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Indiana Republicans defy Trump’s push for redistricting as Senate rejects bill
[ad_2]Indiana Republicans defy Trump’s push for redistricting as Senate rejects bill – CBS News
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NASCAR chairman refuses to budge on team charters in testimony during Michael Jordan’s lawsuit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR Chairman Jim France testified Tuesday in Michael Jordan’s federal antitrust lawsuit against his family that he still has not changed his mind on granting teams permanent charters, and evidence showed he entered negotiations on a new revenue-sharing agreement determined to thwart teams’ efforts for a better deal from the stock car series.
France was the final witness called by attorneys for Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports on the seventh day of the trial. Those race teams have accused NASCAR of being a monopolistic bully that engages in anticompetitive business practices.
Also called Tuesday was Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, who testified that he only signed the 2025 revenue-sharing agreement because refusing to do so would have put Richard Childress Racing out of business.
NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps testified to the frustrating two-plus years of negotiations between the top motorsports series in the United States and its race teams. The plaintiffs introduced several documents detailing communication between NASCAR executives that showed France was stubbornly opposed to granting teams permanent charters throughout the process.
The charter system is equivalent to the franchise model used in other sports. In NASCAR, a charter guarantees cars a spot in the 40-car field each week, as well as specified financial terms.
Asked by plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler if he has changed his stance on making charters permanent, France said, “No, I have not.”
Kessler later introduced a summary of notes from the first meeting of NASCAR executives on how they would approach negotiations with the teams over the new agreements. Steve O’Donnell, now the president of NASCAR, wrote in those notes, “Jim’s overarching comments — we are in a competition. We are going to win.”
France’s position never changed, even though — as evidence showed — he received pleas from Hall of Fame team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush and Roger Penske. All four are close personal friends, France said on the stand Tuesday.
France became chairman of the series his father founded in 1948 following the 2019 resignation of his nephew, Brian. NASCAR has always been privately owned by the Florida-based family, and Brian France negotiated the initial charter system that began in 2016 as a response to teams complaining they were bleeding money at an unsustainable rate.
Jim France, who is 81, was soft-spoken on the stand and needed many questions repeated, and he said on numerous topics that he was either unable to recall, did not remember or was not sure — even in response to evidence introduced that the France Family Trust received $400 million in distributions from 2021 through 2024 and that NASCAR is valued at $5 billion.
He wasn’t sure of the title his niece, Lesa France Kennedy, holds with NASCAR, or the ownership percentages between the two. Evidence showed Jim France owns 54% of NASCAR, while France Kennedy, the vice chair, owns 36%. France also testified he believes he is paid in “the $3.5 million range” as chairman.
Richard Childress details his dissatisfaction
Childress spoke to the pressure he felt to sign the charter agreement.
“I would not have signed those charters if I was financially able to do what I do,” the six-time championship winning owner testified. “We are a blue-collar operation.”
Childress has participated in NASCAR for 60 years and has a longtime personal relationship with the Frances. He testified that he pleaded with Jim France for the charters to be made permanent instead of renewable, and France refused.
Childress testified he supports the charter system because before its implementation race teams “were worth 10 cents on the dollar at most. We didn’t have nothing.”
He admitted that the charters added value to his team, but said the equity falls short of its financial potential if the charters were permanent. An economist testified that NASCAR owes 23XI and Front Row $364.7 million in damages, and that NASCAR shorted 36 chartered teams $1.06 billion from 2021-24.
When Childress’ October declaration of his support for charters was introduced, Childress insisted NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates also show the jury language added to the statement in which Childress pushes for the charters to be permanent.
Childress said he added those sentences to the declaration, which had been pre-written for him to sign.
Phelps details negotiations with teams
NASCAR commissioner Phelps noted that Jordan’s financial advisor would not compromise on key issues in the negotiations.
Phelps, who was president of NASCAR during the negotiations, said Jordan right-hand man Curtis Polk was the lead representative for the teams and held firm in their demand for increased revenue, permanent charters, a voice in governance and one-third of any new revenue streams.
The deal finally presented to the teams in September 2024 did not include permanent charters or a voice in governance, but NASCAR gave the teams a firm deadline to accept its final offer or forfeit their charters. 23XI Racing, owned by Jordan, Polk and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, were the only two teams out of 15 organizations that refused to sign. They sued instead.
Phelps, promoted to become NASCAR’s first commissioner earlier this year, testified that he worked hard to get the teams the best deal possible. But he said the teams’ initial request for $720 million in guaranteed revenue would have put NASCAR out of business.
At the same time, Polk would not budge, either.
“It was one of the most challenging and longest negotiations I’ve ever been part of,” said Phelps, who admitted he didn’t particularly enjoy negotiating with Polk, who was at the time the representative for the “Team Negotiating Council.”
“The TNC never wavered off their four pillars. It was just the same thing, the same thing, and that was very frustrating,” Phelps said.
Phelps testified at one point that NASCAR believed it had landed on a new charter agreement that satisfied the teams but it was contingent on NASCAR finalizing its new media rights deal.
“I thought we’d just plug in the numbers,” said Phelps, who testified NASCAR was hoping to land a media deal worth $1.2 billion. When it became clear the media rights deal wouldn’t net that much money, Phelps said the teams asked to set a floor in negotiations.
NASCAR ultimately got a media deal worth $1.05 billion — still an increase of $33 million a year from the previous deal — and Phelps said “every dollar” went to the race teams when it began this year.
However, the ultimate revenue payout to teams is $431 million annually, the charters are not permanent and the teams did not get a voice in rules and regulations.
Even so, Phelps testified he believed the charter agreement was “a fair deal.”
Faster pace
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell has repeatedly admonished both sides to pick up the pace of the trial, and once France’s testimony concludes Wednesday, NASCAR will begin to present its defense.
NASCAR has said it has a witness list of 16 people, but Yates informed Bell he can trim “four or five” names from it and is hopeful to wrap his defense by Friday.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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NASCAR settles federal antitrust case, gives all teams the permanent charters they wanted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan and NASCAR chairman Jim France stood side-by-side on the steps of a federal courthouse as if they were old friends following a stunning settlement Thursday of a bruising antitrust case in which the Basketball Hall of Famer was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing the top racing series in the United States of being a monopolistic bully.
The duo was flanked by three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk, the co-owners of 23XI Racing with Jordan, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins and over a dozen lawyers as they celebrated the end to an eight-day trial that ultimately led NASCAR to cave and grant all its teams the permanent charters they wanted.
“Like two competitors, obviously we tried to get as much done in each other’s favor,” Jordan said, towering over the 81-year-old France. “I’ve said this from Day 1: The only way this sport is going to grow is we have to find some synergy between the two entities. I think we’ve gotten to that point, unfortunately it took 16 months to get here, but I think level heads have gotten us to this point where we can actually work together and grow this sport. I am very proud about that and I think Jim feels the same.”
France concurred.
“I do feel the same and we can get back to focusing on what we really love, and that’s racing, and we spent a lot of time not really focused on that so much as we needed to be,” France said. “I feel like we made a very good decision here together and we have a big opportunity to continue growing the sport.”
A charter is the equivalent of the franchise model used in other sports and in NASCAR it guarantees 36 teams a spot in every top-level Cup Series race and a fixed portion of the revenue stream. The system was implemented in 2016 and teams have argued for over two years that the charters needed to be made permanent — they had been revokable by NASCAR — and the revenue sharing had to change.
NASCAR, founded and privately owned by the Florida-based France family, never considered making the charters permanent. Instead, after two-plus years of bitter negotiations, NASCAR in September 2024 presented a “take-it-or leave-it” final offer that gave teams until end of that day to sign the 112-page document.
23XI and Front Row refused and sued, while 13 other organizations signed but testimony in court revealed many did so “with a gun to our head” because the threat of losing the charters would have put them out of business.
Jordan testified early in the trial that as a new team owner to NASCAR — 23XI launched in 2021 — he felt he had the strength to challenge NASCAR. Eight days of testimony went badly for NASCAR, which when it began to present its case seemed focused more on mitigating damages than it did on proving it did not violate antitrust laws.
Although terms of the settlement were not released — NASCAR was in the process of scheduling a Thursday afternoon call with all teams to discuss the revenue-sharing model moving forward — both Jordan and NASCAR said that charters will now be permanent for all teams. 23XI and Front Row will receive their combined six charters back for 2026.
An economist previously testified that NASCAR owes 23XI and Front Row $364.7 million in damages, and that NASCAR shorted 36 chartered teams $1.06 billion from 2021-24.
“Today’s a good day,” Jordan said from the front-row seat he’s occupied since the trial began Dec. 1 as he waited for the settlement announcement.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who had presided over two days of failed settlement talks before the trial began, echoed the sentiment. Bell told the jury that sometimes parties at trial have to see how the evidence unfolds to come to the wisdom of a settlement.
“I wish we could’ve done this a few months ago,” Bell said in court. “I believe this is great for NASCAR. Great for the future of NASCAR. Great for the entity of NASCAR. Great for the teams and ultimately great for the fans.”
The settlement came after two days of testimony by France and the Wednesday night public release of a letter from Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris calling for NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps to be removed.
The discovery process revealed internal NASCAR communications in which Phelps called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress a “redneck” and other derogatory names; Bass Pro sponsors Childress’ teams, as well as some others, and Morris is an ardent NASCAR supporter.
Childress gave fiery testimony earlier this week over his reluctance to sign the charter agreement because it was unfair to the teams, which have been bleeding money and begged NASCAR for concessions. Letters from Hall of Fame team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush and Roger Penske were introduced in which they pleaded with France for charters to become permanent; France testified he was not moved by the men he considers good friends.
Hendrick and Penske, who were both scheduled to testify Friday, expressed gratitude that a settlement had been reached. Penske called it “tremendous news” and said it cleared the way to continue growing the series.
“Millions of loyal NASCAR fans and thousands of hardworking people rely on our industry, and today’s resolution allows all of us to focus on what truly matters — the future of our sport,” Hendrick said. “This moment presents an important opportunity to strengthen our relationships and recommit ourselves to building a collaborative and prosperous future for all stakeholders. I’m incredibly optimistic about what’s ahead.”
The settlement came abruptly on the ninth day of the trial. Bell opened expecting to hear motions but both sides asked for a private conference in chambers. When they emerged, Bell ordered an hourlong break for the two sides to confer. That turned into two hours, all parties returned to the courtroom and Kessler announced an agreement had been reached.
