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Silver hits all-time high as London squeeze sparks market havoc
By Sybilla Gross, Bloomberg News
Silver prices touched an all-time high above $52.50 an ounce, as a historic short squeeze in London added momentum to a rally that’s been fueled by surging demand for safe-haven assets.
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Spot prices rose as much as 0.4% to $52.5868 an ounce in London, surpassing a peak set in January 1980 on a now-defunct contract overseen by the Chicago Board of Trade — when the billionaire Hunt brothers attempted to corner the market. Gold also climbed to another record high, building on eight straight weeks of gains.
Concerns about a lack of liquidity in London have sparked a worldwide hunt for silver, with benchmark prices soaring to near-unprecedented levels over New York. That’s prompting some traders to book cargo slots on transatlantic flights for silver bars — an expensive mode of transport typically reserved for gold — to profit off higher prices in London. The premium was at about $1.55 an ounce in early trading on Tuesday — down from a spread of $3 last week.
Silver lease rates — which represent the annualized cost of borrowing metal in the London market — have been persistently high this year, but surged to more than 30% on a one-month basis on Friday. That’s creating eye-watering costs for those looking to roll over short positions. A jump in demand from India in recent weeks has drawn down the supply of available bars to trade in London, following a rush to ship metal to New York earlier this year after worries that the metal could be hit with U.S. tariffs sparked large dislocations between the two trading hubs.
While precious metals were officially exempt from levies in April, traders remain on edge ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. administration’s so-called Section 232 probe into critical minerals — which includes silver, as well as platinum and palladium. The investigation has revived fears the metals could be swept up in new tariffs, exacerbating market tightness.
The silver market “is less liquid and roughly nine times smaller than gold’s, amplifying price moves,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts wrote in a note. “Without a central bank bid to anchor silver prices, even a temporary pullback in investment flows could trigger a disproportionate correction, as it would also unwind the London tightness that drove much of the recent rally.”
The four main precious metals have surged between 56% and 81% this year, in a rally that’s dominated commodity markets. Gold’s advance has been underpinned by central-bank buying, rising holdings in exchange-traded funds, and rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Demand for havens has also been aided by recurrent U.S.-China trade tensions, threats to the Fed’s independence, and a U.S. government shutdown.
On Monday analysts at Bank of America Corp. hiked their end-of-2026 price target for silver from around $44 an ounce to $65, citing persistent market deficits, elevated fiscal gaps and lower interest rates.
Investors were also weighing the outlook for the Fed’s monetary easing path ahead of the central bank’s next interest-rate decision later this month. Philadelphia’s Fed Bank President Anna Paulson on Monday signaled she favors two more quarter-point cuts this year as policy should look through the impact of tariffs in consumer price increases. Lower borrowing costs then to benefit precious metals, which don’t pay interest.
Spot gold was up 0.5% at $4,129.80 an ounce at 7:38 a.m. in Singapore, after climbing 2.3% on Monday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat, after gaining about 1% last week. Silver was up 0.3%, while platinum and palladium jumped.
(With assistance from Mark Burton.)
©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Foundations want to curb AI developers’ influence with $500 million aimed at centering human needs
By JAMES POLLARD, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence is a matter of design — not destiny.
That’s the message from ten philanthropic foundations aiming to loosen the grip that the technology’s moneyed developers, fueled by an investing frenzy, hold over its evolution. Launched Tuesday under the name Humanity AI, the coalition is committing $500 million across the next five years to place human interests at the forefront of the technology’s rapid integration into daily life.
“Every day, people learn more about the ways AI is impacting their lives, and it can often feel like this technology is happening to us rather than with us and for us,” MacArthur Foundation President John Palfrey said in a statement. “The stakes are too high to defer decisions to a handful of companies and leaders within them.”
Artificial intelligence has been embraced as a productivity booster in fields such as software engineering or medicine. It could help students with a range of visual, speech, language and hearing impairments to execute tasks that come easily to others. Humanitarian groups are testing its ability to translate important documents for refugees. And some farmers find it useful for detecting pests in their hard-to-survey fields.
