Mandel’s final thoughts: The CFP’s first round got out of hand, but don’t blame the committee
And now, 12 final thoughts from the first weekend of the first-ever 12-team playoff.
‘Lion King’ prequel falls prey to ‘Sonic’ at the box office
LOS ANGELES — Disney’s mighty Mufasa … eaten alive by a hedgehog?
Party City to close all stores by February, company says
Party City, the party supply store that has provided the glittering backdrops for generations of birthday celebrations, New Year’s Eve bashes and Super Bowl gatherings, announced just days before Christmas that it was closing its doors for good.
Why is it so hard to make a robot chef?
The robot in the kitchen was upset.
Iran’s energy crisis hits ‘dire’ point as industries are forced to shut down
Government offices in Iran are closed or operating at reduced hours. Schools and colleges have moved to online only. Highways and shopping malls have descended into darkness, and industrial plants have been denied power, bringing manufacturing to a near halt.
Jeff Bezos prepares to close the gap in his space race with Elon Musk
SEATTLE — Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have become the two wealthiest men in the world thanks to their breakthrough technology companies. But Musk, through SpaceX, has long held a big lead in the pursuit closest to their hearts: colonizing space.
Trump previews second term in sprawling speech to conservative conference
PHOENIX — President-elect Donald Trump delivered a sprawling address on Sunday that he called a “small preview of the common-sense revolution” his administration will bring, pledging to slam shut the nation’s borders, end federal regulations, lower taxes, prosecute his rivals, “stop woke” and “end the transgender lunacy.”
Weight loss drugs changed their lives. Then they lost coverage
The letter came in June. Mindy McCormick, 67, read that her insurer would soon stop covering the weight loss drug Wegovy, which she had been taking for more than two years.
Insurers are deserting homeowners as climate shocks worsen
The insurance crisis spreading across the United States arrived at Richard D. Zimmel’s door this month in the form of a letter.
Justice Thomas did not disclose additional trips, democrats say
Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose two additional trips from a billionaire patron that had not previously come to light, Senate Democrats revealed Saturday after conducting a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court.
How Penn State dashed SMU’s Cinderella dreams with ease: Takeaways from a Playoff routv
No. 6 seed Penn State used two first-half interception returns for touchdowns to jumpstart a 38-10 blowout of No. 11 seed SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
Biden signs spending bill, finalizing end to shutdown drama
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the spending package that allowed federal funds to keep flowing until mid-March, formally ending the week’s unexpected drama over the issue a few hours after the deadline for a shutdown had technically passed.
A mouse that swims and dozens more species are discovered in a Peruvian jungle
In the summer of 2022, researchers trudged into the jungles of the Alto Mayo region of Peru in search of undiscovered creatures. This remote yet populous region had experienced significant deforestation, so the team didn’t expect to find much.
House passes bill to avert shutdown with hours to spare
WASHINGTON — The House on Friday approved legislation to avert a federal shutdown that was just hours away, with lawmakers extending funding into mid-March and approving $100 billion in disaster relief for parts of the nation still reeling from storms. The Senate was expected to quickly follow suit.
Why it’s hard to control what gets taught in public schools
Oklahoma and Texas are among more than 20 states that have passed laws since 2021 seeking to control how race, gender and American history are discussed in schools.
Zelenskyy raises prospect of European peacekeepers in Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he had discussed with European leaders the possibility of sending European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire or peace deal, as the country’s allies consider options on how to help Kyiv end the fighting with Russia on favorable terms.
Government lurches toward shutdown after House tanks Trump’s spending plan
The government lurched toward a shutdown after the House on Thursday rejected a hastily produced plan ordered up by President-elect Donald Trump to keep funding flowing, with dozens of Republicans defying his demand to pair the spending with a two-year suspension of the federal debt limit.
Giant redheaded centipedes are venom mixologists
A giant centipede’s many wriggling legs might be creepy. But the pair of legs not used for walking may be the most frightening.
New battles threaten Kurdish-Turkish truce in northern Syria
Battles between Kurdish and Turkish-backed fighters in northern Syria threatened on Wednesday to upend already shaky ceasefire agreements and stymie U.S. attempts to contain escalating violence just as the country’s 13-year civil war is ending.
California declares an emergency over bird flu in cattle
In a stark acknowledgment of the increasing seriousness of bird flu’s spread, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared on Wednesday that the outbreak of infections among the state’s dairy cattle constituted an emergency.
