South Florida Local News

St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked nationally No. 11 by MaxPreps, and No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna will try to take the easier road to the FHSAA state championship games next weekend at Pit Bull Stadium on the campus of FIU, as they have home semifinal games.

Six-time defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (5A) and four-time defending state (1A) champ Chaminade-Madonna both rolled to regional final victories, as did defending champ West Boca (6A) and also Cardinal Newman (1A).

Defending Class 4A state champion American Heritage rallied to defeat Archbishop McCarthy 25-20 while the other two winners — West Broward and Cardinal Gibbons — both won by three points.

I was 8-1 last week in running my overall record to 176-33 (84.2%) for the year.

5A

Riverdale (12-1) at No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas (12-1) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): In a battle of the Raiders, Riverdale comes in on an eight-game winning streak following a 28-26 win over Manatee to reach the state semifinal for the first time in school history. Senior quarterback Theodis Harris ran for two TDs in their recent win, but departed with a concussion, so his status is up in the air. Senior Lovensky Blanchard leads the team on the ground with 1,385 yards and 21 TDs. The six-time defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders have won 12 straight games since opening the year with a 26-23 loss to California Mater Dei. Senior QB Mason Mallory accounted for all four scores in last week’s win over McArthur, which was the 34th consecutive playoff win during their streak. St. Thomas Aquinas 24, Riverdale 7.

6A

West Boca Raton (11-2) at No. 70 Seffner Armwood (13-0) (Friday, 7 p.m.): The host Hawks have won 35 of their past 38 games and have outscored the opposition 577-58 this season. Armwood has pitched three straight shutouts, and seven in their past eight games, as eight players have double-digit tackles for losses, led by junior linebacker Theo Wilson (86 tackles, 32 TFLs, 12 sacks). West Boca junior quarterback Trey Moran accounted for three TDs as the 6A defending state champion Bulls thumped Mitchell 41-3 for their fifth straight win. West Boca senior and UM commit Javian Mallory enters the game averaging 101.3 yards per game. Armwood 20, West Boca 16.

West Broward (11-2) at Gainesville Buchholz (12-1) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): We have another game featuring the same mascots: the Bobcats. Senior DL Jayson Farfan led West Broward with  three of the team’s six sacks last week, while sophomore linebacker Tyler Tindel had 18 tackles, a sack and defended a pass as West Broward rallied from a 14-point first-quarter deficit to knock off the region’s top seed, Miami Southridge. Buchholz has won 11 in a row, thanks in part to senior Justin Williams (64 receptions for 1,059 yards, 12 scores; 492 rushing yards, 9 TDs). West Broward, playing in their first state semifinal, has won 11 games in a row since losing the first two games of the year. Gainesville Buchholz 21, West Broward 17.

4A

American Heritage (7-5) at Choctawhatchee (12-1) (Friday, 7 p.m.): The defending 4A state champion Patriots rallied to defeat host Archbishop McCarthy 25-20 as backup running back TJ Mullen ran for 158 yards and a TD, filling in for senior Jonathan Bueno, who left in the first quarter with an injury. Mullen, who started the season as a defensive back, might be called on again with Bueno’s status uncertain. It was the Patriots’ third straight win. The host Indians, who won their lone state championship in 1990 (Class 5A), are also riding a three-game win streak, and last reached the final four in 2014. Choctawhatchee 21, American Heritage 20.

2A

Cardinal Gibbons (10-3) at Jacksonville Bolles (12-1) (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.): The host Bulldogs steamrolled Pensacola Catholic 44-10 behind senior QB Jaden Weatherly (1,860 passing yards, 22 TDs; 271 yards rushing, 6 TDs) and crushed visiting Pensacola Catholic 44-10. It’s the sixth state semifinal appearance in seven seasons for Bulldogs coach Matt Tobin. They have won 11 state titles (the last coming in 2011), which is second in the state to St. Thomas Aquinas and their 16. Cardinal Gibbons handed its coach Matt DuBuc his 100th career victory with a 20-17 win over previously undefeated Miami Immaculata La Salle (12-1) in the regional final. The Chiefs ran for 294 yards as they reached the state semifinals for the first time since 2021, when they won the second of back-to-back state titles. Jacksonville Bolles 17, Cardinal Gibbons 16.

1A

Tampa Carrollwood Day (12-0) at Cardinal Newman (10-3) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): Cardinal Newman is hoping to win the first state semifinal in school history. Last season, the Crusaders fell 22-21 in double-OT on a 2-point conversion by Clearwater Central Catholic in their state semifinal debut. Cardinal Newman senior RB Phoenix Donghia (1,068 rushing yards, 22 TDs) and senior LB Adam Balogoun-Ali (101 tackles, 15 TFL, 2 sacks per game) lead the way. Carrollwood Day averages 44 points and 484 yards per game, led by sophomore running back Kameron Battle (2,021 yards rushing, 21 scores; 334 receiving yards, 6 TDs). Carrollwood Day 31, Cardinal Newman 27.

Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy (9-4) at No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna (10-2) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): Chaminade-Madonna faces a familiar foe if it wants to reach its 10th consecutive state final appearance. The Lions topped the Conquerors 35-6 in last year’s state semifinals after Trinity Christian had won the previous two meetings in 2020 and 2016, en route to winning 3A state championships in both years. Chaminade-Madonna has won seven state championships in the past nine years. Trinity Christian Academy is no stranger to winning champions either having won nine in the school’s history, the last one coming in 2021, when they won the 2A title. Chaminade-Madonna 28, Trinity Christian 7.

Inaugural Florida Invitational Tournament

7A-4A South Division Championship game

Cantonment Tate (10-3) vs. Dr. Joaquin Garcia (10-3) (Thursday, 7 p.m.) at The Villages Charter School stadium near Orlando: The Aggies, from just north of Pensacola, have a young team with just 19 seniors on its 57-player roster. This game should be a contrast of styles, as Tate relies on a potent running game, averaging 186.3 yards on the ground per game, thanks in part to sophomore Tanner Clark’s 114.2 yards per game. Since a knee injury sidelined starting sophomore quarterback Miles Delarosa in September, Tate has gone the quarterback-by-committee route, finally settling on Clark, who has run for 1,500 yards and accounted for 18 TDs. Dr. Joaquin Garcia, winners of five in a row, is led by senior QB Caleb Butler (2,131 yards passing, 24 TDs; 275 rushing yards, 6 TDs).

Dr. Joaquin Garcia coach Brandon Walker, whose team finished 1-9 in his first year and has reached the postseason the past two years, said there was a level of disappointment when they didn’t make the main FHSAA playoffs, but that was erased when they got the No. 1 seed in the south bracket of the FIT.

“We have come a long way in the three years that we have been open as a school,” Walker said. “I am super proud of our players, coaches, and school for all of the hard work it has taken to get to where we are. We are nowhere near where we want to be, but our program has taken steps every year, and we will continue to climb the ladder. Tate has a good football team, and it’s going to take a great effort on our part to get the victory.”

OXFORD, Miss. — Shelton Henderson scored 18 points, Tru Washington added 17, and Miami defeated Mississippi 75-66 in an ACC/SEC Challenge game on Tuesday night.

The Hurricanes (7-2) shot 49% from the field and 44% from deep, and led for all but four minutes of the game. Miami led by as many as 19 points early in the second half.

Henderson grabbed nine rebounds and had five assists, pacing the Hurricanes in both categories. Malik Reneau scored 15 points (7-for-12 shooting) and had six rebounds.

Miami rode an extended 18-5 run to end the half up 42-26. They surrendered a 9-0 run to Ole Miss that made it a single-digit game, but held off the comeback attempt for a comfortable win.

Travis Perry and Patton Pinkins each scored 11 points to pace the Rebels (5-3). Malik Dia had nine rebounds and nine points, shooting 2 of 10 from the field. The Rebels were held to 35% shooting.

Up next

Miami hosts Southern Miss on Saturday.