But others question whether its deployment is actually improving their quality of life. Some point out that real harms exist for children turning to AI chatbots for companionship. AI-generated deepfake videos contribute to the online spread of misinformation and disinformation. The electricity-hungry systems’ reliance on energy generated by fossil fuels contributes to climate change. And economists fear AI is taking jobs from young or entry-level workers.
The problem, according to Omidyar Network President Michele L. Jawando, is that tech giants aren’t investing en masse in the first set of use cases. They’re focused on products that may or may not help humans thrive.
Jawando pointed to OpenAI ‘s recent entrance into the online marketplace as an example. At its DevDay last week, the company touted ChatGPT’s new capabilities as a virtual merchant that can sell goods directly for Etsy sellers or deliver food from Uber Eats.
The coalition recognizes the private sector’s desire to maximize profits and governments’ interest in spurring innovation, according to Jawando. But between tech companies’ great influence and the Trump administration’s regulatory rollbacks to speed up AI technology construction, she said philanthropic leaders recognized the need for more capital and more collaboration to amplify the voice of civil society.
“We feel like Humanity AI can really answer the question: what do humans need for flourishing? What does that actually look like?” Jawando said. “Most of what we’re offered right now is efficiency. But that’s not flourishing. I don’t want my life to be efficient. I want my life to flourish. I want it to feel rich and robust and healthy and safe.”
Led by the MacArthur Foundation and Omidyar Network, Humanity AI seeks to take back agency by supporting technology and advocates centering people and the planet. Members must make grants in at least one of five priority areas identified by the coalition: advancing democracy, strengthening education, protecting artists, enhancing work or defending personal security.
The alliance of a broad range of philanthropies underscores the widespread concern. Its ranks represent humanities supporters such as the Mellon Foundation, tacklers of inequality in the Ford Foundation, an open internet grantmaker in the Mozilla Foundation, leading education funders such as Lumina Foundation, charitable behemoths such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and groups like the Siegel Family Endowment that explore technology’s societal impacts.
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They’re not the first philanthropic coalition to emerge this year with the goal of ensuring everyday people don’t get left behind. The Gates Foundation and Ballmer Group were among the funders who announced in July that they’d spend $1 billion over 15 years to help create AI tools for public defenders, parole officers, social workers and others who help Americans in precarious situations. Other efforts seek to improve AI literacy and expand access for entrepreneurs in low-income countries.
Humanity AI hopes to expand its coalition. Partners began coordinating grants this fall and will pool new money next year in a collaborative fund managed by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Grantees include the National Black Tech Ecosystem Association, which builds diverse leadership pipelines in STEM; AI Now, a research institute at New York University studying AI’s social implications; and a Howard Law School initiative dedicated to developing AI solutions that advance civil rights.
“We can choose participation over control,” Mozilla Foundation Executive Director Nabiha Syed said in an emailed statement. “The systems shaping our lives must be powered by people, open by design, and fueled by imagination.”
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Missing state vehicles identified, agency chief tells lawmakers
TALLAHASSEE – The thousands of state-owned vehicles that Florida auditors reported missing months ago have been accounted for, a state agency chief told lawmakers Tuesday.
A state audit presented to a legislative oversight committee in March noted that the state’s new vehicle tracking system couldn’t account for about 2,300 vehicles, valued at $57 million, that were listed in the state’s overall database. The vehicles were not lost or stolen, but auditors could not find them listed in the new system.
The audit also found “numerous unmatched, inconsistent, missing, or incomplete records,” including 1,535 inaccurate delivery dates and 1,695 missing delivery dates.
The findings upset lawmakers who noted the state’s Department of Management Services, which oversees a fleet of state-owned vehicles, had gone through three different IT systems to try to track the cars and trucks but was still failing. One lawmaker complained he couldn’t even get a straight answer on how many total vehicles Florida owned.
But Tuesday Director Tom Berger told members of the Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability that those vehicles now are all accounted for and that his agency had completed almost all of the recommendations made by the Auditor General to improve oversight of the state’s roughly 27,000 vehicles.
For next year, the agency wants funding for a system that will install “a chip that goes on every vehicle” to track, monitor and report vehicle usage, he said. The device will also track maintenance, location, and fuel consumption across all state agencies.
The Legislature will decide in its 2026 session whether to provide the $3.5 million requested.
