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Venezuelan government seeks to show it is operating free from US control

By
The Associated Press
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro and has vowed to work with the Trump administration, was sworn in as interim president of Venezuela in the country’s parliament building.

Rodríguez was sworn in by her brother, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez.

“I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” she said with her right hand up. “I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan government on Monday sought to show its people and the world that the country is being run independently and not controlled by the United States following its stunning weekend arrest of Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader who had ruled for almost 13 years.

Lawmakers aligned with the ruling party, including Maduro’s son, gathered in the capital, Caracas, to follow through with a scheduled swearing-in ceremony of the National Assembly for a term that will last until 2031. They reelected their longtime speaker — the brother of the newly named interim president, Delcy Rodríguez — and gave speeches focused on condemning Maduro’s capture Saturday by U.S. forces.

“If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today, it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow, it could be any nation that refuses to submit,” Maduro’s son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, said at the legislative palace in his first public appearance since Saturday. “This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability.”

Maduro Guerra, also known as “Nicolasito,” demanded that his father and stepmother, Cilia Flores, be returned to the South American country and called on international support. Maduro Guerra, the deposed leader’s only son, also denounced being named as a co-conspirator in the federal indictment charging his father and Flores.

While Venezuelan lawmakers met, Maduro made his first court appearance in a U.S. courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and taking him to New York. Maduro declared himself “innocent” and a “decent man” as he pleaded not guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges.

The U.S. seized Maduro and Flores in a military operation Saturday, capturing them in their home on a military base. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that it would not govern the country day-to-day other than enforcing an existing ” oil quarantine.”

Rubio said the U.S. was using pressure on Venezuela’s oil industry as a way to push for policy changes. “We expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking,” Rubio said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

On Sunday, Rodríguez said Venezuela is seeking “respectful relations” with the U.S., a shift from a more defiant tone she struck in the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s capture.

“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Rodríguez said in a statement. Her conciliatory message came after Trump threatened that she could “pay a very big price” if she did not fall in line with U.S. demands.

Before taking the oath of office, Venezuelan lawmaker Grecia Colmenares said she would “take every giant step to bring back (to Venezuela) the bravest of the brave, Nicolás Maduro Moreno, and our first lady, Cilia Flores.”

“I swear by the shared destiny we deserve,” she said.

A State Department official said Monday that the Trump administration is making preliminary plans to reopen the U.S. embassy in Venezuela.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said early preparations “to allow for a reopening” of the embassy in Caracas had begun in the event Trump decides to return American diplomats to the country.

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Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

US-based multinational companies will be exempt from global tax deal

By
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. multinational corporations will be exempted from paying more corporate taxes overseas in a deal finalized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD announced Monday that nearly 150 countries have agreed on the plan, initially crafted in 2021, to stop large global companies from shifting profits to low-tax countries, no matter where they operate in the world.

The amended version excludes large U.S.-based multinational corporations from the 15% global minimum tax after negotiations between President Donald Trump’s administration and other members of the Group of Seven wealthy nations.

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in a statement that the agreement is a “landmark decision in international tax co-operation” and “enhances tax certainty, reduces complexity, and protects tax bases.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the agreement “a historic victory in preserving U.S. sovereignty and protecting American workers and businesses from extraterritorial overreach.”

The most recent version of the deal waters down a landmark 2021 agreement that set a minimum global corporate tax of 15%. The idea was to stop multinational corporations, including Apple and Nike, from using accounting and legal maneuvers to shift earnings to low- or no-tax havens.

Those havens are typically places like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, where the companies actually do little or no business.

Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was a key driver of the 2021 OECD global tax deal and made the corporate minimum tax one of her top priorities. The plan was widely panned by congressional Republicans who said it would make the U.S. less competitive in a global economy.

The Trump administration in June re-negotiated the deal when congressional Republicans rolled back a so-called revenge tax provision from Trump’s big tax and spending bill that would have allowed the federal government to impose taxes on companies with foreign owners, as well as on investors from countries judged as charging “unfair foreign taxes” on U.S. companies.

Tax transparency groups have criticized the amended OECD plan.

“This deal risks nearly a decade of global progress on corporate taxation only to allow the largest, most profitable American companies to keep parking profits in tax havens,” said Zorka Milin, policy director at the FACT Coalition, a tax transparency nonprofit.

