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Broward 4A-1A football defensive player of the year: Terrance Johnson, American Heritage senior; Bryant Junius, Chaminade-Madonna senior

South Florida Local News - Thu, 12/25/2025 - 18:50

American Heritage senior defensive back Terrance Johnson and Chaminade Madonna senior linebacker and safety Bryant Junius both played key roles in their teams’ runs to the state championship games at Pitbull Stadium on the campus of Florida International University in Miami.

Johnson led the county with 12 interceptions, including two key picks against rival Archbishop McCarthy en route to a second straight 4A championship. They rallied to defeat Orlando Jones for a second consecutive time in the state title game.  Johnson had three tackles, but provided a key interception to hold off a Jones rally as the Patriots prevailed 33-28.

Johnson added a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, 3 passes defended, 52 total tackles, including 30 solo and two TDs for the Patriots (9-5), who rallied from a 1-3 start and 4-5 record before the playoffs to win five straight. They also cracked the top-100 rankings to finish 98th in the latest MaxPreps rankings.

Johnson transferred to American Heritage from South Broward and said it was a big difference. He knows that some top defensive backs have preceded him there, including two-time All-Pro Patrick Surtain II, the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

“I grind it every day, put the work in, and work and dedication paid off,” Johnson said. “It’s a whole different ballgame from public schools. When I actually got here, I saw what they were talking about. They have a lot of good defensive backs who have gone on and had some success in the NFL. I hope to be like that someday.”

Terrance Johnson from American Heritage High School, football player of the year, photographed on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Junius also had a stellar season for the No. 88 Lions (11-3), who dropped a 17-14 decision to Cardinal Newman in the 1A state championship tilt. Junius contributed nine tackles in the loss, which snapped a streak of four state championships in a row.

The Appalachian State University commit ended the season with 102 tackles, 16 tackles for loss (including four sacks), eight pass deflections and two forced fumbles. He was the team captain for the past two seasons and said his career highlight was a pick-6 on ESPN in his sophomore season.

“I want my legacy at the school to be remembered as a selfless team player, willing to do anything for my teammates,” said Junius, whose college destination will be in the cold, something he’s never experienced before. “Daily practices were always highly competitive due to the team’s depth, with both offense and defense pushing each other to improve. “I was a team player, and I’ll do anything for the team for my team, and I can’t do anything without my team and my coaches.”

Bryant Junius from Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, football player of the year, photographed on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Broward 4A-1A football offense first team, second team, honorable mention and coach of the year

South Florida Local News - Thu, 12/25/2025 - 18:49
FIRST TEAM Ekeem Atehortua, Chaminade Madonna, Football, Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Ekeem Atehortua, OL, Chaminade-Madonna senior: The O-Line captain is three-time state football champion, two-time Sun Sentinel 1st team All County; in 4 years didn’t allow a sack and had 42 pancakes this year; Alabama State University commit also wrestles.

Kaj Baker, Somerset Academy, Football. Deerfield Beach on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Kaj Baker, RB, Somerset Academy senior: Three-time Sun Sentinel All-County pick; state runner-up in 100 meters in track; had 1,022 rushing yards, 516 receiving yards, 15 total TDs; on defense had a pick-6; 28 tackles, 8 pass break-ups; 2 INTs; first player at school to sign Power 4 scholarship (UCF); had 4 TD game.

Jamar Denson, American Heritage, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Jamar Denson, WR, American Heritage senior: Team captain is two-time first-team All-County selection for Sun Sentinel; 991 yards receiving and 15 scores for two-time state champions; had 187 receiving yards and a TD against former school Chaminade-Madonna; Troy signee, selected as the MVP of state championship win with 70 yards receiving and two scores.

Gary Hadley Jr., Cardinal Gibbons, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Gary Hadley Jr., WR, Cardinal Gibbons senior: Tulane commit played both ways for the Chiefs and helped lead them to the state semifinals; had two INTs in a game on defense; had 1,042 yards receiving and 11 TDs.

Arwin Jackson, Chaminade-Madonna, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Arwin Jackson, RB, Chaminade-Madonna junior: Ran for 905 yards and nine TDs for the state-runner-up Lions; being recruited by Georgia Tech, UM, Syracuse and Ohio State.

Anthony Jennings III, Dillard, Football. Deerfield Beach on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Anthony Jennings, WR, Dillard junior: Helped lead the Panthers to an undefeated regular season with 823 receiving yards and nearly 1,000 all-purpose yards; 12 TDs; led Dillard in both categories; holds 29 D-1 offers.

Za’Kari Johnson, Plantation, Football. Deerfield Beach on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Za’Kari Johnson, ATH, Plantation sophomore: Stepped in and played quarterback at the end of the season, throwing for 551 yards and 12TDs, rushed for 777 yards and nine scores; runs track and holds offers from programs like Miami, and Florida State University.

Malik Leonard, Chaminade-Madonna, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Malik Leonard, QB, Chaminade-Madonna freshman: A team captain played four nationally televised games, including two on ESPN; threw for more than 2,900 yards and 31 TDs with an additional 95 yards rushing and three scores, all freshman school records.

Coi Jean-Noel, American Heritage, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Coi Jean Noel, WR, American Heritage senior: Three-star prospect was team captain and a Super 11 selection for the Sun Sentinel this year; Georgia Tech signee finished with 793 yards with 6 TDs; had 166 passing yards.

Jayden Torres, Cardinal Gibbons, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Jayden Torres, QB, Cardinal Gibbons senior: Captain holds seven school records; finished year with 3,230 passing yards, 37 passing TDs; 429 rushing yards, 9 rushing TDs; two-time Sun Sentinel All-County first-team selection.

Ja’Kobi Williams, Archbishop McCarthy, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Ja’Kobi Williams, WR, Archbishop McCarthy junior: Helped Mavericks stun defending an eventual 4A state champion American Heritage for a district championship; had 30 receptions for 613 yards and 12 TDs; also had an INT on defense.

Jasen Lopez, Chaminade-Madonna. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Jasen Lopez, WR/Slot, Chaminade-Madonna senior: The FSU commit for football and basketball won state championship last season with Lions; had team-leading, 1,110 yards and 13 TDs this year; Super 11 football selection for Sun Sentinel and Fab 5 pick for basketball this year; three back-to-back seasons with more than 1,000 yards receiving.