“What all parties have always agreed on is a deep love for the sport and a desire to see it fulfill its full potential,” NASCAR and the plaintiffs said in a joint statement. “This is a landmark moment, one that ensures NASCAR’s foundation is stronger, its future is brighter and its possibilities are greater.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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Indiana Republicans Defied Trump and Bomb Threats to Stop Pro-GOP Redistricting
Photo: Kaiti Sullivan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Indiana Republicans defied bomb threats, swatting incidents, and a pressure campaign led by President Donald Trump when on Thursday they voted down a bill to make an all-GOP congressional delegation. In contrast to an easy approval in the state house, 21 Republicans joined ten Democrats in the state senate to sink the plan to wipe out two Democratic U.S. House districts.
The campaign lasted four months and included Trump and J.D. Vance, both of whom had repeated personal meetings with gerrymander-shy Republican lawmakers, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Governor Mike Braun, Indiana senator Jim Banks, and a host of national conservative groups. As Politico explained, Charlie Kirk even spent the last weeks of his life threatening primaries for Republicans who opposed the effort.
Now Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, is among many MAGA allies threatening vengeance in primaries for those who dared defy Trump’s orders to help rig the midterms. And Democrats nationally will be happy with the diverted GOP time, energy, and money devoted to Hoosier bloodletting, along with the continued presence in Congress of Indiana Democrats Andre Carson and Frank Mrvan.
Trump’s effort to make Republican-controlled states redraw their congressional maps to give the GOP enough seats to withstand a potential Democratic wave has been hit or miss. Last week, the Supreme Court gave Trump a big win by overruling lower-court judges and putting back into place a Texas congressional map designed to give Republicans as many as five new House seats. He experienced earlier setbacks in Kansas and Ohio, whose Republicans also declined to wipe out Democratic districts, while Democrats successfully retaliated with a ballot initiative in California that is likely to cancel out or exceed Texas’s GOP gains.
It’s getting late in the day for any further pre-midterm gerrymandering. Florida Republicans will give it a try despite constitutional barriers, and Virginia Democrats seem likely to counter. But overall, the GOP bid to insulate itself from the wrath of voters in November 2026 is losing momentum. Perhaps Republicans and their leader should focus a bit more on making themselves more popular than they have appeared to be in virtually every 2025 vote.
Ed Kilgore
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Indiana Republicans Block Trump’s Redistricting Push In A Rare Break With The President – KXL
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s Republican-led senate voted against a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party in the 2026 elections, despite months of pressure by President Donald Trump for a rare mid-cycle redistricting.
Twenty-one senators from the Republican supermajority and all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats voted down the redistricting proposal. Trump has urged GOP-led states to gerrymander their U.S. house districts ahead of the midterms to create more winnable seats for Republicans. It’s an unusual move, since the district boundaries are usually adjusted based on the census every 10 year.
Ahead of the vote, Trump again criticized Indiana senators who resisted the plan, repeating his vow to back primary challengers against them.
“If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media. Some Indiana lawmakers have also received violent threats during the debate over the last month. Half of the state Senate is up for reelection in 2026.
Democratic state senators spoke against the redistricting legislation one by one during Thursday’s session.
“Competition is healthy my friends,” said Sen. Fady Qaddoura. “Any political party on earth that cannot run and win based on the merits of its ideas is unworthy of governing.”
Outside the state Senate chamber, redistricting opponents chanted “Vote no!” and “Fair maps!” while holding signs with slogans like “Losers cheat.”
The proposed map was designed to give Republicans control of all nine of Indiana’s congressional seats, up from the seven they currently hold. It would effectively erase Indiana’s two Democrat-held districts by splitting Indianapolis into four districts that extend into rural areas, reshaping U.S. Rep. Andr矃arson’s safe district in the city. It would also eliminate the northwest Indiana district held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan.
Despite Trump’s push, support for gerrymandering in Indiana’s Senate was uncertain. A dozen of the 50 state senators had not publicly committed to a stance ahead of the vote.
Republican Sen. Greg Goode, previously undecided, signaled his displeasure with the redistricting plan. In firmly delivered remarks, he said some of his constituents objected to seeing their county split up or paired with Indianapolis. He expressed “love” for Trump but criticized what he called “over-the-top pressure” from inside and outside the state.
Sen. Michael Young, another Republican, said the stakes in Congress justify redistricting, as Democrats are only a few seats away from flipping control of the U.S. House in 2026. “I know this election is going to be very close,” he said.
Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill, the redistricting legislation’s sponsor, showed Senators maps of congressional districts around the country, including several focused on Democratic-held seats in New England and Illinois. He argued other states gerrymander and Indiana Republicans should play by the same rules.
Nationally, mid-cycle redistricting so far has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more congressional seats that Democrats think they can win. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states.
Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina quickly enacted new GOP-favorable maps, while California voters approved a new congressional map favorable to Democrats in response to Texas. In Utah, a judge imposed new districts that could allow Democrats to win a seat, saying Republican lawmakers violated voter-backed standards against gerrymandering.
The bill cleared its first hurdle Monday with a 6-3 Senate committee vote, although one Republican joined Democrats in opposing it and a few others signaled they might vote against the final version. The state House passed the proposal last week, with 12 Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition.
Among them was state Rep. Ed Clere, who said state troopers responded to a hoax message claiming a pipe bomb outside his home Wednesday evening. Indiana state police said “numerous others” received threats but wouldn’t offer details about an ongoing investigation.
In an interview, Clere said these threats were the inevitable result of Trump’s pressure campaign and a “winner-take-all mentality.”
“Words have consequences,” Clere said.
The White House has mounted an aggressive lobbying push. Vice President JD Vance met twice with Indiana Senate GOP leaders, including the full caucus in October, and senators also visited him in Washington.
Trump joined a conference call with senators on Oct. 17 to make his own 15-minute pitch. State Sen. Andy Zay said White House political aides stayed in frequent contact for more than a month, even after he backed the bill, urging him to publicly support it and track developments among colleagues as part of a “full-court press.”
Jordan Vawter
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Five Realistic Trade Targets for the 76ers at the Deadline – Philadelphia Sports Nation
Credit: MSN-Sean Kennedy Potential Deadline Additions to Bolster the Sixers’ Roster
The NBA trade rumor mill is buzzing, with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee dominating headlines. While a superstar like Giannis remains a long shot, the heating market gives the Philadelphia 76ers opportunities to upgrade for a playoff push.
Coming off a frustrating 112-108 loss to the Lakers—where they blew a double-digit lead in the fourth—the Sixers sit at 13-10, sixth in the East. Tyrese Maxey (31.6 PPG) is carrying the offense, and Paul George adds two-way stability. Still, third-quarter slumps, Embiid’s load management, and occasional depth issues highlight areas to address.
As we pass the quarter mark of the season and the February 5 trade deadline approaches, here are five realistic targets (and one dream) that could fit Philadelphia’s timeline and needs:
Credit: MSN-Sean Kennedy
1. Daniel Gafford, C, Dallas Mavericks
A proven rim-runner and shot-blocker (8.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.4 BPG), Gafford would be ideal insurance behind Embiid and a complement to Andre Drummond. Dallas is reportedly open to moving veterans, and Gafford’s affordable extension makes him attainable for second-round picks and salary filler. Low-risk depth with lob-threat upside alongside Maxey.
2. Herbert Jones, SF, New Orleans Pelicans
With the Pelicans mired in a 3-20 disaster, Jones—an elite 3-and-D wing and 2024 All-Defensive selection—has surfaced in trade talks. His ability to guard 1-through-4 would bolster Philly’s perimeter defense and let George play more off-ball. A package built around Kelly Oubre Jr.’s expiring deal and a protected first could get it done.
3. Trey Murphy III, SG/SF, New Orleans Pelicans
The bigger swing from the same struggling Pelicans roster. Murphy, 25, is averaging 20.5 PPG with strong three-point shooting and athleticism. He’d provide spacing and scoring punch off the bench or in the starting lineup, addressing third-quarter lulls. It would cost a first-rounder plus assets, but he’s a win-now and long-term fit.
4. Keon Ellis, SG, Sacramento Kings
A low-cost, high-upside bench spark. The 25-year-old undrafted guard shoots 38.5% from three, defends tenaciously, and can handle secondary playmaking. Sacramento’s rough start makes him available for seconds and a minimal salary match. Perfect for stabilizing second-unit offense without breaking the bank.
5. Jaren Jackson Jr., PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies
The blockbuster dream. If Memphis pivots into a rebuild—especially with ongoing Ja Morant questions—Jackson (DPOY 2023, 22+ PPG, elite rim protection) could become available. Pairing him with Embiid would create a terrifying defensive frontcourt while adding spacing. It would require Paul George or significant assets, but landing a 26-year-old two-way star in his prime would vault Philly into true contention.
The Sixers need consistency and health more than anything, but a smart deadline addition could solidify them as Eastern Conference threats. They return to action Friday against a shorthanded Indiana Pacers squad—a prime bounce-back spot before a tough December stretch. – Get your cheap tickets at Ticketx
Trust the Process: one calculated move could make all the difference.
Jake Mayson
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Indiana grabs top seed in College Football Playoff. Alabama and Miami make it, Notre Dame left out
Nobody paying attention over the past 24 months would be surprised to see Indiana leading the way into this year’s College Football Playoff.
But anyone paying attention over the last 24 hours knew the only sure thing beyond the Hoosiers was that the playoff selection committee was destined to get picked apart when it released the pairings for this season’s 12-team bracket on Sunday.
Most of that second-guessing came from Notre Dame, which was passed over in favor of Alabama and Miami for two of the bracket’s bubble spots. The Fighting Irish dropped two notches in the CFP rankings over the last two weeks, to No. 11, despite a 10-game winning streak, winning their finale by 29 points and simply sitting on the couch Saturday.
“There is no explanation that could possibly be given to explain the outcome,” Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports, hours after the bracket was revealed and Notre Dame said it would skip bowl season altogether. “We feel like the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes.”
Notre Dame’s loss was Alabama’s gain. The Crimson Tide didn’t move an inch the CFP rankings despite a 28-7 loss to No. 3 Georgia that looked worse than that.
No. 10 Miami didn’t play, either, but the Hurricanes’ 27-24 win over Notre Dame in Week 1 played a role once the teams were grouped right next to each other after BYU lost its game on Saturday and dropped one spot.
“Everyone can spin the metrics in favor of the team or teams they support,” committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said. “You’re always going to have controversy. That’s why we debated for so long, 9, 10 and 11, into the early-morning hours, and woke up at sunrise to do the same thing — make sure we got it right.”
The committee’s other key decision was choosing James Madison over Duke for the final spot. The selection left the Atlantic Coast Conference champion out of the mix, but didn’t fully exclude the ACC because Miami made it.
