News

Today is Friday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2026. There are 328 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 6, 2013, toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced that Monopoly fans had voted online to add a cat token to the board game, replacing the iron.

Also on this date:

In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

Related Articles

• A funeral home stashed 189 decaying bodies and handed out fake ashes. His mother was among them
• Families of plane crash victims ask US appeals court to revive a criminal case against Boeing
• Freight train derails in Connecticut, sending cars carrying liquid propane into river
• A newborn’s death likely linked to the mom drinking raw milk while pregnant
• Hims & Hers launches copy of Wegovy pill, prompting legal threats from drugmaker Novo Nordisk

In 1862, during the Civil War, Fort Henry in Tennessee fell to Union forces.

In 1899, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate; the treaty ended the Spanish-American War and ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States.

In 1952, Britain’s King George VI, 56, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; he was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old eldest daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1921, “The Kid,” Charlie Chaplin’s first feature-length film, was released across the United States.

In 1998, Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, honoring the former president on his 87th birthday.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 70th anniversary of her ascendance to the British throne, an unprecedented reign that made her a symbol of stability in the United Kingdom.

In 2023, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, toppling thousands of buildings and trapping residents under mounds of rubble; the death toll would eventually surpass 50,000.

Today’s birthdays:

• Actor Mike Farrell is 87.
• Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 86.
• Singer Fabian is 83.
• Filmmaker Jim Sheridan is 77.
• Tennis Hall of Famer Manuel Orantes is 77.
• Actor Kathy Najimy is 69.
• Actor-director Robert Townsend is 69.
• Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) is 64.
• Singer Rick Astley is 60.
• Actor Charlie Heaton is 32.
• Actor Shelby Simmons is 24.

By ERIK ERLENDSSON

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 shots to improve to 16-0-1 in his past 17 games, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 6-1 on Thursday night in the final game for both teams before the Olympic break.

Brandon Hagel, Oliver Bjporkstrand, Jake Guentzel, Erik Cernak, Pontus Holmberg and Zemgus Girgensons — who will all participate in the Olympic Games — scored for Tampa Bay. The Lightning are 19-1-1 in their last 21 games.

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov extended his scoring streak to 10 games, his 13th career scoring streak of at least 10 games — which is tied for fifth in NHL history.

Mackie Samoskevich scored for the Panthers. Danil Tarasov finished with 20 saves for Florida before leaving due to injury in the third period. Sergei Bobrovsky finished the game for the Panthers, who played without regulars Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues. They all sat out after playing Wednesday against Boston.

After Tampa Bay went up 4-0, tempers flared between the two rivals, which started when Matthew Tkachuk hit Kucherov from behind well away from the puck during a delayed penalty. Tkachuk and Hagel, who fought off the opening faceoff between Canada and the U.S. at last year’s Four Nations Cup dropped the gloves during the dust up at 4:06 of the third period. All 11 skaters on the ice were given penalties while Florida coach Paul Maurice was ejected.

In the final preseason game between the teams in October, they combined for more than 300 minutes in penalties. They combined for 137 on Thursday.

Hagel opened the scoring 2:08 into the game, tipping a Victor Hedman shot. Girgensons made it 2-0 at 14:08, whacking a backhand past Tarasov during a scramble in front.

Tkachuk took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the first period and Guentzel made the Panthers pay for it, getting a rebound off a Darren Raddysh shot at 1:14. Cernak scored his first of the season on a wraparound with 2:10 to go.

Holmberg scored for Tampa Bay at 6:09 of the third before Samoskevich scored a power-play goal at 9:50. Bjorkstrand capped the scoring with 4:19 remaining.

 

By JESSE BEDAYN

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Derrick Johnson buried his mother’s ashes beneath a golden dewdrop tree with purple blossoms at his home on Maui’s Haleakalā Volcano, fulfilling her wish of a final resting place looking over her grandchildren.

Then the FBI called.

It was Feb. 4, 2024, and Johnson was teaching an eighth-grade gym class.

“’Are you the son of Ellen Lopes?’” a woman asked, Johnson recalled in an interview with The Associated Press.

There had been an incident, and an FBI agent would fly out to explain, the caller said. Then she asked: “’Did you use Return to Nature for a funeral home?’”

“’You should probably google them,’” she added.

In the clatter of the weight room, Johnson typed “Return to Nature” into his cellphone. Dozens of news reports appeared, details popping out in a blur.

Hundreds of bodies stacked on top of each other. Inches of body decomposition fluid. Swarms of bugs. Investigators traumatized. Governor declares state of emergency.

Derrick Johnson, whose mother’s body was one of 189 left to decay in the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., poses for a portrait in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Johnson felt nauseated and his chest constricted, forcing the breath from his lungs. He pushed himself out of the building as another teacher heard his cries and came running.

Two FBI agents visited Johnson the following week, confirming his mother’s body was among 189 that Return to Nature’s owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, had stashed in a Colorado building between 2019 and Oct. 4, 2023, when the bodies were found.

It was one of the largest discoveries of decaying bodies at a funeral home in the U.S. Lawmakers overhauled the state’s lax funeral home regulations. And besides handing over fake ashes to grieving families, the Hallfords also admitted to defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic-era aid for small businesses.

Even as the Hallfords’ bills went unpaid, authorities said they spent lavishly on Tiffany jewelry, luxury cars and laser-body sculpting, pocketing about $130,000 clients paid for cremations.

They were arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023 and charged with abusing nearly 200 corpses.

Hundreds of families learned from officials that the ashes they ceremonially spread or kept close weren’t actually their loved ones’ remains. The bodies of their mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and babies had moldered in a room-temperature building in Colorado.

Jon Hallford will be sentenced Friday, facing between 30 to 50 years in prison, and Carie Hallford in April after a judge accepted their plea agreements in December. Attorneys for Jon and Carie Hallford did not respond to an AP request for comment.

Johnson, 45, who’s suffered panic attacks since the FBI called, promised himself that he would speak at Hallford’s sentencing and ask for the maximum penalty.

“When the judge passes out how long you’re going to jail, and you walk away in cuffs,” he said, “you’re gonna hear me.”

“She lied”

Jon and Carie Hallford were a husband-and-wife team who advertised “green burials” without embalming as well as cremation at their Return to Nature funeral home in Colorado Springs.

She would greet grieving families, guiding them through their loved ones’ final journey. He was less seen.

Johnson called the funeral home in early February 2023, the week his mother died. Carie Hallford assured him she would take good care of his mother, Johnson said.

Days later, she handed Johnson a blue box containing a zip-tied plastic bag with gray powder, saying those were his mother’s ashes.

“She lied to me over the phone. She lied to me through email. She lied to me in person,” Johnson told the AP.

The following day, the box lay surrounded by flowers and photos of Ellen Marie Shriver-Lopes at a memorial service at a Holiday Inn in Colorado Springs.

Photographs of Ellen Marie Shriver-Lopes, whose body was one of 189 left to decay in the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., are stacked in her sister’s home in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Johnson sprinkled rose petals over it as a preacher said: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Caught on video

On Sept. 9, 2023, surveillance footage showed a man appearing to be Jon Hallford walk inside a building owned by Return to Nature in the town of Penrose, outside Colorado Springs, according to an arrest affidavit.

Camera footage inside showed a body laying on a gurney wearing a diaper and hospital socks. The man flipped it onto the floor.

Then he “appeared to wipe the remaining decomposition from the gurney onto other bodies in the room,” before wheeling what appeared to be two more bodies into the building, the affidavit said.

In a text to his wife, Hallford said, “while I was making the transfer, I got people juice on me,” according to court testimony.

The neighborhood mom

Johnson grew up with his mother in an affordable-housing complex in Colorado Springs, where she knew everyone.

Johnson’s father wasn’t around much; at 5 years old, Johnson remembers seeing him punch his mom, sending her careening into a table, then onto a guitar, breaking it.

It was Lopes who taught Johnson to shave and hollered from the bleachers at his football games.

Neighborhood kids called her “mom,” some sleeping on the couch when they needed a place to stay and a warm meal. She would chat with Jehovah’s Witnesses because she didn’t want to be rude. With a life spent in social work, Lopes would say: “If you have the ability and you have the voice to help: Help.”

Johnson spoke with his mother nearly everyday. After diabetes left her blind and bedridden at age 65, she’d ask Johnson to describe what her grandchildren looked like over the phone.

