South Florida Local News

General Daily Insight for November 04, 2024

Finding a comfortable balance between practicality and pleasure could strain us today. The energetic Sun trines levelheaded Saturn at 12:36 pm EST, encouraging us to pursue safe and stable strategies that make rational sense. When the impulsive Sagittarius Moon then opposes extravagant Jupiter and conjoins appeasing Venus, however, we might rebel and indulge our whims if we feel too deprived. We can’t be solely logical creatures, so any brilliant plans must leave room for the full range of our human needs.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Your mind may be focused on heavy issues today. Still, you’re not necessarily required to maintain a solemn attitude throughout the entire process — it’s okay to enjoy whatever parts of it you genuinely like! As the perceptive Moon unites with pleasure planet Venus in your 9th House of Expansion, you might have moments when you find adventure in your circumstances and can tell you’re learning something important. Even if the way events happened wasn’t totally ideal, you’ll probably wind up with an interesting story.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

You may currently appreciate the presence of a longtime friend in your life. Bringing money into the equation, however, isn’t as simple as it might sound. While the vulnerable Moon in your 8th House of Shared Resources opposes abundant Jupiter in your personal finance zone, lavishing your funds on your loved one carries with it the potential to introduce an uncomfortable power dynamic. Only give or loan what you can afford to lose, and be careful to avoid lording it over them.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

An opportunity to catch the attention of someone cool could keep you focused on your responsibilities today. When the sentimental Moon in your relationship zone goads cocky Jupiter in your sign, you might be tempted to make a show of getting things done as impressively as possible. No matter how your intended audience reacts to your efforts, you’re likely to achieve serious progress toward legitimate goals in the process. You might as well have a bit of fun along the way!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Approaching a hobby or leisure pursuit in a serious way can get more out of it for you at this time. While the vibrant Sun in your pleasure sector harmonizes with structured Saturn in your research zone, you might consider formally studying the finer points of your activity. Although you’ve probably picked up a fair amount along the way already, you could be surprised at what you’re missing. Pinning down the details should really take your efforts to the next level!

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Having fun with your peers is possible today. While you’re on a roll, you might reveal more personal information than you usually do. This disclosure is likely to be well received when it happens. Nevertheless, it potentially involves a side of yourself that you don’t share with your family. As the Sun in your domestic zone supports restrained Saturn in your intimacy sector, you don’t have to tell them about this encounter — it’s fine to have some separation between different parts of your life!

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Your ambition could currently conflict with your desire to kick back and relax. While the illuminating Sun in your communication sector aligns with wise Saturn in your relationship zone, you might want to talk to someone you trust to obtain a reality check. They’ll potentially be more understanding of your need for a break than you are. Once you receive that validation, your wants may seem less overwhelming. Honor them, but put some thought into how you’re going to do so.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Convincing others to share your beliefs could currently seem crucial. No matter how sweetly you make your case, your overbearing attitude has the potential to become glaringly obvious as the candid Moon in your communication zone opposes pompous Jupiter in your ideological 9th house. Keep in mind that you probably have more going for you than just being right! Focus on the practical aspects of what you propose. If it costs less or offers a simpler process than the alternative, people should be interested.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

An offer of financial help could come to you very soon. Unfortunately, it’s possible there are unwanted strings attached. If a potential benefactor makes it very clear that they are powerful and you are vulnerable, what do they hope to get out of helping you? As the inquisitive Sun in your sign leans on reserved Saturn in your 5th House of Self-Expression, don’t put all your cards on the table right away. Let the situation unfold a bit before you commit to anything.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

You may presently be attracted to someone who can teach you something. This person could genuinely have certain knowledge that you don’t. Still, you’re likely brighter than you’re giving yourself credit for. While the needy Moon in your sign contrasts against confident Jupiter in your relationship zone, you might see all the intelligence in the room as coming from them, but there’s probably some on your side as well. Take in what you can from them, but don’t let them push you around.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Some of the stuff on your to-do list can probably wait for a moment. While the sensitive Moon conjoins sensual Venus in your 12th House of the Subconscious, it’s a good time to slow down and stay open to synchronicity. Once you’re quiet and not doing too much, important insights might float to the surface. Overall, you likely don’t need to tell everyone you know about any unusual experiences you have under this influence. Perhaps those messages are just for you!

