USA Today - 03.11.2026 — 2026-11-05

The Big Ten is in a rare spot, facing hard times

Perennial powerhouse Ohio State is struggling with two losses and woes including an injured QB, Julian Sayin, while UCLA keeps winning. In Sports

Families struggle to afford childcare

NY couple makes \$130K, can't get full-time care

Madeline Mitchell

USA TODAY

Diana Christopher starts most days with a dilemma.

Christopher, 41, a New York City resident, needs to be at work in the Bronx by 8 a.m. Her twin toddlers' day care center in Washington Heights, the family's northern Manhattan neighborhood, opens at the same time. The distance isn't the problem – just the timing. Her husband is typically the default drop-off parent, but sometimes his work days start even earlier than hers do.

“How do I get us to two different locations at the same time?” she said. Sometimes, the answer is the less-than-ideal reality many working parents know all too well: “I would just be late to work.”

“It’s not a fun way to start your day, of just knowing you’re behind, immediately,” said Christopher, a member of New Yorkers United for Child Care.

Daniel and Diana Christopher spend \$541 a week for three days of childcare, or about \$26,000 a year – typical for families, according to Care.com. PROVIDED BY DIANA CHRISTOPHER

Christopher said her boss is mostly understanding in those moments. There are plenty of working parents in the United States who could risk their employment under the same circumstances. Thousands do, battling the monetary burden of childcare while managing the mental and emotional drain of juggling the various schedules inherent to daily life.

Families need care they can afford, obtain and actually use during their working hours. Today, parents across the country say that's hard to find. And for some, the logistics and cost of childcare prevent them from having the families they've always wanted.

Kyra Betts, a 37-year-old mother in St. Louis, has two little boys she loves. She and her husband spend more than \$15,000 annually on their 3-year-old's

Midterms become Trump referendum

He faces reckoning after putting focus on presidency

President Donald Trump stumps for GOP Senate candidate Darline Graham, sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, in South Carolina on Oct. 29. JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS

"He's casting a long shadow over the midterm elections."

Lee Miringoff

Marist Institute for Public Opinion,

on Donald Trump

People wait in line at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland on Nov. 1. Trump has been stumping in deep red states such as Ohio.

SHANNON STAPLETON/REUTERS

Zac Anderson and Joey Garrison

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – In a bitterly fought midterm election, President Donald Trump and his detractors have found at least one piece of common ground – it's all about Trump.

And as voters head to the polls on Nov. 3, the president faces a reckoning.

After dominating American politics for the last decade, Trump is the animating force in an election that will decide control of Congress and whether his presidency is hemmed in or given more running room. Polling shows most voters view their congressional ballot as primarily a vote for or against the president.

Follow online

"He's casting a long shadow over the midterm elections," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.

Get the latest Election Day news, race results and speeches at usatoday.com.

Democrats are eager to win majorities in the House and Senate and deliver Trump the type of lasting repudiation they hoped for in 2020, when he lost his reelection bid before staging a comeback. They have an opportunity to significantly weaken his grip on power

See MIDTERMS, Page 4A

Voters weigh ballot measures in 39 states

Topics include voter ID laws, marijuana use

Erin Mansfield and Emily R. Condon

USA TODAY

The Nov. 3 elections are not only about control of Congress in Washington, DC. Voters across the country are also deciding on ballot measures that affect their everyday lives.

Thirty-nine states will decide on more than 140 ballot measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many ballot measures would change laws. Others would amend state constitutions. Some are specific to cities and counties, but most will be decided statewide.

Americans will cast ballots on mat-

Signs sit on chairs before a rally in California in support of Proposition 40 and in opposition to Propositions 41 and 42. MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

Voter ID

ters affecting voter identification, transgender policies, abortion rights, campaign finance laws and more.

Here's a sampling of ballot measures across the country.

Arizona Proposition 144 would amend the constitution to require ID for mail-in voting and allow the legislature to determine the details for how to show the ID. Additionally, voters who cast their ballot on Election Day would get the option of having them counted at their polling location, and all foreign nationals would be prevented from contributing money or “anything of value” to campaigns.

Nevada Question 7 would add a section to the constitution requiring photo ID to vote in person and require an identification number to vote by mail. Voters already approved the measure in 2024, and if they pass it a second time, it will become part of the constitution.

See MEASURES, Page 2A

Iowa church cleared to use ayahuasca

Isabelle Foland

Des Moines Register

USA TODAY NETWORK

DES MOINES – Growing up during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Shaman BaBa DaDo was not always the calm, good-natured man he is today.

He said he lived a life of fear and hurt, with the heavy tolls of war at his doorstep. Seeking freedom from the pain, he said, he decided to come to the United States to find a way to heal.

He grew up around nontraditional and holistic medicine; his family used homegrown herbs to treat ailments. This foundation in the spiritual and physical connection to the Earth led the shaman and his growing team on a seven-year journey to bring his medicinal healing practices to Iowa.

In 2019, DaDo and his legal team sought religious, nonprofit, tax-exempt status for a new church that would use ayahuasca, among other meditative and spiritual practices, to help bring healing to those seeking change. It faced challenges getting approval from the Internal Revenue Service because the federal government bans the hallucinogenic drug.

Ayahuasca typically contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, which is classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law.

Ayahuasca comes from plants native to South America and is typically consumed as a tea.

ANATOLY KIREEV/GETTY IMAGES FILE

It comes from plants native to South America and is typically consumed as a tea. The psychedelic drug has a long history of religious and medicinal practice in some Indigenous communities in the Amazon. Practitioners have used it in rituals intended to promote spiritual connection and personal reflection through intense hallucinations.

The church, called the Iowaska Church of Healing, sought federal and state exemptions to use the drug in religious ceremonies, something that has been allowed in a number of similar churches in the United States.

Years later, the church received permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Iowa Board of Pharmacy to use the drug in religious ceremonies. Church leaders are now looking to get its tax-exempt status, build its leadership team, secure a physical location in Des Moines, and open for its first ceremonies in 2027.

Jennifer Coleman, who was born and raised in Iowa, said she followed a traditional religious path but didn't feel a connection to any of the churches she attended. While researching churches near Des Moines online, Coleman found DaDo's movement, which was right in the middle of its lengthy legal battle. Now, more than three years later, she is the executive director of the church.

Coleman said a common misconception with churches like the Iowaska Church of Healing is that it's just a group of people who want to trip on psychedelics. This belief, she said, couldn't be further from the truth.

In order to participate in an ayahuasca ceremony, participants will have to undergo physical and mental health screenings to ensure they are capable of withstanding the intense experiences the drug induces, Coleman said. Participants will also have to spend weeks following a specific diet.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse warns ayahuasca can cause increased heart rate and blood pressure, as well as nausea and vomiting.

Officials investigate FL crash of business jet that killed 9

Data showed the vertical descent rate of the Learjet that crashed in Greenacres, Florida, at one point exceeded 32,000 feet per minute. GIORGIO VIERA/REUTERS

600 people forced

to evacuate homes

Christopher Cann, John Bisognano and Tom Elia

USA TODAY

Authorities were working to determine what led a business jet to crash into a South Florida community, killing all nine people on board and causing extensive damage.

Officials say a Learjet 60 en route to the Bahamas from Austin crashed around 12:50 p.m. ET on Nov. 1 in Palm Beach County, less than 10 miles from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

Videos showed the plane nosediving into the ground near a busy road and the entrance of a mobile home community before erupting into flames. The crash sparked several fires and scattered debris across a wide area, forcing around 600 people to evacuate their homes.

All nine people on the plane, who had not been identified, were killed in the wreck. No one on the ground was hurt or injured, officials said.

During a brief news conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the accident as a “cataclysmic plane crash.”

"It was a big-time tragedy that happened," DeSantis said at a news conference near the crash site in Lake Worth Beach. "When you see that video, it's a jarring thing. It was like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere."

The cause of the crash remains unknown. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were occurring in the area at

[Measures] Continued from Page 1A

Ohio Issue 3 would add a voter ID requirement to the state constitution. The state legislature already approved a strict voter ID law in 2022, but the constitutional amendment would be much harder to overturn than a law. The measure would also allow the legislature to decide whether to require an ID for mail-in voting.

Abortion, reproductive rights

Nevada Question 6 would amend the state constitution to establish the right to an abortion without interference by state or local governments. If passed, Nevadans' right to abortion would apply from the start of pregnancy until the fetus has a significant likelihood to survive outside the womb or when necessary for the pregnant woman's health or life.

Virginia Question 1 would add a section to the state constitution's Bill of Rights protecting the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” that includes a spectrum from prenatal care to postpartum care, abortion, and miscarriage management. Still, the law would allow the state to restrict abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Missouri Amendment 3 would repeal the state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, which they established in 2024. The repeal would prohibit abortions, except in cases of medical emergencies or incest, but those abortion procedures must be completed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Gun laws

Arkansas Issue 2 would expand the state constitution's provision on gun rights. The right to bear arms would be updated to be the right to "keep and" bear arms. The text includes specific provisions on hunting and firearm parts, and says that the right "is a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed."

Idaho Advisory Question asks votthe time, forecaster AccuWeather said in a statement. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 25 mph and a visibility of seven miles.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide updates.

The FAA said the Learjet 60 departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

Moments before the crash, a person in the cockpit said the crew was “managing the ice,” encountering “moderate” turbulence and seeking “better rides,” according to audio posted by LiveATC, a website that broadcasts air traffic control communications.

ers what should be the official state gun. There are six models to choose from that include handguns and rifles, such as the famous Winchester 1873 Model, known as the “Gun That Won the West.” The state legislature would need to pass a law to designate an official state gun.

Massachusetts Question 9 asks voters whether to repeal a landmark 2024 gun control law that included a red flag provision, prohibition on ghost guns, changes to gun licensing, an expanded definition of a machine gun, and a ban on assault-style weapons.

Marijuana, betting and the Pledge of Allegiance

Nebraska Initiative 440 would authorize the state legislature to make laws allowing online sports betting.

Nebraska Initiative 441 would allow the state gaming commission to regulate online sports betting.

Idaho House Joint Resolution 6 would enshrine its existing law saying English is the state's official language into the state constitution. "Except as required by federal law," the initiative would codify English as the language used for official proceedings and documents in the state.

Alabama Amendment 3 would require local school boards to have schools start the day with the Pledge of Allegiance and authorize student-led prayer.

Alabama Amendment 4 would let voters choose whether the first stanza of the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” should be required to be broadcast once a week in schools statewide.

Massachusetts Question 8 could effectively eliminate recreational marijuana sales and allow only for a small amount to be possessed by people age 21 or older. One poll, though, said six in 10 Massachusetts voters are expected to vote against this.

Corrections and clarifications

Our goal is to promptly correct errors. Contact Standards Editor Michael McCarter at accuracy@usatoday.com to report a mistake. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

Postal information

USA TODAY, ISSN 0734-7456, is published daily except for Saturday, Sunday, all Federal holidays, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve by USA TODAY Media Corp. (fka Gannett Media Corp.), 1152 15th St NW STE 700, Washington D.C., 20005-1766. Periodicals Postage at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL ONE AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Please send address corrections to USA Today, Customer Service, 401 W Main St #600 Louisville KY 40202.

Internal executive summary flagged State Farm concerns

Records are unsealed in Oklahoma claims case

Jeff Elkins

The Oklahoma

USA TODAY NETWORK

OKLAHOMA CITY – An internal State Farm executive summary warned corporate leadership that the insurer's handling of wind and hail claims created the impression that it's “intentionally reducing” payouts and “celebrating greater numbers” of claims closed without payment, according to a document recently made public in Oklahoma County.

The document from October 2021 titled “P&C Claims | Fire Claims Roofs – Quality & Service” was unsealed Oct. 26 after Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo conducted an in-camera inspection, ruled the material was not protected by attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine, and denied State Farm’s request to stay the ruling pending approval.

Attorneys from Whitten Burrage, the Oklahoma City-based firm that represents nearly 1,000 clients in cases alleging State Farm systematically underpaid and denied legitimate wind and roof hail claims, filed the document in Hursh v. State Farm, considered to be a test case for claims-handling practices in Oklahoma.

Plaintiff attorneys allege State Farm knew it was shortchanging homeowners on their roof claims despite telling the court it never tries to arbitrarily cut roof replacements or claim payments to match industry numbers.

“This document, written for its most senior executives, says otherwise,” Reggie Whitten said in a statement. “Someone inside State Farm looked at the results and warned, in writing, that it looked like the company was intentionally reducing what it paid policyholders and celebrating claims it closed without paying. That warning went up the chain, and the program continued.”

The document describes a primary tactic of State Farm's wind and hail program implemented in all states in January 2021 that requires team manager approval for all full roof replacements on claims potentially caused by small hail and light wind.

The findings discussed in the document show that after implementation, the ratio of wind claims closed without payment to claims reported rose 17 points year-over-year to 39.5, and the hail ratio increased 13 points to 39.3. Whitten said that means nearly 4 in 10 wind and hail claims State Farm received were closing without a dime paid, and State Farm's own reviewer, Scott Welsh, warned it looked like the company was celebrating that.

An Oklahoma City-based law firm represents nearly 1,000 clients in cases alleging State Farm systematically underpaid and denied legitimate wind and roof hail claims.

JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES FILE

The quality and service summary was marked up with commentary from Welsh, who flagged potential legal, regulatory and public relations risks associated with the new metrics and procedures.

On the rising rate of unpaid claims, Welsh questioned the messaging.

“Does this suggest that CWP [closed without payment] is a positive – that we consider this improvement? A higher CWP should be considered evidence of greater accuracy – the implication is that we are intentionally reducing indemnity dollars and celebrating greater numbers of CWP,” Welsh’s comments read.

Another comment made by Welsh with respect to a mandate for supervisory sign-off on roof replacements seems to indicate concern about optics.

“Caution should be exercised here. Our adversaries could say this places pressure on front line claim reps to not replace a roof,” Welsh states.

Hannah Whitten said the notation shows internal awareness of the directive's effect on adjusters. She said if State Farm knew in October 2021 that only requiring team manager review for approval of claims and not denial of claims was adding pressure to deny claims, they should have changed the tactic, adding that the suggested edits in the document are “nitroglycerin evidence” of an internal scheme.

The P&C Claims document also shows that State Farm had previously replaced roofs on low-severity hail and wind claims at rates significantly higher than competitors, citing Texas baseline data against a 5-10% “industry best” benchmark attributed to Accenture Consulting Services.

“State Farm is internally noting that they’re putting pressure on frontline adjusters not to replace roofs, and instead, what do they do? They double down on these tactics," Whitten said.

The word “tactics” is used throughout the executive summary. Whitten said the company is using a military term against their own insured.

In another section of the document summarizing policyholder dissatisfaction with claim communication and inspections, Welsh said the bullet-pointed findings “potentially implicate Unfair Claims Practices Act,” and then he asked claims managers if they could claim self-evaluative privilege on that document.

Revisions of the draft struck that comment and altered the word “tactics” to read “action steps,” and modified customer complaint descriptions.

Whitten said the newly public P&C Claims document goes hand-in-hand with Exhibit 8, which discussed wind and hail claims handling and stated that team managers review roof replacement recommendations to increase accuracy, which in turn reduces coverage. She also said the executive summary and the email discussing the claims handling process are “some of the most horrific bad faith documents” the firm has ever seen of an insurance company that owed the duty of good faith and fair dealing.

Meanwhile, State Farm has continued to deny allegations of bad faith in its court filings, maintaining that its adjusters evaluate every claim on an individualized basis and pay what is owed under the terms of each policy. The company states that it “never attempts to arbitrarily reduce total roof replacements or indemnity payments to meet industry standards.”

State Farm sent a statement to The Oklahomaan on Oct. 29 stressing that accuracy matters, and the newly released document is only an example of State Farm's ongoing efforts to review and improve how it handles claims, including making sure processes and the language used to describe them are accurate, clear and consistent with its "commitment to paying customers what's owed for covered losses.

The company maintains that plaintiffs' attorneys are misrepresenting that effort and are promoting a misleading narrative that's not supported by facts.

“Their claims are false and distort the purpose of this review, which, in reality, was an effort to examine our practices and identify ways to further improve so we better serve our customers. We are disappointed that the Plaintiffs’ attorneys released this document in direct violation of the order governing its disclosure,” the company statement reads.

Pompeii cupboard sheds light on ancient life

Contents include money, mementos, mice bones

Make-up utensils, coins, cooking pots and childhood amulets were found in the remains of a cupboard uncovered during archaeological excavations in Pompeii, Italy. PROVIDED BY MINISTRY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ACTIVITIES AND TOURISM VIA REUTERS

Crispian Balmer

REUTERS

ROME – A cupboard sealed for almost 2,000 years in Pompeii has yielded an intimate snapshot of one resident's life before Mount Vesuvius destroyed the ancient Roman city, from make-up utensils and perfume to coins, cooking pots and childhood amulets.

The once-thriving city of Pompeii, near Naples, was buried by a volcanic eruption in AD 79, preserving buildings, objects and graffiti under meters of ash.

Archaeologists pieced together bits of the wooden cupboard from traces uncovered in a house on Via dell'Abbondanza, one of the busiest streets of Pompeii, the site said in a statement.

“We cannot reconstruct with certainty the identity of whoever lived in the house, but these fragments bring us closer to their daily life,” said site director Gabriel Zuchtriegel.

Among the objects stored inside was a necklace comprising at least 24 tiny objects made of bone, glass paste, earthenware and rock crystal, including images of the gods Bes and Mercury, as well as miniature hands, feet, pine cones and bunches of grapes.

Such necklaces, known as crepundia, were traditionally given to Roman children both as protective amulets and as rattles whose sounds helped adults keep track of them.

They were sometimes kept into adulthood as mementos of childhood, offering a particularly personal connection to the unknown inhabitant of the house.

Perfume, money and mice

Other finds tell a more prosaic story of daily life.

There were tweezers, a small glass perfume or ointment bottle and an incense burner, alongside bronze, glass and ceramic vessels and cooking pots. Lead weights in a wooden box suggested that someone in the house was involved in trade.

A small woven container held 38 bronze coins.

The fact that both money and objects with apparent sentimental value remained behind suggests the owners had no time to retrieve them after Vesuvius erupted.

"Pompeii is not just a place of great works of art. It is also a place where the most ordinary objects restore the human dimension of the past," Zuchtriegel said.

"The value of this discovery lies in the possibility of reading together the different traces of a life: personal habits, work and memories."

The house, in a central area of Pompeii, is tentatively associated with a man named Cornelius Maximus because of inscriptions discovered there. Its facade was first excavated in 1912, but archaeologists have only now investigated some of the rooms behind it as part of a wider restoration project.

The excavation also provided evidence that some problems of urban living have changed remarkably little in two millennia, with archaeologists finding the fragmented skeletons of two young mice inside an amphora kept on a raised storage area.

[DOJ appeals fed ruling on election] Judge dismissed lawsuit over Alaska Senate race

Bart Jansen

USA TODAY

The Trump administration appealed a federal court decision on Nov. 1 that threw out a lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying the election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses by fewer votes than were cast for another candidate named Dan Sullivan.

The Justice Department had argued that retired school teacher Daniel J. Sullivan aimed to cause voter confusion with the incumbent, Daniel S. Sullivan. But the state Supreme Court allowed both names on the ballot. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the case at the request of the state, which said “Alaska can proceed to administer its elections consistent with state and federal law.”

Gleason said the administration couldn't fix its lawsuit because the federal court “lacks the authority to order that certain ballots cast by Alaskans be segregated so that federal law enforcement officials can conduct an unspecified investigation of the voters who cast them.”

Stanley Woodward, the associate attorney general who filed the case, and U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman immediately filed a notice of appeal.

Peltola denies involvement

The Senate race in Alaska is closely watched nationally because Republicans control the chamber with a 53-47 majority. Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola is challenging Sullivan in the race.

The New York Times reported that Peltola recruited Daniel J. Sullivan to enter the race, which provoked the federal lawsuit and a parallel criminal investigation.

But Peltola has denied involvement in any effort to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan, who lives in a remote fishing village, to enter the race, saying at a rally that she is “not interested in tricking voters.” The retired teacher has denied in interviews with news outlets that his aim is to confuse, but has said he would prefer Peltola winning over the incumbent senator.

Gleason wrote in her decision that the administration's proposal to segregate ballots would violate the right of voters in Alaska to a secret ballot. The judge dismissed the case on the basis that the federal government lacked the necessary legal standing to bring it.

"The United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified ‘investigation’ of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy," Gleason wrote.

Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled “in an attempt to rig outcomes,” the Justice Department said in a statement about the appeal.

Alaska officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which intervened in the lawsuit in support of Alaska, said the judge rebuffed a Justice Department effort to “throw out Alaska’s election results before a single ballot was counted.”

“This administration keeps trying to tilt the midterms, and today [Nov. 1] it lost again,” the ACLU said.

'Ballot stacking'

The New York Times reported on Oct. 28 that Peltola campaign staff members had worked with a Democratic operative from Ohio to find another Dan Sullivan to run, to peel votes from the Republican senator.

It is not clear what, if any, laws may have been broken. Both parties have engaged in “ballot stacking” by propping up lesser-known candidates to siphon votes from their opponents.

Trump, who has told reporters he ordered the Justice Department to file the lawsuit, has called for Peltola to be criminally prosecuted. The Justice Department has brought criminal charges against a number of Trump's adversaries.

Peltola's campaign had called the lawsuit meritless.

Contributing: Reuters

MI prisons enlist AI to help stop violence

Union leader: Tech can't solve lack of housing

Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press

USA TODAY NETWORK

LANSING, MI – The Michigan Department of Corrections is tapping artificial intelligence in a bid to more safely house the state's 32,000 inmates amid a rise in prison violence, including at least four recent incidents in which inmates are suspected of killing their cellmates.

The plan would use an AI-based system to rank the security risk of inmates from Level 1, the lowest risk, to Level 5, the highest risk, based on numerous factors including the nature of their crimes, assessments by department experts, and how they have behaved in prisons. Currently, such classifications, which give each inmate a numerical score, are done manually using worksheets.

The new system would be largely automated and update each inmate's information and security classification in real time, according to an Oct. 28 news release from the Michigan Department of Corrections.

But the president of the union representing Michigan corrections officers is skeptical about the new approach. The problem, Byron Osborn said, isn't that the security classifications prison officials now calculate without the use of AI are inaccurate. The problem is that the corrections system has too few of the highest-security prison beds – Level 4 and Level 5 – to house the inmates deemed to be highest risk, Osborn said.

Level 4 inmates are housed together in two-person cells, where there have been three recent homicides at Bellamy

Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan, and one at Carson City Correctional Facility. Level 5 inmates are housed in single-person cells and have further restrictions on movements. Level 1 and Level 2 inmates are housed in dorm-like settings and have greater freedom of movement and more programming options. There is no Level 3.

Michigan prisons saw a 13% increase in assaults on staff and inmates between 2019 and 2026, despite a 16% drop in the prison population during that period, according to reports filed with the Michigan Legislature.

Corrections officers tie much of the violence to a chronic staff shortage that results in more lockdowns for inmates, heightening their frustration levels, and insufficient staff to manage situations before they escalate. They also blame a lack of Level 4 and Level 5 beds, which are costlier because they require more staff. Inmates who should be housed alone in Level 5 are sharing cells with other inmates, and inmates who should be in Level 4 are being housed in Level 1 and Level 2, officers say.

The Michigan Department of Corrections hired Recidiviz, a Utah-based nonprofit technology organization, to help develop the new system that will be introduced as a pilot project at selected prisons starting Dec. 1, according to the news release.

Osborn said he is glad the department has acknowledged there is a problem, but the planned pilot project was announced without prior consultation with corrections officers and does not appear to address the major problem.

If the new system provides more accurate classification levels than the current system does, “that doesn’t mean you’re going to have anywhere to put” inmates deemed a higher risk, he said.

Midterms

Continued from Page 1A

The line of voters waiting to vote early grows in Wasilla, Alaska, on Nov. 1.

NATHAN FRANDINO/REUTERS

over his final two years in office. Democrats also hope that possible wins in states and congressional districts that haven't voted blue in decades can help end the Trump era.

On the Republican side, Trump aims to prove his doubters wrong once again with an unexpected triumph despite his low approval ratings, show one more time that polling is a fool's errand, and end his second term with a flourish, while maintaining his grip over the GOP.

Recent rallies spotlight both efforts.

Criticizing Trump during an Oct. 28 event in Atlanta, former President Barack Obama told a crowd that the midterms are “our last, best chance of at least reining him in, reining in some of the foolishness of this administration.”

In Chillicothe, Ohio, on the same night, Trump again appealed to his base to “pretend” he’s on the ballot.

“I really am on the ballot, if you think, because all of those tax cuts, all of the things that we’ve gotten, all of the victories that we’ve had,” he added.

Democrats are widely favored to win control of the House, and polling indicates they also have a strong chance of flipping the Senate. States that haven't elected a Democrat to the Senate in decades and went for Trump by double digits are now highly competitive, offering Democrats a historic chance to make inroads in traditionally Republican areas.

