South Florida Local News

Today is Thursday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2025. There are 272 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 3, 1996, Theodore Kaczynski (kah-ZIHN’-skee), also known as the Unabomber, was arrested at his remote Montana cabin by FBI agents.

Also on this date:

In 1860, the first Pony Express mail delivery rides began; one heading west from St. Joseph, Missouri, and one heading east from Sacramento, California.

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In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed in St. Joseph, Missouri, by Robert Ford, a member of James’ gang.

In 1936, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was electrocuted in Trenton, New Jersey, for the kidnap-murder of 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr.

In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Smith v. Allwright, struck down a Democratic Party of Texas rule that allowed only white voters to participate in Democratic primaries.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan, designed to help European allies rebuild after World War II and resist communism.

In 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what was to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, “I’ve been to the mountaintop. … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!” (The following day, King was killed by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.)

In 1973, the first handheld portable telephone was demonstrated for reporters on a New York City street corner as Motorola executive Martin Cooper called Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.

In 1974, an outbreak of tornadoes began hitting wide parts of the South and Midwest before jumping across the border into Canada; 148 tornadoes caused more than 300 fatalities in what became known as the 1974 Super Outbreak.

In 1996, a U.S. Air Force jet crashed as it approached Dubrovnik, Croatia; all 35 people on board were killed, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.

Today’s birthdays:

• Conservationist Jane Goodall is 91.
• Actor Marsha Mason is 83.
• Singer Wayne Newton is 83.
• Singer Tony Orlando is 81.
• Singer-songwriter Richard Thompson is 76.
• Actor Alec Baldwin is 67.
• Actor David Hyde Pierce is 66.
• Actor-comedian Eddie Murphy is 64.
• Celebrity chef Cat Cora is 58.
• Olympic skiing gold medalist Picabo Street is 54.
• Actor Jennie Garth is 53.
• Actor Adam Scott is 52.
• Football Hall of Famer Jared Allen is 43.
• Actor Cobie Smulders is 43.
• Singer Leona Lewis is 40.
• Actor-comedian Rachel Bloom is 38.

TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner scored the goal-ahead goal midway through the third period, Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 in an Atlantic Division showdown Wednesday night.

John Tavares and Matthew Knies also scored to help division-leading Toronto wrap up a playoff spot and and move three points ahead of Tampa Bay and four in front of Florida. Marner and Knies also had assists.

Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist for defending Stanley Cup champion Florida. Gustav Forsling also scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots.

In the past three games, the Panthers are 0-2-1 against the Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, and play at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Takeaways

Panthers: Florida was without captain Aleksander Barkov (upper-body injury) after he was hurt Tuesday night in a 3-2 overtime loss in Montreal. The club also continues to play without star forward Matthew Tkachuk (lower-body injury) and defenseman Aaron Ekblad, (20-game suspension).

Key moment

Marner made it 2-1 with 9:10 left after Bobrovsky, who stopped Bobby McMann on a breakaway moments earlier, couldn’t squeeze the initial shot off the stick of Auston Matthews.

BOSTON — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 124-103 victory over the Boston Celtics:

– Yes, the goal is greater than learning experiences.

– And, yes, victories are paramount at this stage.

– But it sure helps going forward to know what you have going forward.

– That’s what made this one matter regardless of result.

– Pelle Larsson? Willing to stand up defensively to the likes of Jayson Tatum.

– Kyle Anderson? Still can slow play his way to meaningful scoring.

– Davion Mitchell? Won’t back down (even if that can be to his detriment).

– Bit players in the bigger Heat picture?

– Sure. but every team needs contributing role players.

– Particularly when confidence wanes with Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

– So, yes, in the midst of all the emotion of Wednesday night, still a learning experience.

– And a meaningful one for whatever comes next in the next iteration of Erik Spoelstra’s team.

– With Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson again out, the Heat for the third consecutive game opened with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware, Alec Burks, Tyler Herro and Larsson.

– With Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford out for Boston, the Celtics opened with Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet.

– With Mitchell back, Spoelstra got back to a first substitution of Mitchell and Highsmith entering together.

– Mitchell was back after missing Monday night’s victory in Washington with a stomach illness.

– “I kind of felt it in the morning time. But what really did it is when I got on the bus,” he said of Monday’s trip to the arena. “It really started coming out, I started throwing up and I was like I can’t do it. You know what, I tried, but I just couldn’t do it.”

– He said he was not surprised teammates stepped up.

– “Honestly, I just think that anybody on this team, anybody on the bench, can play really heavy minutes on any other team,” Mitchell said. “I think that’s how good we are. We just have really good players.”

– The Heat rotation then was altered when Spoelstra lost a challenge with 5:37, leaving Adebayo with a second foul and a seat on the bench.

– Anderson then entered as the Heat’s third reserve.

– At one point in the opening period, that had the Heat with an unlikely playoff-race lineup of Ware, Highsmith, Anderson, Mitchell and Larsson.

– Even with the game the start of a back-to-back set, Spoelstra kept the rotation tight early.

– So no Rozier or Jaquez.

– Spoelstra smiled pregame when asked about having coached several Celtics in his role as an assistant with USA Basketball.

– “I mentioned to all of the Celtics from that summer, I hated myself for actually liking them,” he said. “And then admitting it, I hated myself even more. Just quality human beings, great competitors, great basketball players.”

Related Articles

• Heat extend win streak to six with 124-103 statement victory in Boston
• No Heat celebration for clinching play-in berth, but ‘something to play for’
• Tyler Herro relishing life in the 70s amid his ever-present Heat reality
• ASK IRA: Has Heat’s Pelle Larsson made himself a rotation regular?
• Does Heat’s Jaquez have a shot? Maybe yes, after all; Wiggins, Robinson again out

– Going into the game, Spoelstra said the connection within the team has been strong amid this drive to regain footing in the standings.

– “Even when we were going through those tough times, you felt like the process was getting better and the connection was getting better, where we felt like we were competing for each other and competing for something bigger than each individual,” he said after the morning shootaround.

– He continued, “Enjoying somebody else’s success and pouring life into someone else is such a big karma mover, and we needed to get the karma moving in our direction. And the guys enjoy it, they enjoy the whole experience better. I think everybody is able to see we’re able to compete at a collective level higher when those things are happening.”

– With the Celtics hoisting 3-pointers at a record pace, Spoelstra said such is the reality of today’s NBA.

– “There are other teams also that are playing similarly to that,” Spoelstra said. “They just do it more efficiently than most teams. So it’s not only that they’re getting the volume, but they hit the timely ones in those inflection moments during the course of the game.”

– He added, “I think they probably do that better than most teams. And you have to extend your defense appropriately to try to take that away.”

BOSTON — So what if this is who the Miami Heat are, or at least can be, in the post-Jimmy Butler era?

What if the 10-game losing streak was, as coach Erik Spoelstra insisted, a period of discovery?

What if from the depths of the play-in round there can be yet another postseason breakout?

Why those questions now?

Because now there has been a statement victory, one against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics.

Wednesday night the winning streak reached six with a 124-103 victory at TD Garden, a statement win even if the Celtics were without Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.

“When we were in that 10-game losing streak, you kind of look at this and we like this feeling better than the other one,” center and team captain Bam Adebayo said, with his team now on its longest winning streak of the season.

This wasn’t wiping the floor with the lottery-bound Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers or Washington Wizards during this streak. This wasn’t last week pushing past the perennially play-in Atlanta Hawks. This wasn’t last week beating a Golden State Warriors roster lacking Stephen Curry.

This was beating Boston with both of its best present.

“We have six games now to get ready for this second season and our locker room is alive,” Spoelstra said of the games remaining in the regular season. “It’s been alive even when we were losing games.”

