News

Miami’s Broadway season for 2026-2027 will include two South Florida premieres.

“The Great Gatsby” and “Buena Vista Social Club” will get their regional debut at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (with the latter then moving to Fort Lauderdale for a run).

And “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” will play the Magic City for the first time.

Other national musical tours announced include “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” “Jersey Boys” and “The Sound of Music.”

Related Articles

• Broadway blockbusters at Broward Center next season: ‘Death Becomes Her,’ ‘The Outsiders,’ ‘Hamilton’ & more

Season ticket packages are now on sale, with prices ranging from $260 to $975 for all six shows.

• To become a subscriber or renew a subscription, call the Arsht Center at 305-949-6722 or the season ticket-holder hotline at 800-939-8587, or visit arshtcenter.org.

• Ticket holders will also have access to Arsht Plus, a series of pre-performance experiences such as artist conversations, dance lessons, cooking demonstrations, live music and family fun with select performances.

A breakdown of the upcoming season

Sept. 29-Oct. 4, 2026 — ‘Buena Vista Social Club’

“Buena Vista Social Club” raised its first curtain on Broadway in 2025 (producers include John Leguizamo and LaChanze). Inspired by real events, the show tells the story of legendary singer Omara Portuondo and an iconic band from their start in the 1950s through the 1990s, with the release of their cultural bookmark album of the same name in 1997. It won five Tony Awards and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

Matthew Murphy“Buena Vista Social Club” will come to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4. (Matthew Murphy/Courtesy)

Dec. 1-6, 2026 — ‘A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’

This jukebox musical strings along Neil Diamond’s chart-topping songbook to tell the story of the singer/composer’s journey from Brooklyn boy to iconic hitmaker. Along the way, you get top tunes such as “Sweet Caroline,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “Love On The Rocks,” “Hello Again,” “I’ll Come Running,” “Solitary Man,” “I’m A Believer” and more. The show first bowed on Broadway in 2022.

Jan. 12-17, 2027 — ‘The Great Gatsby’

The Roaring Twenties get flappers flapping in the new musical based on the classic American 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald about wealth, romantic indiscretions, class distinction and tragic love. The Great White Way got “The Great Gatsby” in 2024, the same year it won Best Costume Design of a Musical at the Tony Awards.

Matthew Murphy and Evan ZimmermanSamantha Pauly and the cast of the Broadway production of "The Great Gatsby." (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/Courtesy)

Feb. 9-14, 2027 — ‘The Sound Of Music’

Loosely based on a true story set in Austria of the 1930s, the musical opens with a young Maria preparing to become a nun. However, the Mother Abbess sends her to be governess to the seven children of widowed Capt. von Trapp. The family, the romance and any chance of a happy ending are threatened by the rise of Nazism. The show includes now-standards such as “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going On Seventeen,” “The Lonely Goatherd,” “So Long, Farewell,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Edelweiss” and — of course — the title song.

Jeremy Daniel"The Sound of Music" is coming to Miami's Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in February 2027. (Jeremy Daniel/Courtesy)

March 30-April 4, 2027 — ‘Disney’s Beauty and the Beast’

Based on the 1991 animated movie, “Beauty and the Beast” opened on Broadway in 1994 and ran for a highly successful 13 years. The show, which won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design, follows village outcast Belle as she tries to undo a spell that turned a prince into the Beast. Longtime fans will recognize songs including “Be Our Guest” and, naturally, “Beauty and the Beast” from the film.

Matthew MurphyKyra Belle Johnson and Fergie L. Philippe in "Disney's Beauty and the Beast." (Matthew Murphy/Courtesy)

June 8-13, 2027 — ‘Jersey Boys’

This jukebox musical tracing the troubled path of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to the top of the charts ran on Broadway from 2005 to 2017 and won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Showstoppers include “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Working My Way Back to You” and “Rag Doll.”

SUNRISE — The Panthers came out of the Olympic break firing on all cylinders.

After scoring three first-period goals, Florida picked up a much-needed 5-1 win over Toronto at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday night. With the victory, the Panthers moved into a tie with the Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference standings.

“I thought we started well, which we really wanted to do,” veteran forward Brad Marchand said. “And at the end of the day, the points are what matters right now.”

Marchand, one of the three Panthers who won a silver medal for Team Canada, got Florida on the board early. After deflecting a puck in front of the net, he corralled the loose puck and shot it past Joseph Woll for the Panthers’ first goal of the night.

Florida did not have to wait long for a second goal. Toronto center Nicolas Roy was called for tripping, and Carter Verhaeghe scored on the power play with a close-range shot that went over Woll’s shoulder.

“The thing we wanted to see the most was that first-period speed,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “That was the best part of our game, offensively.”

Not even a Toronto power play could stop Florida in its dominant first period. Winger Evan Rodrigues broke up a pass attempt from William Nylander and got a shorthanded breakaway attempt. Rodrigues deked Woll and snuck the puck past him for the Panthers’ third goal of the period.

“(Had) a lot of time and just kept checking my shoulder and wanted to shoot it, but felt I wasn’t going fast enough,” Rodrigues said. “So just kind of panicked a little bit, and I tried that move on him a couple years ago in a shootout. Happy it went in this time.”

With his team ahead 3-0, Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky took care of the rest. He allowed one goal, on a power play early in the third period. A shot from John Tavares deflected off Gustav Forsling and under the Florida goalie. But otherwise, Bobrovsky performed well and finished the game with 28 saves.

“It’s tough when you sit for a long time,” Maurice said. “He’s been off for three weeks. You’d almost like a big-shot first period for him to get him back into it, but he’s always been able to do that for us — sit for a while with not much and then be real sharp.”

Marchand added a second goal late in the third period, scoring with an empty net in the game’s final minutes. Matthew Tkachuk, who was honored in a pregame ceremony for the game’s American Olympians, scored an empty-net goal, as well.

“We came out strong, scored three goals,” Bobrovsky said. “So it was a big first period for us and then we played our game. It was a great win.”

Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 124-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers:

– This was the lesson the Heat will not heed.

– Dealing with injuries, the 76ers took a gap year last season.

– After winning at least 47 games the previous four seasons, they stepped back to 24-58.

– As in 13th in the East.

– As in positioned well enough to land the No. 3 pick in the lottery.

– As in able to land VJ Edgecombe.

– As in the No. 3 rookie scorer.

– As in the NBA rookie leader in steals.

– Yes, Tyrese Maxey is the engine and Joel Embiid is the size.

– But Edgecombe has shown, including Thursday night, how much that elite talent can make a difference.

– As in lottery talent.

– Going in, even before Edgecombe sparked the 76ers in the second quarter to a 16-point halftime lead, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had ample praise.

– “The athleticism jumps off the screen for sure, and he has potential to be a very good two-way basketball player,” Spoelstra said. “I think the fans and everybody knows the highlight plays that he makes offensively, but he has very good feet and quickness defensively, and quick hands and ability to get in passing lanes.  The style defensively that they play with Nick Nurse, it just fits what he does.”

– Or you could push for the play-in every year.

– Refuse to step back to step ahead.

– VJ Edgecombe was the reminder Thursday.

– Spoelstra was asked before the game about the play-in/playoff race.

– “It’s the best time of year right now, when you start to see the playoff seeding,” he said. “I want our guys shooting for a better spot than where we are right now. We don’t have to overwhelm ourselves with it, but it gives us something to wrap our minds around and compete for every night.”

– With Norman Powell (groin) and Davion Mitchell (illness) cleared an hour before tip off, the Heat again went with a starting lineup of Powell, Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and Pelle Larsson. That lineup entered 5-3.

– The game was the 350th regular-season appearance of Mitchell’s career.

– Powell then was lost for the night with that groin issue in the second period.

– The 76ers opened with a lineup of Embiid, Maxey, Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Dominick Barlow.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. was first off the Heat bench.

– Kel’el Ware and Tyler Herro then entered together.

– With Kasparas Jakucionis making it nine deep.

– Simone Fontecchio then returned to the rotation, briefly, entering midway through the second period.

– Spoelstra laughed pregame when asked about the difference when Embiid plays for the 76ers, as he did Thursday night.

Related Articles

• Heat rally comes up short in critical 124-117 loss in Philadelphia in play-in chase
• Powell again surfaces on injury report, plays on, as Heat extension window remains open
• No longer an award favorite, Heat’s Jaquez still finding reward in role as sixth man
• ASK IRA: Can Tyler Herro yet work his way back into Heat extension favor?
• With all due respect to Riley, Heat’s Spoelstra explains why he’s not suited to suits

– “Really? I mean, it’s pretty obvious,” he said. “Like they jump up to first in the league in free-throw attempts. They have a very good balance of controlling pace, and he’s one of the best in the game that can control the pace, get it on their terms, But then they also have all their speed perimeter players. Maxey is second in the league in fast break points, so you have to deal with both those things.”