For the past three weeks, Trump has barnstormed the country to try and hold back a blue wave as Republicans leverage a massive financial advantage in the final stretch. Despite shifting the electoral map to historically red states such as Kansas, Nebraska, Alaska, and South Carolina, most Senate races are close, polling suggests.

“I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised on Tuesday,” Trump told a crowd in Lubbock, Texas, on Oct. 27. “People are coming home. They’re coming home. They’re not going to let our country be destroyed.”

Red state woes

Despite his public optimism, Trump has also openly acknowledged that a Democratic sweep is possible, telling reporters he would use his veto pen often under such a scenario and find a way to work out deals with the opposing party.

“I hope that won’t be the case, but if it is, that’s happened before with many presidents,” Trump said last week.

Trump's Oct. 27 trip was his third visit to Texas in October. The state's emergence as a key battleground shows the depths of the president's midterm woes.

Texas last elected a Democratic senator in 1988, and Trump carried the state by 14 percentage points, but the Real Clear Politics average of recent polls shows Democrat James Talarico leading GOP candidate Ken Paxton in the final days of the race. Trump's endorsement helped Paxton defeat four-term Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the primary, but the scandal-plagued GOP nominee has struggled to gain traction.

Trump allies in deep red states such as Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, and Alaska also are trailing or tied in recent polling averages. Kansas hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.

"The fact that Republicans are having to spend time and money in some of these ruby red states shows how bad the political environment is for them, and there's really no one to blame other than Donald Trump," said Sarah Matthews, who served as a deputy press secretary during Trump's first administration.

Trump rallied in South Carolina Oct. 29 for the second time in a month, stumping for GOP Senate candidate Darline Graham, sister of the late Sen.

Lindsey Graham. The president endorsed Graham to succeed her brother, helping her win the primary.

A recent New York Times/Siena survey showed her tied in the general contest against Democrat Annie Andrews, despite Trump carrying the state by 18 percentage points in 2024.

"These are Trump's handpicked candidates – Ken Paxton, Darline Graham – and I don't think they would be having to play in those states if there were any other Republican on the ballot," Matthews said.

Losing in states that previously have been strong Trump territory would be a massive blow for the president and his party. But Trump has faced big setbacks in the past.

During his first term in 2018, Democrats won control of the House and went on to impeach him over allegations he abused his power in an attempt to have a foreign government investigate a political rival. He was acquitted by the Senate, which remained in GOP control.

The president went on to lose his re-election bid in 2020 and challenged the results, culminating in a mob of his supporters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He was again impeached and acquitted. Trump later was indicted over his role in Jan. 6, and in another case involving hush money payment to an adult film actress.

Trump was convicted on 34 counts in the hush money case, but won reelection anyway.

Now he faces another test. And it comes as Republicans already are starting to position themselves for the 2028 presidential race and what comes after the lame duck president.

Trump could benefit from the low midterm expectations for the GOP.

With many forecasts now predicting a Democratic takeover of both chambers of Congress, Trump and the White House are positioned to claim victory if Republicans lose the House yet hold on to the Senate – even though a Democratic majority in the Senate, which Republicans control 53-47, seemed like a long shot a year ago.

"If Republicans hold on to the Senate and they win a bunch of races where Trump campaigned, he can say, 'I'm still the most important, popular person in the Republican Party,' " said Anthony Fowler, a political scientist at the University of Chicago. "And you won't see a lot of people trying to buck him within the party."

Conversely, losing both chambers would be a bitter pill for Republicans, especially if Democrats flip states where they haven't won a Senate seat in decades, and would prompt questions about the viability of a Trump-centric party going forward.

"It's going to be a battle for the soul of the Republican Party in many respects,"

said John Bolton, national security adviser in Trump's first administration and a vocal critic of the president.

A barnstorm to the finish

With Democrats needing to flip four seats to win control of the Senate, Trump has traveled the country to bolster Republican candidates.

While polling indicates his party is facing strong headwinds, Republicans are fighting on favorable ground in many states and most of the key Senate races are tight. Democrats are leading by 3 percentage points or less in the Real Clear Politics average of recent polls in Alaska, Texas, Michigan, and Ohio. Kansas and Iowa are tied. Graham is up by 3 points in South Carolina polling averages.

Drilling down into the data shows signs of a potential blue wave, though. Miringoff pointed to polling indicating independents are breaking strongly toward Democratic candidates in red states and districts.

Trump's approval rating has sunk to record lows in recent surveys amid concerns about his handling of the economy, the Iran war and other issues. That has raised questions about his decision to play such a central role in the midterms, with rallies across the country in the closing stretch.

Trump last week abruptly halted plans to close his midterm blitz with weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa, two key Senate contests, only to reschedule the events amid speculation that he was giving up in traditionally GOP states.

Bolton, who served in Republican administrations back to President Ronald Reagan, said presidents usually keep a lower profile during the midterms, helping with fundraising and sticking to public events in states “where the president’s standing is still high.”

Trump, meanwhile, has visited nearly every state with a competitive race despite his approval rating being underwater in all of them.

"You don't go into states where you're poking the hornet's nest," Bolton said.

In defying conventional wisdom and campaigning aggressively, Trump is hoping to boost GOP turnout.

“President Trump is the greatest force for turnout in American politics, and that’s why he is barnstorming the country and driving voters to the polls in the final stretch,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said. “The momentum is on our side, and Republicans are ready to fight, defy history, and protect our majorities.”

Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition and a close Trump ally, said his group urged the White House to put the president on the campaign trail to help “juice”

GOP turnout.

"If we're able to do better than people expect Tuesday, Trump will deserve a lot of credit," Reed said.

But after thrusting himself into the center of the midterm elections, Trump could be an easy target if Republicans have a bad election night.

"This is, when it comes down to it, undoubtedly a referendum on Trump, and he asked for it. He's the one who said: 'pretend my name is on the ballot'... he played right into it," Bolton said.

Reed said Trump has worked to put the focus on Democrats “by making it clear that many, if not all, of the Democratic candidates hold positions that are out of the mainstream.”

“I think the president and his political team have done a very good job of reframing the narrative of this campaign from a referendum on Trump’s job performance into a contrast election and a choice,” Reed said.

The stakes are high not just for the president, but for his party going forward. Democratic victories in red states would give the party a toehold that could help in future elections, boosting fundraising and grassroots organizing.

"It makes a real difference when you have a statewide officeholder for that respective political party," said former Michigan GOP Rep. Fred Upton, who voted to impeach Trump and later endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. "All of a sudden they're a real leader. They've got a network. They've got relationships in every one of the counties. There's a voice that gets equal time."

'Honest elections'

After Trump worked unsuccessfully to overturn his 2020 election loss, many Democrats and Trump critics fear how he might react to a sweeping midterm loss.

Trump has said he would only accept the midterm results “if they’re honest elections.”

The president has also continued to raise unfounded concerns about widespread voter fraud, and the Department of Justice has taken aggressive steps in the final weeks of the election, suing California over allegations of noncitizens on the voter rolls and seeking to preemptively block certification of Alaska's Senate results.

Trump last week called for the criminal prosecution of Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Alaska, after a report from the New York Times detailed how aides from her campaign recruited a candidate with the same name as her Republican opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, to enter the race as a spoiler.

Matthews, who was in the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, and has since spoken out against the president, said she worries Trump is “cooking up some scheme to cast out the results of these midterm elections as well.” Democrats and election advocates have been gearing up for a potential showdown with the Trump administration over certifying the results if they go against Republicans.

Whatever happens, Trump could continue to wield considerable power.

Even with a hostile Congress, Trump's critics note he still has immense authority and say the final two years of his administration could see plenty of aggressive moves.

Where his party goes next if it goes down in defeat is an open question. Matthews predicts Trump would still be influential, if less so, as Republicans look to the party's future and the president increasingly becomes part of its past.

"It doesn't mean that Trump is going to become obsolete within the party, he's just not going to have the same power that he wants to," she said.

New defense weapons added at Mar-a-Lago

A pair of Avenger Air Defense Systems has been placed on a floating barge next to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. GREG LOVETT/USA TODAY NETWORK

Surface-to-air missile systems set near club

Kristina Webb

Kristina Webb

Palm Beach Daily News

USA TODAY NETWORK

Federal officials have added another layer of protection to the secure area around President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, a move that comes as a proposal to permanently lock down the airspace over the club remains in the works.

A pair of Avenger Air Defense Systems are now positioned on a floating barge in the Lake Worth Lagoon on the west side of the seawall next to Trump's historic 17-acre oceanfront property.

A photographer for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Network, first noted the new surface-to-air protection vehicles on Oct. 23, ahead of Trump's arrival later that day for an overnight stay at his home.

A separate bank of Avenger Air Defense Systems has been positioned on the south side of President Donald J. Trump International Airport, near the area where Air Force One parks during Trump's visits to Palm Beach.

"The U.S. Secret Service continues to operate in a heightened threat environment, and this agency continuously adapts its protective operations to incorporate cutting-edge tools, technology, and methods to safeguard our protectees," a Secret Service spokesperson told the Palm Beach Daily News.

Made by Boeing, each Avenger comprises a modified Humvee equipped with a rotating turret that has two pods capable of launching short-range infrared-homing Stinger missiles, according to a U.S. Army website.

The Avenger's targets could include cruise missiles, drones, helicopters and low-flying and high-speed fixed-wing aircraft, according to the Army. The Avenger is a type of mobile short-range air defense system, or “SHORAD,” military records show.

The Secret Service has worked with other federal agencies to increase security around Mar-a-Lago – Trump's permanent residence – in the years since he was first elected in 2016.

Security measures include the recent proposal of so-called “Special Air Traffic Rules” that would in effect create a no-fly zone for Mar-a-Lago airspace. That also would essentially make permanent the around-the-clock temporary flight restrictions that have been in place since Oct. 20, 2025, whether or not Trump is in residence at Mar-a-Lago. Those restrictions were just extended for another year.

Secret Service officials previously said they asked the Federal Aviation Administration to implement the flight restrictions because of increased threats to Trump, his family members and his properties.

The proposed rules were published by the FAA on Sept. 2 in the Federal Register. They have not been finalized.

More than 160 planes and drones have breached the airspace over Palm Beach since the restrictions took effect in October 2025, according to an Aug. 11 FAA filing in federal court that was first reported that month by the Palm Beach Daily News.

The Secret Service's request to enact the restrictions was based on information that included “terroristic threats,” the FAA said in that filing, which was part of a judicial review of the agency's implementation sought by the town of Palm Beach, the city of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.

Threats against Trump and other people protected by the Secret Service were up 40% in July over the same time the year before, Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew C. Quinn wrote in an affidavit that was included with the FAA's filing.

"The airborne threat vector at Mar-a-Lago is persistent and substantial," he wrote. "As the location of a primary residence of the President, from which he frequently conducts the business of the government's highest office, that threat vector must be mitigated to the extent possible whether he is in residence or not."

'Food poisoning' threatens American crocs in Florida

Reptiles face risks from lead-laced food chain

Kimberly Miller

USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida

Goo spewed from the crocodile's nostrils creamy and fetid, unnerving state wildlife researchers who were fitting the threatened species with a tracker.

Moments before, the crocodile had been in a Miami-Dade County pool on a November afternoon in 2023.

Then, it was dead. Its teeth were missing. And it had black marbling in its mouth like when a printer is running out of ink.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute scientists believe the culprit was the crocodile's dinner – an iguana, or multiple iguanas, shot full of lead pellets that ended up in its stomach, slowly leaching toxin into its bloodstream.

A report published this year in the journal Endangered Species Research said the demise is the first documented lead poisoning death in an American crocodile.

But after reviewing photos of other American crocodiles in South Florida without a full set of teeth, researchers don't believe it was the only vulnerable reptile suffering from the unusual gastric corruption. Absorbed lead replaces calcium and bone, weakening teeth.

“Lead poisoning is not mentioned as a threat to American crocodiles in the federal recovery plan for the species,” the report notes. “But it appears to be an emerging issue.”

In addition to the 23 individual air-rifle pellets in its stomach, the female crocodile also had ingested a lead fishing weight that was likely either attached to a fish that it ate or that it had eaten on its own. Crocodiles will eat rocks to aid in digestion and control buoyancy.

Conservation biologist and wildlife consultant Joe Wasilewski said he was surprised by the lead poisoning diagnosis, but at the same time, he expected something to happen with the number of green iguanas becoming fodder for backyard target practice.

Iguanas are invasive in Florida, and despite a 2026 winter freeze that culled the population, they are quick reproducers and have rebounded in number. Because they are invasive, it is legal to humanely kill them year-round without a hunting license.

"It was bound to happen," Wasilewski said about the lead poisoning. "People can't use ammunition with gun powder, so they use high-powered pellet rifles that use lead pellets."

While crocodiles will scavenge dead iguanas that may have been killed with lead pellets, Wasilewski said iguanas will often survive being shot and sometimes survive being shot multiple times.

An America crocodile in South Florida shows signs of tooth loss possibly because of lead poisoning. PROVIDED BY FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

A crocodile will also “eat almost anything that moves,” according to the National Park Service.

“Every hunter thinks it’s just one shot in the head and they’ve killed it, but I’ve been with hunters who have shot them eight and nine times and they are suffering but still alive,” he said. “The crocs in South Florida have learned to feed on the iguanas, and now the iguanas are full of lead.”

American crocodiles, distinguished from alligators by their grayish coloring and pointed snout, were named federally as an endangered species in 1975. Florida is the only state in the country where crocodiles live in the wild.

In 2007, crocodiles were downgraded from endangered to threatened as their numbers came up from a few hundred, and they have now reached an estimated 2,000. They prefer the same brackish waterways that humans live on at Florida's fringes, whereas alligators have vast amounts of freshwater resources to roam.

Most American crocodiles live in Everglades National Park, Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay, building nests in the soft earthen berms of Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point cooling canals and the exposed shoreline of Florida Bay.

"If a croc comes across a free meal, it will take it," said Ryan Gradney, a reptile expert and owner of West Palm Beach-based Scales Exotics.

Lead poisoning became such a problem for game birds, including ducks and geese, that the federal government banned the use of lead ammunition when hunting waterfowl in 1991.

Estimates of lead poisoning among waterfowl ranged from 1.6 million to 3.9 million birds per year before the ban, according to a 2023 paper published by Oklahoma State University.

Not only were the birds eating the seed-resembling lead ammunition – an estimated 2,700 tons of lead shot was deposited in wetlands each year – but the lead was also killing birds of prey. Lead poisoning is the primary cause of death in the wild for California condors.

An eight-year study by Conservation Science Global wildlife biologist Vincent Slabe found nearly half of 1,210 bald and golden eagles tested showed signs of chronic lead poisoning, likely from eating ammunition in deer and other carcasses.

The Florida report said tungsten and steel are alternatives to lead ammunition and fishing tackle, but that they are generally more expensive and have less desirable aerodynamic characteristics.

Wasilewski speculates that the reason there aren't more alligators dying of lead poisoning is that crocodiles are more likely to live among iguanas in mangrove stands and brackish water estuaries. Or the alligators just aren't being tested when there's an unusual death. There are an estimated 1.3 million alligators in Florida.

The state has launched a project to more closely monitor toxins in Florida's native crocodile population by collecting and testing tissue samples to better understand what kind of threat contaminants like lead pose on the population.

"If more of this happens, I could see Florida looking more closely at the laws regarding lead pellets," Wasilewski said. "Crocodiles have rebounded to historic levels, and we don't want to throw that all away because now we are killing iguanas."

LEGAL NOTICE

Possible new dwarf planet ID'd orbiting beyond Pluto

Will Dunham

REUTERS

WASHINGTON – Scientists using a Chile-based telescope have identified an icy object orbiting beyond Pluto that may join our solar system's small roster of dwarf planets.

Researchers said the candidate, named 2026 ED138, has a diameter estimated at between roughly 370 and 930 miles and is orbiting about 46 times farther from the sun than Earth. By way of comparison, Pluto orbits at an average of about 40 times farther from the sun than Earth.

The object was spotted using the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory, on the summit of the Cerro Pachón mountain in central Chile. The telescope is a joint initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy.

Further observations are needed to confirm the object is a dwarf planet.

If confirmed, 2026 ED138 would join five other dwarf planets recognized by the International Astronomical Union, the global authority on classifying celestial bodies. Those are Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Makemake, all of which orbit beyond the outermost planet Neptune, and Ceres, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Based on the current data, 2026 ED138 would be among the largest of the dwarf planets.

"For me, what this demonstrates is that many exciting discoveries remain to be made with the Rubin Observatory and other telescopes," said astrophysicist Matt Holman of the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, who first spotted 2026 ED138.

Pluto was long considered the solar system's ninth and outermost planet, but was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union as a dwarf planet in 2006 because it did not meet the organization's formal definition of a planet. Pluto and the new dwarf planet candidate reside in a frigid region of the solar system populated by various icy bodies.

There are still questions about the size and composition of 2026 ED138. To be considered a dwarf planet, an object must possess sufficient mass for its own gravity to pull it into a round shape. 2026 ED138 appears to have sufficient mass for that, but more observations

are needed.

"The main thing we need to do is to establish the physical size of 2026 ED138," Holman said.

"When we observe with Rubin, we are seeing the sun's light reflected from the object," Holman said. "A smaller, more reflective object would show the same amount of light as a larger, less reflective object. Fortunately, by looking at longer wavelengths, with an observatory like ALMA, we can detect the light emitted by the object itself," which is helpful in measuring an object's size.

ALMA, or the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, is a powerful telescope also based in Chile.

The discovery was announced at a scientific meeting in Spokane, Washington.

Childcare

Continued from Page 1A

Kyra Betts, with her husband Nathan Patton Sr. and their two boys, says high child care costs are a factor in what's made her family's financial situation "not as comfortable as I would like it to be." PROVIDED BY KYRA BETTS

preschool. That \$1,300 monthly bill is a relief compared with the \$2,500 they were paying just a few months ago, before her oldest started kindergarten. But still, those bills stop her from addressing immediate needs, such as buying new tires for her car; long-term financial goals such as establishing an emergency fund or college savings for her boys; and even family planning dreams.

"I was telling my husband not that long ago that I would like to have a daughter, and he said, 'Well, who's going to watch [them]? We can't afford to put another kid in school.' I said, 'You're right,' " Betts said. "I've had to give that up. But he was absolutely right."

Christopher waited until she was 40 to have children, she said, partly because of the financial burden.

"It was a very big conversation about, do we have a family? When do we have a family? How large of a family? All of that," she said, adding that she was set on having one child: "Then we found out we had twins. And I was immediately panicked, just from the logistical – like, again, how are we going to pay for this? How am I going to do this?"

'Everything is so expensive'

Betts said her household's income is just over \$100,000 per year. But today's childcare costs are becoming unmanageable, even for families with six-figure incomes.

"Everything is so expensive. Everything, all the time," Betts said. Her electricity bill is \$600 per month, and her monthly mortgage is more than \$2,000. Add child care and the food, clothes and other costs of raising growing boys, she said, and her family's financial situation is "not as comfortable as I would like it to be."

Christopher's annual household income is \$130,000, which includes her full-time salary as an occupational therapist in the city's public school system; her husband's part-time work as a professional actor; and their side hustles as sailors leading tour boat cruises on some nights and weekends. Her family's current childcare schedule is a jigsaw puzzle that changes on a daily basis. Her husband cares for their twins two days each week while Christopher works. He cares for the kids when she works her second job on evenings and weekends, and vice versa when he picks up those cruise shifts instead. He has turned down a lot of acting work since becoming a father, Christopher said.

On the three days each week he's not responsible for the twins, the kids go to a local childcare facility. The twins are eligible for free 2-K as part of New York City's universal childcare rollout, but there are limited seats and Christopher's kids were waitlisted over the summer. She's hopeful slots will open up later as other families move or change their own childcare plans.

For now, Christopher and her husband spend \$541 a week for those three days of childcare, or about \$26,000 annually – a typical amount for American families, according to Care.com. The online marketplace found the average weekly day care cost for one infant is \$332. Costs vary by state and are typically less expensive for older children.

If the twins were in childcare five days a week, Christopher's husband could work more. But that would cost \$810 weekly, and that's not an option.

“We can’t afford, frankly, to put them in full-time,” Christopher said. Even with part-time childcare expenses, she said her family often skips outings in the city, other travel and college savings. The kids’ grandparents help out with childcare occasionally, but her family has no other regular childcare help.

Childcare is a financial strain all over the country.

Center-based care for families with two children costs more than rent in every state, according to Child Care Aware of America. The average U.S. family pays nearly \$12,000 annually for childcare, according to the nonprofit Foundation for Economic Education, and those costs have risen by nearly 30% in five years – nearly twice as fast as inflation.

“We’re talking about, you know, mortgage-level expenses for many American families. And of course, this is part of a broader affordability crisis,” said Diogo Costa, president of the Foundation for Economic Education. He mentioned rising grocery prices and the country’s housing shortage as other big financial stressors for families.

The childcare crunch is being felt on all sides, Costa said: “At the same time, parents complain that they’re spending too much, workers say that they’re earning too little and providers are struggling to stay open.”

Costa said that while some sectors of the economy are becoming more efficient and less expensive with advanced technology, childcare costs have stayed high and even risen because it's “a very labor-intensive sector.”

“You cannot simply automate holding a baby,” he said.

Neha Ruch, author of “The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids – and Come Back Stronger Than Ever,” said “the math isn’t mathing” for many families, and the dwindling of flexible work options exacerbates the issue.

Christopher's job is what secures her family's health insurance, so stepping away from work or going part-time to cut down on childcare costs aren't options. She pinches pennies by dressing her kids in hand-me-downs and getting them secondhand toys. But even the grocery bills, she said, are “pretty absurd” because “everything is times two” with twins. “It adds up very, very quickly. And we’ve always had to be a two-income household,” Christopher said,

Azteca Druce Valerio-Bedolla and her husband Tanner Druce Valerio-Bedolla have three children and struggle to afford child care. "How are we supposed to work less, but pay our bills, but still stay under this income limit and qualify?" Azteca Druce Valerio-Bedolla said. PROVIDED BY AZTECA DRUCE VALERIO-BEDOLLA adding that they can't afford for her husband to stay home and care for the kids full-time, either. "It's just that chicken-and-egg cycle of like, OK, well, you need to go to work to pay for this, but if you're at work then you need to pay for more."

Declining promotions to qualify

Christopher's family is struggling even though their household income is significantly higher than the nation's median household income of about \$84,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Azteca Druce Valerio-Bedolla, 26, is a mother in West Jordan, Utah, with three children, ages 3, 4 and 7. Her husband makes \$70,000 annually as an account manager, and her full-time work at Starbucks used to bring their household income up to \$100,000 a year.

But in October, Druce Valerio-Bedolla got a notice from the state's Department of Workforce Services that her family no longer qualified for childcare assistance. The department changed its program income limits starting in October, from assisting families who earned up to $85\%$ of the state median income, to serving families who earn $65\%$ , according to The Times-Independent. New applicants to the program can't make more than $50\%$ of the state's median income.

More than 900 families and 1,500 children, including Druce Valerio-Bedolla's family and three kids, were affected by the change.

"It sucks. It's my job as a parent to make sure my kids are safe and taken care of and they don't have to see the burden of adult life," she said. "And it kind of just feels like I failed in a way."

With assistance, her family was paying a monthly copay of \$180 for childcare. That covered full-time care for her two youngest; for her oldest, who is in school, it covered before- and after-school care as well as full-time care during summer breaks. If the family were to pay out of pocket for childcare, Druce Valerio-Bedolla said, it would cost about \$2,800 monthly – which is more than their rent.

Before the income limits changed, keeping childcare assistance felt like the most important thing.

“My husband would have to decline promotions, because if we made too much we would not qualify,” she said. “And I have also declined promotions of being a manager, a shift lead, because of this.”

Now, none of those sacrifices seem to matter.

"I can't have a job now," Druce Valerio-Bedolla said. "And because I can't work, we're short on bills by like \$500."

She's hoping her podcast and social media content creation can turn into income at some point. That's something she can do from home in the meantime while she's with her kids, she said, and "seems to be the only option at this point, right now."

Plus Druce Valerio-Bedolla wants to work, so she has an identity outside of motherhood and can socialize with other adults.

"I'm a better mother and I'm a better wife when motherhood and being a wife isn't the only thing that I'm allowed to be," she said.

What other parents are saying

Some parents have taken to social media to lament about childcare costs.

Paige Connell, a mother and content creator with nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok, responded in 2025 to an expectant parent who was trying to justify childcare costs that rivaled one parent's salary.

“Childcare is insanely expensive,” Connell said, including that for four kids she typically spends more than \$50,000 on childcare annually. But, she added, “when you leave the workforce, oftentimes, your lifetime earnings go down.”

These sentiments are reflected in several recent national surveys. An Ipsos survey of 2,500 American adults for BMO Financial Group, released in August, found 82% of parent respondents said the cost of raising children has “gotten out of control,” and 79% of all respondents wondered how people around them can afford to have families. A July report from Care.com found that most people in the sandwich generation, who take care of both their children and their aging parents, feel financially strained due to care costs and have deprioritized their savings because of those costs; 55% have considered leaving the workforce because of the stress of caregiving.

Luckily for Christopher and her husband, their twins' day care program is "literally right across the street from us," so they aren't losing too much time to the drop-off and pickup process, which they know is a problem for many families.