Tax watchdogs argue the minimum tax is supposed to halt an international race to the bottom for corporate taxation that has led multinational businesses to book their profits in countries with low tax rates.

Congressional Republicans applauded the finalized deal. Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., said in a joint statement: “Today marks another significant milestone in putting America First and unwinding the Biden Administration’s unilateral global tax surrender.”

Arizona holds No. 1 spot over Michigan by single point in one of the closest AP Top 25 races ever

By
The Associated Press
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Arizona held on to No. 1 by a single point over fast-closing Michigan in the AP Top 25 on Monday, making it one of the closest races for the top spot in the 78-year history of the men’s college basketball poll.

The Wildcats received 32 of 61 first-place votes and had 1,494 points, while the Wolverines scooped up the other 29 first-place votes from the national media panel. The one-point difference kept the first poll of 2026 from becoming the second ever with a tie for No. 1; Oregon State and Virginia shared the top spot on on Jan. 26, 1981.

Arizona has been on top for the last five polls, but the Wolverines have been able to make up ground, thanks in part to becoming the first team in the poll era to win three consecutive games against ranked opponents by at least 30 points apiece. Michigan was 20 points behind Arizona in the last poll.

“All glory is fleeting, as you guys have heard me say,” Michigan coach Dusty May said after the most recent blowout, 96-66 over then-No. 24 USC, which also kept his team among the six unbeatens left in Division I men’s hoops.

The Wolverines have not been No. 1 since Jan. 28, 2013, and that stint lasted just one week.

The top six remained unchanged Monday from the final poll of 2025: Arizona and Michigan were followed by undefeated Iowa State, UConn, Purdue and Duke, while Houston jumped Gonzaga and BYU and Nebraska rounded out the top 10.

The Huskers, who are riding a nation-best 18-game winning streak dating to last season and are off to the best start in school history, are in the top 10 for the first time since climbing to No. 9 on Feb. 28, 1966. Their latest win was a 58-56 slugfest with then-No. 9 Michigan State.

“Happy for Fred Hoiberg. Not that many years ago, everybody was on his butt,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said afterward. “He did a hell of a job. Nebraska did a hell of a job. That was probably the best game — their biggest game — in 36 years. They responded.”

Vanderbilt, another program with scant men’s basketball success, remained right behind the Huskers at No. 11. That is the highest the unbeaten Commodores have been since they were No. 7 in the preseason poll for the 2011-12 season.

“SEC play comes at you fast, and now we know the difficulties of this league and what’s ahead of us,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said after Saturday’s win over South Carolina while looking ahead to Tuesday night’s matchup with No. 13 Alabama.

Michigan State fell three spots to No. 12 following its loss to Nebraska, while the Crimson Tide were followed by Texas Tech and Arkansas in this week’s poll. Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa and Louisville rounded out the top 20, while Tennessee, Kansas, Virginia, SMU and UCF completed the initial top 25 of the new year.

The Knights, who opened Big 12 play by beating the Jayhawks, are ranked for the first time since March 4, 2019.

“We’re not just playing the opponent in front of us. We’re trying to play to our standards,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “I just want them to go out there and just follow their hearts, play for each other, and I thought they did that.”

Rising and sliding

Iowa made the biggest move by climbing six spots to No. 19 following its win over UCLA on Saturday, while Georgia jumped five spots to No. 18. Kansas and North Carolina, which lost to SMU on Saturday, each fell five spots but remained in the poll.

In and out

No. 24 SMU is ranked for the first time since finishing No. 11 in the final poll of the 2016-17 season. The Mustangs and UCF joined the Top 25 at the expense of USC and Florida, which lost 76-74 to Missouri on Saturday night.

On the doorstep

Villanova was the first team outside the Top 25, five points back of UCF. Also on the rise are Utah State and Miami (Ohio), which at 15-0 is the only unbeaten still outside the poll.

Conference watch

The Big 12 led the way with seven ranked teams, including four in the top 10, while the Big Ten had six in the Top 25 and three in the top 10. The ACC and SEC had five ranked teams apiece, and the West Coast and Big East each had one.

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After judge’s ruling, HHS authorized to resume sharing some Medicaid data with deportation officers

By
By ALI SWENSON
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NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s health department starting Monday can resume sharing the personal data of certain Medicaid enrollees with deportation officials, according to a federal judge’s ruling, in a blow to states that had sued the administration over privacy concerns.

