South Florida Local News

Today is Sunday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2025. There are 24 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 7,1972, America’s last crewed moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.

Also on this date:

In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

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In 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The United States declared war against Japan the following day.

In 1982, convicted murderer Charlie Brooks Jr. became the first U.S. prisoner to be executed by lethal injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.

In 1988, a major earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people.

In 1993, six people were killed and 19 wounded in a mass shooting aboard a Long Island Rail Road train in New York.

In 2004, Hamid Karzai (HAH’-mihd KAHR’-zeye) was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president.

In 2018, James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of counterdemonstrators at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Virginia, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Heather Heyer, an anti-racism activist. He was later sentenced on that and other convictions to life in prison plus 419 years.

In 2024, the newly-restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was reopened to the public after a devastating blaze nearly destroyed the beloved Gothic masterpiece in 2019. World leaders attended the reopening ceremony amid great fanfare and celebration.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky is 97.
• Actor Ellen Burstyn is 93.
• Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 78.
• Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 76.
• Republican Sen. Susan M. Collins of Maine is 73.
• Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 69.
• Actor Jeffrey Wright is 60.
• Actor C. Thomas Howell is 59.
• Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens is 52.
• Football Hall of Famer Alan Faneca is 49.
• Actor Shiri Appleby is 47.
• Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (bah-REHL’-es) is 46.
• Actor Nicholas Hoult is 36.
• MLB All-Star Pete Alonso is 31.
• Olympic swimming gold medalist Torri Huske is 23.

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s 127-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings:

– There are many ways to address what the Heat power rotation is and what it isn’t.

– Two came at Saturday night’s intermission.

– First, there was Sacramento’s Precious Achiuwa closing the first half with seven rebounds in his 11 minutes over the opening two periods, while Heat center Kel’el Ware had two over his 13 first-half minutes.

– Second, was Erik Spoelstra then opting to open the second half with Ware on the bench, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. in his place.

– As Spoelstra noted after Friday night’s loss in Orlando, the opening lineups with Ware and Bam Adebayo have not been working, especially on the defensive end.

– Such again was the case at Saturday’s outset.

– The problem is the options in the power rotation, since Achiuwa was waived by the Heat at the end of the preseason, are limited.

– Because until being forced back into action Saturday by injuries elsewhere, Nikola Jovic played himself out of the rotation.

– Hardly an answer to the power mix.

– This doesn’t mean it doesn’t work with Adebayo.

– And it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work with Ware.

– But it hasn’t been working with the two in tandem.

– Not that Spoelstra has many other options in his power rotation (with all due respect to undersized Keshad Johnson).

– In less than a week, the Heat will have the option of adding another player to the standard roster while still remaining below the luxury tax.

– The fact that the power rotation still needs to be addressed makes it all the more confounding that it wasn’t addressed already.

– And in this case, with even Jovic inserted in the second half before Ware.

– Big things clearly at play.

– Big things clearly needing to be addressed.

– With Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell and Pelle Larsson out, the Heat opened with a lineup of Ware, Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell and Dru Smith.

–It was the Heat’s 10th lineup in their 24 games.

– And the third career start for Smith, who started one game for the Heat in 2022-23 and one last season.

–  It was the first absence of the season for Mitchell.

– With depth limited, Jovic, after being held out of two of the previous three games, entered first off the bench along with Jaime Jaquez Jr.

– Simone Fontecchio followed.

– And then Jahmir Young with his first rotation minutes of the season.

– Little of it worked.

– The bench overly decimated by injuries.

– Spoelstra said the expectation was still of quality play at point guard even without Mitchell.

Related Articles

• Zach LaVine’s 42 too much for shorthanded Heat to overcome in 127-111 loss to Kings
• Bam Adebayo moving up Heat scoring list; Herro, Mitchell, Larsson out vs. Kings
• Ira Winderman: Based on schedule, better if Heat NBA Cup runneth is over?
• ASK IRA: Are Heat regressing to the mean or simply in a rut?
• Winderman’s view: Heat shot diet again shows value of Herro (this time in absentia)

– “And that’s not to take away from anything that he’s done,” Spoelstra said. “He’s been playing great basketball at both ends of the court. We still want to get to our identity, regardless.”

– Didn’t happen.

– Spoelstra said the team’s supporting players have been working to be ready for such moments.

– “The guys work extremely hard behind the scenes,” he said. “They prepare for these kind of moments. And we try to give them an environment where they can grow and surprise us and continue to get better as the season goes on.”

– He added, “It’s exciting. You don’t want guys to get hurt, but it’s exciting when guys get opportunities.”

– Or, in this case, not.

– As for Herro, Saturday’s MRI showed nothing more than a contusion of his right big toe.

– Herro is listed as day to day.

– So a sigh of relief?

– “I just was going to wait until we found out what the deal was,” Spoelstra said. “I try not to stress out about things you don’t know about or can’t control.”

MIAMI — Several sobering realities hit home for the Miami Heat in Saturday night’s 127-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings at Kaseya Center.

They didn’t have enough healthy bodies to compete.

They didn’t have enough on the defensive end to deter.

And they might not be who they thought they were just a scant week ago.

Shorthanded and seemingly gassed in playing their third game in four nights after a two-game trip, the Heat proved no match for a team that entered 5-17.

So make it four losses in the last five games for Erik Spoelstra’s team and now a 14-10 record.

“We didn’t have a lot of juice on either end of the floor,” Spoelstra said. “It was not one of our finer games.”

Lacking sidelined Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell and Pelle Larsson, who all sat because of ailments, the Heat lacked a counter to the offensive explosion of Kings guard Zach LaVine, who closed with 42 points.

LaVine shot 12 of 24 from the field, including 8 of 13 on 3-pointers.

“He was in a great flow,” Spoelstra said, “and we weren’t doing a lot to disrupt him.”

For the Heat, Norman Powell scored 18 before sitting out the fourth quarter, with Bam Adebayo limited to seven points and nine rebounds in his 25 minutes, on a night Kel’el Ware was benched at the start of the second half.

“We got to get stops,” Adebayo said. “That’s the biggest thing. And then also, we’ve just got to move the ball.”

With ample time for the bench to take care of mop-up duty, the Heat also got 27 points from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and 20 from Simone Fontecchio.

Of the skid, Powell said, “I don’t think we’re too concerned right now. Just got to get back to who we are, offensively, defensively, our identity.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Kings led 34-31 at the end of the first period, with LaVine up to 18 points at that stage. LaVine then was up to 29 points by halftime, when the Kings led 72-55.

It got worse from there, with the Heat falling behind by 27 in the third period and trailing 101-78 going into the fourth.

LaVine had 37 points entering the fourth quarter, with the Kings’ lead cresting at 28.

“We’ll work on it,” Spoelstra said. “We’re going to work on getting more consistent to how we want to play.”

2. And another one: With Herro, Larsson and Mitchell out, the Heat went with their 10th lineup.

That not only had Dru Smith with his first start of the season and third of his career, but Nikola Jovic back in the rotation and two-way player Jahmir Young with first-quarter minutes.

Of all the available Heat players, second-year forward Keshad Johnson was the lone one not to see action in the opening period.

Johnson eventually entered for the first time with 2:25 to play in the third period.

Smith struggled as a starter, shooting 1 of 6 from the field.

Of Mitchell’s absence, Powell said, “We just miss his energy. We know how important D-Mitch is to what we do offensively and defensively.”