So, yes, it just might be getting real, even if the standings say otherwise.

This was not only Tyler Herro with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds. It wasn’t just Adebayo with 21 points, six assists and five rebounds.

This was Spoelstra’s team playing just eight when the game was in the balance and getting the best from all eight, including a season-high19 points from Kyle Anderson and 16 points from Pelle Larsson.

For the Celtics, there were 24 points from Brown but only 16 from Tatum, who struggled to 4-of-17 shooting, largely against the defense of Larsson.

“We had a game plan, we stuck to it and we were able to control the game from the very beginning,” Herro said.

So, at 56-20, the Celtics move on to better days. But at 35-41, the Heat slowly are creating better days of their own.

Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday night’s game:

1. Closing time: The Heat led 29-22 after the first period and 59-45 at halftime.

A wild third quarter followed, with the Heat pushing their lead to 22, the Celtics rallying within three, and the Heat then pushing back to a 91-81 lead entering the fourth.

The Celtics then made it a five-point game early in the fourth, before the Heat pushed to a 15-point lead midway through the final period.

“Well, we’ve had a lot of experience with it,” Spoelstra said of late opposing surges. “We’ve had a lot of pain with it. So we’ve had a lot of opportunities to work at it.”

From there, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla hoisted the white flag with 5:02 to play, pulling Tatum, Brown and Derrick White with his team down 111-96.

“We’ve had a lot of games to practice that,” Larsson said of finally stepping up to an opposing rally. “We’ve been in those situations and we’ve learned from it, so that’s what I’m most happy about.”

2. Adjustments required: Not only were the Heat shorthanded, but they then were forced to shuffle their rotation when Adebayo was forced to the bench with his second foul with 5:37 left in the opening period.

Spoelstra unsuccessfully challenged that second Adebayo foul, left without a challenge the balance of the night.

But even with the game opening a back-to-back set, Spoelstra kept the rotation tight, with an eight-player first-half rotation until it was decided, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Terry Rozier out of the mix.

“We’re just trying to take care of our business and continue to try to play well, compete hard, have this connectivity that’s growing as this season is going on and prepare,” Spoelstra said,

The victory pulled the Heat within one game of the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks and within 1 1/2 of the No. 7 Orlando Magic.

Related Articles

• Winderman’s view: Heat school Celtics as part of productive learning experience
• No Heat celebration for clinching play-in berth, but ‘something to play for’
• Tyler Herro relishing life in the 70s amid his ever-present Heat reality
• ASK IRA: Has Heat’s Pelle Larsson made himself a rotation regular?
• Does Heat’s Jaquez have a shot? Maybe yes, after all; Wiggins, Robinson again out

3. Supporting cast: The rotation might have been tight, but it also was efficient, with contributions across the board.

Included in those efforts was rookie second-round pick Larsson helping stifle Tatum to a 1-of-10 start, Anderson providing relief points, Davion Mitchell continuing with his unexpected 3-point contributions and Haywood Highsmith contributing defense and hustle.

“I think we can compete with anybody. We’ve shown that,” Anderson said. “And the most important time of the year is coming up in two weeks, so we’ll see.”

4. Dual shorthanded: As often is the case during the waning days of the regular season, both teams were shorthanded. While the Heat were without Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson and Nikola Jovic, among others, the Celtics sat Holiday, Porzingis and Horford.

“I feel like we’ve been doing the same thing,” Spoelstra said of mix-and-matchups and having to update scouting reports on the fly. “We’ve had a different lineup out there pretty frequently.

“We’re at a point of the season that who cares? We’re trying to take care of our business. We’re trying to play good basketball, do it consistently and prepare.”

The Heat did not offer an update Wednesday on Wiggins’ potential availability going forward.

5. Up next: Next up for the Heat is a three-game homestand that will go a long way toward determining their play-in seeding.

First it’s the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night, followed by the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night and Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

As it is, the Memphis game will mark the second time this season the Heat have had to come home after a lengthy trip for the second game of a back-to-back set, having also done so against the 76ers in November.

“That doesn’t matter,” Spoelstra said. “We all have back-to-backs. We’re not afraid of those.”

Thursday concludes the Heat’s 15th and final back-to-back set of the season, with a 7-7 record on the second nights of such pairings.

MIAMI (AP) — Pete Alonso launched a three-run homer that tied the score with two outs in the eighth inning and the New York Mets scored twice in the 11th to beat the Miami Marlins 6-5 on Wednesday.

Alonso also doubled twice and finished with four RBIs. All three of his hits came off the bat at 113 mph or more.

Juan Soto scored three times for the Mets, who used eight pitchers and took two of three in the series to finish 3-3 on their season-opening trip. They play their home opener Friday against Toronto.

Alonso drew a leadoff walk from Xzavion Curry (0-1) in the 11th, and Brandon Nimmo’s single loaded the bases with nobody out. Jesse Winker walked to give the Mets a 5-4 lead, and Alonso scored on an error by shortstop Xavier Edwards.

José Buttó (1-0) threw two perfect innings on just 15 pitches. Huascar Brazobán, traded from the Marlins to the Mets last July, entered with two on to protect a 6-5 lead and got two outs for his first save in 119 major league appearances.

Edwards had four hits for Miami, including an RBI single off Danny Young to start the bottom of the 11th. Griffin Conine added three hits.

Key moment

With the game tied at 4 in the bottom of the eighth, it appeared the speedy Edwards scored the go-ahead run for Miami with a headfirst slide when he dashed home from third on a grounder to second baseman Brett Baty. But the call at the plate was overturned following a replay challenge, and Edwards was ruled out.

Key stat

Alonso’s homer ended a nine-pitch at-bat against Calvin Faucher.

Up next

The Mets are off Thursday before RHP Tylor Megill (1-0) starts the home opener against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (1-0).

Miami visits Atlanta on Friday. Spencer Schwellenbach (0-0) pitches for the Braves, but the Marlins hadn’t announced a scheduled starter.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

With the annual Orange and Blue Game next weekend, the Florida Gators took the field at spring practice Tuesday for the first simulated competition of the offseason.

Despite a slow start, coach Billy Napier seemed pleased with the result after his new groups went head-to-head.

“We lacked a little bit of energy in the very beginning, but it ramped up. It got competitive pretty quick,” he said. “I’m never satisfied at this point.”

After the scrimmage Napier noted solid performances from his running back and receiver rooms and provided an update on quarterback DJ Lagway.

Lagway still a no-go, won’t throw at Orange and Blue

Fans have been rightfully anxious about the Lagway’s health. The sophomore, who took over midseason in 2024 and is expected to lead a Florida resurgence in ’25, hasn’t thrown all spring because of a lingering hip and shoulder injuries.

Napier has said repeatedly that the decision was made with abundance of caution and repeatedly reminds everyone that Lagway is participating in other ways;  he just isn’t throwing.

The coach confirmed that Lagway didn’t throw in the scrimmage, either, and will be as limited at the annual spring game.

“He actually played quite a few plays today,” Napier said. “He’s just been modified in terms of his ability to throw the ball. Obviously, it’s really more of a holistic approach in terms of what we’re doing with him. But in general, he’s doing great.”

Napier said he’s liking the positives from his other signal-callers while they throw in place of Lagway, particularly redshirt sophomore Aidan Warner from Winter Park. 

“I thought for the most part, when the pocket was clean, that they were effective,” Napier said. “I thought Aiden, in particular, did a lot of good things.”

Warner will be the main thrower at the spring game as Lagway rehabs.

Receivers, pass rush making plays

Florida’s deep, athletic and talented receiver room has been well-discussed. Tre Wilson, Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson have gotten a lot of attention. 

And while Napier credited the entire room with making plays at Tuesday’s scrimmage, Boone’s Aidan Mizell stood out, scoring early on.