A 2025 survey of more than 800 parents of school-age children by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 3 in 10 parents have missed work and 11% have lost a job due to needing to take their children to and from school or other activities.

Overwhelming financial stress due to rising child care costs is pervasive among families with strong social networks and family support, too. Christopher said her parents and in-laws are “very involved,” and they have friends who pitch in sometimes to watch the twins. Especially right after Christopher’s three-month maternity leave ended, she said, her husband took minimal work and the babies’ grandparents stepped in to take two-week care shifts.

But once the twins reached 18 months, she said, they realized the “financial hit” of her husband’s lost income wasn’t sustainable. And with toddlers who could now walk, run and climb, it didn’t feel fair or feasible to ask their parents, who have their own health concerns, to take care of them both solo for six hours or more at a time.

Free childcare programs are expanding: A handful have been piloted and implemented in communities across the country, including a statewide universal child care program in New Mexico that started in the fall of 2025.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned on a promise to provide free, universal childcare to New Yorkers. Although free child care has expanded to thousands more families under his tenure so far, it will take a few more years to reach universal status.

Meanwhile, families are struggling. There are additional child care seats available for 3-year-olds in New York, so Christopher is hopeful she'll feel some relief soon. But for millions of other families in the United States, free childcare still feels like a pipe dream.

"It just feels like we are in a system that is not designed for families," Christopher said.

Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

The only question that matters after Nov. 3

tial election.

An early voter dressed as the Statue of Liberty casts her ballot in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Oct. 31. AM STEWART/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Dace Potas USA TODAY

By the morning of Nov. 4, if Republicans have lost the House of Representatives, I have little doubt President Donald Trump will be telling Americans that the midterm elections were rigged.

Trump has spent nearly six years falsely claiming that he won the 2020 presidential election. He won in 2024, so he had no reason to cry fraud. This year, Republicans appear likely to lose the House and could lose the Senate as well, and the president is already laying the groundwork.

Will Republicans go along with him this time?

Trump still hasn't let go of 2020, even after losing nearly every lawsuit he brought to overturn it. None of his claims about illegal voters, hacked machines or fraudulent ballots held up.

'Too big to rig'?

In a recent Truth Social video, Trump called on Republicans to deliver a midterm victory “too big to rig,” the same line he used in 2024. Republicans delivered then, sparing the country the worst of his election conspiracy claims. But winning only quieted Trump. His ego has never let him drop them.

Trump's main accelerant is the SAVE America Act, the election bill he's made his top priority and that has stalled in the Senate. He has said that passing it would “guarantee the midterms” and has suggested that without it, the results can't be trusted.

"If you do SAVE America, you're not going to have cheating," Trump said in July. In September, he posted, "The Democrats CHEAT. Why won't they approve Voter I.D.?"

The president has also gone after California, where vote counts are slow.

When Republican Spencer Pratt slipped to third in the Los Angeles mayoral primary as mail ballots came in, Trump said Pratt “shouldn’t go away quietly” because “in my very strong opinion, that was a rigged election.”

After the 2020 election, and especially after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Republicans put more distance between themselves and Trump than at any other point since he became president. After the House impeached the president, seven Republican senators voted to convict him, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the riot.

In 2022, Trump-backed candidates who said the 2020 election was stolen lost key races, and Republican leaders blamed Trump's picks.

It didn't last.

By 2024, most Republicans had spinelessly rallied back behind Trump, and he swept the presidential primaries. Crossing him had become political suicide, and that was when he was out of office. Defying a sitting president, even a weakened one, may be worse.

Outside the weeks after Jan. 6, Trump has never been as unpopular as he is now. Vulnerable Republicans are already breaking with him on tariffs and immigration.

Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Mike Lawler or New York and Brian Fitzpatrick Pennsylvania have even signed a letter opposing “any attempt to refuse or delay the seating of any Member-elect.”

Rep. Tom Tiffany, who's running for governor of Wisconsin, has said flatly that Joe Biden won the 2020 presiden-

If Nov. 3 goes badly for Republican candidates, election legitimacy could be the next issue on which they break with the president.

What will Republicans do?

Trump will surely try to punish defectors with primary challengers, as he has threatened before.

But a president on his way out in 2028 is less intimidating by the month. And Republicans in swing districts answer to more than primary voters. They need independents, who in 2022 punished candidates who claimed that the 2020 election was stolen.

Then again, a wave election could knock out many of the swing-district Republicans whom Trump's poor approval drags down the most. That would leave fewer Republicans with any reason to break from him.

Trump's grip on Republican primary voters is also still strong. Candidates he endorsed won almost every primary this year, and his picks ousted Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie. Anyone eyeing 2028 still needs those voters, and Trump's endorsement could still matter.

How Republicans handle all this will tell us a lot about the post-Trump GOP. If they broadly reject the fraud claims Trump is likely to make on election night, his grip is slipping. If they stay quiet, he's still in charge, and the conspiracy theories will keep festering.

Republicans who want a future after Trump should say plainly that results are legitimate when he claims they were rigged. Many won't, because they still fear his hold on primary voters. But if ever there was a time to finally grow a spine out of convenience, it is now.

Dace Potas, a law student, is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. Follow him on X: @DacePotas

If Dems actually win Congress, here's how Trump can't lose

Robert Weiner and Emmbrooke Flather

Opinion contributors

After the midterm elections, what can President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans and a potentially Democratic Congress accomplish? If all are willing to share a positive legacy, productive accomplishments await.

The president was asked Oct. 23 whether there'd be “gridlock in terms of your legislative agenda” if congressional Democrats won control. Trump answered that he'd “veto, veto, veto, and then they come and they say how do we get it done, and you make a deal.”

There is much more common ground among the general population than in Washington: 84% of Democrats and 92% of Republicans agree that Congress could find common ground if it shared the views of the people. Voters are clearly eager for bipartisan collaboration.

The primary obstacle to collaboration in recent years has been refusal to grant the other side a “win.” Here are some positive-legacy actions both sides can accomplish together:

Avoid government shutdowns

No one wins with a shutdown.

After the record 43-day shutdown last fall, Trump's approval rating among Republican voters plummeted 13 percentage points.

Democrats were criticized for failing to secure reforms.

Fund ICE, with strings attached

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the National Guard and border agencies must be funded, but reforms proposed by both sides also must be incorporated. Avoid targeting noncriminal workers, who make up most of those arrested. Family separations, indiscriminate arrests and inhumane detention conditions have horrified voters.

Require judicial warrants and actual use of body cameras with retention of footage, verify citizenship, wear standardized visible uniforms, expand use-of-force training, and allow local governments to investigate and prosecute crimes by agents.

These are all standard requirements. But also adopt measures to prevent harassment of federal officers and requirements for local governments to cooperate if justified.

Restore Obamacare subsidies

To follow through on his promise to fix Obamacare, Trump should reinstate the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that without these subsidies, 3.8 million Americans will lose insurance each year.

Minimize tariffs

Minimize existing tariffs and enact further tariffs strategically, not based on personal vendettas. The Supreme Court reaffirmed the role of Congress in enacting tariffs. Republicans have traditionally advocated for free trade. With affordability at the top of both parties' agenda, lowering tariffs should be a priority.

Reopen Iran negotiations

Prioritize lowering the price of oil, diesel, fertilizer and consumer goods that have been jacked up by shipping blockages. Be transparent about the true costs of the conflict. Restore the “no endless wars” policy.

Keep child care tax credit increase

Expansions of the child tax credit led to a 46% decline in child poverty between 2020 and 2021.

The One Big Beautiful Bill not only made the \$2,000-per-child base credit permanent but also increased it to \$2,200 for 2025, and adjusted for inflation in the following years.

Congress could make certain that the increase is indeed permanent and even expand the amount.

Address drug crisis

Cut drugs off at the source by expanding pressure on China, Colombia, Mexico and Myanmar to drastically reduce exports of fentanyl, methamphetamine and opioids, which can be 10 times stronger than fentanyl.

Emphasize prevention and treatment as one of the best possible anticrime recidivism methods - $75\%$ of first-time arrestees test positive for drugs. Introduce a new anti-drug media campaign to educate parents and potential addicts alike.

Model it after former drug czar Barry McCaffrey's \$2 billion campaign that helped reduce youth drug use 21% his last two years on the job.

Keep the southern border secure

One of the Trump administration's great successes has been its closure of the southern border. Crossings have dropped to almost zero, a crucial victory as nearly $90\%$ of fentanyl trafficked into the United States comes through the southwest.

A Democratic Congress should fully fund and continue border security.

Protect Social Security

Stop referring to Social Security cuts as “reform.” This rhetoric is an immediate third rail, and political suicide. Protecting Social Security is crucial to retaining voter support on both sides.

One partial solution is straightforward and has been proposed by both parties: Raise the tax cap to protect against the predicted 22% reduction in benefits.

Guard Americans against diseases

The confusing language of recent policy has sent our health care system into a tailspin, leading to month-long vaccine delays for vulnerable children and an increase in measles cases from

285 in 2024 to nearly 4,900 just since January.

Revert to the pre-2025 vaccine schedule and study what's best for the future. Furthermore, reverse the executive order that reduced recommended childhood vaccinations from 17 to only 11, and recommend that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines be administered in two shots rather than the three imposed against medical advice.

Pursue ethics reform, but avoid Trump impeachment

Don't get bogged down in trying, and likely failing, to impeach the president, again. Focus on true, lasting ethics reform. As former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told NBC News: Ethics reform, everyone's for it. Impeachment, it's a food fight.

Bipartisan collaboration is the rational path forward. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner met in August, as did the president and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in September.

A potentially Democratic Congress and the White House are well-positioned to enact excellent public policy whose effects will help repair the divisive polarization poisoning American politics.

Robert Weiner was a spokesman in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, the White House drug policy spokesman, chief of staff for the House Aging Committee, and communications director of the House Government Operations and Oversight Committee. Emmbrooke Flather is a senior policy and research analyst at Robert Weiner Associates. As a political science graduate, she served as an Opinion columnist for The Heights interviewing communities affected by public policy.

USA TODAY

“USA TODAY hopes to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation.” – Allen H. Neuharth, Founder, Sept. 15, 1982

Chairman and CEO USA TODAY Co. Michael Reed

Chief Financial Officer

USA TODAY Co.

Trisha Gosser

President

USA TODAY Media

Kristin Roberts

Senior Vice President

USA TODAY

Monica Richardson

Vice President of News

USA TODAY

Jamie Stockwell

Vice President of Multimedia

USA TODAY

Michael McCarter

Find Out How Much Equity You Have in Your Home

Make a Plan to Put It to Work

Call, Scan, or Visit

877-240-3751

addressUSA.com

Scan or call today for your FREE Equity Report.

Santa's algorithm

Betty Lin-Fisher USA TODAY

Your holiday gift may be picked by AI

The Visa 2026 Holiday Spending Shift Survey found that $65\%$ of respondents said they'd let AI assist their holiday shopping, with $24\%$ saying they're more comfortable with the technology than last year. The survey, commissioned by Morning Consult, asked more than 1,000 U.S. adults about their sentiments for the upcoming holiday season.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GETTY IMAGES; AND ABEL MUNIZ MONTENEGRO/ USA TODAY NETWORK

More than half of Americans in a new survey said they'd let artificial intelligence help them with their holiday shopping, but a large chunk of them wouldn't tell the recipient they used AI.

The Visa 2026 Holiday Spending Shift Survey found that $65\%$ of respondents said they'd let AI assist their holiday shopping, with $24\%$ saying they're more comfortable with the technology than last year. The survey, commissioned by Morning Consult, asked more than 1,000 U.S. adults about their sentiments for the upcoming holiday season.

But $41\%$ of respondents said they wouldn't tell someone that AI helped them choose their gift.

"From a perception standpoint, it could come across as less personal if they were leveraging AI to kind of help them in the process," said Michael Brown, Visa's principal U.S. economist. "I think consumers would rather leverage AI behind the scenes but not necessarily disclose that that's their primary means of doing research on the person."

Shoppers in the survey said they were most comfortable letting AI do some practical tasks, such as comparing prices (61%), checking availability (59%), finding discounts (57%) and suggesting gift ideas (54%).

Gen Z shoppers are the most open to AI-shopping assistance, with more than 8 in 10 open to the aid and $73\%$ saying they would let AI suggest gift ideas. That's 19 points higher than adults overall.

While there is a growing percentage of people willing to use AI to shop for gifts, not as many want to use AI to finish the purchase.

Only $23\%$ of shoppers said they would trust AI to handle the payment transaction, according to Visa's Trust Index.

Brown said previous changes to technology, such as online shopping and mobile banking, also took time for consumers to trust.

See ALGORITHM, Page 2B

DoorDash, Instacart say deal beneficial

More choices, savings among perks promoted

Saleen Martin

USA TODAY

DoorDash's acquisition of Instacart means its users will soon be able to shop from more stores and businesses while enjoying additional perks, including both memberships for the price of one.

DoorDash is acquiring Instacart in a lucrative move that the company says will give shoppers more stores to choose from, more savings for local shoppers and faster delivery options. The companies agreed to a \$17 billion closing price, DoorDash said in an Oct. 29 news release.

Instacart CEO Chris Rogers said in a statement that by utilizing its grocery technology and pairing it with DoorDash's global reach, the brand can give customers "an even better experience."

"Together, we can accelerate innovation across the grocery industry and make online grocery more seamless and affordable for the millions of households we serve," Rogers said.

Since 2024, DoorDash has owned more than two-thirds of the U.S. food delivery market, Bloomberg reported.

Once the deal is finalized at the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028, DoorDash said, it will likely keep Instacart's brand, technology products and app.

How DoorDash's acquisition of Instacart will affect customers

Thanks to the deal, delivery customers can soon choose from nearly 100,000 stores on the Instacart app and more than 50,000 available through DoorDash, according to DoorDash's news release.

The acquisition also means a single membership fee for DashPass and Instacart+ users, saving customers collectively an estimated \$100 million per year, DoorDash said.

Instacart couriers and DoorDash delivery drivers will also benefit, DoorDash said. They will still be able to choose how much they work, get information to decide which orders to accept, and choose whether they want to deliver for DoorDash or solely Instacart.

See DOORDASH, Page 2B

Since 2024, DoorDash has owned more than two-thirds of the U.S. food delivery market, Bloomberg reported.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES FILE

Gen Xers are about to retire, and they're freaking out

Typical worker expects to need \$750K in savings

Daniel de Visé

USA TODAY

Generation X, the cohort of Americans that will be the next to retire, is suffering a crisis of confidence in its chances to retire in comfort.

Only 18% of Gen X workers are confident they can “fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle,” according to an Oct. 28 report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Only 25% of Gen X workers strongly believe they have a nest egg sufficient to fund their retirement. More than half say they plan to keep working in retirement.

The report is titled “Stressed and Strained: Four Generations Strive for

Retirement Security." It draws from surveys of 6,153 workers in late 2025.

The findings span four generations of workers, but many of the most striking data points come in the section on Gen X.

Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X entered the workforce mostly in the 1980s and 1990s, as employers transitioned from pensions to 401(k) retirement plans.

And that may be where their problems began. Much of the nation wasn't yet familiar with the 401(k). As a result, the average Gen X worker didn't start saving in a 401(k) plan until age 30. By contrast, the average millennial started saving at age 26, in an era when the 401(k) was more widely embraced.

“Even among Gen X workers who were offered a 401(k), back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, chances are they were unaware how crucial those savings would be down the road, when they retired," said Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center.

Today, the report found, the typical Gen X worker has \$113,000 saved in household retirement accounts.

Most Gen Xers think their retirement savings won't go very far. The typical Gen X worker expects to need \$750,000 in savings to be financially secure.

Of all generations, Gen X is the least confident of retiring “with a comfortable lifestyle,” the report found. Just 18% feel very confident, compared with 23% of millennials and 28% of boomers.

Gen X is also the least confident in its retirement savings. Only 25% of members of this generation strongly believe they have a “large enough retirement nest egg,” compared with 33% of boomers and 29% of millennials.

With all those fears, the average Gen X worker doesn't plan to retire anytime soon. Just 23% of Gen Xers expect to retire before age 65, the report found, compared with 36% of millennials and 47% of Gen Z. And 36% of Gen X expects to retire at age 70 or later, if at all.

"As the oldest [Gen Xers] are entering their 60s, they're looking for ways to shore up their retirement savings," Collinson said. "And a natural way is to work longer and retire at an older age."

Working into your 70s might sound like a great plan, but it might not work. The average American worker actually retires at age 62, according to research from Transamerica and the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

“And many retire sooner than planned,” Collinson said, often through a job loss or health setback.

With retirement savings lagging, Generation X expects to lean heavily on

See GEN XERS, Page 2B

Starship operations drive SpaceX expansion

2045 buildout could employ 3,300 workers

SpaceX is in the early stages of building a natural gas pipeline across Brevard County, Florida, to fuel future Starship launches. STEVE NESIUS/REUTERS

Rick Neale

Florida Today

USA TODAY NETWORK

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – SpaceX plans to greatly expand its Roberts Road facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to support Starship launches, creating a campus of 3,300 employees by buildout in 2045 for manufacturing, production, refurbishment and warehousing.

Infrastructure across 400 acres would include a payload processing facility, just north of SpaceX's Gigabay, a Starship test stand for static firing and tank testing near the western terminus of Schwartz Road, and a new four-lane road with a security gate linking Roberts Road with NASA Parkway, intersecting just west of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

SpaceX's KSC expansion plan – which depicts a mile-long stretch of future development areas along Kennedy Parkway – is outlined in a 239-page NASA draft environmental assessment that was released earlier in October. A timeline remains unknown, but development would occur in multi-year phases.

The campus expansion may include buildings as tall as 400 feet. Future power needs may be supplemented by batteries, such as Tesla Megapacks, according to the assessment.

Today, SpaceX leases 167 acres from NASA for its bustling Roberts Road operations area. This is where construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the 380-foot-tall Gigabay. Nearby is Hangar X, where crews refurbish and process Falcon 9 rocket boosters and components.

When fully operational, SpaceX projects the Roberts Road operations area will attract about 7,500 vehicle trips per day, including employees, customers, contractors and delivery drivers. For comparison's sake, the population of Indian Harbour Beach is about 9,000 residents.

The NASA draft environmental assessment noted that aerospace industry salaries clock in 20% higher on average than all other industries, per the Florida Department of Economic Activity, generating “a long term beneficial impact on employment and income in the local economy.”

SpaceX is in the early stages of building a natural gas pipeline across Brevard County, Florida, to fuel future Starship launches. SpaceX's campus expansion would require relocation of the KSC Protective Service Office shooting range. Site development would directly impact approximately 156 acres of wetlands and/or surface waters, the assessment said.

SpaceX's infrastructure at KSC's pad 39A to launch the first Starship from Florida's Space Coast "is effectively complete at this point," SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev said Oct. 21, during a fireside chat on the Cocoa Village Playhouse stage.

That historic liftoff may occur by the end of the year. In the meantime, SpaceX technicians have pivoted away from formerly frequent Falcon 9 launches to work on the Starship program.

“I think you Floridians are noticing we’re not launching Falcon 9 as much right now, right?” Dontchev asked the audience.

SpaceX's most recent Falcon 9 liftoff had taken place the previous day, Oct. 20.

That's when the Bandwagon-5 mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, deploying 32 payloads into low-Earth orbit for various companies and organizations.

“We flew that mission earlier this week. I think we have a six-week gap before the next Falcon 9,” Dontchev told the theater audience. “If you haven’t seen a signal that it’s ‘game time’ on Starship, that’s it,” he added.

SpaceX is also constructing a pair of Starship launch pads at Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Regarding crewed missions, Dontchev said, “it’s going to be a whole 'nother vibe," when SpaceX switches from Falcon 9 to Starship.

“Eventually, we’re going to fill that vehicle with 100 humans and send them to Mars. So all these stepping stones really anchor us to the ultimate goal,” Dontchev said.

Glimpses into SpaceX's plans

In August, St. Johns River Water Management District permitting records offered a previous public peek at SpaceX's expansion plan. In a request labeled Project Ignition, SpaceX identified an undeveloped site near the western end of Schwartz Road for the future Starship test stand with an access driveway, stormwater management facilities, utilities and related site improvements.

The Merritt Island Wildlife Association submitted a letter of concern to St. Johns River Water Management District officials asking for Project Ignition details, including destruction of wetlands, impacts on bird populations such as Florida scrub-jays and wood storks, and impact on the Indian River Lagoon.

"The Brevard County Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) Program is funded through a voter-approved sales tax. SOIRL projects include the addition of denitrification media to both existing and newly constructed stormwater systems. Will nutrient-treatment media be included in the proposed stormwater ponds?" the letter said.

“If not, this would be contrary to the objectives and progress achieved through SOIRL projects,” the letter said.

Overall, SpaceX's KSC expansion would increase capabilities, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of SpaceX's production and launch support operations while decreasing impacts to the public on Florida's Space Coast, the NASA environmental assessment said.

“This expansion addresses specific challenges, such as current transportation impacts on State Road 405 and the Indian River Lagoon, by shortening transport distances from miles to on-site movements, aligning with FAA spaceport licensing standards,” the assessment said.

Algorithm

Continued from Page 1B

“Consumers were very hesitant to bank online and ... now it’s just part of our everyday lives,” he said.

Spending forecasts for holiday season

The National Retail Federation is forecasting growth in holiday sales of 4.2% from last year, while two separate consulting firms are forecasting a drop in holiday spending.

According to PwC's Holiday Outlook 2026 survey, holiday gift spending is projected to dip 2% from last year. On average, consumers expect to spend \$708 on gifts this year, with households with children spending \$875 and households without children spending \$635. According to Simon-Kucher's eighth Annual Holiday Shopping Study, Americans plan to spend 5.5% less this holiday season, bringing the decline down to 2024 levels. But the pullback isn't uniform, the study said, as lower-and middle-income households are showing greater signs of pressure while higher-income households remain a stronger spending anchor.

The average household holiday spend, according to the Simon-Kucher study, is expected to be \$1,018.

In the Visa study, costs are top of mind with 84% of respondents saying they've taken at least one action to manage higher everyday costs in the past year. The most common were hunting for discounts (47%), cutting discretionary spending (35%) and trading down to lower-cost brands (33%).

Government and Visa data show that in the aggregate, consumer spending is robust, Brown said.

“However, when you start looking under the surface, you can definitely tell across the income spectrum that inflation is biting at certain aspects of the middle- and lower-income households,” he said. Discretionary spending, especially in travel plans, has “been throttled back this fall,” according to Visa data, Brown said.

Shoppers try to protect against fraud

Social Security “will not be there for me,” the highest quotient of any generation.

Holiday shoppers are also leery of scammers, with nearly 3 in 10 respondents to the Visa survey saying they were targeted by fraud during last year's holiday season.

That number rises to 39% among Gen Z shoppers.

As a result, three-quarters of shoppers have changed how they shop, adding in extra protections, including enabling two-factor authentication (34%), changing passwords more often (34%), declining to save payment details (25%), switching from debit to credit cards (24%) and using digital wallets (21%).

Despite impending retirement, the report says, many Gen Xers lack financial literacy in planning for their next life stage.

One reason for their angst: Older Gen Xers will reach traditional retirement age around 2032, the year when the Social Security trust fund will be depleted, barring action by Congress to restore it.

Only 35% of Gen X workers use professional financial advisers, the report says, compared with 46% of boomers.

Gen Xers

familiar with catch-up contributions, a strategy for boosting 401(k) balances later in life that can help aging workers shore up their savings.

Only 54% of Gen Xers said they are

Continued from Page 1B

And when the Transamerica survey asked Gen X workers how they had estimated their retirement savings goal, 47% said they “guessed.”

Social Security. But a large majority of Gen Xers fear the retirement trust fund will run short, with 77% believing

What each company is bringing to the table

Instacart works with nearly 100,000 stores and utilizes technology grocers can use to run their own websites and

reach more customers online. DoorDash has its own DashMart Fulfillment Services and says it offers “faster, more accurate, and more affordable delivery.” According to DoorDash, both companies intend to help local businesses grow. The company noted that families use DoorDash and Instacart for different purposes – Instacart for “the big weekly shop” and DoorDash for meals and other items in less than an hour. DoorDash said the deal will give retailers access to DoorDash’s delivery network and Instacart’s technology platform, while bringing together the companies’ advertising and AI capabilities.

50★States

ALABAMA Gadsden: Gadsden State Community College will split its December commencement exercises into two ceremonies this year as the college responds to continued enrollment growth and increasing participation in graduation ceremonies.

ALASKA Juneau: A federal judge threw out a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's administration seeking to block Alaska from certifying a loss by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in the midterm elections if votes for a rival who shares his name could have changed the outcome.

ARIZONA Tempe: A Phoenix-based aerospace and defense company is expanding in Arizona months after breaking off from its parent company. Honeywell Aerospace is planning a \$500 million, 300,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Tempe.

ARKANSAS Baxter County: The Arkansas Department of Agriculture confirmed the state's first avian influenza case of the 2026-27 season in a backyard flock in Baxter County, KARK reported.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled “Stars Align” as their official slogan, framing the motto as a meeting of lifelong athletic preparation and the spotlight of the entertainment capital.

