlash against the institution’s name change, given that Congress had dedicated it as a living memorial to JFK after the president’s 1963 assassination.

CNN’s Jake Tapper and others led the excoriation charge against Trump’s posts.

“In the early afternoon, ET, the Kennedy family announced that JFK’s granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg had died from cancer,” the anchor wrote on X. “A few hours later, President Trump re-posted some social media garbage attacking the Kennedy family.”

Barely a month earlier, Trump had blamed movie director Rob Reiner for his own murder.

“On a day when the Kennedy family is grappling with an unimaginable personal loss, Donald Trump chose to use his platform to launch petty, vindictive attacks against them,” Meidas Touch wrote on X. “Yet another stunning display of cruelty and utter lack of basic human decency.”

With News Wire Services

ORLANDO, Fla. – For the last six days since Michigan arrived here to prepare for the Citrus Bowl, the game felt like an afterthought.

After all, Michigan hired new coach Kyle Whittingham on Dec. 26, the day the team flew to Florida from Ann Arbor, and two days later he was formally introduced as the program’s 22nd head coach. His hiring dominated interviews and headlines, and, oh, yeah, there was a game coming up for a team that had faced many distractions since their previous coach, Sherrone Moore, was fired on Dec. 10 creating turmoil within the program.

Michigan and Texas both entered the Citrus Bowl with the goal of winning their 10th game at Camping World Stadium. But it was the Longhorns, with two previous wins against Michigan, who prevailed, with a 41-27 win in an entertaining, high-scoring game with Whittingham observing his new team from the press box suites.

The game featured two of the most hyped quarterbacks in the game, but it was Texas quarterback Arch Manning who had the spectacular performance. He threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yard run that converted on his counterpart Bryce Underwood’s second interception and put Texas up two scores, 38-27.

Underwood, Michigan’s freshman quarterback, had not had a touchdown pass in four of his last five games and had two against Texas, to Andrew Marsh and Kendrick Bell. He also rushed for 69 yards with one touchdown. But trumping all of that was his three interceptions, the third coming with 4:33 left that led to a Texas field goal and a 41-27 lead. He was picked off three times in the second half, including back-to-back fourth-quarter drives.

Michigan was short-handed in the run game with both of the Wolverines’ top rushers, Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes, on the sideline, leaving the bulk of the job to Bryson Kuzdzal, who led the team with 82 yards on 20 carries. Haynes, who has been recovering from a foot injury suffered in the Michigan State game, was in street clothes, but Marshall, who suffered a right shoulder injury in Game 11 against Northwestern, was in uniform. And there were the opt-outs, including sack leader Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham.

The Wolverines regained the lead, 27-24, with 11 minutes left in the game with a 5-yard run by Underwood that was reviewed after it appeared he may have fumbled as the ball crossed the pylon.

But Texas had a strong reply and drove 75 yards on nine plays as Manning made a stunning pass to Kaliq Lockett for a 30-yard touchdown and the 31-27 lead with just less than seven minutes left.

Michigan built a 20-17 lead early in the second half on Dominic Zvada’s second field goal, this time from 31 yards, but Texas responded with a touchdown drive as Manning scored on a 23-yard run to give the Longhorns a 24-20 lead.

The Wolverines were driving on their next possession when Underwood was intercepted on a poor pass on third-and-17 at the Texas 25-yard line. But Michigan’s defense stepped up and forced a three-and-out.

Michigan had 192 total first-half yards while Texas had 233. Underwood was 12 of 18 for 112 yards and the TD passes to Bell and Marsh. He also ran for 49 yards on five carries. The Wolverines, who struggled finding any semblance of a pass rush against Ohio State in the final regular-season game, didn’t pressure Manning much in the first half. Manning was 14 of 23 for 147 yards and a score.

Texas made it 10-10 early in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run, but Michigan, playing behind a reconfigured offensive line after center Greg Crippen left the game with injury, responded with an efficient drive.

With Crippen out, Jake Guarnera moved from right guard to center and freshman Kaden Strayhorn came in at right guard, shuffling a line that was already featuring a new starter at right tackle, Brady Norton for Andrew Sprague, and Nathan Efobi at left guard for Gio El-Hadi, who decided not to play in the bowl.

Michigan needed seven plays, with Underwood running four times, including a 33-yard gain to the Texas 4-yard line. Marsh, who switched to No. 3, his high school number, before the game, scored on a pass from Underwood give Michigan a 17-10 lead.

Texas tied the game 17-17 the next drive on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Jack Endries.