But the judge’s decision, issued last Monday, strictly limits the scope of data from the 22 plaintiff states that can be shared — for now only allowing the agency to hand over basic biographical information about immigrants residing in the United States illegally. The states’ lawsuit came after an Associated Press report identified the data sharing policy.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco comes after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it planned to share the data again as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Chhabria in August had initially blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from sharing the personal data, which includes home addresses, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. In December, he extended that temporary order.

Then, last week, Chhabria ruled that after the temporary order expires on Jan. 5, HHS can resume sharing “basic biographical, location and contact information” about immigrants living in the U.S. illegally with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. He wrote in a court filing that this sharing “is clearly authorized by law and the agencies have adequately explained their decisions.”

While the lawsuit plays out, HHS and CMS aren’t allowed to give detailed, sensitive medical information about enrollees to the Department of Homeland Security or ICE, Chhabria wrote. They also can’t hand over Medicaid data about U.S. citizens or legal immigrants in the 22 plaintiff states, he wrote.

In explaining why he blocked the broader data sharing, Chhabria wrote that the new federal policies “are totally unclear about what that information would be, why it would be needed for immigration enforcement purposes, and what the risks of sharing it with DHS would be.”

It wasn’t clear Monday whether HHS had resumed sharing data on Medicaid recipients living in the U.S. illegally, and a spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Immigrants illegally living in the U.S., as well as some who are lawfully present, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program that offers nearly free coverage for health services. But federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Medicaid is a jointly funded program between states and the federal government.

HHS first shared the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June.

In July, CMS entered into a new agreement that gave DHS daily access to view the personal data — including Social Security numbers and home address — of all the nation’s 77 million Medicaid enrollees. Neither agreement was announced publicly.

The extraordinary disclosure of such personal health data to deportation officials in the Trump administration’s far-reaching immigration crackdown immediately prompted the lawsuit over privacy concerns.

Immigration advocates have said the disclosure of personal data could cause alarm among people seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children. Other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration have made schools, churches, courthouses and other everyday places feel perilous to immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear getting caught up in a raid.

CMS in November said its intention to provide the data to ICE is “consistent with federal laws” and intended “to advance administration priorities related to immigration.”

The data sharing comes as the Trump administration has implemented an unprecedented immigration crackdown that has looped in agencies across the federal government and which has included sending the military and immigration agents into multiple Democratic-run cities.

The administration has also made other efforts to share data with immigration officials. In May, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants’ tax data with ICE to help agents locate and detain people living in the U.S. illegally.

US allies and adversaries use UN meeting to blast Venezuela intervention as America defends action

By
The Associated Press
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting Monday after an audacious U.S. military operation in Venezuela over the weekend to capture leader Nicolás Maduro, with the United Nations’ top official warning that America may have violated international law.

Before the U.N.’s most powerful body, both allies and adversaries blasted President Donald Trump’s intervention and him signaling the possibility of expanding military action to countries like Colombia and Mexico over drug trafficking accusations. He also reupped his threat to take over the Danish territory of Greenland for the sake of U.S. security interests.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is “deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected with regard to the 3 January military action.”

He added that the “grave” action by the U.S. could set a precedent for how future relations between nations. Denmark, a fellow member of NATO with jurisdiction over the vast mineral-rich island of Greenland, echoed Guterres’ concerns, saying the “inviolability of borders is not up for negotiation.”

“No state should seek to influence political outcomes in Venezuela through the use of threat of force or through other means inconsistent with international law,” said Christina Markus Lassen, Danish ambassador to the U.N.

Colombian Ambassador Leonor Zalabata said the raid was reminiscent of “the worst interference in our area in the past.”

“Democracy cannot be defended or promoted through violence and coercion, and it cannot be superseded, either, by economic interests,” Zalabata said.

Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. went further. Vasily Nebenzya called the U.S. intervention in Venezuela and capture of Maduro is “a turn back to the era of lawlessness” by America.

“We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge, which alone bears the right to invade any country, to label culprits, to hand down and to enforce punishments irrespective of notions of international law, sovereignty and nonintervention,” he said.

But U.S. envoy Mike Waltz defended the action as a justified and “surgical law enforcement operation,” calling out the 15-member council for criticizing the targeting of Maduro.

“If the United Nations in this body confers legitimacy on an illegitimate narco-terrorist with the same treatment in this charter of a democratically elected president or head of state, what kind of organization is this?” said Waltz, who is Trump’s former national security adviser.