COLORADO Pueblo: Pueblo City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing two Black Hills Energy proposals that city officials say could increase residential electric bills by more than 22% through 2030.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: The Connecticut Department of Public Health reported the state's first six flu-related deaths of the season since late September as influenza activity continues to increase across Connecticut, WFSB reported.

DELAWARE Newark: Newark is one of the top-50 college towns in the country, if you ask WalletHub. The personal finance and data website went about ranking the “2027 Best College Towns in America” this fall, examining more than 400 cities. And out of all of these cities, the home of the University of Delaware landed at No. 45. It creeps up to No. 17 when adjusted for city size, among the site’s “small city” rankings.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a federal lawsuit to stop President Donald Trump's planned building of a huge “Triumphal Arch” that would tower over other capital landmarks, calling the project “flagrantly unlawful.”

FLORIDA Cape Canaveral: After unintended sparks following liftoff grounded United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket for months, the Vulcan is set to return to flight with a launch from Florida. The Vulcan rocket's launch, its fourth launch overall, will occur no earlier than Nov. 13 from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, pending approval from the U.S. Space Force's Eastern Range.

GEORGIA Athens: Seven Banana Ball League players are heading to Athens with a simple message: small gestures still matter. The players will take over College Square on Nov. 5 as part of Upward Dating App's new "Starting Lineup" initiative.

HAWAII Honolulu: Officials unveiled remotely operated demolition robots to dismantle the former Ena Motoi building, Hawaii News Now reported.

IDAHO Boise: A U.S. appeals court paused a judge's ruling that said Idaho's near-total ban on abortion is unconstitutional because it does not provide exceptions for when pregnancies pose risks to women's health.

ILLINOIS Springfield: A one-of-a-kind Route 66 neon sign valued at \$6,000 will be raffled to raise money for the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway during its centennial celebration in Springfield. Ace Sign Co. is designing and building the giant sign in partnership with the nonprofit, according to an community announcement. The winner will be drawn during the Route 66 Centennial Celebration on Nov. 11 at Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, Museum & Entertainment Complex in Springfield.

INDIANA Bedford: The Hoosier National Forest could treat as many as 5,176 acres with prescribed fires from this fall through late spring 2027, bringing temporary closures and possible smoke to areas of the forest.

HIGHLIGHT: WISCONSIN

Amahra Hencricks plays with teacher Ashley Janssen in the new Curiosity Classroom at the Stephen Foster Elementary Charter School in Appleton, Wisconsin. DAN POWERS/USA TODAY NETWORK

Appleton: At Stephen Foster Elementary Charter School in Appleton, a new classroom is meant solely for playtime, with art supplies, a sensory bin, a light table, a wind tunnel, building blocks and other toys made from wood. Shelves no taller than a child are filled with blocks, art supplies and books to read. And, at least once a week, every student in the building will get a chance to play. In this classroom, leaders at the school hope that the activities will spark creativity and curiosity – and it's one of the first of its kind in Wisconsin, according to Building For Kids Children's museum director Oliver Zornow.

IOWA Coralville: The Iowa City Community School District has denied a \$21 million long-term lease for Coralville's planned competition pool, ending a nearly 40-year partnership and leaving the future home of West and Liberty's shared swim program uncertain.

KANSAS Eureka: Officials said Eureka Downs's first horse racing season after a 16-year break has been a success, with strong attendance fueling optimism for the track's future, KWCH reported.

KENTUCKY Jefferson County: Turmoil continues to grip the top levels of Kentucky's largest school district as multiple leaders express concerns about its new chief academic officer, records show.

LOUISIANA Shreveport: The city announced that Shreveport Regional Airport has been named the 2026 Commercial Service Airport of the Year by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

MAINE Portland: An \$8.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will help conservation groups protect forests, wildlife habitat and water quality across the Sebago Lake watershed, a key drinking water source for more than 200,000 Maine residents, News Center Maine reported.

MARYLAND Cockeysville: Officials in Baltimore County and Baltimore City are negotiating a deal that would transfer ownership of the Warren Road Bridge to the county, allowing it to pursue federal funding for the bridge's replacement, WBAL reported.

MASSACHUSETTS Fitchburg: The factory that was once the longtime home of Wachusett Potato Chip Co. will no longer be producing bags of salty crunchy snacks after mid-December. Real Food From the Ground Up filed a Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notification Act layoff and closure update on its intention to close the longtime Fitchburg snack factory.

MICHIGAN Macomb County: Self-ridge Air National Guard Base is more than a century old, and with the groundbreaking of a \$152 million runway expansion to accommodate promised new fighter jets and refueling tankers, officials say the Macomb County base will continue on for generations to come.

MINNESOTA Apple Valley: Three orphaned brown bear cubs have found a permanent home at the Minnesota Zoo after being rescued in Alaska earlier this year, KARE11 reported.

MISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg: The University of Southern Mississippi baseball announced its vision to renovate Pete Taylor Park, marking the beginning of a fundraising effort.

MISSOURI Columbia: University of Missouri researchers are studying why some people with influenza spread the virus more efficiently than others and why some people exposed to the flu avoid infection. The research is supported by a \$19 million National Institutes of Health grant, according to a community announcement.

MONTANA Missoula County: Mogotes Metals' U.S. subsidiary is seeking approval to begin exploratory copper drilling near Potomac this winter, a proposal supporters say could boost jobs and domestic mineral supplies but critics warn could threaten local waterways and ecosystems, KBZK reported.

NEBRASKA Grand Island: The Stuhr Museum Foundation has launched a \$20 million Legacy in Motion campaign to build a new multi-use facility and provide free admission to all Nebraska residents, KSNB reported.

NEVADA Carson City: A conservation group sued the federal government for failing to make a timely decision on whether to list a rare Nevada toad and fish as endangered or threatened species, Nevada Current reported.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth: The City Council voted to authorize a bond for as much as \$600,000 to pay for a new fire boat for the city's Fire Department.

NEW JERSEY Trenton: ShopRite pharmacies in New Jersey are giving out another round of free starter packs to customers who are prescribed weight loss drugs, also known as GLP-1s, the grocery chain announced. The packs are called the "Wellness Your Way Starter Kit" and will be free and available for a limited time, ShopRite said.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced a commitment of \$42.75 million in state funding to support flood recovery efforts across affected communities in New Mexico, including infrastructure repairs and assistance for residents impacted by recent flooding, KRQE reported.

NEW YORK Albany: New York ranks second in the nation for quantum technology businesses, research groups and patents, according to a new state-commissioned study that outlines opportunities to expand the emerging industry.

NORTH CAROLINA Fayetteville: More than two years after a state audit found that Fayetteville State University employees racked up nearly \$700,000 in unauthorized credit card charges, another audit has identified weaknesses in the university's oversight of card purchases.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The city of Bismarck plans to remove boulevard ash trees as part of an effort to slow the spread of the invasive emerald ash borer and protect the community's urban forest, KXNET reported.

OHIO Akron: The hundreds of dead buried in a picturesque Akron park will never be forgotten following efforts by dedicated community members, efforts that came to fruition recently when the city took steps to preserve the memory of those interred beneath the grass. City officials and residents gathered in the warm autumn sun Oct. 28 to rededicate Schneider Park – now Schneider Memorial Park – to the poor and downtrodden eternally resting there.

OREGON Coos Bay: Design work on a project that aims to turn the Port of Coos Bay into a major West Coast international container terminal will begin soon. The request for proposals seeks an engineering firm to answer whether the rail line between Coos Bay and Eugene can handle the additional traffic and study the project's potential impacts.

OKLAHOMA Ardmore: Chicken Shack, a popular stop along Route 66 in Arcadia, is set to reopen the restaurant at Lake Murray State Lodge near Ardmore following two failed attempts by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation to place all its park eateries under one operator.

PENNSYLVANIA Erie: Erie County health officials saw an early summer surge in the amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine in Erie's wastewater, indicating an increased use of the illicit drugs. Concentrations of methamphetamine rose by 25.9% in samples taken between June and August 2026 when compared to the same months of the previous year. Overall, the amount of high-risk substances rose during that period by 14.7%.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state Department of Children, Youth & Families has placed admissions to Ocean Tides on hold after an investigation revealed “serious concerns regarding the safety and supervision of young people enrolled at the Narragansett facility,” a spokesman for the department confirmed.

SOUTH CAROLINA Easley: Funding for the Greenville-Pickens Speedway has been secured to complete the purchase of the iconic racetrack. Tasha Porter Kummer, who signed a purchase agreement for the speedway about three months ago, announced that she has secured the \$3.7 million balance of the financing necessary to move forward with the acquisition, marking a major milestone in efforts to save one of the state's most historic racing venues.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Inmates in the Sioux Falls area will soon be able to use Pell Grants to cover the cost of a welding certification program designed to prepare them for skilled-trades jobs after release, South Dakota Searchlight reported.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Overall, the state's teacher retention rates have risen from a low in 2023-24, an analysis of state data by the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, shows. However, they still have not fully rebounded to the higher, more consistent rates of years prior.

TEXAS Abilene: B&J Welding Supply has announced a \$15.3 million investment to build a new 40,000-square-foot facility in Abilene.

UTAH Vernal: After eight years of scaring guests and raising money through volunteer efforts, the popular Hotel Vernal Haunt hosted its last Halloween before the building is demolished, KUTV reported.

VERMONT Burlington: Vermont has seen Amtrak ridership rise about 40% above pre-pandemic levels, driven by strong demand on the state's passenger rail routes and continued investment in rail service expansion, WCAX reported.

VIRGINIA Staunton: Months after dying in a suspected act of terrorism at Old Dominion University, Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was remembered Oct. 28 with the unveiling of a plaque bearing his name at the former Augusta County Courthouse in downtown Staunton.

WASHINGTON Poulsbo: The North Kitsap Transit Center in Poulsbo will double in size and become hub to a new fleet of double-decker buses running to the Bainbridge ferry terminal, after Kitsap Transit was awarded \$20 million in federal funding.

WEST VIRGINIA Bridgeport: State health officials have issued a public alert after 41 salmonella cases were reported across the state, prompting an investigation into the source of the outbreak, WDTV reported.

WYOMING Casper: Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming has launched a new indoor youth soccer league, expanding recreational opportunities and providing local children with organized sports programming during the winter months, Oil City News reported.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Hackers steal \$6.3B from Binance

"Your money is safe and we're covering every loss," Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on X to reassure cryptocurrency customers after the hack on Oct. 29. The firm said it was working to freeze assets. LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES FILE

Analysts blame record heist on North Korea

Ankur Banerjee, Rocky Swift,

Summer Zhen and Elizabeth Howcroft

REUTERS

Hackers stole \$6.3 billion from Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, in a theft that analysts blamed on North Korea and said could be the largest financial heist of all time.

Cryptocurrency prices fell on the news, while Binance halted withdrawals and said it would use company funds to cover the losses. Stablecoin issuers including El Salvador-based Tether and President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial froze about half of the stolen assets.

Binance is working with the FBI and the Secret Service, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters.

“This was a complex attack, and we are doing all we can in coordination with law enforcement to resolve it,” Binance said in a post on X.

The exchange said customer funds were safe and it was working with partners to freeze some of the affected assets, with about \$3 billion located so far. It said earlier on Friday it expected to resume withdrawal services in the next 48 hours. It did not mention the status of the remaining \$3.3 billion.

Binance said the company had set aside around \$6.34 billion of company funds internally to cover the losses, without giving details about where the funds had come from. The company has a \$1 billion bitcoin reserve fund designed to protect customer assets in the event of security breaches, according to its website. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said on X that the company owned SpaceX shares worth more than \$1 billion.

The bulk of the heist unfolded in around 20 minutes beginning late on Oct. 29 and bore similarities to previous large attacks blamed on North Korea, according to analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis.

TRM said the attackers were able to order Binance wallets to empty into hacker-controlled wallets, mirroring a 2025 heist at crypto exchange Bybit, which the FBI attributed to North Korea.

“TRM attributes the attack to ... North Korea’s elite hacking unit,” the firm said in an analysis posted on its website. Both TRM and Chainalysis said they were highly confident North Korea was responsible.

British blockchain analysts Elliptic also said they believed North Korea was behind the theft.

"This incident is almost certainly the single largest known theft of any kind," Elliptic said.

'Biggest hack in history'

North Korea has for years used state-linked cyber units for espionage, financial theft and revenue, according to U.S. and South Korean authorities as well as cybersecurity experts.

North Korea routinely denies that. Its mission in Geneva and embassy in China did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The U.S. Embassy in London said it had no comment on a possible investigation. The U.S. Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment sent.

Abu Dhabi's Financial Services Regulatory Authority, which issued Binance's main operating license, said it was "engaging closely with Binance and monitoring the incident".

"Your money is safe and we're covering every loss," Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on X. "Our investigation has not attributed responsibility to any individual."

“It’s the biggest hack in history,” said Aravind Srinivasan, of market maker GSR.

Compromised laptop

An initial investigation suggested the breach may have started with a hacked laptop belonging to one of Binance's engineers, which let an attacker gain access to one of its systems and make unauthorized withdrawals, Binance said.

"Our security team is tracing the full attack path through the compromised computer which may be the entry point of the incident," Binance said. The company later added it had uncovered additional points of breach.

Beyond the potential loss of assets, the security breach was likely to have "Our security team is tracing the full attack path through the compromised computer ..."

Binance on its website

wider ramifications for the crypto sector, which had already been under pressure due to higher U.S. interest rates and softer demand from exchange-traded fund buyers, analysts said.

“It may further dampen risk appetite and prompt investors to reassess the safety of assets held on centralized exchanges,” said Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey Group.

Firms quickly freeze funds

Binance, which allows users to buy, sell and trade digital assets, has 335 million registered users globally and had about \$162.8 billion in assets under custody as of its 2025 annual report.

Stablecoin issuer Tether said it had frozen nearly \$1.57 billion in assets linked to the incident, while Circle froze more than \$800 million.

World Liberty Financial said it worked with custodian BitGo to freeze funds, and Binance co-founder Yi He said \$27 million in stablecoins and about \$2 million worth of World Liberty tokens had been frozen. Crypto firm Ripple also froze roughly \$200 million in funds, Yi said.

The incident adds to a string of crypto thefts. Last year, attackers stole \$2.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency across nearly 150 attacks, according to researchers at TRM Labs.

In September, Bitget said roughly \$350 million in crypto had been stolen from its platform.

"The broader credit and industry implications will depend on the ultimate losses, affected counterparties, asset recovery and, importantly, whether the incident leads to wider disruption or loss of confidence across the digital-asset ecosystem," said Cristiano Ventricelli, vice president of digital assets at Moody's Ratings.

Books ship Nov. 13, 2026.

"America: The Places and Paths That Made Us" pairs these journeys and more with the places where they happened, then shows you what stands there now. Published with USA TODAY for the nation's 250th anniversary, this 160-page hardcover is a keepsake worth holding onto.

USA TODAY | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2026 | SECTION C

[TRYING TIMES] Ohio State in a world of hurt, and it doesn't end at QB

No wonder the Big Ten so desperately wants a 24-team College Football Playoff. ● The conference that supplied the last three national champions is suddenly losing its balance up on that lofty perch, and it could become a struggle for the Big Ten to qualify more than two teams for this year's 12-team field. ● In the latest sign we're living inside someone's simulation, UCLA is the Big Ten team I most trust to make the playoff. The Bruins remained undefeated by shutting out Nevada. ● UCLA keeps winning, Indiana keeps surviving, and the rest of the Big Ten is a mess. With the 12-team bracket still in place, the Big Ten needs Southern Cal to stay hot after toppling No. 2 Ohio State, 30-18.

Because, all of a sudden, the Big Ten can't count on the Buckeyes. Here's what's on my mind heading into the first CFP rankings Nov. 3:

Ohio St. in trouble without Julian Sayin

A three-loss team is making this playoff. I believe that more and more with every upset. In fact, I'm trending toward the possibility of multiple three-loss teams making the bracket.

Will Ohio State be among them? The Buckeyes suffered their second loss with a whimpering defeat at USC.

Don't pin this loss on quarterback Luke Fahey. Although the three-star freshman didn't inspire an abundance of confidence, I put this result more on an Ohio State defense that failed to adequately support a young quarter-back making his first career start in place of the injured Julian Sayin.

Eleven penalties and red-zone sputterings contributed to the Buckeye breakdown, too. With four Big Ten games remaining and Sayin not returning anytime soon, another loss is coming Ohio State's way.

The Buckeyes probably will finish with the best strength of schedule of any Big Ten team, but you must wonder how the committee will treat a team playing without its starting quarterback.

Three years ago, the committee used an injury to Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis as a reason to box the undefeated Seminoles

See TOPPMEYER, Page 7C

Blake

Toppmeyer

Columnist

USA TODAY

NETWORK

ABOVE: Ohio State coach Ryan Day and quarterback Luke Fahey BELOW: Texas quarterback Arch Manning PHOTOS BY ADAM CAIRNS/ COLUMBUS DISPATCH AND SCOTT WACHTER/ IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS

Jarrett Bell

Columnist

USA TODAY

[Don't flinch or you'll miss out in NFL] K.C. penalty, Dallas loss stood out in Week 8

DENVER – It's a game of flinches.

With the Kansas City Chiefs positioned at the 1-yard line in the final seconds at Empower Field on Nov. 1, poised to score a touchdown that would cap a furious drive and break the Denver Broncos' hearts, Jaylon Moore flinched ever so slightly.

False start.

"I saw him flinch," Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper told USA TODAY Sports after Denver pulled off a dramatic 28-24 come-from-behind victory thanks in part to Patrick Mahomes' throw to a crossing Rashee Rice in the middle of the end zone being called back as a result of the penalty.

Was it something you said?

“Nah,” added Cooper, who was aligned directly across from Moore. “Maybe it was a little bit of intimidation, but I can’t call it.”

Although the replay from an over-head angle confirmed that the Chiefs right tackle moved before the snap, it was close enough for debate.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid, for one, was hardly convinced.

“I didn’t see it, so that’s one man’s opinion,” Reid said during his postgame press conference. “I saw him move his head, but I didn’t see the false start.”

In any event, the Chiefs had to snap it over from the 6-yard line. And there was no debate. Cooper barreled off the edge with a furious rush, forcing Mahomes to step up into the pocket, where he was met by defensive tackle Malcolm Roach for a game-sealing sack.

It goes into the books as not only a triumph that lifts the Broncos (6-2) into first place in the AFC West for the first time this season, but as another testament to their resilience. Denver, looking like such a mess on offense that it rained boos (again), went into the fourth quarter trailing 24-13. Yet somehow the Broncos pulled it off (again), scoring 15 points that included two short fourth-down TD passes from Bo Nix and a two-point conversion throw.

Sure, the Chiefs (5-3) aided in the effort, with the flag on Moore marking the 11th penalty (for 105 yards) and Reid inexplicably deciding to try a 54-yard field goal from struggling kicker Harrison Butker rather than opting for a punt that could have pinned Denver deep into its own territory. Butker missed, allowing a short field that set up the go-ahead touchdown.

When the defense held up at the end, it marked Denver's 15th consecutive victory in a one-score game – the type the Chiefs used to win all the time.

No, the Broncos didn't flinch. With so many cases of pulling out dramatic comeback wins, dating to last season, imagine their confidence in crunch time.

“You can say that, but you’re still nervous,” Roach admitted as he held court with reporters at his locker. “Pat Mahomes with the ball on the 1?

"I'm like, 'Oh, Lord, here we go.'"

The outcome, with or without divine intervention, revives Denver's opportunity to repeat as AFC West champions. There is half the season to go, so nothing is close to being won at this point. Yet a loss on Sunday would have given the Chiefs a virtual three-game lead in the race and reduced Denver's chances of repeating to less than 15%.

Roach said he wasn't aware of the specific equation, but listening to him it was evident that the mission was even more basic amid the rough and tumble environment of the NFL.

Beyond winning for the purposes reflected in the standings, there was a

See BELL, Page 2C

Bell

Continued from Page 1C

lot of pride at stake for the Broncos. That mattered, especially when considering a season-opening loss at Kansas City when Kenneth Walker III ran over a Denver defense that missed 28 tackles that night. And the Broncos offense was stymied in a 31-10 rout.

“Obviously, we got our (butt) kicked that first game,” linebacker Nik Bonitto said.

Bonitto and his teammates had an in-your-face reminder of that before they took the field on Sunday. It was the grease board at one end of the locker room, where Broncos coach Sean Payton wrote and circled a large “48” to get across a message.

It had been 48 days since the Chiefs destroyed the Broncos in the Monday night opener.

It wasn't so much that the Broncos lost that opener at Arrowhead. "It was how we lost it," Payton told USA TODAY Sports after the locker room emptied.

Leave it to Payton, who earned his milestone 200th NFL victory on Sunday, to try pushing buttons in creative ways. In the past, he's taken a page from the book of his mentor, Bill Parcells, and put out mousetraps to make a point about not falling into a "trap" game. Now, it's the emphasis on 48, which several players referred to in the aftermath.

Never mind that in the days leading up to Sunday, Payton – who often talks of the desire for bigger games later in the season – publicly downplayed the stakes of the game's enormity.

"In my opinion, it's the biggest game that we played for the sole fact of what they did to us," cornerback Riley Moss said. "And that's because we're competitors. We weren't going to allow that to happen to us again, you know, 48 days since that day."

It's worth noting that Walker, who ran for a career-high 173 yards in Week 1, was held to 69 yards on 21 carries (3.3 yards average) on Sunday. He was stopped at the 1-yard line on that next-to-last play with a stiff, sure tackle by safety JL Skinner.

Payton had another prop he planned to use during his pregame speech – a folding chair that he positioned near the grease board. He thought to tap his inner Bobby Knight and hurl the chair across the floor.

He changed his mind when he discovered the weight of the chair.

"These folding chairs are heavier than the Bob Knight chairs," he said.

For all of those details, a timely flinch turned out to be so crucial.

Other impressions from Week 8 in the NFL:

What I learned

There's some kind of code to crack the blitz-heavy defense designed by Vikings coordinator Brian Flores that has wreaked havoc on the NFL this season. Run the ball. Get physical. Play smashmouth football. Unleash a speedball of a weapon in the form of Jahmyr Gibbs.

In knocking the Vikings (6-1) from the undefeated ranks and snapping their NFL-longest 11-game regular-season winning streak, the Lions neutralized the Minnesota blitz packages by rushing for 230 yards in a gritty, 19-15 triumph.

Sure, the Vikings blitzed Detroit quarterback Jared Goff relentlessly, bringing extra rushers on 26 of 29 drop backs, according to NextGen Stats (NGS) for a higher rate (89.7%) than they had a week earlier with a 85.2% clip against the Colts. Another week, another blitz record. And Goff was sacked four times while finishing with season lows for passing yards (176) and pass efficiency rating (88.1). But Goff only had 25 pass attempts while the Lions (5-2), led by Gibbs, logged a season-high 39 carries and posted nearly 36 minutes of possession in winning a third consecutive game.

That's quite the formula for slowing down the rush – if a team can match up accordingly. And Detroit's physical style, coupled with extensive use of heavy, multiple-tight end packages, wore on the Minnesota defense just enough. Can the Lions do it again? The rematch comes at Minnesota in prime time in Week 15.

Studs of the Week

\- Jahmyr Gibbs: The star running back ran for 153 yards on 23 carries, with a scintillating 30-yard TD and 6.7 average rush to help his Lions find answers for the most dominant defense in the league this season. Gibbs forced 12 missed tackles – his NFL-high fourth game this season with double-digit forced missed tackles – which resulted in a career-high 99 yards after the misses. It was also Gibbs' third consecutive 100-yard game and more evidence for why he's rightfully the NFL's highest-paid running back.

Gardner Minshew II celebrates after throwing for three TDs in the fourth quarter in the Cardinals' comeback win. KEVIN JAIRAJ/ IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS

\- Gardner Minshew and Tyler Allgeier: How in the world did the Cardinals rally from a 14-point deficit to stun the Cowboys? Well, Minshew replaced an ineffective Jacoby Brissett with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter and on his second snap handed the football to Allgeier, who ran 63 yards for a touchdown (and finished with 191 yards from scrimmage and two TDs). Minshew Magic threw for 188 yards and three TDs – in the fourth quarter as the Cards improved to 5-0 at JerryWorld.

\- Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell: The Bucs set a franchise record with 324 rushing yards against Atlanta and became the first team since Buffalo in 1974 to win a game in the NFL without completing a pass. In a driving rainstorm, the backs did the heavy lifting (and sliding and skating) as Irving rushed for a career-high 170 yards and Gainwell ran for a career-high 140. The 1-2 punch is further connected by being part of the first time in NFL history that six running backs across the league rushed for at least 140 yards.

\- Patrick Queen: Defense was the ticket for the Steelers in smashing the Browns. They sacked Deshaun Watson eight times. Here's the stat line for the savvy inside linebacker: 12 tackles, three solos, $1 \frac{1}{2}$ sacks, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, one pass defense, one forced fumble. No, he hasn't perfect. Queen had zero picks. But he was plenty good enough.