“The backs and the receiver group, even the tight ends, made a few plays today,” Napier said. “I thought that Mizell — with his ability to run after the catch — showed up. He had a big touchdown early. But in general, I would say [with] the offensive skill today there was a lot of good things.”

Mizell, a redshirt sophomore, put up just 202 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 receptions last season. He’ll look to take a step forward on the field and as a leader this season.

The Gators’ offense has received a lot of hype, but the the EDGE group was particularly dominant, according to reports from inside the scrimmage.

“We got some guys that can rush,” Napier said. “And you add pressure into that. Some of those backers are pretty good, too.”

Depending on how you look at it, this could be a worrisome sign for Florida’s pass protection.

A line returning four starters, however, doesn’t project to be a lingering issue for the Gators.

“[It’s] the best offensive line group we’ve had since we’ve been here as a whole,” Napier said.

Instead, Napier and others within the facility have chosen to view the pass rush production as a sign that both sides of the trenches will be on point this season  and have encouraged competition between the groups.

Florida will hold its Orange and Blue Game April 12 at 1 p.m.

“I’m excited about our fans being here, and there’s no doubt they’ll have an opportunity to watch all these new players that we have, and then a lot of these young players that we’re developing,” Napier said. “It’s going to be an awesome day.”

A woman who was sexually assaulted last August while cleaning an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale has filed a lawsuit against the company and the property owner — and is still waiting to see the unidentified perpetrator arrested seven months later.

The woman, who is identified in the lawsuit filed in Broward County on Wednesday only as Jane Doe, was cleaning the Airbnb at 509 SE 19th Street on Aug. 28, 2024, according to the complaint. One group of guests had just checked out and she was preparing the place for the next arrival, her attorney Kim Wald told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The complaint said “an intruder broke into the house and violently assaulted and raped Jane Doe” as she was doing her job with a cleaning company.

Fort Lauderdale Police said in a statement Wednesday that the woman was listening to music and cleaning when the man came up behind her.

The unidentified man threw her onto the ground, pulled out a knife and zip tied the woman to restrain her, the police department said. She was restrained “and suffering from visible injuries” when officers arrived about 2 p.m. She was taken as a trauma alert to Broward Health Medical Center.

The age, height and weight of the man aren’t known, the police department said, only his race, hair length and the color of the clothes he was wearing at the time. No one has been arrested, and the investigation is still ongoing.

“That is another one of the reasons that our client was brave enough to come forward — to see if there is anybody out there that has information that can help her,” Wald said. “She doesn’t want to see any other guest or traveler or worker like herself being put in this type of situation.”

Wald said there were two previous issues at the same Airbnb prior to the assault of her client, one of them happening just a week earlier.

One month before the sexual assault, a customer reported their laptop was stolen while they were staying at the short-term rental. Then on Aug. 21, 2024, “an unknown man broke in through a window and locked himself inside the unit after being found by guests lying in their bed,” according to the complaint. There was also at least one complaint on the Airbnb’s website “about the lack of safety at this subject property.”

Fort Lauderdale Police in their statement said the suspects in the two earlier crimes “have been ruled out as suspects” in the sexual assault case.

The owner of the property and operator of the Airbnb could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. Court records and attorney information were not available.

“We take the safety of our community seriously. We are investigating the incident reported and have suspended the listing from the platform during that time,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in an email Wednesday night.

Authorities ask anyone with information about the sexual assault or identity of the suspect to contact Det. Sgt. Hector Martinez at 954-828-5510 or to anonymously contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

General Daily Insight for April 03, 2025

Emotions won’t be ignored. The sensitive Moon grumbles at balanced Venus, providing a look at how making space for our emotions is necessary for inner peace. Even the best connections can have awkward moments. The Moon then struggles with communicative Mercury, which may make it difficult to express those innermost feelings — or, contrastingly, incite oversharing. The Moon moves into its home sign of nurturing Cancer at 6:50 pm EDT, giving us an opportunity to rest and recuperate. Make time to heal.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

You’re moving from the head to the heart. You may have been trying to work out a problem all in your head, with logic and facts, but your heart has been the factor that you can’t quite puzzle out. Sometimes the way that you feel just isn’t cohesive to the plan. It can be what throws the whole thing off in a good way! Even if it seems like a problem at the time, you feel this way for a reason. Trust your heart.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

What have you been keeping inside for too long? You may have been trying to protect someone’s feelings by keeping this information to yourself, but you’re ready to acknowledge and stand up for your truth. Such things must be expressed at some point, before they explode! There’s a sort of relief to saying something that you’ve been pushing deep down inside for a while. It may even feel like a burden has been lifted once you have set it free. Stop carrying this around.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You don’t have to do everything on your own. Even though you are capable of blazing a trail for yourself, you may have gone as far as you can go in a certain direction on your own. If you need a partner or a mentor to keep going, that’s totally normal. Remind yourself that asking for help isn’t weak. In fact, knowing what you need to keep making progress and asking for it shows strengths. We are all here to help each other.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Secrets can be laid to rest. You might not be telling this secret outright — it’s possibly not even your secret to tell. Still, it’s wise to get it out of your head. Write it down on a piece of paper and let it burn in a safe, controlled method, or keep it in a journal, just to know that it’s no longer being kept inside you. This can free you from the worry you might have felt while keeping it. Write it away.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

You may be getting some much-needed alone time. This is particularly necessary if you feel like you have to be “on” when in front of a crowd, whether you’re entertaining others or leading the pack. This is your time to enjoy some rest. Instead of being available at everyone’s beck and call, you must make time for yourself and your solitude, otherwise you’ll eventually get burnt out. No matter how much you might want to, you can’t be everything for everyone.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Taking the lead is not necessary. This doesn’t mean that you’re changing jobs or that you need to give over your power to someone else, but a situation is likely to arise that encourages you to work as part of a group rather than the group leader. You could have a vision or design that would lead you all to victory, but the personalities that you’re working with or your ultimate goal may require you to let all players decide. Be a team player.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

You’re being challenged to put what you’ve learned into practice. You have learned about important ways in which you can improve the world around you, but your efforts might get some pushback from the people around you who aren’t so fond of change. Introducing unknown concepts to those who aren’t interested in adjusting to them can be tough, but you have the power to do what you think is right. Even when it’s unpopular, if you know better, make an effort to do better.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Hidden information may come to light without warning. You might have been keeping someone else’s secret under wraps when they choose to publicize it, allowing you to speak freely, or you may have been keeping a secret of your own that you’re finally able to share with everyone around you. The lightness of getting this off your back could feel odd at first. Sit with this for as long as you need — then you can leap into your new reality, unbound!

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

A surface-level relationship may become deeper. This isn’t necessarily a romantic relationship, although it can be. Whatever the context, it’s most likely to be a connection that was shallow before today, until it receives this chance to deepen. This could be a friendship that gains more complexity, a date that becomes more serious, or an acquaintance who makes remarkably engaging conversation. However you see your emotional roots deepening, be open to being vulnerable and allowing others to do the same.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

A con could become a pro. You may have been hoping for a change, but once it arrives, its method of delivery might be shocking or abrupt. Maybe you’re recognizing how something that you thought was a chore is actually benefitting you, such as an odd schedule providing you with the time to go to an event, or a co-worker who drove you up the wall becoming an ally of yours. When you actively acknowledge such things, this gratitude can reveal further goodness.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Your creativity is nourished by your ongoing consistency. The areas where you have been committed will become very obvious at any moment, because you’re likely to see the fruits of your labor ripening and falling in your lap. If you’ve been floating through life without devoting time and energy to any of your passions, this is still an excellent time to take a look at where your time and energy should be channeled more directly. Look for what makes you feel a spark.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Let your feelings be your guide. You might be feeling lost, potentially even struggling to know what you want out of life in general. This fog isn’t permanent — your passions and intuition are ready to guide you. Pursuing what you think will make you happy versus what actually makes you happy will be a major theme in your life, as the cosmos asks you to strike a balance between fun and responsibility. Don’t let fear of the future stop you from following your heart.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The sweeping new tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump were met initially with measured reactions from key trading partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full-fledged trade war.

