Georgia WR Ladd McConkey wins SEC Freshman of the Week

USA TODAY
Alaska rescue crews search for missing airplane with 10 onboard
The Bering Air Caravan was reported missing at around 4 p.m. local time, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
Associated Press
EV maker Scout Motors wants to sell directly to buyers but can't do it in its home state
Volkswagen-backed Scout Motors is making a massive bet in the electric SUV market with a carefully cultivated experience that will allow some customers to buy the company's vehicle in minutes on an app and then use it to handle everything after from repairs to updates and upgrades. Supporters of the dealership model say the experience allows buyers to compare prices across several businesses. Unlike a pair of pants, where color, style and size are about the only concerns, buying a car involves financing, state registration, taxes, regulations — and often a test drive.
Associated Press
Kosovo elections will decide who will lead stalled talks with Serbia and manage a battered economy
Kosovo goes to the polls Sunday in a parliamentary election expected to be a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti after his governing party won in a landslide four years ago. Eligible voters, including those of the diaspora, will cast ballots to elect 120 lawmakers among 26 political groupings and one independent candidate in a vote held from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The Serb minority has 10 secured seats while 10 more are for other minorities. This is the first time since independence in 2008 that Kosovo's parliament has completed a full four-year mandate.
Associated Press
Judge in Boston to consider latest bid to block Trump's birthright citizenship order
A federal judge in Boston on Friday will consider a request from 18 state attorneys general to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally. The hearing comes after a federal judge in Seattle blocked the order Thursday and decried what he described as the administration’s treatment of the Constitution, saying Trump was trying to change it with an executive order.
AFP
'Trump' thrills fans at Hong Kong theatre's last hurrah
The crack of a gunshot and the blonde man flinches behind the lectern, clutching his ear."(Sunbeam) carries the energy of veteran actors, as well as the emotions and dreams of many people," said Man Chan, who plays Ivanka Trump.
USA TODAY
Federal judge denies Sandy Hook families' settlement in Alex Jones bankruptcy
In addition to denying the proposed deal, a federal judge told the Chapter 7 trustee that he was no longer authorized to sell Infowars' assets.
NBC News
Women detail alleged assaults by real estate star Oren Alexander and his brother
In videos NBC News obtained through a public records request, three women detail their allegations that they were raped and sexually assaulted by luxury real estate star Oren Alexander and his twin brother, Alon.
Associated Press
US aid cutoff poses new challenges to rights groups and independent media from Russia and Belarus
Rights groups, activists and independent media in Russia and Belarus endured increased government scrutiny, repressive laws and even being outlawed and forced to operate from exile abroad. The aid, which came directly from or via the partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as from other entities funded by the U.S. government, was a source for some of their grant money. “Objectively, it’s a very bad thing,” an activist with Center-T, a prominent Russian trans group, told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
Associated Press
US importers stockpile Italian Prosecco as a hedge against possible Trump tariffs
American importers have been stockpiling Italian bubbly Prosecco as a hedge against the possible impact of tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump, wine industry data show. U.S. imports of Italian sparkling wine — 90% of that Prosecco — skyrocketed by 41% in November, after Trump's election, far exceeding consumer demand as importers filled the pipeline for future sales, according to the Union of Italian Wines trade association. “It was quite natural at the end of the year to do extra shipments,” said the trade association president, Lamberto Frescobaldi, given the uncertainty over whether tariffs would hit Italian wines or not — and the likelihood consumers would cut back on such luxuries if tariffs made them too pricey.
AFP
Rubio renews US hard line with Venezuela plane seizure
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday supervised the seizure of a second aircraft belonging to Venezuela's leftist government in less than a year, showing a hard line despite nascent diplomacy.In September, the United States, under then-president Joe Biden, announced the seizure of a first Venezuelan government airplane in the Dominican Republic that had been used to transport Maduro on international trips.
AFP
Hong Kong scientists fight to save fragrant incense trees
Geneticist Zhang Huarong walks through the forest near his Hong Kong research lab, gesturing towards a rotting incense tree stump that is one of over a dozen illegally felled for the valuable wood inside.Environmentalists say illegal incense tree felling is on the rise in Hong Kong, fueled by black market demand.
AFP
Israel orders army to plan to let Palestinians leave Gaza
Israel's defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for "voluntary" departures from Gaza, as US President Donald Trump ruled out sending American troops to the territory."I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents," Katz said, adding they could go "to any country willing to accept them".
NBC News
Trump's sweeping agenda is hitting legal roadblocks
The courts are slamming the brakes on some of President Donald Trump's efforts to quickly trim and transform the federal government.
Reuters
Moderate US job growth expected in noisy January employment report
U.S. job growth likely slowed in January, partly restrained by wild fires in California and cold weather across much of the country, though not enough for the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts before the end of the first half. The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday will be distorted by annual benchmark revisions, new population weights as well as updates to the seasonal adjustment factors, the model the government uses to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data. Nonetheless, economists expect the healthy labor market narrative to remain intact.
Associated Press
House GOP rushing to produce Trump's big budget bill with tax cuts, program cuts and other promises
House Republicans are working overtime after a lengthy White House meeting to meet President Donald Trump's demand for a big budget package that includes some $3 trillion in tax breaks, massive program cuts and a possible extension of the nation's debt limit. Speaker Mike Johnson had GOP lawmakers working into the night ahead of a self-imposed Friday deadline to produce the package, after having blown past an earlier timeline to draft the contours of a bill that could begin making its long journey through Congress to the president's desk. Trump's message as he popped in and out of the nearly five-hour meeting Thursday at the White House was simple: Get it done.
Associated Press
Iowa's top leaders are strongly endorsing Musk and DOGE. Iowans are watching closely
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has hailed Elon Musk and the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency as a necessary force in Washington, D.C., calling it “a storm that is headed this way that will sweep over this city and forever alter the way it operates.” The state's governor, Kim Reynolds, has lined up with DOGE, too, in testimony she gave Tuesday to a U.S. House committee. Nearly 1,000 miles away, people in a politically mixed suburb of Iowa's largest metro area are well-informed on the developments of the massive effort to slash spending and defund federal agencies.
CNN
Three NATO members still rely on Russia to manage their electricity grid. They’re about to pull the plug
Estonia, along with fellow Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania, is preparing finally to rid itself of one of the last vestiges of Soviet occupation: an electricity grid controlled by Russia.
CNN
Why the courts may be the last constraint on Trump but may not contain his power grabs
The new Trump presidency has arrived where it was always destined to land — in the courts.
NBC News
Black Hawk involved in collision that killed 67 people recovered from Potomac River
The wreckage of a military helicopter involved in a mid-air collision with a passenger jet that killed all 67 people on both aircraft was recovered Thursday from the Potomac River, federal officials said.
Reuters
Rubio to visit Middle East after Trump proposal for US to take over Gaza
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and Arab states in mid-February, a State Department official said, making his first to the Middle East after a widely condemned proposal by President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians in Gaza. Rubio will travel to the Munich Security Conference and to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia from February 13-18, the senior State Department official said late on Thursday.

Latest Stories