December 2016

Berlin attack may make Merkel's re-election quest rougher

By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press
 
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel already knew that her campaign for a fourth term as Germany's leader will be her most difficult yet. The deadly truck attack on a Christmas market may have made it tougher — and is already polarizing opinion.
 
A nationalist party that has assailed Merkel's acceptance of migrants leapt on events in Berlin well before authorities even concluded that the incident was an attack, with a prominent member proclaiming the 12 victims to be "Merkel's dead."

Russia, Iran, Turkey cast themselves as deal-makers in Syria

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press
 
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia, Turkey and Iran cast themselves as the essential deal-makers in Syria on Tuesday, saying at a trilateral meeting in Moscow that their cooperation could pave the way for a future settlement in Syria.
 

Deadly counterfeit lotion kills 58 in Russian city

MOSCOW — Russian health officials say at least 58 people have died in a Siberian city from methanol poisoning after consuming counterfeit bath lotion.
 
The death toll in Irkutsk, Russia's six-largest city with a population of 1.1 million, has been rising since Sunday.
 
The local health department said Tuesday that 58 have died of poisoning with deadly methanol contained in the lotion, and nearly 40 others remain hospitalized.
 

Obama bans future oil leases in much of Arctic, Atlantic

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press
 
HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
 
The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves.
 

Utah is fastest-growing state as West bucks sluggish trend

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press
 
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah is the fastest-growing state in the country, leading a cluster of Western states with populations on the upswing despite sluggish national growth, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday.
 
The state that's long had the country's highest birth rate grew just over 2 percent from July 2015 to July 2016, followed closely by Nevada, Idaho and Florida. Washington, Oregon and Colorado also took top percentage-growth spots.
 

Error sends jet into path of other plane in California

LOS ANGELES — Federal officials are investigating after an air traffic controller error sent a jet from Los Angeles International Airport into the flight path of another plane while flying low toward Southern California mountains.
 
An EVA Air Boeing 777 that left LAX in heavy rain around 1:20 a.m. Friday heading to Taiwan was given an incorrect instruction by a controller based in San Diego to turn left instead of right, KABC-TV reported (http://bit.ly/2hnehUN ).
 

Tupac Shakur, Pearl Jam, Yes to be inducted into Rock Hall

By DAVID BAUDER, Associated Press
 
NEW YORK (AP) — The late rapper Tupac Shakur and Seattle-based rockers Pearl Jam lead a class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees including folkie Joan Baez and 1970s favorites Journey, Yes and Electric Light Orchestra.
 
The rock hall, in downtown Cleveland, also said Tuesday it would give a special award to Nile Rodgers, whose disco-era band Chic failed again to make the cut after its 11th time nominated.
 

Kubiak keeps defending Norwood but won't rule out change

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Gary Kubiak isn't backing down from his defense of Jordan Norwood. He does acknowledge, however, that Emmanuel Sanders could return punts as the Denver Broncos scramble to get into the playoffs over the holidays.
 
Rookie speedster Kalif Raymond provided a much-needed spark on special teams against Jacksonville and Tennessee after being promoted from the practice squad following Norwood's two muffed punts in an overtime loss to Kansas City last month.
 

Panthers knock Redskins out of wild-card position

Cam Newton and the Panthers stuck it to Josh Norman and the Redskins, helping the Buccaneers and Packers improve their playoff chances.
 
Carolina's 26-15 victory at Washington on Monday night knocked the Redskins out of the NFC's second wild-card position and kept the Panthers in the race mathematically. Carolina needs to win out and have 10 games go their way, including another tie for Washington.
 

A year in review based on every club in the bag

The year began with PGA Tour rookie Smylie Kaufman hitting the opening tee shot into the blue horizon at Kapalua. It ended 319 days later when PGA Tour rookie Mackenzie Hughes rolled in an 18-foot par putt from the fringe to win at Sea Island.
 
One way to look back on 2016 is through every club in the bag — not necessarily the best shots, but those that shaped the year.