The fact that the tariffs fell most heavily on parts of the world sleeping through the night appeared to at least temporarily delay some of the potential outrage.

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump presented the import taxes, which he calls “reciprocal tariffs” and range from 10% to 49%, in the simplest terms: the U.S. would do to its trading partners what he said they had been doing to the U.S. for decades.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

The president promised that “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” He framed it not just as an economic issue, but a question of national security that threatens “our very way of life.”

‘Nobody wants a trade war’

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the British government said the United States remains the U.K.’s “closest ally.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the U.K. hoped to strike a trade deal to “mitigate the impact” of the 10% tariffs on British goods announced by Trump.

“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal,” said Reynolds. “But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the U.K.’s national interest.”

Related Articles

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• Watch: Trump announces new ‘reciprocal’ tariffs in financial and political gamble
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British officials have said they will not immediately retaliate, an approach backed by the Confederation of British Industry, a major business group.

Italy’s conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni described the new 20% tariffs against the European Union as “wrong,” saying they benefit neither side.

“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the aim of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favor of other global players,” Meloni said in a Facebook post. “In any case, as always, we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy, also by discussing with other European partners,” she added.

Little to gain

Spared for the moment from the latest round of tariffs were Mexico and Canada, so far as goods that already qualified under their free trade agreement with the United States. Yet, the previously announced 25% tariffs on auto imports were scheduled to take effect at midnight.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she would wait to take action on Thursday when it was clear how Trump’s announcement would affect Mexico.

“It’s not a question of if you impose tariffs on me, I’m going to impose tariffs on you,” she said in a news briefing Wednesday morning. “Our interest is in strengthening the Mexican economy.”

Canada had imposed retaliatory tariffs in response to the 25% tariffs that Trump tied to the trafficking of fentanyl. The European Union, in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, imposed taxes on 26 billion euros’ worth ($28 billion) of U.S. goods, including bourbon, prompting Trump to threaten a 200% tariff on European alcohol.

As Trump read down the list of countries that would be targeted Wednesday, he repeatedly said he didn’t blame them for the tariffs and non-tariff barriers they imposed to protect their own nations’ businesses. “But we’re doing the same thing right now,” he said.

“In the face of unrelenting economic warfare, the United States can no longer continue with a policy of unilateral economic surrender,” Trump said.

Speaking from a business forum in India, Chilean President Gabriel Boric warned that such measures, in addition to causing uncertainty, challenge the “mutually agreed rules” and the “principles that govern international trade.”

Ultimately, Trump announced Chile would face the baseline reciprocal tariff of 10%. The U.S. is Chile’s second most important trading partner after China.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Analysts say there’s little to be gained from an all-out trade war, neither in the United States or in other countries.

“Once again, Trump has put Europe at a crossroads,” said Matteo Villa, senior analyst at Italy’s Institute for International Political Studies.

“If Trump really imposes high tariffs, Europe will have to respond, but the paradox is that the EU would be better off doing nothing,” he added.

Villa also noted that retaliation would certainly be a further “blow” to the United States, but it would hurt Europe even more, as the EU bloc depends more on exports to the U.S. than vice versa.

“On the other hand, Trump seems to understand only the language of force, and this indicates the need for a strong and immediate response,” Villa said. “Probably the hope, in Brussels, is that the response will be strong enough to induce Trump to negotiate and, soon, to backtrack.”

AP journalists around the world contributed to this story.

The Miami Hurricanes continue to add offensive linemen to its 2026 class, securing a commitment from three-star lineman JJ Sparks on Wednesday evening.

Sparks, who announced his commitment on social media, joins Joel Ervin as recent Hurricanes commits on the offensive line. Ervin committed on March 29.

“First and foremost I want to thank God for blessing me with this opportunity,” Sparks wrote on social media. “To my family for their love and support. To my coaches thank you for pushing me to be the best version of myself on and off the field. After much prayer and consideration I’m proud to announce my commitment to the University of Miami.”

Sparks, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound interior lineman, is listed as the No. 71 interior lineman and No. 805 player in the 247Sports composite ranking. He chose Miami over offers from Florida State, North Carolina and UCF, among others. He visited Miami last week.

Sparks, a Bolles lineman who was an All-County selection by the Florida Times-Union, has been a starter for the Jacksonville powerhouse since he was a freshman.

Miami’s coaches like Sparks’ size, IQ and ability to mirror and slide in pass protection, in addition to his athleticism in the open field, a source told the Sun Sentinel. The Hurricanes view him as a likely center in college.

The Hurricanes have two other offensive line prospects in their 2026 class: Ervin and four-star offensive tackle Ben Congdon.

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Val Kilmer, the brooding, versatile actor who played fan favorite Iceman in “Top Gun,” donned a voluminous cape as Batman in “Batman Forever” and portrayed Jim Morrison in “The Doors,” has died. He was 65.

Kilmer died Tuesday night in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and friends, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in an email to The Associated Press.

Val Kilmer died from pneumonia. He had recovered after a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies.

“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed,” he says toward the end of “Val,” the 2021 documentary on his career. “And I am blessed.”

Kilmer, the youngest actor ever accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School at the time he attended, experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most. His break came in 1984’s spy spoof “Top Secret!” followed by the comedy “Real Genius” in 1985. Kilmer would later show his comedy chops again in films including “MacGruber” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

FILE – Val Kilmer poses for a portrait, Jan. 9, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

His movie career hit its zenith in the early 1990s as he made a name for himself as a dashing leading man, starring alongside Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton in 1993’s “Tombstone,” as Elvis’ ghost in “True Romance” and as a bank-robbing demolition expert in Michael Mann’s 1995 film “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

The actor — who took part in the Method branch of Suzuki arts training — threw himself into parts. When he played Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” he filled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis. To play Morrison, he wore leather pants all the time, asked castmates and crew to only refer to him as Jim Morrison and blasted The Doors for a year.

That intensity also gave Kilmer a reputation that he was difficult to work with, something he grudgingly agreed with later in life, but always defending himself by emphasizing art over commerce.

FILE – Val Kilmer poses for a portrait in New York, Tuesday, April 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

“In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad of Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio,” he wrote in his memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry.”

One of his more iconic roles — hotshot pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise — almost didn’t happen. Kilmer was courted by director Tony Scott for “Top Gun” but initially balked. “I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” he wrote in his memoir. He agreed after being promised that his role would improve from the initial script. He would reprise the role in the film’s 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

One career nadir was playing Batman in Joel Schumacher’s goofy, garish “Batman Forever” with Nicole Kidman and opposite Chris O’Donnell‘s Robin — before George Clooney took up the mantle for 1997’s “Batman & Robin” and after Michael Keaton played the Dark Knight in 1989’s “Batman” and 1992’s “Batman Returns.”

Janet Maslin in The New York Times said Kilmer was “hamstrung by the straight-man aspects of the role,” while Roger Ebert deadpanned that he was a “completely acceptable” substitute for Keaton. Kilmer, who was one and done as Batman, blamed much of his performance on the suit.

The Times was the first to report his death on Tuesday.

“When you’re in it, you can barely move and people have to help you stand up and sit down,” Kilmer said in “Val.” “You also can’t hear anything and after a while people stop talking to you, it’s very isolating. It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit, and it was frustrating until I realised that my role in the film was just to show up and stand where I was told to.”