The rest of the field includes No. 2 seed Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech, all of which joined Indiana in getting first-round byes.
The Hoosiers moved up to No. 1 with their 13-10 win over the Buckeyes on Saturday — their first Big Ten title since 1967 — and the teams’ 1-2 positioning sets up a possible rematch in the national title game Jan. 19.
Then it was No. 5 seed Oregon, followed by Mississippi, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, American champion Tulane and James Madison of the Sun Belt.
The playoffs start Dec. 19 with No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma. On Dec. 20, it’s No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon.
The winners move to the quarterfinals, which will feature Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve, then Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, Indiana in the Rose Bowl and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
A costly miss for Notre Dame
It was a particularly costly and painful snub for the Fighting Irish.
They lost their first two games of the season — one to Miami, the other to Texas A&M — by a combined four points. They did not play a tough schedule the rest of the way; it was ranked 44th, compared to sixth for Alabama but 45th for Miami. But the Irish won all those games easily.
It also hurts the pocketbook. Where conferences split $4 million for each team they place into the first round, Notre Dame — as an independent — would have banked the full amount for itself.
Yurachek said the committee had not previously considered Miami’s Aug. 31 win over Notre Dame because there were always other teams in the mix, namely Alabama and BYU. But when BYU lost, the Irish and Hurricanes ended up right next to each other, which made that Miami win more important. Yurachek directed the committee to go back and rewatch it.
“Really, how Miami’s defense dominated Notre Dame’s running game, where for the rest of the season, their running game dominated most of the teams they played,” Yurachek said when asked what the committee saw in that game.
Alabama back in after snub last year
Alabama (10-3) is in despite three losses. Those who believe the Tide deserve it will look at these factors:
— An eight-game winning streak after a shocking 14-point, season-opening loss to Florida State that included a 24-21 victory at Georgia for a season split while, for instance, BYU lost both its games against Texas Tech.
— Ignoring the above, there was the “you can’t lose ground for playing in the title game” argument. Last year, Alabama had three losses and was passed over for SMU, which was coming off a loss in the ACC title game. Using the same logic, someone other than the Tide needed to go this time.
Duke’s argument falls on deaf ears
Duke tried to make a compelling argument that its seven wins over Power Four teams, including the victory over Virginia in the ACC title game, made it more deserving than James Madison for that fifth and final automatic spot for conference champs.
But the Blue Devils had five losses. And Virginia was ranked four (now nine) spots lower than Miami, the ACC’s best team by many measurements.
James Madison’s playoff game against a mega-team from a mega-conference — Oregon — will suss out whether teams like that should be playing for the title.
History, however, might look back on Duke’s win if league title games are ever eliminated from the schedule due to their growing irrelevance. Other than eliminating BYU (but not Alabama) and flip-flopping Indiana and Ohio State, this year’s set of games in the Power Four meant next to nothing.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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Fuzzy Zoeller, two-time major champion haunted by racist joke about Tiger Woods, dies at 74
Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most gregarious characters whose career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died, according to a longtime colleague. He was 74.
A cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Naugle, the tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoeller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.
Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on his first attempt, a three-man playoff in 1979. He famously waved a white towel at Winged Foot in 1984 when he thought Greg Norman had beat him, only to defeat Norman in an 18-hole playoff the next day.
But it was the 1997 Masters that changed his popularity.
Woods was on his way to a watershed moment in golf with the most dominant victory in Augusta National history. Zoeller had finished his round and had a drink in hand under the oak tree by the clubhouse when he was stopped by CNN and asked for his thoughts on the 21-year-old Woods on his way to the most dominant win ever at Augusta National.
“That little boy is driving well and he’s putting well. He’s doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it?,” Zoeller said.
He smiled and snapped his fingers, and as he was walking away he turned and said, “Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”
That moment haunted him the rest of his career.
Zoeller apologized. Woods was traveling and it took two weeks for him to comment as the controversy festered. Zoeller later said he received death threats for years after that moment.
Writing for Golf Digest in 2008, he said it was “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life.”
“If people wanted me to feel the same hurt I projected on others, I’m here to tell you they got their way,” Zoeller wrote. “I’ve cried many times. I’ve apologized countless times for words said in jest that just aren’t a reflection of who I am. I have hundreds of friends, including people of color, who will attest to that.
“Still, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this incident will never, ever go away.”
It marred a career filled with two famous major titles, eight other PGA Tour titles and a Senior PGA Championship among his two PGA Tour Champions titles.
More than winning was how he went about it. Zoeller played fast and still had an easygoing nature to the way he approach the game, often whistling between shots.
He made his Masters debut in 1979 and got into a three-way playoff when Ed Sneed bogeyed the last three holes. Zoeller defeated Sneed and Tom Watson with a birdie on the second playoff hole, flinging his putter high in the air.
“I’ve never been to heaven, and thinking back on my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go,” Zoeller once said. “I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.”
Zoeller was locked in a duel with Norman at Winged Foot in the 1984, playing in the group behind and watching Norman make putt after putt. So when he saw Norman make a 40-footer on the 18th, he assumed it was for birdie and began waving a white towel in a moment of sportsmanship.
Only later did he realize it was for par, and Zoeller made par to force a playoff. Zoeller beat him by eight shots in the 18-hole playoff (67-75). Zoeller’s lone regret was giving the towel to a kid after he finished in regulation.
“If you happen to see a grungy white towel hanging around, get it for me, will you?” he once said.
He was born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr. in New Albany, Indiana. Zoeller said his father was known only as “Fuzzy” and he was given the same name. He played at a junior college in Florida before joining the powerful Houston golf team before turning pro.
His wife, Diane, died in 2021. Zoeller has three children, including daughter Gretchen, with whom he used to play in the PNC Championship. Zoeller was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the USGA in 1985, the organization’s highest honor given for distinguished sportsmanship.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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What do an axe, a bucket and a cannon have in common? Meet the rivalry trophies of college football
What do an axe, a bucket and a cannon have in common? Meet the rivalry trophies of college football
Welcome back to Oklahoma Chronicles. Now we want to take *** deeper look at NIL rules, the current state of college athletics, and the transfer portal, and all of it. Joining our panel today, *** couple of really good guests. We have State Senator Todd Gher here who authored NIL legislation this year in Oklahoma, very busy keeping your eyes on everything and the moving and shaking. Also Bobby Lepack, who teaches an NIL class at the University of Oklahoma, thanks so much. for being here. Thanks for having me. Well, let’s talk NIL and the transfer portal and everything as we were talking earlier, we just talked about how everything is changing so much. In fact, Bobby, you have this class on NIL it’s through the the business college there at OU, and you had to stop teaching it for *** while because everything’s changing it so so fast sometimes, correct it’s, it’s *** really dynamic landscape and between the Alston decision and then the new rules after that and how litigation. And now potentially the score act and all of that, you know, how about back us up and we start talking about the Alston decision and all of that. I mean, I should even say NIL when we say that name, image like this, this was something created so that college athletes, student athletes could receive compensation, get some money for signing autographs or doing endorsement deals, but it’s, it’s, it’s really grown. So I wanna come back to all the nitty gritty, but this has become such *** huge thing that even. Legislators now are having to watch very closely not just in Oklahoma but around the country. That’s right you know this, uh, the legislation we passed this year was, uh, basically, uh, the governor had done an executive order. This was taken that executive order, worked closely with the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University to uh get this bill through the, the Senate and over to the house, uh, did, you know, but it’s so dynamic in, in that, uh. It’s almost there’s 32 states already running NIL legislation they’re all different from each other or they’re some of them are and it’s very competitive and so we ran this legislation in order to uh keep that competitive edge that our universities need as well as to protect the student athletes, OK, and, and, and everybody’s doing this at the same time because of these changing dynamics, Bobby, and how everything’s happening from. The decision and the you know and lawsuits and everything, how many different factors are in play right now? How many things are colleges juggling and athletic departments? I think you got 3 big ones, right? So you have the name, image and likeness stuff, NIL, which I think is *** distinct concept from pay for play, which is what’s coming from the revenue share agreements that are coming out of the house settlement and then the last is the transfer portal which is really I think the one that’s actually. I would say the culprit in so much of the consternation around college sports is the the kind of open transfer rules that are going on. I think when you talk to most college football fans they can get behind the, you know, these universities they’re making so much money off off of their backs, especially these, these. You know, these very revenue making sports like football and basketball, they should get something but now it’s become, but I don’t like them leaving every single year where every single year we got *** new roster of players whether or not you had *** good team or *** bad team it’s *** whole new thing is is the portal become exploited because of NIL did one kind of create *** monster out of the other, do we think? I think the portal has, uh, you know, as far as the fans are concerned, has created an impatience that instead of, you know, the traditional way we’ve always done it, which is, uh, take *** young man and, and red shirt him and then build that team and, and, uh, build those skill sets, now it’s, uh, hey, you’ve got the money, go out there and just buy *** team for us we want to win next year so it’s created an impatient and the fan base, uh, but it’s also created. Uh, impatient with the coaches and the coaching staff and the different styles, right? is this difficult on these coaching staffs? Oh, absolutely. I, I, I have *** personal connection to. You have *** brother, my younger brother Brian, who played football and so I, I saw it from the side of the athlete that wasn’t allowed to get an IL, um, beforehand beforehand and now right back in the day and uh. And now as *** coach dealing with the dynamic of the portal you’re you’re not just recruiting high school players you’re recruiting at various times in the calendar year players from other rosters that have gone into the portal but you’re also trying to prevent your own guys from going into the portal and so it creates this dynamic where. The coaching calendar is just *** nightmare. They’re working nonstop year round on roster management issues and recruiting guys that play for them, play in high school and are now in the portal. It’s, it’s *** very difficult situation and it doesn’t stop. It never stops and it’s changing. Sometimes because from *** leadership perspective you’re trying to protect the interests of the state universities correct? is that when you’re doing these, these you know these bills is it coming from that standpoint to make sure that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and and other universities in the state. Are on at least *** competitive footing. That’s right, you know, in this state, you know, it applies to all the universities, but you know if you’re just talking about University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, they’re actually in two different conferences and so it’s imperative that we actually evened out that landscape so that if the SEC did something early. And the Big 