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Enjoying a sweet moment with friends could light up your day. Although you may be a little worried about bigger issues like money and where you’re going in life, remembering that the journey counts too can put you in touch with the perspective you need. While the vital Sun in your ambitious 10th house aligns with disciplined Saturn in your money zone, you’re probably doing better than you think, even if progress isn’t as fast as you’d like. Just stay patient for now.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

You could get noticed for something positive today. While the visible Moon meets favorable Venus in your public 10th house, what people say about you is likely to be good. The hard part will potentially be deciding whose accomplishment they’re really referring to — a family member of yours may want a piece of the credit too! Being the bigger person and letting them accept some praise might be worth the trouble if it helps you live in line with your ethical beliefs.

By MATT BROWN and FREIDA FRISARO, Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Concerts and carnivals hosted at polling precincts. “Souls to the Polls” mobilizations after Sunday service. And star-studded rallies featuring Hollywood actors, business leaders, musical artists and activists.

Such seemingly disparate efforts all have a single goal: boost Black voter turnout ahead of Election Day.

How Black communities turn out in the 2024 election has been scrutinized due to the pivotal role Black voters have played in races for the White House, Congress and state legislatures across the country.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who if elected would be the second Black president, has made engaging Black voters a priority of her messaging and policy platform. Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump has sought to make inroads with Democrats’ most consistent voting bloc with unorthodox and at times controversial outreach.

A poll worker assists a motorist out of the path the crowd as they marched and sang to the polls during the “Souls to the Polls” event on the last day of early voting on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Miami. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)

A key strategy in Harris and Democrats’ Black voter outreach includes dispatching the first Black president and his wife, the former first lady, to battleground states where winning may come down to how well the Obamas convince ambivalent or apathetic voters that they must not sit this one out.

Democratic efforts have ranged from vigorous door-knocking campaigns in Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia this weekend to swing state rallies. Michelle Obama rallied voters in Norristown, Pennsylvania on Saturday alongside Grammy award-winning artist Alicia Keys while Barack Obama stumped in Milwaukee on Sunday. The former first lady also conducted her own scrupulously nonpartisan rally on Tuesday where speakers evoked the South’s Civil Rights history.

“I’m always amazed at how little so many people really understand just how profoundly elections impact our daily lives,” Michelle Obama said. “Because that’s really what your vote is, it is your chance to tell folks in power what you want.”

Voters and attendees gather around for t-shirts in support of the Harris-Walz ticket at the Joseph Caleb Center during the “Souls to the Polls” event on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, the last day of early voting in Miami. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)

Efforts to boost Black voter turnout often start at the community level. In Miami, members of local churches gathered Sunday at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center and marched to a nearby early voting center as part of a Souls to the Polls event.

“It helps a lot to encourage others to vote,” said Regina Tharpe, a Miami resident. She had voted earlier, but said people “get excited when they see us walking down the street. It encourages them to get out.”

Sharina Perez, a first-time voter, brought her mother, Celina DeJesus, to vote on the last day of early voting in Florida. She said a number of issues inspired her to vote. “It was for myself, my future, my mom’s future and for the younger generation,” she said.

Miami-Dade residents wait in line to vote at the Joseph Caleb Center during the “Souls to the Polls” event on the last day of early voting Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Miami. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)

Organizers focused on Black communities say they are often combating exhaustion and cynicism about politics, especially among younger Black voters and Black men. But they are cautiously optimistic that their efforts will bear fruit.

“If you want the people who are going to be most impacted to come out, you have to go where they are,” said Jamarr Brown, executive director of Color of Change PAC, whose campaigns aimed at Black voters included live events in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The group has reached more than 8 million voters in those states through text messaging and digital in the last month, he said.

”We’ve been going to those precincts and communities, those new platforms and websites where there is so often misinformation targeting our communities,” Brown said.

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks at campaign rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in College Park, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Other events have had a more free-flowing structure. The Detroit Pistons, for instance, hosted a “Pistonsland” festival in a majority Black neighborhood featuring musical performances from rappers including Lil Baby, carnival games, food trucks and other fanfare alongside the opportunity to cast a ballot. The nonpartisan carnival was constructed next to an early voting polling place.