By TIM REYNOLDS

SUNRISE — Troy Stecher and Scott Laughton both got their first goals of the season, Dakota Joshua added a goal and an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Bobby McMann had two assists for the Leafs, who have won three of their last four, and John Tavares added an empty-netter with 18.6 seconds left.

Sam Reinhart got his 14th of the season, a short-handed score in the second period for Florida. But Laughton scored with 7:42 left to restore the two-goal edge for the Leafs.

Florida has lost four of its last five, and four straight at home.

It was the first Florida-Toronto game since the second round of last season’s playoffs, a series where the Maple Leafs took the first two games and held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in Game 3 — before losing that game on a goal by Brad Marchand in overtime. Florida would roll to wins in Games 5 and 7 in Toronto, both by 6-1 scores, and went on to capture its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

But this Florida roster looked a whole lot different than the one last spring did.

The Panthers were again without their long-term injured players — Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov, Eetu Luostarinen and Tomas Nosek among them — plus were without forward Carter Verhaeghe, who missed the game because he and his wife were expecting a baby.

It meant Florida added Jack Studnicka to its fourth line. Studnicka was making his Panthers debut and playing an NHL game for the first time since April 2024.

Up next

Panthers: Host Nashville on Thursday, the fourth game of a six-game homestand.

By AARON BEARD

DURHAM, N.C. — Isaiah Evans hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds left, and No. 4 Duke held on to beat No. 15 Florida 67-66 on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

The slim sophomore was sitting at 0 for 7 from behind the arc when Florida’s Boogie Fland hit a 3 with 34.6 seconds left for a 66-64 lead, coming on a night the reigning national champions had trailed by 15. But Evans calmly sunk the shot that helped Duke (9-0) stay unbeaten in a thrilling finish.

Florida (5-3) had a final desperation possession down one with 1.4 seconds left, but Maliq Brown tipped Thomas Haugh’s heave at the inbounds point to run the final time off and send Cameron Indoor Stadium into an ear-ringing frenzy.

Star freshman Cameron Boozer scored 29 points for the Blue Devils. Evans had 13 points and a career-high five of Duke’s 11 blocks.

Haugh scored 24 points for the Gators, who trailed 36-24 at the break but absolutely worked Duke on the glass in the second half to climb back in it. Florida finished with a 44-33 rebounding advantage, including 20-11 on the offensive glass for the game while finishing with 13 second-chance points after halftime.

This marked the first time the Blue Devils had hosted a reigning national champion in nonconference play at Cameron Indoor Stadium since beating UCLA in February 1996, and this one came with the unusual sight of Duke wearing black uniforms at home tied to a fan blackout.

Up next

Florida: The Gators face No. 5 UConn next Tuesday in New York’s Madison Square Garden, a matchup of teams that have won the past three NCAA titles.

By SEAN MURPHY

The owners of an all-girls summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, where 25 campers and two teenage counselors died in catastrophic July 4 flooding, announced plans on Tuesday for new safety upgrades that will be in place when a portion of the camp opens next summer.

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Camp Mystic owners said in a letter to parents that they plan to exceed new camp safety laws that were passed by the Legislature and signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott following the devastating floods that killed at least 136 people and washed away homes and vehicles.

“We are preparing for next summer at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake and we know that safety is of the utmost concern to all of you, as it is for us,” the Eastland family wrote in the letter to parents of Camp Mystic campers. “We thank the Heaven’s 27 families and our state leaders for passing legislation to help make camps safer, and it is our goal not only to be in compliance with the new camp safety laws, but to exceed their requirements.”

The children and counselors who died have become known as “Heaven’s 27.” Camp Mystic’s owners include the wife and other family members of Dick Eastland, who also died in the flooding.

The enhanced safety measures at the camp include four flood warning river monitors designed to provide early detection of high-water events, two-way radios in every cabin enabled with national weather alerts and high-capacity generators to maintain power in critical areas of the camp, including its office and dining hall.

“We recognize that returning to Camp Mystic carries both hope and heartache,” the Eastland family said in the letter. “For many of your daughters, this return is not simple, but it is a courageous step in their healing journey.”

The Eastland family announced in September that it planned to build a memorial for the girls who died in the flooding and to reopen Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, a separate property that is not adjacent to the Guadalupe River and that sustained no damage in the July 4 floods. That plan drew fierce criticism from some of the victims’ families, who said they were never consulted about Camp Mystic’s plans.

“To promote reopening less than three months after the tragedy — while one camper remains missing — is unthinkable,” CiCi and Will Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile Steward died in the floods and whose body still has not been recovered, wrote to Camp Mystic officials when their reopening plan was first announced.

The families of several of the girls who died in the floods have sued Camp Mystic and the Eastlands in state court, alleging camp operators failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached.

Camp Mystic plans to offer six separate 10-day sessions in 2026, beginning May 30 and ending Aug. 9. They also plan to offer tours of the camp in April for enrolled campers, counselors and their parents.

BOSTON (AP) — Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers was banned for life Tuesday from an academic society in the latest fallout over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

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The American Economic Association, a nonprofit scholarly association dedicated to economic research, said it had accepted Summers’ resignation and banned him for life from “attending, speaking at, or otherwise participating” in its events.

“The AEA condemns Mr. Summers’ conduct, as reflected in publicly reported communications, as fundamentally inconsistent with its standards of professional integrity and with the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession,” the group said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Summers declined to comment.

The Epstein emails include messages in which Summers appeared to be getting advice from Epstein about pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman who viewed him as an “economic mentor.”

“im a pretty good wing man , no?” Epstein wrote on Nov. 30, 2018.

The next day, Summers told Epstein he had texted the woman, telling her he “had something brief to say to her.”

“Am I thanking her or being sorry re my being married. I think the former,” he wrote.

Summers’ wife, Elisa New, also emailed Epstein multiple times, including a 2015 message in which she thanked him for arranging financial support for a poetry project she directs.

After the emails came out last month, Summers went on leave from teaching at Harvard University and from his position as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. Other organizations that ended their affiliations with Summers include the Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development and the Budget Lab at Yale University.

Epstein, who authorities say died by suicide in jail in 2019, was a convicted sex offender with vast connections to wealthy and powerful people, making him a fixture of outrage and conspiracy theories about wrongdoing among American elites.

Summers served as treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Harvard’s president for five years, from 2001 to 2006. When asked about the emails last week, Summers issued a statement saying he has “great regrets in my life” and that his association with Epstein was a “major error in judgement.”

By SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will embark on a reconstruction of Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.

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“We’re also going to rebuild Dulles airport because it’s not a good airport,” Trump said during a meeting of his Cabinet members at the White House. “It should be a great airport, and it’s not a good airport at all. It’s a terrible airport.”

Dulles is one of the three Washington-area airports and its quality is a hotly-debated topic among Washingtonians.

Trump, a former real estate mogul, said the Dulles building was “incorrectly designed.” He nonetheless praised Eero Saarinen, the Finnish-American architect who designed the main terminal at Dulles.

“We’re going to turn that around and we’re going to make Dulles airport — serving Washington and Virginia, Maryland, etc. — we’re gonna make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it.”

His motorcade took an unannounced drive through Dulles in early November. At the time, the White House said Trump wanted to take the detour to the airport to assess potential future projects.

During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy singled out the controversial “people movers” that ferry travelers in between concourses. One of the vehicles, which are also called “mobile lounges,” crashed in November.

Still, some experts questioned the substance of Trump’s Dulles remarks.

Sheldon H. Jacobson, an airport security and aviation infrastructure expert whose research contributed to the design of TSA PreCheck, called the president’s announcement a “head-scratcher,” noting it comes amid substantial modernization work already underway at Dulles, including a new 14-gate concourse set to open next year that will give passengers direct access to its AeroTrain system.