FILE – Actor Val Kilmer attends the British premiere of his new movie “Alexander” in London, Jan. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/John D McHugh, File)

His next projects were the film version of the 1960s TV series “The Saint” — fussily putting on wigs, accents and glasses — and “The Island of Dr. Moreau” with Marlon Brando, which became one of the decade’s most infamously cursed productions.

David Gregory’s 2014 documentary “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau,” described a cursed set that included a hurricane, Kilmer bullying director Richard Stanley, the firing of Stanley via fax (who sneaked back on set as an extra with a mask on) and extensive rewrites by Kilmer and Brando. The older actor told the younger at one point: “‘It’s a job now, Val. A lark. We’ll get through it.’ I was as sad as I’ve ever been on a set,” Kilmer wrote in his memoir.

In 1996, Entertainment Weekly ran a cover story about Kilmer titled ″The Man Hollywood Loves to Hate.″ The directors Schumacher and John Frankenheimer, who finished “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” said he was difficult. Frankenheimer said there were two things he would never do: ″Climb Mount Everest and work with Val Kilmer again.″

Other artists came to his defense, like D. J. Caruso, who directed Kilmer in ″The Salton Sea″ and said the actor simply liked to talk out scenes and enjoyed having a director’s attention.

″Val needs to immerse himself in a character. I think what happened with directors like Frankenheimer and Schumacher is that Val would ask a lot of questions, and a guy like Schumacher would say, ‘You’re Batman! Just go do it,’″ Caruso told The New York Times in 2002.

After “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” the movies were smaller, like David Mamet human-trafficking thriller “Spartan”; ″Joe the King″ in 1999, in which he played a paunchy, abusive alcoholic; and playing the doomed ’70s porn star John Holmes in 2003’s “Wonderland.” He also threw himself into his one-man stage show “Citizen Twain,” in which he played Mark Twain.

“I enjoy the depth and soul the piece has that Twain had for his fellow man and America,” he told Variety in 2018. “And the comedy that’s always so close to the surface, and how valuable his genius is for us today. Still, we battle racism and greed. The same country, it’s greatness and it’s tragedy.”

Kilmer spent his formative years in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles. He attended Chatsworth High School alongside future Oscar winner Kevin Spacey and future Emmy winner Mare Winningham. At 17, he was the youngest drama student ever admitted at the Juilliard School in 1981.

Shortly after he left for Juilliard, his younger brother, 15-year-old Wesley, suffered an epileptic seizure in the family’s Jacuzzi and died on the way to the hospital. Wesley was an aspiring filmmaker when he died.

″I miss him and miss his things. I have his art up. I like to think about what he would have created. I’m still inspired by him,″ Kilmer told the Times.

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While still at Juilliard, Kilmer co-wrote and appeared in the play “How It All Began” and later turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders” for the Broadway play, “Slab Boys,” alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn.

Kilmer published two books of poetry (including “My Edens After Burns”) and was nominated for a Grammy in 2012 for spoken word album for “The Mark of Zorro.” He was also a visual artist and a lifelong Christian Scientist.

He dated Cher, and married and divorced actor Joanne Whalley.

He is survived by their two children, Mercedes and Jack.

Kennedy reported from New York.

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Judge Susan Crawford preserved liberals’ narrow majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday by defeating conservative Brad Schimel, but in a way the real loser of the election was billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk and his affiliated groups sunk at least $21 million into the normally low-profile race and paid three individual voters $1 million each for signing a petition in an effort to goose turnout in the pivotal battleground state contest. That made the race the first major test of the political impact of Musk, whose prominence in President Donald Trump’s administration has skyrocketed with his chaotic cost-cutting initiative that has slashed federal agencies.

Crawford and the Democrats who backed her made Musk the focus of their arguments for holding the seat, contending he was “buying” the election, which set records for the costliest judicial race in history.

“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in her victory speech. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”

Elon Musk speaks at a town hall holding a check Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Trump endorsed Schimel as the race turned into a proxy fight over national political issues. The state’s high court can rule on cases involving voting rights and redistricting in a state likely to be at the center of both next year’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential contest.

But Musk’s involvement dialed those dynamics up to 11: “A seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization,” the billionaire said Tuesday in a last-ditch call to voters on his social media site X. “I think it matters for the future of the world.”

Notably, America PAC, the super PAC backed by Musk, spent at least $6 million on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers across the state, according to the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It was a reprise of what the group did across the seven most competitive presidential battleground states, including Wisconsin, which were carried by Trump in November.

But the end results this time were not good for Musk. Despite the millions he spent on Schimel, as of late Tuesday night the Supreme Court candidate was losing by four percentage points more than the other Republican-backed statewide candidate, Brittany Kinser, who also fell short in her bid for superintendent of public instruction.

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Musk’s court race defeat wasn’t only because of crushing Democratic margins in deep blue cities like Madison and Milwaukee. Crawford’s margins were higher in places where the Musk-backed group America PAC had been active, including Sauk County, just north of Madison, which Crawford was carrying by 10 points after Trump won it by less than 2 points in November.

In Brown County, the home of Green Bay where Musk headlined a campaign rally with 2,000 people on Sunday, Crawford beat Schimel. Trump won the county by 7 percentage points last year.

Musk was silent on his X platform in the wake of Crawford’s victory, reposting a message about Vietnam and tariffs but nothing on the Supreme Court contest. The platform was rife with criticism from Trump opponents for his involvement in the race.

“Please send @elonmusk to all the close races!” Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, wrote.

“Elon Musk is not good at this,” J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ Democratic governor and a billionaire himself who donated to support Crawford, posted on X.

Voters definitely had Musk on their minds.

“There’s an insane situation going on with the Trump administration, and it feels like Elon Musk is trying to buy votes,” said Kenneth Gifford, a 22-year-old Milwaukee college student, as he cast his ballot on Tuesday. “I want an actual, respectable democracy.”

Others may not have had their vote decided by the billionaire but were all-too aware of the money pouring into their state.

Jim Seeger, a 68-year-old retiree who previously worked in communications and marketing, said he voted for Schimel because he wants Republicans to maintain their outsized majority in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, which could be at risk if Crawford wins and the court orders the maps redrawn. But, he added, he was disappointed the election had become a “financial race.”

“I think it’s a shame that we have to spend this much money, especially on a judicial race,” Seeger said as he voted in Eau Claire.

Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General, Josh Kaul, sued to bar Musk from making his payments to voters if they signed a petition against “activist judges.” The state Supreme Court unanimously declined to rule on the case over a technicality.

Musk swooped into the race shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Republicans were pessimistic about being able to win the seat. They lost a longtime conservative majority on the state high court in 2023, and Democrats have excelled in turning out their educated, politically tuned-in coalition during obscure elections such as the one in Wisconsin.

Musk duplicated and expanded on some of the methods he used in the final weeks of last year’s presidential race, when he spent more than $200 million on Trump’s behalf in the seven swing states, including Wisconsin.

This time, in addition to the $1 million checks, Musk offered to pay $20 to anyone who signed up on his group’s site to knock on doors for Schimel and posted a photo of themselves as proof. His organization promised $100 to every voter who signed the petition against liberal judges and another $100 for every signer they referred.

Democrats were happy to make Musk a lightning rod in the race.

“People do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election after election,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Monday. “If it works here, he’s going to do it all over the country.”

Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Washington contributed to this report.

MONTREAL — Nick Suzuki scored his second goal of the game 29 seconds into overtime as the Montreal Canadiens came back for a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers in the second game of a home-and-home on Tuesday night.

Suzuki also tied the game with 8.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal (35-30-9) and Sam Montembeault stopped 25 shots.