It was Super Bowl Sunday in 2023 when her heart stopped.

Johnson, who had flown in from Hawaii to be at her bedside, clutched her warm hand and held it until it was cold.

A gruesome discovery

Detective Sgt. Michael Jolliffe and Laura Allen, the county’s deputy coroner, stood outside the Penrose building on Oct. 3, 2023, according to the 50-page arrest affidavit.

A sign on the door read “Return to Nature Funeral Home” and listed a phone number. When Jolliffe called it, it was disconnected. Cracked concrete and yellow stalks of grass encircled the building. At back was a shabby hearse with expired registration. A window air-conditioner hummed.

FILE – A hearse and van sit outside the Return to Nature Funeral Home, in Penrose, Colo., Oct. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Someone had told Jolliffe of a rank smell coming from the building the day before, the affidavit said.

One neighbor told an AP reporter they thought it came from a septic tank; another said her daughter’s dog always headed to the building whenever it got off-leash.

It was reminiscent of rancid manure or rotting fish, and struck anyone downwind of the building.

Jolliffe and Allen spotted a dark stain under the door and on the building’s stucco exterior. They thought it looked like fluids they had seen during investigations with decaying bodies, the affidavit said.

But the building’s windows were covered and they couldn’t see inside.

Allen contacted the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agency, which oversees funeral homes, which got in touch with Jon Hallford. Hallford agreed to show an inspector inside the next afternoon.

Inspector Joseph Berry arrived, but Hallford didn’t show.

Berry found a small opening in one of the window coverings, the affidavit said. Peering through, he saw white plastic bags that looked like body bags on the floor.

A judge issued a search warrant that week.

FILE – This combination of booking photos provided by the Muskogee County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office shows Jon Hallford, left, and Carie Hallford, owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home. (Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File) Bodies stacked high

Donning protective suits, gloves, boots and respirators, investigators entered the 2,500-square-foot (232-square-meter) building on Oct. 5, 2023, according to the affidavit.

Inside, they found a large bone grinder and next to it a bag of Quikrete that investigators suspected was used to mimic ashes. Bodies were stacked in nearly a dozen rooms, including the bathroom, sometimes so high they blocked doorways, the affidavit said.

There were 189.

Some had decayed for years, others several months, according to the affidavit. Many were in body bags, some wrapped in sheets and duct tape. Others were half-exposed, on gurneys or in plastic totes, or lay with no covering, it said.

Investigators believed the Hallfords were experimenting with water cremation, which can dissolve a body in several hours, the document said. There were swarms of bugs and maggots.

Body bags were filled with fluid, according to the affidavit. Some had ripped. Five-gallon buckets had been placed to catch the leaks. Removal teams “trudged through layers of human decomposition on the floor,” it said.

Investigators identified bodies using fingerprints, hospital bracelets and medical implants, the affidavit said. It said one body was supposed to be buried in Pikes Peak National Cemetery.

Investigators exhumed the wooden casket at the burial site of the U.S. Army veteran, who served in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. Inside was a woman’s deteriorated body, wrapped in duct tape and plastic sheets.

The veteran’s body was discovered in the Penrose building, covered in maggots.

Related Articles

• Families of plane crash victims ask US appeals court to revive a criminal case against Boeing
• Freight train derails in Connecticut, sending cars carrying liquid propane into river
• A newborn’s death likely linked to the mom drinking raw milk while pregnant
• Hims & Hers launches copy of Wegovy pill, prompting legal threats from drugmaker Novo Nordisk
• Minneapolis man is charged with threatening and cyberstalking ICE officers

“Ashes to ashes”

Following the call from the FBI, Johnson promised himself he would speak at the Hallfords’ sentencing. But he struggled to talk about what had happened even with close friends, let alone in front of a judge and the Hallfords.

For months, Johnson obsessed over the case, reading dozens of news reports, often glued to his phone until one of his children would interrupt him to play.

When he shut his eyes, he said he imagined trudging through the building with “maggots, flies, centipedes. There’s rats, they’re feasting.” He asked a preacher if his mother’s soul had been trapped there. She reassured him it hadn’t. When an episode of the zombie show “The Walking Dead” came on, he broke down.

Johnson started seeing a therapist and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He joined Zoom meetings with other victims’ relatives as the number grew from dozens to hundreds.

After Lopes’ body was identified, Johnson flew in March 2024 to Colorado, where his mother’s remains lay in a brown box in a crematorium.

“I don’t think you blame me, but I still want to tell you I’m sorry,” he recalled saying, placing his hand on the box.

Then Lopes’ body was loaded into the cremator and Johnson pushed the button.

Justice

Johnson has slowly improved with therapy, engaging more with his students and children. He practiced speaking at the Hallfords’ sentencings while in therapy. Closing his eyes, he envisioned standing in front of the judge — and the Hallfords.

“Justice is, it’s the part that is missing from this whole equation,” he said. “Maybe somehow this justice frees me.”

“And then there’s part of me that’s scared it won’t, because it probably won’t.”

General Daily Insight for February 06, 2026

Gentle words can still carry real weight. At midday, the Moon squares expansive Jupiter, stretching patience as feelings bump against limits in family matters or group efforts. By 5:48 pm EST, talkative Mercury steps into Pisces, which reminds us to encourage one another’s exploration of imagination. With Mercury leveling up our empathy, we can mend misunderstandings, revive stalled conversations, and let intuition guide timing. Progress sticks when compassion ensures that everyone gets heard. Choosing our words carefully is vital, for our listeners and ourselves.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

The universe currently rewards calm over chaos. Quiet reflection steadies your spark as cerebral Mercury enters your 12th House of Spirituality, inviting you to delve into your soul and see what you can fish up. If a friend pushes for an answer, you probably don’t owe them an answer. Even if you do, you’re allowed to ask for more time to consider your words. You function best when rested, so give your mind a chance to do so. Well-paced thoughts lead to well-timed action.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Small comforts help you focus on the essentials. Being hangry is a real threat to your social life today, as Mercury trots into your community sector. It’s hard to make plans with friends — whether you’re just chilling or collaborating on a bigger project — when you’re hungry, thirsty, or exhausted. Do your best to keep some snacks close at hand, because if you don’t need them, someone else will. Sharing supplies is a great way to strengthen your network.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Conversations could pique your curiosity at any moment. Mercury is striding into your public 10th house, boosting your visibility and encouraging you to offer updates that show your strengths without oversharing. An authority figure might be quite impressed by your speedy progress or intelligent questions. When you commit to something, make sure to write it down so you don’t get distracted by all your other options. It’s okay to have multiple irons in the fire, but sometimes you need to focus on one main flame.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

This moment is meant for questions! Big ones, small ones, and anything in between could be talked over while Mercury transits your 9th House of Learning. Go ahead and ask about anything confusing you, whether it’s an actionable issue regarding upcoming plans or a more philosophical quandary that can’t ever be fully answered. Travel, in particular, will benefit from open conversations about the facts of your schedule — and be sure to write down important information. If you don’t ask, no one can answer you.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

You shine brighter when your heart feels safe. Mercury is beginning its jaunt through your 8th House of Vulnerability, encouraging brave honesty about needs and trust while you keep warmth and pride intact. This is a good transit for setting up a living will or another serious financial document. That might be intimidating, but with the help of your loved ones (and maybe the promise of treating yourself to something fun afterwards), you can tackle it. Seeking clarity here protects everyone, including you.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Details speak louder when you truly listen. Your 7th House of Coordination welcomes brilliant Mercury, encouraging precise promises and thoughtful questions — all things that ensure healthy cooperation can take place. If plans keep slipping, write them down and reconfirm, because having the same words on both sides prevents avoidable stress later. Your helpful side shines when systems function properly, so give the relationship a clear container and let kindness fill the space between expectations. Double-check the details, then watch shared efforts run smoothly.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Being nice doesn’t mean letting others walk all over you — no matter how much you want that person to respect or appreciate you. Acerbic Mercury is jogging into your 6th House of Wellness, helping you streamline the days ahead. Watch out for interruptions (even from well-meaning peers). Speak up and request a moment to finish your thought, then return to their point with grace. To fuel your new confidence, don’t forget to take breaks when your body or mind asks for them.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