“I can think of a lot higher priorities right now,” he said, pointing to the long-needed updates to the nation’s aging air traffic control equipment. Trump said Tuesday that his administration was also working on modernizing the air traffic control system.

Jacobson said the airport’s continued reliance on people movers remains a “glaring weakness,” but added that “there are a lot of things actually in very good shape at Dulles right now,” including the AeroTrain.

“I’m not sure what he’s thinking,” Jacobson said of Trump. “His comments are non sequitur to the reality of this airport.”

The Transportation Department announced later Tuesday that it is inviting bids for a Dulles project that would build “completely new terminals and concourses” at the airport. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement that it will work with the Transportation Department to build upon the existing $7 billion plan to improve Dulles.

Associated Press writers Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Josh Funk in Omaha contributed to this report.

By JOSH FUNK

The Trump administration’s latest move to enforce standards for commercial truck drivers, by flagging nearly half of the driving schools as noncompliant, doesn’t figure to disrupt the industry, experts say. But the heavy scrutiny on immigrant drivers might.

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The bigger, more reputable schools were not included in the list and many of the schools that were appear to have already been idle, leading trucking industry officials to predict minimal turmoil. The self-certification process that has been in place since 2022 allowed questionable schools to gain recognition. Plus, these efforts to enforce training standards — and the previous moves to strengthen licensing particularly for immigrants — will take effect gradually over time as licenses come up for renewal and new drivers graduate from schools.

The fact that there are probably more drivers than needed right now in the midst of a 10% drop in shipments since 2022 because of the economic uncertainty also helps, although trucking companies still struggle to find enough well-qualified drivers with clean records.

Even before a truck driver that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people, the administration focused on making sure truck drivers meet English proficiency standards. The focus on immigrant drivers, who account for about 20% of all truckers, intensified after that August crash as the Transportation Department audited commercial driver’s license programs and Duffy proposed new restrictions that would severely limit which noncitizens could get a license to drive a semi or a bus.

A court put the new rules on hold. But Duffy threatened to withhold millions from California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota after the audits found significant problems under the existing rules like commercial licenses being valid long after an immigrant truck driver’s work permit expired, That pressure prompted California to revoke 17,000 licenses.

Some immigrant drivers are afraid to go on the road

Trucking company owner Dave Atwal said that as a result many of his drivers at Diamond Transportation in Lodi, California, are “just afraid to go to some of these other states where they might get harassed.” Atwal has been able to assign some drivers to in-state routes, but he has lost more than 40 drivers who either walked away from the job or were unable to renew their licenses even though they have several years of safe driving on their records.

Dave Laut said he has had a hard time finding all the drivers he wants to have behind the wheels of his 300 or so trucks at FBT Inc. Immigrant drivers are bearing the brunt of the government enforcement, according to Laut who is Sikh like the driver in the Florida crash and the driver of another fatal crash in California this fall.

“A lot of (Sikhs) are quitting truck driving,” he said. “They feel people target them, and they feel insulted and they are quitting jobs. They are hardworking guys. They stand out more.”

Laut said his company underwent a Homeland Security audit of his drivers’ immigration statuses about two weeks ago. It passed that review, which many trucking firms in California are undergoing.

But Duffy’s announcement Monday that as many as 7,500 trucking programs could soon be decertified will threaten the ongoing effort to attract and train new drivers — particularly if any schools doing things the right way get caught up with schools not playing by the rules.

But many of the schools that would be forced out of business were already idle before the Transportation Department took action, so decertifying them may not have a dramatic impact. The vast majority of the schools at risk either failed to submit a required biannual report or hadn’t submitted any certificates verifying that a student had completed their course in the past year.

Trucking industry can likely absorb the changes

Logan Cooper, who arranges for trucks to deliver containers of imported goods from ports and rail yards for OEC Group, said “there’s some room to absorb this in the industry” but there will likely be some impact over time.

But Blair Robbins, who advises companies about their transportation needs as a partner with EisnerAmper, said that even if all these efforts do lead to higher rates, they would be increasing off the current lower shipping rates that are depressed because of the decline in the number of shipments in recent years. Robbins said he has seen estimates that only about 5% to 10% of the workforce might be affected, and that will happen gradually over time.

Tougher standards should mean safer drivers

Dane Rogers, CEO of Western Pacific Truck School in California and the national Commercial Vehicle Training Association, supports the federal government’s efforts to enforce the 2022 driver training standards. Rogers’ school, which trains hundreds of drivers every year, was not found out of compliance.

“We’ve been highlighting this for years,” Rogers said. “There’s so many truck schools that just pop up, and they don’t adhere to the rigorous standards set forth by either California or the FMCSA – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.”

Jeffery Burkhardt, who is chair of the national trucking schools group, said established schools don’t have any problem complying with the standards. Burkhardt is also is senior director of operations at Ancora, which provides CDL training at colleges, community colleges and companies.

“For the legitimate schools it’s not a problem. We welcome it. For the illegitimate schools, it’s a bad thing for them,” Burkhardt said.

Decertifying nearly half of all trucking schools could limit the number of new drivers and create monthslong waiting lists at the remaining schools. But Rogers and major trucking groups, including the American Trucking Association and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, think it is a good idea to ensure schools are meeting the standards to prepare drivers to handle 80,000-pound trucks on highways across the country.

“Do you want more truck drivers that are dangerous, or do you want less truck drivers that are more competent?” Rogers said. “I would go with the latter.”

But this may extend wait lists at trucking schools

Antonio Yates said classes at the 100 Placement Truck Driving School he works at in Detroit are already full for the next two to three months, and he expects the wait time will get worse if all these schools close. He said the number of immigrants willing to pay $5,000 to learn how to operate a semitrailer truck or $3,000 to learn to drive a bus has increased over the past year or so.

“They’re from all over, South America, Africa. They’re from everywhere,” said Yates, who added that most are paying for the training themselves.

Yates acknowledged that understanding the English language can be tough for some.

“If I can’t communicate with you, I can’t even train you properly,” he said. “We turn people away all of the time.”

Associated Press writers Corey Williams, Audrey McAvoy and Sophie Austin contributed to this report.

A second man has been arrested in connection with a shooting outside of a Pembroke Pines sports bar in October that killed one man and injured another, the police department said Tuesday.

Two men had been shot multiple times just before 4 a.m. Oct. 19 in the parking lot of Rickey’s Sports Bar and Grill at 8389 Pines Blvd. One of the men was pronounced dead that morning at the hospital while the second man survived, Pembroke Pines Police previously said.

Richaun Erick McKnight, 21, and Clayton Hicks, 27, are facing charges in connection with the shooting. McKnight’s arrest was announced Tuesday evening; Hicks was arrested the day after the shooting.

Surveillance video showed the two victims had been in an argument in the parking lot with a man wearing a gray track suit, then walked back toward their red Dodge Journey that was parked nearby, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The man in the track suit walked after them, raised his arm and fired a gun toward them, surveillance video showed, according to the affidavit. A second man wearing black, later identified as Hicks, then came into view and also shot toward the two victims, whose names are redacted in the affidavit.

Hicks was then seen running and getting into a white BMW X3 before picking up the other shooter and driving away west on Pines Boulevard, the affidavit said. License plate reader data led detectives to identify Hicks as the owner of the BMW.

Detectives found Hicks’s BMW in Miami-Dade County later that day and surveilled him before pulling the car over for a tint violation, according to the affidavit. Hicks told a Pembroke Pines Police officer who questioned him during the stop that he had been at the sports bar that morning and shot 22 rounds.

Hicks told the detective he “just started shooting” at one of the victims “because he heard shooting,” according to the affidavit. Hicks at first told the officer he had been alone but once shown the surveillance video said he had taken a friend named “Larry” home. He denied knowing the second shooter.

Court records were not available Monday night in McKnight’s case.

Hicks faces one count of second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, court records show. He has pleaded not guilty.

McKnight as of Monday night is facing one count of second-degree murder with a firearm, the police department said in a news release. He was arrested in Fort Lauderdale in coordination with the FBI and Miami Police.

By BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military would have committed a crime if it killed the survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat, legal experts say.

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It doesn’t matter whether the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels as the Trump administration asserts. Such a fatal second strike would have violated peacetime laws and those governing armed conflict, the experts say.

“I can’t imagine anyone, no matter what the circumstance, believing it is appropriate to kill people who are clinging to a boat in the water,” said Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College. “That is clearly unlawful.”

The White House confirmed Monday that a second strike was conducted in September against a vessel accused of trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela and insisted it was done “in self-defense” and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.

A news report about that attack spawned a new level of scrutiny from lawmakers and added to a growing debate about whether service members can refuse to follow illegal orders, which some Democratic lawmakers recently encouraged.

Here’s what to know about the strikes and laws of armed conflict:

What set off the debate

The Washington Post reported last week that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a spoken directive to “kill everybody” on a boat targeted on Sept. 2, the first vessel hit in what the Trump administration calls a counterdrug campaign that has grown to over 20 known strikes and more than 80 dead.

Two men survived that first attack, which killed nine others, and were clinging to the wreckage, the newspaper reported. The commander in charge, Adm. Frank Bradley, ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, killing the two men, the Post reported.

Hegseth called it “fake news” on social media, saying the boat strikes are “in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the administration “will look into” it but added that “I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.” He noted that Hegseth told him “he did not order the death of those two men.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Bradley had ordered the second strike and “was well within his authority to do so.” She denied that Hegseth said to leave no survivors.

The administration has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, similar to the war against al-Qaida following the Sept. 11 attacks.

What the law allows during armed conflict

A second strike killing survivors would have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not, Schmitt said.

He said the U.S. is not in a legitimate armed conflict with drug cartels, which would have to be committing high levels of violence against the country, not just trafficking drugs that kill Americans.

Even if it was, “it has been clear for well over a century that you may not declare what’s called ‘no quarter’ — take no survivors, kill everyone,” Schmitt said.

Whether an armed conflict is taking place likely would not be settled by an international body like the International Criminal Court, to which the U.S. is not a party, said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the George W. Bush administration.

The U.S., however, could face blowback from allies, which may decline to share information for military operations that are illegal under their own laws or international law, said Waxman, who served in the State and Defense departments and on the National Security Council under Bush.

America’s armed conflict against al-Qaida received support from the U.N. Security Council, NATO and U.S. allies, he said.

The legal threat posed to US military personnel

If the U.S. is not in an armed conflict, that means it violated international human rights law, which governs how countries treat individuals, Schmitt said.

“You can only use lethal force in circumstances where there is an imminent threat,” Schmitt said. “And that wasn’t the case.”

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group and a former State Department lawyer, agreed that the U.S. is not in an armed conflict with drug cartels.

“The term for a premeditated killing outside of armed conflict is murder,” Finucane said, adding that U.S. military personnel could be prosecuted in American courts.

“Murder on the high seas is a crime,” he said. “Conspiracy to commit murder outside of the United States is a crime. And under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 118 makes murder an offense.”

The Pentagon’s own manual on the laws of war describes a scenario similar to the Sept. 2 boat strike when discussing when service members should refuse to comply with unlawful orders.

“For example,” the manual says, “orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.”

What Congress has said about what comes next

Leaders of the Armed Services committees in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate’s committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said the committee “will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

Concern about the second strike comes after a group of Democratic lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — released a video calling on U.S. military members to defy “illegal orders.”

Among them was Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and former Navy fighter pilot who has questioned the use of the military to attack the alleged drug boats. The Pentagon says it’s investigating Kelly over possible breaches of military law tied to the video.

Kelly said Monday that “if what seems to have happened, actually happened, I’m really concerned about our service members.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has defended the boat strikes as stopping the flow of narcotics into the U.S. and said to wait for the outcome of the reviews.

“Obviously, if there was a direction to take a second shot and kill people, that’s a violation of an ethical, moral or legal code. We need to get to the bottom of it,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

By CORA LEWIS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Chain stores have Black Friday. Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday. For local businesses, it’s Small Business Saturday.

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In the last 20 years, more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season. The travel trade has firmly joined the trend with another post-Thanksgiving sales push: Travel Tuesday.

On the same day as the nonprofit world’s Giving Tuesday, airlines, hotels, cruise ship companies, travel booking platforms and tour operators get in on the annual spirit to spend by promoting one-day deals. Consumer advocates say there are legitimate savings to be had but also chances to be misled by marketing that conveys a false sense of urgency.

“People see ‘40 percent off’ and assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime steal, without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month.” Sally French, a travel expert at personal finance site NerdWallet, said.

She and other seasoned travelers advised consumers who want to see if they can save money by booking trips on Travel Tuesday to do research in advance and to pay especially close attention to the fine print attached to offers.

People hoping to score last-minute deals for Christmas or New Year’s should double-check for blackout dates or other restrictions, recommended Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer expert for the online travel site Hopper.

It’s also wise to to keep an eye out for nonrefundable fares, resort fees, double occupancy requirements or upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts, according to French.

Shoppers should be wary of travel packages with extra transportation options or add-on offers, French said. Instead of lowering fares or room rates, some companies use statement credits, extra points, included amenities and bundled extras as a way to tempt potential customers, she said.

“Many travel brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury, but they still need to fill planes, ships and hotel rooms,” French said. “Add-on perks are their workaround.”

Consumers who are prepared rather than impulsive and on the lookout for the up-sell are in a much better position to identify authentic bargains, consumer experts stressed. Knowing what a specific trip would typically cost and comparison shopping can help expose offers based on inflated underlying costs and whether the same itinerary might have been cheaper at other times, they said.

“Compare prices, check your calendar and make sure the trip you’re booking is something you genuinely want, not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you,” French said. “What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn’t align with your plans.”

Travel Tuesday came about based on existing industry trends. In 2017, Hopper analyzed historical pricing data and found that in each of the nine previous years, the biggest day for post-Thanksgiving travel discounts was the day after Cyber Monday.

The site named the day Travel Tuesday. The number of offers within that time-targeted window and the number of travelers looking for them has since expanded.

“Nearly three times as many trips were planned on Travel Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday,” Hopper’s Schwimer said. “We continue to see growth in the day, year over year, as more travel brands and categories offer deals.”

The event’s origin story is in line with the National Retail Federation coining Cyber Monday in 2005 as a response to the emerging e-commerce era. American Express came up with Small Business Saturday in 2010 to direct buyers and their dollars to smaller retailers, credit card fees and all.

A report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year noted that November and December tend to be slow months for travel bookings, making Travel Tuesday a “marketing moment” that could help boost revenue.

Hotel, cruise and and airline bookings by U.S. travelers increased significantly on Travel Tuesday 2023 compared with the two weeks before and after the day, the report’s authors wrote, citing data provided by the travel marketing platform Sojern.

While Travel Tuesday so far has been mostly confined to the United States and Canada, “European travel companies can anticipate the possibility that Travel Tuesday will become a growing phenomenon in their region, given that other shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread beyond North America,” the report stated.

Vivek Pandya, lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending, said consumers have more tools than ever this holiday season to help them determine if deals hold up to scrutiny.

“Social journeys, influencers providing promo codes and values, and generative AI platforms taking all that in – the prices, the social conversation, the reviews – and giving guidance to the consumer, that’s a very different, dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons,” Pandya said.

Both he and French emphasized that prices rise and fall based on multiple factors, and that the winter holidays are not the only major promotional period of the year.

“We now have dozens of consumer spending ‘holidays,’” French said. “Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day. So if you don’t buy on Travel Tuesday, you haven’t missed your moment.”

The Associated Press receives support from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

In the wild, Florida’s manatees already face threats from cold stress, habitat loss, boat strikes and other human activities.