Quick slants

\- There's at least one category where the Dallas Cowboys (3-5) can claim the NFL lead: embarrassing losses. The fourth-quarter meltdown against the Cardinals was even worse than the setback in Week 5 to a Bucs team playing an undrafted rookie quarterback and another level from the last-minute bungling against the Ravens in Week 3. Heading into the game, Dallas was 69-0 in home games where they led by at least 14 points in the fourth quarter. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn't throw coach Brian Schottenheimer under the bus after the latest debacle, but in the words of an ex-Cowboys coach nicknamed The Tuna, "You are what your record says you are."

\- With Lamar Jackson headed for injured reserve and needing surgery for a right thumb injury and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley slated for an MRI on Monday because of a turf toe injury, the Ravens could have no choice but to start Joe Fagnano on a short week. And the assignment for Thursday night seems even tougher when considering how the Jaguars defense manhandled the Colts to pace a 42-7 rout (which matched the franchise's largest margin of victory). Of the 14 drives the defense faced, 11 went for four plays or less and the Jaguars didn't yield a single “explosive” play (20-plus yards). They also collected three turnovers and four sacks.

\- Harrison Butker missed his NFL-high sixth field-goal attempt this season late in the fourth quarter at Denver, six days after two misses at Seattle. With Justin Tucker signed to the Chiefs practice squad last week the ground is rather shaky for Butker. Since the start of the 2025 season, he's missed 16 kicks, including PATs.

Five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Sam Mills played for 12 years in the NFL, the first nine with the Saints and the final three with the Panthers.

1997 REUTERS PHOTO

\- Joe Burrow threw three picks – all snagged by Titans safety Amani Hooker. Yet for the third consecutive week, the Bengals quarterback fired at least four TD passes. This time, he threw for five TDs to help get past Tennessee in overtime. And he left a footprint by becoming just the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for 450 yards and five TDs, while adding a rushing TD, matching the distinction achieved by Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin in 1951.

\- In two games since Baker Mayfield returned from his thumb injury, the Bucs have rushed for 582 yards on 105 carries ... with the winning quarterback attempting all of 14 passes.

\- Jared Verse did not walk the talk. After calling his opponents “dirty” following Cleveland’s win against Pittsburgh in Week 4 and last week taking a verbal jab at Cam Heyward, the Browns edge rusher finished on Sunday with one assisted tackle.

What I'm hearing

Steve Wilks may be officially enlisted as a defensive consultant for Dan Quinn's staff with the Washington Commanders, but he's also positioned to become interim head coach if ownership makes a switch during the season.

Wilks has had that task before, going 6-6 with the Panthers in 2022 after Matt Rhule was dumped. Interestingly, Wilks has already had his role expand during his short time with the Commanders. The team initially maintained that Wilks would not have a function on game days, yet they've adjusted that stance as Wilks was involved in the game day mix on Sunday. So, they've already moved off the spot regarding his role.

Did you notice?

Aaron Donald has played six games since coming out of retirement to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams ... and the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is still looking for his first sack. Get well soon, Myles Garrett.

Carolina Heat

Now that Ejiro Evero has been handed his walking papers as Panthers defensive coordinator, replaced by interim Todd Wash, the plot undoubtedly thickens for head coach Dave Canales.

The move on Evero wasn't a total shock. The Panthers invested heavily in getting personnel for his 3-4 scheme – they guaranteed over \$100 million in landing their biggest offseason free agent signings, Jaelen Phillips and Devin Lloyd – and the unit has been historically bad. Defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooper (whose secondary has been without its top two cornerbacks, Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson) was relieved, too.

Yet even though the Panthers have been torched for more than 40 points in two home games this season – during the franchise's first 31 years that happened just three times – it's not like Canales' offense hasn't had its share of significant issues, which includes protecting Bryce Young with an injury-battered O-line. Young was sacked a season-high six times at Green Bay on Thursday night and over the last two seasons has been pressured on 50% of his drop backs.

Canales, who retained Evero from Frank Reich's staff, said the decision to move on from the coordinator was his decision, although he consulted with team owner David Tepper. Wash, the defensive line coach, coordinated the defense that helped the Jaguars reach the 2017 AFC title game, so he has some experience.

But if doesn't work for the Panthers, the heat undoubtedly will intensify on Canales – if it hasn't already been turned up a few notches in Tepper's eyes.

Book report: 'Just Give Me a Chance to Fail'

In a long overdue biography of Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Mills, Paul Domowitch, former Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer columnist, produced a gem in capturing the essence of the man who had one of the most inspirational journeys ever to Canton (Navigator Books, \$36).

Mills, who died in 2005 at 45, was repeatedly discounted because of his size (5 feet, 9 inches) but wound up as the glue to one of the best groups of linebackers in NFL history with the Saints and their “Dome Patrol” unit and left such an indelible mark in helping the expansion Panthers quickly become competitive that there’s a statue of him outside Bank of America Stadium.

Keep pounding? That Panthers slogan came from Mills, taken from a speech to the team before the franchise's first playoff win, when he was a member of the coaching staff battling cancer. Mills went to Division III Montclair State as a walk-on and left as the school's all-time leading tackler. Undrafted, he was cut by the Browns as a rookie free agent, then cut again the next year by the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.

He had serious reservations about attending a tryout camp for the Philadelphia Stars when the new USFL was being formed. He wound up getting his NFL shot when his Stars coach, Jim Mora, landed in New Orleans. And even Mora wasn't convinced that Mills had the size to cut it in the NFL. Major props to Domowitch (a former Stars beat writer) for connecting with Mills' family and for conducting dozens of interviews with former teammates, coaches and NFL figures who contributed insight. And the foreword by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio – who broke into the pro coaching ranks with the Stars and coached Mills for 15 years – is also rich. What a great read with so many layers illuminating the player and the person.

Say what?

On his popular “Night Cap” podcast last week, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe separated the on-the-field comeback for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson from the tarnished image that lingers from off-the-field issues wrapped with allegations of sexual misconduct from more than two dozen massage therapists. Said Sharpe: “He’s playing quarterback. He ain’t trying to be the Walter Payton Man of the Year.”

Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell

QB play continues to be a bust/boon

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

USA TODAY

Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing talks to Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray after Detroit's 19-15 win Nov. 1.

JUNFU HAN/DETROIT FREE PRESS – USA TODAY NETWORK

Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving leaps while running the ball against Falcons safety Jessie Bates III and cornerback C.J. Henderson, center. Irving finished with 170 yards and a TD. JONATHAN DYER/IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS

A decision day might soon be arriving for several NFL franchises.

As the midseason point approaches, teams only have so many avenues – and so much time – left to transform the remainder of their season. And as the NFL trade deadline looms next week, decision-makers must contemplate whether to add any key pieces in preparation for a postseason run, build for the long term or stand pat.

While a good portion of the league might opt against a major personnel shake-up, that doesn't necessarily mean those front offices will be resisting all forms of change. Week 8 began with the Carolina Panthers becoming the first team to make a major coaching staff change with the firing of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, and more moves could follow in the coming months.

With that in mind, here are the biggest winners and losers action Nov. 1:

Week 8 winners

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This was a win that only a high school football coach running the Wing-T could love. In running roughshod over the Atlanta Falcons in a 16-0 win, the Buccaneers became the first team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills to win a game without completing a pass. Of course, with driving rain early and the tandem of Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell combining for 310 yards on 52 carries, there wasn't a need for Baker Mayfield to attempt more than his three throws. After looking left for dead to start the year, the Buccaneers have won three of their last four contests. The degree of difficulty soars in the coming weeks with road contests at the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, but this team looks as capable as any of capturing the NFC South crown.

Gardner Minshew II: Throughout his eight-year career, Minshew has been the quarterback equivalent of a 5-Hour Energy, providing an almost instantaneous jolt to be followed by an eventual comedown. For now, however, the Arizona Cardinals are savoring the surge that the signal-caller provided to key an unlikely comeback in a 33-30 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys. Mike La-Fleur refused to answer whether Minshew had seized the starting job from Jacoby Brissett, but it's hard to envision how the first-year coach could go back to the status quo after his second-stringer threw 188 yards and three touchdowns. Minshew had mostly been a forgotten man in the Cardinals' quarterback room among outsiders as questions persisted about when rookie Carson Beck might take the starting reins. For now, though, the journeyman has proved himself worthy of another shot.

Sean Payton: The Denver Broncos coach probably didn't care much about the ceremony surrounding his 200th win. How he notched and what it means moving forward, however, should be of great interest to Payton. In holding off the Kansas City Chiefs for a 28-24 win, the Broncos vaulted to the top of the AFC West rather than falling nearly two games behind their rivals while losing out on a tiebreaker. That alone should be enough to satiate Payton. But managing to capture a bit of the Chiefs' late magic in erasing an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit while denying Patrick Mahomes his own comeback bid is legitimate cause for confidence in his team's direction. Rookie Jonah Coleman posting 104 yards from scrimmage on 15 touches also burnished the outlook for an offense that had grown accustomed to getting off schedule. With only a matchup against the reeling Panthers before the team's bye, Denver is in a promising position as it approaches midseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Aaron Rodgers wasn't satisfied with the offense's output in a 27-6 win over the Cleveland Browns, saying the unit should have generated "a lot more points." Still, this was a fitting way to take command of the AFC North. Pittsburgh's defense was expectedly dominant, racking up eight sacks and two takeaways against an overmatched attack. But the real boon was a run game that posted 200 yards and three touchdowns. The offensive line's tone-setting physicality was an encouraging sign of the complementary play the unit can harness. Pittsburgh still has plenty to prove after beating up on lesser teams for the first half of the season, but the Steelers could make a serious statement within the division if they're able to complete a sweep of the Bengals in the post-bye "Sunday Night Football" showdown.

Kirk Cousins: It should have been clear by now that the 38-year-old quarterback wasn't anywhere close to the top of the list of the Las Vegas Raiders' problems. After Sunday, though, there should be no doubt about the veteran's value to the Silver and Black. With the run game (95 yards on 33 car-ries) and defense (439 total yards allowed) continuing to provide little support, Cousins led the way for Las Vegas in a 38-33 win over the New York Jets. One week after Klint Kubiak said there was "no controversy" at quarterback and called out receivers' inability to consistently beat man coverage, Cousins helped them capitalize on those opportunities by repeatedly shredding New York over the middle. With the team still saddled by so many limitations, the veteran can continue to sort things out before turning over a more favorable setup to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza.

Joe Burrow: The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback certainly wasn't without flaw, as evidenced by his three interceptions to Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker. But even though Burrow might have been the primary culprit in putting his team in jeopardy of falling to a struggling group it should have handled easily, he also rescued the team in crunch time to deliver a 43-36 overtime win. With another sluggish start and the secondary coming unglued, the Bengals needed every bit of Burrow's 462 passing yards, five passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, the last of which sealed the win in overtime. To some, that might amount to merely cleaning up the mess he made earlier. But in recent seasons, Cincinnati has had a bad habit of stumbling to losses against undermanned foes or coming up short in shootouts. Prevailing here provided hope that things might be different for this group. As Burrow noted after the game, "We lose that game for the last three years."

Week 8 losers

Kyler Murray: It might seem like a stretch to say that the NFL's last undefeated team is at a crisis point after its first loss. In the Minnesota Vikings' case, however, it's difficult to maintain that all is well after Sunday's 19-15 stumble against the Detroit Lions. After Brian Flores' defense provided Murray all the margin for error he needed through the first six games, the quarterback repeatedly missed on various throws and promising looks, none of which would have asked the diminutive passer to be a world-beater. While Murray had some success looking to tight end T.J. Hockenson, particularly down the seam, his play simply wasn't up to par. And if the league's worst pass defense – which lost several key pieces over the course of the contest – proves this difficult to crack, what chance does Murray have against the likes of the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers?

The Vikings have been seen as a popular landing spot for running back Jonathan Taylor, but there's only so much even a top-tier ballcarrier could do to repair things for an offense that so routinely misfires in the passing game. Perhaps worst of all has been the continued inability to capitalize on wide receiver Justin Jefferson's skills. That alone should be enough to prompt some sort of change after the unit's risk-averse style proved to be a substantially limiting factor. But with a brutal three-game stretch ahead that features the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and 49ers, there are no straightforward solutions in sight.

Baltimore Ravens: How dire are things for Jesse Minter and Company?

With Lamar Jackson's return lasting all of one snap before he suffered a thumb injury that will send him to injured reserve, the conversation on the quarterback quickly shifted to whether the two-time NFL MVP had played his last snap for a franchise.

Even if such talk is premature, it speaks to just how devastating the biggest setback in the 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills truly was. Asking a 4-4 team to persevere through his kind of blow – which Minter acknowledged could be season-ending – is simply too tall a task, as the support system that once buttressed Jackson has slowly atrophied. With so little hope left to sustain the season, it's only natural that many people would flip their attention to a potential crossroads this offseason, with Jackson's \$84.3 million cap figure for next year giving him uncommon leverage in extension talks. For now, though, the short-term outlook in Baltimore is painful enough, with backup Tyler Huntley's toe injury potentially exacerbating an already steep challenge of facing the Jaguars on a short week.

Michael Penix Jr.: The hard-throwing lefty has been a volatile presence under center since he first arrived in the league in 2024. It should come as no surprise, then, that Penix would be in for a downturn after his NFC Offensive Player of the Week performance against the 49ers. The Tampa native's homecoming was a particularly rude one, with the Buccaneers picking him off four times in an 8 of 24 passing outing. For all of his unevenness, Penix hasn't been particularly prone to interceptions early in his pro career, with only one other multi-pick game in his previous 17 starts. But one week after looking so comfortable in adapting his game to deploy a quick-hit passing approach, the third-year passer failed to calibrate properly in the face of challenging circumstances.

Jim Harbaugh: Losing in bunches isn't a familiar experience for Harbaugh – at least as a coach. But with a 24-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams sending the Los Angeles Chargers to 0-7, the leader of the Bolts doesn't appear to be acting with any sense of urgency. Harbaugh again shot down the notion of making a change at offensive play-caller, restating his belief that Mike McDaniel and the rest of Los Angeles' attack would find its way. But what's to suggest that a breakthrough is coming for a group that has gone 27 straight possessions – and almost a full month – without a touchdown? Perhaps Harbaugh long ago passed the point of no return on a season that's beyond saving, but some kind of attempt at a course correction might at least inspire hope that a reset could save this organization next year. But unless the Chargers become surprising sellers at the trade deadline, this looks like a franchise that's trying to close its eyes and wish away all that ails it rather than address its myriad issues.

Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones: With offensive guard Quentin Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner departing last week via trades – and wide receiver Josh Downs requesting to follow them out the door – the Indianapolis Colts figured to face a sizable talent deficit against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But even that disadvantage can't fully account for the massive gap that emerged between the Colts and the AFC South leaders in a 42-7 rout.

Shane Steichen, who seemed like he might at least see out the season after general manager Chris Ballard's firing, admitted his staff and players were outclassed across the board. And after having long remained firm in his commitment to Daniel Jones as his starting quarterback, the coach seemed to throw the short-term future at that position into question. After turning to Anthony Richardson Sr. late in the blowout, Steichen said he would “evaluate everything, every position going forward.” That might signal a forthcoming hook for the veteran passer, who is less than eight months removed from signing a two-year, \$88 million contract extension.

With running back Jonathan Taylor – who might not be long for this roster – acknowledging that teams could be “foaming at the mouth” to face these depleted Colts, the case for anything less than a full-scale teardown is getting more difficult by the week.

The best division gets even tighter

Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown as the Lions handed the Vikings their first loss of the season. GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES

Nate Davis

USA TODAY

The 32 things we learned from Week 8 of the NFL season:

0. The number of completions by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 16-0 victory Nov. 1 over the Atlanta Falcons in a driving rainstorm at Raymond James Stadium. It marked the second time in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) – and first since 1974 – that a team didn't connect on a single pass in a game, though Bucs QB Baker Mayfield only attempted three. Tampa Bay finished with minus-2 net passing yards due to the sack he took on his other drop back ... but also churned out a franchise-record 324 rushing yards.

1. The number of losses suffered by the Minnesota Vikings, who endured their first defeat of the 2026 season Sunday at Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions prevailed 19-15. The result could be a turning point in the NFC North, which began the week projected to send all four of its teams into the NFC playoff field. Had the Vikes won, they would have improved to 3-0 against their division rivals, with one win apiece over each. But now the Lions are only one game out of first place while getting an important W of their own in the tie-breaker department.

1a. The number of interceptions thrown this season by Lions QB Jared Goff, who suffered his first against Minnesota ... albeit after Detroit WR Jameson Williams slipped on the play.

2. The Vikings had hoped a two-man running back committee – along with contributions from QB Kyler Murray – would mean a potent run game. But Minnesota entered the weekend with the league's 29th-ranked offense while averaging 4.0 yards per rushing attempted, 22nd league-wide. It wasn't even that good in the loss to Detroit, RBs Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason producing 42 yards on 13 carries – this on a day when the vaunted Vikes defense was shredded for 230 yards on the ground, including 153 by Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs.

just 3.5 yards per carry after 25 NFL games.

3. Sure makes one wonder if Minnesota rookie general manager Nolan Teasley will make a run at a player like Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor or the Tennessee Titans' Tony Pollard ahead of the trade deadline, which will expire at 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 10.

4. And at a time when the Chicago Bears just took a major swing to get All-Pro DT Jeffery Simmons and the Green Bay Packers are getting key players back, Teasley might not have the luxury of sitting on the trade sideline with first-place Minnesota separated by 1½ games from the last-place Pack in the hotly contested NFC North – a division in which every team has at least five victories.

5-0. The Arizona Cardinals' record at AT&T Stadium after stunning the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in overtime on Sunday in yet another blight on the NFC East, which doesn't have a single team with five wins.

6. The number of running backs who rushed for at least 140 yards on Sunday (Gibbs, Tampa Bay's Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell, the Jets' Braelon Allen, Arizona's Tyler Allgeier and Pittsburgh's Jaylen Warren) – the most in a single day in nearly 23 years. (Hat tip: NBC's "Football Night in America.")

7. The number of Pittsburgh Steelers credited with at least a half-sack in Sunday's 27-6 blowout of the Cleveland Browns.

8. The number of times Browns QB Deshaun Watson was sacked in sum, twice by Steelers OLB T.J. Watt, on a day when he was also hit 13 times.

9. Surely, somewhere, former Pittsburgh coach and current NBC analyst Mike Tomlin is uttering, "Browns are gonna Browns," much to the chagrin of first-year Cleveland HC Todd Monken.

10. The Steelers, who have not been swept by their division rivals two hours up the road in Cleveland since 1988, displaced the Browns for first place atop the AFC North.

11. The Cincinnati Bengals survived a surprising shootout with the Tennessee Titans, needing overtime to emerge with a 43-36 victory, but one that also moved them past the Browns for second place in the AFC North.

12. Cincy needed QB Joe Burrow to become the first player in the Super Bowl era to pass for at least 450 yards and five TDs, while rushing for another, to eke out the win ... though it would have helped had he not mixed three picks into the performance.

13. Given the way Burrow has telegraphed how all-in the Bengals are this season, it's worth wondering if Cincinnati might also be compelled to acquire a running back ahead of the trade deadline after the Bengals backs ran for just 65 yards on Sunday, a figure that won't boost a ground game that began Week 8 as the league's third-worst on a per-game basis.

14. Also worth wondering how enamored the Bengals might be of Pollard, who burned them for 117 yards and two TDs. Over his last two games, Pollard has 292 yards and five TDs from scrimmage – and, entering the final year of his contract, he's also an eminently more affordable option than Taylor ... which would surely be a key consideration in Cincy.

15. Hard to envision the Baltimore Ravens getting aggressive in the trade market, aside from possibly having to make a low-end swap to simply field a more experienced starting quarterback than undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano – though he might be the only viable option for a team that will host the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars on “Thursday Night Football” in a few days.

16. That's because the Ravens lost QB1 Lamar Jackson, who was playing for the first time in a month due to ankle issues but suffered a thumb injury on Sunday in Buffalo that will, at minimum, send him to injured reserve and require surgery. Whether Jackson's season over is TBD. Also TBD is the status of QB2 Tyler Huntley, who injured his toe while in relief of Jackson and had to give way to Fagnano. The Ravens don't have any other quarterbacks on their active roster or practice squad.

17. And while the AFC North and NFC North are the only divisions that don't currently have a member with a sub-.500 record, the Ravens are now 4-4 - making them the only one of those eight teams without a winning mark - and very much in danger of seeing their season slip away.

18. And it doesn't help that the Jags, who have won three of four and are very much positioned to make a run at the AFC's No. 1 seed given the state of their otherwise disintegrating division, are headed to Baltimore next.

19. Overall, not a ton to learn from Jacksonville's 42-7 walkover against the disarming Colts. However, their game was something of a showcase for potential trade targets like Indianapolis WR Josh Downs, who scored a TD and has expressed a desire to be moved, and Jacksonville WR Brian Thomas Jr., who also found the end zone on Sunday.

20. Taylor had a forgettable day (47 yards from scrimmage, fumble), though the fact that he only touched the ball 12 times in a blowout loss but emerged none the worse for wear was probably just fine with teams potentially considering making an offer for him in the coming days.

21. The Las Vegas Raiders' Ashton Jeanty is probably another running back who could use a change of scenery – though little chance the Silver and Black could recoup anything of value right now for a player who was drafted sixth overall a year ago. He earned just five touches in Sunday's 38-33 defeat of the New York Jets, though rookie coach Klint Kubiak denied Jeanty was being punished for his pregame remarks questioning how much the Jets wanted to tackle their opponents. Jeanty, who was blasted by ESPN analyst and former Jets coach Rex Ryan for the lack of impact he's had in his career, is averaging

22. Dylan Laube was a far more impactful running back for Las Vegas against the Jets, even if he made his presence felt on special teams. He became the first player leaguewide this season to return a kickoff for a TD, bringing one back 95 yards in the five-point win.

23. The number of consecutive regular-season games the Browns have lost in Pittsburgh, tying the league record for most road losses in a row against one opponent – now jointly held with the Lions (1992 through 2014 at Green Bay).

24. The Rams won the battle of Los Angeles, such as it was, defeating the Chargers 24-9. The Rams have now won consecutive games for the first times this season – and perhaps it's no coincidence that they ran more than 50% of the time for the second straight week.

25. The Bolts also continued adhering to what got them here – their seventh straight loss to start the season lowlighted by two more turnovers, giving them 17 so far. How much longer coach Jim Harbaugh can stick with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel remains an open question.

26. The 2026 Miami Dolphins didn't win Sunday, falling to 1-6 after another narrow loss, this one to the New England Patriots.

27. But the 1972 Miami Dolphins got to celebrate amid Minnesota's defeat – which ensured those Fins, who went 17-0 (including their Super Bowl 7 triumph), will remain the only unbeaten squad of the Super Bowl era for at least another year.

28. Congratulations also to Bills QB Josh Allen, whose 260 career TD passes (playoffs included) are now the most in franchise history after he overtook Hall of Famer Jim Kelly in Sunday's waxing of the clipped Ravens.

29. Buffalo has now scored at least 33 points in five of its seven games.

30. However, the Kansas City Chiefs, who dropped their second in a row Sunday, have scored 33 points once this season – and not in their 28-24 loss in Denver.

31. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes looked the part against the Broncos, passing for 321 yards and three TDs in perhaps his best performance since last season's knee injury. But with the Chiefs unable to reach the 100-yard rushing plateau for the second straight game – and their Harrison Butker dilemma continues to grow – it wasn't enough to prevent K.C. from ceding first place in the AFC West to Denver.

32. As we reach the end of this week's list, the item of primary importance is the health of Lions All-Pro LB Jack Campbell, who was immobilized and carted off the field Sunday before being taken to a Detroit area hospital. He injured his neck in the fourth quarter while making a tackle of Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson, his injury – details are still sparse – leaving teammate Aidan Hutchinson in tears. The Lions revealed on X hours after the game that Campbell was “resting and will remain in a local hospital tonight, for continued evaluation and monitoring. The team will provide further updates as we have them.”

Concerned teammates and fans are very much hoping for another update which indicates that Campbell has movement in all of his extremities and is feeling better.

2026 WORLD CUP HARDCOVER BOOK

20% OFF

\$31.95

REG. \$39.95

+ tax & shipping

Expires Nov. 22, 2026

Ships Nov. 27, 2026

The world came to North America in the summer of 2026, and the beautiful game will never be the same. “AMERICA’S WORLD CUP” captures the biggest and boldest World Cup ever staged, a seven-week spectacle that celebrated the passion, pageantry and power of the global game. USA TODAY set up shop at every host city so that “AMERICA’S WORLD CUP” could provide behind-the-scenes storytelling and dynamic photography. This great gift idea is perfect for all soccer fans!

WorldCup.USATbook.com

USA TODAY SPORTS

Kimi Antonelli new F1 champ at 20

Victoria Hernandez

fore holding up the flag behind his back.

USA TODAY

Formula 1 has crowned a new king as history was made in Mexico City. Kimi Antonelli won his first Formula 1 championship to become the youngest champion in the motor sports series' history.

The 20-year-old finished third at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Nov. 1 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Antonelli, who races for Mercedes, was in fourth position on the starting grid and was battling illness and exhaustion leading up to the race. He needed to finish ninth or higher to clinch outright.