“I don’t like neither one,” said Karl Patrick, a Detroit native who attended the festival. He strongly backed Harris, however, “because Trump wants to be a dictator.” Not all of his close friends had come to the same conclusion — at least one of his friends was fervently backing the former president, he said.

Black voters are the most overwhelmingly Democratic voting demographic in the country. But the Trump campaign has made a more concerted pitch to win a greater share of Black voters this year, particularly Black men.

A first-time voter cheers before former first lady Michelle Obama speaks at campaign rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in College Park, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The Trump campaign has similarly zeroed in on economic arguments. Trump has repeatedly argued that undocumented immigrants take “Black jobs,” despite economists finding the claim unfounded. The campaign believes the former president’s broader pitch on the economy, crime and traditional values has appeal in Black communities.

“If Kamala wanted to turn our country around, then she would do it now,” said Janiyah Thomas, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign. “We deserve more than token gestures — we deserve a leader who respects us, empowers us, and backs it up with action.”

GOP Reps. Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt have emerged as key surrogates in Trump’s outreach to Black men. The campaign hosted a Black men’s barbershop roundtable with Donalds in Philadelphia in October. The Black Conservative Federation, which hosted a gala Trump attended earlier this year, held a “closing argument” event Sunday with Donalds and Hunt.

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Millions of Black voters, like many Americans, have already cast a ballot in the election, including in Georgia and North Carolina.

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, spoke about that state’s turnout at a Tuesday brunch and bus tour launch hosted by the Black Music Action Coalition.

“The truth of the matter is that Trump has been advising his people who always vote on Election Day to get out early. So they’re the ones that are making these numbers look so big. On our behalf, Black people, we have been slightly underperforming,” Johnson said.

Early Black voter turnout slightly lagged in North Carolina compared to 2020, though increased turnout at the close of early voting shrunk the gap. Whether Black voter turnout breaks records in 2020 hinges on Election Day. Many veteran Black leaders are confident the myriad strategies will bring voters out.

“Now obviously, there’s always a group of people who still don’t believe that their vote makes a difference and they lag behind,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, a Detroit pastor and the president of the city’s NAACP chapter. But so far, he added, “the indicators to us are such that those people are going to turn out. They’re not going to miss this this historic moment.”

Matt Brown reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed.

By JOHN HANNA, SCOTT McFETRIDGE and MICHAEL GOLDBERG, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge ruled Sunday that Iowa can continue challenging the validity of hundreds of ballots from potential noncitizens even though critics said the effort threatens the voting rights of people who’ve recently become U.S. citizens.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sided with the state in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in the Iowa capital of Des Moines on behalf of the League of Latin American Citizens of Iowa and four recently naturalized citizens. The four were on the state’s list of questionable registrations to be challenged by local elections officials.

The state’s Republican attorney general and secretary of state argued that investigating and potentially removing 2,000 names would prevent illegal voting by noncitizens. GOP officials across the U.S. have made possible voting by noncitizen immigrants a key election-year talking point even though it is rare. Their focus has come with former President Donald Trump falsely suggesting that his opponents already are committing fraud to prevent his return to the White House.

In his ruling Sunday, Locher pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court decision four days prior that allowed Virginia to resume a similar purge of its voter registration rolls even though it was impacting some U.S. citizens. He also cited the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to review a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision on state electoral laws surrounding provisional ballots. Those Supreme Court decisions advise lower courts to “act with great caution before awarding last-minute injunctive relief,” he wrote.

Locher also said the state’s effort does not remove anyone from the voter rolls, but rather requires some voters to use provisional ballots.

In a statement on Sunday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, celebrated the ruling.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for election integrity,” Reynolds said. “In Iowa, while we encourage all citizens to vote, we will enforce the law and ensure those votes aren’t cancelled out by the illegal vote of a non-citizen.”

A spokesperson for the ACLU said the organization did not immediately have a comment.

After Locher had a hearing in the ACLU’s lawsuit Friday, Secretary of State Paul Pate and state Attorney General Brenna Bird issued a statement saying that Iowa had about 250 noncitizens registered to vote, but the Biden administration wouldn’t provide data about them.

Pate told reporters last month that his office was forced to rely upon a list of potential noncitizens from the Iowa Department of Transportation. It named people who registered to vote or voted after identifying themselves as noncitizens living in the U.S. legally when they previously sought driver’s licenses.