Related Articles

• Winderman’s view: Big things at play for Heat? Ware in loss benched at start of second half
• Bam Adebayo moving up Heat scoring list; Herro, Mitchell, Larsson out vs. Kings
• Ira Winderman: Based on schedule, better if Heat NBA Cup runneth is over?
• ASK IRA: Are Heat regressing to the mean or simply in a rut?
• Winderman’s view: Heat shot diet again shows value of Herro (this time in absentia)

3. Ware benched: After starting alongside Adebayo for a second consecutive night, Ware was benched at the start of the second half in favor of Jaquez.

Ware did not enter in the second half until 4:10 remained in the third period, when the Heat trailed by 23.

Ware was coming off an uneven Friday night in Orlando, when he did not play in the decisive fourth quarter, with Spoelstra instead opting for smaller lineups.

Ware closed with five points and six rebounds in 30 minutes against the Kings.

“Just looking for some juice, something to just kick-start for some energy,” Spoelstra said of the second-half lineup switch. “It wasn’t an indictment on Kel’el.”

4. The three thing: Limited in their 3-point attempts in Friday night’s loss in Orlando, who they closed 7 of 19 from beyond the arc, the Heat this time struggled with their accuracy from distance.

At halftime LaVine stood 6 of 7 from beyond the arc, when the Heat were 5 of 21.

The Heat closed 9 of 31 on 3-pointers, the Kings 14 of 33.

“Honestly, I think we’re passing up a lot of shots that we weren’t passing up earlier,” Powell said of the Heat’s recent 3-point regression. “We’re missing those moments right now.”

5. What next?: With an NBA Cup victory Tuesday night in Orlando, the Heat will not be home again until Dec 23.

Even with a loss Tuesday, that also could be the case, depending on Tuesday’s other Eastern Conference NBA Cup game, between the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors.

The only chance for a home game before the Raptors’ Dec. 23 visit would be if the Heat lose Tuesday to the Magic and the Raptors lose at home Tuesday to the Knicks. In that case, the Heat would host the Raptors on Dec. 15 at Kaseya Center.

For now, a two-day break in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

“I want our guys to get as much rest as possible,” Spoelstra said.

SUNRISE — Sam Bennett scored 4:56 into overtime, lifting the Florida Panthers to a wild 7-6 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Bennett and Brad Marchand each had a goal and three assists for Florida, which trailed 4-1 midway through the second period. Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, and defenseman Seth Jones had a goal and an assist.

A streaking Bennett got a slick pass from Marchand and beat Elvis Merzlikins on the goaltender’s stick side. It was Bennett’s seventh goal of the season.

Cole Sillinger, Isac Lundestrom, Dmitri Voronkov and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Columbus in the opener of a three-game trip. Damon Severson and Kirill Marchenko also scored.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida, and Merzlikins finished with 33 saves.

Voronkov, Marchenko and Wood scored in the second to help Columbus open a 4-1 lead. It was No. 10 on the season for Voronkov and Marchenko.

Verhaeghe responded with back-to-back goals less than two minutes apart, and Jones made it 4-4 with a power-play goal with 3:48 left in the second.

Columbus regained the lead on Sillinger’s third goal with 1:34 remaining in the period, and Lundestrom’s first goal of the season made it 6-4 at 2:27 of the third.

But Marchand answered with his 16th goal at 4:21, and Anton Lundell tied it at 6 with 5:42 remaining. It was Lundell’s seventh on the season.

Up next

Panthers: Host the New York Islanders on Sunday.

General Daily Insight for December 07, 2025

Steady thoughts bring calm choices and clarity. Early hours may bring misreads as fiery Mars forms a quincunx to expansive Jupiter, asking us to adjust big aims to match resources in daily life. With clever Mercury trining disciplined Saturn at 11:48 AM EST, our plans tighten gently, conversations become grounded, and commitments feel easier to honor. By evening, the emotional Moon warms confidence, so we speak up with heart and keep moves simple. Small, steady choices guide us toward reliable progress.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Deep talks lead to practical steps now. Shared truth feels safe as cerebral Mercury harmonizes with responsible Saturn to activate your 8th House of Resources, helping you talk money that maps a goal. You may initiate a clear conversation with a trusted person, and private worries soften as karmic Saturn steadies your oceanic 12th house and brings perspective. If tempers rise, breathe, make a list, then propose one doable next step that works for now. Choose transparency — clarity is key for teamwork.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

What will it take to strengthen your closest bonds? Your 7th House of Partnerships finds support as chatty Mercury works with structured Saturn, making agreements easier and helping you set expectations with someone important to you. You may calmly propose a timeline for something you share, then state what you need while responsible Saturn grounds your 11th House of Social Networks. If someone hesitates, offer a small promise — and make sure to keep it. Reliability repairs doubts. Trust in the power of patience.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

When energies clash, small adjustments open better paths. Your 7th House of Partnerships stirs under ambitious Mars, while auspicious Jupiter highlights your 2nd House of Money, so you may tweak an agreement for real fairness. If someone wants more than you can give, ease the mood with a few options, then gently offer one workable compromise and ask for feedback. Quick humor helps, yet the aim is true balance, not winning. Edit contracts now — clear terms save time and protect your energy.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

This morning favors heartfelt play and learning. Mischievous Mercury trines authoritative Saturn through your 5th House of Creativity and Romance, helping you plan fun activities and set boundaries that make play easier. You may pick one simple plan, then protect a window of time for devoted practice as authoritative Saturn brings focus to your curious 9th house. Let your tender side lead the conversation, and choose clear start and stop times. Structure creates safety, so joy can bloom brightly and linger.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Leo, you naturally light up every room. The intuitive Moon brings focus to your identity and first impressions today, so you may refresh your look and lead with generous warmth that others quickly reflect. If nerves flicker before the spotlight, pause to breathe and choose a statement that sets the tone and shows your heart. Your charisma grows when you keep it real. Share credit freely, and let light playfulness guide introductions to new folks. If you lead with sincerity, connection follows with ease.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Quiet changes at home need your attention, Virgo. Harmony benefits from small edits as action-oriented Mars stirs your domestic 4th house and jovial Jupiter energizes your idealistic 11th house. Plans may need some minor tweaks. You could reorganize the house, then text your friends about your progress and extend a warm invitation to hang out. If expectations feel fuzzy, ask clear questions and wait patiently. Your eye for detail has a way of smoothing edges, as long as you keep relationships at the center.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

What truly supports your sense of self-worth? Intellectual Mercury harmonizes with boundary-setting Saturn today to focus your 2nd House of Money, which helps you price your work well and choose spending that matches your goals and values. You might calmly approach a client about a clearer contract or figure out your grocery budget, helped by structured Saturn in your 6th House of Habits. A graceful boundary with yourself keeps finances balanced and respectful of your deepest desires, regardless of your momentary wishes.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Clear intentions reshape how others see you — for the better. Thoughtful messaging on your part earns respect as information-gathering Mercury harmonizes with discipline-minded Saturn today. State your needs in conversation, and invite honest feedback. Thanks to responsible Saturn in your 5th House of Creativity, receiving a warm compliment gives depth without drama and shows your willingness to connect. Drop the mystery, Scorpio! Clarity of desire will open the right door for you in a hurry. Speak plainly with the people you trust.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