You don’t have to be serious, but you should stay honest. Play is more than allowed with Mercury’s entrance into your upbeat 5th house — it’s encouraged! Even so, be honest about what you want to get out of light-hearted experiences. Sincere praise? A chance to express yourself? A bonding moment? All these things are valid, but it’ll be much easier to get what you want once you name it. Name what inspires you and invite input from those you trust. Sincerity earns lasting interest.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

All memories deserve compassion today. Your 4th House of Domesticity is warmed by Mercury’s entry, as it encourages thoughtful conversations with family and forward-thinking plans that support a comfortable future without neglecting the past. If a parent or roommate brings up an old issue, thank them for caring, then suggest a small step that improves daily life. You deserve a safe, cozy home, so take today to set up routines that protect your abode. Build comfort first, and save adventures for tomorrow.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Morning chatter can reveal useful information. Thoughtful communication becomes your tool as intellectual Mercury enters your 3rd House of Writing. Whatever you’ve got to communicate, you can make yourself heard! If a neighbor or relative demands your presence, suggest a quick call and confirm responsibilities so everyone leaves with the same understanding. Your patient approach turns small messages into real progress, because a thoughtful subject line and a clear conclusion motivate the right actions. Write it down, so nothing slips through the cracks.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Practical choices strengthen your sense of worth. Your 2nd House of Talents receives Mercury’s wit today, potentially prompting you to take a second look at your spending. That new toy is tempting, but you’d probably be better off saving that cash for more meaningful purchases. Choose the option that supports your long-term freedom. You might benefit from a program that would track your finances — or even a simple spreadsheet with a monthly budget. Invest attention, because attention grows what you value.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Your voice carries farther than you think. Messenger Mercury enters your sign, turning up your voice and visibility while encouraging kinder self-talk that helps you introduce yourself and your ideas with confidence. When you share who you are, keep the language clear, and let compassion color your tone, others can meet you without guesswork. Your intuition thrives when you speak gently to yourself, so treat inner dialogue like a friend and watch courage grow in daily choices. Share your warmth with those who matter!

TALLAHASSEE – Lawyers for residents in Broward and Miami-Dade counties have filed a petition challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call for a special session where lawmakers would redraw congressional boundaries mid-decade instead of every 10 years.

After months of trying to convince the Legislature to take up redistricting on its own, DeSantis on Jan. 7 called a special five-day session in April for the “purpose of considering legislation relating to the drawing of congressional districts for the State of Florida.”

The same day, Secretary of State Cord Byrd, a DeSantis appointee, sent a letter to all 67 county supervisors of elections instructing them to implement candidate qualifying rules that only apply in a year in which the Legislature redraws congressional districts.

Those actions are unconstitutional, and violate Florida’s “strict separation of powers doctrine,” according to the petition, filed Thursday in the Florida Supreme Court by the Elias Law Group, a national firm based in Washington, D.C. specializing in voting rights litigation and progressive causes.

The actions of DeSantis and Byrd “commandeer the Legislature’s authority to decide whether and when to re-draw Florida’s congressional boundaries,” the petition says. “Their actions have already disrupted Florida’s impending elections by casting significant uncertainty on the future of Florida’s congressional map and the relevant candidate filing deadlines.”

The Orlando law firm of King, Blackwell, Zehnder & Wermuth, which also specializes in voting rights cases, is also representing the two petitioners, who are “citizens, taxpayers, and members of the general public seeking enforcement of a public right,” the petition says.

“The decision over whether and when to reapportion Florida’s congressional districts belongs to the Legislature,” the petition says. DeSantis can request a special session, “but he has no power to bind the Legislature into carrying out his preferred policy objectives by undergoing a legally unnecessary reapportionment.”

Nor can his agenda serve as a basis for triggering certain Florida statutes that are only to be used in a “year in which the Legislature apportions the state,” the petition says. That determination also is reserved exclusively to the Legislature.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Normally, state political boundaries are redrawn every 10 years based on the latest U.S. Census, which is used to determine whether states gain or lose seats in Congress, a process called reapportionment. The states then must redraw the district boundaries to take the population changes and any new congressional seats into account.

But, last year President Donald Trump — facing potential Republican losses in Congress during the 2026 elections — urged Republican-controlled states to conduct a rare mid-decade redistricting to try to gain more Republican-leaning seats. DeSantis was one of several governors who answered the call, along with GOP leaders in Ohio, North Carolina and Texas.

DeSantis has not provided any draft maps for consideration nor has any redistricting legislation been filed in the Legislature, despite two hearings held by a special House committee appointed to discuss redistricting options.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Census Bureau plans to use a survey form with a citizenship question as part of its practice test of the 2030 census, raising questions about whether the Trump administration might try to make a significant change to the once-a-decade headcount that failed during the president’s first term.

Related Articles

• Republicans reject complaint about Gabbard as Democrats question time it took to see it
• US announces $6M in aid for Cuba as island’s leader accuses it of imposing an ‘energy blockade’
• Argentina and US sign a major trade deal to slash tariffs and boost a political alliance
• A Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democratic demands for ICE
• A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and the fight to make the government’s files public

The field test being conducted in Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, is using questions from the American Community Survey, the comprehensive survey of American life, rather than questions from recent census forms.

Among the questions on the ACS is one that asks, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” Questions for the census aren’t supposed to ask about citizenship, and they haven’t for 75 years.

Last August, Trump instructed the Commerce Department to have the Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally from the head count.

The Constitution’s 14th Amendment says “the whole number of persons in each state” should be counted for the numbers used for apportionment, the process of divvying up congressional seats, and Electoral College votes among the states. The Census Bureau has interpreted that to mean anybody living in the U.S., regardless of legal status.

The bureau did not respond Thursday to inquiries seeking comment about why the ACS questions were being used for the 2026 test.

Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former congressional staffer who consults on census issues, said the ACS questions have never been used for a census field test before. She said the 2026 test — which was pared down from six locations to two — has become “a shell of what the Census Bureau proposed and should do to ensure an accurate 2030 Census.”

“This full pivot from a real field test is alarming and deserves immediate congressional attention, in my view,” Lowenthal said.

The field test gives the statistical agency the chance to learn how to better tally populations that were undercounted during the last census in 2020 and improve methods that will be used in 2030. Among the new methods being tested is the use of U.S. Postal Service workers to conduct tasks previously done by census workers.

The test originally was supposed to take place in six places, but the Trump administration earlier this week announced that it had eliminated four sites — Colorado Springs, Colorado, western North Carolina, western Texas and tribal lands in Arizona.

Mark Mather, an associate vice president at the Population Reference Bureau, a nonpartisan research group, said he couldn’t speculate on political motivations behind the decision to use the ACS questions, but said the more fundamental concern was methodological.

“The ACS form wouldn’t provide a valid test of 2030 census operations,” he said. “It’s a completely different animal.”

In his first term, President Donald Trump unsuccessfully tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form. He also signed orders that would have excluded people who are in the U.S. illegally from the apportionment figures and mandated the collection of citizenship data.

The attempt to add the citizenship question was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court, and both orders were rescinded when Democratic President Joe Biden arrived at the White House in January 2021, before the 2020 census figures were released.

Republican lawmakers in Congress recently have introduced legislation that would exclude some non-citizens from the apportionment figures. Several GOP state attorneys also have filed federal lawsuits in Louisiana and Missouri seeking to add a citizenship question to the next census and exclude people in the U.S. illegally from the apportionment count.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Census Bureau at https://apnews.com/hub/us-census-bureau.

By DAVID KLEPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees have rejected a top-secret complaint from an anonymous government insider alleging that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard withheld classified information for political reasons.

Related Articles

• Census Bureau plans to use survey with a citizenship question in its test for 2030, alarming experts
• US announces $6M in aid for Cuba as island’s leader accuses it of imposing an ‘energy blockade’
• Argentina and US sign a major trade deal to slash tariffs and boost a political alliance
• A Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democratic demands for ICE
• A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and the fight to make the government’s files public

The responses this week from Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Rick Crawford mean the complaint is unlikely to proceed further, though Democratic lawmakers who also have seen the document said they continue to question why it took Gabbard’s office eight months to refer the complaint to Congress as required by law.

Gabbard’s office has rejected any allegations of wrongdoing as well as criticism of the timeframe for the referral, saying the complaint included so many classified details that it necessitated an extensive legal and security review. Select lawmakers were able to view the complaint this week.

Cotton wrote Thursday on X that he agreed with an earlier inspector general’s conclusion that the complaint did not appear to be credible. He said he believes the complaint was prompted by political opposition to Gabbard and the Trump administration.

