Argentina won the 2022 World Cup on Sunday, defeating France on penalty kicks after finishing tied 3-3 in one of the wildest games in the history of the tournament. It’s Argentina’s third World Cup title and first since 1986, depriving France of back-to-back championships. Lionel Messi, Argentina’s superstar who had won just about everything except for the World Cup in his career, scored two goals in the game and the win solidified his claim as soccer’s greatest of all time. France came back from a 2-0 deficit with 10 minutes left in regulation, then trailed 3-2 in extra time before Kylian Mbappe scored his third goal of the game to force the match into penalties. Mbappe finished as the World Cup’s top scorer with eight goals in seven games, while Messi was named the top player in the tournament.
A major snowstorm may be brewing over the central and eastern U.S. in the days before Christmas with the potential to complicate holiday travel. The likelihood of a “potential blockbuster system” evolving before Christmas is increasing, AccuWeather forecasters said, although high-confidence forecasts for Christmas Day are still several days away. The storm is also expected to coincide with an outbreak of Arctic air forecast to drop temperatures to “bone-chilling levels,” according to AccuWeather. The National Weather Service forecast below-average temperatures in the days before Christmas throughout most of the country, including the East Coast, South and Midwest, as the Arctic airmass heads toward the Midwest and Ohio.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to the worsening immigration crisis, which has left scores of migrants sleeping on the streets in recent days. Though Leeser has long resisted issuing a state of emergency declaration, he said Saturday the move would allow the city to tap into much-needed additional resources, which will become necessary with the Dec. 21 end to Title 42 expulsions, the Trump-era policy that permits Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants without the usual legal review. The policy, which was enacted during the pandemic, allowed migrants to be sent back to Mexico or their home countries to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in holding facilities.
California’s celebrity mountain lion P-22 was euthanized on Saturday, ending the feline’s decades-long reign over Los Angeles, after he was found with severe health problems, officials said. P-22, thought to be about 12 years old, was the face of an international effort to save California’s threatened puma population and helped draw support for the world’s biggest wildlife bridge, a $90 million project expected to be finished in 2025. The beloved cat made a home in Griffith Park near the famed Hollywood Sign. After a comprehensive medical evaluation, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife found that the mountain lion “had several severe injuries and chronic health problems.” He was “compassionately euthanized,” officials said.
The Minnesota Vikings’ Greg Joseph kicked a 40-yard field goal with two seconds left in overtime and the Vikings engineered the biggest comeback in NFL history to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 on Saturday. The Vikings also clinched the NFC North after coming back from a 33-0 halftime deficit. The previous largest comeback belongs to the Buffalo Bills, who overcame a 32-point deficit against the Houston Oilers in the AFC Wild Card round in January 1993.
Contributing: Associated Press
Argentina wins World Cup, holiday snowstorm, El Paso migrants, P … – USA TODAY
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