SECOND TEAM

Tavano Baptiste Jr. OL, Chaminade-Madonna senior

Drew Barber, WR, Westminster Academy sophomore

Brandon Bennett, WR, American Heritage senior

Jeremy Douglas, RB, Cardinal Gibbons sophomore

Damian Grant, RB, Archbishop McCarthy junior

Denairius Gray, WR, Chaminade-Madonna senior

Tromon Isaac Jr., WR, Chaminade-Madonna sophomore

Robert Kerns, QB, Archbishop McCarthy senior

Lee Prince Jr., RB, Chaminade-Madonna junior

Zachariah Ray, RB, Plantation senior

Ah’mari Stevens, WR, Chaminade-Madonna junior

Leon Strawder, QB, American Heritage senior

Teddy Welch, OL, American Heritage senior

HONORABLE MENTION

American Heritage: Dia Bell, Ky’Marlei Brown, Jonathan Bueno, Armani Eusebio, Aiden Hartnett, Josh Houston, Aldarius Johnson, Tremaine Mullen, Michah Price, Nico Ramos

Archbishop McCarthy: Jeremiah Alexandre, Cole Ivy

Calvary Christian: Joey Bleecker, Santi Fuentes, Gavin Ganter, Josh Hallas, Noah Johnson, JJ Rochford, Jackson Stroud

Cardinal Gibbons: Joseph Cammarata, Dominic Celli, Luke Cichoski, Demarcus DeRoche, Donte Findeson, Tyler Fuquay, Javian Norwood, Adam Salem, Merrick Todich

Chaminade-Madonna: Daveon Black, Sam Brown Jr., TeMorris Campbell, Giovanni Gardener, Ron’Christopher Gonzalez, Elijah Hardy, Peter Pierre, Elias Sturman

Coral Springs Charter: Christian Clinkscale, Carter Hayden, Stone Rolle, Shanse Small, Noah Yarbrough

Dillard: Jamar Brinson, Dakari Brown, Zamari Marquez, Sidney Newkirt Jr., Latavius Taylor

Hallandale: Elijah Davis, Cassius Enriquez, Robert Sanford

Miramar: Amari Glover, Taron Nicks, Tyler Reid, Lamon Witherspoon,

North Broward Prep: Damon Alexander, Ralph Diaz, Noah Finkelstein, Kenneth Hall, Thor Hwasta, Peter McLaughlin, Ethan Phillips, Mateo Sanchez, Josh Sylvain, Emerson Walker

Pine Crest:  Marco Friezo, Jacob Lobis, Zach Moss, Brayden Myers,

Plantation: Timothy Brown, Desmond Christian, Joseph James, Marlin Johnson Jeffrey O’Neal, Kendall Smith

Pompano Beach: Aiden Hamilton

University School: Carlos Avila-Lopez, Kobe Conway, Jaidyne Dixson, Izayah Harris, Charvis Hood, Jaden Miller, Smith Moise, Kai Starks, Darrell Tiger,

Westminster Academy: Cortland Brownfield, Javaris Cason, Robert Donald, Hudson Gant, Trey Hollandsworth, Rashard Lewis, DJ Pierce, Jack Scott

CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR Mike Smith, American Heritage, Football. Deerfield Beach on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Mike Smith, American Heritage: Rallied the Patriots from a 1-3 start and the loss of 5-star QB Dia Bell to win a second straight 4A state championship. “I am so proud of overcoming all of the adversity this group went through. This team showed incredible resolve. We overcame the loss of a top D-1 quarterback, played the fourth-toughest schedule in the country and they still found a way to overcome.”

Chaminade-Madonna head coach Dameon Jones talks with officials before the game against Cardinal Newman, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, during the State Class 1A championship at Pitbull Stadium at Florida International University in Miami. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Dameon Jones, Chaminade-Madonna: Guided the Lions to a state-record 10th consecutive state championship final, where they have won seven. They dropped a 17-14 decision to Cardinal Newman as they were gunning for a fifth straight state championship. “Just couldn’t get out of the blocks today. We had some wide open guys that we couldn’t hit and that hurt us for sure. So many missed opportunities and after a while all of that catches up to you.”

Today in History: December 25, Northwest Airlines passengers foil underwear bomber

South Florida Local News - Thu, 12/25/2025 - 02:00

Today is Thursday, Dec. 25, the 359th day of 2025. There are six days left in the year. This is Christmas Day.

Today in history:

On Dec. 25, 2009, passengers aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 foiled an attempt to blow up the plane as it was landing in Detroit by seizing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO’-mahr fah-ROOK’ ahb-DOOL’-moo-TAH’-lahb), who tried to set off explosives in his underwear. (Abdulmutallab later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.)

Also on this date:

In 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned King of England.

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In 1818, “Silent Night (Stille Nacht)” was publicly performed for the first time during the Christmas Midnight Mass at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

In 1868, President Andrew Johnson granted unconditional pardons to “every person who directly or indirectly” supported the Confederacy in the Civil War.

In 1776, Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War.

In 1926, Hirohito became emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito.

In 1989, ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu (chow-SHES’-koo) and his wife Elena were executed following a populist uprising.

In 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope, was rocketed aloft from French Guiana in South America on a quest to see light from the first stars and galaxies and search the universe for signs of life.

Today’s Birthdays:
  • Football Hall of Famer Larry Csonka is 79.
  • Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 77.
  • Actor Sissy Spacek is 76.
  • Former White House adviser Karl Rove is 75.
  • Actor CCH Pounder is 73.
  • Singer Annie Lennox is 71.
  • Country singer Steve Wariner is 71.
  • Model and businesswoman Helena Christensen is 57.
  • Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is 54.
  • Actor Jeremy Strong is 47.

Marlins add veteran closer Pete Fairbanks in biggest free-agent pickup in years

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 19:53

MIAMI — The Marlins made their first sizable free-agent investment in two years on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with veteran right-hander closer Pete Fairbanks on a one-year, $13 million deal.

The deal is agreed to but contingent on Fairbanks passing a physical, according to a source.

Fairbanks will become the team’s second-highest paid player, behind Sandy Alcantara, and gives the Marlins their most established closer in several years.

To read the full report, click here for miamiherald.com

 

Pictures: Thousands of ‘Surfing Santas’ congregate on Cocoa Beach

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 19:15
Show Caption1 of 45Goff Stepien of Daytona Beach catches a wave during Surfing Santas at Cocoa Beach on Dec. 24, 2025. The annual event gathers people for Sunshine State holiday cheer and catching waves, Santa style. This year was estimated to have record-breaking attendance with over 12,000 visitors. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel) Expand

Every year since 2009, festive Floridians and visitors have gathered on Cocoa Beach for a celebration of holiday fun in the sun. “Surfing Santas,” which started as a humble gathering of a few families and friends, has grown to involve thousands of attendees, some of whom surf in jolly attire. This year included a record-breaking attendance, estimated at over 12,000 people. “I feel like we’re spreading joy around the world,” said event founder George Trosset, noting the widespread media attention this holiday tradition garners.

Daily Horoscope for December 25, 2025

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 17:00
General Daily Insight for December 25, 2025

Small steps create a steady rhythm today. With the intuitive Moon collaborating with action-oriented Mars at 10:45 AM EST, we’re more capable of channeling our feelings into practical applications. This is boosted by the earlier sextile between the Moon and the Sun. That softened our edges, allowing us to have kind conversations that prepped everyone for this Moon-Mars action surge. By evening, we can unwind with supportive people, letting simple care gently restore our spirits. Each one of us can choose patience.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Listening is vital at the moment. As your inner voice speaks, its volume is magnified by the Moon in your detailed 12th house and Mars in your visible 10th house. Reflection, not pressure, supports wise career choices. You might have to push back against rushed deadlines, knowing that you’ll function better after a short rest. Quiet music, journaling, or a short walk could all help you settle down, release tension, and refocus. Protect today’s downtime, since restored energy sharpens tomorrow’s bold moves.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