“To be frank, it seems like just another effort by the president’s critics in and out of government to undermine policies that they don’t like,” wrote the Arkansas Republican, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.

When asked about the complaint, Cotton’s office referred to his social media post.

Crawford, the House Intelligence Committee chairman also of Arkansas, said he believes the complaint was an attempt to smear Gabbard’s reputation.

Democrats are pushing for explanations about why it took Gabbard’s office months to refer the complaint to the required members of Congress. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the law requires such a report to be sent within 21 days.

“The law is clear,” Warner said Thursday at the Capitol. “I think it was an effort to try to bury this whistleblower complaint.”

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, speaks out against President Donald Trump’s investigation of the 2020 presidential election ballots in Georgia, and the involvement of Trump ally Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Warner said he also still has questions about the details of the complaint, noting that it was heavily redacted.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said in a written statement that he will keep looking into the matter.

In a memo sent to lawmakers this week, the intelligence community’s inspector general said the complaint also accused Gabbard’s office of general counsel of failing to report a potential crime to the Department of Justice. The memo, which contains redactions, does not offer further details of either allegation.

Last June, then-inspector general Tamara Johnson found that the claim Gabbard distributed classified information along political lines did not appear to be credible, according to the current watchdog, Christopher Fox. Johnson was “unable to assess the apparent credibility” of the accusation about the general counsel’s office, Fox wrote in the memo.

Fox said he would have deemed the complaint non-urgent, unlike the previous inspector general, but respected the decision of his predecessor and therefore sent it to lawmakers.

Copies of the top-secret complaint were hand-delivered this week to the “Gang of Eight” — a group comprised of the House and Senate leaders from both parties as well as the four top lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Andrew Bakaj, attorney for the person who made the complaint, has said that while he cannot discuss the details of the report or the identity of its author, there is no justification for keeping it from Congress since last spring. Bakaj is a former CIA officer and chief legal counsel at Whistleblower Aid.

Gabbard coordinates the work of the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies. She has recently drawn attention for another matter — appearing on site last week when the FBI served a search warrant on election offices in Georgia that are central to Trump’s disproven claims about fraud in the 2020 election.

Hurricanes running backs coach Matt Merritt is headed to the NFL, according to multiple reports.

Merritt is taking the same position with the Arizona Cardinals after two seasons coaching at Miami.

Merritt is the second UM assistant coach to leave the staff this offseason. Tight ends coach Cody Woodiel departed to take a position on Pete Golding’s staff at Ole Miss.

Under Merritt, the Hurricanes had a strong running game. In 2024, Miami was 31st in the nation with 188.92 rushing yards per game. Pro Football Focus gave UM the top rushing grade in the nation (97.2). This season, the Hurricanes were 71st nationally with 151.81 yards per game. PFF gave UM a 90.3 rushing grade, which was 21st.

With Merritt as the position coach, Miami recruited several high-level running backs. The Hurricanes signed four-star running back Girard Pringle Jr. in the 2025 class and four-star running back Javian Mallory in the 2026 class. UM also brought in 1,000-yard rusher Damien Martinez via the transfer portal before the 2024 season and productive runner Marty Brown before the 2025 season.

Merritt previously coached at USF and James Madison, among other stops in his coaching career.

By RIO YAMAT

Thirty-one families that lost relatives in two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max jetliners asked a federal appeals court on Thursday to revive a criminal case against the aircraft manufacturer.

Related Articles

• A funeral home stashed 189 decaying bodies and handed out fake ashes. His mother was among them
• Freight train derails in Connecticut, sending cars carrying liquid propane into river
• A newborn’s death likely linked to the mom drinking raw milk while pregnant
• Hims & Hers launches copy of Wegovy pill, prompting legal threats from drugmaker Novo Nordisk
• Minneapolis man is charged with threatening and cyberstalking ICE officers

Paul Cassell, a lawyer for the families, urged a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court’s dismissal of a criminal conspiracy charge Boeing faced for allegedly misleading Federal Aviation Administration regulators about a flight-control system tied to the crashes, which killed 346 people.

The dismissal came at the request of the U.S. government after it reached a deal with Boeing that allowed the company to avoid prosecution in exchange for paying or investing an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.

Cassell said Thursday that federal prosecutors violated the families’ rights by failing to properly consult them before striking the deal and shutting them out of the process.

Federal prosecutors countered that, for years, the government, “has solicited and weighed the views of the crash victims’ families as it’s decided whether and how to prosecute the Boeing Company.”

More than a dozen family members attended Thursday’s hearing in New Orleans, and Cassell said many more “around the globe” listened to a livestream of the arguments.

“I feel that there wouldn’t be meaningful accountability without a trial,” Paul Njoroge said in a statement after the hearing. Njoroge, who lives in Canada, lost his entire family in the second of the two crashes — his wife, Carolyne, their children, ages 6, 4 and 9 months, and his mother-in-law.

All passengers and crew died when the 737 Max jets crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 — a Lion Air flight that plunged into the sea off the coast of Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed into a field shortly after takeoff.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas, who oversaw the case for years, issued a written decision in November that described the families’ arguments as compelling. But O’Connor said federal judges couldn’t block a charge dismissal simply because they disagreed with the government’s view that a settlement deal served the public interest.

The judge also concluded that federal prosecutors hadn’t acted in bad faith, had explained their decision and had met their obligations under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.

In the case of its deal with Boeing, the Justice Department had argued that given the possibility a jury might acquit the company, taking the case to trial carried a risk that Boeing would be spared any further punishment.

Boeing attorney Paul Clement said Thursday that more than 60 families of crash victims “affirmatively supported” the deal and dozens more did not oppose it.

“Boeing deeply regrets” the tragic crashes, Clement said, and “has taken extraordinary steps to improve its internal processes and has paid substantial compensation” to the victims’ families.

The appeals court panel that heard the arguments said it would issue a decision at a later date.

The criminal case took many twists and turns after the Justice Department first charged Boeing in 2021 with defrauding the government but agreed not to prosecute if the company paid a settlement and took steps to comply with anti-fraud laws.

However, federal prosecutors determined in 2024 that Boeing had violated the agreement, and the company agreed to plead guilty to the charge. O’Connor later rejected that plea deal, however, and directed the two sides to resume negotiations. The Justice Department returned last year with the new deal and its request to withdraw the criminal charge.

The case centered around a software system that Boeing developed for the 737 Max, which airlines began flying in 2017. The plane was Boeing’s answer to a new, more fuel-efficient model from European rival Airbus, and Boeing billed it as an updated 737 that wouldn’t require much additional pilot training.

But the Max did include significant changes, some of which Boeing downplayed — most notably, the addition of an automated flight-control system designed to help account for the plane’s larger engines. Boeing didn’t mention the system in airplane manuals, and most pilots didn’t know about it.

In both of the deadly crashes, that software pitched the nose of the plane down repeatedly based on faulty readings from a single sensor, and pilots flying for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to regain control. After the Ethiopia crash, the planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months.

Investigators found that Boeing did not inform key Federal Aviation Administration personnel about changes it had made to the software before regulators set pilot training requirements for the Max and certified the airliner for flight.

Just two weeks ago, Fort Lauderdale was ready to scrap a long-term plan to spend $200 million building a new City Hall and purchase a less expensive office tower downtown instead.

That plan went up in smoke on Tuesday when Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman walked back comments she made two weeks ago saying she wanted to look into buying Tower 101 for $86 million.

Commissioner Ben Sorensen broached the topic of buying the office tower after midnight on Jan. 20, four days after the commission received an email from City Manager Rickelle Williams saying the building was for sale.

Vice Mayor John Herbst and Beasley-Pittman sided with Sorensen. Mayor Dean Trantalis and Commissioner Steve Glassman rejected the idea outright, noting the city was already in negotiations with a developer to build a new City Hall.

Fort Lauderdale lost its City Hall when a historic rainstorm flooded the basement in April 2023.

Damaged beyond repair, the building was permanently closed and later demolished.

In May 2025, the city received an unsolicited proposal from a developer for the design, build and maintenance of a new City Hall. Fort Lauderdale accepted competing proposals between June 6 and Aug. 5.

On July 11, the owner of Tower 101 sent an email to the city in July offering to sell his building to the city.

The mayor and commissioners didn’t find out about the offer until getting an email from the city manager on Jan. 16.