– As far as not finding out formally until the game that Embiid was in, Spoelstra said of the ever-changing lineups in the NBA, “That’s every night. That’s the way the league is now. I think everybody’s gotten a lot more accustomed to that. You have a couple of different, probably two or three, you know, different lineups and rotations and matchups.”

– The Heat entered well aware of the upgraded challenge of the 76ers when Embiid is in the lineup.

– “You got to make that adjustment, because sometimes it’s a Maxey possession and sometimes an Embiid possession and then Edgecombe, too, that can attack off a close out,” Larsson said.

– “You’re fairly different with what Maxey and Edgecombe can do, so they bounce between the two styles,” Spoelstra said.

– Going in, Spoelstra addressed recent Heat defensive lapses.

– “That’s what’s disappointing,” he said. “We have a higher level that we can get to, that’s as high as anybody in this league, really on both sides of the floor.  It’s a matter of doing it consistently.”

– He added, “Our defense is built and versatile enough to make it disruptive against anyone.”

– With his second rebound, Jaquez reached a career best season total.

The victories over the New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies that gave the Heat the three-game winning streak going into the week were window dressing against going-nowhere teams.

The last two games, including Thursday night’s 124-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena, were the reality check for Erik Spoelstra’s team.

In a game with significant impact in the playoff and play-in races, the Heat stormed back from a 16-point halftime deficit to a third-period lead, only to come up short in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game, after losing in a similar situation in Tuesday night’s loss in Milwaukee at the start of this two-game trip.

“We wanted to do something here on the road,” Spoelstra said. “I thought we had two shots at it in both of these games. But this pressure, and  everything that we’re feeling going down the stretch, this is a privilege. This is an absolute privilege. Even when we’re not getting the result that we want, we have an opportunity to step up into this pressure.”

Thursday’s loss, on a night the Heat lost All-Star guard Norman Powell in the first half with a groin strain, came despite a 29-point, 14-rebound effort from center Bam Adebayo, who was supported by 25 points from Tyler Herro, 19 from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and 18 from Andrew Wiggins.

“There’s going to be a lot more clutch games in these last 20-plus,” Spoelstra said. “We’re going to continue to get better at them and win these games.”

The 76ers, who moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Heat in the race for the final spot ahead of the play-in bracket in the East, got 28 points from Tyrese Maxey and 26 points and 11 rebounds from Joel Embiid.

“It’s just tough, frustrating, obviously very frustrating,” Jaquez said. “We did have two opportunities to really get ahead and make a stand. And we dropped them, so just got to keep pushing.”

So, yes, beginning to look a lot like play-in for a fourth consecutive season.

“We’re better than being in the play-in for the last four years,” a dejected Adebayo said.

Five Degrees of Heat from Thursday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The 76ers led 36-35 after the opening period and 73-57 at halftime.

With a 24-7 start to the third quarter, the Heat then went ahead before going into the fourth down 99-91. The 76ers entered having been outscored in the third quarter this season by an NBA-high 231 points.

The Heat entered 1-22 this season when trailing after three quarters, 0-14 in that situation on the road.

Through it all, the Heat tied it 112-112 with 4:22 to play on a pair of Wiggins free throws, with a Herro 3-pointer with 2:44 to play putting the Heat up 117-116, only their second lead of the game.

But with Kelly Oubre Jr. converting a 3-pointer with 1:52 left, the Heat quickly were down four, as the 76ers sealed it with an Embiid 3-pointer with 29.2 seconds to play.

“They ran us out of the gym in the first half, and then if they missed, they had those second-chance, 14 second-chance opportunities,” Spoelstra said. “Then it settled in, the effort changed the momentum of the game. We got back into it, took a lead, and then it became a possession game. From there, they made some plays down the stretch where we couldn’t.”

The 76ers ended it with an 8-0 run, similar to how Milwaukee closed it out on Tuesday night.

“We got stagnant offensively,” Adebayo said. “We ran a certain play over and over again, and we were stagnant.”

2. Sizzling start: Maxey was up to 20 points by the end of the opening period, also with three assists  in the quarter.

At 5 of 8 on 3-pointers in the first period, Maxey, with his fourth of the night, moved past Allen Iverson for the 76ers all-time career lead in 3-pointers.

Maxey,  the No. 21 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, taken one pick after the Heat selected Precious Achiuwa, then was limited to four points over the next two periods.

He rounded out his double-double with 11 assists.

Adebayo was not happy the Heat made it so easy for Maxey and the 76ers early.

“We didn’t play hard enough,” he said. “I mean, I don’t how to explain the effort. You can clearly see we weren’t making enough of an effort to get guys off the line, make multiple efforts.”

Related Articles

• Winderman’s view: In Heat loss, 76ers’ Edgecombe a reminder of the occasional dip into lottery waters
• Powell again surfaces on injury report, plays on, as Heat extension window remains open
• No longer an award favorite, Heat’s Jaquez still finding reward in role as sixth man
• ASK IRA: Can Tyler Herro yet work his way back into Heat extension favor?
• With all due respect to Riley, Heat’s Spoelstra explains why he’s not suited to suits

3. The big deal: For years, when cast as the Heat’s lone option at center, Adebayo would mention the taxing task of going against the mass of Embiid.

With Kel’el Ware having been moved back to the bench in a limited role, it again was a taxing night for the outsized Adebayo, as Spoelstra remained with his preferred smaller-ball opening lineup that again had Andrew Wiggins as the de facto starting power forward.

To his credit, Adebayo found his way through the challenge, already with a double-double with 1:56 left in the first half, the eighth time in his career he has recorded one by the intermission.

Ware played only 12 minutes, closing with five points and six rebounds.

“Bam, our center position tonight, was excellent, with both those guys for 48 minutes, that’s as good as it can get,” Spoelstra said.

4. Powell play: Questionable earlier in the day with a groin strain, Powell left for good with 4:46 to play in the second period with the ailment, after chasing a loose ball out of bounds.

“That’s the same one that he’s been dealing with, and we’ll just have to see what it is,” Spoelstra said.

He closed with three points on 1 of 5 shooting.

Of the team’s approach with Powell, Spoelstra said there was ample prudence before the veteran guard was cleared.

“We’re getting to know him as the months go by, and so he knows his body better than anybody,” Spoelstra said. “But we’re in constant communication with Norm and the trainers, and he was able to pass all the protocols.”

5. Enter Herro: With Powell out, Herro, who has come off the bench in his first four games back from the rib injury that had him out since Jan. 15, opened the second half with the starters.

Herro opened 1 of 6 on 3-pointers before converting again midway through the third period. He was up to 20 points through three quarters.

With Powell out, Herro this time played as closer, ending at 9 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 10 on 3-pointers, also with seven assists.

“He was terrific in that second half,” Spoelstra said.

But Herro knew more was needed.

“They made more plays down the stretch,” he said of the 76ers. “We gotta be better in the first half. And hopefully, you never know how the game ends. But I feel like we dug ourselves a hole in that first half, which we had to crawl out.”

By JOSH FUNK and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.

The case of mistaken identity prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to close additional airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso. The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it takes any counter-drone action inside U.S. airspace.

It was the second time in two weeks that a laser was fired in the area. The last time it was CBP that used the weapon and nothing was hit. That incident occurred near Fort Bliss and prompted the FAA to shut down air traffic at El Paso airport and the surrounding area. This time, the closure was smaller and commercial flights were not affected.

Washington U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and two other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said they were stunned when they were officially notified.

“Our heads are exploding over the news,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. They criticized the Trump administration for “sidestepping” a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and Department of Homeland Security, which includes CBP.

“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said.

Government defends use of anti-drone laser

The FAA, CBP and the Pentagon issued a joint statement late Thursday that acknowledged the military “employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”

The statement said it happened far from populated areas and commercial flights as part of the administration’s efforts to strengthen protections at the border.

“At President Trump’s direction, the Department of War, FAA, and Customs and Border Patrol are working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the U.S.-Mexico Border,” the statement said.

Second time these laser systems shut down Texas airspace this month

The El Paso shutdown two weeks ago lasted only a few hours, but it raised alarm and led to a number of flight cancellations in the city of nearly 700,000 people.

In that case, an anti-drone laser was deployed by CBP without coordinating with the FAA, which then decided to close the El Paso airspace to ensure commercial air safety, according to sources familiar with what happened and weren’t authorized to discuss it.

Afterward, members of Congress said it appeared to be another example of different agencies failing to coordinate with each other.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he was planning to brief members of Congress about the incident. He said at an unrelated news conference last Friday that it wasn’t a mistake for the FAA to close the airspace in El Paso and that he doesn’t think it was a communication issue that led to the problems.