Lane Hutson earned three assists to pad that total to 57 this season, passing Chris Chelios for second-most by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.

Mackie Samoskevich and Niko Mikkola scored for Florida (44-26-4), which was swept in four games against Montreal this season. The Canadiens also beat the Panthers 4-3 in Sunrise, Florida, on Sunday.

Vitek Vanecek made 18 saves. He has only one win in 11 starts since Nov. 30.

The Canadiens entered the game holding the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.

The Panthers, meanwhile, moved two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Takeaways

Panthers: Mikkola was showered with boos each time he touched the puck after something that transpired in Sunday’s game. As the final buzzer sounded, the 6-foot-6 defenseman fired a slapshot down the ice and nearly struck Montreal’s David Savard, leading to a scrum.

Canadiens: Started strong with a 9-5 edge in shots during an energetic first period but lost steam in the second.

Key moment

Amid the jeers, Mikkola’s centering pass deflected off Jake Evans’ stick and into Montreal’s net at 10:37 of the first period. His sixth goal of the season tied the game 1-1 and stifled Montreal’s early momentum.

Key stat

Hutson became the 10th rookie NHL defenseman to reach 60 points in a season. He’s also only the third Canadiens blueliner in franchise history to tally 57 assists in a campaign.

Up next

The Panthers visit the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voted Tuesday for Jill Underly to remain as the state’s top education official during President Donald Trump’s second term, choosing the Democratic-backed incumbent over a Republican-supported critic.

Wisconsin voters also decided to enshrine the state’s voter ID law in the state constitution.

Both contests had sharp partisan divisions, though they have drawn far less spending and national attention than the race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Here’s a look at the two races:

Union-backed incumbent defeats GOP-backed voucher advocate

Underly, the Democratic-backed state education chief, defeated her Republican-aligned opponent, Brittany Kinser. Unofficial results showed Underly with almost 53% of the vote with 85% of votes counted statewide.

“Tonight, we celebrate a victory not just for our campaign, but for every educator, family and most importantly – kids – across our great state,” Underly said in a statement.

Kinser’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

FILE – This photo released by the Brittany Kinser campaign shows education consultant and candidate for Wisconsin Department of Instruction secretary Brittany Kinser. (Brittany Kinser campaign via AP, File)

Underly will guide policies affecting K-12 schools as Trump moves to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Her second term comes at a time when test scores are still recovering from the pandemic, Wisconsin’s achievement gap between white and Black students remains the worst in the country and more schools are asking voters to raise property taxes to pay for operations.

Wisconsin is the only state where voters elect the top education official but there is no state board of education. That gives the superintendent broad authority to oversee education policy, from dispersing school funding to managing teacher licensing.

Underly, 47, had the support of the teachers union in the general election after failing to secure it in the three-person primary. She also was backed financially by the state Democratic Party.

Underly, who was first elected as state superintendent in 2021, ran as a champion of public schools. Kinser supports the private school voucher program.

Underly’s education career began in 1999 as a high school social studies teacher in Indiana. She moved to Wisconsin in 2005 and worked for five years at the state education department. She also was principal of Pecatonica Elementary School for a year before becoming district administrator.

Kinser, whose backers included the Wisconsin Republican Party and former Republican Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker, previously worked for Rocketship schools, part of a national network of public charter institutions. She rose to become its executive director in the Milwaukee region.

In 2022 she left Rocketship for City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that advocates for charter and voucher schools. She also founded a consulting firm where she currently works.

Kinser tried to brand Underly as being a poor manager of the Department of Public Instruction and keyed in on her overhaul of state achievement standards last year.

Underly said that was done to better reflect what students are learning now, but the change was met with bipartisan opposition including from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who was previously state superintendent himself. Evers did not make an endorsement in the race.

Longtime voter ID law enshrined in the state constitution

Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly elevated the state’s photo ID requirement from state law to constitutional amendment under a proposal approved by voters.

Unofficial results showed the amendment passing with almost 63% of the vote with almost 90% of ballots counted.

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The Republican-controlled Legislature placed the measure on the ballot and pitched it as a way to bolster election security and protect the law from being overturned in court.

President Donald Trump trumpeted the measure’s approval on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it “maybe the biggest win of the night.”

“It should allow us to win Wisconsin, like I just did in the presidential election, for many years to come!” he said.

Trump narrowly lost Wisconsin to Joe Biden in 2020 but defeated Kamala Harris last November election to claim its 10 electoral votes.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is leading Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, also noted the outcome on his social media platform, X, saying: “Yeah!”

Democratic opponents argued that photo ID requirements are often enforced unfairly, making voting more difficult for people of color, disabled people and poor people.

All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, warned that placing the photo ID mandate in the constitution will make it harder to vote.

“We should not be purposefully leaving eligible voters behind by setting up additional barriers to the ballot, but unfortunately, those in the Badger State have one more step to take before voting,” Sam Liebert, the organization’s state director, said in a statement.

Wisconsin voters won’t notice any changes when they go to the polls. They will still have to present a valid photo ID just as they have under the state law, which was passed in 2011 and went into effect permanently in 2016 after a series of unsuccessful lawsuits.

Placing the photo ID requirement in the constitution makes it more difficult for a future Legislature controlled by Democrats to change the law. Any constitutional amendment must be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions and by a statewide popular vote.

Wisconsin is one of nine states where people must present photo ID to vote, and its requirement is the nation’s strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty-six states have laws requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, according to the NCSL.

MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara pitched five effective innings for his first win in 19 months and the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 4-2 on Tuesday night despite getting only three hits.

Alcantara, who missed last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, allowed two runs and four hits while striking out four in his first victory since Sept. 3, 2023. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner got a no-decision in his season debut March 27.

Graham Pauley hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the fourth and Kyle Stowers homered for the Marlins.

Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor returned after sitting out Monday following the birth of his son and had an RBI single but also made two fielding errors.

Ronny Henriquez relieved Alcantara (1-0) and threw two scoreless innings before Lake Bachar followed with a perfect eighth.

New York threatened in the ninth after reliever Anthony Veneziano issued a leadoff walk to Juan Soto. Pete Alonso reached on a fielder’s choice that forced Soto at second. Brandon Nimmo singled to advance Alonso a base. Anthony Bender relieved Veneziano and retired Mark Vientos on a flyout to medium right and Jesse Winker on a grounder to first for his first save this season.

Lindor snapped an 0-for-12 slump to start the season with an RBI single in the third that tied it 2-all.

The Marlins struck quickly against Mets starter Kodai Senga with Stowers’ two-run homer in the first.

New York reduced the deficit when Nimmo homered for the second consecutive day to lead off the second.

Senga (0-1) gave up four runs — two earned — and three hits over five innings. He struck out eight and walked one in his 2025 debut after being limited to one regular-season start last year because of shoulder, calf and triceps injuries.

Key moment

Griffin Conine ran out a grounder and reached to avoid an inning-ending double play in the fourth. Pauley then followed with a two-out drive to left-center that scored Jonah Bride and Conine.

Key stat

The victory assured the Marlins a winning homestand after they took three of four against Pittsburgh to start the season.

Up next

Mets RHP Clay Holmes (0-1, 3.86 ERA) starts the series finale Wednesday against RHP Connor Gillispie (0-1, 5.40).

Miami Marlins’ Griffin Conine (18) and Jonah Bride, right, celebrate scoring during the fourth inning Tuesday against the New York Mets in Miami. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)

GOP firebrand Randy Fine is bringing his heated rhetoric to the halls of Congress, after defeating Democrat Josh Weil in Tuesday’s special election for a Central Florida district.

But Weil’s closer-than-expected margin in an overwhelmingly Republican seat could buoy his party’s overall hopes for 2026.