The DMS is the business arm of the state government, with a budget of $1.1 billion. It provides workforce and business support services to other state agencies including purchasing, real estate development, telecommunications and management of state vehicles.
“I am delighted to hear we found the … cars that were missing or unaccounted for,” said State Sen. Lavon Bracy Davis, D-Orlando.
She questioned, however, why it took the state two years to implement the latest tracking system, which even then couldn’t properly interface with the state inventory program.
Berger said it was not unusual for new systems to require time to ramp up, though he conceded that even when the system was up and running, it required time-consuming, error-prone and labor-intensive processing. Those issues will continue, he said, unless the Legislature agrees to the funding request to automate the system.
He said the agency was working to improve the interface between the fleet management system and the state’s overall inventory management program. And it has asked the Legislature to authorize additional staff to help centralize vehicle purchasing, which will enable DMS to buy vehicles in bulk for agencies at a lower cost than through individual agency purchases.
The same Auditor General report that raised the issue of missing vehicles also identified some $56,000 in travel expenses from four top DMS executives who lived out of state and had their trips to Florida paid for with public money. That issue was not addressed Tuesday.
‘No Kings’ protests planned throughout South Florida this weekend. Here’s what to expect
Another round of anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests will unfold across several South Florida cities this Saturday, among thousands across the country during heightened political unrest and a government shutdown.
The protests, scheduled from Miami to West Palm Beach, will coincide with Trump’s return to his Mar-a-Lago residence this weekend for a fundraiser. Previous peaceful protests have drawn thousands to cities across South Florida. Residents can expect some traffic, though organizers say that there will be minimal disruption as the protests will take place along sidewalks as well as at local government buildings and parks.
In June, ‘No Kings’ protests drew thousands across South Florida, including in West Palm Beach, where protesters marched to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. At the time, major issues included Trump’s immigration crackdown, cuts to social services and concerns about what many saw as the Trump administration’s undermining of democracy. This time, South Florida organizers say that top-of-mind issues include healthcare and the federal government shutdown and the deployment of ICE and the National Guard to multiple Democrat-led U.S. cities. Organizers are anticipating similar numbers, with more locations scheduled than in June.
The protests also come during a time of heightened political violence, including the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at a college campus event in September. Organizers have taken extra security precautions for this weekend, including coordinating heavily with police and not disclosing certain locations ahead of time, according to Jennifer Jones, the leader of the Broward chapter of Hope and Action Indivisible, which is organizing the Hollywood protest.
Some prominent Republicans have criticized the protests in advance. House Speaker Mike Johnson described the event scheduled for the National Mall in Washington DC as a “Hate America rally.” Protest organizers disagreed.
“It’s just us really exercising our First Amendment right to dissent, to show that we’re not OK with this power grab and with this continuation of Donald Trump trying to be a dictator,” Jones said.
Here’s are some of the planned events in South Florida:
Broward County- Hollywood: Protesters will gather at Young Circle from 10 a.m. to noon. From 11:30 a.m. to noon, protesters will march to and from a location that organizers are not disclosing for security purposes.
- Coral Springs: Protesters will gather at North University Drive and West Sample Road from 9:30-11:30 a.m.
- Fort Lauderdale: Protesters will gather at what is known as “Freedom Corner” in the 3200 block of North Federal Highway from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and at the intersection of Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway (State Road A1A) and Sunrise Boulevard from noon to 5 p.m.
- West Palm Beach: Protesters will gather at the Target at 1760 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Boca Raton: Protesters will gather at Boca Raton City Hall in the 200 block of West Palmetto Park Road from 10 a.m. to noon. A “car protest” is also scheduled at West Palmetto Park Road and Northwest Second Avenue from 10 a.m. to noon.
- Lake Worth Beach: Protesters will gather at Lake Worth Beach City Hall from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
- Miami: Protesters will gather at 10 a.m. on the 300 block of Biscayne Boulevard as well as the 7900 block of Southwest 40th Street.
- Key Largo: Protesters will gather at 10 a.m. on the 102050 block of Overseas Highway.