12 was late to catch up. There wouldn’t be *** political, I mean, ***, uh, *** disadvantage, *** competitive disadvantage between the two schools, much less, uh, uh, *** competitive disadvantage coming from other states and other universities, you know, they, they call it the wild wild west, but it’s more of an arms race at this point, right? And I remember the old arms. When it was about facilities and T. Boone Pickens was out there and they were dominating the arms race and now it’s something completely different but I think it’s, I think that’s actually *** really good point is you’re just changing the mix, right? Where are you allocating your resources in this and it’s this is something that’s coming up in the coaching world is how are you gonna manage your roster, how are you gonna manage your personnel. Uh, I think it’s gonna take *** new breed of coach, new breed of athletic director. I think you’ll see you’re seeing departments do that. Oklahoma’s done *** really, I think, outstanding job of changing how they manage the roster. They brought in *** GM with NFL experience, things like that. They actually have *** general manager for these programs, right? And, and I think you’ll see the people that that are creative and open to the chaos. And and willing to take that challenge on really succeed and blossom in this, and if you’re not willing to adapt to the new environment, then you’re gonna have *** hard time and there might be more adapting to come because there is federal legislation that that could be you know uh that could be changing things again with with the score Act for example which Bobby that would make *** big change as well or maybe would that bring. Us together perhaps because that the whole idea of that is it would create *** national system correct for state senators wouldn’t have to be every single year creating new NIL legislation. It’s interesting the SCOR Act, if if you look at it really closely, it’s basically saying we’re just gonna create what the NCAA used to be and give them the antitrust exemption and give them authority to enforce *** bunch of rules, right? and um. So it kind of harkens back, but then added in are the three components we talked about earlier. There’s got to be revenue share. There’s gotta be transfer portal options and then the NIL protections. Uh, it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. I’m not sure exactly where it’s gonna go, if it’s even gonna pass, you know what, what is your intuition and what are you hearing about this? Well, you know, I, I think it’s interesting that uh from the federal level to the to the state level that, you know, as we said we we were in it to keep the competitive. Uh, not, not wanting to be at *** competitive disadvantage and, and to protect our student athletes. When you listen to, uh, what’s coming out of the federal, federal side, they’re talking about stabilizing the system. And uh they’re talking about protecting them from uh antitrust lawsuits in NCAA and so it’s kind of *** different focus and in an individual state doesn’t want to be disadvantaged to another state or another university where the federal government’s trying to, you know, make that stability give uh give uh each uh. that ability to compete too. Bottom line, and we have less than 2 minutes here. Is this better than what it was when your brother was, was, was playing football? Bobby, what do you think? I think from an NIL perspective it’s absolutely better, right? My brother was *** very, he is still is *** very talented singer and I remember he’s *** walk-on player at Oklahoma. He couldn’t. Be somebody’s wedding singer and get paid the market rate for his services, that was wrong, right? That’s exploitation, all of those things, but I think the environment that’s created with the ongoing transfer portal, no rules or or very limited rules and *** lot of uncertainty on what’s going to happen with eligibility. We even see litigation over that. I think that’s worse, and I think that. Somebody’s gonna have to step up and and make *** change whether that’s *** federal solution or that’s the colleges themselves self regulating saying we’re not going to participate in this game this way anymore. I think somebody’s got to do something about that. Well, there’s always going to be billionaire donors, right, that are gonna be willing to step up and it’s just who has them and who’s willing to use it in less than *** minute, do you think, Senator, the current system is college athletics broken or. We’re moving towards *** better, *** better place or are we there now? I, I think, I think we’re moving towards *** better place and, uh, you know, the, the state and the state legislature and the governor are engaged in temporary solutions until we can figure this out nationally or uh however we’re gonna do it but I think we’re moving to *** better solution where we’re gonna have revenue sharing and we’re gonna have uh control. And and things over college athletics to ensure that you know the Olympic sports aren’t left behind to ensure that women’s sports aren’t left behind. I think that’s gonna take *** national solution on that. We’ll tell you what, we’re going to pause here. We’re gonna take *** break. You can find more. We’re gonna record *** little bit more. We’re gonna talk about those other sports and how we can protect them. You can find that on KOCO.com as well as our YouTube page.
What do an axe, a bucket and a cannon have in common? Meet the rivalry trophies of college football
Updated: 12:08 AM EST Nov 28, 2025
The most-played series in major college football history, the bitter border-state rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin, is punctuated each year with a postgame ritual by the winning team that could be described as jubilant yardwork.When time expires on Saturday in the 135th edition of the Gophers-Badgers grudge match, currently even at 63-63 with eight ties, the victors will sprint toward Paul Bunyan’s Axe, take turns hoisting the six-foot shaft above their heads as they parade it around the stadium, and aim the head at one of the goal posts in pretending to chop it down like it’s a giant tree in the north woods. The axe has been awarded annually since 1948.Video above: Taking a deeper dive in NIL rules and impact on college athleticsThere’s hardly a richer — or quirkier — tradition in college football than rivalry trophies, one of the few elements of the game that remains the same in the new era of revenue sharing and the transfer portal. From the small schools to the powerhouse programs, nothing captures a sports fan’s attention quite like a traveling trophy.”It’s a way for a community — certainly the students, alumni, fans and faculty, but even more casual fans — to get revved up for a football game,” said Christian Anderson, a University of South Carolina professor whose research focus is on the history of higher education. “There are a lot of people who may not pay attention the whole season, and then the rivalry game comes and they’re a passionate fan for one Saturday.”Longtime members of the Big Ten boast perhaps the richest history of these one-of-a-kind prizes. The Little Brown Jug, which is neither little nor brown, dates to the Michigan-Minnesota game in 1903. Wolverines coach Fielding Yost, out of fear the Gophers might tamper with their water, had a student manager buy a jug for the team. After a brutal struggle ended in a tie as Minnesota fans stormed the field, the container was left behind. The Gophers formally returned it after the Wolverines won the next meeting in 1909.Minnesota fared better at the beginning with Floyd of Rosedale, a 98-pound bronze pig named after the state’s governor in 1935 who suggested the trophy to his Iowa counterpart as a way to deescalate tension between two fan bases with deep roots in farming.Indiana will face Purdue on Friday for the Old Oaken Bucket, found in disrepair on a local farm in 1925 with the belief it might have been used by Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. Indiana and Michigan State have competed since 1950 for the Old Brass Spittoon, a relic from the trading post era purchased at an antique shop by an MSU student to add incentive to the game. Illinois and Ohio State have played for a century for the Illibuck Trophy, now a wooden turtle after an ill-fated attempt to award the real thing — a 16-pound snapper — to a student society on the campus of the winning team. Michigan and Michigan State have fought since 1953 for annual ownership of the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a four-foot wooden statue of the mythical lumberjack donated by the state’s governor to mark MSU’s entry into the conference.As football became the front-of-the-brochure image of a college campus, the power of visuals has helped make these trophies lasting legends.”It’s a tangible representation that we beat our rivals,” Anderson said. “Maybe we only keep it for a year because it’s a traveling trophy, but next time we’re going back to get it if we didn’t win it.”The NCAA certified the Territorial Cup played for by Arizona and Arizona State as the oldest known rivalry trophy, awarded after their first meeting in 1899. But there’s a gap in the history of the small, silver-plated pitcher. It was missing for decades until its rediscovery in a storage area of a church near the ASU campus in 1983. Traveling-trophy formality was finally reinstated in 2001.If there’s one recurring theme among rivalry trophies, it is relics from the pre-industrial age. Nevada and UNLV play for the Fremont Cannon, a 545-pound replica of the cannon the explorer of the same name abandoned in a snowstorm during his trek through the state in 1844. Notre Dame and USC have the Jewelled Shillelagh, a wooden symbol of a traditional Gaelic war club that was first presented in 1952. Oh, and there are all kinds of bells waiting to be rung by a winning team out there. Lots of bells.California and Stanford play for an axe, too, except theirs is just the head mounted on a plaque, an oft-stolen trophy annually awarded since 1933. Kentucky and Tennessee battle for a beer barrel. When Mississippi fans stormed Mississippi State’s field after a Rebels win in 1926, MSU supporters balked and brawls broke out. To help restore dignity to the rivalry the following year, the student bodies from both schools introduced the Golden Egg, a gold-plated football mounted on a pedestal. Fortunately, the egg never gets too close to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas, where SMU and TCU have played for the Iron Skillet since 1946. The rivals from the defunct Southwest Conference have met 104 times in 110 years, but no future games have been scheduled.The Slab of Bacon is safely away from the skillet, too. That was the first version of the Minnesota-Wisconsin hardware, a wooden slab that went missing in 1943 after the planned exchange following a Gophers victory never took place, for reasons that depend on which school is telling the story. A summer storage cleanout project in Madison in 1994 turned up the trophy, which Wisconsin has since kept on display. Somehow, all the game scores through 1970 are inscribed on it even though it was supposedly unable to be found for all those years.
MINNEAPOLIS —The most-played series in major college football history, the bitter border-state rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin, is punctuated each year with a postgame ritual by the winning team that could be described as jubilant yardwork.
When time expires on Saturday in the 135th edition of the Gophers-Badgers grudge match, currently even at 63-63 with eight ties, the victors will sprint toward Paul Bunyan’s Axe, take turns hoisting the six-foot shaft above their heads as they parade it around the stadium, and aim the head at one of the goal posts in pretending to chop it down like it’s a giant tree in the north woods. The axe has been awarded annually since 1948.
Video above: Taking a deeper dive in NIL rules and impact on college athletics
There’s hardly a richer — or quirkier — tradition in college football than rivalry trophies, one of the few elements of the game that remains the same in the new era of revenue sharing and the transfer portal. From the small schools to the powerhouse programs, nothing captures a sports fan’s attention quite like a traveling trophy.
“It’s a way for a community — certainly the students, alumni, fans and faculty, but even more casual fans — to get revved up for a football game,” said Christian Anderson, a University of South Carolina professor whose research focus is on the history of higher education. “There are a lot of people who may not pay attention the whole season, and then the rivalry game comes and they’re a passionate fan for one Saturday.”
Longtime members of the Big Ten boast perhaps the richest history of these one-of-a-kind prizes. The Little Brown Jug, which is neither little nor brown, dates to the Michigan-Minnesota game in 1903. Wolverines coach Fielding Yost, out of fear the Gophers might tamper with their water, had a student manager buy a jug for the team. After a brutal struggle ended in a tie as Minnesota fans stormed the field, the container was left behind. The Gophers formally returned it after the Wolverines won the next meeting in 1909.
Minnesota fared better at the beginning with Floyd of Rosedale, a 98-pound bronze pig named after the state’s governor in 1935 who suggested the trophy to his Iowa counterpart as a way to deescalate tension between two fan bases with deep roots in farming.
Indiana will face Purdue on Friday for the Old Oaken Bucket, found in disrepair on a local farm in 1925 with the belief it might have been used by Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. Indiana and Michigan State have competed since 1950 for the Old Brass Spittoon, a relic from the trading post era purchased at an antique shop by an MSU student to add incentive to the game.