“Today’s court victory is a guarantee for all Iowans that their votes will count and not be canceled out by illegal votes,” Bird said in the statement issued after Sunday’s decision.

But ACLU attorneys said Iowa officials were conceding that most of the people on the list are eligible to vote and shouldn’t have been included. They said the state was violating naturalized citizens’ voting rights by wrongfully challenging their registrations and investigating them if they cast ballots.

Pate issued his directive Oct. 22, only two weeks before the Nov. 5 election, and ACLU attorneys argued that federal law prohibits such a move so close to Election Day.

“It’s very clear that the secretary of state understands that this list consists primarily or entirely of U.S. citizens who have exactly the same fundamental core right to vote as the rest of us citizen Iowa voters,” Rita Bettis Austen, the legal director of the ACLU of Iowa, said during a Zoom briefing for reporters after the hearing.

The people on the state’s list of potential noncitizens may have become naturalized citizens after their statements to the Department of Transportation.

Pate’s office told county elections officials to challenge their ballots and have them cast provisional ballots instead. That would leave the decision of whether they will be counted to local officials upon further review, with voters having seven days to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship.

In his ruling, Locher wrote that Pate backed away from some of his original hardline positions at an earlier court hearing. Pate’s attorney said the Secretary of State is no longer aiming to require local election officials to challenge the votes of each person on his list or force voters on the list to file provisional ballots even when they have proven citizenship at a polling place.

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Federal law and states already make it illegal for noncitizens to vote, and the first question on Iowa’s voter registration form asks whether a person is a U.S. citizen. The form also requires potential voters to sign a statement saying they are citizens, warning them that if they lie, they can be convicted of a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Locher’s ruling also came after a federal judge had halted a similar program in Alabama challenged by civil rights groups and the U.S. Department of Justice. Testimony from state officials in that case showed that roughly 2,000 of the more than 3,200 voters who were made inactive were actually legally registered citizens.

In Iowa’s case, noncitizens who are registered are potentially only a tiny fraction of the state’s 2.2 million registered voters.

But Locher wrote that it appears to be undisputed that some portion of the names on Pate’s list are registered voters who are not U.S. citizens. Even if that portion is small, an injunction effectively would force local election officials to let ineligible voters cast ballots, he added.

Democrats and Republicans have been engaged in a sprawling legal fight over this year’s election for months. Republicans have filed dozens of lawsuits challenging various aspects of vote-casting after being chastised repeatedly by judges in 2020 for bringing complaints about how the election was run only after votes were tallied. Democrats have their own team of dozens of staffers fighting GOP cases.

Immigrants gain citizenship through a process called naturalization, which includes establishing residency, proving knowledge of basic American history and institutions as well as taking an oath of allegiance to the United States.

Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas, and Goldberg, from Minneapolis.

In this Dolphins Deep Dive video, the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins and David Furones discuss the Dolphins (2-6) finally looking like the team everyone expected them to be but dropping another heartbreaker as Buffalo makes a 61-yard game-winning field goal with five seconds left.

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Florida Democrats brought out everything they could on Sunday — music and prayer, a former president, and a retired NBA superstar — in an attempt to motivate Black voters in a final pre-election push.

At Souls to the Polls rallies in South Florida and elsewhere, elected Democrats, candidates and party leaders presented starkly different visions of what the election could bring: a bright and better America if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president and dark days ahead if former President Donald Trump returns to office.

“I know you’ve seen all of the negative hate, racist rhetoric that’s been on TV,” state Sen. Rosalind Osgood said at a rally next to the early voting site at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale.

“We cannot go back to the days when Black people are being lynched and mistreated. We have to take a stand against it, and I’m going to say it the way that it is. And it is our fight, and this is our time, and we can’t do it without your help,” Osgood said.

She spoke after more than 200 people marched the mile Sistrunk Boulevard from New Hope Missionary Baptist Church to the library.

Many of the marchers said they’d already voted. But Osgood and Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor said they could still affect the outcome. Before leaving, Pryor said, everyone should pull out their phones and text or direct message someone and tell them to vote.

“It’s going to affect every aspect of our lives, your well-being and whether or not you can provide and even maintain in this society for yourself and your loved ones,” Pryor said. “We can’t afford anybody sitting on the sidelines.”

There were many other efforts aimed at mobilizing African American and Caribbean American voters on Sunday.