Now advocates worry about the potential peril that manatees may encounter from the Trump administration’s proposed changes to federal implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Environmentalists say the proposed rollbacks could threaten the lives of sea cows through further habitat degradation, pollution and the adverse effects of development.

“I’ve spent 50-some years trying to get [manatees] to a place where they’re going to be around and they’re going to be a part of a healthy, sustainable ecosystem,” said Pat Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club. “If these changes occur, it’s going to be a huge battle going forward.”

The Trump administration says the modifications — which would change how agencies manage species and habitat under the act, not the act itself — are aimed at curbing “regulatory overreach.”

One of the proposed revisions includes rescinding the “blanket rule” that affords animals and plants listed as threatened, such as the Florida manatee, the same strict protections automatically given to the more critically at-risk animals and plants on the Endangered Species List. Instead, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be tasked with making species-specific rules, a process that could be time and labor-intensive.

Another change will allow “consideration of economic impacts” when deciding whether to include an area as protected ‘critical habitat’ for a species, allowing for cost-benefit studies rather than solely focusing on science.

Earlier this year, FWS also proposed a rule change that would revise the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, in effect allowing modification or degradation of endangered species’ habitats that have historically been protected under the law.

“When you deregulate or when you chip away at the framework of this bedrock conservation law by undermining it piece by piece, trying to pull out critical pieces that make it successful, it puts species and their habitats back at risk,” said Katherine Sayler, southeast representative with Defenders of Wildlife.

A Florida manatee comes up for a breath near Hunter Spring during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Florida manatees were first protected by Florida state law in 1893, but federal legislation — the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 — established the bedrock conservation laws that protect manatees to this day, which also includes protection of their habitat.

The Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of roughly 291 species since 1973 and has saved more than 99% of listed species under its protection, according to a 2019 study.

These safeguards helped Florida manatees to rebound from an estimated 1,267 manatees in 1991 to an estimated 8,350 to 11,730 manatees in the state based on 2021-2022 surveys. 

A Florida manatee swims through the clear water of Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Though the gentle giants have recovered substantially in recent decades, the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife says the proposed changes could diminish the gains of the Florida manatee and push them further towards endangered status.

From December 2020 to April 2022, manatees in the Indian River Lagoon experienced an “Unusual Mortality Event” (UME) due to a lack of forage. An overabundance of phosphorus and nitrogen in the estuary — the result of leaking septic tanks, wastewater spills, stormwater runoff and over-fertilization of lawns — caused algae blooms that choked out the natural seagrass that manatees rely upon to survive. The UME was tied to the death of more than 1,200 manatees.

A Florida manatee and calf float in Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

To date in 2025, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has counted nearly 600 manatee deaths, including 91 caused by watercraft and 130 perinatal deaths of manatee calves less than 5 feet in length. 

The fear among manatee advocates is that rolling back habitat protections could exacerbate the habitat loss that has dramatically accelerated in recent years.

Another proposed change would introduce a two-step process for designating critical habitat that favors currently occupied areas while creating a higher standard for designating unoccupied but potentially significant habitat. Yet another would weaken the requirements for interagency cooperation and consultations, opening the door for federal agencies to approve resource extraction and development projects without assessing future impact to threatened and endangered species or their habitats, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

“Projects may go forward without the level of attention to, ‘What are the effects on species’ habitats going to be?’ What you don’t measure, you can’t mitigate,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “It’s just putting the blinders on to one of the five major drivers of extinction, which is habitat loss.”

A Florida manatee swims through the clear water of Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

The U.S. Department of the Interior said the changes are aimed at advancing “American energy independence” and improving “regulatory predictability,” according to a news release.

“These revisions end years of legal confusion and regulatory overreach, delivering certainty to states, tribes, landowners and businesses while ensuring conservation efforts remain grounded in sound science and common sense,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in the release.

A Florida manatee rests in Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Critics argue that the changes will favor industry interests and profit over actual species conservation goals.

“The question is, ‘Who benefits?’ Certainly not the species,” Davenport said. “That deregulatory agenda certainly favors the few over the many.”

Sayler said that manatees can help indicate what’s happening with Florida’s broader environment.

“They’re an umbrella species and a sentinel species. When manatees are doing well, so many other marine species benefit,” she said. “They also tell us when things are not quite right with an estuary, a watershed or a system.”

A Florida manatee rests in Three Sisters Springs during a tour with Crystal River Watersports in Crystal River on Nov. 19. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

There’s also more than sea cows at stake. When manatees benefit, so do economic, fishing and tourism interests. When the ecosystem suffers, so can humans.

“I think in Washington some have lost sight of the fact that we’re dependent on a healthy ecosystem,” said Elizabeth Fleming, senior Florida representative with Defenders of Wildlife. “We can’t thrive if we’re breathing polluted air, eating polluted food and drinking polluted water.” 

A public comment period is currently open through Dec. 22 for the public to weigh in on the proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act. Comments can be made by visiting federalregister.gov/agencies/fish-and-wildlife-service.

Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Due to a computer meltdown earlier this year, I had to rebuild my holiday greeting card address list.

When I asked my mother-in-law to share her list from that side of the family, I was flummoxed to find that she addresses her cards as “Mr. and Mrs. Husband’s Name” — e.g., John and Jane Smith would be addressed as “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.”

While I know this used to be a correct form of address, I (married for 15 years and using my husband’s last name) find this sexist and would be somewhat insulted to be addressed as “Mrs. Husband’s Name.”

I imagine that in this day and age, there are quite a few other female friends and relatives that would feel likewise. There are so many other alternatives — the holiday cards may be addressed to “The Smiths,” “The Smith family,” “Mr. John and Mrs. Jane Smith,” for example.

Should I bring up the subject with my mother-in-law? I had not realized the issue previously because we live in the same town, and she typically gives us our cards in person rather than through the mail.

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GENTLE READER: When people want to insult their friends, Christmas cards are probably not their weapon of choice.

Or so Miss Manners would think. But you — and others, no doubt — think otherwise.

So here is an idea for an advance Christmas present for your mother-in-law: Offer to update her list by asking each of her friends how they wish to be addressed.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a young woman who has recently moved into a larger city. I am not comfortable interacting with strange men on the street who ask passersby for change or attention.

It seems that most of my peers respond to such requests by ignoring them, but I dislike the contempt expressed in ignoring anyone. I prefer to give a polite “No, thank you,” “I’m sorry, no” or “Excuse me, please,” and then move on.

Unfortunately, since these gentlemen are used to being ignored, my more polite evasions serve only to encourage them to continue these unwanted conversations.

I feel that if I give in and begin ignoring people on the street, I will be allowing the rudeness of others to force me into rudeness myself. However, I do not care to spend every day disengaging from conversations with very persistent strangers who see every tactic for evasion — except for silence — as encouragement.

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Any suggestions as to how to handle such tricky situations would be appreciated.

GENTLE READER: You are not supposed to be comfortable interacting with strange gentlemen on the street. Evidence that people are destitute and desperate should make you uncomfortable. And so should solvent strangers who have personal designs on you.

However, Miss Manners is reluctant to discourage you from responding initially with those polite phrases when they might serve to acknowledge the humanity of the unfortunate. That does not oblige you to continue with an exchange. Whether they are seeking your money or your acquaintance, you should react to aggressive behavior by moving away.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Here are the top stories for Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. Get the weather forecast for today here.

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Today is Tuesday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2025. There are 29 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 2, 2015, a couple loyal to the Islamic State group opened fire at a holiday banquet for public employees in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 21 others before dying in a shootout with police.

Also on this date:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in a coronation ceremony at Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.

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In 1823, President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing further European expansion or colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine effectively created separate spheres of influence for the Americans and Europe.

In 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid the previous October on Harpers Ferry in hopes of inciting a large-scale slave rebellion. His execution further exacerbated North-South tensions in the run-up to the American Civil War.