He surpassed Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title in 2010 at the age of 23 with Red Bull Racing, to take the record for youngest driver to win the championship. Antonelli joins Lewis Hamilton, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Manuel Fangio as the fourth driver in F1 history to win the title in his second season.

Antonelli is also the first Italian to win a championship since Alberto Asca-ri in 1953. He was sobbing into his team radio after he crossed the checkered flag. "Thank you so much," he said choking up. "We did it."

He joined the Mercedes development program as an 11-year-old karting driver and, along with teammate George Russell, has brought the outfit on the verge of its ninth constructors championship.

This year brought extra challenges as F1 initiated new regulations.

"It's just 'mind-blowing' I think is the word," Antonelli's engineer, Peter Bonnington, said on the Apple TV broadcast after the race. "It's just been such an amazing journey with him. He's really matured over this year, and wow, he's just grown into the world champion."

Max Verstappen was the race winner and extends his lead for most wins at the Mexico competition with six.

Hamilton finished second after notching his 105th pole in qualifying, extending his record for most in the series. It was his first pole position with Ferrari.

Twelve championships were represented on the podium. Verstappen has won four and Hamilton is tied for the record with seven titles.

After stopping in parc fermé, Hamilton hopped out of his car and gave Antonelli a big hug. Verstappen went to shake the hand of Antonelli's father, Marco, and then gave the new champion a hug as well. Antonelli went down the line and embraced his father, mother and younger sister warmly.

"I wouldn't be here without Mercedes, without my family," he said in the post-race interview with 2016 champion Nico Rosberg. "So I'm very grateful for this moment and it's one that will live forever and I just, I'm speechless."

After the trophy presentation,

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli celebrates with an Italian flag on the podium after finishing third in the race and clinching the 2026 Formula 1 world championship. ELOISA SANCHEZ/REUTERS

Antonelli was handed an Italian flag on the podium and Hamilton and Verstappen lifted him onto their shoulders. The veterans then left and Antonelli's Mercedes W17 race car was lifted onto the stage. He leaned down and kissed it be-

"It's incredible, of course, what a season he had," Verstappen said. "And to do that also at such an age I think is really, really impressive."

"A huge congratulations to Kimi and the Mercedes team," Hamilton said, saluting his former team that he won six titles with. "It's great to see them all up here celebrating their success. Youngest world champion ever is pretty phenomenal and I'm so grateful to be in the race to witness it."

Vettel also applauded the new champion. Formula 1 shared a heartfelt video message that he recorded offering words in both English and Italian. "Great achievements might change the way people look at you," he said, "but you don't have to change the way you look at people. Now go on and enjoy it!"

Hamilton battled with teammate Charles Leclerc early and the Mone-gasque driver drove across the entire first corner on the first lap to take the lead. He was given a five-second penalty and Hamilton was furious. Leclerc finished fourth. "Ultimately, it was that that lost us the win today," Hamilton said after the race.

The red flag came out on lap 45 after Valtteri Bottas' suspension broke on his front left wheel and he crashed.

Russell, the third and final driver in contention for the title, finished sixth.

MARTINSVILLE TAKEAWAYS

NASCAR title will have to wait for finale

Chase points leader Kyle Larson reacts after the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Nov. 1. JARED C. TILTON/GETTY IMAGES

Mitchell Northam

USA TODAY

MARTINSVILLE, VA – A Hendrick Motorsports driver celebrated a meaningful victory on Nov. 1 at Martinsville Speedway, except it wasn't the one everyone expected.

While Kyle Larson was unable to clinch the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series title in the Xfinity 500, he maintained a comfortable lead over contenders Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

Meanwhile, Larson's teammate William Byron drove into victory lane for the first time this season, ending a 35-race winless streak.

The race at the short track that has hosted top-tier NASCAR races since 1949 featured some beating and banging, as two Team Penske drivers found out what it meant to be the victim of brake-checking. Elsewhere, amid the field of 37 cars, road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen continued to show improvement on traditional ovals, notching his seventh top-10 on that style of track in 2026 by placing fifth in his Wendy's-sponsored No. 97 Chevrolet.

Here are takeaways from the race:

Larson and his challengers unable to capitalize at Martinsville: There was a real chance that Larson could have been celebrating his third Cup Series championship on Sunday.

Larson entered the race 73 points ahead of Hamlin and needed to finish the Xfinity 500 77 points clear of him and the rest of the Chase field to wrap up the title. Had the driver of the No. 5 done so, he would've been the first driver since Matt Kenseth in 2003 to clinch the championship a week early.

Larson's team was watching his closest competitors – Hamlin, Bell and Chase Briscoe – closely in stage one and opted for a strategy to not pit during the first 160 laps. That caused him to fall back and lose track position and the opportunity to score stage points.

The good news for him was Hamlin's team had the same strategy and suffered a similar fate. Bell scored points in Stages 1 and 2, but his No. 20 Toyota was mired by other issues – a speeding penalty on pit road and getting spun out by Joey Logano. Neither Bell, Hamlin nor Larson seriously contended for the win.

Bell gained seven points on Larson and Hamlin three. The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers kept their championship hopes alive heading into Homestead-Miami next weekend but failed to put a significant dent into Larson's advantage.

"I'm happy, but I'm also bummed because there's a lot of opportunities there in the stages. We were just on the wrong side of the strategy," Larson said. "It all could have been a lot worse tonight. Look at the positives from that, go to Homestead next week with a comfortable gap, but still not locked up. We'd love to get a couple good first stages, then pound it in the third stage."

To pull off an upset of Larson, Hamlin or Bell would need to win at Homestead, score big stage points, and need Larson to have a disastrous day.

“I feel confident that I'll be able to go (to Homestead) and contend. I'd love to get another win before the end of the year. I thought it was going to come today,” Hamlin said. “We'll have to get one more shot at it next week and see if we can't get one more win.”

After a year of disappointments, Byron gets something to build on: After winning the regular-season championship in the Cup Series last season and making the Championship Four in the old playoff format, expectations were high this year for Byron.

Instead of enjoying multiple trips to victory lane, his team struggled with ups, downs and inconsistencies. Byron has had five did not finishes (DNFs) and four other finishes of 30th or worse. He still made the Chase, but it was a grind for the No. 24 Chevrolet to get into the field. When the postseason began, he only had four top-five finishes.

Then last weekend at Talladega he finished as the runner-up to Larson in a photo-finish. On Sunday, he kept that momentum rolling, dominating the competition at Martinsville. The 28-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, led 362 laps – which is more laps led for him across 34 previous races combined this season – and went on to win at the paperclip-style short track for the fourth time in his career.

Byron beat another Hendrick teammate, Chase Elliott, by more than two seconds for his first victory of the season. He also logged the fastest lap of the day at 19.82 seconds.

For Byron, getting his first victory of the year was a weight off his shoulders and gives his team something to hang their hat on while also looking forward to next season.

"It's the hardest I've worked ever in my career. It's the most I've been at the shop, most I've been in the sim, most meetings we've had," Byron said. "I'm proud of the fact that no one quit. Just that we could continue to kind of put our heads together."

Byron has won at least one race in seven consecutive Cup seasons. The victory at Martinsville was his 17th in the top level of NASCAR.

Will NASCAR do anything about brake-checking? In June, ahead of the Cup Series' return to North Wilkesboro Speedway, NASCAR made a rule change for short-track racing, banning the use of energy-absorbing foam in the front or rear bumper structure of the race cars.

It was a move to discourage drivers from running into the back of another car to move them out of the way. With the foam, a car could drive into the rear of another with no real damage occurring to either car.

"I think you still can use it a little bit," Hamlin said Saturday of the softened bumper. "You have to be careful, though, in my mind, to not give someone an egregious bump because then they typically brake-check you and then that's when you can really end up doing quite a bit of damage. So you just have to be as courteous as you can with your bumps."

Hamlin's warning proved to be foreshadowing for two Team Penske drivers, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney. Carson Hocevar brake-checked Cindric's No. 2 Ford multiple times in Stage 2, ultimately destroying the nose of Cindric's car and forcing him to retire from the race. Cindric left the track without commenting, while Hocevar played it coy when asked about the incident.

"It's just Martinsville," Hocevar said. "Everybody's running hard and making moves and stuff."

Blaney was brake-checked twice by Josh Berry too, forcing his No. 12 Ford to the garage for repairs. Blaney returned but finished 35th, 59 laps down. The incident ended his hopes of competing for a championship at Homestead.

“(Berry) decided to slam on the brakes and end our day,” Blaney told USA Network. “Don’t really know why after a tiny little bit of contact, not even on purpose. Lost his mind and ended our day.”

Berry, who is leaving the Penske-aligned Wood Brothers at the end of the year and driving for Legacy Motor Club next season, finished fourth.

MARKETPLACE TODAY

For advertising information: 1.800.397.0070 www.russelljohns.com/usat

To view more Classified listings, visit: classifieds.usatoday.com

All classified ads are subject to the applicable rate card, copies of which are available from our Advertising Dept. All ads are subject to approval before publication. USA Today reserves the right to edit, refuse, reject, classify or cancel any ad at any time. Errors must be reported in the first day of publication. USA Today shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from an error in or omission of an advertisement. No refunds for early cancellation of order.

PUBLIC NOTICE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Sourcewell, a State of Minnesota local government unit and service cooperative, is requesting proposals for Firearms and Ammunition with Related Supplies and Services to result in a procurement solution for use by its Participating Entities.

Sourcewell Participating Entities include thousands of governmental, higher education, K-12 education, nonprofit, tribal government, and other public agencies located in the United States and Canada.

Sourcewell encourages the use of Small, Minority-owned, Women's Business Enterprise, Veteran-owned Business Enterprise (S/M/WBE/VBE) suppliers both as prime and subcontractors and encourages the participation of these suppliers in the solicitation process.

A full copy of the Request for Proposals can be found on the Sourcewell Procurement Portal https://proportal.sourcewell-mn.gov.

Only proposals submitted through the Sourcewell Procurement Portal will be considered.

Proposals are due no later than December 22, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. Central Time, and late proposals will not be considered.

Seeking Anesthesiologist in Tallahassee, Florida

Our team at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital is seeking an Anesthesiologist to provide Anesthesia services 173 hours per month, Full Benefits/401K.

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Clinical Recruiter Jennifer Huppertz at: 843-637-6741 or jennifer.huppertz@envisionhealth.com

PLACE YOUR AD HERE! USA TODAY's Marketplace To advertise, call: 800-397-0070

GET YOUR BUSINESS

NOTICED!

Print • Online Classifieds • Web Banners

To advertise, contact us at: (800) 397-0070 sales@russelljohns.com

[FOR THE RECORD] All times ET

AQI Good

CHICAGO

AMERICAN CONFERENCE | East | W | L | T | Pct | PF | Buffalo | 6 | 1 | 0.857 | 233 | 181 | New England | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | 184 | 162 | N.Y. Jets | 2 | 6 | 0.250 | 170 | 188 | Miami | 1 | 6 | 0.143 | 117 | 181 | North | W | L | T | Pct | PF | Pittsburgh | 6 | 2 | 0.750 | 180 | 144 | Cincinnati | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | 206 | 158 | Cleveland | 5 | 3 | 0.625 | 139 | 173 | Baltimore | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 179 | 203 | South | W | L | T | Pct | PF | Jacksonville | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | 196 | 111 | Houston | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | 165 | 170 | Indianapolis | 2 | 6 | 0.250 | 161 | 222 | Tennessee | 1 | 7 | 0.125 | 144 | 199 | West | W | L | T | Pct | PF | Denver | 6 | 2 | 0.750 | 172 | 165 | Kansas City | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | 167 | 131 | Las Vegas | 4 | 4 | 0.500 | 221 | 230 | L.A. Chargers | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | 99 | 175 | NATIONAL CONFERENCE | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | N.Y. Giants | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 | 163 | 161 | Dallas | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 219 | 213 | Washington | 2 | 4 | 1 | .357 | 159 | 182 | Philadelphia | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 137 | 202 | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Minnesota | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 140 | 93 | Detroit | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 203 | 180 | Chicago | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 180 | 143 | Green Bay | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 171 | 164 | South | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Carolina | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 178 | 193 | Tampa Bay | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 178 | 151 | Atlanta | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 171 | 189 | New Orleans | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 162 | 194 | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | San Francisco | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 197 | 139 | Seattle | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 168 | 125 | L.A. Rams | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 194 | 168 | Arizona | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 175 | 238 | ### Thursday's Score

Green Bay 27, Carolina 19

Sunday's Scores

Buffalo 36, Baltimore 10

Cincinnati 43, Tennessee 36

Arizona 33, Dallas 30

Detroit 19, Minnesota 15

Jacksonville 42, Indianapolis 7

Las Vegas 38, N.Y. Jets 33

Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 6

Tampa Bay 16, Atlanta 0

L.A. Rams 24, L.A. Chargers 9

Denver 28, Kansas City 24

New England 24, Miami 19

Washington 27, Philadelphia 10

Monday's Game

Chicago at Seattle

Byes: New Orleans, N.Y. Giants, San Francisco, Houston

Thursday's Game

Jacksonville at Baltimore, 8:15 p.m.

Sunday's Games

Cincinnati vs Atlanta at Madrid, 9:30 a.m.

Denver at Carolina, 1 p.m.

Dallas at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Kansas City, 1 p.m.

Detroit at Miami, 1 p.m.

Cleveland at New Orleans, 1 p.m.

N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.

L.A. Rams at Washington, 1 p.m.

Houston at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m.

Las Vegas at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m.

Green Bay at New England, 4:25 p.m.

Arizona at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Chicago, 8:20 p.m.

Monday's Game

Buffalo at Minnesota, 8:15 p.m.

Byes: Tennessee, Pittsburgh

West

Toledo at Sacramento State, 7 p.m. Thursday's Games

East

South Carolina State at Howard, 7:30 p.m. Southeast

East

Virginia Tech at SMU, 7 p.m.

New Mexico at Nevada, 9 p.m.

TCU at Arizona, 10:15 p.m.

Saturday's Games

Clemson at Syracuse, noon

Clerlson at Syracuse, noon

Florida State at Boston College, noon

North Carolina Central at Norfolk State, noon

Morehead State at Marist, noon

Martmouth at Princeton, noon

North Carolina 45 at Monmouth, noon

Towson at Sacred Heart, noon

Brown at Yale, noon

Robert Morris at Duquesne, noon

Wagner at Mercyhurst, noon

Colgate at Lehigh, noon

Duke at NC State, 12:30 p.m.

Holy Cross at Georgetown, 12:30 p.m.

Columbia at Harvard, 1 p.m.

Albany at Bryant, 1 p.m.

Stony Brook at Campbell, 1 p.m.

Fordham at Bucknell, 1 p.m.

Rhode Island at New Hampshire, 1 p.m.

Penn at Cornell, 1 p.m.

Morgan State at Delaware State, 1 p.m.

Central Connecticut State at Stonehill, 1 p.m.

Lafayette at William & Mary, 1 p.m.

Richmond at Villanova, 1 p.m.

Stetson at Davidson, 1 p.m.

Wofford at Western Carolina, 1 p.m.

Lindenwood at Gardner-Webb, 1:30 p.m.

Hampton at Elon, 2 p.m.

Georgia State at Appalachian State, 2:30 p.m.

Temple at Navy, 3:30 p.m.

Merrimack at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m.

Air Force at Army West Point, 7:30 p.m.

Southeast

Arkansas at Auburn, 12:45 p.m. Samford at ETSU, 1 p.m.

Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m. Mercer at Chattanooga, 1 p.m.

UT Martin at Charleston Southern, 2 p.m. Furman at Citadel, 2 p.m.

UT Rio Gr. Valley at Northwestern State, 2 p.m.

VMI at Tennessee Tech, 2:30 p.m.

Texas A&M at South Carolina, 3 p.m.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Grambling St, 3 p.m.

Mississippi Valley State at Jackson St, 3 p.m.

Delaware at Kennesaw State, 3 p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe at Arkansas State, 3 p.m.

Florida A&M at Alcorn State, 3 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman at Southern U, 3 p.m.

Charlotte at UAB, 3:30 p.m.

Alabama at LSU, 3:30 p.m.

Charlotte at GAB, 3:30 p.m. Alabama at LSU, 3:30 p.m.

SE Missouri State at Tennessee St, 3:30 p.m. Western KY at Middle Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. Marshall at Georgia Southern, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Kentucky at Austin Peay, 4 p.m. Missouri State at FIU, 4 p.m. East Texas A&M at Nicholls, 4 p.m. Louisiana Tech at Troy, 4 p.m. Vanderbilt at Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m. South Alabama at Louisiana, 5 p.m. West Georgia at Central Arkansas, 5 p.m. Kentucky at Tennessee, 6:15 p.m. Houston State at Houston, 7 p.m. UIW at Southeastern Louisiana, 7 p.m. West Florida at North Alabama, 7 p.m. Georgia at Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. Louisville at Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. Oklahoma at Florida, 7:45 p.m.

Midwest

Texas at Missouri, noon

UCLA at Minnesota, noon

Valparaiso at Dayton, noon

Maryland at Purdue, 12:30 p.m.

Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 1 p.m.

St. Thomas (MN) at Butler, 1 p.m.

San Diego at Drake, 1 p.m.

Illinois State at North Dakota, 2 p.m.

South Dakota State at UNI, 2 p.m.

Western Illinois at Eastern Illinois, 3 p.m.

Oregon at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.

UCF at Kansas, 3:45 p.m.

Rutgers at Wisconsin, 4:15 p.m.

Southern Illinois at Indiana State, 6 p.m.

Miami (FL) at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m.

Iowa at Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.

Michigan State at Michigan, 7:30 p.m.

West

BYU at Utah, noon

Iowa State at Baylor, noon

North Carolina at Connecticut, noon

Portland State at Montana, 3 p.m.

Portland State at Montana, 3 p.m.

Northern Colorado at Southern Utah, 3 p.m.

Alabama A&M at Prairie View A&M, 3 p.m.

Alabama State at Texas Southern, 3 p.m.

Cincinnati at Houston, 3:30 p.m.

Penn State at Washington, 3:30 p.m.

Rice at North Texas, 4 p.m.

Northern Illinois at Jose State, 4 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Lamar, 4 p.m.

Northern Arizona at Cal Poly, 5 p.m.

Eastern Washington at Idaho, 5 p.m.

McNeese at Houston Christian, 5 p.m.

Boise State at Colorado State, 6 p.m.

Montana State at Idaho State, 6 p.m.

Abilene Christian at Tarleton State, 7 p.m.

Utah Tech at UC Davis, 7 p.m.

Colorado at Arizona State, 7:30 p.m.

Liberty at New Mexico State, 8 p.m.

West Virginia at Texas Tech, 9:30 p.m.

Fresno State at Utah State, 9:30 p.m.

Hawaii at UTEP, 9:30 p.m.

Texas State at Oregon State, 10:30 p.m.

Wyoming at UNLV, 10:30 p.m.

AFCA FCS Coaches Poll | Rk | School (1st votes) | W-L | Pts | LW | 1 | Tarleton St. (23) | 9-0 | 645 | 1 | 2 | Stephen F. Austin (3) | 9-0 | 623 | 2 | 3 | Montana St. | 8-1 | 593 | 3 | 4 | Youngstown St. | 7-2 | 574 | 4 | 5 | South Dakota St. | 7-2 | 549 | 5 | 6 | Northern Arizona | 7-2 | 507 | 7 | 7 | Austin Peay | 7-2 | 483 | 8 | 8 | Illinois St. | 7-2 | 445 | 9 | 9 | Tennessee Tech | 8-1 | 435 | 10 | 10 | South Dakota | 7-3 | 421 | 6 | 11 | Mercer | 7-2 | 374 | 12 | 12 | Lamar | 7-2 | 364 | 13 | 13 | Montana | 6-3 | 338 | 14 | 14 | Monmouth (New Jersey) | 7-2 | 299 | 17 | 15 | North Dakota | 6-4 | 281 | 11 | 16 | Lehigh | 7-2 | 212 | 20 | 17 | South Carolina St. | 7-2 | 202 | 22 | 18 | Idaho St. | 6-3 | 165 | 23 | 19 | Campbell | 7-2 | 163 | 15 | 20 | UAlbany | 6-3 | 157 | 25 | 21 | East Tennessee St. | 6-3 | 138 | 18 | 22t. ACU | 5-4 | 124 | 24 | 22t. Harvard | 6-1 | 124 | 16 | 24 | Alabama A&M | 7-2 | 52 | NR | 25 | Weber St. | 6-4 | 50 | NR | Dropped out: Richmond (19), UC Davis (21) Others receiving votes: Richmond, 36; Chattanooga, 35; Jackson St., 12; Princeton, 11; Dartmouth, 9; Morgan St., 6; Colgate, 4; Wofford, 4; Central Connecticut St., 3; UC Davis, 3; UIW, 3; Dayton, 2; Northern Iowa, 2; North Alabama, 1; Yale, 1.

NHL

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Boston | 10 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 55 | 36 | Montreal | 9 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 48 | 42 | Ottawa | 9 | 6 | 1 | 19 | 52 | 51 | Tampa Bay | 8 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 48 | 43 | Florida | 8 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 44 | 39 | Toronto | 8 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 60 | 53 | Buffalo | 7 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 43 | 49 | Detroit | 6 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 41 | 43 | Metropolitan Division | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Carolina | 12 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 63 | 36 | New Jersey | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 48 | 40 | Washington | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 44 | 42 | N.Y. Islanders | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 40 | 39 | N.Y. Rangers | 7 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 45 | 46 | Pittsburgh | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 47 | 49 | Philadelphia | 4 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 35 | 54 | Columbus | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 29 | 39 | WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Minnesota | 10 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 52 | 36 | Utah | 9 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 54 | 52 | Colorado | 8 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 59 | 44 | Dallas | 8 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 38 | 31 | St. Louis | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 44 | 42 | Nashville | 5 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 42 | 47 | Winnipeg | 4 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 34 | 54 | Chicago | 4 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 31 | 53 | Pacific Division | Pacific Division | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Edmonton | 11 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 64 | 44 | Vegas | 9 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 53 | 44 | Seattle | 8 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 52 | 52 | San Jose | 7 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 41 | 52 | Anaheim | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 49 | 53 | Calgary | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 36 | 52 | L.A. Kings | 4 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 36 | 45 | Vancouver | 3 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 47 | 72 | NOTE: Two points for a win, one for OT loss.

Sunday's Scores

Carolina 7, Winnipeg 0

Minnesota 5, Washington 1

Philadelphia 6, Utah 3

Edmonton 4, N.Y. Rangers 1

Anaheim 6, Ottawa 3

Monday's Games

Vegas at Boston

Detroit at Florida

Colorado at Chicago

Calgary at San Jose

Tuesday's Games

Dallas at Washington, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Utah at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Winnipeg at Montreal, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Vegas at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Colorado at Columbus, 7 p.m.

Edmonton at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.

Carolina at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Anaheim at Vancouver, 9 p.m.

Wednesday's Games

Ottawa at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Chicago at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Calgary at Seattle, 10 p.m.

San Jose at L.A. Kings, 10 p.m.

CFL

Grey Cup Playoffs

Division Finals

Saturday's Games

Winnipeg vs. Montreal, 3 p.m.

BC vs. Edmonton, 6:30 p.m.

SOCCER

English Premier League | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Arsenal | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 24 | Manchester City | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 21 | Brighton | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 7 | 19 | Chelsea | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 15 | 16 | Liverpool | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 15 | Brentford | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 14 | Bournemouth | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 12 | Tottenham | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 12 | Aston Villa | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 12 | Hull City | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 11 | Leeds United | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 11 | Newcastle | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 11 | Ipswich Town | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 11 | Everton | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Fulham | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 9 | Coventry City | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 9 | Man United | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 7 | Crystal Palace | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 21 | 7 | Nott'm Forest | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 6 | Sunderland | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 5 |

Note: Three points for win, Saturday's Green

Saturday's Scores

Chelsea 2, Manchester United 0

Hull City 2, Ipswich Town 2

Bournemouth 2, Leeds United 0

Brentford 2, Nottingham Forest 0

Manchester City 0, Brighton 1

Coventry City 3, Sunderland 1

Tottenham 2, Crystal Palace 0

Aston Villa 1, Fulham 1

Sunday's Score

Arsenal 1, Liverpool 0

Monday's Game

Everton at Newcastle United

Friday's Game

Coventry City at Everton, 3 p.m.

Saturday's Games

Tottenham at Leeds United, 7:30 a.m.

Hull City at Arsenal, 10 a.m.

Newcastle United, Fulham, 10 a.m.

Man City at Nottingham Forest, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday's Games

Brentford at Brighton & Hove Albion, 9 a.m.

Liverpool at Crystal Palace, 9 a.m.

AFC Bournemouth at Ipswich Town, 9 a.m.

Chelsea at Sunderland, 9 a.m.

Aston Villa at Manchester United, 11:30 a.m.

