Race to vaccinate millions in US off to slow, messy start

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Terry Beth Hadler was so eager to get a lifesaving COVID-19 vaccination that the 69-year-old piano teacher stood in line overnight in a parking lot with hundreds of other senior citizens.

New Year's revelries muted by virus as curtain draws on 2020

This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other in most of the world, with many bidding farewell to a year they’d prefer to forget.

Chiefs aim for club-record 11th straight win vs Chargers

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (6-9) at KANSAS CITY (14-1)

Sugar Bowl features Clemson-Ohio State CFP semifinal rematch

No. 2 Clemson (10-1, No. 2 College Football Playoff) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0, No. 3 CFP), 8 p.m. EST.

Global pandemic meets 500th anniversary of 1st global voyage

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Disease, mutinies and uncharted waters nearly sabotaged the global circumnavigation of the expedition led by Portuguese mariner Ferdinand Magellan. Five centuries later, the pandemic looms as a Spanish navy tall ship sails to commemorate the feat.

Cowboys and Giants play and then hope for Washington loss

DALLAS (6-9) at NEW YORK GIANTS (5-10)

Titans to honor Nashville 'resilience' following bombing

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have announced they will don helmet decals during their next Sunday game to honor Nashville's resilience following the Christmas Day bombing.

Rams host Arizona with 2 playoff berths potentially on line

ARIZONA (8-7) at LOS ANGELES RAMS (9-6)

Colts take on reeling Jaguars with playoff spot at stake

JACKSONVILLE (1-14) at INDIANAPOLIS (10-5)

BC-150-actives-e,

Major US stock indexes waver on final day of tumultuous year

U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses in early afternoon trading Thursday, hovering near record highs as investors close the book on

Calamity? Anomaly? 2020 was a box office year like no other

When the sun sets on the 2020 film box office, it’ll be difficult to look at the numbers as anything but disastrous.

Police: Ku Klux Klan flyers dropped at homes

TULELAKE, Calif. (AP) — Some 15 to 20 packages filled with rice and Ku Klux Klan flyers were scattered around a small town in northern California near the Oregon border, according to police.

Benchmark U.S. 30-year mortgage rises slightly to 2.67%

MCLEAN, Va. (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates ticked up slightly this week but remain near record lows as the coronavirus pandemic continues wreak havoc on the U.S. and global economies.

Stocks off to slow start on final day of a tumultuous year

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street on the last day of 2020, a year that saw a breathtaking nosedive in markets in the spring as the coronavirus took hold followed by steady gains in the months that followed as hopes built for an eventual return to something like normal. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1% early Thursday. It’s still on track for a gain of more than 15% for the year, or more than 17% with dividends included. Several overseas markets were closed for holidays, and U.S. markets will be closed for New Years Day on Friday.

Jobless claims down 19,000, still 4 times pre-pandemic level

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week fell by 19,000 to 787,000, still a historically high level as a resurgent coronavirus maintains its grip on the U.S. economy.

Immigrants get help from states, cheer inclusion in US bill

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Lily Guido was having trouble hearing and she felt warm while talking to her co-worker at a California nursing home. She knew something was wrong.

U.K. reaches deal with Spain to keep open Gibraltar border

MADRID (AP) — An 11th-hour breakthrough in protracted negotiations will keep open Gibraltar's crucial border with Spain following the United Kingdom's full departure from the European Union, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya announced Thursday.

Religious leaders worldwide, across faiths who died in 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — The Catholic priest who for decades had been one of the Vatican’s top experts on the Latin language died on Christmas Day at a nursing home in Milwaukee. A United Methodist Church bishop in the West African nation of Sierra Leone died in a traffic accident in August as he was engaged in efforts to resolve the denomination’s conflicts over inclusion of LGBTQ people. Back in March, a 49-year-old priest in Brooklyn became the first Catholic cleric in the United States killed by the coronavirus. They were among many religious leaders — some admired worldwide, others beloved only locally — who died in 2020. Here are some of them.

Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2020

In a year defined by a devastating pandemic, the world lost iconic defenders of civil rights, great athletes and entertainers who helped define their genres.