After the Tower 101 offer made headlines, the city got another offer on Monday from a bigger downtown office tower hoping the city will buy it instead. The owners of 1 East Broward want $122.5 million for the building.

“Honestly, where does this end?” Trantalis said during a City Hall meeting on Tuesday. “Every building on the block is going to come to us now and say, ‘Buy me, buy me.’ I thought we made a commitment. I thought we had a vision. I thought we were looking to the future. Has that changed?”

Rendering of a new City Hall proposed by the Fort Lauderdale commission’s top-ranked development team. (PALMA, courtesy)

Commissioners ranked the development teams on Dec. 2 and are expected to approve a deal with the top-ranked team after the city wraps up negotiations in the coming weeks.

A little history: Two weeks ago, when the conversation came up about purchasing Tower 101 to serve as the next City Hall, Pittman told the commission: “I think we should entertain the offer.”

On Tuesday, she said she meant she wanted to look at buying Tower 101 in addition to building a new City Hall.

“I was more interested in what else could be done with the building,” she said.

But after much discussion, Pittman said she was concerned about the cost involved in analyzing the purchase of an existing office tower and wanted to drop the whole idea.

Early in the meeting, Trantalis grilled Williams, the city manager, on why she did not let the commission know sooner about the Tower 101 offer.

“The commission had made a decision on the direction it was going,” he said. “And now I understand the people at 1 East Broward have submitted a request for us to review purchasing their building. So tell us where this is all going. What direction did you expect this commission to go considering decisions that have been made so far?”

Williams told the mayor that staff determined the offer was incomplete and not viable.

“So my question is why didn’t you bring it up at the goal-setting session (on Jan. 13) knowing that it was a key point in the discussions we were having at that time? I’m curious as to why you kept it a secret from us. Going forward, we need to know what you’re doing, especially if you’re doing it against or contrary to what the commission had agreed to.”

Williams defended herself and her staff.

“I want to make clear that there was no pursuit of the 101 proposal or offer,” she said.

Sorensen argued the city should move forward with analyzing the possibility of purchasing the 101 Tower.

The analysis, including two appraisals, a property survey and title search, would cost at least $120,000, Williams told the commission.

“That’s a lot of money to squander if we know we’re not going to go in that direction,” the mayor said.

Sorensen suggested doing a lower-cost analysis on both the 101 Tower and 1 East Broward.

Glassman disagreed.

“How many buildings are we going to accept these offers from?” he asked. “How far are we taking this? Are we saying to every building owner in the city, give us your tired, your poor, your old buildings yearning to be free? How far down that road are we going?”

Herbst argued the commission owes it to the taxpayers to look at the 1 East Broward tower, located on the northeast corner of Broward Boulevard and Andrews Avenue.

“Right now commercial office space is on sale,” he said. “This is a buying opportunity that is once in a lifetime. We will never get property this cheap ever again. It would be derelict for us not to consider this.”

Trantalis reminded him that a majority of the commission had already agreed to stick with the original plan for a new City Hall.

Herbst made another attempt to persuade the commission to look at buying an existing building.

“This is a huge financial decision that the city is going to be burdened with for the next 30 years,” he said.

Herbst warned the commission that the city might be dealing with a catastrophic financial loss if voters approve a plan in November to eliminate property taxes on homesteaded property.

“I have no doubt that this is going to pass,” Herbst said. “I’m voting for it. Our tax base is going to be declining. We need to be leaning into the fact that we’ve got to start scaling down operations. Winter is coming. Let’s just not put our heads in the sand.”

Glassman told the commission that buying an existing building might not save that much when you add in the cost of retrofitting the space.

“I’ve been speaking to a lot of folks in the construction field and the development field in the last few weeks since our last meeting,” he said. “You might get these buildings for a good cost but you’ll probably spend that exact amount in retrofitting. So at the end of the day the savings is not really that much. I just don’t see the sense in looking at these buildings at all.”

Trantalis posed a pointed question: “I would like to know what is the end game here? We spend tens of thousands of dollars for the analysis. What’s the end game? Are we going to want to buy one of these buildings or are we going to go with the original decision?”

Herbst argued that spending $250,000 to review two buildings and save $100 million is well worth the investment.

Glassman countered with this: “I just think this is a rabbit hole we’re going down right now. We made a commitment.”

Sorensen had one final comment: “I think we’re missing an opportunity just to analyze, but thank you.”

On Thursday, the owner of the Tower 101 told the Sun Sentinel he’s hoping the city will still consider buying the building.

“An administrative oversight should not penalize Fort Lauderdale residents from exploring an opportunity for massive savings,” Anthony DiTommaso Jr. said. “The city had the proposal from Tower 101 since July and did not advance it. Fiscal responsibility mandates a feasibility analysis for Tower 101 immediately to secure the best outcome for our community. Our ownership is ready to engage.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan

Today is Thursday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2026. There are 329 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 5, 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Also on this date:

In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an act that severely curtailed Asian immigration and mandated immigrant literacy testing.

Related Articles

• Musk vows to put data centers in space and run them on solar power but experts have their doubts
• After 80 years, Minute Maid’s frozen canned juices are getting put on ice
• LaMonte McLemore, singer and founding member of the 5th Dimension, dies at 90
• Experimental cholesterol-lowering pill may offer new option for millions
• David A. Ross resigns from School of Visual Arts after ties to Jeffrey Epstein surface

In 1918, more than 200 people were killed during World War I when the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, which was transporting over 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland.

In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the moon’s surface in the first of two lunar excursions.

In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty in the Vietnam War before a ceasefire took effect.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, granting workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies.

In 2008, an outbreak of 87 tornadoes fired up across nine states, killing 57 people in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama during a span of 12 hours. One Arkansas twister left a 122-mile path of damage along the ground.

In 2017, Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, highlighted by a spectacular Julian Edelman catch that helped lift New England from a 25-point deficit against the Atlanta Falcons to the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl victory, 34-28; it was the first Super Bowl to end in overtime.

In 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. Most senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that prompted the impeachment, but just one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, broke party ranks and voted to convict. In 2021, the Senate acquitted Trump in a second trial for allegedly inciting the violent Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.

In 2023, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy to become the most decorated artist in the history of the award.

Today’s birthdays:

• Tony-winning playwright John Guare is 88.
• Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach is 84.
• Film director Michael Mann is 83.
• Racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is 79.
• Actor Barbara Hershey is 78.
• Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 65.
• Actor Jennifer Jason Leigh is 64.
• Rock musician Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) is 62.
• Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal is 60.
• Actor-comedian Chris Parnell is 59.
• Actor Michael Sheen is 57.
• Country singer Sara Evans is 55.
• Actor-singer Darren Criss is 39.
• Actor Henry Golding is 39.
• Soccer star Neymar is 34.

As a voter in Oakland Park in the 23rd congressional district, I am deeply concerned that Rep. Jared Moskowitz has not stated whether he supports impeaching Donald Trump. I’ve contacted his office multiple times without receiving a response. This silence, in the face of such a clear threat to our democracy, is unacceptable.

Trump’s threats to cling to power and his open contempt for the rule of law are not partisan opinions — they are facts. He told NBC News that he does not know whether a U.S. president is required to follow the Constitution.

If Congress fails to impeach, convict and remove a president who so plainly disregards constitutional limits, our democracy may not survive the damage.

I urge my fellow citizens to contact Rep. Moskowitz’s office and demand that he publicly support and cosponsor articles of impeachment.

Defending the Constitution from tyranny is not optional; it is the job he was elected to do.

The voters are watching.

Derek Manzella, Oakland Park

Editor’s Note: The Sun Sentinel invited Rep. Moskowitz to respond to his constituent’s concerns. His office declined to comment.

For energy security

As a Floridian, I have watched energy bills rise while extreme heat and storms put more strain on our power grid.

What’s frustrating is that solutions already exist but are stuck in red tape.

Across the U.S., more than 95% of projects waiting for approval are clean energy developments that could lower costs, strengthen grid reliability and create jobs. But outdated permit rules mean critical infrastructure like transmission lines take years to build. The delays keep families dependent on older, more expensive and more polluting energy sources.

Permitting reform isn’t about politics; it’s about common sense. Modernizing it would help communities access affordable power faster, improve resilience during extreme weather and keep the U.S. competitive with countries rapidly investing in clean energy.