- Marathon: Protesters will gather at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Overseas Highway and Sombrero Beach Road.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
Snipers on roof as Udine braces for high-risk Italy-Israel World Cup qualifier
By DANIELLA MATAR, Associated Press
UDINE, Italy (AP) — Snipers were on the roof of the Israel team hotel in Udine and the Italian city is on maximum alert ahead of a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
The Israel team bus was escorted to the stadium by 13 police vehicles, including some from the special forces, and several motorbikes.
The sound of helicopters surveilling the city has filled the air since the morning, hours before Italy’s match against Israel was set to kick off at Stadio Friuli. Drones could also be spotted in the sky.
Show Caption1 of 5Police officers patrol outside the Fruili Hotel where the Israeli national team is staying, ahead of a World Cup 2026, Group I qualifying soccer match between Italy and Israel at the Friuli Stadium in Udine, Italy, Tuesday, Oct.14, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) ExpandThe match has been placed in the highest risk category despite a breakthrough ceasefire deal that has paused two years of war in Gaza.
In the city center, around 10,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian march, which stayed incident free for nearly three hours before arriving at its final stop. Then about 50 people — with their faces covered — started clashing with police, who used water cannons to try and disperse them.
Many shops and restaurants decided not to open on Tuesday and there are strict rules for those that did — including the removal of any outdoor furniture or other objects that could potentially be used as weapons.
There will also be snipers on the roof of the arena as well as a hefty police and military presence.
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Italy also played Israel a year ago in Udine, which was chosen because of the relative difficulty of reaching the city in north-east Italy, near the Slovenian border, and the ease of isolating the stadium, where road blocks have been set up all around.
The area has been declared a “red zone,” and only fans with tickets can pass through the tall metal barriers. Supporters have been strongly advised to arrive early because of rigorous checks, with everyone having to pass through metal detectors, too.
Just over 9,000 tickets have been sold for the qualifier at 25,000-seat Stadio Friuli and there are likely to be fewer people inside the stadium than at the demonstration.
There was also a pro-Palestine demonstration last year before the match, but that drew only around 1,000 protesters.
Trump honoring Charlie Kirk with Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would be his 32nd birthday
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday is posthumously awarding America’s highest civilian honor to Charlie Kirk, the assassinated activist who inspired a generation of young conservatives and helped push the nation’s politics further to the right.
The ceremony coincides with what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday. It comes just over a month after the Turning Point USA founder was fatally shot while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University.
In a sign of Kirk’s close ties to the administration, he will be the first recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Trump’s second term. The president also spoke at at Kirk’s funeral in September, calling him a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom, while Vice President JD Vance and Kirk’s wife, Erica, accompanied his body home to Arizona on Air Force Two.
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Trump wrote in a social media post hours before the event that he was moving the ceremony from the White House’s East Room to the Rose Garden to accommodate a crowd he said would be “so big and enthusiastic.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 for individuals making exceptional contributions to the country’s security or national interests or to world peace, or being responsible for significant cultural endeavors or public and private initiatives.
Tuesday’s event follows Trump returning to the U.S. in the pre-dawn hours — after a whirlwind trip to Israel and Egypt to celebrate a ceasefire agreement in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza that his administration was instrumental in brokering.
Trump has awarded a string of presidential medals going back to his first term, including to golf legend Tiger Woods, ex-football coach Lou Holtz and conservative economist Arthur Laffer as well as to Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, the latter of which came during the 2020 State of the Union. He awarded posthumous medals to Babe Ruth and Elvis.
This term, Trump has also announced his intentions to award the medals to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and a close former adviser, and to Ben Carson, who served as Trump’s first-term secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012. Trump has praised Kirk as one of the key reasons he was reelected.
But Kirk’s politics were also often divisive. He sharply criticized gay and transgender rights while inflaming racial tensions. Kirk also repeated Trump’s false claims that former Vice President Kamala Harris was directly responsible for all immigrants who were in the U.S. illegally and called George Floyd, a Black man whose killing by a Minneapolis police officer sparked a national debate over racial injustice, a “scumbag.”
‘Jewish donors play into all the stereotypes,’ Charlie Kirk wrote in leaked text messages before his murder
In the days before his murder, Charlie Kirk was frustrated — and he wasn’t hiding it from his friends. The conservative influencer complained in a WhatsApp group that his “Jewish donors” were “playing into all the stereotypes” and said they were pushing him to “leave the pro-Israel cause.”
Those messages surfaced and were recently confirmed as authentic, giving new insight into what was on Kirk’s mind before his death.
“I cannot and will not be bullied like this,” Kirk wrote in the group WhatsApp conversation, which included Jewish associates.
The messages, along with the recently revealed full text of a letter Kirk had sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several months before his death, provide additional evidence that Kirk’s frustrations with the behavior of Israel and its supporters were boiling over.
Kirk’s views on Israel and Jews have become one of the most scrutinized aspects of the millennial pundit’s legacy in the wake of his assassination on a Utah college campus. They also reveal the deepening trenches on the right over Israel, as young conservatives are showing signs of turning against its conduct of the Gaza war and some have percolated conspiracy theories alleging that Israel played a role in Kirk’s murder.
Pro-Israel backers of Kirk, including Netanyahu, rushed after his death to label the pundit as an unwavering friend and supporter of Israel — even as Kirk, during his life, was on record as supporting aspects of the Great Replacement theory and making other comments disparaging Jews. Netanyahu also posted his own video just prior to Kirk’s funeral refuting the idea that Israel was involved in the influencer’s murder.
Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson, a friend and associate of Kirk’s who has leaned more heavily into anti-Israel and conspiratorial rhetoric in recent years, alluded to Kirk’s assassins “eating hummus” during a eulogy at the pundit’s funeral that was also attended by President Donald Trump.
Carlson and fellow conspiratorial right-wing personality Candace Owens, also a longtime friend of Kirk’s, are at the center of the leaked texts as well. In them, Kirk discussed what he implied was Jewish blowback to his associations with both of them, including plans to invite Carlson to an event staged by his group Turning Point USA.
“Just lost another huge Jewish donor. $2 million a year because we won’t cancel Tucker,” Kirk wrote, adding, “I’m thinking of inviting Candace.” Another member of the thread, whose identity has not been revealed, responded, “Ugghhh”; later someone adds “Please don’t invite Candace.”
The text messages don’t name any donors, but the New York Times reported earlier this month that Robert Shillman, a tech mogul and supporter of pro-Israel causes, grew angry at Kirk and canceled a $2 million donation to TPUSA over Carlson’s participation at a TPUSA event.
The texts were first revealed this week by Owens, on her YouTube show. Their authenticity was later confirmed by Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for TPUSA, in his appearance on Kirk’s own eponymous show Wednesday.
At least one pro-Israel Jewish associate of Kirk’s, Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer, has confirmed he was on the text thread.
Owens, who claimed the texts were sent “48 hours” before Kirk’s murder and that their recipients included “a rabbi,” sought to paint the texts as evidence that Kirk had recently made powerful enemies in the pro-Israel sphere. On X, she has insinuated that Hammer may have had foreknowledge of Kirk’s murder.
Kolvet was more sanguine about what they revealed.
“I actually am really excited that the truth is out there,” Kolvet said on the show, adding that Kirk’s texts were “consistent with public frustrations he voiced many times” about the pro-Israel movement.
“What is the truth about the way Charlie felt about Israel? Well, it’s complicated and it’s nuanced, and it was a wrestle that was going on for months,” Kolvet said. Later, he added, “Charlie was wonderfully defiant. He was wonderfully independent, and he believed in the freedom of speech, and he felt like he deserved, as a friend of Israel over many years, the right to speak out and have criticisms.”
Kolvet noted that Kirk tended to strike “a more moderate tone in public” on the subject of Israel than the way he came across in the texts, while also sharing past interviews in which Kirk had expressed frustration that some pro-Israel circles were portraying him as an antisemite. Prior to his death, Kirk had sent a letter to Netanyahu warning him that Israel was “losing support even in conservative circles.”
Hammer, addressing the texts, wrote on the social network X on Thursday that Kirk “was blowing off steam in a private group chat setting.” He spoke with Kirk about Israel hours later, he said, adding, “Charlie sought out our advice for how to better communicate the Israel issue on campus so as to be most effective with a younger Gen Z audience.”
“Donors have every right to withhold donations, and organization CEOs/chairmen have every right to then be upset when donors withhold those donations,” Hammer wrote by way of explaining the emotions behind the texts. He added, “the notion that Charlie Kirk was ‘turning’ on his career-long friendships with the Jewish people and the Jewish state of Israel—as opposed to (sarcastically!) blowing off steam in a private group chat setting—is an egregious lie and is belied by the facts.”
On Kirk’s show, Kolvet discussed Israel with Blake Neff — a former writer on Carlson’s Fox News show who resigned from the network in 2020 after it was revealed he had written numerous anonymous racist posts.
Neff on Wednesday continued the Israel discussion by holding up a copy of “Righteous Victims,” a 1999 book about the Arab-Israeli conflict by prominent Israeli historian Benny Morris whose scholarship on the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict casts significant blame on Israel. Neff said that he had finished reading it just before Kirk’s shooting in Utah.
“I read this book because Charlie said, ‘Blake, get really well versed on this so you can help me whenever it comes up,’” Neff recalled.
No evidence has been shared linking the only suspect to be charged with Kirk’s murder to Israel. Yet Kolvet, adding fuel to the conspiratorial fire, stated that he had turned over the texts about “Jewish donors” to the FBI in the wake of the shooting.
“We wanted to leave nothing unturned,” he said, later suggesting that speculation on Kirk’s relationship with his Jewish donors could wind up “tainting a jury pool.”
For more info, go to JTA.org.
Can Louisville stop stars Bain, Mesidor and the No. 2 Hurricanes’ defense?
The Hurricanes’ defensive line has been a nearly unstoppable force through UM’s first five games. Its success has propelled Miami to No. 2 in the nation and pushed star defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm and his team of assistant coaches have the unenviable task of trying to stop it when the Cardinals face UM on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
“They’ve got two defensive ends that are really talented, fast and strong, along with some big guys up front and fast linebackers,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said Monday. “And yes, we’ve talked to some coaches at Florida, and they said this front was better than ones they’ve seen in the SEC the last three or four years. … They’re not overly complicated, but when you’re that talented, you don’t have to be.”
The defensive line might be the Hurricanes’ biggest strength, and it matches up against what is likely the Cardinals’ biggest weakness. Louisville is tied for 87th in the nation with 12 sacks allowed. Pro Football Focus gives the Cardinals the No. 104 pass-blocking grade and No. 117 run-blocking grade in the nation.
“I do think they work well together,” Mami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said of Louisville’s offensive line. “I think they have handled some different looks, pressure-wise, that have been harder looks. They bumped it. They passed things off. I think it’s a group that, every week, when you watch them, they improve. They get a little bit better. And I think, especially coming off a bye week right now, they’ve had extra time to go through and kind of get our looks in practice.”
UM’s defense has the second-best run-defense grade and the third-best pass-rush grade in the nation, according to PFF. The Hurricanes are ranked 71st in the nation with 12 sacks, but UM has racked up 124 total quarterback pressures.
Bain and Akheem Mesidor have combined for 53 of those quarterback pressures. Bain has two sacks, and Mesidor has 3.5. Bain, a junior, is the top-rated defensive player in the nation, according to PFF (among players with 100 or more snaps). Mesidor is 14th. The pair of defensive ends motivate each other and enjoy poking fun at each other.
“It’s just calling each other ‘trash,’ ” Mesidor said. “‘I’ll get the quarterback before you.’ Rueben always tells me I can’t bend the corner like him. (I) tell him, ‘I bet I can.’ I show him I can. Just a little friendly trash talk.”
Unfortunately for Louisville, Cardinals quarterback Miller Moss has struggled when pressured. The USC transfer has completed 49 percent of his passes when under pressure compared to 74.4 percent when in a clean pocket. Moss’ 35 PFF passing grade when under pressure is second-lowest in the ACC (among quarterbacks with 10 or more pressured dropbacks). His yards per attempt is lowest in the ACC.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck sees how the Hurricanes’ defensive line attacks opposing offenses, and he is glad he’s not in Moss’ shoes.
“I’m glad they can’t hit me because I would be hurting sometimes,” Beck said. “There’s times where we get into third-down periods and things like that, and those dudes are reared back and they’re coming at you.
“I believe … That they’re the best line in the country, and they’ve shown that,” Beck added. “… I feel bad for opposing teams that have to prepare for them.”