NWSL | W | L | D | Pts | GF | GA | Gotham | 18 | 5 | 7 | 61 | 39 | 23 | San Diego | 18 | 8 | 4 | 58 | 45 | 31 | Washington | 17 | 9 | 4 | 55 | 43 | 28 | Kansas City | 16 | 9 | 5 | 53 | 54 | 39 | Angel City | 15 | 8 | 7 | 52 | 54 | 32 | Portland | 14 | 8 | 8 | 50 | 50 | 41 | Utah | 14 | 11 | 5 | 47 | 44 | 39 | Seattle | 14 | 11 | 5 | 47 | 37 | 33 | North Carolina | 14 | 13 | 3 | 45 | 52 | 42 | Denver | 11 | 11 | 8 | 41 | 53 | 42 | Orlando | 11 | 16 | 3 | 36 | 39 | 47 | Houston | 9 | 15 | 6 | 33 | 38 | 44 | Boston | 9 | 15 | 6 | 33 | 41 | 53 | Bay | 7 | 17 | 6 | 27 | 30 | 47 | Louisville | 7 | 20 | 3 | 24 | 38 | 62 | Chicago | 5 | 23 | 2 | 17 | 17 | 71 | Note: Three points for win, one point for tie. Sunday's Scores Washington 2, Chicago 0

Seattle 1, Orlando 0

Seattle 1, Orlando 0

North Carolina 1, Denver 0

Kansas City 2, Louisville 0

Angel City 4, Boston 1

Portland 2, Houston 0

Gotham 2, Utah 0

San Diego 1, Bay 0

Playoffs Quarterfinals Friday's Game

Utah at San Diego, 10 p.m.

Saturday's Game

Angel City at Kansas City, noon

Sunday's Games

Seattle at Gotham, 12:30 p.m.

Portland at Washington, 3 p.m.

NBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division | Philadelphia | W | L | Pct | GB | Philadelphia | 6 | 1 | .857 | — | Boston | 5 | 1 | .833 | $1\frac{1}{2}$ | Toronto | 3 | 3 | .500 | $2\frac{1}{2}$ | N.Y. Knicks | 2 | 4 | .333 | $3\frac{1}{2}$ | Brooklyn | 1 | 5 | .167 | $4\frac{1}{2}$ | Southeast Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Washington | 3 | 3 | .500 | — | Atlanta | 3 | 4 | .429 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Charlotte | 3 | 4 | .429 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Miami | 2 | 4 | .333 | 1 | Orlando | 2 | 4 | .333 | 1 | Central Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Detroit | 5 | 1 | .833 | - | Cleveland | 4 | 2 | .667 | 1 | Indiana | 2 | 5 | .286 | $3\frac{1}{2}$ | Milwaukee | 1 | 5 | .167 | 4 | Chicago | 1 | 5 | .167 | 4 | WESTERN CONFERENCE

Southwest Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Memphis | 6 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Houston | 6 | 1 | .857 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | San Antonio | 4 | 2 | .667 | 2 | Dallas | 4 | 2 | .667 | 2 | New Orleans | 2 | 4 | .333 | 4 | Northwest Division | W | L | Pct | GB | Portland | 4 | 1 | .800 | — | Oklahoma City | 4 | 2 | .667 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Denver | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1 | Minnesota | 4 | 3 | .571 | 1 | Utah | 1 | 5 | .167 | $3\frac{1}{2}$ | Pacific Division

Sunday's Scores | W | L | Pct | GB | L.A. Lakers | 5 | 2 | .714 | — | Golden State | 4 | 3 | .571 | 1 | Phoenix | 1 | 3 | .250 | $2\frac{1}{2}$ | L.A. Clippers | 1 | 5 | .167 | $3\frac{1}{2}$ | Sacramento | 0 | 6 | .000 | $4\frac{1}{2}$ | Sunday's Scores

Boston 108, Orlando 97

Brooklyn 98, Indiana 90

Golden State 124, L.A. Clippers 112

L.A. Lakers 131, Toronto 125

Monday's Games

Oklahoma City at Cleveland

Detroit at Charlotte

Atlanta at Indiana

Brooklyn at N.Y. Knicks

Washington at Orlando

Chicago at Philadelphia

Sacramento at Dallas

New Orleans at Memphis

Milwaukee at Minnesota

Boston at Houston

Utah at San Antonio

Portland at Denver

Phoenix at Golden State

Toronto at L.A. Clippers Miami at L.A. Lakers

Wednesday's Games

Philadelphia at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Washington, 7 p.m.

Milwaukee at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Chicago at N.Y. Knicks, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Utah at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Cleveland at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

Toronto at Denver, 9 p.m.

Portland at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Dallas at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Miami at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday's Games

Orlando at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Miami at Golden State, 10 p.m.

[COLLEGE BASKETBALL] Men's Schedule

Sunday's Score

Notre Dame 74, Villanova 72

Monday's Games

Miami at Florida

Oakland at Michigan

Army at Duke

Monmouth at St. John's

Quinnipiac at Michigan State

Memphis at Iowa State

Jackson State at Texas Tech

Learmine at Vanderbilt

Gonzaga at Purdue

Fairleigh Dickinson at Illinois

Fordham at Kansas

Gardner-Webb at UConn

Chicago State at Texas

La Salle at Houston

Chattanooga at Louisville

Ohio State at BYU

Arizona at UCLA

Milwaukee at USC

Women's Schedule

Sunday's Score

Notre Dame 99, Villanova 75

Monday's Games

Maryland at South Carolina

Lipscomb at Vanderbilt

Alaska State at Virginia Miss

UC San Diego at Washington

Lehigh at UCLA

Oklahoma at North Carolina

USC at UNLV

Cornell at UConn

Bellarmine at Louisville

Wofford at NC State

Harvard at Minnesota

Southern at Oklahoma State

Morehead State at Kentucky

UIC at Ohio State

SE Louisiana at LSU

Towson at Iowa

[AUTO RACING] F1 Drivers Standings

1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli 380

2. Max Verstappen 261

3. Lewis Hamilton 259

4. George Russell 250

5. Charles Leclerc 245

6. Lando Norris 221

7. Oscar Piastri 150

8. Isack Hadjar 105

9. Liam Lawson 79

10. Pierre Gasly 43

11. Arvid Lindblad 38

12. Franco Colapinto 31

13. Oliver Bearman 23

14. Nico Hülkenberg 13

15. Gabriel Bortoleto 10

16. Esteban Ocon 7

17. Fernando Alonso 7

18. Carlos Sainz Jr. 7

19. Alexander Albon 5

20. Yuki Tsunoda 1

21. Lance Stroll 0

22. Valtteri Bottas 0

23. Ryo Hirakawa 0

24. Sergio Pérez 0

F1 Constructors Standings

1. Mercedes .... 630

2. Ferrari .... 504

3. Red Bull .... 382

4. McLaren .... 365

5. Racing Bulls .... 108

6. Alpine .... 69

7. Haas .... 31

8. Audi .... 27

9. Williams .... 12

10. Aston Martin .... 7

11. Cadillac .... 0

PRECIPITATION FORECAST

T-storms Rain Snow Ice/mix

WEDNESDAY

EXTREMES

HOTTEST: 93°

Falfurrias, Texas

COLDEST: 18°

Sanford, Maine

TUE Showers 86/76

WED A few showers 85/74

THU Showers 86/74 | U.S. CITIES | TODAY | WED | Akron, Ohio | 73/57pc | 71/57r | Albany, N.Y. | 66/50h | 71/56s | Albuquerque | 62/42s | 65/39s | Allentown, Pa. | 69/45pc | 72/56pc | Amarillo, Texas | 59/42pc | 69/45s | Anaheim, Calif. | 78/54s | 78/55s | Anchorage, Alaska | 38/33r | 42/31sh | Aspen, Colo. | 47/26s | 48/27sh | Atlantic City, N.J. | 66/51pc | 69/61s | Augusta, Ga. | 79/59pc | 79/64sh | Austin, Texas | 80/54t | 78/52s | Bakersfield, Calif. | 72/51s | 68/48s | Baton Rouge, La. | 84/69t | 78/54t | Billings, Mont. | 57/33s | 54/33pc | Birmingham, Ala. | 77/68c | 72/58t | Bismarck, N.D. | 50/32r | 54/31pc | Boise, Idaho | 58/39pc | 57/39pc | Buffalo, N.Y. | 72/57h | 74/61pc | Burlington, Vt. | 61/55c | 72/58r | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | 69/48r | 53/47c | Charleston, S.C. | 79/63pc | 80/66pc | Charleston, W.Va. | 78/56s | 75/59r | Cheyenne, Wyo. | 53/29s | 54/33pc | c Cloudy f Fog i Ice r Rain sf Snowflurries sn Snow w Windy dr Drizzle h Haze

CHARLOTTE

TUE High clouds 69/55

WED Mostly sunny 72/57

THU Mostly cloudy 72/61

AQI Moderate

AQI Moderate

AQI Good | TUE | Partly sunny75/55 | WED | Cloudy, warm76/65 | THU | A few showers74/59 | DALLAS/FT. WORTH

AQI Moderate

WED T-storms 79/63

THU Sunny 80/64

TUE Partly sunny 68/57

WED Partly sunny 71/61

THU Showers around 70/62 | TODAY | WED | Cincinnati | 76/62pc | 67/51r | Cleveland | 75/60pc | 71/55r | Colorado Springs | 57/32s | 55/36pc | Columbia, S.C. | 78/58pc | 80/64c | Columbus, Ohio | 74/60pc | 67/56r | Corpus Christi, Texas | 87/62t | 80/64s | Dayton, Ohio | 74/62pc | 66/52r | Daytona Beach, Fla. | 82/71sh | 82/67pc | Des Moines, Iowa | 65/47t | 51/45c | Duluth, Minn. | 59/50r | 51/42r | Durham, N.C. | 75/49s | 77/61s | El Paso, Texas | 70/48s | 77/51s | Fairbanks, Alaska | 29/14s | 30/13pc | Flagstaff, Ariz. | 59/32s | 57/28s | Fargo, N.D. | 47/42r | 50/34r | Fort Myers, Fla. | 86/72sh | 87/72sh | Fort Smith, Ark. | 72/52t | 71/48pc | Fort Wayne, Ind. | 73/61w | 67/49r | Fresno, Calif. | 71/50pc | 64/48s | Grand Rapids, Mich. | 72/62c | 66/52r | Green Bay, Wis. | 67/60r | 64/51sh | Greensboro, N.C. | 73/52s | 72/62pc | Greenville, S.C. | 71/56pc | 70/63sh | Harrisburg, Pa. | 70/49s | 72/60pc | AQI Good

WED Showers 62/51

THU A few showers 58/46

WED Partly sunny 74/53

THU Partly sunny 77/53

WED Shower 86/68 THU Stray t-storm 85/69 AOL Good

TUE Partly sunny 70/51

WED Partly sunny 74/59

THU Rain beginning 73/62 | TODAY | WED | Hartford, Conn. | 71/49pc | 74/56pc | Indianapolis | 74/62c | 68/48r | Islip, N.Y. | 67/53pc | 70/59pc | Jackson, Miss. | 79/65t | 76/53t | Jacksonville, Fla. | 81/67sh | 82/66pc | Jefferson City, Mo. | 72/53t | 61/45c | Kansas City | 66/47c | 58/42pc | Key West, Fla. | 85/77t | 86/76pc | Knoxville, Tenn. | 76/61pc | 71/61r | Laredo, Texas | 86/61t | 84/66s | Lexington, Ky. | 77/63pc | 68/53r | Lincoln, Neb. | 58/46sh | 55/42pc | Little Rock, Ark. | 72/55t | 71/49pc | Long Beach, Calif. | 76/57s | 77/57s | Louisville, Ky. | 76/64c | 71/53r | Lubbock, Texas | 66/44s | 69/48s | Madison, Wis. | 67/56r | 59/49sh | Manchester, N.H. | 70/47h | 74/54s | Memphis, Tenn. | 75/59t | 69/50t | Milwaukee | 69/61c | 64/51sh | Mobile, Ala. | 78/71c | 81/61t | Modesto, Calif. | 64/50c | 67/46s | Montgomery, Ala. | 78/67c | 76/63t | Myrtle Beach, S.C. | 77/62pc | 76/67s | WED - Sunny, nice 79/58

THU - Partly sunny 78/59

[DETROIT] AQI Good

WED Rain 65/52

THU A few showers 61/48

TUE Mostly sunny 56/43

WED Showers around 52/39

THU Showers 54/41 | TODAY | WED | Nags Head, N.C. | 71/60s | 74/64pc | Nashville, Tenn. | 75/65pc | 71/51r | Newark, N.J. | 71/54pc | 71/60pc | New Haven, Conn. | 66/53pc | 68/57pc | Norfolk, Va. | 71/58s | 76/63pc | Oakland, Calif. | 65/52sh | 66/50s | Oklahoma City | 62/45c | 68/49pc | Omaha, Neb. | 58/45sh | 52/44pc | Palm Springs, Calif. | 82/60s | 83/61s | Pensacola, Fla. | 78/71pc | 78/66t | Pierre, S.D. | 49/37r | 54/36s | Pittsburgh | 75/54s | 73/60pc | Portland, Maine | 62/47c | 68/49pc | Portland, Ore. | 61/40pc | 58/47pc | Providence, R.I. | 70/52pc | 72/55pc | Raleigh, N.C. | 77/53s | 79/63pc | Rapid City, S.D. | 54/33r | 57/35pc | Reno, Nev. | 62/34pc | 58/33pc | Richmond, Va. | 73/50s | 76/61s | Rochester, N.Y. | 74/55h | 76/61pc | Sacramento, Calif. | 61/48sh | 69/45s | San Antonio | 81/56t | 78/57s | San Jose, Calif. | 66/51sh | 69/50s | Santa Fe, N.M. | 57/34s | 59/35s |

HONOLULU

TUE T-storms 82/57

WED Mostly sunny 78/54

THU Mostly sunny 80/61

AQI Good

TUE Mostly sunny 75/63

WED Partly sunny 75/58

THU Some sun, nice 76/58

AOL Good

TUE Showers around 67/54

WED Partly sunny 67/52

THU Partly sunny 70/53

AQI Moderate | TODAY | WED | Sarasota, Fla. | 86/72sh | 84/72pc | Savannah, Ga. | 81/65pc | 81/65c | Scottsdale, Ariz. | 77/53s | 77/54s | Shreveport, La. | 74/55t | 73/50c | Sioux Falls, S.D. | 53/43r | 47/39r | South Bend, Ind. | 73/62c | 67/51r | Spokane, Wash. | 47/33pc | 50/37pc | Springfield, Mo. | 70/48t | 64/43pc | Springfield, Ill. | 72/55sh | 60/48c | St. Louis | 72/56t | 63/49c | St. Petersburg, Fla. | 84/73sh | 84/71sh | Syracuse, N.Y. | 68/51h | 75/59c | Tallahassee, Fla. | 84/69sh | 79/68c | Tampa, Fla. | 85/73sh | 85/72sh | Toledo, Ohio | 74/61pc | 66/52r | Topeka, Kan. | 65/46c | 62/43pc | Tucson, Ariz. | 77/53s | 79/54s | Tupelo, Miss. | 74/64c | 72/48t | Tulsa, Okla. | 67/48c | 68/47pc | Virginia Beach, Va. | 70/57s | 73/62pc | Wichita, Kan. | 60/43c | 64/45pc | Wilmington, Del. | 69/48s | 72/57pc | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 72/52s | 72/61c | Worcester, Mass. | 68/53c | 70/55s | AQI Good

AQI Good

LAS VEGAS

TUE Sunny 67/50

WED Mostly sunny 71/53

THU Sunny, nice 71/53

LOS ANGELES

WED Partly sunny 56/49

THU Mostly cloudy 58/48

AQI Good

TUE Mostly sunny 77/56

WED Sunny, nice 78/58

THU Mostly cloudy 81/58

TUE Mostly sunny 72/54

WED Partly sunny 74/62

THU Showers 73/60

AQI Good

WORLD CITIES | TODAY | WED | Beijing | 66/37s | 55/38c | Buenos Aires | 69/63t | 76/58s | Cancun, Mexico | 88/72pc | 89/71sh | Dubai, UAE | 94/80h | 94/78h | Frankfurt | 48/39pc | 51/39c | Hong Kong | 85/78pc | 85/79t | Istanbul | 67/57sh | 61/52r | Jerusalem | 77/58s | 74/56s | Johannesburg | 82/58t | 84/61t | London | 56/45pc | 53/47pc | Mexico City | 81/50s | 80/51h | Montreal | 57/51sh | 68/53r | Moscow | 36/33c | 37/30sn | Mumbai, India | 96/81s | 96/82t | Paris | 53/38pc | 50/37c | Rio de Janeiro | 86/73s | 86/75s | Rome | 68/51s | 67/49pc | Seoul | 65/44h | 67/49c | Singapore | 92/79t | 89/78t | Sydney | 78/64r | 76/63sh | Toronto | 71/56c | 69/58c | Tokyo | 67/57pc | 62/55pc |

LOS ANGELES

WED Partly sunny 56/49

THU Mostly cloudy 58/48

AQI Good

TUE Mostly sunny 77/56

WED Sunny, nice 78/58

THU Mostly cloudy 81/58

TUE Mostly sunny 72/54

WED Partly sunny 74/62

THU Showers 73/60

AQI Good

WORLD CITIES | TODAY | WED | Beijing | 66/37s | 55/38c | Buenos Aires | 69/63t | 76/58s | Cancun, Mexico | 88/72pc | 89/71sh | Dubai, UAE | 94/80h | 94/78h | Frankfurt | 48/39pc | 51/39c | Hong Kong | 85/78pc | 85/79t | Istanbul | 67/57sh | 61/52r | Jerusalem | 77/58s | 74/56s | Johannesburg | 82/58t | 84/61t | London | 56/45pc | 53/47pc | Mexico City | 81/50s | 80/51h | Montreal | 57/51sh | 68/53r | Moscow | 36/33c | 37/30sn | Mumbai, India | 96/81s | 96/82t | Paris | 53/38pc | 50/37c | Rio de Janeiro | 86/73s | 86/75s | Rome | 68/51s | 67/49pc | Seoul | 65/44h | 67/49c | Singapore | 92/79t | 89/78t | Sydney | 78/64r | 76/63sh | Toronto | 71/56c | 69/58c | Tokyo | 67/57pc | 62/55pc |

Novak's rusty old putter sparks magic

Adam Schupak

Golfweek | USA TODAY Network

Andrew Novak had tried all sorts of trendy mallet putters to no avail. Desperate for some putts to fall, he ditched the mallet for a blade putter in August that he'd used in college and had gifted to his wife Maddie as a birthday present back when he was broke and they were dating. He doesn't know the club's loft or lie, just that it feels like old times and it's turned out to be a game changer.

On Nov. 1, Novak earned his second PGA Tour title thanks to holing a tournament-best 456 feet of putts, but this trophy for a national championship came with a distinction he had been chasing: his first individual victory.

The 31-year-old closed with a 2-under 69 at Vidanta Vallarta and cruised to a five-shot triumph at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, finishing ahead of Steven Fisk and Kristoffer Ventura, who both came home in 63.

Novak's lone previous PGA Tour title came alongside Ben Griffin at last season's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the tour's only official team event. He also teamed with LPGA star Lauren Coughlin to win the Grant Thornton Invitational last December. Until Sunday, however, he had yet to lift a trophy on his own in 140 starts.

"It is nice to get one, yeah. Obviously I loved the Zurich and everything about that tournament, that's so fun, but it is nice to have one by myself, too," he said.

"This is one I've been working for for a while. Obviously not a great season for how I wanted it to go, but this is a nice way to kind of finish."

And he did it in dominant fashion.

Novak carried a six-shot lead into the final round after posting blistering rounds of 61, tying the course record, on Friday and 62 on Saturday. At 19-under par for the middle stanzas of the 72-hole FedEx Cup Fall event, he matched Austin Smotherman's Bank of Utah Championship mark for the lowest 36-hole score this season.

“That’s the best golf I’ve played for 36 holes in my life,” Novak said.

The key to Novak's breakthrough week south of the border was that red-hot putter with lead tape on its sole. He entered the week ranked 158th on the tour in strokes gained: putting.

“Tee to green I was actually better this year,” Novak said. “I was just truly one of the worst putters in the world for, well, on the PGA Tour for about eight months. I turned a bunch of 66s and 67s into 69s and 70s, and that doesn’t really get it done out here.”

Novak had climbed as high as No. 30 in the world last year before injuring a rib at the 2025 Memorial that derailed his pursuit of a Ryder Cup bid. This season he settled for seven top-25 finishes but hadn't been in the trophy hunt. He didn't have to look hard to pinpoint what was holding him back. He experimented with different putters, but nothing clicked. Having missed five cuts in seven starts heading into the Wyndham Championship, he dug a T.P. Mills model out of his wife's bag, one that had worked well for him as he worked his way up the ladder of professional golf – from winning just \$6,000 his first year after turning pro in Canada to conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour and retaining his card on the PGA Tour for 2024 thanks to LIV defections.

Andrew Novak lines up a putt on the 11th green during the final round of the VidantaWorld Mexico Open.

ORLANDO RAMIREZ/GETTY IMAGES

“It’s rusted out,” he said, “but I know it works.”

It certainly did in Mexico. Novak led the field in strokes gained: putting and had made 37-for-37 on putts inside 10 feet through the first three rounds.

On Sunday, however, the putter cooled off early – he'd finish 53 of 58 from that distance. He didn't make his first birdie until the par-5 seventh and three-putted for bogey at the 10th, trimming his lead to three shots.

But the trusty flat stick came alive when he needed it most.

Novak birdied three of four holes - beginning at No. 12, highlighted by a 44-foot bomb at the par-4 14th that pushed his advantage back to six. He followed with another momentum-saving moment at the 15th, draining a 14-foot par putt to slam the door on any hopes of a comeback.

“That would’ve gone into a shot glass,” PGA Tour Radio’s Mark Zecchino said.

A bogey at 17 didn't stop him from setting the 72-hole scoring record with a total score of 25-under 259. By climbing to No. 53 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, he should be a lock to get into the first two signature events in 2027, and he's exempt into the 2028 Championship Series.

“He never panicked and kept a great attitude when the putts weren't dropping,” said Randy Myers, director of golf fitness at Sea Island Resort, longtime tour trainer and father-in-law to Novak. “He stuck to the plan and I'm proud of him. He just keeps improving, and those are the ones who stick around because they know the bottom and they know the top. I think this catapults him back into where he needs to be and this time he'll be ready for the next step.”

[COLLEGE FOOTBALL] Heat keeps rising across coaching landscape

John Brice

USA TODAY

The Big Ten never trails the ACC on the gridiron, but it does at this moment in one key category:

Employing coaches who are failing at their jobs.

Hello, Greg Schiano.

Meanwhile, ACC residents NC State and Florida State, swallowing nearly \$70 million in the process, ejected first Dave Doeren and then Mike Norvell.

Baylor separated from Dave Aranda, Maryland parted with Mike Locksley, Sam Houston dispatched Phil Longo and Northern Illinois, that paragon of the Mountain West Conference, will conduct a full-scale search to replace current interim Rob Harley.

Here's USA TODAY Sports' Heat Check: Backside discomfort.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are winning one ... out of every four games against Power Four opponents over a span of more than two years. They're 6-18 in their past 24 after Saturday's 28-21 loss to Michigan.

Of note: The defensive-oriented Schiano just watched his Rutgers squad yield 28 points to Michigan, easily the Wolverines' highest scoring output this season against P-4 competition.

To fire Schiano as of Nov. 2, Rutgers would owe a buyout of \$18.99 million, down a few hundred thousand from a week ago.

Lance Leipold is 29-40 atop the Kansas program that included a 9-win 2023.

JAY BIGGERSTAFF/IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS

Scotty Walden, UTEP: The skid has reached 12 consecutive losses against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.

Worse, UTEP is now 1-17 in its last 18 games against FBS competition. This past weekend, the Miners were dispatched to the coal mines in a 31-7 drubbing by North Dakota State, an absolutely fine program ... in its first year as an FBS program.

Walden's buyout as of Nov. 2 is a tick above \$1 million, no small sum for a cash-strapped program.

But at what cost is inaction?

Lance Leipold, Kansas: Since his breakthrough nine-win campaign in

2023, Leipold, a proven winner and bona fide coach, has been unable to generate any sustained momentum for Jayhawks football.

Again, investment has been a priority for Kansas athletic director Travis Goff. Results have not followed.

Since the start of the 2024 season, Kansas is 13-19, with just one win this season against P-4 competition. Leipold is now 29-40 atop the program.

Like Doeren did at NC State, Leipold has made Kansas a tough out.

But still too often an out.

Tim Albin, Charlotte: The 49ers took a better, much more resourced Tulane program to overtime at home Friday.

And still lost.

They are 2-18 under Albin and paid The Citadel to come into the Queen City and beat them to open the season. It's been mostly a free fall since.

What Albin did at Ohio to earn the Charlotte job cannot be overstated. But this situation isn't a fit.

Warming watch

Brent Key, Georgia Tech: Make it 10 losses in 13 games for Georgia Tech, which isn't the same program without quarterback Haynes King and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who continues to emerge from his new post at Florida as a viable future head coach.

Sure, Faulkner's Gators had a tough time against archrival Georgia. But not as tough as Key's Tech program.

The Yellow Jackets have one, yes, ONE, win this season against FBS competition. They've now suffered losses by 10, 21, 22 and 23 points to fellow P-4 opponents this autumn.

