‘Shun personal desires over national interests, work for identity’Mike McCarthy presumably has no idea what his future holds as he is in the final year of his contract with the Cowboys. Do the Cowboys want him back? Does he want to come back? Owner Jerry Jones has offered effusive praise for the job McCarthy has done in winning four of the past five games. The Cowboys knew they were out of playoff contention Sunday when they beat the Bucs 26-24. On Tuesday, Jones intimated that he wants McCarthy back. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of the way the coaching staff, led by Mike McCarthy, the way that the leadership on this team, and really proud of these young players,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “They just are growing mentally and physically by leaps and bounds. [It] makes me think we’ve got and outstanding future ahead of us.” McCarthy was asked later in the day if he was eager to have a resolution on his status. “I do believe in time and place, and this is not the time or the place for me to speak on it,” McCarthy said, via Ed Werder of ESPN. “Really, my focus is more about the staff. Their concern is higher for me, because change is something that happens in our league all the time. It’s part of this industry. And I understand it. I am at a different point in my life. I’m more focused on them, and I know that the best way to help everybody is to take care of what’s in front of us. And that’s why the commitment, the pride. . . . I think it benefits everybody for me just to stay on course.” The Cowboys close out the season against the Eagles and Commanders.
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Aston Villa had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after a last-gasp effort by Morgan Rogers was chalked off for a foul on Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio. Villa thought they had won it at the death to end a six-game winless streak when Di Gregorio failed to catch a free kick but Diego Carlos fouled the Juventus keeper as Rogers was lashing the ball into the net, and boos poured out from Villa fans after the final whistle. The match was far from a classic, with Juventus seemingly content to keep possession, and both sides squandered chances, with Villa's best coming from Lucas Digne who hammered a free kick off the crossbar seconds before halftime. Midway through the second half, Francisco Conceicao's header from a corner looked destined for the back of Villa's net but goalkeeper Emi Martinez dived to get his fingertips to the ball. Unai Emery's Villa, who had kicked off their Champions League campaign with three victories and three clean sheets, are ninth in the table after five games, while their Italian visitors, who had only 14 outfield players available on Wednesday, are 17th. (Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what's next for those who oppose Trump
Angela Carini, the Italian Olympic boxer who lost her match to the controversial Algerian boxer who failed a male sex test, has come roaring back to win her eighth Italian women’s title last weekend. “Tonight was my revenge,” Carini proclaimed proudly on Sunday after winning the title, according to Fox News. Carini was the Olympic boxer who famously lost her bout in only 46 seconds against Algerian opponent Imane Khelif at the 2024 Olympics in Paris this year. The Italian withdrew from the ring after receiving several very powerful blows to her head. After her bout, she said she had never been hit so hard by an opponent in her entire boxing career. “I got into the ring to fight,” Carini said after the Olympic match. “I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much. And, so, I said ‘enough.'” Khelif instantly became the center of controversy for being allowed to compete as a female in the International Olympic Games in Paris this year, even after being banned in 2023 by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for allegedly testing positive for male XY chromosomes. Olympic boxing trainer Rafa Lozano even pointed out that Khelif had been barred from boxing with women in training because they considered the Algerian to be far too dangerous for women to face in the ring. The controversy over Khelif’s real gender continued when, after the Olympics, another report emerged that Khelif was more male than female and had the internal makeup of a man, not a woman. The report added that Khelif has internal testes, a “micropenis” and XY chromosomes. Khelif’s biological status, reportedly assembled by the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital in Paris, France, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers, Algeria, revealed that the IBA may have been correct in its ruling that Khelif is a male and should be banned from women’s boxing. The report claims that Khelif suffers from a 5-alpha reductase deficiency, a sexual organ disorder that is only found in males. Despite her initial shock and distress after the Olympics, Carini tried apologizing to Khelif. “All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini said of the negative attention Khelif was receiving. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.” “It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini insisted. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.” Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston , or Truth Social @WarnerToddHustonPope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has opened the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony kicks off the 2025 Holy Year. It's a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome. And it will test the pope’s stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. This begins the Christmas Eve Mass. The ceremony inaugurates the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee. Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope. Bethlehem marks a second subdued Christmas Eve during the war in Gaza BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday. Instead, the area outside the Nativity Church was quiet. The church was built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The war, the violence in the occupied West Bank it has spurred and the lack of festivities has deeply hurt Bethlehem's economy. The town relies heavily on Christmas tourism. The economy in the West Bank was already reeling because of restrictions placed on laborers preventing them from entering Israel during the war. Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne Tuesday about one hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off. American said in an email that the problem was caused by an issue with a vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. Aviation analytics company Cirium said flights were delayed across American’s major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time. Nineteen flights were cancelled. Middle East latest: Israel expels patients from a hospital in Gaza TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli soldiers raided a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcing all the patients and most of the doctors to leave. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had entered the Indonesian Hospital in the town of Jabaliya on Tuesday, as part of an operation searching for Hamas fighters. Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war are struggling to protect themselves from the wind, cold and rain. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent. Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports Caitlin Clark has been named the AP Female Athlete of the Year after raising the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both college and the WNBA. She led Iowa to the national championship game, was the top pick in the WNBA draft and captured rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers followed her journey on and off the court. Clark's exploits also put other women's sports leagues in the spotlight. A group of 74 sports journalists from AP and its members voted on the award. Other athletes who received votes included Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif. Clark’s only the fourth women’s basketball player to win the award since it was first given in 1931. Major storm pounds California's central coast, blamed for man's death and partially collapsing pier SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A major storm has pounded California’s central coast bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean. The storm was expected to bring hurricane-force winds and waves up to 60 feet Monday as it gained strength from California to the Pacific Northwest. Some California cities have ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon. Forecasters have warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day. Medellin Cartel victims demand truth and justice as cartel boss Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — The return of the notorious drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia, following his deportation from the United States, has reopened old wounds among the victims of the Medellin cartel, with some expressing their dismay at the decision of Colombian authorities to let the former mafia boss walk free.Some of the cartel victims said on Tuesday that they are hoping the former drug lord will at least cooperate with ongoing efforts by human rights groups to investigate one of the most violent periods of Colombia’s history, and demanded that Colombian prosecutors also take Ochoa in for questioning. Man arraigned on murder charges in NYC subway death fanned flames with a shirt, prosecutors say NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say a man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train used a shirt to fan the flames, causing her to become engulfed. The suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court on Tuesday. He faces murder charges that could put him in prison for life. Federal immigration officials say 33-year-old Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2018. The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Amsterdam court sentences 5 men over violence linked to Ajax-Maccabi soccer game THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam District Court has issued sentences of up to six months in jail against 5 men who were involved in violent disorder after a soccer match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. The riots caused an international outcry and accusations of deliberate anti-Semitic attacks. The violence following a UEFA Europa League match left 5 people in hospital. More than 60 suspects were detained. The court on Tuesday sentenced one man to 6 months in prison, another to 2 1/2 months, two to 1 month and one to 100 hours of community service.