Lawmaker demands an investigation

Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, called for an independent investigation.

“The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth said.

The investigation into last year’s midair collision near Washington, D.C., between an airliner and Army helicopter that killed 67 people highlighted how the FAA and Pentagon were not always working well together.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army did not share safety data with each other about the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks.

Concern about drone threats growing

Two months ago, Congress agreed to give more law enforcement agencies — including some state and local departments — the authority to take down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had that power.

Armed drones regularly carry out devastating attacks in Ukraine and have also allowed Ukraine to strike deep within Russia. The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help the states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for America’s 250th birthday.

Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.

Drones already causing problems

Drones already cause problems along the border. Cartels routinely use drones to deliver drugs across the Mexican border and surveil Border Patrol officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports. Homeland Security estimates there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States.

Anti-drone systems can use radio signals to jam drones, or high-powered microwaves or laser beams like the ones that have been used in Texas that are capable of disabling the machines. Some others station small drones to take flight quickly and ram into threatening drones. And there are systems that use bullets, but those are more common on battlefields than in domestic use.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and JOSHUA GOODMAN

NEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked a judge on Thursday to toss out the indictment against his client on the grounds that the United States has unconstitutionally violated his rights to defend himself by blocking Venezuelan funds to pay his legal costs.

Related Articles

• Republican voter ID bill stalls in Senate despite Trump demands
• NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as ‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington
• Cuba says 8 World Baseball Classic delegation members denied US visas
• Melania Trump will preside over a UN Security Council meeting in a first for a first lady
• FDA to offer bonus payments to staffers who complete speedy drug reviews

Attorney Barry Pollack filed papers in Manhattan federal court, saying the U.S. government has violated his client’s due process rights by blocking funds to defend him that should come from the Venezuelan government.

“Mr. Maduro, as Venezuela’s head of state, has both a right and an expectation to have legal fees associated with these charges funded by the government of Venezuela,” Pollack wrote.

The court submission included a declaration from Maduro in which he said he understood that under the laws and practices of Venezuela, “I am entitled to have the government of Venezuela pay for my legal defense.”

“I have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense,” he said.

Maduro added that he has “been working” with Pollack on his legal defense and that he “is my counsel of choice.” The declaration was signed “President Nicolas Maduro Moros.”

Maduro and his wife have been in custody in New York since they were seized from their Venezuelan home in early January in a stealth nighttime U.S. military operation. They’ve pleaded not guilty.

A 25-page indictment against Maduro accused him and others of working with drug cartels and members of the military to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. If convicted, both he and his wife face life in prison.

As part of the purported conspiracy, Maduro and his wife allegedly ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money, according to the indictment. It said that included the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas.

Pollack told a Manhattan judge in an email last week that the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked the authorization of legal fees that the government of Venezuela is required to pay for Maduro, though it has allowed fees to be paid for the defense of first lady Cilia Flores.

Pollack said that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions against Venezuela, had granted permission on Jan. 9 approving the payment of legal fees by the Venezuelan government. He said the department rescinded the authorization “without explanation” less than three hours later.

“The conduct of the United States government not only undermines Mr. Maduro’s rights but also this Court’s mandate to provide a fair trial to all defendants who come before it in accordance with the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution,” Pollack wrote in court papers submitted Thursday.

“The United States government, even while authorizing myriad commercial transactions with Venezuela, is prohibiting counsel from receiving untainted funds from the government of Venezuela, despite Venezuela’s obligation to fund Mr. Maduro’s defense. Any trial that proceeds under these circumstances will be constitutionally defective and cannot result in a verdict that will withstand later challenge,” he added.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press seeking comment.

If the judge leaves the charges against Maduro in place, Pollack said he wants to resign so the court can appoint other counsel to represent Maduro.

The dispute over Maduro’s legal fees is intimately linked to U.S. foreign policy. The first Trump administration cut ties with Maduro in 2019, recognizing the then- opposition head of the National Assembly as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The Biden administration hewed closely to the same policy.

Goodman reported from Miami.

By BRIAN WITTE

Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable major medical advancements, including the polio vaccine.

Related Articles

• US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone, lawmakers say
• Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asks judge to toss out indictment against him
• Deadly shooting in Cuban waters highlights obsessions with counter-revolution as US pressure mounts
• Boat shot at by Cuban authorities was reported stolen from Florida Keys home
• Young woman says she was on social media ‘all day long’ as a child in landmark addiction trial

Details of the agreement, which was finalized in federal court in Maryland this month, aren’t public.

The Lacks family and Swiss-based Novartis said in a joint statement that they are “pleased they were able to find a way to resolve this matter filed by Henrietta Lacks’ Estate outside of court” but aren’t commenting further.

It’s the second settlement in lawsuits filed by the estate that accused biomedical businesses of reaping rewards from a racist medical system that took advantage of Black patients like Lacks. The settlement ends litigation between Novartis, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and the estate of Lacks, a mother who died of cervical cancer at age 31 and was buried in an unmarked grave.

The 2024 lawsuit had sought from Novartis “the full amount of its net profits obtained by commercializing the HeLa cell line,” which the complaint said had been cultivated from “stolen cells.”

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Lacks’ cervical cells in 1951 without her knowledge, and the tissue taken from her tumor before she died became the first human cells to continuously grow and reproduce in lab dishes. HeLa cells became a cornerstone of modern medicine, enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines, but the Lacks family wasn’t compensated along the way despite that incalculable impact on science and medicine.

Johns Hopkins said it never sold or profited from the cell lines, but many companies have patented ways of using them.

In 2023, Lacks’ estate reached an undisclosed settlement with the biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Lawyers for the family argued in that case that the company continued to commercialize the results long after the origins of the HeLa cell line became well known and unjustly enriched itself off Lacks’ cells.

There are other pending lawsuits by the Lacks estate. Just over a week after the estate settled the case with Thermo Fisher Scientific, attorneys for the estate filed a lawsuit against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in Baltimore federal court, the same venue as the previously settled case. Litigation with Ultragenyx as well as Viatris, a pharmaceutical company, remain active.

Attorneys for the family have indicated there could be additional complaints filed.

Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer from southern Virginia who married and moved with her husband to Turner Station, a historically Black community outside Baltimore. They were raising five children when doctors discovered a tumor in Lacks’ cervix and saved a sample of her cancer cells collected during a biopsy.

While most cell samples died shortly after being removed from the body, her cells survived and thrived in laboratories. They became known as the first immortalized human cell line because scientists could cultivate them indefinitely, meaning researchers anywhere could reproduce studies using identical cells.

The remarkable science involved — and the impact on the Lacks family, some of whom had chronic illnesses and no health insurance — were documented in a bestselling book by Rebecca Skloot, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” which was published in 2010. Oprah Winfrey portrayed her daughter in an HBO movie about the story.

General Daily Insight for February 27, 2026

Surprising events can be handled with skill today. Our moods swell with care, generosity, and affection when Luna initially conjoins expansive Jupiter. Then, at 11:20 am EST, ambitious Mars squares unpredictable Uranus, so our attempts to make bold moves could meet twists that push us to rethink plans and alter our pacing. We should honor our need for progress while leaving room for detours by building flexible timelines, reviewing pre-set expectations, and choosing wise priorities. Tonight, we can regroup and share what changed.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Make your move! High-spirited Mars energizes your 11th House of Networking with its square to Uranus in your 2nd House of Resources. Last-minute events or unexpected additional costs for something may clash with your budget, so set limits and ask for transparent terms. Your leadership works best when you invite input but keep decisions clear. If a friend pushes for more than feels fair, don’t shut them out. Do your best to meet in the middle. Protecting your value lets real collaboration grow.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Steady choices protect what matters most. Changeable Uranus is in your typically steady sign, further destabilized by this square from Mars in your 10th House of Professionality. A supervisor might shift priorities, so respond levelly and revise what you can control. Present a grounded plan that protects your timeline and your well-being while leaving room for necessary pivots. Speak with composure so others trust your reliability and allow you space to adjust. Choose measured steps so your reputation grows alongside your skills.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

What conversation would clear the air today? Mars is tumbling through your 9th House of Explorers and pushing unconventional Uranus in your 12th House of Shadows. A plan may wobble because a behind-the-scenes factor changes. Use your quick mind to rewrite details and check reservations on the fly, but stay aware of your stress levels as you do. You may need to step aside for a quick break if things get too tense! Keep your wits with you so stress stays low.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Fractured feelings could ripple through community spaces. Mars and Uranus are sparring across your wary 8th house and your networked 11th house, potentially inhibiting your efforts to connect with those around you. Don’t panic — you can get through this. You may need to have some urgent talks about boundaries with acquaintances and closer friends, though. If emotions surge, take a breath before replying, then propose pausing whatever’s going on until everyone agrees on fair terms. Speak honestly and carefully to nurture trust.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

This morning favors a graceful give and take. Your 7th House of Allies heats up as aggressive Mars squares innovative Uranus in your 10th House of Public Life. A collaborator may react badly to a schedule change or public commitment. Show your warmth by listening to their concerns, especially those regarding shared goals. That said, you don’t have to fold to anyone’s unreasonable demands. Whatever you’re doing, keep humor handy to lighten the mood as needed. You’re worthy of respect, but so is everyone else!

