Associated Press stories, Page 1229

ROME — Pope Francis prayed Saturday for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, using his Christmas Day address to urge health care for all, vaccines for the poor and for dialogue to prevail in resolving the world’s conflicts. Amid a record-setting rise in covid-19 cases in Italy this week, only...

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Tyler Huntley missed practice Friday for the Baltimore Ravens with an illness, adding even more uncertainty to the team’s quarterback situation heading into this weekend’s showdown at Cincinnati. Huntley is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, which pits the AFC North co-leaders against each other. Lamar...

LAS VEGAS — An Uber driver is charged with raping a female passenger who police said fell asleep before waking up as she was attacked during a ride in metro Las Vegas. Dawed Oumer Mekonene, 30, was arrested Tuesday and remained in jail Friday pending a court hearing on charges...

Many gamers will receive the latest edition of the “Madden” video game for the holidays. On Saturday, some will even find out for the first time that the name behind the popular franchise was a successful coach and broadcaster. Or as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell succinctly puts it: “John Madden...

JOHANNESBURG — A South African Cabinet minister on Friday urged the cancellation of an upcoming U.S. auction of a key to the Robben Island prison cell where Nelson Mandela, the country’s first Black president, was long jailed for his opposition to apartheid. The key is among Mandela memorabilia being sold...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State can buy a former fraternity house where a student was fatally injured during a night of drinking and hazing, a judge has ruled. Centre County Judge Brian Marshall gave the university and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s national chapter six months to negotiate a deal,...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year’s Eve, the White House announced Friday. The restrictions, imposed last month, were meant to blunt the spread of the covid omicron variant. The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently...

MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Friday slapped Google with a nearly $100 million fine and also fined Facebook’s parent company Meta $27 million over their failure to delete content banned by local law, as Russia seeks to step up pressure on technology giants. The Tagansky District Court ruled that...

NEWARK, N.J. — A security officer leapt over conveyor belt rollers and saved a 2-month-old boy who stopped breathing at a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, newly released video shows. The footage, released Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, shows TSA officer Cecilia Morales...

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II is expected to offer a particularly personal Christmas Day message to the nation this year after Buckingham Palace released a photo of the monarch recording the speech alongside a picture of her and her husband, who died earlier this year. The image provided by the...

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A massive fire swept through a crowded river ferry in Bangladesh early Friday, leaving at least 39 people dead and 70 injured, officials said. Many passengers leapt from the vessel into cold waters to escape the blaze. It took 15 fire engines two hours to control the...

FRANKFURT, Germany — At least three major airlines have reported canceling dozens of flights as illnesses largely tied to the omicron variant of covid-19 take a toll on flight crew numbers during the busy holiday travel season. Germany-based Lufthansa said Friday that it was canceling a dozen long-haul transatlantic flights...

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police fatally shot a 14-year-old girl who was in a clothing store dressing room Thursday when officers fired on an assault suspect and a bullet went through the wall and struck the girl, authorities said. Police also fatally shot the suspect Thursday morning at a...

HONOLULU — The Hawaii Bowl was canceled Thursday on the eve of the game after Hawaii withdrew because of covid-19, season-ending injuries and transfers. “We are disappointed our season has to end this way,” Hawaii coach Todd Graham said in a statement. “As competitive as we are and as much...

NASHVILLE — Randy Bullock kicked a 44-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining and the banged-up Tennessee Titans rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 Thursday night. The Titans (10-5) are a win or a Colts’ loss away from clinching their second straight AFC...

OAK BROOK, Ill. — A shooting at a suburban Chicago mall full of Christmas shoppers left four people injured Thursday, police said. The incident at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook began with two males involved in a shootout in a corridor around 5:45 p.m., police Chief James Kruger said. He...

Essentially better, wouldn’t you say? Fans back in the stands and games back in play. Clearly more settled but far from routine: Some shots from the arc, some for the vaccine. A year on the rebound crisscrossing sports. A year next to normal, progress of sorts. First Quarter The New...

FRISCO, Texas — Brett Gabbert completed 22 of 31 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Kenny Tracy scored on an 8-yard run and Graham Nicholson kicked two field goals as Miami (Ohio) beat North Texas, 27-14, in the first — and possibly last — Frisco Football Classic on Thursday....

ATLANTA — Two Georgia election workers filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a right-wing cable news channel and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of defaming them by falsely claiming they engaged in ballot fraud during the 2020 election. It was the second defamation lawsuit by Fulton County election workers...