I urge Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Jared Moskowitz to prioritize bipartisan permitting reform that unlocks clean energy projects and delivers real savings and security for Florida families.

Sonia Socorro, Coral Springs

Hold Trump to account

I’ve delayed writing this letter, but I feel that it is overdue.

Trump will declare that he’s the dictator and will not relinquish the presidency in 2028. We can slow him down by voting one or both houses of Congress to the opposition (Democratic) party in November of this year, unless he somehow tries to void that election.

Alan B. Wackerling, Plantation

McCarthyism at its best

I never thought I would see the Sun Sentinel stoop to McCarthyism. Shame on you.

“Why is Trump compiling lists of Jews?” screamed an Opinion page headline.

The first two paragraphs recalled the Holocaust, and noted that compiling a list of Jews as precedent thereto. It then posits “a government encouraging antisemitism under the guise of opposing it.”

Simple question: Is the Sun Sentinel’s editorial position that the Trump administration is antisemitic, with evil designs on Jews and Israel?

Are you willing to come out from under the rock you have most disappointingly crawled under and say you truly believe that, or is this simply an effort to smear the administration by innuendo? Surely you have other ample areas of complaint based on reality, as opposed to this claptrap.

Such a position plainly cannot be sustained by the facts, wherein the Trump administration has been pilloried long and hard domestically and internationally for its steadfast support of Israel. But facts don’t stand in the way of the Sun Sentinel’s insinuation and whispering. McCarthyism at its best. Shameful. And sad.

Tom Bolf, Plantation

Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.

[contact-form]

Here are the top stories for Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Get the weather forecast for today here.

SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get our free Morning Update email. Sign up here.

South Florida lawmakers concerned about name change for Fort Lauderdale airport

Music teacher faces child pornography charges months after arrest on sex crimes against girl

5 p.m. dinner? A new wave of South Florida diners say yes to early meals

‘Today Show’ host Savannah Guthrie posts message to her mother‘s kidnapper asking to provide proof she is alive

Weekend things to do: Super Bowl commercials, Reverend Horton Heat, free Nutella pizza

Which Bahama Breeze restaurants are closing? Converting? Here’s a list

It’s time for Cherfilus-McCormick to resign | Editorial

Florida AG’s redefinition of equality should alarm us all | Opinion

Miss Manners: My co-worker is on my last nerve with her inconsiderate behavior

After 80 years, Minute Maid’s frozen canned juices are getting put on ice

HOUSTON — Kingston Flemings had 18 points and six assists while Chris Cenac Jr. added 14 points plus 10 rebounds as No. 8 Houston beat UCF 79-55 on Wednesday night.

Cenac and Flemings combined for 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the first half as Houston (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) took a 33-19 lead into halftime.

The duo finished 15 of 25 from the field.

Milos Uzan scored 12 points for the Cougars, who shot 55% from the floor despite going 3 for 19 from 3-point range.

Houston had a 40-29 advantage in rebounds and outscored the Knights 42-14 in the paint.

The Cougars won their 17th straight at home and have won 50 of their last 51 home games.

Houston also won its 11th straight over UCF.

“They’re a terrific team,” Knights coach Johnny Dawkins said. “They play at such a high level that you have to be prepared to match their intensity, match their physicality, and we were not able to do that this game.”

The victory gave the Cougars their 11th straight 20-win season under coach Kelvin Sampson.

Dr. Phillips alum Riley Kugel paced the scoring with 9 points for the Knights (17-5, 6-4), who had won three in a row.

The Knights shot 31% and were 6 of 21 on 3-pointers.

The Knights fell to 2-3 this season against ranked teams and 4-5 in Quad 1 games as they look to shore up their NCAA Tournament resume.

Leading by one, Houston went on an 18-5 run over an eight-minute span to open a 27-13 advantage on Cenac’s jumper with 3:50 left in the first half.

UCF shot 2 for 13 during the Cougars’ spurt.

Houston’s lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.

Up next

UCF visits Cincinnati on Sunday.

Houston plays at No. 16 BYU on Saturday.

SUNRISE — The Panthers got much-needed reinforcements from previously injured players, and those players helped Florida snap a four-game losing streak and pick up a crucial 5-4 shootout victory over Boston at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday night.

Despite surrendering a two-goal lead in the third period, the Panthers got the edge in the shootout with a winning goal from Brad Marchand. The win gives the Panthers two points, and they moved into a tie with Ottawa in the Atlantic Division. Florida is two points behind Toronto and eight behind the Bruins. Florida has one more game — a road contest against rival Tampa Bay on Thursday — before the Olympic break.

“It’d be good to finish on a good note here before the break, and it’d be great opportunity for the guys to have a really good rest,” Marchand said. “The last number of years has been tough on this team. Played a lot of hockey, a lot of injuries. And when we get back, we’re going to have pretty much everybody back. So it’ll be nice.”

Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Marchand all returned to the ice on Wednesday. Bennett left Monday’s loss to the Sabres with an injury, Lundell had missed two games with an upper-body injury and Marchand had missed two games with an undisclosed injury.

Bennett appeared to score early, but the goal was overturned on a coach’s challenge. The Panthers did get on the board with 15:38 left in the first period; Eetu Luostarinen corralled a turnover from Boston forward Morgan Geekie and fired it past goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who will be Luostarinen’s teammate on the Finnish Olympic team.

But Florida’s lead did not last long. Boston winger Michael Eyssimlont had a clear path to the goal when Brad Marchand and Uvis Balinskis collided on defense, and the Bruins forward buried his chance.

Even a power play came back to bite the Panthers. Florida could not convert on several chances with a man advantage, and when Eyssimlont came out of the penalty box, he found empty space behind the Panthers’ defense, received a pass and scored on a breakaway to put Boston ahead 2-1.

Florida found a tying goal at the start of the second period, as Balinskis scored on a power play.

Matthew Tkachuk put Florida in the lead with a power-play goal from the side of the goal that deflected off Korpisalo and into the net. Lundell, back from an upper-body injury, netted Florida’s fourth goal and put the Panthers ahead 4-2 late in the second period.

“(Lundell is) incredible,” Marchand said. “So far beyond his years and such an important piece to this team with (Aleksander Barkov) out right now. And this year, he’s really had a chance to take a big step and play a lot more minutes. He just shows that he’s ready to be a No. 1. This team is very lucky to have him.”

The Bruins cut their deficit to one as Boston forward Mark Kastelic deflected a shot from star defenseman Charlie McAvoy past Sergei Bobrovsky — who notched his 450th NHL win — 7:51 into the third period.

The Panthers survived five Bruins power-play opportunities, killing off each one and getting a short-handed goal from Lundell. But the sixth Boston power play was the charm for the Bruins, as Casey Mittelstadt scored to tie the game with just under 10 minutes left in the third period.

Both teams had opportunities in overtime, but neither could convert. The teams were knotted at one goal apiece through the first three rounds of the shootout before Marchand scored the go-ahead goal, and Bobrovsky ended it with a save on the shot by Mittelstadt.

Florida got three key players back on Wednesday, but the Panthers could not completely escape the injury bug. Fourth-line winger Sandis Vilamanis left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return, but Maurice said he thinks Vilamanis is “good” for Thursday against the Lightning. Maurice said reserve forward Tobias Bjornfot will likely miss the Tampa game.

“We’ve got really good leadership and we’ve got really good men that — they’ve been through it,” Maurice said. “This stretch that we’re on is asinine. To go into the Central Division, come back home for a game, go back into Central to come back home, go into back-to-back on the front and the back end. That’s why we have 10 guys out of our lineup. … You can’t sustain it. So we needed to win one of these last two games.”

 

TUCSON, Ariz. — NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie sent a public message to her 84-year-old mother’s kidnapper on Wednesday saying that her family is ready to talk but wants proof that she is alive.

Guthrie said in a recorded video posted on social media that her family has heard media reports about a ransom letter for Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken from her home in Arizona against her will.

“We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” Savannah Guthrie said while reading from a prepared statement. “We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

She was last seen Saturday around 9:45 p.m. when she was dropped off at home by family after having dinner with them, the sheriff’s department said. She was reported missing midday Sunday after she didn’t appear at a church.

The family posted the message after police conducted a search in and around Nancy Guthrie’s home for several hours Wednesday.

Kevin Adger, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, said investigators had been at the home earlier in the week for a couple of days and then turned it back over to the family with the understanding they could go back if they needed to.