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Clarity grows as you refine small steps. Your 6th House of Holistic Care and your curious 9th house are impacted by Mars squaring quirky Uranus. A shifting travel plan or unforeseen knowledge gaps could disrupt your careful schedule around appointments or deadlines. Break big tasks into blocks, then update your checklist and confirm what others truly need. You might need to handle some tense moments, but as long as you genuinely listen to all involved, handling them shouldn’t be too tough.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Compromises can currently be double-edged swords. Mars in your expressive 5th house shouts to reactive Uranus in your 8th House of Inheritances. Be wary of over-investing in large creative undertakings — stick with a smaller scale for the time being. That way, if something goes wrong, withdrawing won’t be a big loss. If you co-parent or are collaborating on a long-term project, this is not the time to walk back your boundaries (not without excellent reasons). Balance pleasure and prudence as best you can.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Scorpio, your focus cuts through distractions to guard your nest. With Mars in your home zone and Uranus in your pairings quadrant, your relationships with anyone who shares your residence are at the cosmic forefront. If you live alone, you may be thinking of moving or making another large change to your living space. Really ponder your ideas before doing anything irreversible! With roommates, protect your privacy by setting clear times for talks, and ask for commitments in writing to avoid mixed signals.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Fresh momentum could bubble up from unusual sources. Today is like a sparring session between Mars and Uranus in your chatty 3rd house and sensible 6th house, respectively. A surprise schedule shift or tech glitch could scramble morning messages, especially with co-workers or service providers. Keep your tone upbeat, ask precise questions, and include breaks in your schedule. If you drive or commute, build extra buffer time and choose the safer route rather than chasing speed. Stay nimble now, so small problems pass quickly.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

By afternoon, steadfastness becomes your edge. You’re not boring, you’re reliable! Your 2nd House of Money activates as passionate Mars squares sudden Uranus in your 5th House of Bliss. Watch out for tempting sales trying to distract you from your responsible budget. Pause before you pay and choose real value over flash to ensure you make satisfying purchases. If you plan a date night, set a spending cap and focus on experiences that spark genuine connection. Invest in memories that match your real priorities.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Channeling your inner spark can fuel amazing acts right now. Warrior Mars in your sign is charging at Uranus, the Great Awakener, in your 4th House of Foundations. A sudden household need could collide with your personal plans. The surge of energy may not be stoppable, but it is shapable — its final form is up to you. Your independent streak solves problems fast, especially when you accept a creative workaround instead of tossing it aside in search of that mythical “perfect” solution.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Healthy changes still alter the landscape of your soul — that’s normal. Your 12th House of Healing stirs as combative Mars squares radical Uranus in your 3rd House of Noise. Plans for rest could be disrupted by noisy requests from nearby. Protect your peace by setting up some alone time, ensuring you won’t be disturbed outside of an emergency. When thoughts race, breathe slowly and trust your inner compass to organize your feelings before responding. Choose quiet first so serenity can find you.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — Election-year legislation to impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements on voting appears stalled in the Senate, for now, despite President Donald Trump’s call in his State of the Union speech that Republicans in Congress pass the bill “before anything else.”

Related Articles

• Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asks judge to toss out indictment against him
• NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as ‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington
• Cuba says 8 World Baseball Classic delegation members denied US visas
• Melania Trump will preside over a UN Security Council meeting in a first for a first lady
• FDA to offer bonus payments to staffers who complete speedy drug reviews

Trump’s push for the bill, backed by House conservatives and his most loyal supporters ahead of the midterm elections, has put new pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune as he tries to navigate an effort from inside and outside Congress to bypass normal Senate procedure. Thune has said he supports the legislation and that his GOP conference is still discussing how to pass it.

Senate Republicans “aren’t unified on an approach,” Thune said on Wednesday after Trump’s speech.

In an effort to get around Democratic opposition, Trump and others have pushed a so-called “talking filibuster,” which would bring the Senate back to the days of the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” when senators talked indefinitely to block legislation. Today, the Senate mostly skips the speeches and votes to end debate, which takes 60 votes in the Senate where Republicans have a 53-47 majority.

Republicans wouldn’t have to change the rules to force a talkathon. They could simply keep the Senate open and make Democrats deliver speeches for days or weeks to delay taking up the legislation. But Thune would still need enough support from his caucus to move forward with that approach, and he said this week that “we aren’t there yet.”

The tension has put the affable, well-liked Thune in a tough spot with Trump and many of his voters who argue that the legislation is necessary for a GOP victory in the midterm elections. Trump has already made clear that he will blame Democrats, and potentially Thune, if they lose their majorities in Congress in November — even though Republicans won control of Congress and the White House in 2024 without the bill’s requirements.

Democrats oppose the bill because “they want to cheat,” Trump claimed in his speech on Tuesday.

“We have to stop it, John,” Trump said, calling out Thune by name.

Election Voting Official Debra Mikell, left, and Patricia Ocon check touchscreen voting machine at New Chicago Voter Supersite in Chicago, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) Complicated and risky maneuver

Trump and his supporters, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, say the talking filibuster would allow them to pass the legislation — called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act — without any Democratic votes. But the maneuver could end up creating more problems for Republicans.

Under a talking filibuster, Democrats would have to stay on the floor and give speeches for an indefinite amount of time to block the bill. Each senator is only allowed two speeches on a particular piece of legislation, so the idea is that Democrats would eventually run out of speeches or quit due to exhaustion, allowing Republicans to proceed with a simple majority vote.

“We won’t pass the SAVE America Act unless we start by making filibustering senators speak,” Lee said on social media. “This will take time and effort, but we’d be crazy not to give it the effort it deserves.”

The reality on the floor would be more complicated. Democrats would be able to throw up procedural roadblocks, including restarting the clock for speeches if enough Republicans weren’t also present on the floor. That means nearly all 53 Republicans would need to remain close to the Senate during the filibuster, while only one Democrat would have to keep speaking. The process could last for weeks, given that there are 47 Democrats in the Senate.

Even if Republicans managed to break the first filibuster, Democrats could then offer an unlimited number of amendments on anything they wish, forcing Republicans to take hard votes in an election year and potentially adding some of their own priorities to the legislation if they have some bipartisan support. Each amendment would bring a new round of speeches as well.

“We’d have to have 50 to defeat every amendment,” Thune said. “And that’s not a where we are right now.”

Republican concerns Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, reflects on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as he meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

As Thune has discussed the possibility with his conference in recent weeks, some Republicans have expressed worry that the process could lead to rules changes that could lead the Senate to “go nuclear” and eventually vote to erode the legislative filibuster.

Most Senate Republicans have said they do not want to lower the 60-vote threshold for ending debate on legislation, even though it has been lowered for presidential and judicial nominations.

“I agree with the SAVE Act,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said after Trump’s speech. “But I’m not going to nuke the filibuster.”

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said that “the reason or method doesn’t matter — it’s breaking the filibuster.”

Other Republicans could also block the process. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has said she opposes the SAVE Act, and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former GOP majority leader, has opposed similar legislation in the past.

GOP senators who support the maneuver were also realistic about the difficulty of the talking filibuster approach.

“You’d have to have a deep commitment among almost all of our members,” said Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, who supports it.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called it “hard but doable.”

GOP election strategy FILE – A Vote Here sign is posted amongst political signs as people arrive to vote at the Rutherford County Annex Building, an early voting site, Oct. 17, 2024, in Rutherfordton, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek, File)

The voting bill would require Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, mostly through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate. It would also require a valid photo identification before voters can cast ballots, which some states already demand. The House approved it earlier this month on a mostly party-line vote, 218-213.

Republicans said the legislation is needed to prevent voter fraud, but Democrats warn it will disenfranchise millions of Americans by making it harder to vote. Voting experts have warned that more than 20 million U.S. citizens of voting age do not have proof of their citizenship readily available, and almost half of Americans do not have a U.S. passport. Critics also said the bill’s enactment could cause chaos in this year’s elections and confuse voters because some of it would take effect immediately.

Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens, but there’s no requirement to provide documentary proof when registering, though they do affirm under oath at the risk of prosecution that they are eligible.

Experts said voter fraud is extremely rare, and very few noncitizens ever slip through the cracks. About one in 10 Americans doesn’t have readily available paperwork proving they are citizens.