The U.S. seized Maduro and his wife early Saturday from their home on a military base and put them aboard a U.S. warship to face prosecution in New York in a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro made his first appearance in a Manhattan courthouse on Monday.

His stunning removal came after months of the U.S. amassing a military presence off Venezuela’s coast and blowing up alleged drug trafficking boats. Trump has insisted that the U.S. would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, says the U.S. would enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers and use that leverage to press policy changes in Venezuela.

Israel strikes multiple sites in Lebanon ahead of a key disarmament meeting

By
The Associated Press
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SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — Israel’s air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday and early Tuesday, including in the country’s third-largest city.

A strike around 1 a.m. Tuesday leveled a three-story commercial building in the southern coastal city of Sidon, a few days before Lebanon’s army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming militant group Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in a statement Tuesday condemned the attacks as counter to both international efforts to deescalate hostilities and Lebanon’s efforts to extend the government’s authority into areas long dominated by Hezbollah and to disarm militants.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene in Sidon said the area was in a commercial district containing workshops and mechanic shops and the building was uninhabited.

At least one person was transported by ambulance and rescue teams were searching the site for others, but no deaths have been reported.

Israel’s military said Tuesday they targeted weapons storage sites and infrastructure belonging to the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. They acknowledged the sites were located in civilian areas but blamed the groups for operating there.

The strikes were the latest in near-daily Israeli military action since a ceasefire signed more than a year ago that included a Lebanese pledge to disarm militant groups, which Israel says has not been fulfilled.

They took place nearly two hours after Israel’s military Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted warnings on X that the military would strike targets in two villages in the eastern Bekaa Valley and two others in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said a home struck in the village of Manara in the Bekaa Valley belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024.

The areas were evacuated after Israel’s warning. There were no reports of casualties in those strikes. Earlier Monday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a drone strike on a car in the southern village of Braikeh earlier Monday wounded two people. The Israeli military said the strike targeted two Hezbollah members.

The Lebanese army last year began the disarmament process of Palestinian groups while the government has said that by the end of 2025 all the areas close to the border with Israel — known as the south Litani area — will be clear of Hezbollah’s armed presence.

The Lebanese government is scheduled to discuss Hezbollah’s disarmament during a meeting Thursday that will be attended by army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.

Monday’s airstrikes were in villages north of the Litani river and far from the border with Israel.

The disarmament of Hezbollah and other Palestinian groups by the Lebanese government came after a 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah in which much of the political and military leadership of the Iran-backed group was killed.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon in September 2024 that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.

The war ended in November 2024 with a ceasefire brokered by the U.S.

Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes since then, mainly targeting Hezbollah members but also killing at least 127 civilians, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon fired following dismal third season that ended with 3-14 record

By
The Associated Press
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TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon was fired following a dismal third season that started with high expectations but quickly collapsed thanks to injuries, embarrassing gaffes and a long string of losses that became increasingly noncompetitive.

The Cardinals made the announcement on Monday. General manager Monti Ossenfort will be retained.

The final indignity came Sunday, when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cardinals 37-20 after scoring the final 21 points. It was the team’s ninth straight loss and 14th setback in 15 games.

Now a new coaching staff will get the chance to rebuild a franchise that will have the No. 3 overall pick in April, but has been to the playoffs just once since 2016.

The 43-year-old Gannon finished his tenure with a 15-36 record, including 3-14 this season. His firing was not necessarily surprising, but the speed of his downfall was still jarring.

The Cardinals had an 8-9 record last year in Gannon’s second season and the franchise appeared on the upswing. Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray was in his prime and Ossenfort spent much of the offseason upgrading the defense, adding veteran pieces like Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell.

But nothing has gone as planned.

Arizona actually won its first two games of the season, though that would prove to be the high point. The Cardinals lost the next five games by a combined 13 points, including three straight on last-second field goals.

During that stretch, injuries started piling up. Murray hurt his foot in a Week 5 loss to the Titans and hasn’t played since, calling into question whether he’ll be the team’s quarterback in 2026 despite a $230.5 million, five-year contract that could run through 2028.

Starting running back James Conner has missed most of the season with a foot injury while receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. — who was the No. 4 overall pick in 2024 — struggled with injuries and inconsistency.

There were also some embarrassing moments that added to the tension. Running back Emari Demercado dropped the football just short of a touchdown while celebrating too early against the Titans, which started a stunning collapse that saw a 21-9 lead turn into a 22-21 defeat.