In 1942, an artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago. The experiment led by physicist Enrico Fermi marked the dawn of the Atomic Age.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate, voting 67-22, passed a resolution condemning Republican Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”

In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of Barney Clark, a retired dentist who lived 112 days with the device.

In 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces while trying to flee across rooftops in Medellin (meh-deh-YEEN’).

In 2004, Typhoon Nanmadol lashed the Philippines, killing hundreds of people.

In 2016, a fire raced through an illegally converted warehouse in Oakland, California, during a dance party, killing 36 people.

In 2020, The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, in a step with potential impacts on the global medical marijuana industry.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 81.
• Film director Penelope Spheeris is 80.
• Author T. Coraghessan Boyle is 77.
• Actor Dan Butler is 71.
• Actor Steven Bauer is 69.
• Actor Lucy Liu is 57.
• Bassist Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) is 57.
• Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 55.
• Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is 52.
• Singer Nelly Furtado is 47.
• Pop singer Britney Spears is 44.
• Actor-singer Jana Kramer is 42.
• Actor Yvonne Orji is 42.
• Actor Daniela Ruah is 42.
• NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 42.
• Actor Alfred Enoch is 37.
• Pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth is 34.

GAINESVILLE — As Florida positioned national championship-winning Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer feet away from the podium where next year’s coach Jon Sumrall spoke in his introductory press conference, the current team pensively stared at him.

While Florida wanted onlookers to believe it could still recapture the magic of Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel, the reality of this season hung over the 100-person crowd like an August thunderstorm.

​This team, to put it kindly, has been dragged through the sludge of the college football sewers, ending one of the worst seasons in a decade with a 4-8 record. The representatives of the team — DJ Lagway, Myles Graham and seven other players — sat before the Gators’ latest hire, bruised and battered. ​

Sumrall cracked jokes and reinforced his winning mentality, but Florida’s current players watched with straight faces. After all, the team had experienced this before. When former head coach Billy Napier was hired from a Group of Five team, he preached a return to Florida’s dynastic reign in the 1990s and early 2000s. Instead, Napier produced only one season with as many as eight wins during his tenure that spilled into a fourth season.

The comparisons between the two didn’t escape the Tulane coach.

“No two people are the same,” Sumrall said. “Judge me for who I am. I’m a winner. We’re going to win. Just give me a shot. Believe in me.”

Belief in Gainesville comes sparingly, and criticisms quickly follow any falter. Sumrall will have to rapidly assemble a team able to overcome the fourth-quarter letdowns that haunted this year’s team to have any chance of success in 2026.

​”He is wired to win,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “He builds teams that reflect his competitive identity, and he creates environments where players and staff understand what it takes to perform at a championship level every single day.”

Sophomores such as Graham and Lagway will have to decide if they believe Stricklin’s and Sumrall’s words. Five days after a new coach hire, players have 15 days to express a desire to enter the transfer portal.

Despite Sumrall’s pleas for a chance, players might not be keen to sign on for another year in Gainesville. Wide receiver Tank Hawkins already gave up his season weeks ago in favor of redshirting. Some, like running back Jadan Baugh, who crossed 1,000 yards for the season in last Saturday’s victory against FSU, will have suitors beckoning for a change of scenery.

Somehow while coaching his former team in the AAC title game, hiring a new Florida staff and preventing a mass exodus, Sumrall also has to recruit. Napier assembled the No. 13 class in the nation, according to 247Sports, and the Tulane coach has been cycling through FaceTime’s to ensure every high school player has a chance to speak with him.

“While maybe future Gators matter to me, current Gators matter more,” he said. “I’m going to give more to the guys in the back of the room that are on our football team than I’m going to give anybody who could become on our team.”

His words earned a few nods from Graham and defensive lineman Jamari Lyons, but the rest remained like statues, silently assessing the coach before them.

While Florida may have rolled out the red carpet, printing out cardstock sheets of Sumrall’s accomplishments, the hardest crowd in Gainesville to win over might be the players who survived the 2025 season pummeling, armed with skepticism and cynicism.

The Gators might not be uncrackable, however. As the media conference conclusion neared, Spurrier joked that Sumrall should go and win another championship. Defensive lineman Brendan Bett smiled. The hardened shell around this team is rock-solid, but not unbreakable.

With the 2025 season finished, UCF coach Scott Frost and his coaching staff already are focusing on the program’s future. Much of that begins this week with the start of the Early Signing Period on Wednesday and runs through the opening of the 15-day window for the transfer portal starting on Jan. 2.

For Frost, the process is much different than than last season.

“I made a gamer metaphor that the younger people might understand,” Frost said following his team’s loss at BYU on Saturday. “When I was an assistant coach, I played [the video game] Call of Duty because all the players were playing it and I was single. When you get into the game late, all you have is the starter gun and everybody else has advanced weaponry. You don’t even want to play because you don’t feel like you’re armed enough. I’m excited to level up and go back at it next year.”

Last season, UCF added nearly 70 newcomers to the roster, mainly through the portal. This time around, the Knights aren’t expecting as much turnover in the offseason. However, retention is still a concern.

“The game’s in a bad place, and agents have been shopping kids that are playing for teams with other teams for the last six weeks,” said Frost. “I hope we’ve created a good enough environment in our building that kids like being in that we have a lot of kids that want to stay.”

With that said, here are five areas of concern for the Knights heading into this offseason:

QUARTERBACK

UCF finds itself at a crossroads when it comes to the future of the quarterback position.

While Tayven Jackson took the majority of the snaps this season, the redshirt junior struggled, particularly on the road late in the season. Cam Fancher and Jacurri Brown missed significant amounts of time this season with injuries, opening the door for redshirt freshman Davi Belfort to get some playing time.

Where the Knights go from here remains a mystery.

Jackson could return next season with the intention of returning as the team’s starting quarterback. Fancher and Brown are most likely gone, although both could apply for medical waivers that would give them an additional year of eligibility; the likelihood of either returning seems unlikely. Belfort should also be back after picking up some experience.

With four-star commitment Rocco Marriott, expected to sign this week, along with three-star commitment Dante Carr, the Knights have some solid, young talent on the roster.

The question concerns whether the Knights return to the transfer market to search for a significant upgrade at the starting position or stick with what they already have on the roster.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Ever since UCF made the move to the Big 12 in 2023, the Knights have witnessed firsthand the quality of the offensive line play in the league.

Programs such as Kansas, Texas Tech and Baylor have demonstrated the benefits of having bigger and stronger offensive linemen.

UCF is expected to lose a handful of starters led by Paul Rubelt, Gaard Memmelaar, Jabari Brooks, Cam Kinnie, Keegan Smith and Pat Barnett. Replacing those players with top-tier talent is a priority for the program this offseason.

The Knights finished in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 in rushing offense (11th) and gave up 20 sacks on the season. But the unit also struggled, allowing nearly 6 tackles for loss per game.

Fast start not enough as UCF’s season ends with blowout loss at No. 11 BYU

Losing offensive coordinator Shawn Clark, who passed away early in the season, was a massive blow to the program and also to the unit. Finding his replacement will be the first step in rebuilding this group for next season.

RUNNING BACK

Another unit that was depleted by injuries this season was the running backs group.

UCF lost freshmen Taevion Swint and Stacy Gage to season-ending injuries early on, leaving the bulk of the work to fall on seniors Myles Montgomery and Jaden Nixon.

Swint and Gage are expected back along with walk-on freshman Agyeman Addae, whose emergence late in the season was a pleasant surprise for the Knights.

Still, the team needs depth, making running back a position of need in the offseason whether it’s finding a starting running back or an experienced back for a rotation.

LINEBACKER

Improvement at linebacker is one of the reasons UCF finished with a top-40 defense this season.

Keli Lawson, Cole Kozlowski and Lewis Carter were solid in the middle, providing the unit with plenty of versatile leadership. Carter finished as the top tackler on the team with 92, followed by Kozlowski’s 82, and Lawson had 34.