The legislation also would require states to share their voter information with the Department of Homeland Security as a way to verify the citizenship of the names on the voter rolls. That has drawn pushback from elections officials as potentially intrusive on people’s privacy.

Trump said in his speech on Tuesday that the bill would be “country-saving.”

Echoing his false claims of voter fraud when he lost the 2020 election, Trump said that Democrats “want to cheat, they have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat.”

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Matt Brown in Washington contributed to this report.

By JOSH FUNK

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it’s misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.

Related Articles

• Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asks judge to toss out indictment against him
• Republican voter ID bill stalls in Senate despite Trump demands
• Cuba says 8 World Baseball Classic delegation members denied US visas
• Melania Trump will preside over a UN Security Council meeting in a first for a first lady
• FDA to offer bonus payments to staffers who complete speedy drug reviews

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the House bill’s “watered-down” requirements wouldn’t do enough to prevent a future tragedy, and wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a Senate bill that came up just one vote short of passing in the House earlier this week. The full NTSB followed up Thursday afternoon with a formal letter to the two key House committees, saying that they can’t support the bill right now

“We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you’re using the NTSB and you’re using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies,” Homendy said. “You’re using their pain to move your agenda forward.”

The key concern of Homendy and the families of the people who died in the crash on Jan. 29, 2005, is that they believe all aircraft should be required to have key locator systems that the NTSB has been recommending since 2008, which would allow the pilots to know more precisely where the traffic around them is flying. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out systems that broadcast an aircraft’s location are already required around busy airports. It’s the ADS-B In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft that isn’t yet standard. But Homendy said the bill is weak in other areas, such as limits on when the military will be able to turn those locator systems off.

The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee declined to respond to Homendy’s criticism Thursday, but Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen have said they believe the ALERT bill they crafted effectively addresses the 50 recommendations that NTSB made at the conclusion of their investigation into the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter.

They defended their bill and pledged to work with the families, the Senate and the industry to develop the best solution as soon as possible. The committee will likely markup the bill within the next few weeks.

“From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal,” Larsen and Graves said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he is committed to getting the bill done.

The NTSB released a side-by-side comparison of its recommendations and the House bill to highlight all the ways the bill falls short of fully addressing the needed changes.

Doug Lane, a family member of those who were killed in the midair collision near Washington Reagan National Airport, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, and many of the other victims’ families said the House bill “is not really a serious attempt to address the NTSB recommendations.” He said the introduction of this bill just a few days before the vote on the ROTOR Act, which the Senate unanimously approved, seemed designed to “scuttle” that bill and send the ADS-B In recommendation into limbo to be considered in a lengthy rulemaking process.

Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said that the bill must require ADS-B In to be acceptable to the families.

“As far as the ALERT act — the way it’s written now, I can’t endorse the way its written now. It needs to include ADS-B In,” Collins said. “It’s non-negotiable for us as family members, extremely non-negotiable.”

The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.

But Homendy said the House seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to include from the NTSB recommendations.

“We were very explicit of what needed to occur,” Homendy said. “When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you’re just going to give us half a loaf, it’s not going to do it. We’re not gonna save lives.”

BOCA RATON — The Hurricanes’ hot bats took nine innings to show up, but they arrived just in time.

Miami (10-0) scored seven runs in the ninth inning, coming back from a three-run deficit to beat Florida Atlantic (3-5) 11-7 in Boca Raton on Wednesday night. The victory extends UM’s season-opening win streak to 10 games — the program’s longest season-opening winning streak since 2013.

“There’s just never any panic with the offense that we have and the leadership that we have,” UM coach J.D. Arteaga said. “We’re always in every game.”

There are several other undefeated teams around the country, including Texas, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Clemson, Oregon and Ole Miss. But the Hurricanes are the first team in a Power 4 conference to reach 10 wins.

Miami trailed by three entering the ninth inning, but star third baseman Daniel Cuvet cut the deficit to one with a two-run home run, his sixth of the year. The Hurricanes loaded the bases, and Braylan West drove in two runs with a go-ahead double. Jake Ogden hit a bases-clearing double to drive in three more runs.

“Bases loaded, I was looking for a pitch up,” West said. “He was throwing a lot of splitters in the at bats before. He threw me one, saw it up and I just cranked it.”

FAU held Miami’s bats in check for most of the game. Both teams’ lefty starters worked into trouble but had otherwise solid outings. Miami freshman Sebastian Santos-Olson, making his second career start, pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs (one of which was earned).

“I thought he pitched really well,” Arteaga said. “Unfortunately, he had that dropped ball in right field with two outs that you shouldn’t give up any runs there and then a young pitcher, you’ve got to kind of regroup and get the next guy out. And it kind of snowballed on him a little bit. The pitch count kind of got up. But he’ll learn.”

UM entered the game averaging 16 runs per game (the Hurricanes scored 30 runs in their previous game), but FAU pitcher Kide Adetuyi held the Hurricanes to just three runs through five frames while striking out 10 UM hitters.

The Hurricanes got on the board first as Alonzo Alvarez reached second base on an error and scored on a single by Braylan West. They built on that lead in the following inning, scoring a run on a single by designated hitter Alex Sosa and another on a single by right fielder Derek Williams.

Williams allowed two Owls runs to score when he dropped what would have been an inning-ending fly ball in shallow right field in the fourth inning. FAU tied the game in the fifth inning with a double by Eli Small.

Williams made up for his prior error by pushing Miami back ahead 4-3 with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Miami’s bullpen could not hold onto the lead, as Owls right fielder Brett Patten knotted the game at four in the bottom half of the inning. FAU took its first lead of the game when UM pitcher Packy Bradley-Cooney could not handle a dribbler back toward the mound.

The Owls extended their lead with an RBI single by Patrick Ward, and they took a three-run lead on a wild pitch. But the lead proved to be too small.

The Hurricanes play another in-state rival, Florida, in a three-game series that starts on Friday night..

“Still got a lot to improve on,” Arteaga said. “It’s nice to be 10-0 and all that, but understanding that there’s been a couple games that we — I don’t want to say we lucked out, but we were fortunate to fight and come back at the end there. But there’s always something to improve on, and we definitely have a lot to improve on still.”

By MARK ROSNER

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Alex Condon scored 23 points, Boogie Fland had 22 and No. 7 Florida beat Texas 84-71 Wednesday night for its eighth consecutive victory.

Florida (22-6, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) has won seven straight SEC road games. The Gators have outscored their last eight opponents by an average of 20.5 points, rounding into form as they seek to defend their national title.

The 6-foot-11 Condon converted 10 of 12 shots from the field. He had five points and an assist during a 14-1 run gave the Gators a 75-65 lead with 4:16 remaining. Fland hit 7 of 10 shots and scored seven during the game-changing burst. Xavian Lee scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

Florida, a poor 3-point shooting team most of the season — 30% accuracy — has heated up to 36% during the winning streak. Coach Todd Golden’s Gators made 6 of 9 from long range during the second half against Texas, finishing 8 of 18.

Meantime, the Longhorns (17-11, 8-7) went without a field goal for the final 7:27.

Texas has lost two in a row after winning its previous five. Dailyn Swain led the Longhorns with 21 points, including 15 in the second half. Tramon Mark scored 15 points and Jordan Pope had 14.

Mark scored 13 points in the first half as Texas took a 39-36 lead at the break. He made some difficult, contested shots, finishing 5 of 7 from the field and making three 3-pointers. But Mark attempted just two shots in the second half.

Up next

Florida: Hosts No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday.

Texas: At Texas A&M on Saturday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The no-parking zone around the home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother where journalists and social media streamers have stationed themselves over the past three weeks since her disappearance is being widened in response to bitter complaints from neighbors about congested roads, trespassing and trash left alongside roadways.

Related Articles

• New York sues Counter-Strike game developer saying ‘loot boxes’ promote gambling
• Bird flu outbreak in California elephant seals prompts officials to cancel popular tours
• FCC seeks public comment as live sports shift from broadcast TV to streaming
• Police video shows Vince McMahon’s 100 mph car crash in Connecticut
• Sondra Lee, a veteran Broadway dancer with roles in ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Hello Dolly!’ dies at 97

Pima County officials say an effort over the weekend to have one-way traffic flow on the road in front of Nancy Guthrie’s house hasn’t worked as they hoped, leading to expanded parking restrictions.

The new restrictions take effect Thursday. Authorities say journalists and streamers can still have access to the area, but they will have to park elsewhere and get dropped off in the neighborhood. Violators would face a $250 fine. The constant presence of news crews, bloggers and curious onlookers has drawn mixed reaction from neighbors. Some appreciated the attention the case has been getting. Others have placed traffic cones and signs on their properties to keep people off.

Authorities say the tents, generators and satellite trucks set up along the road have created congestion and safety concerns.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home just outside Tucson on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. Drops of her blood were found on the front porch, but authorities haven’t publicly revealed much evidence.