This morning dawns calm and kind. Your 11th House of Aspirations takes focus as the instinctive Moon collaborates with energetic Mars, crafting a space where teamwork can build practical paths to shared ideas. A friend might invite you to join a class, and your steady sense of pace keeps plans grounded even as your 9th house whispers of adventure. You may moderate a chat thread, ensuring that small misunderstandings don’t wreck your entire circle. Leave some space for “maybes” in every plan.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Put the pedal to the metal, Gemini! The lively Moon sextiles fiery Mars today, with Luna in your powerful 10th house and Mars in your intense 8th house. Any authorities or clients may demand frequent updates — or you may freely offer them. A side conversation could transform scattered ideas into a clear plan (professional or personal) that gets everyone excited. If you’re in charge, use a light hand to ensure the decisions stay collaborative. Clear words make real progress feel easy.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

You deserve spacious, hopeful conversations now. Curiosity opens your world as the emotional Moon in your engaging 9th house cooperates with passionate Mars within your companionable 7th house. Let your intrigue draw you toward fresh connections! Additionally, heartfelt talks with a mentor or senior may soothe old worries. For maximum success, don’t rush any such conversations. Instead, make an effort to bridge differing perspectives by sharing a simple story from experience. Keep listening, because understanding turns distance into trust sooner.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Soft courage empowers your current plans. Your 8th House of Intimacy and your 6th House of Chores are both steadied by the Moon and Mars supporting each other, so money talks can become calmer as everyone seeks fair results. You may write down a clearer split of expenses, so everyone remembers their dues without needing to be verbally reminded. Be mindful of upcoming deadlines! Try to start serious conversations (about money or other topics) in advance, so there’ll be room to take breaks as needed.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Cooperation can bring practical wins! The nurturing Moon in your agreeable 7th house is sextiling impassioned Mars in your bouyant 5th house, encouraging mutual effort in talks about responsibilities, timing, and expectations. You might propose a shared calendar to smooth daily responsibilities while keeping the tone gentle with a collaborator or relative. Pride could make it hard to accept mistakes, but you’re capable of listening carefully and shaping an agreement everyone can maintain. Choose fairness to protect the relationships you value most.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Patience can make work feel lighter than you’d think. Your 6th House of Everyday Effort gets a lift as the tender Moon complements motivated Mars, channeling emotional intensity into focused tasks and supportive routines. You may streamline your routine so you gain extra room to handle a stubborn task at work, school, or home. While family demands could impact your timing, you’re braced to set boundaries and finish what matters without overloading yourself. Work smart, because steady habits free more sweet time later.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Early hours invite playful, creative risks. The unconscious Moon sextiles fierce Mars across your expressive 5th house and your vocal 3rd house, ensuring that you can make yourself heard regarding what you love. Consider hosting a game night or attending an artistic event — something you can enjoy without pressure! Choosing what to do might be the hard part, because whatever you pick, you can have tons of fun with the ones you love. As you indulge in this joy, you’re simultaneously strengthening those relationships.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

When home and money agree, peace follows. Make an effort to forge your restlessness into realistic action. Thankfully, that shouldn’t be too hard to do as Luna and Mars work together. Just be wary of being overly aggressive when it comes to asking about shared expenses, especially with roommates you don’t know particularly well. You can navigate the murky water of joint finances with care. Alternate arrangements could be necessary — for instance, someone who can’t pitch in monetarily may assist by tidying up.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

You’re leading with clear words and patience. Conversation becomes your strong suit as the Moon in your talking zone harmonizes with warrior Mars in your steady sign, inspiring messages that are useful without being unkind. You may call a sibling to clear a misunderstanding, making your way through thorny topics with patience. Whether you’re officially in charge or not, you can strengthen your message by proving your reliability throughout the day. Calm phrasing and responsible action move plans forward with far less friction.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Gentle persistence guides your money choices. Security grows as the temperamental Moon works with Mars to align across your inward-focused 12th house and your money-minded 2nd house. You can honor your needs without overspending. Perhaps you’ll analyze your salary or rates and determine that you’re ready to ask for a raise, or maybe you’ll donate your time to a charity. When it comes to your wants, a short pause before buying keeps emotions from deciding the whole cart. Right now, spending should feel intentional.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Confidence grows as you gain momentum throughout your day. Believing in yourself is the best kind of motivation, especially with the Moon empowering your thoughtful sign. While there, Luna cooperates with combative Mars in your communal 11th house. By today’s end, you’ll know that courage doesn’t mean being rude, and kindness doesn’t mean being a doormat. You may send a thoughtful invitation, and your kind presence wins attention without dramatic effort from people nearby. Let connections build gradually — just like your own confidence!

Trump warns against infiltration by a ‘bad Santa,’ defends coal in jovial Christmas calls with kids

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 16:38

By WILL WEISSERT

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump marked Christmas Eve by quizzing children calling in about what presents they were excited about receiving, while promising to not let a “bad Santa” infiltrate the country and even suggesting that a stocking full of coal may not be so bad.

Vacationing at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president and first lady Melania Trump participated in the tradition of talking to youngsters dialing into the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which playfully tracks Santa’s progress around the globe.

“We want to make sure that Santa is being good. Santa’s a very good person,” Trump said while speaking to kids ages 4 and 10 in Oklahoma. “We want to make sure that he’s not infiltrated, that we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.”

He didn’t elaborate.

Show Caption1 of 3President Donald Trump, speaks accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, during a NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Tracks Santa Operation call at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Expand

Trump has often marked Christmases past with criticisms of his political enemies, including in 2024, when he posted, “Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics.” During his first term, Trump wrote online early on Dec. 24, 2017, targeting a top FBI official he believed was biased against him, as well as the news media.

But Trump was in a jovial mood this time. He even said, I “could do this all day long,” but likely would have to get back to more pressing matters like efforts to quell the fighting in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

When an 8-year-old from North Carolina, asked if Santa would be mad if no one leaves cookies out for him, Trump said he didn’t think so, “But I think he’ll be very disappointed.”

“You know, Santa’s — he tends to be a little bit on the cherubic side. You know what cherubic means? A little on the heavy side,” Trump joked. “I think Santa would like some cookies.”

The president and first lady Melania Trump sat side-by-side and took about a dozen calls between them. At one point, while his wife was on the phone and Trump was waiting to be connected to another call, he noted how little attention she was paying to him: “She’s able to focus totally, without listening.”

Asked by an 8-year-old girl in Kansas what she’d like Santa to bring, the answer came back, “Uh, not coal.”

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“You mean clean, beautiful coal?,” Trump replied, evoking a favored campaign slogan he’s long used when promising to revive domestic coal production.

“I had to do that, I’m sorry,” the president added, laughing and even causing the first lady, who was on a separate call, to turn toward him and grin.

“Coal is clean and beautiful. Please remember that, at all costs,” Trump said. “But you don’t want clean, beautiful coal, right?”

“No,” the caller responded, saying she’d prefer a Barbie doll, clothes and candy.

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.

Grand jury declines to indict man in shooting that killed teen at Kentucky State University

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 16:32

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A grand jury has declined to indict the father of two Kentucky State University students who was charged with murder in an on-campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.

In a social media post after the Tuesday hearing, defense attorney Scott Danks said grand jurors decided not to indict his client, Jacob Lee Bard, for the Dec. 9 shooting and he is out of jail. In a previous statement sent to news outlets, Bard’s attorneys have said that 20 to 30 people had gathered to attack his son and family, and that he was justified in shooting two people who were beating his son.