The special election in congressional District 6 drew national attention after polls showed Weil within a few points of Fine, with the national Democratic chair flying in for rallies and the Trump White House rallying support for Fine — whom the president had endorsed — online.

Weil was ahead in vote-by-mail totals at the beginning of the night. But a heavy Republican election day turnout eventually made the difference.

“Because of you, Mr. President,” Fine wrote on X in response to Trump proclaiming his win. “I won’t let you down.”

Fine, who resigned his Brevard County-area state Senate seat on Monday, took in 56.7% of the vote as of about 8:30 p.m.. Weil, a Kissimmee teacher who lives in Orlando, received about 42.7%.

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, who triggered the election when he resigned to become President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, had won the seat by 33 percentage points in November.

But Tuesday’s results showed a nearly 20-point swing towards Democrats compared to last year, a change that echoes similar shifts in recent special elections, including a state Senate win by a Democrat last week in a heavily red seat in Pennsylvania.

Tuesday’s special election for congressional District 1 in the Panhandle saw a similar swing, with Republican CFO Jimmy Patronis defeating Democrat Gay Valimont by about 14 points in a seat Matt Gaetz won by 32 points last year.

“Yes, Republicans are holding their base, but not reaching beyond it,” Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, wrote on social media. “It is very difficult to move a district as much as this one did.”

Fine was heavily outraised by Weil, with the Democrat taking in nearly $10 million. Fine, a casino industry millionaire, had raised less than $1 million before lending himself $600,000 in the past few weeks.

NBC News reported that Trump and others in the White House were extremely concerned about the race. Trump whipped up the votes for Fine on Monday, writing on his social media site Truth Social, “GET OUT THE VOTE FOR RANDY – HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

Last week, apparently worried about a weak GOP performance in Tuesday’s special elections, Trump pulled the nomination of New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik to become ambassador to the United Nations. It’s “essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Fine has long been a controversial figure in Florida, where he served eight years in the state House before a short stint this year in the state Senate. He had ramped up his attacks on Weil in March as polls began to show a dangerously close race for such a Republican-leaning seat.

Fine slammed Weil for employing a “violent felon” after a campaign staffer was arrested for stealing a bicycle, brought up an incident in 2015 in which Weil was suspended for an altercation with a student at the Orange Youth Academy, and called his opponent “Jihad Josh Weil” for his past embrace of Islam.

Such rhetoric was nothing new for Fine, who has become notorious for his provocative social media posts and attention-grabbing words.

Fine threatened in a text to pull funding for Special Olympics over a feud with a Brevard school board member he called a “whore,” floated the idea of a “potential shutdown” of the University of Central Florida, and was held in contempt last year after giving a judge the middle finger.

Fine alienated even members of his own party. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a one-time ally who once represented the district in Congress, predicted Republican underperformance in the special election and said it was “a reflection of the candidate.”

 

General Daily Insight for April 02, 2025

Our spirits deserve a chance to soar. The nurturing Moon works hand-in-hand with the creative Sun at 2:23 pm EDT, freshening up the energy and freeing us from restrictive or negative patterns that we are ready to leave behind. The progress that we’ll be able to make only grows as the Moon joins with expansive Jupiter, heightening our emotions and allowing us to tap into deeper levels of our intuition. It’s time to release whatever anchors are keeping us from flying.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Self-confidence affects how you think about life. You may find that your confidence is stronger than usual, leading you to situations where you feel in control, at your best, and in your element. You might have felt less powerful in the recent past, like you didn’t know whether you were supposed to be somewhere or if you were in the right group of people, but those worries aren’t present here. Let your confidence naturally provide you with luck, leading to all the right conversations.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Your spiritual side could use some exploration. There may be an opportunity to celebrate your beliefs or spend time with others that uplift your soul, making this a positive time for you to take advantage of. You might find that you’ve been carrying around more philosophical baggage than you realized, and setting it down ASAP can provide your soul with the freedom to move forward into a more fulfilled, joyful version of yourself. Put yourself in touch with your inner life.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You might be seeking out a group that accepts you for who you are and what you want. Maybe you’ll discover a community that understands you, or that knows you have a shared goal — people who can boost you toward fulfilling your dreams. There’s a sense of being surrounded with people who have the same vision you do, strengthening each other to ascend the summit together. Don’t discount the power of people working in harmony in service of a shared goal.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

How others see you is up to what you show them. You may have an opportunity to show others who you really are, in a spiritual, creative, or emotional way, and are more likely to find acceptance. No matter how vulnerable expressing this part of yourself feels, it is a real part of who you are. You deserve to be able to share it with the people close to you, and doing so is a great way to bond. Show them your sensitive side.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

There’s more to learn in life! You may feel like you’re already an expert in a certain subject, or maybe you feel like a complete amateur. No matter what, you’re meant to set aside your pride so that you can continue to grow. Ego can prevent you from learning updated information, as you might tell yourself that you already know everything that you need to know, so why potentially embarrass yourself trying something new? Don’t let that stop you from releasing your curious side.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Joint ventures are supported for you at present. You may find that someone wants to start a business, bring you in on a partnership, or be a mentor or investor for you as you start your own business. While it’s important to stay on top of your game by doing things like thoroughly reading all the paperwork, you’re most likely to be successful by working with others and depending on one another. Just make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

How do you explain to someone else what’s important to you? You may feel as though you’ve had to put your core desires on the back burner in past relationships or in family dynamics, but no longer. You’re meant to express yourself to the people that you’re currently close now, whether they’re friends, roommates, or even romantic partners. Don’t hesitate to tell them what makes you tick. If you’re hiding your feelings, ask yourself, who are you doing that for?

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

You may be getting to know someone on a deeper level. It’s possible that your connection never went beyond a surface-level relationship, or you might have even felt that there was some animosity between you. Today, though, you’re realizing that there’s more to them than meets the eye. It could be tempting to tell them about yourself to try and relate, but it’s important to listen and fully hear them out first. A little listening will go a long way today.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

It’s time to have fun, and it’s unlikely to be alone! You may find that you’re invited to many fun outings or exciting events today — there’s probably no shortage of people who want to share good times with you. Your main pitfall will be too much of a good thing enabling you to overdo it and regret it the next day. Finding a good balance and acting in moderation should let you enjoy everything available to you in just the right amounts.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Great doesn’t always mean exciting! You’re capable of making great progress today, but it’s probably going to take the form of something like reorganizing your house or checking off a long to-do list with the help of your family or friends. You might find that you’re having a more mundane day than some others are having, but this doesn’t mean that you’re doing something wrong or having a worse day than they are. Having a newly organized closet is a joy all its own!

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Laughter is the best medicine. You may find that you can express yourself better than usual in creative ways, like making a funny card to cheer someone up or drawing a comic to express a frustrating situation in a way that makes others laugh. Sometimes, injecting a little whimsy and humor can change what felt like a difficult scenario at the time into a funny story that has you and your friends crying with laughter. And what could be better than that?

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You can enjoy the day moment by moment, as it comes, and let the feelings wash over you while enjoying any different people you meet or actions that you decide to take. Not everything has to be planned down to the minute! Make an effort to allow yourself to notice the beauty in a free moment that extends on and on. The more that you can feel safe solely being present today, the better.

With a burst of raw power, Horace Lockett launched himself from a poised stance, barreling into the blocking dummy with the formidable might of his 360-pound, 6-foot-6 frame. The impact produced a boom that echoed across the Wayne Densch practice fields Tuesday.

The move excited UCF defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin, who was nearby to provide constructive criticism to his position group.

It’s early as the Knights hold their seventh spring camp practice. Players participate in individual position group drills, such as the one Lockett and his teammates are wrapping up before moving on to the next instruction.