Michigan’s defense came up big on Texas’ final drive of the half. The Longhorns reached the UM 21-yard line and Manning looked to have another touchdown on a second-down throw but TJ Metcalf broke up the play in the end zone. On third down, the snap went over Manning’s head for a 12-yard loss. Michigan got the ball back with 48 seconds left and after reaching the Texas 27-yard line, Zvada missed a 45-yard field goal wide right as time expired. He made a 53-yarder in the first quarter.

The Wolverines took a 10-3 lead in the first quarter, scoring twice in 46 seconds, first on a 53-yard field goal from Zvada. On the ensuing kickoff, Texas’ Ryan Niblett was hit by Cole Sullivan, who forced a fumble that Metcalf recovered at the Longhorns’ 23-yard line.

On third-and-16, Underwood connected with Bell in the end zone, but it was officially ruled incomplete. The Michigan players, however, began to celebrate, throwing up their arms to signal a touchdown, after watching a replay on the videoboard. The call was overturned after the review showed Bell got his right toe down for the score and a 10-3 lead.

Texas opened the game a 43-yard field goal after having two 22-yard plays in the drive.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday that the Constitution remains a sturdy pillar for the country, a message that comes after a tumultuous year in the nation’s judicial system with pivotal Supreme Court decisions on the horizon.

Roberts said the nation’s founding documents remain “firm and unshaken,” a reference to a century-old quote from President Calvin Coolidge. “True then; true now,” Roberts wrote in his annual letter to the judiciary.

The letter comes after a year in which legal scholars and Democrats raised fears of a possible constitutional crisis as Republican President Donald Trump’s supporters pushed back against rulings that slowed his far-reaching conservative agenda.

Roberts weighed in at one point in March, issuing a rare rebuke after Trump called for the impeachment of a judge who had ruled against him in a case over the deportation of Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members.

The chief justice’s Wednesday letter was largely focused on the nation’s history, including an early 19th-century case establishing the principle that Congress shouldn’t remove judges over contentious rulings.

He also called on judges to “continue to decide the cases before us according to our oath, doing equal right to the poor and to the rich, and performing all of our duties faithfully and impartially under the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

While the Trump administration faced pushback in the lower courts, it has scored a series of some two dozen wins on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket. The court’s conservative majority has allowed Trump to move ahead for now with banning transgender people from the military, clawing back billions of dollars of congressionally approved federal spending, moving aggressively on immigration and firing the Senate-confirmed leaders of independent federal agencies.

The court also handed Trump a few defeats over the last year, including in his push to deploy the National Guard to U.S. cities.

Other pivotal issues are ahead for the high court in 2026, including arguments over Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship and a ruling on whether he can unilaterally impose tariffs on hundreds of countries.

Roberts’ letter contained few references to those issues. It opened with a history of the seminal 1776 pamphlet “Common Sense,” written by Thomas Paine, a “recent immigrant to Britain’s North American colonies,” and closed with Coolidge’s encouragement to “turn for solace” to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence “amid all the welter of partisan politics.”

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four firms operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers, which the U.S. accuses of being part of a shadow fleet serving Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government, as blocked property.

The action is part of the Trump administration’s monthslong pressure campaign on Maduro. U.S. forces also have seized two oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast, are pursuing another and have conducted a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

A set of strikes announced Wednesday increased the death toll from the attacks to at least 110 people since early September. And in a new escalation marking the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil, the CIA carried out a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by drug cartels.

The latest sanctions from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control target ships called Nord Star, Lunar Tide, Rosalind and Della, and their registered ownership companies.

“Today’s sanctions continue President Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro and his cronies,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “The Trump Administration is committed to disrupting the network that props up Maduro and his illegitimate regime.”

The sanctions are meant to deny the firms and tankers access to any property or financial assets held in the U.S. People, banks and financial institutions that violate that restriction expose themselves to sanctions or enforcement actions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States “will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs.”

President Donald Trump has announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of the South American country. He has demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago and has said Maduro’s government is using oil profits to fund drug trafficking and other crimes.

“The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime,” Bessent said.

By JOSH FUNK and DIDI TANG

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Farmers are now learning how much aid they can expect to receive from a $12 billion package that President Donald Trump announced earlier this month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the figures Wednesday for how much aid per acre farmers can plan on for each row crop. The details arrived after most farmers have already met with their bankers to arrange financing for next year’s crops and placed orders for the seed and fertilizer they will need. But officials have promised that the payments should arrive by the end of February.

Soybean farmers have been hit especially hard by Trump’s trade war with China, which stopped buying any American crops after Trump announced his tariffs this spring. China is the world’s largest buyer of soybeans. This aid package is expected to help farmers weather the trade disruptions until China buys more soybeans under an agreement announced in October and until provisions of Trump’s massive budget bill take effect later this year.