After the grand jury decision, Kentucky State officials said they “will cooperate with law enforcement and investigators as appropriate” and are focused on student safety and well-being.

Bard’s attorneys say the family was moving their younger son out, with two armed campus police officers present, after withdrawing both sons from school because of “multiple armed, violent” incidents against them and other students in the days leading up to Dec. 9, some captured on security cameras.

When the family and an officer reached the dormitory entrance on the move-out day, the group of people in masks and hoods rushed out and began violently assaulting the family and others, including beating the son’s head against the pavement, the attorneys said.

In October, the younger son reported a burglary in his dorm room to campus police and received threats of violence afterward, the attorneys said.

Because of continued death threats, the sons are now staying in an undisclosed location, the attorneys added.

“Jacob’s actions were absolutely justified under the law, and were the only measure that prevented his son’s death or serious injury,” the attorneys wrote.

Investigators have said the shooting was isolated, but they have not publicly shared details of the circumstances or a possible motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis.

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In a message to the campus community, Kentucky State said the grand jury decision “does not lessen the pain our community continues to feel, nor does it change our priorities.”

“Our commitment remains centered on supporting our students and ensuring Kentucky State University is a safe place to learn, live, and work,” it said.

The shooting was the second in four months near the residence hall. Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle on Aug. 17, striking two people who the university said weren’t students. Frankfort police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and the second sustained serious injuries. The dorm and at least one vehicle were damaged by gunfire.

Police have said Bard, 48, is from Evansville, Indiana, which is about 150 miles west of Frankfort. He had also been charged with first-degree assault.

Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.

Call 911 or risk losing the baby? Raids force some immigrants to avoid care

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 15:29

By Halle Parker, Verite News, KFF Health News

As immigrants in southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi braced for this month’s U.S. Homeland Security operation, Cristiane Rosales-Fajardo received a panicked phone call from a friend.

The friend’s Guatemalan tenant, who didn’t know she was pregnant, had just delivered a premature baby in the New Orleans house. The parents lacked legal residency, and the mother refused to go to a hospital for fear of being detained by federal immigration officers.

“There’s blood everywhere, and the baby’s dead,” Rosales-Fajardo recalled her friend saying.

Rosales-Fajardo put on her sandals, grabbed surgical gloves, and rushed to the house.

Rosales-Fajardo, herself an immigrant from Brazil, is a grassroots organizer and advocate in the New Orleans East community, where many immigrants live. She has no formal medical training, but she has experience with delivering babies.

She scanned the room when she arrived. A 3-year-old child stood to one side while the mother sat on the edge of the bed. The father held their swaddled newborn son, who wasn’t breathing and was wrapped in blood-soaked towels.

“The baby was completely gray,” Rosales-Fajardo later said.

Rosales-Fajardo wiped fluid away from his small mouth and rubbed his back before performing tiny chest compressions and breathing air into his lungs.

She told the parents she had to call 911 to get the mother and newborn to a hospital for care. The baby was out, but the delivery wasn’t over.

“I assured her. I promised her that she was going to be safe,” Rosales-Fajardo said.

Fear hung over the room. Still, she made the call and continued performing CPR. Finally, the newborn revived and squirmed in Rosales-Fajardo’s arms. When the ambulance arrived, the mother tried to keep her husband from riding with her, terrified they would both be arrested. He went, anyway.

“These are hard-working people,” Rosales-Fajardo said. “All they do is work to provide for their family. But they were almost at risk of losing their child rather than call 911.”

Show Caption1 of 5Cristiane Rosales-Fajardo speaks by phone to a Guatemalan family she helped in a medical emergency. (Christiana Botic/KFF Health News/TNS) Expand Putting Safety Over Health

Nearly two weeks into the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Catahoula Crunch, which launched Dec. 3, health professionals and community advocates in Louisiana and Mississippi report that a significantly higher-than-usual number of immigrant patients have skipped health care appointments and experienced heightened stress levels.

According to a press release, DHS said it had arrested more than 250 people as of Dec. 11. Though federal officials say they’re targeting criminals, The Associated Press reported that most of the 38 people arrested in the first two days of the New Orleans operation had no criminal record.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, immigrant families nationwide have become more likely to skip or delay health care, due in part to concerns about their legal status, according to a recent survey by KFF and The New York Times.

The survey found that nearly 8 in 10 immigrants likely to be living in the U.S. without legal permission say they’ve experienced negative health impacts this year, from increased anxiety to sleeping problems to worsened health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The federal immigration raids in California, Illinois, North Carolina, and now Louisiana and Mississippi add to the health care barriers that these families already face, including access to services, language barriers, lack of insurance, and high costs.

That hesitancy to receive even emergency care appears justified amid the ongoing raids. Hospitals and health facilities generally must allow federal agents in areas where the public is allowed, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. In California this year, federal agents have staked out hospital lobbies, shown up at community clinics, and guarded detainees in hospital rooms. Even driving to and from appointments poses a risk, as traffic stops are a popular place for immigration agents to make arrests.

University Medical Center nurse Terry Mogilles said that immigrants typically make up at least half the patients in her orthopedic trauma clinic in New Orleans, many of them with construction-related, bone-crushing injuries that require surgery. But now, Mogilles said, many of those patients aren’t coming in for follow-up appointments, despite the risk of infection.

“When we call, we can’t get through,” Mogilles said. “It is so upsetting because we have no idea what’s happening to them post-op.”

Terry Mogilles, a registered nurse at University Medical Center in New Orleans, says that immigrants typically make up at least half the patients in her orthopedic trauma clinic. (Christiana Botic/KFF Health News/TNS) A Chill Spreads in the South

Federal officials said the Catahoula Crunch operation extends to southern Mississippi, though the bulk of the initial arrests have occurred in the Greater New Orleans area. Immigrant families throughout Mississippi are hunkering down in anticipation.

Michael Oropeza, executive director of El Pueblo, a nonprofit serving low-income immigrant communities in Biloxi and Forest, said the organization has witnessed families delay care, cancel children’s checkups, and go without refilling medication.

“It’s not because they don’t value their health; it’s because they don’t feel safe,” Oropeza said. “When hospitals and clinics are no longer that safe place, people withdraw trust that took years to build up. It can disappear overnight.”

Maria, a Biloxi resident from Honduras, said, in Spanish, she and her two children have missed routine doctors’ appointments because they are “terrified” to leave the house amid an increased presence of federal immigration officers. Her husband, who is authorized to work in the U.S., was detained for two months this year.

Her children are U.S. citizens. They previously qualified for Medicaid, but Maria opted to disenroll them three years ago out of concern that using public benefits would jeopardize her family’s residency applications, she said. The family now pays for their children’s care out-of-pocket.

When it feels safe to attend doctors’ appointments again, Maria said, her priority will be seeking mental health care to address the stress her family has endured.

“I definitely need to see a doctor to get checked out, because I don’t feel well,” she said, describing her anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

A handwritten sign states“ ICE IS NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER” at the chained-off entrance of a neighborhood in New Orleans in December. (Christiana Botic/KFF Health News/TNS)

In Louisiana, Marcela Hernandez of Familias Unidas en Acción, a nonprofit that provides direct aid to immigrants, said many of the families she works with live paycheck to paycheck. Sheltering at home and missing work only adds to the stress. Hernandez said she received 800 calls for food in two days from families afraid to leave home.

