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The US move to lift sanctions on Syria could encourage refugee returns, UN official says 12/18/2025 05:29pm • BEIRUT (AP) ��� The move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country and also help encourage investments, the head of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon said Thursday. The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to permanently remove the s ���Vegetable salad budget:��� Proposed $3.78B Montgomery County Public Schools spending plan reflects 5% increase 12/18/2025 05:29pm • Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor��on Wednesday released his��proposed��$3.78 billion��operating budget for fiscal year 2027, a spending plan��that��represents��a 5% increase over current spending��and includes��staff salary increases��and��a goal of reducing eleme Florida Supreme Court upholds death sentences by nonunanimous juries 12/18/2025 05:23pm • TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) ��� Florida's Supreme Court has upheld a state law allowing nonunanimous juries to sentence people to death, cementing the lowest bar in the country for death sentences at a time when the state is driving a national increase in executions. In a decision released Thursday, the Half of $18B in federal funds for Minnesota-run programs may have been defrauded, official says 12/18/2025 05:21pm • MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ��� Half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen, a federal prosecutor said Thursday, describing the massive and multilayered fraud schemes as staggering. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson Tennessee governor pardons country star Jelly Roll, who has sought redemption from criminal past 12/18/2025 05:21pm • NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ��� Tennessee's governor pardoned country star Jelly Roll on Thursday for his criminal past in the state, acknowledging the Nashville native's long road back from drugs and prison through soul-searching, songwriting and advocacy for second chances. The rapper-turned-singer whos NASCAR mourns the loss of Greg Biffle, family in tragic plane crash in North Carolina 12/18/2025 05:14pm • CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ��� Greg Biffle was picked by NASCAR as one of its top 75 drivers in history. He was a Hall of Fame nominee for the stock car series and he drove for 18 years at the top of the sport. Yet for all the races and the handful of memorable wins, he is perhaps best remembered for h Titans' Jeffery Simmons grateful his mom wasn't at his home during armed burglary 12/18/2025 05:13pm • NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ��� Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is grateful his mother wasn't following her usual routine of watching him play road games at his house when burglars broke in carrying guns and other weapons. ���All the materialistic things, eventually I can get all of that Broncos and Jaguars clash in marquee Week 16 matchup with playoff implications on the line 12/18/2025 05:07pm • Jacksonville (10-4) at Denver (12-2) Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EST, Fox. BetMGM NFL odds: Broncos by 3. Against the spread: Jaguars 9-5, Denver 6-7-1. Series record: Broncos lead 8-7, including 1-1 in the playoffs. Last meeting: Broncos beat the Jaguars 21-17 on Oct. 30, 2022, in London. Last week: Jaguars Wall Street rises after an encouraging inflation update, as Micron helps AI stocks stop their slide 12/18/2025 05:01pm • NEW YORK (AP) ��� U.S. stocks rose on Thursday following an encouraging report on inflation that could help the Federal Reserve keep cutting interest rates next year. A strong profit report from Micron Technology also helped AI stocks halt their sharp slides, at least for now. The S&P 500 climb Chicago Cubs finalize $4.5 million, 1-year contract with left-hander reliever Caleb Thielbar 12/18/2025 05:00pm • CHICAGO (AP) ��� The Chicago Cubs have retained a key reliever, finalizing a $4.5 million, one-year contract with Caleb Thielbar. Thielbar gets a $4 million salary next year as part of the deal announced Wednesday. The agreement includes a $6 million mutual option for 2027 with a $500,000 buyout. He Trump's new $1,776 ���Warrior Dividend��� to troops is coming from Pentagon funding, not tariffs 12/18/2025 04:57pm • WASHINGTON (AP) ��� The ���Warrior Dividend��� that President Donald Trump announced during his televised address to the nation Wednesday is not a Christmas bonus made possible by tariff revenues, as the president suggested. Instead, the $1,776 payments to troops are coming from a congressionally-ap Maryland moves forward on replacing Chesapeake Bay Bridge 12/18/2025 04:56pm • The Maryland Transportation Authority Board voted Thursday morning to approve a proposal that would result in the construction of two new bridges to carry traffic over the Chesapeake Bay and remove the current spans. Members voted unanimously to advance the so-called ���Alternative-C��� plan, whi The top photos of the week by AP���s photojournalists 12/18/2025 04:54pm • Dec. 12 - 18, 2025 This photo gallery, curated by photo editor Leslie Mazoch, highlights some of the most compelling images worldwide published by The Associated Press in the past week. ___ See last week���s top photos of the week Follow AP visual journalism: AP photo Drake Maye's Patriots try to stay unbeaten on the road when they face Lamar Jackson's Ravens 12/18/2025 04:52pm • New England (11-3) at Baltimore (7-7) Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC. BetMGM NFL odds: Ravens by 3. Against the spread: Patriots 8-5-1; Ravens 5-9. Series record: Patriots lead 11-5. Last meeting: Ravens won 37-26 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Sept. 25, 2022. Last week: Patriots los Democrats keep 2024 election review under wraps, saying a public rehash won't help them win in 2026 12/18/2025 04:51pm • ATLANTA (AP) ��� Democrats will not issue a postelection report on their 2024 shellacking after all. The Democratic National Committee head has decided not to publish a formal assessment of the party���s defeat that returned Donald Trump to power and gave Republicans complete control in Washington.