Illinois and Ohio State have played for a century for the Illibuck Trophy, now a wooden turtle after an ill-fated attempt to award the real thing — a 16-pound snapper — to a student society on the campus of the winning team. Michigan and Michigan State have fought since 1953 for annual ownership of the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a four-foot wooden statue of the mythical lumberjack donated by the state’s governor to mark MSU’s entry into the conference.
As football became the front-of-the-brochure image of a college campus, the power of visuals has helped make these trophies lasting legends.
“It’s a tangible representation that we beat our rivals,” Anderson said. “Maybe we only keep it for a year because it’s a traveling trophy, but next time we’re going back to get it if we didn’t win it.”
The NCAA certified the Territorial Cup played for by Arizona and Arizona State as the oldest known rivalry trophy, awarded after their first meeting in 1899. But there’s a gap in the history of the small, silver-plated pitcher. It was missing for decades until its rediscovery in a storage area of a church near the ASU campus in 1983. Traveling-trophy formality was finally reinstated in 2001.
If there’s one recurring theme among rivalry trophies, it is relics from the pre-industrial age. Nevada and UNLV play for the Fremont Cannon, a 545-pound replica of the cannon the explorer of the same name abandoned in a snowstorm during his trek through the state in 1844.
Notre Dame and USC have the Jewelled Shillelagh, a wooden symbol of a traditional Gaelic war club that was first presented in 1952. Oh, and there are all kinds of bells waiting to be rung by a winning team out there. Lots of bells.
California and Stanford play for an axe, too, except theirs is just the head mounted on a plaque, an oft-stolen trophy annually awarded since 1933. Kentucky and Tennessee battle for a beer barrel.
When Mississippi fans stormed Mississippi State’s field after a Rebels win in 1926, MSU supporters balked and brawls broke out. To help restore dignity to the rivalry the following year, the student bodies from both schools introduced the Golden Egg, a gold-plated football mounted on a pedestal.
Fortunately, the egg never gets too close to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas, where SMU and TCU have played for the Iron Skillet since 1946. The rivals from the defunct Southwest Conference have met 104 times in 110 years, but no future games have been scheduled.
The Slab of Bacon is safely away from the skillet, too.
That was the first version of the Minnesota-Wisconsin hardware, a wooden slab that went missing in 1943 after the planned exchange following a Gophers victory never took place, for reasons that depend on which school is telling the story.
A summer storage cleanout project in Madison in 1994 turned up the trophy, which Wisconsin has since kept on display. Somehow, all the game scores through 1970 are inscribed on it even though it was supposedly unable to be found for all those years.
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College football rankings start juggling act at 6-7, while top 5 remain the same
The College Football Playoff rankings placed the spotlight on, where else this year, “6-7″ — flip-flopping Oregon and Ole Miss in those spots while keeping their top five teams the same in Tuesday night’s reveal.
Oregon’s impressive victory over Southern California in one of last week’s few games between ranked teams accounted for the biggest change, moving the Ducks ahead of Mississippi, which didn’t play.
The other meaningful shift was Miami’s move to No. 12, in a switch with Utah after the Utes gave up 472 yards rushing in a tight win over Kansas State.
There are two more rankings to be revealed — next Tuesday, then Dec. 7 when the final top 25 will set the bracket for the 12-team playoff to start Dec. 19,
Pitt’s return to the rankings — at No. 22 — after falling out for a week impacts the meaning of its key Atlantic Coast Conference game this week against the Hurricanes, who need a win and some help to make the conference title game but still have hopes of grabbing one of the playoff’s seven at-large berths.
“Miami is a team that it really appears is starting to look like the Miami team that started 5-0,” said Hunter Yurachek, the chair of the selection committee.
Following the Buckeyes for the fourth time in four rankings were fellow undefeated teams Indiana and Texas A&M. Georgia stayed at No. 4, followed by Texas Tech. After Oregon and Mississippi came Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama and BYU at No. 11 and first team out on this week’s proverbial bubble.
Ohio State and Indiana will play in what should be a 1 vs. 2 Big Ten title game if both win rivalry showdowns on the road over Thanksgiving weekend. Ohio State’s task is more difficult — against Michigan, which moved up three spots to No. 15. Indiana plays Purdue.
No. 10 Alabama plays at Auburn with a spot in the Southeastern Conference title game on the line. The Tide’s opponent would be Texas A&M if the Aggies win at No. 16 Texas.
Notre Dame and Miami were compared this week
After some confusion last week about the weight given to Miami’s opening-week win over Notre Dame, Yurachek said those teams were, indeed, close enough in the rankings this week to be compared head-to-head. But still, that victory was not enough to push the Hurricanes past Notre Dame.
“We compare a number of things when looking at teams closely ranked together,” Yurachek said. “We’ve got some teams ranked between Miami and Notre Dame, such as Alabama and BYU, who we’re also comparing Miami to.”
Could Kiffin’s job status impact Ole Miss?
Among the factors the committee can consider is the availability of players and coaches, which has potential to bring Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s job status into play.
Word from Oxford is that a decision will come on Kiffin’s potential move to LSU or Florida after this week’s game against Mississippi State. An Ole Miss team without one of the most sought-after coaches in the game wouldn’t seem as good as one with him.
Still, Yurachek wouldn’t tip his hand on how that evaluation might go.
“We’ll take care of that when it happens,” Yurachek said. “We don’t look ahead. The loss of player, loss of a key coach, is in the principles of how we rank teams, but we don’t have a data point for how we look at Ole Miss without their coach.”
Ducks move to ‘where they need to be’
After Oregon’s 42-27 win over USC, coach Dan Lanning said his team deserves credit for the schedule it plays — which included a tough conference game during a week in which many in the SEC were going against non-ranked, double-digit underdogs.
The committee agreed.
“We’ve been waiting for them to have that signature win to really put them where they need to be,” Yurachek said.
Conference watch
ACC — No. 18 Virginia and No. 21 SMU are the favorites to reach the title game, which means one of them has an inside edge to be in the playoff. The Hurricanes are likely in an at-large showdown with the likes of BYU, Vanderbilt and maybe Alabama.
Big 12 — BYU is angling for another crack at Texas Tech in the title game. Hard to see the Cougars getting there, losing to the Red Raiders again and still making the playoff.
Big Ten — Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon are locks. Michigan’s move up three to No. 15 gives the Wolverines a chance at an at-large bid (or maybe the conference title) with a win this week over the Buckeyes.
SEC — Texas A&M, Georgia, Mississippi and Oklahoma should all be in. Alabama can’t really afford a third loss, but what if that loss comes in the SEC title game? The Tide makes it by beating Auburn. Vanderbilt would strengthen its case with a win at No. 19 Tennessee this week.
Group of 5 — No. 24 Tulane of the American is still the only team from a non-power conference in the rankings. One problem. BetMGM Sportsbook has North Texas as the favorite to win the league title. That, in turn, could bring someone like James Madison back into the conversation.
Projected first-round playoff matchups
No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech: Could the Red Raiders, a deep-pocketed disruptor in the college football space, also turn into one of the sport’s powerhouses?
No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Oregon: The Mario Cristobal Bowl — Hurricanes coach left Ducks suddenly in 2021 to return home.
No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Mississippi: Kiffin, the old offensive coordinator at Alabama, is 0-4 vs. Tide with Ole Miss.
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma: Notre Dame’s first televised game was a 27-21 win over OU in 1952.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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Former Portage Mayor James Snyder continues to push for new trial on IRS conviction
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder said he “has never received a fair trial” in his continued push for a new trial on an IRS charge, according to court filings.
Snyder asked for a new trial on his conviction for defrauding the IRS in federal court filings late last month. Federal prosecutors, in their response, said his request is untimely and without merit.
This is the latest chapter in a saga that began nine years ago when Snyder was indicted on one count of defrauding the IRS and two counts of bribery, one involving towing contracts and the other involving garbage trucks.
A jury in U.S. District Court in Hammond found Snyder not guilty on the charge involving the towing contract, and convicted him twice on the garbage truck charge, a case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which deemed in June of last year that the $13,000 payment Snyder received over a garbage truck contract was a gratuity, not a bribe, because the payment came after the contract and not before. The case was remanded to the lower courts.
A jury convicted Snyder on the IRS charge, which involved his personal business and not his duties as mayor at the time, and that conviction had remained unchallenged.
Snyder was scheduled to go to trial for a third time on the charge involving the garbage truck contract, but prosecutors have said they would like to sentence Snyder for obstructing the IRS and forgo a third trial on his bribery charge.
Snyder, awaiting sentencing on the IRS conviction, which has been repeatedly pushed back, argued in an Oct. 31 filing that he wanted a new trial on the IRS charge because the information presented on the bribery charges could have improperly swayed the jury.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office argues that Snyder’s request “is both untimely and meritless.”
“Now, after the parties agreed to proceed to sentencing on the tax count and have begun their sentencing advocacy before this Court, defendant seeks leave for additional motion practice to challenge his 2019 conviction,” prosecutors said in their filing. “Defendant wants this Court to grant the extraordinary remedy of overturning a jury’s verdict setting the case for multiple new trials.”
Snyder “failed to raise the issue of misjoinder or severance (of the charges) before trial in 2019,” prosecutors said.
He also made a “strategic decision” to go to trial on all of the counts rather than arguing at the time for the counts to be separated for trial, prosecutors said. “Defendant thus waived any claim to improper joinder by failing to make this argument before trial,” prosecutors said.
In response, Snyder filed a motion Friday requesting the court hear his motion for a new trial. Snyder’s motion states that prosecutors “charged him with bribery for conduct that ‘any fair reader’” of the law “would be left with a reasonable doubt” if a crime was committed.
“The result was a trial that was infected with constitutional error. And now that the Government has lost before the Supreme Court, it wants to use the conviction on (the IRS charge)…as a backdoor opportunity to bring in evidence of the overturned (bribery charge) instead of allowing him what he has never received – a fair trial on the tax count.”
While prosecutors stated that “the parties agreed to proceed to sentencing on the tax count,” Snyder’s lawyer wrote he never agreed to that.
“Mr. Snyder only agreed that the interests of justice call for an end to this prosecution,” his attorney wrote. “He specifically objected to the Government’s proposed use of unproven bribery allegations to enhance his sentence on the tax count. He never agreed to waive his constitutional right to a fair trial on the tax count, nor should he be compelled to do so.”
Snyder, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2011 and reelected in 2015, a term cut short by his federal conviction in February 2019.
Snyder received a sentence of 21 months in prison for the bribery and IRS convictions and a year on supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois.