Soybean farmers will get $30.88 per acre while corn farmers will receive $44.36 per acre. Another crop hit hard when China stopped buying was sorghum, and those farmers will get $48.11 per acre. The amounts are based on a USDA formula on the cost of production.

Farmers say they need more buyers for their crops

But farmers say the aid won’t solve all their problems as they continue to deal with the soaring costs of fertilizer, seeds and labor that make it hard to turn a profit right now. Some agricultural trade groups have said they worry that thousands of farmers could go out of business, but others have said they believe most farmers have the financial resources and equity needed to survive.

Kentucky soybean farmer Caleb Ragland, who was president of the American Soybean Association until recently, said the aid is “a Band-Aid on a deep wound. We need competition and opportunities in the market to make our future brighter.”

The President of the National Corn Growers Association Jed Bower also urged the Trump administration to focus on cultivating additional uses for their crops. Farmers will benefit from having more buyers whether it is for ethanol and animal feed at home or for international markets.

“Corn growers have been sounding the alarm about the fact that farmers have been faced with multiple consecutive years of low corn prices and high input costs,” Bower said. “While this financial assistance is helpful and welcomed, we urgently need the administration and Congress to develop markets in the United States and abroad that will provide growers with more long-term economic certainty.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that is the goal and promised to continue working to open new markets while strengthening the safety net for farmers.

Minnesota Soybean Growers Association President Darin Johnson said the aid number for soybeans fell short of what farmers had been hoping for, so more help could be needed, though this package will help.

Most farmers remain steadfast supporters of Trump even after the disruptions caused by the trade war. They generally support many of his other policies and believe they will get a better trade deal in the end.

White House and farmers encouraged by China’s purchases

These aid payments will add up to $11 billion for row crop farmers who raise corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum and other crops. Another $1 billion has been set aside for specialty crops and sugar, but the administration hasn’t released any details of aid for those crops.

After Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in October, the White House said Beijing had promised to buy at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of the calendar year, plus 25 million metric tons a year in each of the next three years. Officials have said China is on track to meet the 12 million metric ton goal by the end of February.

As of Dec. 18, China had bought about 6 million metric tons of soybeans, according to the latest USDA’s weekly report. Separately, the federal agency reported that China since then bought at least three more batches totaling 600,000 metric tons.

Beijing has yet to confirm any commitment to buying 12 million metric tons of soybeans for this season, but the Chinese embassy in Washington said earlier this month that “agricultural trade cooperation between China and the United States is proceeding in an orderly manner.”

However, the recent increase in international purchases is encouraging to farmers, said Tim Lust, CEO of the National Sorghum Producers, who has seen more than 1 million metric tons of sorghum purchased in just the past few weeks. Like soybeans, more than half of the sorghum crop is exported each year with China traditionally being the biggest buyer.

The aid payments will be capped at $155,000 per farmer or entity, and only farms that make less than $900,000 in adjusted gross income will be eligible. During the first Trump administration, a number of large farms found ways around the payment limits and collected millions.

The USDA says the average size of the 1.88 million farms nationwide was 466 acres last year, but many farmers are much larger than that as larger operations have continued to buy up neighboring farms over time.

All it took was a couple weeks worth of evidence that Birmingham Groves’ new approach this season was going to result in some eye-popping numbers.

Averaging 60 points in their two first games? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then the Falcons set a new school record for points in a game when they beat Fenton 103-45 on Dec. 16. Just three days later, they improved to 2-2 by waxing Fraser 92-61.

Triple-digit evenings are going to mean double-digit individual performances will be more common in that neighborhood, whether it’s Sophie Schwanik, Mallory Killian, Jacey Roy or take your pick.

But no one is benefitting more than Groves junior Harlem Simpson, as if she was going to fly under the radar for long regardless.

Nothing tells the tale better than the Falcons’ loss to Mercy in their second game of the season. Simpson, who admitted it wasn’t her brightest and best performance, was quiet for three quarters. Then she ripped off five 3-pointers in the fourth and still finished with 26 points.

Against Fenton, Simpson was far more efficient, shooting over 53 from the field (including 7 of 12 from downtown) as she finished with a new career-high 45 points.

In the victory over the Ramblers, she nearly followed up with a triple-double, scoring 35 points while pulling down 13 rebounds and finishing with seven steals.

The points will pull in the most attention, but Simpson’s ability to be a disruptive force with steals like she had against Fraser are what will only make Groves more dangerous as they acclimate to the Grinnell system, which second-year head coach Jessica Duleba installed over the summer.

“It’s just new,” Simpson said after the Mercy loss. “We’ve just got to get used to it. We’ve got to know we can still take layups, know that we don’t have to shoot all the time. We’ve got to listen to coaches, but if you are open, you’ve got to see it, and when you get the ball you’ve got to realize it. But we’ll get used to it.”