Just off Sistrunk Boulevard, the main street of the historically Black northwest part of the city, the NAACP held its own voter turnout event.

Udonis Haslem, a star player with the Miami Heat until he retired in 2023 after 20 years with the team, urged people to vote. While there, he and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, recorded a get-out-the-vote video for social media.

Before the Fort Lauderdale Souls to the Polls event, state Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said she’d been to another in Miami Gardens after morning visits to an early voting site in Lauderhill and to churches with Wasserman Schultz.

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And former President Bill Clinton appeared at a Souls to the Polls event at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church near Orlando.

Souls to the Polls events have become a tradition since Florida authorized in-person early voting in the early 2020s. They started with clergy at Black churches urging parishioners to leave services and head directly to the nearest early voting sites.

At the fellowship hall of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Boynton Beach, the Rev. Johnny Barber exhorted the crowd of about 100 people to vote, to encourage others to vote, and to pray.

“This is a consequential election,” he said. “This is one of the most important elections that we will experience.”

It wasn’t hard to gauge the presidential preferences of a crowd full of T-shirts displaying some variation of “Kamala” or “Madame President.”

“She’s intelligent, she’s faithful, she’s determined to help the middle class,” Ramona Young, a retired criminal investigator for a public defender’s office in New Jersey, said about the vice president.

Kathleen Alexis, a Realtor from West Palm Beach, already voted but showed up as a volunteer to help with the event. She supports Harris and feels that Trump’s crudeness and negativity has been unworthy of a U.S. president.

“I’m voting blue,” she said. “I’m just tired of all the disunity.”

Hundreds of people make their way down Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale as part of the Souls to the Polls march on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

After speeches and prayers — and led by a group of motorcyclists — the crowd walked or rode in cars or golf carts to the early voting site on Seacrest Boulevard.

Though Souls to the Polls events are usually billed as nonpartisan, they’re aimed at turning out Democratic voters.

On Sunday, the Palm Beach County Republican Party organized people for phone banking to encourage the party’s voters to turn out and said Republicans would march in a Veterans Day parade Sunday in West Palm Beach. The Broward and Palm Beach County Republican Party chairs didn’t immediately respond to text messages about their other Sunday activities.

In Florida, Democratic turnout could make the difference in who wins a range of lower-level offices.

Chris Smith, a former Democratic leader in both the Florida Senate and Florida House, left public office in 2016. He now practices law and owns Smitty’s Wings Sistrunk, which has been part of the boulevard’s revitalization in recent years.

Smith still organizes and emcees Fort Lauderdale’s Souls to the Polls before every election.

He said he wants Broward, the state’s most Democratic county, to turn out more votes in hope that it can help change the direction of the state. So far, he acknowledged statewide Democratic turnout is “not good.”

Chris Smith, former Democratic Party leader in the Florida Senate and Florida House, left, with Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, at a Souls to the Polls rally adjacent to the early voting site at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Anthony Man/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Wasserman Schultz said Broward Democrats need to turn out every possible vote.

“We have an opportunity to make history on Tuesday,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We know that when Broward votes that the right thing happens. We need to up the numbers in our community. We really have to make sure that in every one of our precincts all across this community that we get the numbers up.”

Fried offered a more positive spin.

“We’re closing the gap. We know that there’s a lot of really diehard Democrats that are waiting for Election Day to vote for that symbolic vote to go into the polls and vote for the first female president of the United States,” she said.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In 16 seasons of covering Miami Dolphins games, including six playoff games, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more stunned locker room than Sunday at Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium.

I’ve seen Dolphins players more angry, more subdued, and more disappointed.

But not more stunned.

The realization is starting to sink in with Dolphins players that with their 2-6 record, they simply aren’t a very good team.

This is why they were stunned.

The Dolphins got kicked in the stomach by the Bills yet again with Sunday’s 30-27 loss on a 61-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass with five seconds remaining.

And now you wonder where this team, with its playoff hopes practically extinguished, goes from here.

Players must be wondering the same thing. They must be wondering whether this team is good enough, or was ever good enough.

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“Our record isn’t indicative of who we are at all,” tight end Jonnu Smith said. “I think everybody that knows the game, that watches the game, that studies the game, I think everybody knows that.”

I’m a firm believer in “You are wat your record says you are.”

