Dec. 12-18, 2025

Dec. 12 - 18, 2025

• Players vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike

• Revenue sharing and salaries remain key issues

• CBA deadline set to expire on 9 January

WNBA players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the union announced Thursday as it continues to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the league.

The WNBPA and league have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the deadline a couple of times with the latest one set to expire on 9 January. The move gives union negotiators another tool to use in talks.

Sources say person of interest identified in attack at university and death of prominent physicist 50 miles away

Authorities said Thursday that they’re looking into a connection between last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University and one two days later near Boston that killed a professor at another elite school, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

That is according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss an investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Two of the people said investigators had identified a person of interest in the shootings and were actively seeking that individual.

• Cessna jet crashed during attempted return to airport

• Police say Biffle and family among seven fatalities

• FAA and NTSB responding to North Carolina crash

A business jet carrying seven people, including retired Nascar driver Greg Biffle and his family, crashed Thursday at an airport in North Carolina, killing everyone aboard, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles (72km) north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, North Carolina highway patrol said.

Her first on-air hosting duties with Netflix will be early next year

• Rioux, 19, is the world’s tallest teenager

• Redshirt freshman has only appeared in blowouts so far

Olivier Rioux lumbered through the lane, caught a bounce pass from teammate CJ Ingram and dunked, sending Florida’s bench and the home crowd into a frenzy.

Rioux barely left his feet to make it happen.

From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today’s top photos chosen by Associated Press photo editors.

Package includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, and has drawn an angry response from China

• The maps that show how China’s military is squeezing Taiwan

The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10bn that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, drawing an angry response from China.

The state department announced the sales late on Wednesday during a nationally televised address by president Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. US-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must unify with the People’s Republic of China.

Josh Pyles grew up on the farm where he now lives in Port Royal, Kentucky. His wife, Ashley Pyles, had never farmed before. But both are fully committed at their Blue Meadow Beef farm, where they and their three children raise beef cattle for local consumers.

Streams of soil turn sand and surrounding water red, creating sharp contrast with blue waters of Persian Gulf

Rainfall on Iran’s Hormuz Island briefly transformed the coastline of its Red Beach into a striking natural scene this week, as red soil flowed into the sea and turned the water shades of deep red.

The beach is known for its vivid red sand and cliffs, created by high concentrations of iron oxide.

AP mobile scroll: a selection of standout vertical images published by The Associated Press in 2025.