The federal operation in Louisiana and Mississippi could last more than two months, according to the AP. The longer it goes on, Hernandez said, the more she worries evictions will come next as people can’t pay rent, further traumatizing a community whose members often had to make difficult and dangerous journeys to flee hardships in their countries of origin to reach the U.S.

“You don’t leave your country knowing that you’re gonna get raped on the way just simply because you wanna come and meet Mickey Mouse,” she said.

Rosales-Fajardo, who runs a nonprofit called El Pueblo NOLA, said families tell her how children have started urinating on themselves due to stress and fear. Nationally, immigrants who are likely to lack legal status report that some of their children have had problems sleeping and that they’ve seen changes in school performance or behavior, according to the KFF and New York Times survey.

Community groups said they hope people step up locally to deliver food and hygiene products to immigrant homes, and that health care professionals provide more at-home or telehealth visits.

Like at other hospitals, UMC’s waiting rooms are considered public spaces, Mogilles noted. But the nurses union is calling for the hospital to create safe spaces for patients that federal agents can’t access and clearer policies to protect health care workers who shield patients. Post-op appointments can’t be done virtually, so patients need to feel safe enough to come in, Mogilles said.

Prenatal and postnatal care is also challenging to provide virtually, leaving the health of new and expecting mothers vulnerable, said Latona Giwa, executive director of Repro TLC, a national sexual and reproductive health training nonprofit.

Since the Chicago immigration sweeps began in September, Giwa said, the clinics and health providers her organization works with have reported that 30% of patients had missed appointments. She said pharmacies saw a 40% drop in medication pickups.

“What we know about management of chronic conditions, especially in pregnancy, but in general, is that even missing one appointment can impact the trajectory of that condition and worsen a patient’s outcomes,” Giwa said.

In Louisiana, which already has poor maternal health outcomes, the fear of arrest could exacerbate the crisis worsened by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and threaten lives. She’s especially concerned about families with preterm babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.

“Imagine your child is in the hospital, and so vulnerable, and you are terrified to go visit and care for your newborn infant because you’re worried about being deported,” Giwa said, noting that a newborn’s health partly relies on parental visits.

That’s the position the Guatemalan family in New Orleans is navigating.

On a recent day in December, Rosales-Fajardo acted as the family’s translator and advocate on their first visit to see their son in the NICU at a hospital on Lake Pontchartrain’s Northshore. Hospital staffers told the parents they would need to make the long and risky trip to the hospital repeatedly for at least a month to provide skin-to-skin contact and breast milk.

Rosales-Fajardo drove the parents, who were afraid to travel alone out of fear of being pulled over and arrested on a bridge. She said she’ll keep driving them as long as she needs to.

“Whenever they see a Hispanic driving or anything like that, that’s suspicious to them,” she said of federal agents.

But the baby is safe and healthy. And the parents have named Rosales-Fajardo his godmother.

Gwen Dilworth of Mississippi Today and Christiana Botic of Verite News contributed to this report.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Rich McGeorge, Dolphins assistant coach for both Don Shula and Jimmy Johnson, dies at 77

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 15:17

Rich McGeorge, the assistant offensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins from 1993-99, died Saturday in Durham, N.C., at 77, according to the National Football Foundation.

McGeorge’s tenure had him with the Dolphins for the final three years of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula’s career and then, surviving the turnover to Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson to coach with him for his four-year run before both departed Miami.

McGeorge is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, having starred at Elon College in North Carolina, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1970 NFL draft.

He started 101 games for the Packers in his nine-year career.

As Epstein’s cushy jail sentence raised concerns, his lawyers went on charm offensive

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 15:10

Jeffrey Epstein’s team of high-powered lawyers famously negotiated a lenient 2007 deal on his behalf with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida that allowed the financier to avoid a lengthy prison sentence and plead guilty to only two state charges to settle allegations that he had abused dozens of teenage girls.

Never-before-seen documents released this week by the Department of Justice as part of the so-called Epstein Files show how his attorneys continued to try to influence federal prosecutors even after his deal was finalized, and mixed personal and business relationships with the attorneys who had agreed to settle Epstein’s case.

While federal prosecutors pushed back against Epstein’s lawyers, at the end of day, Epstein got what he wanted.

Go to Herald.com for the full report.

Photos of Christmas celebrations around the world

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 15:10

The Associated Press

From Bethlehem to Beijing, people around the world are celebrating the Christmas season. A polar bear mascot boards an elevator during holiday revelry. Swimmers plunge into frigid waters off Northern Ireland for a charity event. Singers fill a stadium in Indonesia.

Associated Press photographers have captured diverse, mesmerizing images such as these as they chronicle a holiday period abounding in joy, reverence and dazzling lights.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People drive up to the top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, to join the traditional Christmas Eve meeting of tractor and motorbike drivers early Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) People take to the sea at Helen’s Bay, Northern Ireland, for the annual Christmas Eve swim in the cold waters in Belfast Lough to raise money for Dementia NI & Air Ambulance NI, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

People gather at Roemerberg square to attend the city’s bell ringing on Christmas Eve in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) People wearing traditional Ukrainian clothes sign carols on the Christmas Eve at a subway station in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk) Christians attend prayer on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, at St. Mary Cathedral in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Catholic clergy walk in procession next to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, is received by local community while crossing an Israeli military checkpoint from Jerusalem ahead of celebrations at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) People hold electric candles as they sing during a Christmas Eve service at Indonesia Arena stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Ukrainian servicemen attend a parade on Orthodox Christmas eve in downtown Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys) Wearing Santa Claus costumes, children watch the 40th annual Christmas parade heading towards the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) A man walks past an illuminated church on the eve of Christmas in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Children celebrate Christmas Eve in the southern Lebanese border village of Alma al-Shaab, near the Israeli border, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) A piece of meat is thrown to the buyer in the crowd during the annual Christmas Eve meat auction at Smithfield Market in London, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Related Articles

Miss Manners: Mom asked if we liked the fancy mattress, so I said ‘no’

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 02:42

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Help! My husband and I stayed at my parents’ house and slept in their guest bedroom. Friends of theirs had gifted them with a terrible, but very expensive, mattress. It slopes severely toward the edges so that you feel like you’re falling all night long, making sleep impossible.

My mom happened to ask if we liked the mattress, so I said “no,” and explained why. She proceeded to look up reviews for the mattress on her phone to see whether I was right about whether or not we liked the mattress (I guess).

What do we do next time we visit? We seriously won’t be able to sleep on that mattress, but saying that we’ll stay in a hotel would probably start World War III.

GENTLE READER: When you are a parent (if you are not already), remember that exchange when you ask your children for feedback (as you will) and then argue when they give it (as you also will).

Miss Manners notes this merely to grease the wheel of life. The answer to your immediate problem is to remind your mother that she asked, and hope that her own sense of fair play will win out. And to sleep on the sofa.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I live in an area that is known for terrible coffee, so my friends and neighbors often come to my house for an espresso drink. They know I take the process seriously to make a quality drink, using an espresso machine/grinder and milk frother.

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Although I will ensure the machine is filled, cups are warmed and a filter is ready for making a fresh cup upon arrival, the process is very loud and I can’t hear my guest while I am making their requested drink.

