15+ min ago (233+ words) College football's final week of the regular season brought familiar foes head-to-head, setting the stage for conference championship games and fresh rankings in the latest AP Top 25 poll. No. 17 Virginia secured a spot in the ACC championship matchup with a 27-7 win over Virginia Tech and will meet Duke's Blue Devils next weekend. No. 10 Alabama pulled off a tight victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl to nab a spot in the SEC title game. The Crimson Tide will face No. 4 Georgia, which beat No. 23 Georgia Tech on Friday. In the Big Ten, No. 1 Ohio State punched its ticket by knocking off No. 15 Michigan 27-9. The Buckeyes will face No. 2 Indiana for the conference crown. The Big 12 championship will pit No. 7 Texas Tech against No. 11 BYU in a rematch of the Red Raiders' November win over the Cougars. What will it all…...

15+ min ago (1116+ words) Texas A&M has fallen out of the top five of the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in two months, making way for No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Oregon each to move up a spot. No. 5 Texas Tech grabbed its highest ranking in 17 years, thanks to a two-spot promotion from last week. Mississippi remained No. 6 and was followed by Texas A&M at No. 7. The Aggies had their perfect season and SEC title game hopes spoiled by No. 14 Texas, which moved up two spots in the poll. Ohio State and Indiana held tight to the top two spots as the only remaining unbeatens. They face off Saturday in a Big Ten title game. No. 8 Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama round out the top 10 for the third straight week. Find out more about what happened in this week's Top 25 poll,…...

1+ hour, 3+ min ago (269+ words) Boise State, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV all finished with 6-2 records in conference play. Because all four teams did not meet this season, the tie was broken by a composite average of nationally recognized metrics: Connelly SP+, ESPN SOR, KPI and SportSource rankings. UNLV and Boise State had the two best composite average scores. With the two participants determined, the tiebreaker reverted to head-to-head to determine the host. The Broncos earned the right to host because of their 56-31 win over the Rebels on Oct. 18. San Diego State finished third in the metrics followed by New Mexico. UNLV will be appearing in its third Mountain West championship game and is seeking its first title. Boise State will be playing in the championship game for the fourth straight season and is seeking its third straight title. The Broncos are in…...

1+ hour, 5+ min ago (210+ words) The painting was recently found in a private townhouse in Paris. It depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was part of a French collection and was initially thought to be from one of the many Rubens workshops that existed at the time. The artwork was rarely valued at more than 10,000 euros ($11,500). Nils B'ttner, an expert known for his research on Rubens, explained before the auction that the master often painted crucifictions but rarely depicted "the crucified Christ as a dead body on the cross." "So this is the one and only painting showing blood and water coming out of the side wound of Christ, and this is something that Rubens only painted once." The Osenat auction house said the painting's authenticity and provenance were confirmed after scientific analysis. It said microscopic examination of the paint layers revealed not only…...

1+ hour, 35+ min ago (160+ words) Pope Leo XIV has doubled down on the Holy See's insistence on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Leo made the comments as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope. Though Leo has been fielding journalists' questions at informal gatherings at his country house, the brief encounter marked his first news conference as pope and followed the tradition of his predecessors of using his trips to engage with the media. But it was limited to two questions from Turkish journalists. The American pope was asked by a Turkish journalist about his private talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and whether they discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Leo confirmed they had, and said that Turkey had an "important role to play" in both conflicts, noting…...

2+ hour, 5+ min ago (267+ words) Joshua Zirkzee scored in the Premier League for the first time in almost a year to spark a comeback 2-1 win for Manchester United at Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Dutch forward hadn't scored in England's top flight since a double against Everton on Dec. 1 last year. But he ended his drought with a stunning strike in the 54th minute at Selhurst Park to level the game after Jean-Philippe Mateta put Palace ahead from the penalty spot in the first half. Mason Mount struck the winner nine minutes later as United ended Palace's 12-game unbeaten home run in the league. Zirkzee produced a moment of individual brilliance to fire United back into the game when collecting the ball in the box, spinning and scoring from a tight angle. It was only his eighth goal in all for United since joining from Bologna…...

2+ hour, 5+ min ago (727+ words) Mikel Merino salvaged a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at 10-man Chelsea as the race for the Premier League title tightened on Sunday. Arsenal is five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, with Chelsea a point further back in third. Chelsea was reduced to 10 men late in the first half when Moises Caicedo was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Merino. But the home team went ahead in the 48th minute through Trevoh Chalobah's header. Merino equalized in the 59th, but Arsenal couldn't make its numerical advantage count and dropped points away from home for the second time in successive matches. It means Man City was the big winner of the weekend, following Saturday's late victory against Leeds, which saw Pep Guardiola's team climb to second in the standings. Liverpool beat West Ham 2-0 and Manchester United rallied to beat Crystal Palace 2-1. Aston Villa…...

2+ hour, 54+ min ago (763+ words) Food banks, services that deliver meals to seniors and other U.S. charities typically see a surge in volunteering between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. But there are good reasons to volunteer at any time of the year. Alfred Del Grosso volunteers weekly to work the lunch shift at Shepherd's Table, a food bank in Silver Spring, Maryland. "I feel more connected to the broader community," he said. Most Thursdays, the retired chemist from Kensington, Maryland, also lends an unpaid hand to help clear fallen trees and brush from local trails with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. "It's mostly volunteers who help maintain the trails," he said. Researchers who study human evolution and social psychology say that giving back is deeply rooted in human nature. Volunteers say they feel closer ties to the communities they serve. "When we feel grateful…...

3+ hour, 4+ min ago (809+ words) And the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach wasn't in much of a mood to talk about it. A little more than four minutes' worth, in fact. "Look, the season's just ended a few minutes ago, OK?" Belichick said after the 42-19 loss at N.C. State on Saturday night. "So now we're going to move into the offseason. That's what we're going to do." UNC started the year with buzz and a national spotlight, teeming with optimism " or maybe merely hope " that the NFL icon could elevate the program into something more as a first-time college coach. By season's end, Belichick had fielded a team that had more losses by double-digit margins (five) than total wins while offering frequent helpings of unwanted off-field headlines. He offered few insights, too, down to what message he gave his first college team after a season of…...

3+ hour, 19+ min ago (219+ words) FORT MYERS, Fla. " The University of Dayton women's basketball team earned one of its biggest wins of the season Saturday, beating Kansas 59-58 at the Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Union Arena. The Flyers (4-3) bounced back from a 92-66 loss to Butler in the tournament's first round on Friday. Kansas fell to 6-2. Dayton senior Nayo Lear scored 16 points and Ajok Madol each had nine for the Flyers. Dayton jumped out to a 24-16 lead after Lear scored 10 in the first quarter. Kansas cut the lead to three points at the half. They went on a 5-0 run to start the second half, taking its first lead of the game at 35-33. In the fourth quarter, Madol scored to give the Flyers the lead for good at 55-53 with less than two minutes remaining. Lear and Molly O'Riordan each hit two free throws down the…...