Carter should return as the anchor next season, but the group will once again need to dip into the transfer portal to find more depth. Incoming freshmen Preston Hall and Matthew Occhipinti could help with adding that depth.

RECEIVER

Not much was known about or expected from the receivers this season, particularly with the group returning almost nothing in terms of yards and catches from the previous season, but there were plenty of pleasant surprises.

Duane Thomas Jr. emerged as a jack-of-all-trades for the Knights, leading the team in receiving yards (528) and receptions (53). He was also utilized in the backfield on end-arounds and in the running game.

Freshman Waden Charles saw his role expand later in the season, finishing with 290 yards on 26 catches.

Tight end Dylan Wade emerged as the go-to option for Jackson late in the season, finishing with 523 yards and 5 touchdowns.

If all three of those players return, it sets up a nice core of players, especially with the help of Carl Jenkins Jr. and Day Day Farmer, who missed all of this past season with a leg injury. That said, the group could still benefit from more depth and speed.

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Monday night’s 140-123 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers:

– Bam Adebayo helped set the tone.

– On a night the tone was all about the 3 for the Heat.

– An Adebayo 3-pointer opened the game’s scoring.

– An Adebayo 3-pointer opened the second-half scoring.

– In the end, a career high five 3-pointers for Adebayo.

– Closing with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

– But the 3-pointers were the thing.

– Because if Adebayo from the arc is a thing, spacing concerns are alleviated.

– And pick your poison against the threat of Tyler Herro and Norman Powell becomes even more challenging.

– This is among the reasons Erik Spoelstra doesn’t go with Kel’el Ware in the first unit.

– Because it allows everyone to space.

– For now, opponents are likely to leave Adebayo open at the arc.

– But a few more of these could change that thinking.

– This was a case of a player setting a goal of doing something better.

– Then doing something better.

–  And, so, Adebayo for 3, and again, and again, and again, and again.

– For the third consecutive game, the Heat opened with the smaller-ball lineup of Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Powell, Herro and Davion Mitchell, leaving Ware in reserve.

– Despite being back from the G League, Heat two-way players Vlad Goldin and Jahmir Young were inactive, to save the NBA days against their two-way limits.

– The Clippers opened with a lineup of James Harden, Kris Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac.

– Harden spent most of the night looking as if he couldn’t be bothered.

– Back from a one-game absence with a groin strain, Jaime Jaquez Jr. was back in his role as Heat sixth man.

– Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson then followed together.

– With Dru Smith making it nine deep.

– And Simone Fontecchio 10 deep.

– Leaving Nikola Jovic on the outside of the rotation looking in.

– Fontecchio had been out of the rotation Saturday against the Pistons.

– Larsson then missed the second half with a sprained right foot.

– Before the game, Spoelstra was asked how continuity and development are factoring into his lineup and rotation decisions.

– “It’s a little bit of both,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m prioritizing either. You have to prioritize whatever is best for the team to win. But, you know, also I’m treating it that the combinations and the players will let me know. And I don’t feel stressed out that I have to have all those answers right now. It’s a long season.”

– He added, “And we started out without one of our main players that was not in the rotation, so that definitely changes things.”

– In other words, a work in progress, even at the season’s quarter pole.

– “Like I said the first day of the media session, I want to be open to the unknown, but also open to the possibilities,” Spoelstra said. “And I was hopeful that there would be some surprises and that there will continue to be surprises this season, and there already have been.”

– He added, “I want it to be competitive and guys to continue to get better and show us they can help us win more than they could at the beginning of the year. So we’ll see where it lands, and it probably will be a few changes. That’s the nature of this business.”

–  Spoelstra said Herro’s progress has been heartening, citing the work put in for the two months between the September ankle surgery and last week’s return.

– “I’m sure he wants to feel like he’s 100 percent, physically, mentally, emotionally and with his movement and everything,” Spoelstra said. “But I think he’s moving great. And it’s a testament to how hard he works. Everything he does is full speed. So behind the scenes he’s doing things full speed. And that allows you to come back and be ready.”

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– Spoelstra added, “It’s hard to replicate that kind of training if you’re not really scrimmaging and not playing in games. And then all of a sudden everybody else has been and you get thrown out there, I think he made that look a lot easier than what it actually is.”

– Herro was a finalist for NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week that on Monday went to Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.

– Herro then extended his career best streak to 14 consecutive games with 20 points dating to last season, the longest such Heat streak since a similar 14-game run by LeBron James in 2012-13.

– The Clippers entered having lost 13 of 14, while the Heat was trying to avoid a 2-2 homestand.

– “Now we’re facing a team that’s coming in here, first game of their road trip, and they want to start off their road trip on the right note for them,” Spoelstra said pregame. “And we’re coming off of a loss, where we want to create something here that’s tough for teams coming into our building. So you have two opposing forces. That’s competition and who’s going to get to who.”

– The game concluded the two-game season series against the Clippers, becoming the first series concluded this season. It marks the earliest the series concludes in the franchise’s histories.

– The Heat now have concluded the series against the Clippers before playing against Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Indiana, Toronto or Washington,  Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah.

MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra began the night by attempting to cast the matchup as a study in intestinal fortitude, the Los Angeles Clippers with losses in 13 of their previous 15, his Heat coming off a physical loss to the Detroit Pistons.

“You have two opposing forces,” a stoic Spoelstra said. “That’s competition and who’s going to get to who.”

Um, yeah, or you could just make a whole bunch of 3-pointers early, push the lead to 38 and hold on from there for a 140-123 victory.

So with those 3s, plus three runaway quarters, now a 14-7 record after concluding a 3-1 homestand by holding off a late Clippers rally.

In a league where Spoelstra often stresses nothing comes easy, this for most of the night came close, with the Heat closing 24 of 46 on 3-pointers, tying the franchise record for 3-point conversions.

“I thought we took the right shots,” Spoelstra said. “It always helps if it goes down.”

So 27 points and 14 rebounds from Bam Adebayo (who converted five 3-pointers), 30 points from Norman Powell (who had six 3-pointers), 22 from Andrew Wiggins (two 3-pointers), 22 from Tyler Herro (four 3-pointers) and 16 from Davion Mitchell (four 3-pointers).

All the while as the Heat also closed with a season-high 10 blocked shots, not taking that side of the court for granted.

“It was about us trying to respond,” Spoelstra said. “If we want to be a great team, you have to handle your business at home.”

About the only sign of life for the Clippers came from Kawhi Leonard, who closed with 36  points, fueling a too-little, too-late rally.

“We set the tone to come out and start the game,” Powell said.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 35-24 after the first period, after building an early 14-point lead.

“I love what the starters brough from an energy standpoint,” Spoelstra said.

The Heat then lost all of that lead in the second period, before putting together a 30-2 run over a stretch of 5:25 to move to a 26-point lead and then a 76-56 halftime edge.

The Clippers then pulled all five starters 1:26 into the second half, when down 85-56, with the Heat taking a 114-82 lead into the fourth.

From there, Leonard attempted to rally the Clippers from what ultimately was too deep of a hole, scoring 19 in the fourth.

“I just feel like everyone was active defensively,” Mitchell said. “That started up our offense.”

2. A 3-for-all: It was nothing short of a 3-for-all for the Heat in the first half, shooting 14 of 21 from beyond the arc. The 14 3-pointers were just two fewer than total baskets by the Clippers over the opening two periods.

With the Clippers 3 of 15 on 3-pointers, it had the Heat with a 42-9 scoring advantage from beyond the arc in the first half.

“The ball was moving,” Mitchell said. “We were making the right plays.”

Mitchell and Powell each had three first-half 3-pointers for the Heat, with two apiece from Adebayo and Herro.

“I think it’s also important to read the game,” Spoelstra said of the Heat taking the open 3-pointers when offered.

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3. (Almost) All in: Every player on the roster, other than Terry Rozier and Keshad Johnson were available for the Heat, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. back from his groin strain and Kasparas Jakucionis back from the G League.