“This is a follow up investigation,” he said in reference to officials returning Wednesday.

Adger said the sheriff’s department was not commenting on the video released by the family.

Multiple media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes Tuesday that they handed over to investigators. The sheriff’s department had said it was taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.

The family’s message for Nancy Guthrie
Savannah Guthrie was at times emotional during the recording, with her voice cracking. She smiled and looked into the camera when addressing her mother directly, saying that the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her.

“Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter,” she said.

Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a “kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light” and said she was funny, spunky and clever.

“Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.

Guthrie was flanked by her sister Annie and her brother Camron who both also spoke. Annie called their mother their beacon and said they need her.

“Mamma, If you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie Guthrie said.

Investigators work to piece together what happened before and after disappearance
Authorities on Wednesday offered no detailed update on their search. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ office said detectives still were speaking with anyone who had contact with Nancy Guthrie last weekend but that no suspect or person of interest had been identified.

Nanos suggested there was video from some cameras, though he didn’t elaborate, adding: “That’s all been submitted and we’re doing our best with the companies that own those cameras or built those cameras.”

There were signs of forced entry at the home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood. Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own. A sheriff’s dispatcher talking to deputies during a search Sunday indicated that she has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com.

Jim Mason, longtime commander of a search-and-rescue posse in Maricopa County, isn’t involved in the search for Guthrie but said desert terrain can make looking for missing people difficult. He said it can be hard to peer into areas that are dense with mesquite trees, cholla cactus and other desert brush.

“Some of it is so thick you can’t drive through it,” Mason said.

Supporters around the country
On the other side of the country, Victory Church in Albany, New York, said it’s offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to finding Nancy Guthrie.

“Me and my wife, we watch Savannah every single morning. We’ve heard of her faith. We’ve heard of her mom’s faith. And she’s got such a sweet spirit,” Pastor Charlie Muller said.

The White House said President Donald Trump called and spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday.

“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely.”

For a third day, “Today” opened with Guthrie’s disappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’s desk. NBC Sports said Tuesday that she will not be covering the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics “as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time.”

The “Today” host grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at Tucson television station KVOA. Her parents settled in Tucson in the 1970s when she was a young child. The youngest of three siblings, she credits her mom with holding their family together after her father died of a heart attack at 49, when Savannah was just 16.

___

Sejal Govindarao reporting. Jacques Billeaud reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Michael Hill in Albany, New York, Darlene Superville in Washington and Julie Walker in New York City contributed.

By DAVID KLEPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Close the cover on the CIA World Factbook: The spy agency announced Wednesday that after more than 60 years, it is shuttering the popular reference manual.

Related Articles

• Nike faces federal probe over allegations of ‘DEI-related’ discrimination against white workers
• Epstein files rife with uncensored nudes and victims’ names, despite redaction efforts
• Plastic surgeons group calls for delaying gender-affirming surgery until age 19
• Melania Trump meets with freed American-Israeli hostage whose story she features in her new film
• Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton, leader of Sept. 11 panel, dies

The announcement posted to the CIA’s website offered no reason for the decision to end the Factbook, but it follows a vow from Director John Ratcliffe to end programs that don’t advance the agency’s core missions.

First launched in 1962 as a printed, classified reference manual for intelligence officers, the Factbook offered a detailed, by-the-numbers picture of foreign nations, their economies, militaries, resources and societies. The Factbook proved so useful that other federal agencies began using it, and within a decade, an unclassified version was released to the public.

After going online in 1997, the Factbook quickly became a popular reference site for journalists, trivia aficionados and the writers of college essays, racking up millions of visits per year.

The White House has moved to cut staffing at the CIA and the National Security Agency early in Trump’s second term, forcing the agency to do more with less.

The CIA did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday about the decision to cease publication of the Factbook.

By ALEXANDRA OLSON and CLAIRE SAVAGE

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal agency for protecting workers’ civil rights revealed Wednesday that it is investigating sportswear giant Nike for allegedly discriminating against white employees through its diversity policies.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disclosed the investigation in a motion filed in Missouri federal court demanding that Nike fully comply with a subpoena for information.

The EEOC sought the company’s criteria for selecting employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses worker race and ethnicity data, and information about programs which allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership, or career development opportunities, according to court documents.

In a statement, Nike said the company has worked to cooperate with the EEOC and the subpoena “feels like a surprising and unusual escalation.”

“We have shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses to the EEOC’s inquiry and are in the process of providing additional information,” Nike said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.”

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has moved swiftly to target diversity and inclusion policies that she has long criticized as potentially discriminatory, tightly aligning the agency with one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities.

Nike appears to be the highest profile company the EEOC has targeted with a publicly confirmed, formal anti-DEI investigation. In November, the EEOC issued a similar subpoena against financial services provider Northwestern Mutual.

“When there are compelling indications, including corporate admissions in extensive public materials, that an employer’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-related programs may violate federal prohibitions against race discrimination or other forms of unlawful discrimination, the EEOC will take all necessary steps — including subpoena actions — to ensure the opportunity to fully and comprehensively investigate,” Lucas said in a statement.

FILE – Andrea Lucas, nominee to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, June 18, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

The disclosure comes two months after Lucas posted a social media call-out urging white men to come forward if they have experienced race or sex discrimination at work. The post urged eligible workers to reach out to the agency “as soon as possible” and referred users to the agency’s fact sheet on DEI-related discrimination.

The investigation against Nike, however, does not stem from any worker complaint against the company. Rather, Lucas filed her own complaint in May 2024 through a more rarely used tool known as a commissioner’s charge, according to the court documents. Her charge came just months after America First Legal, a conservative legal group founded by top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, sent the EEOC a letter outlining complaints against Nike and urging the agency to file a commissioner’s charge.

America First Legal has flooded the EEOC with similar letters in recent years urging investigations into the DEI practices of major U.S. companies. It is unclear how many other companies the EEOC may be targeting through such commissioner’s charges. The EEOC is prohibited from revealing any charge — by workers or commissioners — unless it results in fines, settlements, legal action or other such public actions.

Lucas’ charge, according to court filings, was based on Nike’s publicly shared information about its commitment to diversity, including statements from executives and proxy statements. The charge, for example, cited Nike’s publicly stated goal in 2021 of achieving 35% representation of racial and ethnic minorities in its corporate workforce by 2025.

Related Articles

• CIA ends publication of its popular World Factbook reference tool
• Epstein files rife with uncensored nudes and victims’ names, despite redaction efforts
• Plastic surgeons group calls for delaying gender-affirming surgery until age 19
• Melania Trump meets with freed American-Israeli hostage whose story she features in her new film
• Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton, leader of Sept. 11 panel, dies

Many U.S. companies made similar commitments in the wake of the widespread 2020 racial justice protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. Companies have said such commitments are not quotas but rather goals they hoped to achieve through methods such as widening recruitment efforts and rooting out any bias during hiring process.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers are prohibited from using race as a criteria for hiring or other employment decisions. Lucas has long warned that many companies risk crossing that line through DEI efforts that would pressure managers to make race-based decisions.

In its statement, Nike said it follows “all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination. We believe our programs and practices are consistent with those obligations and take these matters seriously.”

The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By BERNARD CONDON and MATT O’BRIEN

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk vowed this week to upend another industry just as he did with cars and rockets — and once again he’s taking on long odds.

The world’s richest man said he wants to put as many as a million satellites into orbit to form vast, solar-powered data centers in space — a move to allow expanded use of artificial intelligence and chatbots without triggering blackouts and sending utility bills soaring.

To finance that effort, Musk combined SpaceX with his AI business on Monday and plans a big initial public offering of the combined company.

“Space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale,” Musk wrote on SpaceX’s website Monday, adding about his solar ambitions, “It’s always sunny in space!”

But scientists and industry experts say even Musk — who outsmarted Detroit to turn Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker — faces formidable technical, financial and environmental obstacles.

Here’s a look:

Feeling the heat

Capturing the sun’s energy from space to run chatbots and other AI tools would ease pressure on power grids and cut demand for sprawling computing warehouses that are consuming farms and forests and vast amounts of water to cool.

But space presents its own set of problems.

Data centers generate enormous heat. Space seems to offer a solution because it is cold. But it is also a vacuum, trapping heat inside objects in the same way that a Thermos keeps coffee hot using double walls with no air between them.