Gannon was caught on camera angrily confronting Demercado, appearing to bump the running back as he swiped his arm downward. The Cardinals fined the coach $100,000 for his actions.

Arizona was also called for a franchise-record 17 penalties in a 41-22 loss to the 49ers in Week 11. The Cardinals were 0-6 against NFC West opponents this season, losing the last four by a combined 88 points.

Gannon was hired in 2023 after two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, who reached the Super Bowl during his final year before losing to the Chiefs.

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Miami’s defense has been airtight to fuel run to CFP semifinals. And now Ole Miss awaits

By
By TIM REYNOLDS
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The biggest signing for Miami going into this season might not have been quarterback Carson Beck out of Georgia, wide receiver CJ Daniels out of LSU or defensive back Keionte Scott out of Auburn.

It might have been the guy they got from Minnesota.

Corey Hetherman — Miami’s defensive coordinator — was hired away from the Golden Gophers in January 2025 and given a simple yet enormous task: Fix a defense that was so porous last season that not even a 10-win team with a No. 1 draft pick like Cam Ward at quarterback and the top-ranked offense in the country was deemed worthy of a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The result: The Hurricanes are giving up their fewest points per game since 2001, which not coincidentally just happens to be their last national championship season. They’ve given up 9.7 points per game in their current six-game winning streak, plus an even-stingier 8.5 points per game in its two CFP wins over Texas A&M and Ohio State. And now comes another massive test for Miami (12-2), which will take on high-octane Mississippi (13-1) in a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

“He’s a guy that has no Miami ties,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Hetherman. “But he quickly established himself as a very knowledgeable person with a very high care factor and a ridiculous amount of intensity.”

It all stems from an acronym that Hetherman brought with him to Miami: ESV. It stands for excitement, swarm, violence. That has been the base philosophy for everything that he’s installed at Miami over the last 12 months.

That sort of thinking, combined with a ton of talent, has been the perfect match. Defensive linemen Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor are generally considered to be first-round draft candidates and have been one of the best 1-2 punches in college football, combining for 19 sacks.

“Those two are game-wreckers,” Beck said. “Even just having one of those guys would be a huge impact to any defense. But being able to have both of them has completely changed the course of this season and the way that our defense plays, right? … Obviously, they’ve done a phenomenal job, along with the rest of the defense, this year of executing and playing a physical brand of ball, which is a lot of fun to watch.”

It’s far from just Bain and Mesidor leading the way. The secondary that was shelled last season has 16 interceptions this year, 11 of them coming from either freshman Bryce Fitzgerald or transfer Jakobe Thomas. Scott, who Miami believes was snubbed from some major individual awards, had a game-changing interception for a touchdown in the win over Ohio State. Linebacker Mohamed Toure might have saved the season with a pass breakup near the goal line in the final moments of the win at Texas A&M. The cornerback play is vastly improved. Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe has made big play after big play.

And if all that isn’t enough, Hetherman’s staff includes none other than Hall of Famer Jason Taylor — the defensive line coach who has gone from Miami Dolphins great to Miami Hurricanes great.

The numbers from 2024 to 2025 are simply staggering. Miami was 69th nationally in points allowed and 27th nationally in yards allowed per game last season; the Hurricanes are fourth in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed this season.

“We have done it differently here than I’ve done it everywhere else, as far as like where we install and do certain things on certain days,” Hetherman said. “And it’s worked out really well. And I think our guys are playing fast with the way we’re doing it right now.”

A loss at SMU on Nov. 1 dropped Miami to 6-2 and basically meant the Hurricanes had to win out to have any chance at making the 12-team CFP field. And in those six games, the Miami defense has more than done its job.

Among the highlights during this streak:

— Had seven sacks against Syracuse in a game where Miami led 38-3 before settling for a 38-10 win.

— Built a 41-0 lead over N.C. State, before surrendering a touchdown with 2:10 remaining with a slew of backups on the field. The Wolfpack came into that game No. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s offensive rankings and Thomas had a pair of first-quarter interceptions.

— Recorded five sacks at Virginia Tech in a 34-17 win, the most sacks allowed by the Hokies since — ironically — last season’s bowl loss to Minnesota, Hetherman’s last game with the Gophers.

— Held Pitt to seven points in the regular season finale, the Panthers’ lowest total in more than two years.