When ambitious drive conflicts with promises you’ve made, it’s time to adjust. Warrior Mars charges your 1st House of Initiative today while lucky Jupiter spotlights your 8th House of Intimacy, so your goal may need a tweak now to respect limits and previous commitments. You might see about changing a professional deadline so you can show up for existing plans with a close friend or family member. Your open optimism still shines when you play fair and keep your priorities straight.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Today favors strategic outreach with friends. Your 11th House of Friends and Allies gains traction as mental Mercury harmonizes with authoritative Saturn, making it easier to advance a project that’s been sitting on the back burner. Draft a concise message, then confirm responsibilities and assignments while rules-focused Saturn in your informative 3rd house sets a confident tone. Make sure everyone knows the next step. Your professionalism lands well in situations like this — folks need someone to boss up and be a leader.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Steady effort earns quiet (but meaningful) recognition. Your 10th House of Career and Status lights up as messenger Mercury trines ambitious Saturn, helping your ideas land with authority in any setting. You may polish a proposal and speak succinctly in a meeting while steady Saturn supports your grounded 2nd house and encourages realistic pricing and promises. Quiet confidence does more than extra words right now. Innovative touches still shine when the structure frames them clearly. Share your value plainly, and watch as doors start opening.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

What’s the secret to balancing work and play? You’re figuring it out as passionate Mars activates your 10th House of Career and tussles with joyous Jupiter in your 5th House of Pleasure. Plans may clash between duty and freedom. You might propose a new deadline, then reserve an afternoon for creative time that lifts your heart. If guilt whispers, remember that real rest improves results later. Your infamous empathy helps everyone feel seen, lending extra strength to your example of self-care. Joy sustains your energy.

FORT LAUDERDALE — The final act, the one everyone came to see, had Lionel Messi carrying the trophy over to his Inter Miami teammates late Saturday afternoon. This is how he’s done it everywhere he’s been, the captain and a trophy, and now he did at Chase Stadium.

“Mes-si!” the crowd chanted.

The trophy looked nearly as big as Messi as he walked on the makeshift stage amid his teammates. But there, in that moment, as he held the Major League Soccer championship trophy aloft, as confetti dropped and fireworks flew, Messi didn’t look like the league’s marketing machine or the world’s most recognizable athlete.

He just looked like a star happy to win again. His smile said that much, as did his hugs with teammates and that laugh he carried all over the field for the next hour as family and friends joined in the celebration.

“This is the moment I had been waiting for, and that we, as a team, were waiting for,” Messi said after the 3-1 win against Vancouver. “It’s very beautiful for all of us. They deserved it.”

It didn’t matter if this wasn’t anything close to the biggest of his career. It mattered that he’d won again — that he wanted to win like this here. It mattered more to Inter Miami, sure, because this was the team’s first title and it confirmed all the attention of the past couple of years.

This was a MLS dream matchup, Messi against Vancouver’s Tomas Müller, the German star coming to North America for his final chapter just as Messi has to South Florida.

“They said soccer would never make it in America,’’ MLS commissioner Don Garber said during the trophy ceremony. “Inter Miami fans, has soccer made it?”

Messi’s toeprints were all over this game. He got the opening goal started at midfield by passing to a breaking Tadeo Allende, whose crossing pass was deflected into the net by Vancouver’s Edier Ocampo.

After Vancouver tied it, Messi had a takeaway, then threaded a pass to send Rodrigo DePaul in alone on goal to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute. DePaul was another Inter Miami special, an Atletico Madrid star who fit under the MLS salary-cap rules in midseason by saying he was just coming for this pro-rated season.

Related Articles

• Messi’s two late-game assists carry Inter Miami to MLS Cup championship

Finally, there was the coupe de Messi on this title game. He played a ball off his chest, and to his left foot, which popped a pass over the Vancouver defense in stoppage time. It was Allende sent in alone on goal this time. His goal in the 96th minute started the celebration.

Messi ran over and hugged him. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano ran on the field and hugged Jordi Alba until they toppled to the grass.

“These games, they’re decided in a few moments,’’ Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen said. “And when you play Miami they have players who can take them in those few moments.”

You can pick when this celebration started. Maybe it was when David Beckham picked Miami as his ownership destination in 2018. Maybe it was when baseball passed on Jorge Mas for Derek Jeter in 2017 and Mas and brother Jose bought into Inter Miami and then became full owners with Beckham in 2021.

Maybe it was the summer of 2023 when Beckham was awoken at 5 a.m. in Japan, saying the five-year recruitment of Messi was completed. It was a marketing venture as much as a sporting adventure, and it’s been a success by whatever metric you use.

The league’s social media footprint went from two million to 50 million followers with Messi aboard. Apple TV announced more than 300,000 new subscribers after Messi signed.

Inter Miami has sold out games at Chase Stadium even while raising ticket prices about four-fold. This was the final scheduled game here as the new stadium awaits in Miami. Another assist from Messi, who signed on for three more seasons.

Some of his friends are going. Alba and Sergio Busquets, 37, announced their impending retirement earlier this season and played their final game Saturday. Luis Suarez, 36, was benched during the first-round series against Nashville and might be done.

The exit of big names is part of the MLS story. But Messi isn’t leaving. He didn’t need a MLS title. But his smile in the aftermath showed, as Mascherano said, “He came here to win this cup.”

 

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi’s legacy was long secured when he came to Inter Miami and joined Major League Soccer. He’d won a World Cup, won dozens of trophies, was generally considered the greatest player in the sport’s history.

He didn’t need an MLS Cup.

But he wanted one — and got it.

Messi and Inter Miami have completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday in the MLS Cup final for the franchise’s first championship. It came 2 1/2 years after the legend arrived in South Florida, a move that stunned plenty of onlookers at the time.

He set up the title-clinching goal with a 72nd-minute assist to Rodrigo De Paul, a play where Messi stole the ball and threaded a pass through a tiny gap in a wall of Vancouver defenders. De Paul got it in stride, pushed it into the far corner of the net — and Messi went airborne to hop into his arms a few seconds later, all smiles.

And as the final minutes ticked away, Inter Miami’s pink-clad fans — most wearing Messi’s No. 10 on their backs — stood and stomped and cheered. South Florida has seen NFL and NBA and Major League Baseball and NHL titles in the past.

It’s a soccer town now, too. Messi made that happen. Tadeo Allende scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time — off another Messi assist, of course — to make it 3-1.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 06: Tadeo Allende #21 of Inter Miami CF celebrates after scoring the team's third goal during the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Final match between Inter Miami CF and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Chase Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Inter Miami became the 16th franchise in the league’s 30-year history to win an MLS title. And this extends a run of parity for MLS, which has seen five different franchises win championships in the last five years and eight franchises claim a title in the last nine seasons — only Columbus has won twice in that span.

It was also the culmination of a 12-year odyssey for David Beckham, part of Inter Miami’s ownership group.

He retired as a player in 2013 and his MLS contract said he could start a franchise at a discounted rate when his career ended. Beckham chose Miami and it took him years to finally make it happen; it wasn’t until January 2018 when the franchise was formally born, after he partnered with Miami businessmen Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, and even then the team didn’t have a stadium plan.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 06: David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami CF, with his family Victoria Beckham, Romeo Beckham and Cruz Beckham watch the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Final match between Inter Miami CF and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Chase Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

The team started play in 2020, and Messi arrived halfway through the 2023 season. Inter Miami was in last place in MLS at the time.