What would be the correct way to let them know that I can’t hear them while I complete the five-minute task of making a drink? And should I let them stand there, or seat them?

GENTLE READER: As we are being careful with the coffee, Miss Manners recommends also being precise about the problem. You do not need to tell your neighbors that you cannot hear them over the coffee grinder; that will be obvious as soon as you press the button.

The problem is that you cannot politely press that button while they are halfway through asking you a question. Wait until a pause, therefore, point to the grinder, say, “Excuse me,” and grind away. If necessary, you can repeat this process for each noise-making step.

Even the most situationally unaware neighbor should be able to remain politely quiet in the hope of getting caffeinated.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have long been troubled by the carol “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” specifically the intimation that if we don’t give the uninvited guests their figgy pudding, they “won’t go.”

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How are we to address this request? I don’t want to be ungrateful for their wishes, but think that their insistence is a bit beyond what is considered polite and reasonable. Can you advise how to proceed?

GENTLE READER: What was that? Miss Manners couldn’t quite hear you over the ruckus made by the geese a-laying, the calling birds, the French hens and the turtledoves. The partridge, fortunately, appears to have passed out under the pear tree.

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.

US and Ukraine reach consensus on key issues aimed at ending the war but territorial disputes remain

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 02:13

By SAMYA KULLAB

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year conflict, but sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, remain unresolved, Ukraine’s president said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke as the U.S. showed the 20-point plan, hammered out after marathon talks in Florida in recent days, to Russian negotiators. A response is expected from Moscow on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president briefed journalists on each point of the plan on Tuesday. His comments were embargoed until Wednesday morning. The draft proposal, which reflects Ukraine’s wishes, intertwines political and commercial interests to safeguard security while boosting economic potential.

At the heart of the negotiations lies the contentious territorial dispute concerning the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas. This is “the most difficult point,” Zelenskyy said. He said these matters will be discussed at the leaders level.

Russia continues to assert maximalist demands, insisting that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory in Donbas that it has not captured — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk.

In a bid to facilitate compromise, the United States has proposed transforming these areas into free economic zones. Ukraine insists that any arrangement must be contingent upon a referendum, allowing the Ukrainian people to determine their own fate. Ukraine is demanding the demilitarization of the area and the presence of an international force to ensure stability, Zelenskyy said.

How the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest plant in Europe which is under Russian occupation, will be managed is another contentious issue. The U.S. is proposing a consortium with Ukraine and Russia, with each party having an equal stake in the enterprise.

But Zelenskyy countered with a joint venture proposal between the U.S. and Ukraine, in which the Americans are able to decide how to distribute their share, presuming it would go to Russia.

“We did not reach a consensus with the American side on the territory of the Donetsk region and on the ZNPP,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the power plant in Zaporizhzhia. “But we have significantly brought most of the positions closer together. In principle, all other consensus in this agreement has been found between us and them.”

A free economic zone compromise

Point 14, which covers territories that cut across the eastern front line, and Point 12, which discusses management of the Zaporizhzhia plant, will likely be major sticking points in the talks.

Zelenskyy said: “We are in a situation where the Russians want us to leave the Donetsk region, and the Americans are trying to find a way so that it is ‘not a way out’ — because we are against leaving — they want to find a demilitarized zone or a free economic zone in this, that is, a format that can provide for the views of both sides.”

The draft states that the contact line, which cuts across five Ukrainian regions, be frozen once the agreement is signed.

Ukraine’s stance is that any attempt to create a free economic zone must be ratified by a referendum, affirming that the Ukrainian people ultimately hold the decision-making power, Zelenskyy said. This process will require 60 days, he added, during which time hostilities should stop to allow the process to happen.

More difficult discussions would require hammering out how far troops would be required to move back, per Ukraine’s proposal, and where international forces would be s tationed. Zelenskyy said ultimately “people can choose: this ending suits us or not,” he said.

The draft also proposes that Russian forces withdraw from Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions, and that international forces be located along the contact line to monitor the implementation of the agreement.

“Since there is no faith in the Russians, and they have repeatedly broken their promises, today’s contact line is turning into a line of a de facto free economic zone, and international forces should be there to guarantee that no one will enter there under any guise — neither ‘little green men’ nor Russian military disguised as civilians,” Zelenskyy said.

Managing Zaporizhzhia power plant

Ukraine is also proposing that the occupied city of Enerhodar, which is connected to the Zaporizhzhia power plant, be a demilitarized free economic zone, Zelenskyy said. This point required 15 hours of discussions with the U.S., he said.

For now, the U.S. proposes that the plant be jointly operated by Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, with each side receiving dividends from the enterprise.

“The USA is offering 33 percent for 33 percent for 33 percent, and the Americans are the main manager of this joint venture,” he said. “It is clear that for Ukraine this sounds very unsuccessful and not entirely realistic. How can you have joint commerce with the Russians after everything?”

Ukraine offered an alternative proposal, that the plant be operated by a joint venture with the U.S. in which the Americans can determine independently how to distribute their 50 percent share.

Zelenskyy said billions in investments are needed to make the plant run again, including restoring the adjacent dam.

“There were about 15 hours of conversations about the plant. These are all very complex things.”

A separate annex for security guarantees

The document ensures that Ukraine will be provided with “strong” security guarantees that mirror NATO’s Article 5, which would obligate Ukraine’s partners to act in the event of renewed Russian aggression.

Zelenskyy said that a separate bilateral document with the U.S. will outline these guarantees. This agreement will detail the conditions under which security will be provided, particularly in the event of a renewed Russian assault, and will establish a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire.

This mechanism will utilize satellite technology and early warning systems to ensure effective oversight and rapid response capabilities.

“The mood of the United States of America is that this is an unprecedented step towards Ukraine on their part. They believe that they are giving strong security guarantees,” he said.

The draft contains other elements including keeping Ukraine’s army at 800,000 during peace time, and by nailing down a specific date for ascension to the European Union.

Elections and boosting the economy

The document proposes accelerating a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. once the agreement is signed. The U.S. wants the same deal with Russia, said Zelenskyy.

Ukraine would like to receive short-term privileged access to the European market and a robust global development package, that will cover a wide-range of economic interests, including a development fund to invest in industries including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence, as well as gas.

Also included are funds for the reconstruction of territories destroyed in the war.

“Ukraine will have the opportunity to determine the priorities for distributing its share of funds in the territories under the control of Ukraine. And this is a very important point, on which we spent a lot of time,” Zelenskyy said.

The goal will be to attract $800 billion through equity, grants, loans and private sector contributions.

The draft proposal also requires Ukraine to hold elections after the signing of the agreement. “This is the partners’ vision,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is also asking that all prisoners since 2014 be released at once, and that civilian detainees, political prisoners and children be returned to Ukraine.

Today in History: December 24, Alan Turing granted posthumous pardon

South Florida Local News - Wed, 12/24/2025 - 02:00

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 24, the 358th day of 2025. There are seven days left in the year. This is Christmas Eve.

Today in history:

On Dec. 24, 2013, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II granted a posthumous pardon to code-breaker Alan Turing, who was criminally convicted of homosexual behavior in the 1950s.

Also on this date:

In 1814, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, which would end the War of 1812 following ratification by both the British Parliament and the U.S. Senate.