— Held Texas A&M to three points in the CFP first-round game in College Station, the Aggies’ lowest point total since 2014.

— Held Ohio State to 45 rushing yards in the CFP quarterfinal win, the Buckeyes’ lowest total on the ground since 2011.

Ole Miss has seen all that, of course. The Rebels have high praise.

“They got dudes,” Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said. “Their front seven, their defensive line, they got dudes up front. They’re physical, high motor defense.”

Those dudes are one win away from a spot in the CFP title game, which will be Jan. 19 on Miami’s home field at Hard Rock Stadium.

“Every person in that locker room is playing for each other,” Bissainthe said. “That’s what it looks like when we’re out there. No one is just playing for themselves. The brotherhood, I feel like it’s one of the most important things in a team’s culture. You’ve got to play for the person beside of you.”

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Flu season surged in the US over the holiday and already rivals last winter’s harsh epidemic

By
By MIKE STOBBE
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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections surged over the holidays, and health officials are calling it a severe season that is likely to get worse.

New government data posted Monday — for flu activity through the week of Christmas — showed that by some measures this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history.

COVID-19 infections also have been rising, other federal data show, though they remain less common than flu.

Forty-five states were reporting high or very high flu activity during the week of Christmas, up from 30 states the week before.

The kind of flu that’s been spreading may be driving the higher numbers, public health experts say.

One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that’s the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 90% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

Flu seasons often don’t peak until January or February, so it’s too early to know how big a problem that mismatch will be.

Last flu season was bad, with the overall flu hospitalization rate the highest since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. Child flu deaths reached 288, the worst recorded for regular U.S. flu season.

Nine pediatric flu deaths have been reported so far this season. For children, the percentage of emergency department visits due to flu has already surpassed the highest mark seen during the 2024-2025 season.

The percentage of doctor’s office and medical clinic visits that were due to flu-like illness also was higher late last month than at any point during the previous flu season.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 11 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths from flu have already occurred this season.

The agency recommends that everyone 6 months and older who has not yet been vaccinated this season get an annual influenza vaccine.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Kentucky, Vanderbilt into top 10 in women’s AP Top 25 after 4 of top 10 teams fall; UConn, Texas 1-2

By
By DOUG FEINBERG
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Kentucky and Vanderbilt made major jumps in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday after four of the top 10 teams lost last week, causing a shakeup in the poll.

This was the first week since the end of November that a new school had entered the top 10 this season.

The first four remained unchanged with UConn still No. 1, receiving 28 first-place votes and No. 2 Texas getting the other four. South Carolina and UCLA followed while Oklahoma moved up to fifth, the Sooners’ highest ranking since they were fourth in the final poll of 2009.

Kentucky and Vanderbilt each rose five spots to sixth and seventh, respectively, after each knocking off then-No. 5 LSU in consecutive games. The Wildcats edged LSU 80-78 on a last-second shot.

Vanderbilt has not been in the top 10 since it was seventh on March 12, 2007. Vandy’s 65-61 win over LSU on Sunday was its first against a top five team in 17 years.

The Tigers, one of seven unbeaten teams to lose over the last week, plummeted to 12th.

Maryland fell one spot to eighth after losing to Illinois, its first defeat of the season. Michigan dropped two places to ninth after a loss at Washington, which re-entered the Top 25 at No. 23.

Louisville moved up three spots to 10th. TCU dropped to 13th after losing its first game of the season to Utah in overtime.

There are only four undefeated teams left: UConn, Texas, Vanderbilt and No. 17 Texas Tech.

Unbeaten no more

Besides LSU, Maryland and TCU losing for the first time this season, No. 11 Iowa State, Arizona State, Alabama and Georgia also all suffered their first losses.

Falling Irish

Notre Dame saw its run of 85 consecutive appearances in the Top 25 end after the Irish (10-4) lost to Georgia Tech and Duke last week. It was the third-longest active streak, trailing only UConn (615) and South Carolina (257). Notre Dame had been in the poll every week since Nov. 29, 2021.

Milestone wins

Louisville’s Jeff Walz and Miami’s Tricia Cullop both earned their 500th career victories last week, doing so in back-to-back games against Virginia Tech.

Game of the week

No. 2 Texas at No. 12 LSU, Sunday. The Tigers will have a chance to rebound from the tough week with a game against the Longhorns. A victory would get LSU back in the SEC regular-season title race.

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