I’m kinda on Smith’s side on this one.

But I stick more firmly to the saying about your record.

The harsh reality is these guys aren’t good right now, and because they haven’t had a winning record since their 1-0 start, perhaps they’ve never been good.

When media members entered the locker room at Highmark Stadium, Dolphins players still couldn’t grasp what had just happened. 

Dolphins guard Robert Jones had no answers.

He sat at his locker after the game, still in uniform, speaking in soft tones.

Nearby, Smith wasn’t doing any better.

“Tough one,” Jones said.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Miami shows progress but falls to Bills. Perkins, Furones break it down | VIDEO

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who was on the other side of the locker room speaking to fellow linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. in quiet tones, was also in shock.

“Some things you can’t explain,” Brooks said.

All around the Dolphins locker room players were awestruck — in a bad way.

Coach Mike McDaniel had just had his best game as a play-caller.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (25 of 28, 231 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, 124.9 passer rating) was good.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill (four receptions, 80 yards) got in on the act.

The run game (149 yards on 31 carries) was strong.

But none of it was good enough.

That’s why the locker room was stunned.

The vaunted Dolphins offense, which has scored 27 points in back-to-back games, hasn’t been good enough to deliver victories. They’re 0-2 in their past two games, and Tua has started both games

Yes, you could argue the defense has let down the offense and the team.

On Sunday, it was safety Jordan Poyer with a life-giving unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Buffalo wide receiver Keon Coleman for a hit to Coleman’s head to third-and-9 from the Buffalo 31-yard line with 40 seconds left.

Buffalo got the 61-yard field goal seven plays later.

Bass made that field goal at the closed end of the stadium.

Everyone knows that’s an easier kick than the opposite end of Highmark Stadium, the end that has the tunnels and the locker rooms, the end where the garage door stays open and the breeze blows through.

Here’s where the game was won and lost: the second half.

Buffalo’s four possessions were touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal.

The Dolphins’ four possessions were fumble, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, and one desperate, crazy play that featured one lateral to end the game.

You see the difference?

Buffalo’s outstanding offense delivered in the second half with three touchdowns; the Dolphins’ so-called outstanding offense didn’t deliver in the second half because it had a lost fumble and two touchdowns.

“I just can’t turn the ball over,” Raheem Mostert said.

That’s been the case in two of the Dolphins’ past three losses.

Now the Dolphins, who are on a three-game losing streak, head out west for a Monday night road game at the Los Angeles Rams.

Oh, and by the way, McDaniel is now a .500 coach at 22-22, including the playoffs.

The Dolphins played their best game of the season at Buffalo, and they lost.

The offense was diverse and multiple. Tua was good. The run game was good. Hill and Jaylen Waddle made a few plays.

None of it was good enough.

None of it has been good enough all season.

Now you know why the Dolphins were so stunned.

I hope I never see a Dolphins locker room that’s more at a loss for answers than Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

You could think the Miami Dolphins might feel good about Sunday.

I could think they should feel better, too.

But it’s just a sign of just how bad this season is that there’s emotional hedging and style points awarded because the Dolphins finally looked like the kind of team everyone expected them to be in September and finally were in November.

“I’m proud of this team,” receiver Tyreek Hill said after a 30-27 loss to the Buffalo Bills. “We got better today.”

They’re 2-6.

“We played some good ball,” Hill said. “It’s all about getting better. Moving forward, next week, a lot of guys are going to take accountability on what we can get better at.”

If this was a different season, if they had better planning and playing to this point, they could feel just fine about losing by a last-play, 61-yard field goal against Buffalo a week after losing to a dumpy Arizona and two weeks after losing two an even dumpier Indianapolis.

But if they played like this against Arizona, Indianapolis and Tennessee this wouldn’t be such a gangplank game. So, no, they don’t get style points for this.

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What’s the game plan to salvage anything from this season now?

Tank with Tua?

Do they trade some talent for draft picks at the Tuesday deadline?

Go ahead, name a trade that makes any sense.

The Dolphins could have won Sunday considering their smart game plan, Tua Tagovailoa’s disciplined play and some timely defense if it weren’t for the kind of mistakes losing teams always seem to make.