And then Messi arrived. The last-place team then now runs the league.

Related Articles

• Hyde: Messi’s career didn’t need this title — but he showed how much it meant to him

“It’s been an incredible journey,” Beckham said.

The trophy is Messi’s 47th for club and country, extending his global men’s soccer record. He’s now won at least 21 titles in one-match final situations, many of them with the core of this team — Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano, his longtime Barcelona teammates.

MESSI LIFTS YET ANOTHER TROPHY

By any rational measure, Scott Frost didn’t say anything controversial at his National Signing Day media  conference earlier this week. He didn’t rant. He didn’t deflect blame. He didn’t offer excuses.

He simply told the truth — the truth every coach whispers privately, the truth every administrator tiptoes around, the truth every fan of a non-superpower program already knows:

College football is broken. And the people breaking it are the very ones who wish Frost would just keep his opinions to himself.

Frost dared to say aloud what the sport’s gatekeepers prefer to bury under the blanket slogan of “the new era of college football.” That phrase sounds modern and exciting, but it’s simply a smoke screen for a system that has devolved into a financial free-for-all — one where rules are optional, oversight is toothless, spending is endless and integrity is a luxury only the underfunded can afford.

Frost punctured that illusion with a single line:

“It’s broken. College football’s broken.”

He’s right.

And his critics know he’s right. That’s why the legions of the miserable on social media are attacking him.

The NCAA’s new era of name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation was supposed to give athletes more control, more opportunity and more transparency. No reasonable person opposes players earning money in a system that generates billions.

But that’s not the problem Frost called out.

The problem is that schools are publicly and brazenly offering guaranteed NIL money that violates the very participation agreements that the sport’s new governing body — the College Sports Commission — has asked them to voluntarily sign. LSU’s massive NIL guarantees for Lane Kiffin and BYU’s booster-backed windfall to keep coach Kalani Sitake from taking the Penn State job are just the recent examples that made headlines. For every one of those stories, a dozen more slip quietly beneath the surface.

The CSC was meant to be the sport’s stabilizing force. Instead, it’s become the football equivalent of a speed-limit sign on a highway where every luxury car is going 120 miles per hour — and the drivers all know the cops won’t pull them over.

Frost didn’t invent this reality. He is merely trying to expose it.

Critics, including some UCF fans, say Frost is “complaining,” “making excuses,” or “being naïve.” But the outrage has nothing to do with his tone and everything to do with what his honesty threatens.

When Frost suggests that wealthier programs can simply buy their way around regulations, he isn’t whining — he’s describing the system as it actually functions. You see, when the House vs. NCAA court settlement came to fruition, all schools supposedly agreed to a $20.5 million revenue-sharing salary cap to pay its athletes while the farcical NIL deals — aka boosters and collectives paying athletes directly — were supposed to be banned.

Now you have schools like LSU and BYU essentially promising their coaches that they will supplement the $20.5 million revenue-sharing with millions more in additional cash to pay players.

“That’s baffling to me,” Frost said. “We’re going to sign participation agreements saying we’re not going to do any of that, and then you have newspaper articles come out about how much [some schools] are guaranteed to spend over revshare. … You know, any sport where whoever has the richest boosters wins — that’s not a good model for a sport. So we’re rooting for it to get curtailed. In the meantime, we’ve got to try to do the best we can.”

People who benefit from a broken system have one natural enemy: the person willing to name it as broken.

That’s Frost.

And that’s why his truth-telling has become inconvenient.

Frost also put his finger on the human cost of the current chaos — the cost almost no one wants to acknowledge.

Player development is evaporating. Loyalty is vanishing. The idea of a four-year college career; of relationships, mentorship, maturation, becoming a man and — don’t laugh — getting a college degree is slipping away in a cloud of one-year rentals and transfer roulette.

Some athletes will bounce among three, four or five schools, never anchoring to a community or a fan base or a friend group, never experiencing a homecoming, never forming bonds that outlast the season.

Coaches used to shape young men over several years. Now they’re lucky to get several months.

“The days of going to a school and being loyal to the school and being able to go back to homecomings and support a school that you were at for four or five years … some kids will never have that because they’ve been at three or four schools,” Frost said. “One of the things that I think a lot of coaches love about coaching is the mentoring side of it. That’s getting harder and harder to do.”

Frost recalls an incident right after his introductory news conference when he returned as UCF’s head coach last December

“I laugh about it now, but I did my press conference last year and had a couple players and their agents waiting outside my office five minutes after I did my press conference to start telling me how much money I needed to pay them, and I didn’t even know who the kids were,” Frost said.

Can you imagine the thoughts that must have been going through Frost’s mind at the time? … “Who are you? What’s your name? What position do you play? And you want HOW MUCH money?!”

Why has Frost saying this out loud somehow become controversial?

It shouldn’t be.

He’s simply being honest.

Ironically, Frost isn’t speaking from a place of weakness. UCF is in a stronger financial and structural position than it was a year ago. The Knights can compete in this era — but Frost is asking deeper questions:

Should the richest boosters win?

Should rules be optional?

Should participation agreements be ceremonial?

Should the sport’s soul be sold to the highest bidder?

Frost says no.

More people should say no.

More coaches should speak out. More administrators should speak out. More ESPN commentators should speak out.  And, yes, more local media outlets should speak out and challenge the very programs that drive their traffic.

And the thing is, Frost isn’t criticizing the sport.

He’s defending it.

He’s defending a model where culture, development and relationships matter as much as bank accounts.

For that, he deserves praise — not backlash.

In a landscape full of silent cynics and loud salesmen, Scott Frost did something rare:

He told the truth.

Sadly, at this point, telling the truth may be the most revolutionary act left in the broken sport of college football.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my new radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen

 

CORAL GABLES — Malik Reneau scored 21 points, Miami exploded for 54 points in the second half, and the Hurricanes defeated Southern Miss 88-64 on Saturday.

Miami shot 57% in the second half and had only six turnovers. The Hurricanes had a 30-12 advantage in points in the paint after halftime.

Miami (8-2) led by four points with 13 1/2 minutes left in the second half before a 14-0 run put the Hurricanes in charge, 64-46 with 10 minutes remaining. Timotej Malovec hit two 3-pointers and two free throws in the run.

The Golden Eagles made only three shots in the final 7 1/2 minutes and Miami’s biggest lead was 27 points at 86-59 with a little under two minutes to go.

Malovec, a freshman from Slovakia, finished with 16 points off the bench, his career high. Tru Washington scored 14, and Shelton Henderson and Tre Donaldson each scored 12 for the Hurricanes. Donaldson had 11 assists.

Reneau’s 21 points came in only 18 minutes on the court before he fouled out with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Tylik Weeks and Djahi Binet led Southern Miss (5-4) with 12 points each.

Miami led for only 2:12 in the first half and that was within the first 8 1/2 minutes of play. Southern Miss’ largest lead was 24-19 with 7 minutes left and there would be four more ties, the last when Miami’s Henderson made two free throws in the final second for a 34-34 halftime score.

Miami improved to 6-0 at home.

Up next
Southern Miss hosts Grambling on Monday.

Miami hosts Louisiana Monroe on Saturday.