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In 1851, fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes (about two-thirds of the library’s collection).

In 1865, several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, that was the original version of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 1913, 73 people, most of them children, died in a crush of panic after a false cry of “Fire!” during a Christmas party for striking miners and their families at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan.

In 1914, during World War I, impromptu Christmas truces began to take hold along parts of the Western Front, principally between British and German soldiers but also involving French troops.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal.

In 2018, a series of explosions ripped through fireworks workshops in Tultepec, a town just north of Mexico City, leaving at least 24 people dead and dozens injured.

In 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived its record-breaking closest approach to the sun, hurtling 3.8 million miles above its fiery surface. Since its 2018 launch, the probe has completed numerous other close fly-bys to observe solar wind and other events.

Today’s Birthdays:
  • Immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci is 85.
  • Filmmaker Lee Daniels is 66.
  • Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright is 64.
  • Singer Ricky Martin is 54.
  • Novelist and film producer Stephenie Meyer is 52.
  • TV host Ryan Seacrest is 51.
  • Rock singer Louis Tomlinson (One Direction) is 34.
  • NFL wide receiver Davante Adams is 33.

Powerball’s $1.7B jackpot could make Christmas Eve unforgettable for a lucky winner

South Florida Local News - Tue, 12/23/2025 - 22:13

By OLIVIA DIAZ

A Christmas Eve Powerball drawing could add new meaning to holiday cheer as millions of players hope to cash in on the $1.7 billion prize, which comes after months without a jackpot winner.

The United States’ 4th-largest jackpot on record comes after 46 consecutive draws without someone claiming to have all six numbers. The last contest with a jackpot winner was on Sept. 6. The game’s long odds have people decking the halls and doling out $2 — and sometimes more — for tickets ahead of Wednesday night’s live drawing.

It’s a sign the game is operating as intended. Lottery officials made the odds tougher in 2015 as a mechanism for snowballing jackpots, all the while making it easier to win smaller prizes.

The Christmas holiday is not expected to impact the drawing process should there be a winning ticket, a Powerball spokesperson said.

Here is what to know about Wednesday’s drawing:

Christmas Eve cha-ching

That ticket placed in a stocking or under the tree could be worth a billion bucks — but with some caveats.

Powerball is played in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most of those areas require players to be 18 or older, though some states have steeper requirements. In Nebraska, players have to be at least 19 years old, and in Louisiana and Arizona, people can’t buy tickets until they are 21.

Winning tickets also must be cashed in the states where they were bought. And players can’t buy tickets in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada or Utah.

Other than that, lottery officials argue there is a chance a lucky Powerball ticket could be a gift that keeps on giving.

Charlie McIntyre, the New Hampshire Lottery’s executive director, said Tuesday: “Just think of the stories you can tell for generations to come about the year you woke up a billionaire on Christmas.”

A range of prizes can be presents

Wednesday’s $1.7 billion jackpot has a cash value of $781.3 million.

A winner can choose to be paid the whole amount through an annuity, with an immediate payment and then annual payments over 29 years that increase by 5% each time. Most winners, however, usually choose the cash value for a lump sum.

The odds are high for the top prize, but there are smaller prizes players can reap.

At the last drawing, players in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin each won $1 million. There are also prizes outside the jackpot, ranging from a few dollars to $2 million.

One woman told Powerball officials that she already made plans for her $1 million win: “We’re going to pay off our cars and credit cards and get a bigger house!”

And Thomas Anderson of Burlington, North Carolina, said he intended to use his $100,000 Powerball win from earlier this month to go back to school, according to Powerball.

Long odds for the billion-dollar jackpots

Lottery officials set the odds at 1 in 292.2 million in hopes that jackpots will roll over with each of the three weekly drawings until the pool balloons so much that more people take notice and play.

The odds used to be notably better, at 1 in 175 million. But the game was made tougher in 2015 to create the out-of-this-world bounties. The tougher odds partly helped set the stage for back-to-back record-breaking sweepstakes this year.

The last time someone won the Powerball pot was on Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion, which was the second-highest top prize in U.S. history.

The U.S. has seen more than a dozen lottery jackpot prizes exceed $1 billion since 2016. The biggest U.S. jackpot ever was $2.04 billion back in 2022.

More about those unfavorable odds

It’s hard to explain what odds of 1 in 292.2 million mean. Even if halved, they remain difficult to digest.

In the past, one math professor described the odds of flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times.

Tim Chartier, a Davidson College math professor in North Carolina, on Monday compared the odds of a winning lottery ticket to selecting one marked dollar bill from a stack 19 miles (31 kilometers) high.

“It’s true that if you buy 100 tickets, you are 100 times more likely to win. But in this case, ‘100 times more likely’ barely moves the probability needle,” Chartier said. “Using the time analogy, buying 100 tickets is like getting 100 guesses to name that one chosen second over nine years. Possible — but wildly improbable.”

___

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

It’s love, set and match: Tennis icon Venus Williams weds actor, model partner in Florida

South Florida Local News - Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:04

By Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Tennis legend Venus Williams wed Danish model and actor Andrea Preti over the weekend in Florida, the new bride announced in a shared post.

An Instagram post from Vogue Magazine’s Weddings section announced the nuptials, with the message garnering more than 30,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We all love each other so much,” Williams, 45, said in the Vogue post. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”

The post was scant on details other than the event took place over five days in and around the couple’s home in Palm Beach Gardens.

An email for comment to representatives for Williams and Preti, 37, was not immediately returned.

The couple met at 2024 Milan Fashion Week and began texting shortly after, according to Vogue.

The couple eventually became engaged on Jan. 31 in Tuscany, according to Vogue. That detail was confirmed in July during what was a historic month for Williams.

The Compton native defeated 23-year-old Peyton Sterns 6-3, 6-4 in the first-round action of the D.C. Open after a 16-month hiatus from singles matches.

In victory, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, trailing only fellow legend Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she won in 2004.

“Yes, my fiance is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams told the Tennis Channel’s Rennae Stubbs in a post-match interview. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. … He encouraged me to get through this, and it’s wonderful [for him] to be here. He’s never seen me play.”

Preti has written, acted and directed in a handful of films, primarily in Italy.

The wedding was the second for the couple, who also held a ceremony in Italy in September.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Kunin, Lundell score during Panthers’ five-goal third period in win over Hurricanes

South Florida Local News - Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:01

By BOB SUTTON

RALEIGH, N.C. — Luke Kunin and Anton Lundell scored 43 seconds apart during a five-goal third period for the Florida Panthers, who rallied past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Niko Mikkola began the Panthers’ burst with his first goal of the season and Florida ended up with four goals in slightly more six minutes. Anton Lundell also scored, and Seth Jones capped the scoring on the power play. Sam Reinhart had three assists, and Eetu Luostarinen and Aaron Ekblad each provided two.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves for his sixth consecutive victory as the Panthers, who made their first visit to Raleigh since their series-ending Game 5 victory in the Eastern Conference finals last spring, won for the fifth time in six games.

Eric Robinson and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, who’ve lost three straight games for the first time this season. Frederik Andersen, playing for the first time after a nine-game layoff, made 17 saves but is winless in his last seven games (0-5-2).

It was Florida’s second comeback against the Hurricanes in less than a week. The Panthers wiped out a three-goal hole in the third period Thursday on the way to a shootout victory at home.

Robinson scored 4:15 into the game. Svechnikov’s goal came as he skated out of the penalty box and caught the Panthers off guard, scoring on a breakaway 1:58 into the second period. He slid the puck between Bobrovsky’s pads.

The Panthers had seven shots on goal through the first two periods and then nearly as many goals in the third on 15 shots.

Up next

Panthers: Begin a five-game homestand Saturday vs. Tampa Bay

Winderman’s view: Time for Heat to get into playbook as they remain at a loss

South Florida Local News - Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:01

MIAMI ã— Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors:

– Self-confidence is one thing.

– Self-will is another.

– This is not a team with a do-it-alone player.

– Jalen Brunson is not walking through that door.

– Neither is Zach LaVine.

– Or others who have toasted victory over the Heat in December.

– When it all was working in lockstep in October and November, the ball movement and off-the-dribble creativity were enough to overcome a degree of talent deficit.

– Apparently that came with an expiration date.

– Instead, it’s Andrew Wiggins and Simone Fontecchio going off the dribble.

– Norman Powell launching in the tightest of spaces.

– Bam Adebayo coming up short on short jumpers.

– Individually it’s not working.

– So perhaps a play call?

– Perhaps return strategy to the equation?

– Add it back in?

– Something needs to change.

– Because self-will isn’t it.

– The Heat now a .500 team.

– And fading.

– Yes, the defense hasn’t been gangbusters lately.

– But this is a scoring league.

– A pick-and-roll league.

– So maybe the Heat weren’t so right, the other teams so wrong.

– The Heat again opened with Wiggins, Powell, Adebayo, Kel’el Ware and Davion Mitchell.

– Adebayo is now two games from tying Alonzo Mourning on the Heat’s all-time regular-season games list.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. again was first off the Heat bench, entering with the Heat down 16-3, and immediately scoring on his first possession.

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– Kasparas Jakucionis, Dru Smith and Fontecchio were next off the Heat bench.

– Asked pregame about Ware’s recent breakout, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke of it not being a surprise, but how it also has to be accompanied by winning.

– “I think he had been stacking some good days. And you do that long enough and eventually you start to get some results,” Spoelstra said. “His practice sessions were good, film sessions, shootarounds were good. I’m talking about like six weeks ago, when it wasn’t necessarily translating to consistency.”

– Spoelstra added, “And he’s still young. So it’s not always going to be linear. It’s going to be some non-linear jumps. I want there to be some surprises not only with Kel’el, but with other guys. He’s handling it appropriately.”

– Again, Spoelstra stressed that Ware respects it also has to be a team thing.

– “He’s being held accountable to winning things,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be like a negative thing. We’re trying. We all want the same thing. We want a better result. We want growth faster. I want him to be like he’s 28, and that’s not realistic. And a little bit of impatience is good, as long as he handles it appropriately.”

– Powell extended his streak of games scoring in double figures to 28, seven off the longest such run of his career.

Misery continues for Heat, falling for eighth time in nine games, this time 112-91 to Raptors

South Florida Local News - Tue, 12/23/2025 - 20:00

MIAMI — On the night before the night before Christmas, another lump of coal for the Miami Heat.

So make it eight losses in the past nine games and a .500 record at the holiday break with Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, this time their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Looking nothing like the team that dominated on offense at the start of the season, Erik Spoelstra’s team instead this time fell to Sandro Mamukelashvili & Co.

“This is not what I would have predicted,” Spoelstra said. “I thought we were ready.”

Unlike the efforts in road losses to the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks over the weekend, when the Heat competed until the decisive stages, this had the look of a team beaten down by the recent losses, in desperate need of a break.

“I don’t even know right now,” Spoelstra said.

At 15-15, the Heat now get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, before returning for a back-to-back set on Friday night in Atlanta and then Saturday night at home against the Indiana Pacers.

By then, it will become a matter of whether they can avoid having a losing record for the first time since they stood 1-3 after a Nov. 2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Got to be better, man,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We just got to figure it out as a whole.”

The numbers were limited across the board for the Heat, save for a 21-point performance from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Otherwise, 17 points from Norman Powell on 6-of-17 shooting, nine from Adebayo and this time only five points and nine rebounds from Kel’el Ware.

“It all starts individually,” Jaquez said. “We’ve all got to look at each other in the mirror.’

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 27 points, on a night Mamukelashvili also outscored much of the Heat roster.

“The defense wasn’t there,” Powell said. “The defense wasn’t good.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Raptors led 21-16 after the first quarter and 51-44 at halftime.

The Heat then went down 16 in the third quarter.

Then, as was the previous two games, in the road losses in Boston and New York, the Heat swooned at the end of the third period, this time down 82-67 going into the fourth.

The Raptors extended their lead to 21 early in the fourth quarter, effectively ending it.

“We’re a young team, but we’ve got to focus on the details of the game,” Powell said. “That’s going to help us get out of this losing streak.”

It ended with the Heat at .402 from the field and 8 of 30 on 3-pointers, with 18 turnovers.

“We can’t afford games like this,” Spoelstra said of the lack of fight. “We haven’t had many like this.”

2. Nothing early: The Heat’s lowest-scoring first half of the season was a study in struggle.

The Heat were 4 of 18 on 3-pointers over the first two periods, with 10 turnovers at halftime.

No Heat player had more than three field goals in the first half, with Andrew Wiggins the lone starter with even that many.

For that matter, even the start was telling, with Toronto moving to an initial 16-3 lead.

“We got to do a better job of just executing,” Powell said.

Both of the Heat’s two lowest-scoring games of the season have come at Kaseya Center against the Raptors, the Heat’s only two games below 100 points this season.

“It was a lifeless start and then we felt like we were digging back the rest of the game,” Spoelstra said.

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3. Adebayo off: The offensive struggles continued for Adebayo, this time with just three points in the first half on 1-of-5 shooting.

Adebayo also was just 1 of 3 from the foul line in the first half, compensating somewhat with his game-high eight first-half rebounds.

“I’ve got to fight through whatever I’ve got to fight through,” Adebayo said.

Adebayo closed 4 of 11 from the field, albeit with a game-high 12 rebounds.

“I have to be better for him,” Spoelstra said. “But his heart is in the right place. He wants to help the team.”

4. Three down: The Heat continued in the injury absences of Tyler Herro (toe), Pelle Larsson (ankle) and Nikola Jovic (elbow).

“I am very encouraged by the progress,” Spoelstra said pregame. “They’re not ready to go tonight, but we don’t have a timeline.

“I came in yesterday and I was encouraged.”

And then the Heat took the court, showing how much the scoring of Herro, the energy of Larsson and perhaps even the creativity of Jovic are needed.

5. Comeback tour: On the one-year anniversary of his Achilles tear, Dru Smith sparked the Heat off the bench with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in his initial eight-minute stint.

Smith ruptured his left Achilles in a Dec. 23, 2024 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. He was on the verge of being converted to a standard contract at the time of his injury.

He finally got that contact this past offseason, re-emerging as a rotation mainstay.

Smith closed with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

“Now got to make it to January for the first time,” said Smith, whose past two seasons have ended with a pre-January injury, including tearing his ACL in November 2023.

  
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