Snyder successfully argued that the start of his sentence should be postponed until his bid to have the Supreme Court hear his case was complete.
akukulka@post-trib.com
Alexandra Kukulka
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Fight songs still ring true as college football tradition in face of ever-changing changes in sport
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The sounds of college football have changed over the years, with pop culture songs becoming part of the show at stadiums across the country.
Fight songs, though, have withstood the test of time and still ring true.
From “Rocky Top” at Tennessee to “Fight On” at USC, school bands cranking up the familiar notes and rhythm and thousands of alumni joining the student body in belting out the long-familiar lyrics are a touchstone of the nostalgia surrounding the game itself. It’s a chance to cheer in common or at least try to shake off a disappointment.
Like the teams themselves, fight songs tend to spark much discussion on the topic of which one is the best of the bunch or at least the most familiar.
To Georgia Southern sport management Prof. Chris Hanna, “The Victors” at Michigan and “Notre Dame Victory March” are in the conversation for the mythical national championship of music.
“Those two have separated themselves,” said Hanna, who has studied and written about college fight songs. “Those are the two most popular, and well known.”
Michigan’s familiar fight song dates to 1898 when a music student at the school, Louis Elbel, wrote it following the Wolverines’ 12-11 win over the University of Chicago for their first Western Conference football title.
“Hail! Hail! to Michigan, the champions of the West!” Elbel wrote back when the Midwest was still more of a notion than the commonly known region it is now.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Chad Smith, who grew up in suburban Detroit rooting for Michigan, used the fight song as part of his act when the Red Hot Chili Peppers made a tour stop near Ohio State’s campus just for laughs.
“At the end of the concert, I came out, I said, `Hey, I think we got time for one more song. You guys want to hear one more song?’ And they’re like, ‘Yay,’” Smith recalled. “I’m like, `It’s a really good song. I think you’re really going to like this one.’”
Then, Smith started signing “The Victors,” and heard a chorus of boos before dropping the microphone and walking off stage.
“They screamed louder than they screamed all night,” said Smith, who announced earlier this month he’s gifting a need-based music scholarship to the University of Michigan. “It was great.”
“Notre Dame Victory March,” written by Notre Dame graduates and brothers, Michael and John Shea, was copyrighted in 1908 and became even more well known after the 1993 film “Rudy.”
“If you’ve ever seen ”Rudy,” they have it humming in the background at practice,” said Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright, a former Fighting Irish star. “It’s just kind of filled with rich tradition.”
USC’s “Fight On,” was born in 1922 after students Milo Sweet and Glen Grant teamed up to create the iconic song kicked off by trumpets. It makes Hanna’s list of top fight songs along with Oklahoma’s “Boomer Sooner,” and “On Wisconsin!”
Hanna was part of research on 130 Division I college football fight songs that found more than 90% of the songs had themes that included the name of the university, an exclamation and togetherness.
“Fight songs ramp up your emotions because of the value you place on the connections to your school,” Hanna said. “These songs are passed down by generations and you learn them as kids.”
Michigan backup quarterback Davis Warren grew up in Los Angeles rooting for UCLA — which has “The Mighty Bruins” and “Sons of Westwood” for its fans to sing — but quietly digging USC’s fight song.
“It’s classic,” Warren said. “I think ours is the best, but that is one that you hear and it just sounds like college football.”
Bands in stadium from coast to coast used to get more air time, filling timeouts with fight songs and hit songs before, between and after whistles. In recent decades, piped-in music has become the norm while marching bands take a break whether they want one ore not.
House of Pain’s “Jump Around” at Wisconsin is now in its third decade of inspiring Badgers fans. “Mr. Brightside” at Michigan, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” at LSU and “Shout” at Oregon” are just a few that have become part of the gameday experience.
“Those are cool, obviously, but we don’t sing ‘Mr. Brightside’ after we win,” Davis said. “We sing ‘The Victors’ after we win. Even in the era of sound effects and music, having the band right there playing fight songs , when we’re home and away, I think is a really cool tradition in college football.”
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Associated Press Writer Mike Householder contributed. Follow Larry Lage on X
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Why Trump’s plan to help GOP keep control of the House could backfire
As President Donald Trump laid it out to reporters this summer, the plan was simple.
Republicans, the president said, were “entitled” to five more conservative-leaning U.S. House seats in Texas and additional ones in other red states. The president broke with more than a century of political tradition in directing the GOP to redraw those maps in the middle of the decade to avoid losing control of Congress in next year’s midterms.
Four months later, Trump’s audacious ask looks anything but simple. After a federal court panel struck down Republicans’ new map in Texas on Tuesday, the entire exercise holds the potential to net Democrats more winnable seats in the House instead.
“Trump may have let the genie out of the bottle,” said UCLA law professor Rick Hasen, “but he may not get the wish he’d hoped for.”
Trump’s plan is to bolster his party’s narrow House margin to protect Republicans from losing control of the chamber in next year’s elections. Normally, the president’s party loses seats in the midterms. But his involvement in redistricting is instead becoming an illustration of the limits of presidential power.
Playing with fire
To hold Republicans’ grip on power in Washington, Trump is relying on a complex political process.
Redrawing maps is a decentralized effort that involves navigating a tangle of legal rules. It also involves a tricky political calculus because the legislators who hold the power to draw maps often want to protect themselves, business interests or local communities more than ruthlessly help their party.
And when one party moves aggressively to draw lines to help itself win elections — also known as gerrymandering — it runs the risk of pushing its rival party to do the same.
That’s what Trump ended up doing, spurring California voters to replace their map drawn by a nonpartisan commission with one drawn by Democrats to gain five seats. If successful, the move would cancel out the action taken by Texas Republicans. California voters approved that map earlier this month, and if a Republican lawsuit fails to block it, that map giving Democrats more winnable seats will remain in effect even if Texas’ remains stalled.
“Donald Trump and Greg Abbott played with fire, got burned — and democracy won,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, posted on X after the Texas ruling, mentioning his Republican counterpart in Texas along with the president.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican whose northern California district would be redrawn under the state’s new map, agreed.
“It could very well come out as a net loss for Republicans, honestly when you look at the map, or at the very least, it could end up being a wash,” Kiley said. “But it’s something that never should have happened. It was ill-conceived from the start.”
For Trump, a mix of wins and losses
There’s no guarantee that Tuesday’s ruling on the Texas map will stand. Many lower courts have blocked Trump’s initiatives, only for the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court to put those rulings on hold. Texas Republicans immediately appealed Tuesday’s decision to the high court, too.
Republicans hope the nation’s highest court also weakens or eliminates the last major component of the Voting Rights Act next year, which could open the door to further redraws in their favor.
Even before Tuesday, Trump’s push for mid-decade redistricting was not playing out as neatly as he had hoped, though he had scored some apparent wins. North Carolina Republicans potentially created another conservative-leaning seat in that battleground state, while Missouri Republicans redrew their congressional map at Trump’s urging to eliminate one Democratic seat. The Missouri plan faces lawsuits and a possible referendum that would force a statewide vote on the matter.
Trump’s push has faltered elsewhere. Republicans in Kansas balked at trying to eliminate the state’s lone swing seat, held by a Democratic congresswoman. Indiana Republicans also refused to redraw their map to eliminate their two Democratic-leaning congressional seats.
After Trump attacked the main Indiana holdout, state Sen. Greg Goode, on social media, he was the victim of a swatting call over the weekend that led to sheriff’s deputies coming to his house.
Trump’s push could have a boomerang effect on Republicans
The bulk of redistricting normally happens once every 10 years, following the release of new population estimates from the U.S. Census. That requires state lawmakers to adjust their legislative lines to make sure every district has roughly the same population. It also opens the door to gerrymandering maps to make it harder for the party out of power to win legislative seats.
Inevitably, redistricting leads to litigation, which can drag on for years and spur mid-decade, court-mandated revisions.
Republicans stood to benefit from these after the last cycle in 2021 because they won state supreme court elections in North Carolina and Ohio in 2022. But some litigation hasn’t gone the GOP’s way. A judge in Utah earlier this month required the state to make one of its four congressional seats Democratic-leaning.
Trump broke with modern political practice by urging a wholesale, mid-decade redraw in red states.
Democrats were in a bad position to respond to Trump’s gambit because more states they control have lines drawn by independent commissions rather than by partisan lawmakers, the legacy of government reform efforts.
But with Newsom’s push to let Democrats draw California’s lines successful, the party is looking to replicate it elsewhere.
Next up may be Virginia, where Democrats recaptured the governor’s office this month and expanded their margins in the Legislature. A Democratic candidate for governor in Colorado has called for a similar measure there. Republicans currently hold 9 of the 19 House seats in those two states.
Overall, Republicans have more to lose if redistricting becomes a purely partisan activity nationally and voters in blue states ditch their nonpartisan commissions to let their preferred party maximize its margins. In the last complete redistricting cycle in 2021, commissions drew 95 House seats that Democrats would have otherwise drawn, and only 13 that Republicans would have drawn.
Gerrymandering’s unintended consequences
On Tuesday, Republicans were reappraising Trump’s championing of redistricting hardball.
“I think if you look at the basis of this, there was no member of the delegation that was asked our opinion,” Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas told reporters.
Incumbents usually don’t like the idea of radically redrawing districts. It can lead to what political experts call a “dummymander” — spreading the opposing party’s voters so broadly that they end up endangering your own incumbents in a year, like 2026, that is expected to be bad for the party in power.
Incumbents also don’t like losing voters who have supported them or getting wholly new communities drawn into their districts, said Jonathan Cervas, who teaches redistricting at Carnegie Mellon University and has drawn new maps for courts. Democratic lawmakers in Illinois and Maryland have so far resisted mid-decade redraws to pad their majorities in their states, joining their GOP counterparts in Indiana and Kansas.
Cervas said that’s why it was striking to watch Trump push Republicans to dive into mid-decade redistricting.
“The idea they’d go along to get along is basically crazy,” he said.
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
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Indiana homeowner charged in shooting death of house cleaner who showed up at wrong address
An Indiana homeowner is being charged with a felony after he shot and killed a house cleaner on his front porch earlier this month. Police said the woman and her husband had mistakenly shown up to the property in Whitestown, about 20 miles outside of Indianapolis, thinking it was a different address. Neither appeared to enter the residence, according to police.
The homeowner, Curt Andersen, faces one count of voluntary manslaughter, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced at a news conference Monday. Eastwood said his office decided to bring the charge, a Level 2 felony, after determining that shooting did not meet the requirements for protection under Indiana’s “stand your ground law” — a self-defense statute that allows individuals to use deadly force in situations where they believe doing so is necessary in order to prevent their own serious bodily injury.