“An uncooled computer chip in space would overheat and melt much faster than one on Earth,” said Josep Jornet, a computer and electrical engineering professor at Northeastern University.

One fix is to build giant radiator panels that glow in infrared light to push the heat “out into the dark void,” says Jornet, noting that the technology has worked on a small scale, including on the International Space Station. But for Musk’s data centers, he says, it would require an array of “massive, fragile structures that have never been built before.”

Musk is undaunted.

“You can mark my words,” Musk said in a preview of a Cheeky Pint podcast episode airing Thursday. “In 36 months, but probably closer to 30 months, the most economically compelling place to put AI will be space. And then it will get ridiculously better to be in space.”

Floating debris

Then there is space junk.

A single malfunctioning satellite breaking down or losing orbit could trigger a cascade of collisions, potentially disrupting emergency communications, weather forecasting and other services.

FILE – A SpaceX logo is displayed on a building, May 26, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Musk noted in a recent regulatory filing that he has had only one “low-velocity debris generating event” in seven years running Starlink, his satellite communications network. Starlink has operated about 10,000 satellites — but that’s a fraction of the million or so he now plans to put in space.

“We could reach a tipping point where the chance of collision is going to be too great,” said University at Buffalo’s John Crassidis, a former NASA engineer. “And these objects are going fast — 17,500 miles per hour. There could be very violent collisions.”

No repair crews

Even without collisions, satellites fail, chips degrade, parts break.

Special GPU graphics chips used by AI companies, for instance, can become damaged and need to be replaced.

“On Earth, what you would do is send someone down to the data center,” said Baiju Bhatt, CEO of Aetherflux, a space-based solar energy company. “You replace the server, you replace the GPU, you’d do some surgery on that thing and you’d slide it back in.”

But no such repair crew exists in orbit, and those GPUs in space could get damaged due to their exposure to high-energy particles from the sun.

Bhatt says one workaround is to overprovision the satellite with extra chips to replace the ones that fail. But that’s an expensive proposition given they are likely to cost tens of thousands of dollars each, and current Starlink satellites only have a lifespan of about five years.

Competition — and leverage

Musk is not alone trying to solve these problems.

A company in Redmond, Washington, called Starcloud, launched a satellite in November carrying a single Nvidia-made AI computer chip to test out how it would fare in space. Google is exploring orbital data centers in a venture it calls Project Suncatcher. And Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin announced plans in January for a constellation of more than 5,000 satellites to start launching late next year, though its focus has been more on communications than AI.

Still, Musk has an edge: He’s got rockets.

Starcloud had to use one of his Falcon rockets to put its chip in space last year. Aetherflux plans to send a set of chips it calls a Galactic Brain to space on a SpaceX rocket later this year. And Google may also need to turn to Musk to get its first two planned prototype satellites off the ground by early next year.

Pierre Lionnet, a research director at the trade association Eurospace, says Musk routinely charges rivals far more than he charges himself —- as much as $20,000 per kilo of payload versus $2,000 internally.

He said Musk’s announcements this week signal that he plans to use that advantage to win this new space race.

“When he says we are going to put these data centers in space, it’s a way of telling the others we will keep these low launch costs for myself,” said Lionnet. “It’s a kind of powerplay.”

General Daily Insight for February 05, 2026

It may be tough to stay on top of things today. Tension could spike with little warning, even with the Moon entering thoughtful Libra. This is due to Mercury squaring unpredictable Uranus at 7:13 am EST, putting diplomacy and change at odds with one another. We may wake seeking fairness, then face frustration that makes it hard to say anything nice. Potential conflict can be avoided by grounding innovative ideas with realistic goals. Today is meant for laying the foundation more than completing the project.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Pay attention to the ebb and flow of group energy. Your 11th House of Collaboration holds chatty Mercury, which squares sudden Uranus in your 2nd House of Supplies. Watch out — this means that big plans may collide with budget realities. Friendliness could tempt you to empty your wallet, so set clear limits before you commit. Clarify who pays for what, and suggest an option that fits your means, like hosting at home this time. Set terms kindly, because boundaries protect genuine camaraderie.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Today isn’t a race. Intellectual Mercury in your 10th House of Career squares radical Uranus in your committed sign, pressing you to explain your methods without letting anyone undercut your voice. Of course, everyone’s wrong sometimes, but you’re the only one who truly understands what works best for your life. Be prudent about your indulgences, but don’t feel the need to repress them for the sake of a wider audience who was never going to get it. Trust yourself and move deliberately.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

What could widen your world in this moment? Clever Mercury is in your 9th House of Progress, where it squares unconventional Uranus in your 12th House of Secrets, stirring restlessness and hidden doubts (especially if sleep has been a struggle lately). You may crave a short trip to stretch your mind, but be stuck at home. Try to let your mind travel in some way, perhaps by reading nonfiction or watching a foreign film. Journaling is also a great way to explore your deeper thoughts.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

The outside world is being temporarily muted. The nurturing Moon glides into your 4th House of Home and Family, heightening feelings about your past. Think of the places you’ve felt most comfortable — if your current residence doesn’t make the cut, how can you make it more like those places? This is a good time to meander down Nostalgia Lane or calmly discuss shared spaces. You could also create a small ritual that soothes your system, like lighting a scented candle before doing your chores.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

People watch how you handle competing demands. Mercury stretches from your bonded 7th house to shove shocking Uranus in your 10th House of Ambition. Be wary of neglecting your personal life for your professional one! This balance will naturally shift over time, but here and now, you’re at risk of going too far to one end of the spectrum. Don’t let anyone pressure you into neglecting either half of your life. Once you draw that line in the sand, you can move forward with honor.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Upcoming plot twists will reward flexibility. Your 6th House of Labor hosts mental Mercury, which squares rebellious Uranus in your 9th House of Journeys, stirring tension between tradition and modernization. You may face a surprise software update while you prepare a presentation under a tight training deadline at work. At home, a typically reliable appliance could crash out at any moment. In either scenario, simplifying your checklist should give you a buffer of extra time. Prioritize flow, because smart pacing safeguards quality.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Your mood sets the tone for others. The intuitive Moon is in your sign, lighting your 1st House of Identity and inviting you to show gentle leadership through presence rather than pressure. You might sense people mirroring your energy in various conversations throughout the day, so choose the tone you want echoed. Balance candor with kindness, and be willing to ask for help or information when you need it. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease! You can be calm without being a doormat.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Strong feelings may surface in unexpected circumstances. Your 4th House of Comfort and your 7th House of Affinity are hyped up by Mercury squaring Uranus — for better or for worse. Things that need to change at home could seem excruciatingly clear to you, yet a roommate may resist any change whatsoever. Even if you live alone, neighbors or friends could be vocally judgmental. Start by specifically naming the problem and proposing a trial period for your ideal solution (and hear out potential compromises).

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Little signals cross wires around your plans. Your 3rd House of Transmissions carries mischievous Mercury, bouncing off of reactive Uranus in your 6th House of Everyday Effort, challenging your rhythm with a last-minute task. Your optimism may want to assist your peers, yet outside influences could entangle you in myriad complications. Ask for specifics and offer a doable window, then block out time to actually do the essential parts of your responsibilities. Guard your time in order to ensure you have enough of it.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Resisting impulse purchases isn’t easy at present. Today’s Mercury-Uranus square energizes your money zone and your 5th House of Temptations, pinging you back and forth between budget plans and spontaneous delights. You might plan a fun outing when a bill reminder pops up, forcing you to consider window shopping rather than actually shopping. Look for ideas that support joy while respecting your goals, like visiting secondhand stores or seeing a matinee showing rather than a full-price one. Spend mindfully to forge long-term security.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Today could speed by in the blink of an eye! Mercury is in your sign, squaring breakthrough Uranus in your 4th House of Roots, challenging you to consider new ideas while guarding your foundations. You might want to announce a personal shift, yet an emergency may force you to delay your statements. Unless it’s a real emergency, make a point of finding space to speak up for yourself. You deserve to be heard (and you’re smart enough to know when you ought to wait).

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

People may not say what they mean at the moment. Mercury in your karmic 12th house is talking a lot but saying very little as it squares chaotic Uranus in your 3rd House of Conversations. You may rehearse a speech that gets canceled at the last minute, or a friend could swear they aren’t upset but refuse to answer your calls. Take a deep breath — this storm won’t last forever. Even if others aren’t reliable, you can speak your truth into existence.