Martin is back for his fourth season at UCF but his first under coach Scott Frost. He’s one of only two holdovers from Gus Malzahn’s staff, along with receivers coach Sean Beckton Sr.

Unlike the past three seasons, where he had the experience of Ricky Barber Jr. and Lee Hunter to anchor the group, it’s practically a clean slate. The unit features several returnees, including John Walker, Andrew Rumph, Keshaun Hudson, Marcus Downs, Tyreek’e Robinson and Derrick LeBlanc, and transfers RJ Jackson Jr. and Lockett.

“We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” Martin said after practice. “We’ve got some transfers in, and we have a lot of young guys who have never had a chance to play much.

“They have a lot of bad habits that I’m trying to clean up, and I’m showing them the habits that we want here at UCF and show them my habits.”

Walker, a redshirt sophomore who attended Osceola High School, is back after missing all of last season with a leg injury. He’s been limited in spring practice, wearing a non-contact jersey for the first three weeks.

“I’m just very blessed to be back and just excited to be on the field again,” said Walker, who had 24 tackles and 5 tackles for loss in 13 games as a freshman in 2023. “I’ve been working my tail off in the training and weight rooms, just really getting back to my groove. I feel good and wait for the protocol, but I’m ready to roll.”

Added Martin: “He’s doing good. He isn’t taking many team reps, but he’s on time. He’ll be ready for summer and we’ll make sure he’s ready to roll for fall camp.”

Rumph, Hudson, Downs, Robinson and LeBlanc have a combined 50 career snaps, but Martin believes they’ll have a chance to grow in 2025.

“It’s time for them to take a step and use their weaknesses and turn them into strengths,” said Martin.

Lockett spent two seasons at Georgia Tech, making 25 tackles in 13 games. After meeting with Martin, he transferred to UCF.

“Once I stepped off the plane, Coach Martin and I had a connection,” said Lockett. “I know he’s the best coach for me to get to the next level. So I’m here to work, and I’m glad that he’s my coach.”

Knights hope to elevate veteran pass-rushing group

Martin wants to ensure that his 360-pound tackle can move quickly to the football, a key for defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s scheme.

“He’s a big human, but he has great lateral movement skills and a really good pass rush,” said Martin.

Lockett hopes to lose about 30 pounds in the next few months, and he believes the Florida heat will help.

Another new face in the room is Jackson, who played two seasons at Tulsa and totaled 39 tackles and 3 sacks. He added 22 pounds to his 6-3 frame, pushing him to 310 pounds, which has helped him in the weight room.

“He is an ox,” said Martin. “He can squat 700 pounds.”

But it’s Jackson’s technique that’s been impressive as well.

“He’s very explosive, good technique,” he added. “He’s been doing a really good job, but again, his baby steps ensure he’s going to be where we need him to be.”

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

Even after submitting his name to the transfer portal just last week, Nils Machowski was determined to contribute to UCF’s first-round contest in the College Basketball Crown Tournament.

Coach Johnny Dawkins decided to let him play — and the decision paid off Tuesday.

Machowski delivered with a career-high 15 points as UCF triumphed over Oregon State, 76-75, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The Knights will play Cincinnati in Thursday’s quarterfinals. It would be the second time these teams have faced off this season, with UCF losing 93-83 to the Bearcats at Addition Financial Arena on Feb. 5.

Trailing 76-75, Oregon State’s Damarco Minor made a basket with 5 seconds left, but it was waved off after coach Wayne Tinkle had called a timeout. UCF held on for the victory.

Machowski connected on 5 of 9 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Guard Tyler Hendricks, who joined Machowski in the portal last week, also played and had his first double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Johnson scored 15 points, while Moustapha Thiam added 10 points and 9 rebounds.

UCF (18-16, 7-13 Big 12) was without its top scorer, Keyshawn Hall, who declared for the 2025 NBA Draft last week and was one of seven players to enter the transfer portal.

The Knights went on a 14-4 run in the final five minutes of the first half to build their biggest lead at 45-36.

But Oregon State (20-14, 10-8 West Coast Conference) chipped away, outsourcing UCF 26-16 in the first 10 minutes of the second half, pushing ahead 62-61 and grabbing its first lead since 4:42 of the first half.

Back-to-back buckets by Hendricks and Dallan Coleman pushed the Knights ahead at 65-62 for the 15th lead change.

Liu Lelevicius led four Oregon State players in double-digits with 20 points, followed by Maxim Luge (18) and Minor (16).

The Beavers were without three of their top scorers: Michael Rataj (16.9), Parsa Fallah (12.8) and Nate Kingz (11.8) entered the portal after the transfer window opened March 24.

This is the third consecutive season in which the Knights have qualified for a postseason tournament. They played in the NIT the previous two seasons.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

UCF vs. Cincinnati

When: 6:30, Thursday, MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas

TV: FS1

By JAMEY KEATEN

GENEVA (AP) — Top minds at the world’s largest atom smasher have released a blueprint for a much bigger successor that could vastly improve research into the remaining enigmas of physics.

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The plans for the Future Circular Collider — a nearly 56.5-mile loop along the French-Swiss border and below Lake Geneva — published late Monday put the finishing details on a project roughly a decade in the making at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The FCC would carry out high-precision experiments in the mid-2040s to study “known physics” in greater detail, then enter a second phase — planned for 2070 — that would conduct high-energy collisions of protons and heavy ions that would “open the door to the unknown,” said Giorgio Chiarelli, a research director at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics.

“History of physics tells that when there is more data, the human ingenuity is able to extract more information than originally expected,” Chiarelli, who was not involved in the plans, said in an e-mail.

For roughly a decade, top minds at CERN have been making plans for a successor to the Large Hadron Collider, a network of magnets that accelerate particles through a 17-mile underground tunnel and slam them together at velocities approaching the speed of light.

The blueprint lays out the proposed path, environmental impact, scientific ambitions and project cost. Independent experts will take a look before CERN’s two dozen member countries — all European except for Israel — decide in 2028 whether to go forward, starting in the mid-2040s at a cost of some 14 billion Swiss francs (about $16 billion).

CERN officials tout the promise of scientific discoveries that could drive innovation in fields like cryogenics, superconducting magnets and vacuum technologies that could benefit humankind.

Outside experts point to the promise of learning more about the Higgs boson, the elusive particle that has been controversially dubbed “the God particle,” which helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang.

Work at the Large Hadron Collider confirmed in 2013 the existence of the Higgs boson, the central piece in a puzzle known as the standard model that helps explains some fundamental forces in the universe.

CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti said the future collider “could become the most extraordinary instrument ever built by humanity to study the constituents and the laws of nature at the most fundamental levels in two ways,” by improving study of the Higgs boson and paving the way to “explore the energy frontier,” and by looking for new physics that explain the structure and evolution of the universe.

One unknown is whether the Trump administration, which has been cutting foreign aid and spending in academia and research, will continue to support CERN a year after the Biden administration pledged U.S. support for the study and collaboration on the FCC’s construction and “physics exploitation” if it’s approved.

The United States is home to 2,000 users of CERN, making them the single largest national contingent among the 17,000 people working there, including outside experts abroad and staff on site, Gianotti said.

While an observer state and not a member, the U.S. doesn’t pay into the CERN regular budget but has contributed to specific projects. Most of the CERN regular budget comes from Europe.

Costas Fountas, the CERN Council president, said he had spoken with some U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy staff who relayed the message that so far “they’re ‘under the radar of the cuts of the Trump administration’. That’s their words.”

CERN scientists, engineers and partners behind the plans considered at least 100 scenarios for the new collider before coming up with the proposed 91-kilometer circumference at an average depth of 656 feet. The tunnel would be about 16 feet in diameter, CERN said.