Like: A fumble by Raheem Mostert at Buffalo’s 36-yard line to start the second half. The Dolphins led 10-6. They had a good chance to stretch the lead. Mostert, who ran for 56 yards, had costly fumble against Indianapolis, too.

“We talk about it all the time, defenders in pursuit, the guys you cant see are who you’re most vulnerable to,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “We’ve got to fix that.”

Then there was the Dolphins defense that pushed Buffalo into third-and-14 from its 26-yard line with 54 seconds left. The game was tied at 27. That’s a good situation to force overtime.

Then rookie Chop Robinson jumped offsides. He had played the best game of his short career, but …

“It’s tough, because you get a third down, I was just ready to rush,” Robinson said.

Then, on third-and-9, veteran safety Jordan Poyer delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit you can’t make. It gave Buffalo a first down. It led to the winning kick.

“It takes it out of everyone’s hands when you go helmet to helmet,” McDaniel said.

Somebody on the defense needed to make a play, and nobody did. You could say Zach Sieler, Jevon Holland and Jaelan Phillips are hurt. You could also say Christian Wilkins is in Las Vegas now and Andrew Van Ginkel is in Minnesota..

What you saw Sunday, if we’re being honest, was two franchises passing in opposite directions through yet another season. Buffalo made the kind of winning plays it has despite having one true star in quarterback Josh Allen. It’s 7-2 now. It’s essentially wrapped up another AFC East title.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, continue to drift through another season in a way that allows them to feel better by degrees after a loss their desperate season needed. Their offense looked like one.

Their defense had a good first half before Allen took over against too many missing pieces, some to injury and others to poor planning.

“This will hurt, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing in the big picture,” McDaniel said. “It just depends on what you do with it. I think the guys are motivated. Didn’t see it coming down like this, but at the same time, you have to hunker down as a unit and come together and continue to progress, because we did show some progress, albeit not enough.”

Progress is good some seasons. But winning was necessary Sunday. You don’t get style points when you’re 2-6.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, ISABELLA VOLMERT and BILL BARROW, Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Two days out from Election Day, Kamala Harris dashed through four stops across battleground Michigan on Sunday without uttering Donald Trump’s name, while urging voters not to fooled by the GOP nominee’s disparagement of the electoral system that he falsely claims is rigged against him.

The vice president said she trusts the upcoming vote tally and urged voters, “in particular people who have not yet voted to not fall for this tactic, which I think includes suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote won’t matter.”

At a Michigan State University rally, Harris got a rousing response when she asked who had already voted and then gave students another job – to encourage their friends to cast ballots in a state that allows Election Day voter registration.

And instead of her usual speech riffs about Trump being unstable, unhinged and out for unchecked power, Harris sought to contrast her optimistic tone with the darker message of the Republican opponent she did not name.

AP Foto/Chris PizzelloDemocratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two as she departs Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township, Mich., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, en route to Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

It was all in service of trying to boost her standing in one of the Democratic “blue wall” states in the Midwest considered her smoothest potential path to an Electoral College majority.

“We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division,” she said in a oblique reference to Trump. “We are done with that. We are exhausted with that. America is ready for a fresh start, ready for a new way forward where we see our fellow American not as an enemy, but as a neighbor.”

Harris also avoided direct mention of Trump during her 11-minute morning talk at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ. But her comments nonetheless served as a clear juxtaposition with the Republican nominee.

“There are those who seek to deepen division, sow hate, spread fear and cause chaos,” she said. She spoke at the same time Trump was in Pennsylvania declaring the U.S. a “failed nation” and saying that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after the 2020 election, which he denies losing to Democrat Joe Biden.

As Trump referred to Harris’ party as “demonic,” Harris quoted the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah and told her friendly audience she saw ready to “chart a new way forward.”

Addressing what was a largely student crowd in East Lansing, Harris promised to seek consensus.

“I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy,” she said. “In fact, I’ll give them a seat at the table because that’s what strong leaders do.””

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks to board Air Force Two as she departs Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township, Mich., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, en route to Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

That was enough for Alexis Plonka, a Michigan State junior who will be voting in her first presidential election. Plonka, who said she has family members who support Trump, applauded the vice president for not referencing the former president directly.

“I think one of the things that turns people off from Trump a lot is the fact that he is so against people that don’t agree with him and that he’s not willing to work with them,” she said.