That had Jaquez back in his familiar role as sixth man, after missing his first game of the season, on Saturday night against the Pistons.

Johnson was sidelined by an illness, with Rozier on a NBA-enforced leave amid the FBI gambling investigation.

Two-way players Vlad Goldin and Jahmir Young were inactive and in street clothes, as a means of saving the NBA days each is eligible for this season.

4. And then …: Because good fortune comes in limited doses for the Heat, second-year guard Pelle Larsson was lost for the night at halftime with a sprained right foot.

That had Larsson closing with five points, two assists and one rebound in eight minutes.

“It’s a sprained foot,” Spoelstra said. “He says he’ll be all right. Don’t we all say that?”

With Larsson limited, it allowed for a return to the rotation by forward Simone Fontecchio, who had been held out of Saturday night’s loss against his former team.

All the while, Nikola Jovic again was out of the rotation for the second time in three games, having been held out of last Wednesday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. His lone action Monday was the game’s final 54 seconds.

5. Onward: Up next for the Heat is a two-game trip, Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks and Friday night against the Orlando Magic.

The game against the Magic is the first in Orlando over a four-day period, with the Heat returning to Kia Center next Tuesday for an NBA Cup quarterfinal.

Now confidently moving forward.

“It can be anybody’s night,” Adebayo said. “Tonight it was everybody’s night.

“We’re figuring this out.”

GAINESVILLE — With Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer in the audience and a skeptical fan base tuned in, new Gators football coach Jon Sumrall made a Tim Tebow-like promise he expects to keep.

Sumrall didn’t shy away from the enormous — and at times unrealistic — expectations at Florida when he was introduced Monday at the Heavener Football Center.

“The standard here is championships,” he said. “That’s why I came. I’m built for this job. I was made for this job. Winners win; I’m a winner; we’re going to win.”

UF hired the 43-year-old away from Tulane to resurrect a once-proud program with three national titles and eight SEC crowns from 1991-2008 under Spurrier and Meyer. A former Kentucky linebacker who overcame marginal athleticism with grit and determination, Sumrall aims to tackle the challenge head-on and not disappoint those who believe he’s the man for the job.

Along with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, Meyer was among those who spoke with Sumrall and endorsed him to UF athletic director Scott Stricklin as he determined the most important hire of his career.

“Urban called me after that conversation, and said, ‘Dude, that guy’s a winner,’” Stricklin recalled. “We need to go get him signed up.”

Gators' coaching legends Urban Meyer, left, and Steve Spurrier chat before Jon Sumrall is introduced as UF's next coach Monday in Gainesville.(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

For weeks, Gator Nation had its hearts set on Lane Kiffin who eventually, and contentiously, left Ole Miss in the lurch Sunday for LSU.

Sumrall’s signature on a six-year, $44.7 million deal could be a blessing at a far lower price point than Kiffin. The 50-year-old commanded $13 million annually at LSU and has generated his share of drama during stops at Tennessee, USC, Alabama and  Ole Miss.

“I really enjoyed my conversation with him, and I thought they were productive,” Stricklin said of Kiffin. “I respect the decision he made at the end of the day. He’s a fascinating guy.

“I love where we are. I love this position we ended up.”

Sumrall surely swayed his share of nay-sayers and won the hearts of many Florida faithful Monday, displaying  passion, energy and raw emotion football fans can appreciate.

He played to his audience.

“I’m not going to do my Coach Spurrier impersonation, but I’ll give it to you at some point,” Sumrall said. “Coach, you were good, man.”

New Florida coach Jon Sumrall bursts into laughter as he speaks while being introduced as the Gators' next coach Monday at UF in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Spurrier chimed in, “Just win a whole bunch.”

In response, Sumrall laughed, stepped back, clapped his hands and pumped his fist into air, saying, “We’re going to do that.”

The Huntsville, Alabama, native grew up admiring the Gators from afar and coming to understand their fans. Winning is the top priority, but style points matter.

During two seasons at Troy, Sumrall’s teams fielded top-10 defenses. At Tulane, the 2024 Green Wave averaged a healthy 35.4 points but just 28.7 this season for a 10-2 squad set to face North Texas Friday in the AAC title game for a spot in the 12-team CFP.

“I want the scoreboard to light up,” Sumrall said. “The way we’ve played maybe where I’ve been has looked a little different than how I want to play moving forward. Your job everywhere you are is to figure out how you win for the place you’re at.

“Here, I think we can score a lot of points, and that’s what I want to do.”

To that end, Sumrall will pursue a top offensive coordinator as he builds a staff allotted $16.3 million for assistants and support staff.

A sizable investment is required to have a chance in the nation’s top football conference. Even then, success is a rare commodity.

“The SEC is a different league,” he said. “It’s the closest thing you get to the National Football League. That’s why I wanted to come. I crave that challenge. It invigorates me. It gets me a little bit fired up.

“This is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life. When I was my [12-year-old] son’s age, this is what I dreamed about doing.”

New Florida football coach Jon Sumrall speaks during his introductory press conference Monday on the UF campus in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Sumrall won the press conference Monday. Next season he plans to win games, something predecessor Billy Napier failed to do while going 22-23 before UF fired him Oct. 19.

Stricklin immediately began a wide-reaching search, featuring about a dozen candidates — with Kiffin the initial focal point.

By a twist of time and fate, Sumrall was the first coach Stricklin interviewed via Zoom.

“From our very first conversation, Jon Sumrall stood out,” Stricklin said “His clarity, his urgency, his competitive mindset was unmistakable. He didn’t just tiptoe around expectations, he leaned into them.”

Stricklin ultimately leaned into a bold choice.

A coach from a Group of Five school — with ties to the Sun Belt Conference (at Troy) and coming from a school in Louisiana — was all too familiar albeit not identical to Napier. UF’s former coach was 40-12 at Louisiana, or about the same as Sumrall’s 42-11 mark in four seasons.

The connections led some members of the fan base to become unhinged during the weekend as news of Sumrall’s pending hire and Kiffin’s exodus to LSU.

• New Florida coach Jon Sumrall bursts into laughter as he speaks while being introduced as the Gators' next coach Monday at UF in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF football legend Steve Spurrier chats before Jon Sumrall is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall, right, is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team by UF athletic director Scott Stricklin, left, during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall’s family takes it all in as Sumrall is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF athletic director Scott Stricklin, right, hugs Jon Sumrall as Sumrall is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF athletic director Scott Stricklin speaks before introducing Jon Sumrall as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF athletic director Scott Stricklin speaks before introducing Jon Sumrall as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall speaks after being introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Gators' coaching legends Urban Meyer, left, and Steve Spurrier chat before Jon Sumrall is introduced as UF's next coach Monday in Gainesville.(Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall speaks after being introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall speaks after being introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall smiles as he speaks after being introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall speaks as he is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF athletic director Scott Stricklin watches as Jon Sumrall is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall speaks as he is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus in Gainesville on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Ginny Sumrall, wife of Jon Sumrall, chats with former UF coach Urban Meyer before Sumrall was introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• Jon Sumrall speaks as he is introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF head football coach Jon Sumrall shakes hands with athletic director Scott Stricklin after Sumrall was introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
• UF head football coach Jon Sumrall, left, chats with former UF coach Urban Meyer after Sumrall was introduced as the new head coach of the University of Florida football team during a press conference on campus on Monday, December 1, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Show Caption1 of 19New Florida coach Jon Sumrall bursts into laughter as he speaks while being introduced as the Gators' next coach Monday at UF in Gainesville. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)Expand

Aware of the outside noise and nay-sayers, Sumrall set aside concerns with confidence he will look to instill in his new football team.

“No two people are the same,” he said. “Coach Meyer, you coached G5 football, right? [Indiana’s] Curt Cignetti coached G5. No two people are the same. Judge me for who I am.

“I’m a winner. We’re going to win. Just give me a shot. Believe in me.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com