• A sign posted along the road to Nancy Guthrie’s home on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz., asks media to work elsewhere. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)
• A sign that reads “No Press” is posted outside the home next door to Nancy Guthrie Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)
• Photographers take images of sheriff’s deputies outside the home of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)

Show Caption1 of 3A sign posted along the road to Nancy Guthrie’s home on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz., asks media to work elsewhere. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca) Expand

Despite the sheriff’s request for people not to search on their own, volunteers have continued to look. A small group reported finding a black backpack on Sunday, but it wasn’t the same brand as one identified in video surveillance that the FBI released of a masked person at Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared.

Journalists and streamers aren’t the only people to go into the neighborhood. Supporters of the Guthrie family have showed up outside of the home to drop off flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses and prayers.

By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling.

Related Articles

• No-parking zone in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood widened amid complaints about journalists, streamers
• Bird flu outbreak in California elephant seals prompts officials to cancel popular tours
• FCC seeks public comment as live sports shift from broadcast TV to streaming
• Police video shows Vince McMahon’s 100 mph car crash in Connecticut
• Sondra Lee, a veteran Broadway dancer with roles in ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Hello Dolly!’ dies at 97

State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 illegally charge users for the chance to win rare items held in the virtual containers.

In Counter-Strike, the process even resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item, James’ office said.

“Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes,” James said in a statement. “These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal.”

Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday for the Bellevue, Washington-based company.

“Loot box” items are generally cosmetic, such as a hat for a player’s character or an artistic skin for weapons. They usually don’t serve any vital function in the games, but James’ office said the items can still be sold online for significant sums.

Some of the rarest items can go for thousands of dollars online, according to James’ office. One item, an AK-47 Counter-Strike skin, recently sold for more than $1 million.

James’ suit says Valve is violating New York’s constitution by promoting gambling in its games. It wants the company to stop the practice and pay restitution and damages to users, as well as a fine worth three times the amount of its profits from the features.

The attorney general argues that research has found children introduced to gambling are four times more likely to develop a gambling problem later in life than those who are not.

“Loot boxes, like other forms of gambling, can lead to addiction and result in real harm,” the suit reads. “But Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents, who are lured into opening loot boxes by the prospect of winning expensive virtual items that convey status in the gaming world.”

James’ office said demand for “loot box” prizes has drawn interest not just from online speculators and investors that have helped values soar, but also thieves targeting third-party, online marketplaces where the virtual items can be sold for cash.

Valve facilitates those third-party marketplaces, as well as operating its own, the Steam Community Market, where players can sell their items and use the proceeds to buy other video games, gaming hardware or other virtual items.

A day after President Donald Trump demanded Congress impose new rules governing elections, Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives passed a state-level measure Wednesday that mirrors much of what Trump wants on the national level.

The legislation would make multiple changes in Florida election law. The provisions with the biggest potential impact on voters would require citizenship verification of registered voters and eliminate some forms of identification that have long been accepted for voting in Florida.

Supporters said House Bill 991 would keep Florida at the forefront of well-run, honest elections. Opponents said the new rules, if they become law, would prevent some citizens from voting in future elections with the greatest impact on students, seniors and women.

Jessica Lowe-Minor, president of League of Women Voters of Florida, said in a statement that the House-passed bill “will make it harder for eligible Americans to vote. By tying the right to vote to possession of costly documents that many citizens don’t have easy access to, it undermines Floridians’ freedom to vote and moves us away from the concept of a free and fair democracy.”

In her final pitch for passage, state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, the Fort Myers Republican who sponsored the bill, invoked Trump’s comments from his State of the Union address. “You heard our president last night,” she said, adding that, “Floridians want election integrity.”

State Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, the chief co-sponsor, rejected opponents’ warnings about the impact.

“This bill is not voter suppression. This bill is not driving us to a dictatorship,” she said. “I hear you saying, ‘We have had and do have the safest elections in the United States,’ and maybe we do. Our governor said we do and I believe we do. But that doesn’t mean we always will … We have to keep ahead of the people who want to game our system.”

Over the course of a two-hour debate on the legislation, Democrats argued against it and sought to scale back some of its provisions. Vastly outnumbered, the Democrats’ efforts failed. The bill passed 83-31.

All Broward and Palm Beach county state representatives voted on party lines, with Republicans voting “yes” and Democrats voting “no.”

Several Democrats delivered emotional pleas to their Republican colleagues not to pass the bill.

State Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Miami-Dade County Democrat, expounded on what she’s previously said about one of her aunts, who was born in South Carolina in the Jim Crow era in the 1950s to a mother who wasn’t allowed in a whites-only hospital because she was Black.

Consequently Gantt’s aunt has no birth certificate. Her aunt is a retired federal worker who has been voting for years but has been unable to get a driver’s license renewed because she can’t satisfy the requirements for REAL ID without a birth certificate. The main way the legislation calls for checking voters’ citizenship is by cross-referencing with driver’s license agency citizenship records, something that could snag Gantt’s aunt.

“Our policy has serious consequences. And to be the descendant of people who built this country, and not be able to do something as fundamental as vote because she can’t get her ID, I don’t think y’all understand how much rage that makes me feel for my aunt,” Gantt said.

And, Gantt said, after previous news media coverage of her aunt’s story, she said she’s been contacted by many voters in the same situation.

“We are debating access and equity and who gets to participate in the democracy that we cherish,” said state Rep. RaShon Young, D-Orlando. “Security and access are not opposing values. When we elevate one while eroding the other, we are not advancing democracy … This is fear mongering and disenfranchisement and voter suppression dressed up as security.”

Senate Bill 1334 covers many of the same subjects but differs from the House bill in some ways. In order to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature, the two bills would need to be synched before the scheduled March 13 adjournment of the annual legislative session.

Related Articles

• Florida may change ID accepted at polling places, making it harder for students and seniors to vote
• Florida plan to verify citizenship could snare lawful registered voters in bureaucratic morass
• Florida Republicans may ban system used in Palm Beach County to speed early voting and improve accuracy
• Lawmakers seek to end approach DeSantis has used in delaying special elections
• Deadline to request mail-in ballot for March elections is Feb. 26
• Voters were told Wellington council candidate dropped out. She didn’t — and doesn’t buy official explanation.

Citizenship

Citizenship is already required to vote in Florida. And in legislative committees and in debate on Wednesday, sponsors of the new requirement didn’t cite evidence of more than scattered cases in which non-citizens may have voted.

At a House committee hearing, Persons-Mulicka pointed to what a state report about 2025 election investigations described as 198 “likely noncitizens who illegally registered and/or voted in Florida.” That works out to less than 1 possible noncitizen for every 70,000 registered voters.

Sponsors said the citizenship verification, long sought by Trump who claims droves of non-citizens are voting, would keep it that way.

“This shouldn’t be a problem if you are an American citizen,” Trabulsy said.

Voting rights advocates said verification could cause problems for some voters.

The Brennan Center for Justice has reported that 9% of American citizens — like Gantt’s aunt — don’t have immediate access to the type of documents the legislation would require to prove citizenship. The League of Women Voters said that could translate to more than 1 million Florida voters “who could get caught in this bureaucratic web to prove their citizenship to vote.”

Voting advocates said women would run into compliance problems far more than men, because women are more likely to change their names when they get married and divorced.

Persons-Mulicka said there wouldn’t be problems. “If you are on the voter rolls and you are a U.S. citizen … you should not have any fear that you will be removed,” Persons-Mulicka said. “We want to make sure we know who you are.”

Pressed by opponents about the implementation, which would require coordination between election officials and the state driver’s license agency, Persons-Mulicka said she has “not spoken with anybody” at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles about her bill.

Voter ID

The ID issue isn’t about whether voters should have to show identification to vote.

That question is controversial in many states, but Florida has long required people to show identification to vote. Most people use their driver’s licenses, with others using state-issued ID cards.

For people without those forms of ID, state law has permitted multiple other forms of identification.

Under the legislation, student IDs, even issued by state colleges and universities, debit or credit cards and retirement center, neighborhood association or public assistance identification would no longer be accepted.

State Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, told her colleagues that many of the college students they represent don’t drive. And the new restrictions would prevent some from voting.

Other provisions

House Bill 991 has several other provisions, including changing the system of election recounts in close elections and instituting audits of all elections.

Democrats offered multiple amendments in an attempt to alter the legislation before its final passage. Republicans rejected them all.

One amendment, sponsored by state Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, would have banned people from carrying firearms inside polling places, within the 150-foot no politicking zone around polling places, and at drop-off locations for mail ballots.

“I don’t think somebody should be able to go to a polling place with an AR-15 because I think that will make other people afraid to go there and exercise their American constitutional duty of voting. Why would we want that?” Hunschofsky said.

State Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, urged her colleagues to support Hunschofsky’s amendment. “We all been to the polls,” she said. “We see how hot it gets. We have an opportunity to prevent something from happening.

Political writer Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.

By JOSHUA GOODMAN

The Trump administration is blocking Venezuela’s government from paying for the cost of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s defense against drug trafficking charges in New York, a move that potentially interferes with his constitutional right to counsel, his lawyer says.

Related Articles

• Florida House approves citizenship verification, new ID rules for voting
• Justice Department says it’s reviewing whether any Epstein-related records were mistakenly withheld
• Texas grand jury rejects indictments in fatal shooting of US citizen by federal immigration agent
• Bill and Hillary Clinton, battle-tested, gear up for another Washington fight
• Bill Gates ‘spoke candidly’ about Epstein ties at a Gates Foundation meeting, spokesperson says

Attorney Barry Pollack told a Manhattan federal judge in an email last week that the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked the authorization of legal fees that the government of Venezuela is required to pay for Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores under its law and custom. The email was entered into the public court record on Wednesday.

Maduro and his wife have been jailed in New York without bail since they were seized from their Venezuelan home Jan. 3 in a stealth nighttime raid by U.S. military forces. They have both pleaded not guilty.

The stunning capture following a monthslong military buildup in the Caribbean has paved the way for the Trump administration to assert enormous influence over Maduro’s replacement, his vice president and now acting President Delcy Rodriguez. Under pressure from the U.S., Rodriguez has moved swiftly to open up Venezuela’s oil industry to American investment, free political prisoners and reestablish direct communications with Washington — something unseen since the first Trump administration shuttered the U.S. embassy in Caracas in 2019.

In the email, Pollack said that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions against Venezuela, had granted permission on Jan. 9 approving the payment of legal fees by the Venezuelan government.

Less than three hours later, though, the Trump administration snatched back the authorization “without explanation,” though it left in place a license granting permission for Maduro’s wife’s lawyers to be paid, Pollack said.

The dispute over Maduro’s legal fees is intimately linked to U.S. foreign policy. The first Trump administration cut ties with Maduro in 2019, recognizing the then opposition head of the National Assembly as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The Biden administration hewed closely to the same policy.

However, allowing Rodriguez’s government to pay for the cost of Maduro’s defense could complicate prosecutors’ efforts in court to counter the deposed leader’s argument that his capture was illegal and that as the foreign head of a state he is immune from prosecution under U.S. and international law.

A 25-page indictment against Maduro accused him and others of working with drug cartels and members of the military to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. Both he and his wife face life in prison if convicted.

As part of the purported conspiracy, Maduro and his wife allegedly ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money, according to the indictment. It said that included the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas.

Messages seeking comment from the Treasury Department, White House and the Justice Department were not immediately returned.

Pollack said he asked the Office of Foreign Assets Control on Feb. 11 to reinstate the original license and clear the way for Venezuela to meet its obligation to pay Maduro’s defense costs.

The lawyer added that Maduro “cannot otherwise afford counsel” and will request help from the judge to pay for his defense.

Pollack said the United States was “interfering with Mr. Maduro’s ability to retain counsel and, therefore, his right under the Sixth Amendment to counsel of his choice.”

Goodman reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Fatima Hussein in Washington and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.

By REBECCA BOONE

Researchers say seven seal pups have tested positive for an avian flu virus at California’s Año Nuevo State Park and several more are showing signs of the illness. The outbreak has prompted park officials to cancel the park’s popular seal-watching tours for the remainder of the seal breeding season.

Related Articles

• No-parking zone in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood widened amid complaints about journalists, streamers
• New York sues Counter-Strike game developer saying ‘loot boxes’ promote gambling
• FCC seeks public comment as live sports shift from broadcast TV to streaming
• Police video shows Vince McMahon’s 100 mph car crash in Connecticut
• Sondra Lee, a veteran Broadway dancer with roles in ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Hello Dolly!’ dies at 97

Researchers with University of California-Santa Cruz and University of California-Davis made the announcement Wednesday, calling it the first detected outbreak of the virus among marine mammals in California.

The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of millions of domesticated birds and spread to wildlife around the world, and seals and sea lions appear to be particularly vulnerable to the disease. The virus has led to the deaths of thousands of sea lions in Chile and Peru, thousands of elephant seals in Argentina, and hundreds of seals in New England in recent years.

The virus is considered to be a low risk to humans, but officials said people should avoid approaching the seals and keep pets away from the animals.

Thousands of elephant seals come to Año Nuevo State Park, about 90 minutes south of San Francisco, every winter to fight, mate and give birth. The annual spectacle draws tourists and wildlife watchers eager to see the largest seals on the planet, some watching from public viewing areas and others signing up for docent-led guided walks through the breeding grounds, known as rookeries.

But for now, the viewing area is closed, and tours at Año Nuevo have been canceled “out of an abundance of caution,” said Jordan Burgess, the deputy district superintendent of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Officials hope the move will help prevent any spread of the disease that might be caused by people tracking through the areas where the elephant seals are living, she said.

“We’re definitely not panicking about human exposure at this point,” but rather trying to ensure the health of the seals and people in general, Burgess said.

• FILE – A female elephant seal watches visitors on a tour of Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez,File)
• FILE – People watch as elephant seals rest on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez,File)
• FILE – Elephant seals rest on a beach at Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez,File)
• FILE – Red Star chickens feed in their coop, Jan. 10, 2023, at Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview, Ill.(AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Show Caption1 of 4FILE – A female elephant seal watches visitors on a tour of Año Nuevo State Park, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Pescadero, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez,File) Expand

Christine Johnson, the director of the Institute for Pandemic Insights at UC Davis’ Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, said the outbreak was spotted quickly because researchers have been on high alert in recent years, watching for any sign of the arrival of the disease. After sick and dead animals were spotted on Feb. 19 and 20, researchers collected samples for testing at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System. The screening showed the animals were infected with HPAI H5N1 virus.

Tests on samples from about 30 more animals are still pending, Johnson said.

The university researchers are working with state and federal wildlife managers and The West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network to monitor the animals.

By ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was looking into whether it improperly withheld documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump were not among those released to the public.

Related Articles

• Florida House approves citizenship verification, new ID rules for voting
• Maduro’s lawyer says US is blocking Venezuela government from paying deposed leader’s drug defense
• Texas grand jury rejects indictments in fatal shooting of US citizen by federal immigration agent
• Bill and Hillary Clinton, battle-tested, gear up for another Washington fight
• Bill Gates ‘spoke candidly’ about Epstein ties at a Gates Foundation meeting, spokesperson says

The announcement followed news reports saying that a massive tranche of records released by the Justice Department did not include several summaries of interviews that the FBI conducted with an unidentified woman who came forward after Epstein’s 2019 arrest and claimed to have been sexually assaulted by both Trump and Epstein when she was a minor in the 1980s.

“Several individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files related to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her criminal case that they claim appear to be missing,” the Justice Department said in a post on X. “As with all documents that have been flagged by the public, the Department is currently reviewing files within that category of the production.” Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidant, is serving a 20-year prison sentence on a sex trafficking conviction.

It said that if any document is found to have been improperly withheld and is responsive to the federally enacted law mandating the files’ release, “the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law.”

At issue is a series of interviews said to have been conducted in 2019 with a woman who made an allegation against Trump, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. News reports from recent days say the accuser was interviewed four times but a summary of only one of those interviews was included in the publicly released files.

The missing records were earlier reported by the journalist Roger Sollenberger on Substack and NPR, and have since been documented by other news organizations, including The New York Times, MS Now and CNN.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that his panel would investigate the withheld records. He said he had reviewed unredacted evidence logs and “can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews” with the accuser.

The Justice Department last month said it was releasing more than 3 million pages of records related to Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The department said at the time that, though it was attempting to be transparent, it was also entitled to withhold records that exposed potential abuse victims, were duplicates or protected by legal privileges, or related to an ongoing criminal investigation.

“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the department said in a statement last month as it released the records.

The redaction process was quickly revealed to have been flawed, with the department withdrawing some materials identified by victims or their lawyers, along with a “substantial number” of documents identified independently by the government.

Lawyers for Epstein accusers told a New York judge last month that the lives of nearly 100 victims had been “turned upside down” by sloppy redactions in the government’s latest release of records. The exposed materials include nude photos showing the faces of potential victims as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.

Other uncorroborated claims against Trump and other public figures were included in the publicly available files. The department did not say in its social media post Wednesday why records related to this specific accusation might have been withheld.