“It is vitally important for the citizens of Boone County to understand that our decision today in no way should be interpreted as a challenge to Indiana ‘stand your ground’ law, or a person’s right to self-defense,” said Eastwood. “Based upon the particular evidence and circumstances of this case, we have determined that Curt Andersen’s actions do not fall within the legal protections provided by the Indiana ‘stand your ground’ law.”
Eastwood identified the woman as Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velazquez. She and her husband, Mauricio Velazquez, had gone to the home as part of a cleaning crew, CBS affiliate WTTV reported. They share four children, according to the station.
An attorney for the family, Alex J. Limontes, said they were encouraged to see charges filed in connection with her “tragic and preventable death.”
“This is an important step towards accountability, truth and justice. And it’s a step that Maria’s family deserves. On the morning Maria was killed, she was simply arriving to clean a home. She was doing her job, supporting her family and contributing to her community,” Limones said at a news conference.
Before 7 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 5, officers with the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department responded to a report of a possible break-in at a subdivision in the area, the department said in a statement. When they arrived at the scene, the officers found Perez deceased on the front porch of the residence after suffering a gunshot wound. Velazquez was not harmed.
Velazquez later told WTTV that the gunshot came from inside the home and had been fired through the door. A bullet hole could be seen in the door in the shooting’s aftermath, the station reported.
“They should’ve called the police first instead of just shooting out of nowhere like that,” Velazquez told WTTV through an interpreter.
AP
Whitestown police said the department was “committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation” into what happened and would be “interviewing all individuals involved” as crime scene investigators were “meticulously collecting and analyzing all relevant evidence to understand the full scope of what occurred.”
The department had said it was working closely with the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office as the investigation got underway.
“We understand that incidents like this can cause concern and speculation,” said Whitestown police. “We respectfully ask the public to place their trust in the investigative process and refrain from sharing unverified information. These cases are often complex and require time to fully understand. Misinformation can be harmful to those involved and to the integrity of the investigation.”
AP
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Indiana Lawmaker Who Opposed Trump’s Redistricting Push Is Victim of a Swatting
An Indiana lawmaker who resisted President Donald Trump’s push to have Republicans redraw the state’s congressional boundaries was the victim of a swatting call Sunday that brought sheriff’s deputies to his home.
The call, in which someone reported a fake emergency at the Terre Haute home of state Sen. Greg Goode, came hours after Trump criticized the lawmaker and another state senator for their opposition to his plan. Trump has been trying to persuade Republican-led states across the country to aggressively redraw their congressional maps to help the GOP hold the U.S. House in next year’s midterm elections.
Deputies were sent to Goode’s home after receiving an email “advising harm had been done to persons inside a home,” according to a statement from the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office.
“All persons were secure, safe, and unharmed. Investigation showed that this was a prank or false email (also known as ‘swatting’),” the statement said. The incident is under investigation.
Goode, a Republican, wrote on social media that the responding deputies were “under the impression of a domestic violence emergency.” He thanked the deputies for acting professionally.
“While this entire incident is unfortunate and reflective of the volatile nature of our current political environment, I give thanks to God that my family and I are ok,” Goode wrote.
Earlier Sunday, Trump criticized Goode and Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray for opposing a redistricting plan for Indiana. Republicans already hold a 7-2 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.
“Because of these two politically correct type ‘gentlemen,’ and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, a VERY BIG DEAL!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The goal of swatting is to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to respond to an address by making bogus claims of violence happening inside.
The Republican leader of Indiana’s Senate announced Friday that his chamber will no longer meet to vote on redistricting, citing a lack of support from his members even after pressure from the White House. Vice President JD Vance has visited multiple times to make the case.
Democrats need to gain just three seats to win control of the House next year, leading to Trump’s strong-arming of GOP-controlled states. Legislatures or commissions in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted new maps to boost Republicans’ odds, while California and Virginia are poised to counter Trump’s push and redraw their own maps to benefit Democrats.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025
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Indiana officials, experts share mixed feelings about end to government shutdown
The end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history exposed partisan divides in Washington and left Democrats hoping, again, that Republicans will keep their word of addressing expiring healthcare subsidies in the coming months, political science experts said.
President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports, and generated long lines at some food banks as Trump officials cut off SNAP benefits.
Noe Luna, a student in the East Chicago Central job skills program, packs juice into boxes to be distributed by the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune) The House passed the measure on a mostly party-line vote of 222-209 on Wednesday afternoon, while the Senate had already passed the measure on Monday.
U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said in a statement he voted against the continuing resolution because while the bill will ensure that emergency food assistance will be funded, “it is wrong to do so at the expense of affordable health care benefits.”
“I have spent my career as a public official working on behalf of individuals and families facing economic hardship, often through no fault of their own, who have been in need of access to food, housing, and health care. Too many times have I witnessed the difficult choice that families often make between choosing between a meal or health care services,” Mrvan said.
“I remain deeply disappointed that the Republican Majority refused to extend the health care tax credits as part of this negotiation that so many small business owners and working families rely on, even as they allow the Trump Administration to direct $40 billion in federal funds to support Argentina’s economy,” Mrvan said.
Mrvan said he also didn’t support the continuing resolution because it doesn’t fund the Toxic Exposures Fund, which supports veterans.
“As we move forward, the fight for access to affordable health care continues, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to find a bipartisan agreement that restores the health care tax credits as soon as possible,” Mrvan said.
Senator Todd Young said in a statement that he voted in favor of the continuing resolution because it will reopen the government through Jan. 30, 2026 and include full-year appropriations for military construction, veterans affairs, agriculture and the legislative branch.
Young noted that he voted 15 times to reopen the government, but Democrats voted 14 times to against the effort.
“I am frustrated that the shutdown dragged on as long as it did and negatively affected our country in so many ways. I am grateful for all the dedicated federal workers, such as our service members and air traffic controllers, who continued to work throughout the shutdown,” Young said.
Senator Jim Banks blamed the Democrats for “holding American hostage” by continuing the shutdown.
The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.
Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate fight to be held at another time.
The compromise funds three annual spending bills and extends the rest of government funding through Jan. 30. Republicans promised to hold a vote by mid-December to extend the health care subsidies, but there is no guarantee of success.
The bill includes a reversal of the Trump administration policy of firing of federal workers since the shutdown began. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.
A bill for the Agriculture Department, which funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, means people who rely on key food assistance programs will see those benefits funded without threat of interruption through the rest of the budget year.
Food Bank of Northwest Indiana CEO Victor Garcia said the organization is pleased the government shutdown has ended, but it’s unclear how soon SNAP benefits will be distributed.
“There is still some uncertainty in how and when SNAP benefits will be distributed to our neighbors in Northwest Indiana. The Food Bank will continue to provide additional nutrition support as we navigate the fallout of the shutdown together,” Garcia said.
It’s unclear whether the parties will find any common ground on health care before a potential December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber. Without the enhanced tax credit, premiums on average will more than double for millions of Americans.
Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies.
Aaron Dusso, associate professor of political science at Indiana University Indianapolis, said he was surprised the shutdown ended when it did, but he thought it was likely because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Eight Democratic Senators voted to end the shutdown with the promise from Republican Senate leadership of holding a vote on healthcare subsidies in December, Dusso said. But, earlier this year, a shutdown was avoided when Republicans told Democrats that they would discuss healthcare subsidies outside of the Trump administration’s tax bill, and that never happened, he said.
“The classic cartoon is Lucy holding that football and Charlie Brown believing he’s going to finally be able to kick that football. We’ll see if that actually happens,” Dusso said.
With the government reopening, funding for programs like SNAP should move fairly quickly because the apparatus for funding is already there, Dusso said. But departments that rely on people, like air traffic controllers, could take a little longer to start back up as people return to work, he said.
It’s likely that the government shutdown won’t be top of mind for voters in 2026 as many more things will occur at the federal level between now and then, Dusso said.
“I don’t think there’s going to be much, as far as outside of Washington, much memory of it. Inside Washington, some of the memories are going to come down to internal to the Democratic Party. There will certainly be hurt feelings and distrust,” Dusso said.
The Associated Press contributed.
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In Setback for Trump, Indiana Republicans Drop Congressional Redistricting Effort
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Indiana Republicans on Friday abandoned a legislative session that had been called to enact a new congressional map, a setback for President Donald Trump’s push for Republican lawmakers across the country to redraw district lines to protect the party’s U.S. House majority next year.
In a statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, the chamber’s highest-ranking Republican, said there were not enough votes to support redrawing the state’s map and that the Senate would not convene in December for a special session called by Republican Governor Mike Braun, according to local media. Braun responded on X by urging state senators to “show up to vote for fair maps.”
Trump had exerted significant pressure on Indiana Republicans, inviting legislative leaders to the White House and dispatching Vice President JD Vance to the state.
Redistricting typically occurs once a decade to incorporate new population data from the U.S. Census. But Trump launched a nationwide battle over redistricting earlier this year, when Texas Republicans heeded his demand and approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping five Democratic seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
In response, California voters approved a new Democratic-backed map last week that targets five Republican incumbents in direct response to Texas. Other Republican states, including North Carolina and Missouri, have passed new partisan maps, while Democrats in Virginia and Maryland are weighing whether to pursue their own redistricting efforts.
But some Republican lawmakers have balked at joining Trump’s effort. In addition to Indiana, Kansas Republicans failed to gather enough votes to call a special session, and Republicans in Nebraska and New Hampshire have shown little appetite for mid-decade redistricting.
Democrats need to flip only three Republican-held seats next year to win control of the U.S. House.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Alistair Bell)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Families brace for continued gaps in Head Start service despite government reopening
Vital federal funding is on the way for Head Start centers that were thrown into crisis by the government shutdown, but it could take time before some children who rely on the federal program can return to preschool.
Some centers that missed out on federal payments had to furlough staff. Others had to shut down entirely, destabilizing thousands of needy families around the country. And operators fear it could take weeks more for overdue payments to be processed.
Even when agencies receive long-delayed grant money, centers will have to rehire staff members and bring back families — both of which may have grown wary of instability in the program, which relies almost entirely on federal grants.
“The damage has been done in a lot of ways,” Massachusetts Head Start Association Executive Director Michelle Haimowitz said. “We know that it’s going to take some time to fill back up.”
About 140 Head Start programs representing 65,000 slots didn’t receive their annual grants during the 43-day shutdown, which concluded when President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night.
Head Start serves children from low-income families from birth to age 5. The program offers a variety of services to families, such as early learning, support for children with disabilities, free meals and health screenings.
With the shutdown over, the federal Office of Head Start will expedite funding and contact affected Head Start programs to share when they can expect federal money, said Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program.
Head Start operators anticipate that could take weeks.
Federal workers are returning to “a mountain of work” that will take time to process, Haimowitz said. That doesn’t just include sending out missed grant awards — other paperwork for a range of technical issues has been delayed since layoffs at the Office of Head Start earlier this year, she said.
“Those delays have just been piling up since April, with no fault to the existing civil servants at the Office of Head Start,” Haimowitz said. “They just have half the capacity that they had just a few months ago.”
Families prepare for the worst-case scenario
Depending on how quickly federal workers can send out funds, the backlog in grant renewals could spill over and affect Head Start agencies that are supposed to receive funding in December, operators said. Some of the families who attend those centers are already making preparations for that worst-case scenario.
Gena Storer, who works as a home health aide in Xenia, Ohio, is trying to “make as much money as I possibly can” in case her daughter’s Head Start center closes. The center staff told parents hours before the government reopened that they still expect to shutter temporarily on Dec. 1 if funding is delayed, Storer said.
If the center closes, Storer’s 4-year-old daughter, Zarina, will stay at home until it reopens. Storer will then need to adjust her work hours to make sure she can be home with Zarina while her fiance works 12-hour shifts at a Target distribution center.
Uncertainty about SNAP federal food aid payments has also added stress for Storer’s family. Storer had been working extra hours through the shutdown to help provide for her 72-year-old mother, who also uses SNAP benefits.
“If my mom didn’t have us to help her, what would she do?” the 31-year-old said.
For Storer, Head Start has been more than a reliable option for child care. Zarina used to receive speech therapy to address her lack of speaking. But since starting Head Start in September, Storer said she’s noticed her daughter becoming more talkative and outgoing because she learns from having conversations with her classmates.
Programs pay out-of-pocket to keep doors open
Programs that stayed open without a guarantee of reimbursement by the federal government could also face further financial strains. At Louis Russ’ home day care in Knox County, Indiana, he and his wife are planning a pop-up toy shop out of their garage to offset money they might lose by staying open.
Russ and his wife started operating a day care out of their home in April and partnered soon after with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, a nonprofit that serves children of migrant farmworkers across 10 states. Six out of the eight children in Russ’ home day care are Head Start-funded.
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project was one of the programs affected by a funding lapse, which resulted in more than 1,000 children being shut out of their centers. Russ and his wife also stopped receiving their Head Start payments at the end of October, but the decision to keep their home open was a “no brainer,” Russ said. Offering the children consistency during an otherwise unpredictable time was important to them, he said.
“Staying open and keep taking the children we have, that was the easy part,” he said. “Figuring out how we’re going to stay open if this goes on too long, that’s the tricky part.”
It’s been tense operating the program without knowing when funding will be released. Russ and his wife already took a pay cut, and they have another employee on the payroll. About three-quarters of their budget is payroll, Russ said, but other expenses like groceries and maintenance needs can stack up quickly without an income.
“Our program, being so new, we were running pretty bare bones as is,” Russ said. “And especially in child care, which doesn’t have a huge profit margin, there’s only so much wiggle room when things like this happen.”
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Ohio State stays on top of playoff bracket, while Miami makes a big move
Not surprisingly, Ohio State stayed at the top of the rankings, and there was a healthy debate about whether last weekend’s action warranted keeping Indiana at No. 2, one spot ahead of Texas A&M.
But while those top three remained the same in the Week 2 rankings released Tuesday, it was a game back in August that led the College Football Playoff selection committee to its biggest shakeup.
The committee vaulted Miami to No. 15, one spot ahead of Georgia Tech, to hand the ‘Canes the Atlantic Coast Conference’s only spot in this week’s projected bracket.
That decision came not so much on the strength of last weekend’s action, — when Miami easily handled Syracuse and Georgia Tech was idle — but rather, thanks to Miami’s season-opening win against Notre Dame.
“Certainly, the win versus Notre Dame was a key factor for placing Miami ahead of Georgia Tech,” committee chair Mack Rhoades explained. “In general, with the ACC, I think their lack of nonconference signature wins other than Miami over Notre Dame” hurts the conference.
Following the trio of undefeateds — Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M — were Alabama and Georgia, who rounded out the same top five as in last week’s season-opening rankings.
Texas Tech jumped two spots to No. 6 on the strength of its win over BYU, moving one notch ahead of Mississippi, which dropped to 7 despite a romp over Citadel in a nonconference game.
At No. 8 was Oregon, followed by Notre Dame and Texas.
No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 12 BYU would be the first two teams out in this week’s bracket due to the automatic spots handed to the ACC (Miami) and the highest-ranked league leader out of the Group of 5 conferences, which is now an honor that belongs to South Florida, ranked at No. 24.
“They’ve always been part of (the conversation),” Rhoades said of the Bulls. “South Florida is the most consistent of the Group of 5, to date.”
The final bracket comes out Dec. 7, with the 12-team playoff beginning Dec. 19 and closing a month later with the title game.
Indiana-A&M and Texas Tech-Ole Miss are two toughest calls
Rhoades said the decision to keep Indiana at No. 2 over Texas A&M provoked the committee’s second-longest conversation.
The Hoosiers needed last-second heroics to win at Penn State, while the Aggies got a romp on the road at Missouri.
“Certainly, discussion about those two games, but also discussion about body of work,” Rhoades said. “There was conversation about Missouri. Missouri is a really good team but not the team they’ve been,” due to injuries at quarterback.
The longest conversation involved moving Texas Tech a spot past Ole Miss.
“Texas Tech’s win this last weekend — really convincing,” Rhoades said.
Conference watch
ACC: Of the five teams in the conference ranked 15-22, maybe No. 22 Pitt is the team to watch. The Panthers have a 7-2 record with games against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Miami the next three weeks. Winning any two of those might give them a chance at somehow getting into the bracket.
Big Ten: Outside of the top three, there are no sure things. No. 18 Michigan would work its way into the conversation with a win over you-know-who at the end of the month, and No. 17 USC has a season-making game at Oregon on Nov. 22.
Big 12: There’s Texas Tech. And then there’s BYU (8-1). And then there’s No. 13 Utah (7-2), the team the Cougars beat last month and seem destined to stay ahead of if they finish with one loss and the Utes finish with two. Only two — and perhaps only one — will make it.
SEC: No wonder the conference wants to do away with automatic qualifiers. A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi feel like locks. Texas, Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt all control their own destiny. (Especially OU, which is at Alabama this week.)
Group of 5: With early wins over Boise State and Florida, South Florida looked like a good bet to earn that fifth conference-champion slot earlier in the season, and reclaimed the position after Memphis lost to Tulane last week.
The projected first-round matchups
No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 Georgia: How many teams have won at the Swamp and between the hedges in the same year … or ever?
No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Texas Tech: ‘Canes won last meeting 45-10 in 1990, and closed that season with a 46-3 drubbing of Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Ole Miss: They haven’t played since UT joined the SEC last year.
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon: Unfinished business from their 13-13 tie in 1982, Gerry Faust’s second season with the Irish.
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Texas returns to top 10, ACC has five teams ranked in the Top 25 and there is Group of Five intrigue
Texas returned to the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday, the Atlantic Coast Conference has five teams ranked for the first time this season and two Group of Five conferences are now represented in the Top 25 a month before the playoff bracekt is set. The top five was unchanged.
The Longhorns, the preseason No. 1 team, are ranked No. 10 in advance of its visit to No. 5 Georgia this week. They had been in the top 10 for the first six polls before their loss at Florida knocked them out of the Top 25 for a week.
Four straight wins elevated them to No. 13 last week, and they jumped three spots ahead of BYU and Virginia and an idle Oklahoma, which they beat 23-6 on Oct. 11. Texas did not play over the weekend.
Ohio State was No. 1 for the 11th week in a row with 55 first-place votes. Indiana remained No. 2 after its narrow escape at Penn State, but the Hoosiers’ six first-place votes were five fewer than last week.
No. 3 Texas A&M got four first-place votes, three more than a week ago, and was 31 points behind Indiana. Alabama and Georgia rounded out the top five. Mississippi, Oregon, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and Texas rounded out the top 10.
In all, 19 spots in the Top 25 have new teams.
The ACC has five teams with one loss in conference play and two others with two losses. That’s reflected in the closely bunched group of ACC teams in the poll — No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Miami, No. 19 Louisville, No. 20 Virginia and No. 23 Pittsburgh. The last time the ACC had as many ranked teams was Nov. 3, 2024.
The race for the Group of Five’s automatic bid in the College Football Playoff got more interesting with Memphis’ loss to Tulane on Friday. The CFP committee did not have a G5 team in its top 25 but said Memphis was first in line. That will almost certainly change when the committee’s next rankings come out Tuesday.
No. 24 James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference made its first AP poll appearance since 2023. The Dukes are 8-1, their only loss to Louisville, and are the highest-ranked G5 team. No. 25 South Florida of the American Conference is right behind, and Tulane of the American received the most votes among the unranked.
In and out
— No. 23 Pittsburgh, No. 24 in the initial CFP rankings, is in the AP poll for the first time since last November.
— No. 24 James Madison’s previous Top 25 appearance was in 2023, when Curt Cignetti’s last Dukes team was in the final seven regular-season polls.
— No. 25 South Florida’s 32-point win over USTA helped Bulls to return after a two-week absence.
Missouri (19), Memphis (22) and Washington (24) dropped out.
Poll points
— The last time there teams from two G5 conferences ranked at the same time was last year, when Boise State and UNLV of the Mountain West and Army and Memphis of the American were in the final two polls of the season.
— BYU, which was unbeaten before its 29-7 loss at Texas Tech, dropped four spots to No. 12 to end its two-week stay in the top 10.
— Virginia and James Madison give the commonwealth two ranked teams for the first time since the final 2023 regular-season poll (Liberty, James Madison).
Conference call
SEC (8): Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 21.
ACC (5): Nos. 14, 16, 19, 20, 23.
Big Ten (5): Nos. 1, 2, 7, 17, 18.
Big 12 (4): Nos. 8, 12, 15, 22.
Independent (1): No. 9.
Sun Belt (1): No. 24.
American (1): No. 25.
Ranked vs. ranked
No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC, No. 11 CFP) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 5 CFP): Bulldogs won regular-season meeting and SEC championship game against Longhorns last year. Third straight time this is an top-10 matchup.
No. 9 Notre Dame (6-2, No. 10 CFP) at No. 23 Pittsburgh (7-2, No. 24 CFP): Huge playoff implications for both. Irish and Panthers both ranked at time of their meeting for first time since 1991.
No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2, No. 12 CFP) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0, No. 4 CFP): Last year’s embarrassing loss in Norman killed Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes.
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