Worse, Tech isn't done losing this season, and its next defeat would clinch a losing campaign. Still on the schedule: Louisville, Clemson and top-15 foes Wake Forest and Georgia.

More ouch is coming.

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin: A college coaching agent reached out to USA TODAY Sports on Sunday afternoon with this warning: "There are two perfect candidates out there for Wisconsin in Jake Dickert (Wake Forest) and Jason Eck (New Mexico). Hard to see Wisconsin standing still if [Luke] Fickell drops one of these next two games."

And what games are those?

The Badgers host the dead-men-walking of Rutgers on Nov. 7, then travel to Maryland, which already has fired its coach, on Nov. 14.

The flip side? Wisconsin clearly is improved, and it could win any combination, or all, of its final four: Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue and Minnesota.

But a loss to either of those two Big Ten cellar-dwellers?

That would be quite damning.

Texas will make the playoff if Arch Manning keeps this up

If Arch Manning could play every game against Mississippi State, he would put his uncles' quarterback careers to shame.

Manning enjoyed a get-right game in a 31-3 romp against the Bulldogs that buoys Texas' charge toward the playoff.

Manning's stats in three career starts against Mississippi State: $73.2\%$ completion rate, 891 yards, eight touchdown passes, one interception.

He didn't choose Ole Miss like Archie and Eli but still found a way to torment Mississippi State.

Texas (6-2) presents as one of the likeliest candidates to make the playoff as a 9-3 team. The Longhorns have four

SEC games left. That includes a road trip to LSU in two weeks.

On Ohio State's growing list of issues, include Texas.

The Buckeyes lost at Texas with Say-in in the lineup, so if both teams finish 9-3 and there's only room for one in the bracket, which do you think the committee will choose?

The US LBM Coaches Poll ignored the head-to-head result and ranked Ohio State at No. 10 this week, one spot ahead of Texas.

The committee can fix what the coaches poll apparently missed: With Manning playing better of late and Ohio State down its starting quarterback, Texas is the superior team.

Sayin's injury is one Ohio State problem that won't go away. The Texas road block looms as another.

Big 12 playoff situation improves

The Big Ten's unraveling comes to the benefit of the Big 12.

The Big 12's playoff outlook keeps evolving. Two weeks ago, the conference appeared to be in great shape to achieve multiple bids for the first time.

Then, in Week 8, BYU and Texas Tech surrendered their undefeated records with upset losses, and some wind slipped from the Big 12 sails.

So much can change in a week, though.

BYU and Texas Tech bounced back with wins, and Utah joins Miami and UCLA as the nation's only undefeated teams.

Wake Forest running back Kyndall McCaleb celebrates his touchdown run Oct. 31 that helped the Demon Deacons improve to 7-1.

JIM DEDMON/IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS

Because Texas Tech will play neither BYU nor Utah in the regular season, there's a chance the Big 12 could finish with two one-loss teams in addition to its conference champion.

These first playoff rankings will reveal some insight into how the committee views the top end of the Big 12.

The ideal situation for the Big 12 would be Utah ranking within the top three, BYU ranking as the top one-loss team not named Georgia or Indiana, and Texas Tech being tucked inside the top 12.

The other ideal situation for the Big12 would be the Big Ten cannibalizing itself, and two-loss teams like USC and

Ohio State becoming three-loss teams in November.

Notre Dame overrated, Wake Forest underrated. Will committee notice?

I made this point after Notre Dame's 35-13 victory over Navy, and before Wake Forest played Virginia: Notre Dame is overrated in the polls, especially when you consider its résumé mirrors that of Wake Forest.

I'm doubling down on that assessment after Wake Forest trounced Virginia, 51-7, to match Notre Dame with a 7-1 record.

Ranked No. 6 in the coaches poll, the Irish are getting more credit than their accomplishments merit. Wake Forest is underrated at No. 14.

It's on the playoff committee to correct the error of the polls.

Where will BYU rank? It needs to be ahead of the team it beat

Oh, one more word to the committee: Do not rank Notre Dame ahead of BYU.

The teams played, BYU won, and the committee shouldn't want until December to recognize that, like it did with the Notre Dame-Miami situation last year.

Let's not repeat that nonsense, OK?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer

[CELEBRATE THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS' | CHAMPIONSHIP] WITH THIS HARDCOVER COLLECTOR'S BOOK

cover not final

\$35.95 reg. \$39.95

plus tax & shipping • offer expires Nov. 29, 2026 • books ship Dec. 4, 2026

10% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME!

WORLD CHAMPIONS! The Brewers didn't just win their first World Series championship; they authored one of the greatest seasons in recent memory. A franchise-record 103 victories. Nearly unbeatable in the postseason. Ended the Dodgers' big-bucks dynasty. Brewer Nation never will forget this season for the ages. And every step of the way, from spring training in Arizona to the final out of the World Series, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel delivered unmatched coverage of the Brew Crew, chronicling its unforgettable victories, larger-than-life personalities and unwavering commitment to Win Our Way. Now the Journal Sentinel tells the inside story of the 2026 world champions in a hardcover collector's book titled "WORTH THE WAIT." Relive all the highlights of the Brewers' 57th season: the historic 22-0 rout of the Mariners, the 20-0 shutout of the Reds that clinched a playoff berth, the celebration of a fourth straight NL Central title, the thrilling playoff series with the Padres, the revenge sweep of the Dodgers and the World Series triumph that brought a championship to Wisconsin. Order now and receive the discounted presale price of \$35.95. Books will ship in early December, in plenty of time to wrap one for the fan in your life who will talk about 2026 forever.

Preorder online at MIL.ChampsBook.com

Preorder by check/money order and ship my order to the address below after Dec. 4, 2026.

Quantity of books: \_\_\_\_ x \$46.49 $^{*}$ = \$\_\_\_\_ total

\*Includes sales tax, shipping, and mail-in processing fees; discount expires Nov. 29, 2026. Order online for best price.

Checks payable to Pediment Books ☐ Pay with credit/debit/PayPal online: MIL.ChampsBook.com

PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY Send form and payment to:

Name

Send form and payment to:

Brewers Book

c/o Pediment Books

12004 NE 95th St., Ste. 850

Address.

Vancouver, WA 98682

City

Please remember to make

State \_\_\_\_ Zip.

checks payable to Pediment Books

Phone \_\_\_\_ E-mail.

Milwaukee Brewers • #PS01

milwaukee journal sentinel PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

Nara Smith just wants to have fun in the kitchen

The popular content creator and influencer talks about her new cookbook, "Homemade." Page 2D

Aerosmith keeps dreaming on with an all-star concert roster

The rockers celebrate with friends and family, including Johnny Depp and Liv Tyler. Page 4D

LIFELINE

JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES

MAKING WAVES

BARRY KEOGHAN

Barry Keoghan is pulling back the curtain on undergoing a cosmetic treatment after previously opening up about receiving online abuse over his appearance. The “Banshees of Inisherin” star recently received non-invasive skin-tightening treatment, according to Nilam Holmes, founder of the clinic Dermaspa. Holmes shared a video on Instagram that showed the actor undergoing a Xerf treatment, which uses radio frequency technology to tighten skin. “I feel better about myself,” the actor says in the clip. “I look better. And I think it’s important to look after yourself, inside and outside.”

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY WHO'S CELEBRATING TODAY

Actor Lois Smith turns 96. Bassist Nick Simper (Deep Purple), 81. Journalist Anna Wintour, 77. Actor-comedian Roseanne Barr, 74. Actor Kate Capshaw, 73. Comedian

Anderson

Dennis Miller, 73. Singer-musician Adam Ant, 72. Actor Dolph Lundgren, 69. Rapper Sticky Fingaz (Onyx), 53. Guitarist Mick Thomson (Slipknot), 53. Actor Julie Berman, 43. Actor Antonia Thomas, 40. Civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick, 39. Rapper Flau'jae Johnson, 23. Actor Ever Anderson, 19.

\- USA TODAY Network

HOROSCOPE | SANCTUARY More: www.sanctuaryworld.co

Aries (March 21-April 19). Having difficulty staying on task? Distraction is inevitable as the moon and Uranus clash! Mine it for a helpful hack!

Taurus (April 20-May 20). Running with a creative impulse? Let the day's events dictate your decision making as the moon and Uranus clash!

Gemini (May 21-June 21). Unable to relax? Blame restlessness on the moon's clash with Uranus! Anxieties will simmer as the day proceeds.

Cancer (June 22-July 22). Expect the unexpected as the moon and Uranus clash. An acquaintance's gossip comes as a shock!

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22). Swayed by a friend's vision? That may be a good thing as the moon and Uranus clash!

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Want a fresh start in the workplace? Be careful what you wish for as the moon and Uranus clash!

Libra (Sept.23-Oct. 23). Feel anxious? Like something unexpected is around the corner? Embrace the unknown as the moon and Uranus clash!

Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Why would they do that? A friend's outburst comes as a surprise as the moon and Uranus clash!

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Quick to criticize? Concentrate on what's within your control and avoid nitpicking as the moon and Uranus clash!

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Breaking the rules? Do so, but don't push your luck, as the moon and Uranus clash.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Sharing your feelings? Release your inhibitions (within reason!) as the moon and Uranus clash!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20). Can you keep your cool? You'll need patience to navigate a loved one's moods as the moon and Uranus clash.

MOVIES

John Turturro, a veteran of theater and television, plays the lead in “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” NATHANIAL GARY/USA TODAY

'Pickpocket' may help lift Turturro to an Oscar win

Patrick Ryan USA TODAY

NEW YORK – John Turturro could rob you blind. ● Not that he wants to, but he got a lot of practice while filming “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” (in theaters nationwide Oct. 30), an elegiac crime thriller about an aging cutpurse named Harry Lehman. Behind the scenes, Turturro worked with sleight-of-hand magician Apollo Robbins, learning how one might snag a watch or wallet undetected.

Hypothetically, “I probably could get into people’s backpacks. With their phones, they’re really distracted,” Turturro explains during a recent visit to USA TODAY’s studio. Nowadays, “if you steal a phone, you have to be able to open it, so it’s a little more of a cyber-thief type of thing. People don’t carry cash!”

Written and directed by Noah Segan, “The Only Living Pickpocket” follows 36 hours in the life of old-fashioned thief Harry, who is estranged from his daughter, Kelly (Tatiana Maslany), and cares for his ailing wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave). But when Harry steals from a crime lord’s son, it sets off a dangerous chain of events that forces him to confront what’s important.

Turturro, 69, is widely predicted by awards pundits to earn his first Oscar nomination for his tragic and tender turn. As a native New Yorker, he liked that the low-budget movie was so enmeshed in the culture of the city: During filming, he often had his hair and makeup done in nearby salons, apartments or corner stores instead of a trailer. And through nonfiction books such as David W. Maurer's "Whiz Mob" and "The Big Con," he discovered a rich history of pickpockets, who "usually came from broken homes and orphanages, and they formed their own sort of family."

He also was drawn to the character of Harry: a quiet, samurai type “who is willing to sacrifice his whole self for someone.” Harry’s devotion to Rosie is something that Turturro understood well as a longtime caregiver for his late brother, Ralph, who battled mental illness and cancer for years and died in 2022.

See TURTURRO, Page 2D

Harry (Turturro) is an old-school thief who is out of step with the times in "Pickpocket," which is putting the actor in the Oscar conversation.

PROVIDED BY SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

STREAMING

Thurman and Hall have killer chemistry

Bryan Alexander

USA TODAY

Uma Thurman is alive, well and returning for Season 2 of the Paramount+ series “Dexter: Resurrection” (premiering Friday, Oct. 30), raising some killer questions.

Now that twisted billionaire Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage) was killed in the “Dexter” sequel’s Season 1 finale, will Prater’s former right-hand woman, Special Ops Officer Charley Brown (Thurman), strike up a romance with recovering serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall)?

Or will Charley end up on the wrong end of the vigilante's knife like her boss? Or both?

Thurman, 56, who was married to actor Ethan Hawke for seven years from 1998-2005, suggests that Charley might be Dexter's perfect emotionally unavailable match.

“They’re both avoidant when it comes to relationship issues,” Thurman tells USA TODAY. “I can relate to that aspect. I understand it very well.”

Hall, 55, agrees there's potential for something beyond a strictly professional partnership, even if Dexter's romantic history is littered with casualties – including his wife, Rita Morgan (Julie Benz), who was murdered by the Trinity Killer.

"I think Dexter, given his appetite to be appreciated and seen, is vulnerable to what Charley represents," Hall says. "But it's a fraught proposition. We'll see."

Dexter is keeping his head down, working as an Uber driver in New York City to remain close to his son Harrison (Jack Alcott). His official reason for the alliance with Charley is personal: to rid the city of Prater's collection of depraved serial killers, including the New York Ripper (a deranged Brian Cox of "Succession") and the Five Borough Killer (Dan Stevens).

Charley Brown (Uma Thurman) gets cozy with serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) in “Dexter: Resurrection.” PROVIDED BY PARAMOUNT+

The quietly disturbed duo even enjoy intimate meetings at an upscale restaurant, where Charley shares an \$8,000 bottle of wine, thanks to full access to dead Prater's deep pockets. The acting duo is convincing sipping the fake expensive wine.

Not that Thurman, who grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, the daughter of Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, would ever dream of dropping \$8,000 on wine.

“I’m from Massachusetts. I would never consider such a thing,” Thurman says. “Maybe if I was at someone’s daughter’s wedding, I’d be like, ‘Sure,’ and try it.”

Hall faces Dexter's killer midlife crisis

Dexter has his own problems in Season 2, including a growing midlife crisis. But Proud Gen X-er Hall, who first played the blood-spatter analyst and secret serial killer on Showtime 20 years ago, doesn't need to stretch for this role.

“Sometimes, writers will be like, you know, ‘Dexter’s older now,’ and I’m like, ‘Yes, so am I,’” Hall says. “I don’t have to sort of indicate that 20 years have passed because 20 years have, in fact, passed. A lot of it takes care of itself.”

Even Dexter's weakening eyesight comes naturally.

"I need glasses, too. So I can relate,"

See DEXTER, Page 2D

CREATORS AND INFLUENCERS

Smith lives for food, family but she's no tradwife

Moises Mendez II

USA TODAY

NEW YORK – Nara Smith is tired, but she'll never show it.

She has been on a press blitz promoting her cookbook, “Homemade”, and has been making stops around New York City before landing at the USA TODAY office, where a few onlookers stared at the paparazzi as their cameras flashed right outside the revolving door. Smith, who commands attention at a statuesque 6 feet tall in a black Moschino Couture minidress embellished with gold cutlery, trades her model smize for a warm smile and a greeting a few octaves above the signature hushed tone reserved for her viral TikToks.

She amassed an online following in the late 2010s as a model on Instagram. But over the last few years, she has become known for her wildly popular ASMR-adjacent videos, in which she cooks from scratch as a 25-year-old mom of four while wearing elaborately chic outfits. They've taken over the For You pages of her 17 million followers across TikTok and Instagram – becoming a lightning rod for the debate about perpetuating traditional gender norms.

"My growth on social media was so rapid that I didn't necessarily understand what would come with that and what that would mean," she tells USA TODAY.

She met her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, online, as she describes in her cookbook, and they married months later. They had their first baby, Rumble Honey, in 2020; their second, Slim Easy, was born in 2022; their third, Whimsy Lou, in 2024; and their most recent, Fawnie Golden, in 2025.

“I moved to an area that was very remote and quiet so that I would have that perfect balance of working and being home with the kids and cooking and doing everything that I need to do workwise, and then when I step out, I can be public-facing and do press, shoots, work with clients, and then I can go home to my kids and have that grounding space,” she says.

Smith changed her relationship to food by making her own

Smith started posting all sorts of videos on TikTok (though she refused to do trendy dances), including outfit checks, her morning routine, and easy recipes for foods she enjoyed cooking, as her diet was becoming more restrictive due to health issues.

"There was a time when I was younger where food was fun and exciting, and I would watch my parents and my grandma cook and see food as this magical, fun thing that can be played with," Smith says. But after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, she developed severe eczema that "became crippling," so much so that she "couldn't function or eat or do anything."

She spent hours researching and found that she “started to see food as the enemy,” she writes in the introduction of her cookbook. She became more diligent about what she ate and limited herself to a handful of foods that wouldn’t cause her any issues.

"My curiosity drove me to start making more things from scratch – not to achieve some impossible perfection, but to know exactly what I was eating, to feel I had some control over my body that seemed beyond my control," Smith writes.

Smith weighs in on 'tradwife' title

Smith learned to cope with her fears, and instead of being afraid of food, she decided to make it “whimsical,” which ultimately led her to start making food from scratch.

“I could control what’s in it, how to customize it, how to make sure it was good for my body,” she says.

While she undoubtedly is revered by people online who commend her for cooking complex dishes, she also has faced backlash and been accused of being a “tradwife,” someone who promotes or embraces stereotypical gender norms by being the homemaker and main caretaker of the kids.

Smith reflects on making content in an increasingly negative internet ecosystem: "I do it for the love of the craft rather than getting any sort of validation from the comments. I always say the people that get it, get it, and those "I don't really pay attention to anything else but honing the craft and entertaining people and teaching them things, hopefully, and inspiring an outfit, maybe?"

"I love creating, I love cooking, I love dressing up, I love sharing that with people, I love engaging with people," creator and influencer Nara Smith tells USA TODAY. "I love everything about my job."

PHOTOS BY NATHANIAL GARY/USA TODAY

are the people I do it for."

She continues, “I don’t really pay attention to anything else but honing the craft and entertaining people and teaching them things, hopefully, and inspiring an outfit, maybe? That would be fun.”

In her July interview on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast – the episode is titled "Nara Smith: Stop Calling Me a Tradwife" – she read the definition of the term and rejected the premise of being labeled as such ("I'm none of that," she said, expressing concern over the "very narrow boxes" women are put into).

Smith views her content differently from her critics who accuse her of promoting traditional gender norms – to her, she's just having fun in the kitchen experimenting and pushing her culinary boundaries.

The first video she made that went viral was her making every component of a jam sandwich by hand – the bread, the butter and the jam. While doing the voiceover, Smith says she spoke quietly because she was putting her kid down for a nap and wanted to make sure she didn't wake them.

This turned into her making increasingly difficult snacks for her kids such as Capri Sun, Pocky, Milk Duds, and Skittles, the latter of which she says she'll never make again. ("They took me so long to make.")

"I started making more things from scratch because my culinary experience kind of evolved because I was a home cook," the mom of four explains, which kickstarted the idea of putting together a cookbook of her favorite recipes from family members over the years and those she developed.

She is in the midst of a multi-city book tour – in addition to her work duties and motherhood.

But she says at the center, it's about approaching everything she loves with passion – and enjoying the chaos of her life, even if that means working 20-hour days. “Social media is such a huge part of my career, and it's so fun, and that's nothing that I want to give up anytime soon,” she says. “I love every part of it, both motherhood and being in the industry that I am.”

Turturro

Continued from Page 1D

"If someone is incapacitated, you're still trying to deal with them as a full human being because they can hear you," Turturro says. "It's not something that's celebrated: putting in a catheter, washing someone, putting cream on their hands, combing their hair. But these are actions that show you love and care for someone. The idea that a very intense film like this can still have room for delicacy and gentleness – that is a rarity."

Turturro reflects on the role that changed his life

Turturro has appeared in more than 100 films and TV series over the last 45 years. He has delivered standout turns in HBO's "The Plot Against America" and Apple TV's "Severance," and collaborated with legends Martin Scorsese ("The Color of Money"), Robert Redford ("Quiz Show") and William Friedkin ("To Live and Die in L.A."). But "Only Living Pickpocket" is just one of a handful of projects where he has gotten to play the leading man.

"I don't think of that so much; I think of the quality of the script," Turturro says. "But as you get older, there are more movies about people who are 25, 30. They throw away a lot of people's experiences. So to have someone [like Harry] who's mature, and is still vibrant and can do a lot of things – it's nice to be reminded of that."

After portraying a string of sleazebags (“Miller’s Crossing”), racists (“Do the Right Thing”) and psychopaths (“Five Corners”), Turturro credits Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Barton Fink” for changing the trajectory of his career. The 1991 comedy thriller traces a pompous playwright’s descent into madness, and Turturro won best actor at Cannes Film Festival for his go-for-broke performance.

“That was a big moment in my life,” Turturro says. “People saw I could play different kinds of characters. I didn’t want to be put into this ghetto of dark roles. And all of a sudden, I started playing writers and intellectuals. I like to write and direct movies, too, so that opened a lot of doors.”

Turturro sees himself as a real-life 'Pickpocket'

Since “Pickpocket” premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January,

Dexter

Continued from Page 1D

Hall says. “I like it better this way. It softens the world up.”

Dexter hasn't lost is his knack for sending villains to a grisly end. Prater learned that lesson in the Season 1 finale, when the billionaire serial killer enthusiast and ringleader ended up strapped to Dexter's signature plastic-wrapped kill table inside his own macabre trophy vault.

It's wasn't just Prater's violent death that made the scene memorable. It was Dexter's refusal to preserve a single souvenir of the billionaire, who had spent years idolizing serial killers.

“What Dexter did, or in that case, didn’t do to him, telling Prater that he hoped to not remember him,” Hall says. “This guy was desperate to sort of be alive in the imagination of these people he fetishized.”

Hall relished the showdown with Dinklage, especially in Prater's sinister vault filled with trophies and grisly memorabilia from notorious serial killers.

Awards are “not the overriding reason why I do something,” John Turturro says. “I do it to express myself and reach you.” NATHANIAL GARY/USA TODAY

“Peter’s amazing,” Hall says. “He’s genuinely playful in the best way and he mixes things up. And that was the first time there’d been a kill in a room in which so much had happened. That vault was like a charged environment.”

Turturro has traveled to numerous fests touting the movie, although he strives not to get too caught up in the hubbub of Oscar campaigning.

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) unexpectedly meets Charley Brown (Uma Thurman) at his favorite diner in “Dexter: Resurrection.” PROVIDED BY PARAMOUNT+

"I try not to look at all of this like sports because I'm competitive with myself," Turturro says. "But certainly, it's nice to be in the conversation and it'd be nice to be acknowledged."

Decades in the industry have given him a healthy relationship with recognition: After all, both “Barton Fink” and “Do the Right Thing” are considered classics now, yet neither picked up any Oscars.

"There are films that have won plenty of awards that don't stand the test of time," the Emmy winner says. "What stands the test of time is that people are inspired by it. All these people say, 'Oh, I saw you in “Transformers!” But I talked to some guy at a Knicks game who said that one of his favorite movies of mine is 'Mac,'" Turturro's underseen directorial debut from 1992. 'I told him, 'You don't know what that means to me.' I'm really proud of that film."

Next spring, Turturro returns to Broadway in the absurdist play “Rhinoceros” opposite Maslany and Tony Shalhoub.

Theater is “always exhausting” and “very humbling,” Turturro says of performing eight shows a week. “You have to really take care of yourself – I don’t even have a little glass of wine with my meal! It’s a Spartan existence.”

Regardless of what the future holds, his ambitions always remain the same: find work that entertains people, but also “lives beyond you.”

“You give away a part of yourself,” Turturro says. In turn, “I take things from people and put it into my soup to create something new. Even though I’m not a pickpocket, I may be a pickpocket as an actor.”

Thurman is ready for more action – or even Dexter's kill table

Thurman, whose bloody katana-wielding exploits in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies cemented her action icon status, wouldn't mind getting more physical in "Dexter: Resurrection."

"I keep thinking that there'll come a day where maybe I'll remind myself about a little more action here or there. But I don't know. That day may not come," Thurman says. "I'm really loving playing this character and being deep inside someone so complicated. These layers of her are unfurling and it gives me a lot of inspiration to come to work."

Of course, there's always the danger that few people remain in Dexter's orbit for long, and some end up wrapped in plastic. Charley doesn't fit Dexter's code of shrink-wrap killing those who really deserve it – fiends who have committed murder and escaped justice. But Thurman is game for the gruesome exit if the show producers come calling.

"I had been thinking, 'I don't know if they're going to put me on that table,' " Thurman says, laughing nervously and getting a "you never know" shrug from Hall.

"I trusted [the writers] to do what was right for the show," Thurman adds, laughing. "Charley doesn't fit the code. So if Charley had ended up on [Dexter's] table I would have do something really fun to get there." | CLUES | SOLUTIONS | 1 place to water-ski (4) | ____ | 2 dialing in (8) | ____ | 3 Luke and Owen (7) | ____ | 4 like a bluebird day (9) | ____ | 5 celebrity chef Emeril (7) | ____ | 6 lukewarm quality (8) | ____ | 7 given first-class treatment (8) | ____ |

EDITED Amie Walker

BY Amanda Rafkin

CIVIC DUTY (FREESTYLE)

ACROSS

1 One might get zapped by a Zapper

7 They might hold hands

11 Young boy

14 Chicken \_\_\_\_ salad wrap

15 Marshmallow chick

16 www.navajotech.\_

17 First Tuesday in November

19 First word of many titles

20 One might be lent or bent

21 Was a success

22 Espresso measurement

23 His child might enjoy going for walks

24 Long stories

25 Sea froth

27 Actor Driver