• Al Walkington and Greyson Kilgore compete in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes compete in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes at the start of the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes compete in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes compete in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Brooklyn Nichols finished first in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes compete in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes are cheered on and encouraged in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Greyson Kilgore collapses after finishing first in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Al Walkington competes in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Janelle Teal competes in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Athletes collapse at the finish line in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Show Caption1 of 12Al Walkington and Greyson Kilgore compete in the DEKA mile World Championship (1-mile total running combined with 10 functional fitness zones) at the Broward County Convention Center on Saturday, December 6, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand

Today is Friday, Dec. 5, the 339th day of 2025. There are 26 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 5, 1952, the Great Smog of London descended on the British capital; the unusually thick fog, which contained toxic pollutants, lasted five days and was blamed for causing thousands of deaths.

Also on this date:

In 1848, in an address to Congress, President James K. Polk sparked the Gold Rush of ’49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.

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In 1933, Prohibition came to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment.

In 1955, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO under its first president, George Meany.

In 1994, Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades.

In 2008, O.J. Simpson was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison after being convicted of 12 criminal charges in connection with a 2007 confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel. (Simpson was released on parole after serving nine years; he died in 2024).

In 2009, a jury in Perugia, Italy, convicted American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, of murdering Knox’s British roommate, Meredith Kercher, and sentenced them to long prison terms. (After a series of back-and-forth rulings, Knox and Sollecito were definitively acquitted in 2015 by Italy’s highest court.)

In 2013, Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa’s first Black president, died at age 95.

In 2017, Democratic Congressman John Conyers of Michigan resigned from Congress after a nearly 53-year career, becoming the first Capitol Hill politician to lose his job amid sexual misconduct allegations sweeping the nation’s workplaces; Conyers denied wrongdoing.

In 2023, Peru’s constitutional court ordered a humanitarian release for imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the death squad slayings of 25 Peruvians in the 1990s. (Fujimori died in September 2024 at age 86.)

Today’s Birthdays:

• Author Calvin Trillin is 90.
• Opera singer Jose Carreras is 79.
• Musician Jim Messina is 78.
• Golf Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins is 76.
• Football Hall of Famer Art Monk is 68.
• Rock singer-musician John Rzeznik (REZ’-nihk) (The Goo Goo Dolls) is 60.
• Country singer Gary Allan is 58.
• Comedian-actor Margaret Cho is 57.
• Actor Paula Patton is 50.
• Singer-songwriter Keri Hilson is 43.
• Actor and stock car driver Frankie Muniz is 40.
• Singer-songwriter Conan Gray is 27.

Senior Jayden Moore and Caleb Butler saw to it that Dr. Joaquin Garcia’s debut in a state championship game was a successful one.

Butler completed 11 of 20 passes for 167 yards and a 19-yard TD to Moore, while Gavin Floyd added a 24-yard field goal as the Bulldogs downed Tate, 10-0, on Thursday night in the inaugural Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) 7A-4A South Division Championship game at HG Morse Stadium at The Villages Charter School near Orlando.

Bulldogs senior linebacker Dominic Luchina had a game-high 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss as Dr. Joaquin Garcia (11-3), winners of six straight, recorded its sixth shutout of the season and second straight in the playoffs. It is also the school’s first state championship in any sport.

Dr. Joaquin Garcia opened three years ago to a 1-9 season and has gone 7-3 the past two years during the regular season. After missing out on a FHSAA playoff bid this year, Bulldogs’ coach Brandon Walker said his team has come a long way.

“This means everything,” Walker said by phone. “You know, if you’d asked me if we’d have been playing for any kind of championship when we opened the doors three years ago, I would have laughed you out of the building.

“Our kids are all about the work; this is all their hard work. My staff’s hard work and our school’s belief in our football program,” Walker added. “This means that the bar has been set; it’s been set high. We’ve had success, so we have to set the bar higher because we have big challenges in front of us. It is only the first step, and we have many, many miles to go. We have mountains to climb.”

Butler connected with Morton to give Dr. Joaquin Garcia a 7-0 lead with 8:30 left in the third quarter to cap a seven-play, 73-yard drive to open the second half.

“I don’t think, for the first half, we came out full gas like we usually do,” said Butler, who threw for 11 TDs in the postseason and finished with 28 for the year.  “Usually, during our games, when we start fast, we end the game really quickly. Tonight, our defense held the ground. I am really proud of them.”

Morton caught his seventh TD of the season in the corner of the end zone as the Bulldogs drew first blood in the game.

 

“We trusted each other, and made some mistakes in the beginning of the game, and we knew how to work through it and overcome the struggles,” Morton said. “The touchdown was magical. I saw where the cornerback was playing, and Caleb threw a beautiful ball. Winning a state championship senior year doesn’t get any better than that. We wanted to go out with a bang, and we did.”

The Bulldogs put together another 73-yard drive to extend the lead to extend the lead to 10-0 on a 24-yard field goal by senior kicker Gavin Boyd. It was his 11th field goal of the season. Dr. Joaquin Garcia benefited from two personal foul penalties that kept the drive alive, including a roughing the punter penalty on a fourth down.

The Aggies took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Dr. Joaquin Garcia 9-yard line, where junior Ethan Priest, who was short on an earlier 40-yard attempt, had his 28-yard field goal attempt blocked by junior defensive end John Georges with 3:38 remaining in the contest.

Morton closed out the game with an interception to seal the game with 1:26 remaining, and the Bulldogs ran out the clock for the win.

Jupiter Christian rolls by Mount Dora

Jupiter Christian jumped out to a 27-7 halftime lead and coasted to a 41-19 victory over Mount Dora Academy in the recent Sunshine State Athletic Association Class 5A state championship game at Villages High School.

It marked the Eagles’ second straight 11-man state championship, and the Eagles soared to a 12-1 record and their 11th consecutive win and 22nd victory of the past 26 games. They defeated St. Joseph Academy last season 37-35 in the title game of the Orlando Health Sunshine State Athletic Association Football, Florida’s Independent High School Athletic Association.

Junior Christian quarterback Dorian Fauntleroy completed 12 of 14 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns, and carried four times for 90 yards and one score to lead the Eagles to their second straight championship. It also ended a 12-game streak by the Bulldogs.

Senior running back RJ Wilkerson carried 19 times for 134 yards and a TD as the Eagles rolled to the title. Junior Luke Beach (77 yards receiving, 2 TDs) and senior Cayden Alula (55 yards receiving, TD) also played well. Alula was also a monster on defense with 11 tackles.

“Winning this year’s championship was a testament to all the hard work we put in during the offseason,” said Jupiter Christian coach Baz Alfred. “From the start of the season, we set a goal, and that was to return to the championship game and win another one… For me personally, it’s not about the trophies. I enjoy seeing the boys develop into athletes, leaders, and young men while in our program.”

By TIM REYNOLDS

SUNRISE — Steven Stamkos scored with 57 seconds left in overtime, and the Nashville Predators beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Thursday night.

Stamkos’ goal came with the net appearing to be off its moorings, but it held up after a brief review and gave the Predators their fourth win in five games. It was his 53rd goal all-time against Florida, including playoffs, the most by any player against the Panthers.

Carter Verhaeghe scored two days after the birth of his son and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots for the Panthers, but the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions lost their fourth game in a row and their fifth straight at home.

The last time the Panthers had lost as many as five home games in a row was in March of 2020.

Verhaeghe missed Tuesday’s loss to Toronto because his wife was giving birth to their new son Rory, but returned in time for morning skate on Thursday and then the game.