General Daily Insight for February 26, 2026

Soft focus helps us hear quiet truths. As the nurturing Moon enters Cancer, we lean toward comfort, choosing slower steps and kinder words in the early hours. Soon after, Mercury turns retrograde in Pisces at 1:48 am EST, asking us to review messages and renegotiate plans while intuition steadies tricky conversations. We can tidy calendars, revisit promises, and reply with patience, allowing knowledge to unfurl as we take the time to rewrite what no longer fits. Slow fixes today make future choices feel lighter.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

What stories do you tell yourself about your past? As adroit Mercury starts reversing through your contemplative 12th house, its retrograde invites you to press pause on the cosmic movie in favor of reviewing what’s already happened. Old issues can clutter your mind, making it tough to move forward. Protect the time you have to rest! If you must be busy, try to work on less immediately visible tasks or refine your next move. Quiet prep strengthens your courage for clearer starts.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Progress returns as you slow plans down. Your 11th House of Connected Communities calls for review as cerebral Mercury goes retrograde, so group efforts may stall around demands for clearer roles. Your steady nature helps people breathe while you confirm who does what (and when, and where). Don’t push through mixed signals — stop and clear them up! You could also revisit a long-range dream with an ally, because practical pacing protects the friendship’s shared goal. Choose patience to keep teamwork solid.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Thinking fast doesn’t always mean you make great decisions (not right now, at least). Mercury whirls retrograde in your 10th House of Purpose, pulling attention to your long-term goals and how you talk about them. Be wary of technology, especially if you’ve got big presentations to make. Ready yourself for some glitches! You may also need to accept a few edits, because otherwise you could write something that sounds clever to you, but confuses everyone else. Remember: measure twice, cut once!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

This morning invites a thoughtful pause. Your 9th House of Growth receives the oft-muddled energy of Mercury Retrograde — travel plans, watch out! You’d be wise to spend this time planning a trip rather than actually booking or actively beginning one. When trying to learn something new, keep a careful eye on your sources to avoid accidentally memorizing false information. You can shine by helping others through this confusing time, particularly those who are learning or traveling at your side. Take your time.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Shared truths grow when fertilized with trust and patience. This may look like nothing much is happening as clever Mercury goes retrograde in your 8th House of Mutual Bills, inviting you to review agreements and analyze trust. If a legal document looks off, don’t hesitate to get the details and ask respectful questions before you propose a fair fix. It’s okay to have personal rules about lending money or avoiding other, similar risks. Keep collaborating and communicating, and solutions will eventually come to light.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Limits are a universal factor in every connection at this time, but they don’t have to be painful. Partnership thrives when messages stay kind, even as mental Mercury goes retrograde in your 7th House of Partnerships. If a partner or a client misunderstands you, don’t let it go unacknowledged. Show them you get their concerns, then explain how you’d handle them. Your eye for detail becomes an even greater gift when you’re willing to improve your process. Choose transparency to strengthen shared plans.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Where can simplicity bring harmony back? Small fixes prevent messes as information-gathering Mercury turns retrograde in your 6th House of Wellness, nudging you to refine routines and rest your body and mind. Be wary of double-booking yourself (or your entire group)! You may need to rework your schedule and send out a few apologies for missed commitments. Small adjustments brighten the day and let you enjoy working as a team without unfair stressors. Handle all details with care to support a continued steady peace.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Welcome honesty as soon as it knocks. Mischievous Mercury spins retrograde in your 5th House of Charm, which makes this a better time for second drafts and continued efforts rather than fresh starts or totally new ideas. Be wary of the temptation to read between the lines — even if someone isn’t saying everything, it’ll be extra tough to tell what, exactly, they do mean. Your depth helps you swim through confusion into a rich pool of connection. Don’t settle for half-truths; seek meaningful joy.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

You love possibilities, so retrace your steps to find some extra ones. You may be in and out the door all day long with Mercury reversing course through your family-centric 4th house. Factor in excess time for deliveries or errands, because you never know when you’ll have to adjust your timeline during Mercury Retrograde. You can still dream big while you tidy your base camp, because a lighter home makes room for fresh adventures. Organize first to help freedom feel more spacious.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Clear structure returns as you review messages. Your 3rd House of Day-tripping needs buffers as chatty Mercury goes retrograde, insisting upon all sorts of edits to plans you once thought were solid. Don’t take it too hard — just avoid making any particularly time-sensitive plans for this evening. Do your best to keep moving and stay level-headed. Your careful planning turns complex detours into smooth reroutes because you know the reliability of patience over speed today. Double-check directions to protect your responsible reputation.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Morning checks help money choices stay clear. Your 2nd House of Self-Worth requests a review as studious Mercury twirls retrograde, prompting checks on prices and subscriptions while you choose what deserves your hard-won resources. If a charge looks odd, contact support and keep screenshots to prove your point. Be willing to pause a purchase until the details line up! Search for smarter ways to save or share with style without losing your spark. Spend with intention to feel grounded and free.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Your voice strengthens as you turn inward. Mercury is moving retrograde in your sign, shifting attention to how others perceive you in varying circumstances. You may feel unusually sensitive, so do your best to find time to recharge your social batteries as necessary. Otherwise, you risk running on empty in a very visible way! Practice a script that protects your needs and honors your generous spirit. Gaining this space should let you be a social butterfly and get the rest your heart needs.

By JOE REEDY

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comments on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services.

Related Articles

• Hurricanes stun host FAU with seven runs in ninth to win 10th straight game
• Alex Condon scores 23 and No. 7 Florida turns back Texas 84-71 for 8th straight win
• Could Dolphins, with major need on edge, luck into keeping Hurricanes’ Rueben Bain in Miami?
• With all due respect to Riley, Heat’s Spoelstra explains why he’s not suited to suits
• ‘Whirlwind’ month takes Panthers rookie Sandis Vilmanis from AHL to Olympics

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the request for comment Wednesday. The comment period runs through March 27 and replies to the comments are due April 13.

“For decades, Americans enjoyed turning on their TV & quickly finding the game they wanted to see. Yet watching your favorite team play isn’t as easy these day. Many games are still on broadcast, but an increasing number are on a range of different online platforms,” Carr posted. “Today, the FCC asks for comment on sports rights and broadcasting. We want to understand the marketplace today, the experience of consumers, and how the changes impact the ability of broadcast TV stations to continue delivering local news, information, and other programming.”

Last year, the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings from the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB on whether antitrust exemptions should still be granted for coordinating their broadcast television rights.

The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to broadcast television. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other mediums, including cable, satellite and streaming.

The Sports Broadcasting Act includes a rule allowing blackouts of local games, which still applies to out-of-market packages sold by the leagues. The NFL ended local TV blackouts, which applied to games within 75 miles of a team’s market if they did not sell out 72 hours before kickoff, after the 2014 season.

The public notice Wednesday said NFL games aired on “10 different services, which, according to some estimates, could cost a consumer over $1,500 to watch all games.”

The NFL aired games last season on CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube TV.

Forbes estimated the cost of watching every NFL game via streaming last season at $765.

The NFL also offers most of its games on broadcast television, including options for all local games on cable or streaming.

“The NFL has the most accessible, fan-friendly distribution model across all of sports and entertainment, with over 87% of our games shown on free broadcast television in addition to numerous, popular digital platforms,” the league said in a statement to AP.

All four of the major North American professional sports leagues have deals with streaming platforms.

The NBA is in the first season of an 11-year deal where games on Monday nights are shown on Peacock, while Amazon Prime Video also has games, mostly on Thursday and Friday nights.

MLB agreed to three-year deals with Netflix and Peacock that begin this season.

The NHL is in the fifth season of its seven-year rights deal where some games appear on ESPN+ and Hulu.

The FCC is asking the public to answer a wide range of questions, including:

• With respect to the sports media marketplace, how have recent developments in the marketplace affected the ability of broadcasters to obtain media rights to sports programming?
• How have changes in the marketplace affected viewers’ ability to watch nationally televised live sports, as well as their local team(s), on broadcast TV?
• How prevalent are sports media rights deals between local TV broadcasters and local sports teams and what are their terms and conditions?
• How have changes in the marketplace impacted costs to consumers?

The last two questions are becoming increasingly significant due to the demise of regional sports networks.

Diamond Sports Group was the largest owner of regional sports networks when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2023.

At the time of the filing, Diamond operated 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner and had the rights to 42 professional teams (14 baseball, 16 NBA and 12 NHL).

The networks emerged from bankruptcy last March under Main Street Sports Group, with their networks rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network. However, they are on the verge of insolvency and could go out of business if a new majority owner or investors are not found.

MLB will handle production and distribution for 15 of its 30 teams this season after Main Street Sports Group failed to make scheduled rights payments to seven teams.

Main Street currently has 15 owned-and-operated networks under the FanDuel banner, with rights to 20 pro teams: 13 NBA and seven NHL. It has committed to airing games for its remaining teams through the end of the regular season but is likely to go out of business after that.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports