If you think what has made 2024 memorable is a chaotic political campaign featuring multiple assassination attempts, a first-ever switcheroo at the top of the ticket, and the second-ever election of an American president to non-consecutive terms in office, consider yourself a political junkie. I cover politics for a living. But these events, though clearly dramatic and consequential, will not dominate my future self’s memories of 2024. You see, this was the year that the first of my children got married. For me and my family, no mere election could ever rival the significance of my son’s wedding. For other people, 2024 will be the year their first baby was born, or their last parent passed. The year they got engaged, or divorced, or their first “grown up” job. The year they lost their faith, or found it. And for a large swath of North Carolinians, 2024 will be the Year of the Storm. Hurricane Helene took dozens of lives and disrupted the lives of many, many more. We will measure its consequences in billions of dollars, in years, perhaps in generations. As it happens, one of our fellow North Carolinians, my longtime friend Tony Woodlief, has just released a novel about life and loss, fathers and sons, marriages, faith, memories — and even, I kid you not, a deadly flood in our state’s western mountains. Fate? It’s about that, too. I can’t think of a timelier read for these troubled times. Published by Slant Press, We Shall Not All Sleep is a coming-of-age novel set primarily during the 1970s in the fictional North Carolina town of Hickory Shore. Here Woodlief keeps his fiction thinly sliced, however. If you’re of a certain age and spent lots of time in such places as Lenoir, Morganton, Spruce Pine, or Marion, you’ll soon recognize your surroundings. His characters also travel to the likes of Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Chapel Hill, just in case you lose your place. Although the author folds many distinctive characters into this finely textured story, its central relationship is between Ray Waterson, a Vietnam veteran quite literally haunted by his violent past, and his son Daniel, whose own haunter is the spirit of the young boy Ray accidentally runs over at the start of the novel. Daniel idolizes his war hero of a father, whose mystical powers make him the region’s most dependable “water witcher.” At the same time, Daniel resents Ray’s chronic drinking and the harm it inflicts on their family. He also resents his mother, not only for putting up with it but for trying to keep Daniel from growing up to be like his father. Love and hatred, reminiscence and regret — Woodlief masterfully weaves these emotional threads into a rich tapestry that yields its deepest secrets only to multiple viewings. The novel is realistic. But, as you may have already guessed, it isn’t confined by realism. An early passage shows Daniel grappling with the death of the young boy and teases the reader with what is to come: Daddy told me once: “History’s not written until the dead have their say.” We wrote some history in the coming years, the dead and me. Understanding them was not the power I wanted, but it was the one I received. And that Army duffel in his Jeep, the one I imagined once carried my father’s weapons of war? Ten years later I would shoulder my own, and realize that a soldier’s duffel holds mostly food, clean socks, and letters from his mama. But between the day we killed that boy and the day my own death summoned my father’s wraith, I would come to understand that the man everyone else knew as Ray Waterson had no need of weapons. My father was the killing thing. Whether 2024 brought you joy, sadness, or some combination of both, reading We Shall Not All Sleep may help you make sense of it. What more can a reader ask of a novel? John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).

Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Gains by retailers and health care stocks helped temper the losses. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Treasury yields fell in the bond market. On Thursday: The S&P 500 fell 2.45 points, or 0.04%, to 6,037.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28.77 points, or 0.1%, to 43,325.80. The Nasdaq composite fell 10.77 points, or 1%, to 19,764.89. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 20.34 points, or 0.9%, to 2,280.19. For the week: The S&P 500 is up 106.74 points, or 1.80%. The Dow is up 485.54 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq is up 447.76 points, or 2.3%. The Russell 2000 is up 37.82 points, or 1.7%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,267.76 points, or 26.6%. The Dow is up 5,636.26, or 15%. The Nasdaq is up 5,009.01 points, or 33.4%. The Russell 2000 is up 253.12 points, or 12.5%.FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Navy quarterback Blake Horvath read the play perfectly and turned it into the longest in school history, a 95-yard touchdown run in the Armed Forces Bowl. “By somebody that’s not really that fast,” Horvath said after the 21-20 win over Oklahoma on Friday. The Midshipmen (10-3) fell behind by two touchdowns less than 10 minutes into the game, but Horvath's record run late in the third quarter tied the game at 14-all. He put them ahead on a 6-yard TD with 4:34 left before Navy’s defense stopped an Oklahoma 2-point conversion with six seconds left in the game. “Probably over-pursued by them,” Horvath said of the 95-yarder. “Some tendencies they showed earlier, just thought I could get a pull.” After faking a handoff on the read-option play, Horvath ran straight up the middle into the open field. Brandon Chatman cut off a pursing defender around the Sooners 20. By time another defender, cornerback Woodi Washington, was able to catch up and started to bring him down, Horvath stretched the ball over the goal line — though he was initially ruled short before a replay review resulted in the touchdown. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

Denver (9-6) at Cincinnati (7-8) Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST, NFL Network BetMGM NFL Odds: Bengals by 3. Against the spread: Broncos 11-4, Bengals 9-6. Series record: Broncos lead 22-11. Last meeting: Bengals beat Broncos 15-10 on Dec. 19, 2021, at Denver. Last week: Chargers beat Broncos 34-27; Bengals beat Browns 24-6. Broncos offense: overall (22), rush (19), pass (22), scoring (10). Broncos defense: overall (9), rush (5), pass (18), scoring (4). Bengals offense: overall (10), rush (29), pass (1), scoring (6). Bengals defense: overall (28), rush (21), pass (26), scoring (28). Turnover differential: Broncos plus-6, Bengals: plus-4. Broncos player to watch CB Riley Moss. The second-year pro is returning from a sprained MCL that sidelined him for a month. Denver’s defense wasn’t the same without Moss, who has 71 tackles, eight pass breakups and an interception in his first season as a starter opposite Patrick Surtain. With him back, the Broncos could return to their favored man coverage after their zone coverage was exploited by the Browns, Colts and Chargers. Bengals player to watch QB Joe Burrow is having perhaps the best season of his career. He passed for 252 yards and three TDs last week against the Browns and is among the NFL leaders in most passing categories. Burrow has thrown at least three TD passes in each of his past seven games. RELATED COVERAGE Dolphins are on the outside of AFC playoffs and need help and a win over Browns to have any chance Bills seek to shore up playoff positioning in hosting Jets team looking ahead to uncertain offseason Surging Rams host the eliminated Cardinals in the rematch of a rare blowout loss for Sean McVay Key matchup Bengals passing game against the Broncos secondary. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 14 receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns last Sunday. After Week 16, Chase led the NFL leaders in receptions, yards and touchdowns. The Broncos passing defense is ranked eighth in the NFL. Surtain has allowed 234 receiving yards this season, the fewest allowed by a cornerback in a season through 16 games since at least 2018. Key injuries The Broncos are as healthy as they’ve been all season. The only player who was limited at practice this week was RB Jaleel McLaughlin (thigh), but he was a full participant by Wednesday. Bengals: DE Sam Hubbard (knee) and DT Sheldon Rankins (illness) are out for Saturday. WR Tee Higgins (ankle/knee), DT Amarius Mims (ankle) and S Geno Stone (illness) are questionable. TE Tanner Hudson (knee) is doubtful. Series notes The teams have traded wins in their past four meetings since 2016. ... The Broncos’ longest win streak was eight from 1983 to 1998. ... The Bengals have managed to win two in a row in the series just twice in 1971 and ’72; and 1975 and ’76. The largest margin of victory was a 45-14 win by Denver in 1991. Stats and stuff Denver QB Bo Nix is three touchdown throws shy of becoming the fifth rookie in NFL history to throw for 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns his rookie season. The others: Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert. ... WR Courtland Sutton needs 72 yards to reach 1,000 for just the second time in his career (2019). ... The Broncos have scored 166 points in their past five games, their most in a five-game span since 2014. ... Zach Allen’s 26 quarterback hits are the most by an interior defensive lineman in the NFL this season. His 67 QB pressures are the second most by an interior DL, behind only the Chiefs’ Chris Jones (74). ... Nik Bonitto has sacks in 10 games so far, two shy of the Broncos record held by Von Miller. ... Brandon Jones is the first Broncos safety since Hall of Famer Steve Atwater in 1995 to have 100 or more tackles and three or more interceptions in a season. ... Cincinnati’s defense forced three turnovers and had five sacks in the win over Cleveland last week. ... Burrow was sacked four times by the Browns, but also passed for three touchdowns. ... Cincinnati has won its past three games to improve to 7-8 on the season and can get to .500 in the final home game of the season. ... All of the Bengals’ seven wins have come against teams with losing records. ... Seven of Cincinnati’s eight losses have been by one score. ... Bengals K Cade York is 4 of 5 on field goals since being promoted from the practice squad to replace the injured Evan McPherson. York was drafted by the Browns in 2022 ... Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson has 13 1/2 sacks. Fantasy tip Bengals RB Chase Brown is poised for a breakout. Brown has 91 rushing yards in the win over Cleveland last week and 97 yards and a touchdown against Tennessee the previous week. The second-year player is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflWith technical prowess and considerable style, Marta danced around two sliding defenders, outwitted a goalkeeper and calmly scored as another player rushed forward in desperation to stop her. It was more Marta Magic. That goal last weekend helped propel the Orlando Pride into Saturday’s National Women’s Soccer League championship game against the Washington Spirit. Barbra Banda also scored in the Pride’s 3-2 semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current . While Banda has had an incredible first season with the Pride, captain Marta has been the talisman that has helped lead the team in its remarkable turnaround this year. The last time the Pride were in the NWSL playoffs was in 2017 — Marta’s first year with the club. But this season they nearly went undefeated, going 23 games without a loss to start the season before losing 2-0 to the Portland Thorns with just two regular-season games left. “I think because of the way that we did it, during this season, from beginning to now, it’s something very special that I’ve never had before with any other club that I’ve played for,” Marta said. “Plus year by year, we see in America, strong competition. This is the best league in the world. And you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s hard to keep winning the games, being in the first place almost like the whole season. That’s why it’s really different and so special.” RELATED COVERAGE Harry Kane becomes the fastest player to score 50 goals in the Bundesliga Kane hat trick against Augsburg hides Bayern’s concerning lack of goals PSG beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche double gives Monaco home win over Brest Marta’s goal was the latest gasp-inducing moment in a stellar career filled with them. Known by just her first name, the 38-year-old is a six-time FIFA world player of the year. “Let’s see if tomorrow I can do something similar — or even better,” Marta said on Friday. Her teammate Kylie Strom chimed in: “That was the greatest goal I’ve ever witnessed, hands down.” Appropriate. Earlier this year, FIFA announced that the best goal in women’s soccer each year would earn the Marta Award. In a lighthearted moment the day before the title match, Marta was asked if she thought it was possible she might give the award to herself. “You guys need to decide, because who votes for the best goal in the year? It’s you. It’s the people in the public. So it should be really interesting, like Marta’s Award goes to Marta!” she said with a laugh. Marta has played in six World Cups for Brazil and played this summer in her sixth Olympics, winning a silver medal after falling in the final to the United States . She previously said this would be her final year with the national team. But since then Brazil was named the host of the 2027 Women’s World Cup. “I had a conversation with my coach, the national team coach, and I was really clear about playing in 2027. I told him it’s not my goal anymore,” she said. “But I’m always available to help the national team. And if they think I still can do something during this preparation for the World Cup, yeah, I would be happy to help them.” Marta’s club career started in Brazil when she was just 16. She has also played in Sweden and in the U.S. professional women’s leagues that came before the NWSL. With nine regular-season goals, Marta has had one of her best seasons since she joined the Pride. “I can never pick a side, I never pick favorites — but I love to see this for Marta,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Marta is someone we all like, admire and are grateful for. And that goal was just like prime Marta at her best. And so grateful for and thankful for her that she got the opportunity with another game with her team.” The Pride went 18-2-6 this season, clinching the NWSL Shield for the first trophy in club history. Orlando also set a record with 60 regular-season points to finish atop the standings. “We are sitting top of the table, but I think there still are a lot of doubters. I think there’s people out there who say, maybe this was a one-off season,” Strom said. “But we’re here to prove them all wrong. So I think we do carry a bit of that underdog mentality still with us.” The second-seeded Spirit advanced to the title match at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium last weekend on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against defending champions Gotham FC. The Spirit’s roster includes Trinity Rodman, a standout forward who formed the so-called “Triple Espresso” trio with Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States at the Olympics. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer