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Hurricanes land Duke transfer Darian Mensah, locking up their 2026 QB
First, the Miami Hurricanes brought in Cam Ward. Then they added Carson Beck. Darian Mensah is next.
The Hurricanes picked up a major transfer portal addition on Tuesday night, securing a pledge from Mensah, the former Duke quarterback. Mensah will almost certainly be Miami’s starting quarterback for the 2026 season.
Mensah has signed with UM, according to multiple reports.
Mensah’s commitment comes amid a legal battle with Duke. The university sued Mensah in order to keep him from transferring to another school. The judge in the case ruled that Mensah could enter the portal but granted a temporary restraining order, keeping Mensah from enrolling in a new school until a Jan. 9 hearing.
On Tuesday, Mensah’s agency, Young Money APAA Sports, announced the quarterback and Duke had reached a settlement agreement that would allow Mensah to transfer. Mensah arrived on UM’s campus for a visit on Tuesday.
Mensah played one season at Duke after transferring from Tulane, helping lead the Blue Devils to an unexpected ACC championship. He threw for 3,973 yards with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2025. He was second in the nation in passing yards and tied for second in touchdown passes.
Mensah, a second-team All-ACC selection, had the second-best passing grade in the conference (85), trailing only FSU quarterback Thomas Castellanos. Mensah ranked 13th in the nation.
The Hurricanes looked at several transfer quarterbacks to replace Beck next season. They were reportedly in the mix for Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech. Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt also considered UM, taking a visit to Miami before committing to LSU. Miami also offered Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson over $6 million to forego the NFL draft and play for the Hurricanes, Simpson told On3.
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Mensah made news when he transferred from Tulane to Duke last year, reportedly signing a two-year contract worth $8 million. In December, he said he planned to return to Duke.
The Hurricanes have two returning quarterbacks for next season: redshirt sophomore Judd Anderson and redshirt freshman Luke Nickel. They also have newly enrolled freshman Dereon Coleman.
One or more of those quarterbacks could transfer in the wake of Mensah’s arrival. UM players have up to five days after the national title game to enter their name in the portal.
Kugel scores 17, Burks hits late 3 and UCF rallies late to beat Arizona State
ORLANDO — Riley Kugel scored 17 points, Jordan Burks hit a late 3-pointer and finished with 15 points, and UCF rallied to beat Arizona State 79-76 on Tuesday night.
UCF used a 14-2 run to tie it 72-all with 2:30 remaining. Burks’ 3 gave the Knights a 78-76 lead with 34 seconds left, and he forced a turnover on the next possession. Themus Fulks split a pair of free throws for UCF with six seconds to go before Bryce Ford missed a 3-pointer to end it.
Jamichael Stillwell added 14 points and Fulks finished with 12 for UCF (16-4, 5-3 Big 12). John Bol grabbed 10 rebounds, and Kugel and Stillwell had nine apiece.
Maurice Odum made three 3-pointers and scored 18 points for Arizona State (11-10, 2-6). Anthony Johnson scored 12 points and Ford added 11.
An Odum 3-pointer with about six minutes left in the first half sparked a 15-6 surge to give Arizona State a 33-28 advantage, and the Sun Devils took a 39-35 lead into the break. Arizona State used a 23-11 run to take its largest lead, 70-58, with 6:09 remaining.
It was Arizona State’s first game at Orlando in the series.
Up nextUCF: At home against No. 11 Texas Tech on Saturday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faces rising calls for her firing or impeachment
By LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — A groundswell of voices have come to the same conclusion: Kristi Noem must go.
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From Democratic Party leaders to the nation’s leading advocacy organizations to even the most centrist lawmakers in Congress, the calls are mounting for the Homeland Security secretary to step aside after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportation policy. At a defining moment in her tenure, few Republicans are rising to Noem’s defense.
“The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done,” top House Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California said in a joint statement.
“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately,” the Democrats said, “or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.”
Republicans and Democrats call for Noem to step downWhat started as sharp criticism of the Homeland Security secretary, and a longshot move by Democratic lawmakers signing onto impeachment legislation in the Republican-controlled House, has morphed into an inflection point for Noem, who has been the high-profile face of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement regime.
Noem’s brash leadership style and remarks in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — in which she suggested Pretti “attacked” officers and portrayed the events leading up to Good’s shooting an “act of domestic terrorism” — have been seen as doing irreparable damage, as events on the ground disputed her account. Her alliance with Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who was recalled from the Minnesota operation Monday as border czar Tom Homan took the lead, has left her isolated on Capitol Hill.
“What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
“I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as a secretary of Homeland Security,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “It probably is time for her to step down.”
Trump stands by Noem and praises her workPresident Donald Trump defended Noem on Wednesday at multiple junctures, strongly indicating her job does not appear to be in immediate jeopardy.
Asked by reporters as he left the White House on Tuesday for a trip to Iowa whether Noem is going to step down, Trump had a one-word answer: “No.”
Pressed later during an interview on Fox News if he had confidence in Noem, the president said, “I do.”
“Who closed up the border? She did,” Trump said, “with Tom Homan, with the whole group. I mean, they’ve closed up the border. The border is a tremendous success.”
As Democrats in Congress threaten to shut down the government as they demand restrictions on Trump’s mass deportation agenda, Noem’s future at the department faces serious questions and concerns.
The Republican leadership of the House and Senate committees that oversee Homeland Security have demanded that department officials appear before their panels to answer for the operations that have stunned the nation with their sheer force — including images of children, including a 5-year-old, being plucked from families.
“Obviously this is an inflection point and an opportunity to evaluate and to really assess the policies and procedures and how they are being implemented and put into practice,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, where Noem had been the state’s House representative and governor before joining the administration.
Asked about his own confidence in Noem’s leadership, Thune said, “That’s the president’s judgment call to make.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem listens as President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a meeting with the White House task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called Noem a “liar” and said she must be fired.
The fight over fundingAssistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that DHS enforces the laws from Congress, and if lawmakers don’t like those laws, they should change them.
“Too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws,” McLaughlin said. “It’s time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership.”
The ability of Congress to restrict Homeland Security funding is limited, in large part because the GOP majority already essentially doubled department funding under Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts law.
Instead, Democrats are seeking to impose restraints on Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations as part of a routine annual funding package for Homeland, Defense, Health and other departments. Without action this week, those agencies would head toward a shutdown.
To be sure, Homeland Security still has strong defenders in the Congress.
The conservative House Freedom Caucus said Tuesday in a letter to Trump that he should invoke the Insurrection Act, if needed, to quell protests. The group said it would be “ready to take all steps necessary” to keep funds flowing for Trump’s immigration enforcement and removal operations.
On the job for a year, Noem has clashed at times with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as Republicans and Democrats have sought greater oversight and accounting of the department’s spending and operations.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)Noem has kept a low profile since the Saturday press conference following Pretti’s death, though she appeared Sunday on Fox News. She doubled down in that interview on criticism of Minnesota officials, but also expressed compassion for Pretti’s family.
“It grieves me to think about what his family is going through but it also grieves me what’s happening to these law enforcement officers every day out in the streets with the violence they face,” she said.
Once rare, impeachments now more commonImpeachment, once a far-flung tool brandished against administration officials, has become increasingly commonplace.
Two years ago, the Republican-led House impeached another Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, in protest over the then-Biden administration’s border security and immigration policies that allowed millions of immigrants and asylum seekers to enter the U.S. The Senate dismissed the charges.
On Tuesday, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said if the Republican chairman of the panel, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, does not launch an impeachment probe, he would.
Raskin said he would work with the top Democrats on the Homeland Security and Oversight committees to immediately launch an impeachment inquiry related to the Minnesota deaths and other “lawlessness and corruption that may involve treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
More than 160 House Democrats have signed on to an impeachment resolution from Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana, Kevin Freking and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this story.
Trump administration announces 15 new drugs for Medicare price negotiation program
By ALI SWENSON
NEW YORK (AP) — Drugs that treat Type 2 diabetes, HIV and arthritis are among 15 new medications chosen for a Medicare drug price negotiation program that allows the federal government to haggle directly with drug manufacturers, the Trump administration said Tuesday.
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The drugs selected include some of the medications on which Medicare spends the most money. That means the deals negotiated this year have the potential to deliver significant savings to taxpayers when they go into effect in 2028.
“For too long, seniors and taxpayers have paid the price for skyrocketing prescription drug costs,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement Tuesday. “Under President Trump’s leadership, CMS is taking strong action to target the most expensive drugs in Medicare, negotiate fair prices, and make sure the system works for patients — not special interests.”
The federal government had until Feb. 1 to announce its list of 15 drugs. The negotiations take place under a 2022 law that allows Medicare to haggle over the price it pays on the most popular and expensive prescription drugs used by older Americans.
The government already has negotiated prices for 25 prescription drugs covered by Medicare, including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. This year’s negotiations mark the third round of the program and would mean a total of 40 drugs with lower prices for Medicare enrollees.
This year also marks the first time drugs payable under Medicare Part B are eligible for inclusion in the program. Medicare Part B drugs are outpatient prescriptions, such as medications infused or injected at a doctor’s office. Retail prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D are also eligible, as they were in past years.
The newly announced drugs up for negotiation include the popular Type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity and an HIV medication called Biktarvy. The neurotoxin Botox, frequently used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, will also have its price negotiated, but only for Medicare-covered uses, such as treating migraines or overactive bladders.
Among the other drugs selected are treatments for psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, chronic lung disease, depression and various cancers.
Over the past year, some 1.8 million Medicare Part B or Part D enrollees used the 15 drugs, according to the Trump administration. They accounted for about 6% in total Part B and Part D spending, CMS said.
CMS also stated that one Type 2 diabetes drug, whose price was previously negotiated under the program, Tradjenta, will undergo renegotiation.
AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan called Tuesday’s announcement a “significant step forward.”
“Older Americans across the political spectrum consistently say that lowering drug prices is a top priority, and we thank the Administration for protecting Medicare’s ability to meet that need,” she said in a statement.
The leading trade association for pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, criticized the law that put the program into effect, the Inflation Reduction Act, and argued policymakers wanting to lower costs should instead rein in insurers and third-party pharmacy benefit managers.
“The IRA continues to show why government price setting is the wrong approach for Americans,” PhRMA Executive Vice President of Policy and Research Elizabeth Carpenter said in a statement.
CMS in November announced negotiated drug prices for 15 drugs that would go into effect in 2027. Reduced prices for the first 10 drugs negotiated by the Biden administration in 2024 went into effect at the start of this year.
The full list of new medications that will be negotiated this year under the program includes: Anoro Ellipta, Biktarvy, Botox and Botox Cosmetic, Cimzia, Cosentyx, Entyvio, Erleada, Kisqali, Lenvima, Orencia, Rexulti, Trulicity, Verzenio, Xeljanz and Xeljanz XR and Xolair.
Video shows flames flying from NASA plane that touched down without landing gear
By JESSE BEDAYN
A NASA research plane malfunctioned and had to touch down in Texas without landing gear on Tuesday, sliding across the runway on its belly and sending plumes of flame behind it, a video posted to social media showed.
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The crew landed the plane at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are “all safe at this time,” NASA said in a post on X. The federal space agency added that there was “mechanical issue” that will be investigated.
The aircraft with its distinct thin fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The plane with two crew seats is capable of flying for about 6 1/2 hours at high altitudes — beyond 63,000 feet.
Video shows the plane slowly descending toward the runway, then touching down with a jolt, its wings bouncing as yellow fire and white smoke bursts from beneath it. It steadily slides down the track, the flames bursting and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The aircraft begins to slow before the video ends.
Show Caption1 of 4A NASA aircraft sits near a runway at Ellington Airport after making a belly landing on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) ExpandLocal news footage from KHOU 11 shows the plane at a stop, the cockpit hatch open, fire trucks flashing nearby and emergency responders working around the black nose of the aircraft.
The NASA WB-57 has flown research missions since the 1970s and continues to be an asset for the scientific community, according to the agency’s website.