Ryan O’Reilly scored with 6:19 left in the third period to tie the game for Nashville, and Stamkos scored on a rush to win it in the extra period.

Jusse Saros stopped 30 shots for Nashville.

Verhaeghe was asked earlier Thursday if becoming a father compared at all with the feeling of being part of three Stanley Cup championships — one with Tampa Bay, and the last two with Florida over the last two seasons.

“Not even close,” Verhaeghe said. “This one, it’s the best feeling in the world. It doesn’t even come close to any anything. It’s the greatest thing in the world.”

Bobrovsky got some help in the second period. Stamkos actually beat Bobrovsky with a shot from the circle to the right of the Panthers’ net, but defenseman Niko Mikkola got his stick near the goal line and was able to knock the puck away.

Up next

Predators: Visit Carolina on Saturday.

Panthers: Host Columbus on Saturday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Southern Command announced that it had conducted another strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, following a pause of almost three weeks.

It is the 22nd strike the U.S. military has carried out against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that the Trump administration claimed were trafficking drugs.

There were four casualties in Thursday’s strike, according to the social media post, bringing the death toll of the campaign to at least 87 people.

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In a video that accompanied the announcement, a small boat can be seen moving across the water before it is suddenly consumed by a large explosion. The video then zooms out to show the boat covered in flames and billowing smoke.

The strike was conducted the same day Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley appeared for a series of closed-door classified briefings at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers began an investigation into the very first strike carried out by the military on Sept. 2. The sessions came after a report that Bradley ordered a follow-on attack that killed the survivors to comply with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s demands.

Bradley told lawmakers there was no “kill them all” order from Hegseth, but a stark video of the entire series of attacks left some lawmakers with serious questions.

Legal experts have said killing survivors of a strike at sea could be a violation of the laws of military warfare.

Bradley spoke to lawmakers alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, in a classified session. His testimony provided fresh information at a crucial moment as Hegseth’s leadership comes under scrutiny, but it did little to resolve growing questions about the legal basis for President Donald Trump’s extraordinary campaign to use war powers against suspected drug smugglers.

Lawmakers offered differing accounts of what they saw on the video.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said he saw the survivors “trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for United States back over so they could stay in the fight.”

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said, “What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.”

“You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel,” he said, adding they “were killed by the United States.”

Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the survivors were “basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water — until the missiles come and kill them.”

After a three-day trial this week, a federal jury found a Broward County woman guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in connection with her role in a scheme that sold thousands of fraudulent nursing diplomas to people across the U.S.

Stephanie Dorisca, 57, was the director of nursing at Techni-Pro Institute LLC in Boca Raton, which offered a practical nursing program and an associate of science in nursing, according to a superseding indictment filed in federal court in November. Charges against her and 11 others were announced in September, nearly three years after federal authorities first announced charges in the scheme where thousands of hopeful nurses bought fake diplomas and transcripts.

Despite never having taken the required courses and clinicals, the documents the aspiring nurses purchased showed that they had, allowing them to take national board exams and land jobs in healthcare if they passed.

Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Siena College in Lauderhill and Sacred Heart International Institute in Fort Lauderdale also participated in the scheme, federal prosecutors said in 2023. More than 7,600 fake diplomas were sold by those three schools, which are now closed.

The diplomas were sold on average for $15,000, garnering a total of $114 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida previously said.

Thousands have fake nursing diplomas after scam involving three South Florida schools, prosecutors say

Between 2020 and 2023, Dorisca was among the defendants who sold fraudulent diplomas, transcripts and other documents that falsely represented that the purchasers had completed the required courses and trainings at the Boca Raton school when they never had, according to the indictment.

The fraudulent documents “created and distributed” by Dorisca and others allowed those who purchased them to gain employment at and be paid salaries by healthcare providers throughout the country, the indictment said.

Messages included in the indictment showed Dorisca communicating about “nursing student
information” for three different people, an email she sent to someone identified only as J.L. in Texas “arranging a meeting in Texas to discuss processing nursing students” and a text message that discussed a $5,000 bank deposit “as payment for the processing of nursing students.”

At a November court hearing, Dorisca “expressed unequivocally” that she wanted to proceed to trial, according to federal court records.

Trial began Monday, and the jury returned its verdict Wednesday, finding her guilty of all charges: One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. A sentencing hearing will be held in March.

She faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years as to each count, according to the indictment.

General Daily Insight for December 05, 2025

A gentle steadiness returns after early friction. We start with the emotional Moon opposing fiery Mars, stirring debates and quick reactions that ask us to breathe and choose softer words. By contrast, action-oriented Mars trines healing Chiron at 5:03 pm EST, opening lanes for repair where brave steps and honest apologies turn misunderstandings into trust. As the nurturing Moon enters Cancer later, home comforts steady us, so evening plans feel calmer and our hearts stay generous. Choose patience now so it can speed tomorrow’s progress.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

When effort meets healing, paths open easily. Learning expands as a flowing trine lights your 9th House of Travel and Higher Learning, encouraging brave plans and honest questions that open new doors. Even as Chiron in your 1st House of Self and Identity exposes old doubts, you can share a bold idea with warmth and still be clearly heard. Consider asking for something you need right now — your steady courage turns curiosity into real movement. Small steps today make next week easier.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

This afternoon favors heartfelt, practical choices. Your 8th House of Intimacy and Shared Resources receives supportive flow from a Mars-Chiron trine, making brave talks about money and trust feel doable and surprisingly warm. Even as your 12th House of Solitude and Closure surfaces private worries, you can slow the pace, breathe, and suggest one clear next step. You may agree on a shared account rule for gifts today. Clear boundaries keep connection warm without draining resources. Choose clarity over speed to protect precious energy.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

How can you turn conflict into progress? Tensions soften into teamwork as a supportive trine lights your 7th House of Partnerships, inviting honest words that aim to repair rather than win. You may suggest a check-in with a coworker over coffee. Negotiated agreements protect care and keep projects moving smoothly. Even if old misunderstandings echo, your 11th House of Friends offers backup, so a trusted ally can mirror your point and ease the conversation. Your patience will encourage others to meet you halfway.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Cancer, your caring nature finds brave footing today. Fiery Mars trines healing Chiron from your 6th House of Work and Health, turning effort into gentle progress and making routines easier to adjust without guilt. You may renegotiate a deadline by explaining your bandwidth. Your body knows its limits and deserves kind scheduling that supports your whole self. Even as your 10th House of Career pushes for perfection, you can prioritize rest and still deliver consistent results that make everyone feel supported. Protect your rhythm so results arrive without strain.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Warm courage melts worry into useful focus. Warrior Mars in your 5th House of Creativity and Romance trines wise Chiron, turning nervous jitters into enthusiastic spark and helping you share your talents with heart. You might pitch your idea in a meeting, because generous attention shines when you relax into authentic expression. Even if your 9th House of Big Ideas tempts you to overpromise, you can choose one fun deliverable and wow people without overwhelm. Lead with warmth and watch support gather quickly.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Clarity lands as small steps build confidence. Home choices feel easier as a harmonious trine focuses your 4th House of Home and Family, inviting steady fixes that protect comfort and restore order. You may rearrange a room or start a gentle budget talk at dinner. A thoughtful structure supports care and lowers stress. Even as your 8th House of Shared Resources stirs deeper feelings, you can move slowly and still create firm, fair boundaries that everyone respects. Keep your options open and heart steady.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