Simpson has basketball in her blood. Her mom, Kisha, graduated as Michigan State’s all-time leading scorer and was the program’s first All-American, enough to earn her a place in MSU’s Hall of Fame (2011), and older brother John helped make Groves history by being part of last year’s senior class that brought the Falcons their first OAA Red title.

Harlem began to make her own name known on a bigger stage with AAU performances this past summer and her development has earned her double-digit Division 1 offers that include Penn State, Oakland, Detroit Mercy and Central Michigan, though that attention doesn’t seem to bother her or have her in any rush to decide on a destination. “You just gotta keep it spread out,” she said after at least a few schools were in attendance watching the loss to the Marlins. “I’ve been on a few visits. I’m just talking to everybody, feeling them out, figuring out where I want to be at.”

One of the state’s best from the Class of 2027 has the quickness to get by defenders, but her perimeter offense is where the focus has been placed to make her even more dangerous.

“In practice, she’s shooting the ball at 80%, so for me, she has the green light,” Duleba said. “If you’re open, you better shoot it, because I’ll take my chances (with her). I think that’s the biggest improvement in her game that she’s now added that 3-point shooting piece, because there isn’t a girl that can stand in front of her. I’d like to know who’s a better ball-handler than she is.”

Harlem talked about the work that’s seemed to translate into these recent performances, saying, “Every day, every practice, 100 threes over the summer. I was in the gym every day, every week shooting threes on the gun, getting up over 500 shots every day.”

Considering that Roy is the team’s only senior, the ceiling for the Falcons seems to match its talented star.

“It’ll be good,” Simpson said. “Everyone will get more comfortable with each other because there’s a lot of freshmen that are playing and a lot of us hadn’t played together. We’ve just got to get used to playing with each other and we’ll be straight.”

Duleba issued a reminder after falling to 0-2 that the goal was to be winning in March, but with the results Simpson and her teammates are producing already, opponents won’t be sleeping on the Falcons when that time comes.

By BEN FINLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Wednesday it struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people while others jumped overboard and may have survived.

The statement by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not reveal where the attacks occurred. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

A video posted by Southern Command on social media shows the boats traveling in a close formation, which is unusual, and the military said they were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.” The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

The military said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts.

The attacks occurred on Tuesday. Southern Command’s statement did not say whether those who jumped off the boats were rescued.

Calling in the Coast Guard is notable because the U.S. military drew heavy scrutiny after U.S. forces killed the survivors of an attack in early September with a follow-up strike to their disabled boat. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts said the military committed a crime, while the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say the follow-up strike was legal.

The latest attacks bring the total number of known boat strikes to 33 and the number of people killed to at least 110 since early September, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Along with the strikes, the Trump administration has built up military forces in the region as part of an escalating pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States.

Meanwhile, the CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels, according to two people familiar with details of the operation who requested anonymity to discuss the classified matter.

It was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September, a significant escalation in the administration’s pressure campaign on Maduro’s government.

By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has ended the lease agreement for three public golf courses in Washington, a move that offers President Donald Trump an additional opportunity to put his stamp on another piece of the nation’s capital.

The National Links Trust, the nonprofit that has operated Washington’s three public courses on federal land for the last five years, said Wednesday that the Department of the Interior had terminated its 50-year lease agreement. The Interior Department said it was terminating the lease because the nonprofit had not implemented required capital improvements and failed to meet the terms of the lease.

While it was unclear what the Trump administration’s plans are for the golf courses, the move gives Trump, whose private company has developed numerous golf courses in the U.S. and abroad, the chance to remake links overlooking the Potomac River and in Rock Creek Park and a site that is part of Black golf history.

Officials for the National Links Trust said in a statement that they were “devastated” by the decision to terminate the lease and defended their management of the courses. They said $8.5 million had gone toward capital improvements at the courses and that rounds played and revenue had more than doubled in their tenure managing the courses. The nonprofit has agreed to keep managing the courses for the time being, but long-term renovations will stop.

“While this termination is a major setback, we remain stubbornly hopeful that a path forward can be found that preserves affordable and accessible public golf in the nation’s capital for generations to come,” the officials added.

The Department of the Interior’s decision comes as Trump rebrands civic spaces in Washington and deploys National Guard members to the streets for public safety. The Kennedy Center added Trump’s name this month after the center’s board of trustees — made up of Trump appointees — voted to change the name of the performing arts space designated by Congress as a memorial to John F. Kennedy. Trump is also in the midst of a construction project to build a ballroom on the White House’s East Wing, and he has put his name on the U.S. Institute of Peace.