ATLANTA (AP) — Panda lovers are expected to line up Friday at Zoo Atlanta to see a new pair of giant pandas make their public debut.
Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, arrived from China in September as part of a 10-year loan agreement. After getting acclimated to their habitat, the 6-year-old pandas will greet visitors in the newly renovated Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove.
Ping Ping has distinctive dark circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang has a forehead that protrudes a bit, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Both were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.
The zoo's panda enclosure had been empty for the past two years, after four other pandas returned from Zoo Atlanta to China, ending a 25-year partnership amid strained relations between the two countries.
“The return of giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta is an exciting moment for our city as we once again become home to one of the world’s most beloved animals,” Arthur Blank said in a statement. Blank co-founded The Home Depot and is one of the city’s biggest philanthropists.
China has long used the pandas as part of its diplomacy globally, deploying the bears in loan programs as expressions of goodwill and letting loan agreements lapse when tensions arise.
Zoo Atlanta is one of three U.S. zoos that now house the popular bamboo munchers.
The National Zoo in Washington returned three pandas to China in 2023 before accepting new arrivals Bao Li and Qing Bao in October 2024. The San Diego Zoo debuted two pandas in August 2024.
A decade ago, giant pandas were reclassified from endangered to vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, reflecting pandas’ growing numbers in the wild in China.
FILE - In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, vehicles carrying a pair of giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, leave the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, southwestern China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026.(Xu Bingjie/Xinhua via AP, file)
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy rebounded from his first-round penalty controversy by making 11 birdies and shooting 9-under 63 at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday.
The Masters champion was 11-under overall after two rounds as play continued at Yas Links.
“The course is very gettable today, there’s not a lot of wind. A lot of opportunities,” McIlroy said. “I would say I’ll be at least two or three behind going into tomorrow. But it’s still in a much better position than I thought I would be.”
On Thursday, McIlroy was handed a two-shot penalty after his first round when officials ruled he had improved his lie on a hole where he made double-bogey. He posted a 2-under 70 to be eight shots off the lead, held by Francesco Laporta.
“Before I left the course, I made peace with it. I didn’t dwell on it,” McIlroy said Friday. “I’d much rather be two shots worse off than be called a cheat. At least I went out today (and) it wasn’t playing on my mind. I had a clear conscience and I could just go and play.”
The Northern Irishman's second round started with a bogey but he made three birdies through the next six holes before five straight birdies from No. 9.
McIlroy's second bogey — on the 14th — was followed by three birdies on the final four holes.
“I did everything well. I drove the ball well. I hit my irons well. I putted a little bit better,” he said. “I saw a few more putts go in, which is something that I haven't been seeing for the last couple months.”
He said he worked on his putting last week with Brad Faxon.
The two-week postseason playoffs on the European tour began with the 224th-ranked Laporta shooting 10 under to take a three-stroke lead over three players — including fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm.
See AP’s full golf coverage here
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his third shot on the 7th hole during the second round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his second shot on the 7th hole during the second round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