When courage softens pain, bridges appear. Ambitious Mars trines tender Chiron from your 3rd House of Communication, helping you say hard truths with kindness and turn a sticky thread into useful dialogue. You might call a sibling to resolve a mix-up Appreciation and truth together open doors honesty alone could not. Even as your 7th House of Partnerships holds a different viewpoint, you can outline shared goals and leave room for style differences. Balance truth with care to keep bridges strong.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Scorpio, your insight cuts through the noise. Your 2nd House of Money and Values gains a boost from a flowing trine today, helping you choose quality over impulse and recommit to what matters. You may cancel a subscription after checking usage. Focused attention protects resources without sacrificing goodwill or momentum. Even as your 6th House of Work and Health adds new tasks, a simple budget routine keeps momentum and lets you feel in control. Invest in quality so daily life feels easier.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Are you ready to lead with heart? Fiery Mars trines therapeutic Chiron through your identity and first impressions, energizing your voice and giving courage to act on a vision without second-guessing. Pitch a plan to the right person, and go bold with it! Your natural optimism lands as confidence rather than pressure. Even as your 5th House of Creativity invites many playful options, you can focus on one direct expression and let it set the tone. Say yes bravely, because courage invites good company.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

By evening, resolve comes with steadiness. Quiet work goes further than loud hustle as a trine supports your 12th House of Solitude and Closure, making private repair feel unexpectedly productive and kind. You may take a quiet walk before replying, because reflection turns raw feelings into clear, calm choices gently. Even as your 4th House of Home asks for caretaking, small boundaries around chores or visits protect your energy and keep care sustainable today. Gentle pauses now will sharpen tomorrow’s drive.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Confidence grows as friends rally behind you. Your 11th House of Social Networks receives supportive flow today, inviting community help and making it easy to coordinate plans that move causes forward. You might post a call for volunteers on your social channels — coordination beats going solo and saves time for meaningful work. Even as your 3rd House of Communication buzzes with side chats, you can simplify threads and set one agenda everyone can follow. Lean on allies so momentum builds at the right speed.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Soft feelings guide bold, simple choices. Your 10th House of Career and Status benefits from an easy trine, helping you share your work with quiet confidence and set a clear public goal. Request specific feedback from a trusted mentor, because clarity makes your gifts visible and guides your next brave step. Even as your 2nd House of Money nudges practical concerns, you can choose one step that honors both your values and your current bandwidth. Name your goal kindly and let trust grow.

GAINESVILLE — Former Florida coach Billy Napier has reportedly found a new home in a familiar spot, landing at James Madison University of the Sun Belt Conference.

Napier, according to multiple reports, will replace Bob Chesney, who will head to UCLA after the No. 25 Dukes (11-1) host Troy in Friday night’s Sun Belt championship game.

UF fired Napier Oct. 19, the day after a 23-21 homecoming escape against Mississippi State left him 22-23 during four seasons with the Gators. His 48.9 winning percentage is the lowest at UF since the 1940s.

Meanwhile, JMU, based in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is 39-10 since joining the FBS level in 2022, including 19-5 under Curt Cignetti. Cignetti left after five seasons with the Dukes for Indiana, where he has turned the No. 2 Hoosiers (12-0) into one of the nation’s top teams.

Chesney replaced Cignetti in 2024 and is 20-5.

Napier will have big shoes to fill, a high standard to meet and improvement to make after his tenure in Gainesville.

The Gators were 12-16 in SEC play, 5-17 against ranked opponents, including 0-14 away from home under Napier.

Florida averaged 21.6 points while going 4-8 in 2025, scoring a single touchdown each in losses to USF, LSU, Miami, Kentucky and Tennessee.

In 2024, UF finished 12th in the SEC in total offense, leading Napier to enter the offseason expected to make an outside hire at offensive coordinator. But he ultimately continued to call plays.

Meanwhile, new UF coach Jon Sumrall hired Georgia Tech’s Buster Faulkner Thursday to energize the Gators’ attack.

Napier, though, could find success again in the Sun Belt Conference. During four seasons at Louisiana 40-12 and winning the 2020 and 2021 conference titles.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and OLIVIA DIAZ, Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Justice Department failed Thursday to secure a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James after a judge dismissed the previous mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

Prosecutors went back to a grand jury in Virginia after a judge’s ruling halting the prosecution of James and another longtime Trump foe, former FBI Director James Comey, on the grounds that the U.S. attorney who presented the cases was illegally appointed. But grand jurors rejected prosecutors’ request to bring charges.

It’s the latest setback for the Justice Department in its bid to prosecute the frequent political target of the Republican president.

Prosecutors are expected to try again for an indictment, according to one person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

James was initially charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide and Trump lawyer, personally presented the case to the grand jury in October after being installed as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia amid pressure from Trump to charge Comey and James.

James has denied any wrongdoing and accused the administration of using the justice system to seek revenge against Trump’s political opponents. In a statement Thursday, James said: “It is time for this unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop.”

“This should be the end of this case,” her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. “If they continue, undeterred by a court ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of the charges, it will be a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”

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The allegations related to James’ purchase of a modest house in Norfolk, where she has family. During the sale, she signed a standard document called a “second home rider” in which she agreed to keep the property primarily for her “personal use and enjoyment for at least one year,” unless the lender agreed otherwise.

Rather than using the home as a second residence, James rented it out to a family of three, allowing her to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, prosecutors alleged.

It’s the latest example of pushback by grand jurors since the beginning of the second Trump administration. It’s so unusual for grand jurors to refuse to return an indictment that it was once said that prosecutors could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” But the Justice Department has faced setbacks in front of grand juries in several recent cases.

Even if the charges against James are resurrected, the Justice Department could face obstacles in securing a conviction against James.

James’ lawyers separately argued the case was a vindictive prosecution brought to punish the Trump critic who spent years investigating and suing the Republican president and won a staggering judgment in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements. The fine was later tossed out by a higher court, but both sides are appealing.

The defense had also alleged “outrageous government conduct” preceding her indictment, which the defense argued warrants the case’s dismissal. The judge hadn’t ruled on the defense’s arguments on those matters before dismissing the case last month over the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie took issue with the mechanism the Trump administration employed to appoint Halligan to lead one of the Justice Department’s most elite and important offices.

Halligan was named as a replacement for Erik Siebert, a veteran prosecutor in the office and interim U.S. attorney who resigned in September amid Trump administration pressure to file charges against both Comey and James.

The following night, Trump said he would be nominating Halligan to the role of interim U.S. attorney and publicly implored Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against his political opponents, saying in a Truth Social post that, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility” and “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

Comey was indicted three days after Halligan was sworn in by Bondi, and James was charged two weeks after that.

The Justice Department had defended Halligan’s appointment but has also revealed that Bondi had given Halligan a separate position of “Special Attorney,” presumably as a way to protect the indictments from the possibility of collapse. But Currie said such a retroactive designation could not save the cases.

Richer reported from Washington.

Palm Beach County government spending has surpassed inflation and population growth by more than $344 million this year, Florida’s chief financial officer argued Thursday.

As part of what CFO Blaise Ingoglia called “the wasteful spending exposing tour,” he held a news conference in West Palm Beach to call attention to his office’s findings, holding up placards with large numbers on them.