Trump says US strikes another boat accused of carrying drugs in waters off Venezuela, killing 6
By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. struck another small boat that he accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela.
The Republican president said Tuesday in a post on social media that six people aboard the vessel were killed in the strike and no U.S. forces were harmed. It’s the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean as the Trump administration has asserted that it is treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force.
Frustration with the administration has been growing on Capitol Hill among members of both parties. Some Republicans are seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes. Democrats contend the strikes violate U.S. and international law.
US and Malaysia work to expand Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire in advance of ASEAN summit
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia and the U.S. are facilitating efforts to secure an expanded ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia that they hope will be signed during a Southeast Asian summit later this month, Malaysia Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Tuesday.
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Thailand and Cambodia engaged in five days of combat in late July that killed dozens of people and displaced more than 260,000. They agreed to a ceasefire only after mediation by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless they agreed on a truce.
Tensions have remained high since the truce, particularly after Thai soldiers were injured by land mines in August while patrolling a buffer zone between the countries. Thailand accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the ceasefire, which the government in Phnom Penh has strongly denied.
FILE – Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, center, smiles with lawmakers before he presents the policy statement at the Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said Phnom Penh must accept four conditions. They include removal of heavy weapons from the border, land mine clearance, assistance to curb cross-border crime and managment of sensitive border zones to avoid further conflicts.
Mohamad said ongoing negotiations aim to broaden the ceasefire to include land mine clearance and withdrawal of heavy weapons. He expressed optimism that an agreement could be signed during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit Oct. 26-28, which is expected to draw some two dozen global leaders.
FILE – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, left, greets lawmakers as he arrives at the session on the draft law on amending the law on nationality at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)Trump is scheduled to attend the conference in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Oct. 26 and hopes to witness the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Accord between Thailand and Cambodia, Mohamad said.
ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
Pope urges Italy to remain open to migrants during rite of passage visit to presidential palace
By NICOLE WINFIELD
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV thanked Italy on Tuesday for its efforts to combat human trafficking but urged the country to remain open to welcoming and integrating migrants as he took part in a pomp-filled meeting with the Italian president.
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Leo completed the rite of passage for every new pope by travelling across Rome to the Qurinale Palace for a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella. Escorted by the presidential horse honor guard into the palace courtyard, Leo thanked Italy especially for its welcome of pilgrims during the 2025 Holy Year, which has seen millions of extra tourists pouring into the Eternal City.
Wearing his formal red cape and brocaded stole, Leo thanked Italy for its “generous assistance” to migrants and its efforts to combat human trafficking.
“I encourage you to keep alive your attitude of openness and solidarity,” he said. “At the same time, I wish to emphasize the importance of constructive integration of newcomers into the values and traditions of Italian society, so that the mutual gift realized in this encounter of peoples may truly enrich and benefit all.”
It was a reference to Italy’s role at ground zero in Europe’s migration debate, given its proximity to North Africa — making it the preferred destination for smuggling operations setting off from Libya and Tunisia.
The right-wing government of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has made cracking down on illegal migration a priority, including by sending migrants back home or to detention facilities in Albania and prosecuting alleged smugglers. Meloni and her hard-line minister Matteo Salvini were in the front row of the audience, held in a gilded reception room of the palace with extra-tall palace guards standing at attention.
Italy’s hard-line stance on migration has often conflicted with Pope Francis’ call for wealthier countries to welcome, defend and integrate newcomers, a position Leo repeated as recently as last week in his first main teaching document.
Show Caption1 of 4Mounted cuirassiers escort Pope Leo XIV as he arrives in a car at the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Valentina Stefanelli/LaPresse via AP) ExpandTuesday’s encounter was evidence of the close ties between Italy and the Vatican, a 110-acre city state in the heart of Rome. The location itself underscored the unique and intertwined relationship: The Quirinale Palace was for centuries the summer residence of popes until 1870, when Rome was captured from the papal states and annexed into the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.
After decades in which popes were essentially prisoners of the Vatican, Italy and Holy See normalized relations in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, which is still in effect.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Morning Update: South Florida’s top stories for Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.
Here are the top stories for Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. Get the weather forecast for today here.
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Near 0% rain chance: Some pleasant weather expected this week in South Florida
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