“Palm Beach County needs to do better. The taxpayers deserve better,” Ingoglia said. “If government didn’t grow, it wouldn’t need all that money. If it didn’t need all that money, you would not have to be taxed to pay for it.”

Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida, is the eleventh location that Ingoglia has visited to call out what he says is wasteful spending by municipal governments. Ingoglia said the $344 million figure is the largest “raw number” DOGE has identified as overspending in the state so far.

Ingoglia visited Broward County on Sept. 30, claiming government officials there overspent by about $190 million this year. These numbers come from analyses conducted by the state’s Department of Governmental Efficiency, following trips the DOGE team took to municipalities across the state earlier this year to audit budgets.

During his news conference, a sign at the lectern read, “FAFO audit,” a reference to the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight, another term being used as part of the initiative.

DOGE ran calculations that looked at fiscal years 2019-2020 to 2024-2025, factoring in inflation and population growth, and incorporating buffers, to determine how much larger governments’ budgets are nowadays than where they “should be” or “could be.”

“Local governments are going to say that they need all this extra revenue. They don’t. They want the extra revenue, but they don’t need it. You know who needs it? You, the taxpayers who are footing the bill for large, bloated, excessive government,” Ingoglia said on Thursday.

Newly appointed Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter, who attended Thursday’s news conference, agreed with Ingoglia’s conclusion: “I think we can do better,” she said.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia holds a news conference at the Okeechobee Steakhouse on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. He points to a graph with the amount of money he claims is being wasted by local government in Palm Beach County. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Ingoglia declined to offer examples of Palm Beach County’s overspending, instead referring to reports issued by DOGE that are set to come out in the future with specific line items. Originally, Ingoglia said these audits would be out around October.

“It’s a bunch of stuff,” Ingoglia said Thursday. “It’s the growth in government itself. Most of government is personnel costs, so a lot of the growth in government over time, adding full-time equivalents, new people, full hires and giving people raises year after year.”

In early October, Ingoglia made a brief remark about how Palm Beach County’s paratransit costs tripled in the last two years during a news conference in Jacksonville with Gov. Ron DeSantis. Local leaders responded saying the paratransit costs had not risen as much as Ingoglia claimed.

Ingoglia also had offered reporters in August some early remarks about what DOGE inspectors had found so far during in-office visits in Palm Beach County.

The DOGE team “identified some things, some area of opportunities here in Palm Beach County, some things that, quite frankly, when I heard it were a little eye-popping,” Ingoglia told reporters outside the county government building on Aug. 19. “I don’t think that the voters in Palm Beach County would agree that that’s probably the best use of taxpayer dollars.”

Part of the DOGE efforts is to advocate for property tax relief, and Ingoglia has frequently referenced the expectation that there will be a referendum question on the November 2026 ballot, possibly to eliminate taxes for homesteaded properties.

“Everyone is feeling the pinch, and this is why property taxes, and it relates to affordability, is going to be such a big issue on the 2026 ballot,” Ingoglia said Thursday. “It’s going to be a big issue for constitutional amendment purposes. It’s going to be a big issue for people running for office. We’re going to have to solve this problem.”

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court on Thursday came to the rescue of Texas Republicans, allowing next year’s elections to be held under the state’s congressional redistricting plan favorable to the GOP and pushed by President Donald Trump despite a lower-court ruling that the map likely discriminates on the basis of race.

With conservative justices in the majority, the court acted on an emergency request from Texas for quick action because qualifying in the new districts already has begun, with primary elections in March.

The Supreme Court’s order puts the 2-1 ruling blocking the map on hold at least until after the high court issues a final decision in the case. Justice Samuel Alito had previously temporarily blocked the order while the full court considered the Texas appeal.

The justices cast doubt on the lower-court finding that race played a role in the new map, saying in an unsigned statement that Texas lawmakers had “avowedly partisan goals.”

In dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the three liberal justices that her colleagues should not have intervened at this point. Doing so, she wrote, “ensures that many Texas citizens, for no good reason, will be placed in electoral districts because of their race. And that result, as this Court has pronounced year in and year out, is a violation of the Constitution.”

The high court’s vote “is a green light for there to be even more re-redistricting, and a strong message to lower courts to butt out,” Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California at Los Angeles law school, wrote on the Election Law Blog.

The justices have blocked past lower-court rulings in congressional redistricting cases, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana, that came several months before elections.

The Texas congressional map enacted last summer at Trump’s urging was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats.

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The effort to preserve a slim Republican majority in the House in next year’s elections touched off a nationwide redistricting battle.

Texas was the first state to meet Trump’s demands in what has become an expanding national battle over redistricting. Republicans drew the state’s new map to give the GOP five additional seats, and Missouri and North Carolina followed with new maps adding an additional Republican seat each. To counter those moves, California voters approved a ballot initiative to give Democrats an additional five seats there.

The redrawn maps are facing court challenges in California and Missouri. A three-judge panel allowed the new North Carolina map to be used in the 2026 elections.

The Trump administration is suing to block the new California maps, but it called for the Supreme Court to keep the redrawn Texas districts in place.

The justices are separately considering a case from Louisiana that could further limit race-based districts under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It’s unclear how the current round of redistricting would be affected by the outcome in the Louisiana case.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Supreme Court’s order “defended Texas’s fundamental right to draw a map that ensures we are represented by Republicans.” He called the redistricting law “the Big Beautiful Map.”

“Texas is paving the way as we take our country back, district by district, state by state,” Paxton said in a statement. “This map reflects the political climate of our state and is a massive win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement saying: “We won! Texas is officially — and legally — more red.”

Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin said in a statement that the court’s decision “to allow Texas Republicans’ rigged, racially gerrymandered maps to go into effect is wrong — both morally and legally. Once again, the Supreme Court gave Trump exactly what he wanted: a rigged map to help Republicans avoid accountability in the midterms for turning their backs on the American people.”

In the Texas case, U.S. District Judges Jeffrey V. Brown and David Guaderrama concluded that the redistricting plan likely dilutes the political power of Black and Latino voters in violation of the Constitution. Trump appointed Brown in his first term while President Barack Obama, a Democrat, appointed Guaderrama.

“To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map,” Brown wrote. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”

The majority opinion provoked a vituperative dissent from Judge Jerry Smith, an appeals court judge on the panel.

Smith accused Brown of “pernicious judicial misbehavior” for not giving Smith sufficient time before issuing the majority opinion. Smith, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, also disagreed strenuously with the substance of the opinion, saying it would be a candidate for the “Nobel Prize for Fiction,” if there were such an award.

“The main winners from Judge Brown’s opinion are George Soros and Gavin Newsom,” Smith wrote, referring to the liberal megadonor and California’s Democratic governor. “The obvious losers are the People of Texas and the Rule of Law.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed Thursday’s Supreme Court stay, posting on X, “Federal courts have no right to interfere with a State’s decision to redraw legislative maps for partisan reasons.”

The new map eliminated five of the state’s nine “coalition” districts, where no minority group has a majority but together they outnumber non-Hispanic white voters. The total number of congressional districts in which minorities make up a majority of voting-age citizens dropped from 16 to 14.

Yet Republicans argued the map is better for minority voters. There’s a new, eighth Hispanic-majority district, and two Black-majority districts instead of none.

But critics consider that the Hispanic or Black majority in each district is so slim that white voters, who tend to turn out in larger percentages, will control election results.

Associated Press writer John Hanna contributed to this report from Topeka, Kansas.