The approach reflects the wide net Harris has cast since taking the Democratic Party mantle in July after 81-year-old President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. Casting Trump as erratic and unfit for office, she has attracted supporters ranging from progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York to Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Still, Harris is looking to capitalize on core Democratic constituencies — including young voters like those she addressed at Michigan State — in part by emphasizing her support for abortion rights and Trump’s role in ending a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. One of the loudest cheers she received in East Lansing on Sunday evening came when she declared that government should not tell women what to do with their bodies.

Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Harris pushed back at Trump’s characterizations of U.S. elections, charges that the former president elevated again as he campaigned in Pennsylvania. Harris said his latest comments were “meant to distract from the fact that we have and support free and fair elections in our country.” Those “good systems” were in place in 2020, Harris said, and “he lost.”

Harris used her last Michigan swing to acknowledge progressives and members of the state’s significant population of Arab Americans who are angry at the Biden administration for its continuation of the U.S. alliance with Israel as the Netanyahu government presses its war against Hamas in Gaza.

“I have been very clear that the level of death of innocent Palestinians is unconscionable,” Harris told reporters.

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In East Lansing, she addressed the issue soon after beginning her remarks: “As president I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination.”

Some students in East Lansing voiced their opposition Sunday with audible calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. At least one attendee was escorted out after those cease-fire calls.

After attending church in Detroit, Harris greeted customers and picked up lunch at Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles, where she had collard greens at the Detroit restaurant owned by former Detroit Lions player Ron Bartell, a Detroit native. Later, Harris stopped by Elam Barber Shop, a Black-owned business in Pontiac, where she took part in a moderated conversation with local leaders and Black men.

As she returned to Detroit at the end of the day, Harris hopped on a Zoom call from the airport tarmac with “Win With Black Women,” the group that jumped into action for her on the night she first joined the race. Harris thanked the women for their organizing work and urged them to make one final push to “mobilize our Facebook groups, our family group chats and everyone we know” to turn out the vote.

Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, is critical to Harris’ fortunes. Barack Obama swept the region in 2008 and 2012. But Trump flipped Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2016, prompting considerable criticism from Democrats who said nominee Hillary Clinton took the states for granted. Biden returned the three to the Democrats’ column in 2020.

Losing any of the three would put pressure on Harris to notch victories among the four Sun Belt battleground states: North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Barrow reported from Washington.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A personal foul penalty on Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer extended the late Buffalo Bills drive, leading to kicker Tyler Bass’ game-winning 61-yard field goal.

Poyer, back at Highmark Stadium for the first time after spending the previous seven seasons with the Bills, collided with Buffalo rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman deep down the sideline as he converged from the deep center of the field. His helmet made contact with Coleman’s as the pass was broken up.

The flag, on third-and-9 gave the Bills an automatic first down near midfield. After one more first down, Buffalo was in long field goal range for Bass to connect from 61 yards out with five seconds left in the 30-27 loss for the Dolphins.

Poyer disagreed with the call from officials.

“I was just playing football,” Poyer said. “I thought it was a clean play. I felt like I put my helmet right in his chest. Just playing football. It’s tough.”

He was left wondering what a defender should do in that situation when he needs to prevent a receiver from making a catch deep downfield late in the game.

“What can you do? I don’t know,” Poyer said. “I had a great post break. I went up for the ball, and I literally didn’t stop my feet. I felt like I hit him right where I was supposed to hit him. Apparently, the refs didn’t think so. They called it. It is what it is.”

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said, once helmet contact is made, it’s out of the team’s control and in the hands of the officials.

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Veteran Miami defensive tackle Calais Campbell understood Poyer committing the aggressive penalty in a moment of high urgency.

“This is a physical game, and he catches that ball, it’s big time,” Campbell said. “I know he was going for the chest. You go for the chest with the shoulder, sometimes you make contact with the helmet.”

Poyer, in his return to Orchard Park, said his interactions with Bills fans, known as some of the rowdier ones in the NFL, were mostly them showing him love.

Waddle hurt but returns

Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, before scoring the tying touchdown with 1:38 remaining, left the game for a play to get his right shin bandaged after he took a cleat to the lower leg.

The CBS broadcast reported Dolphins trainers had to stop some bleeding for Waddle to return.

“They had to bandage some stuff on his shin,” McDaniel said after the game. “And then when you are down, you have to come out for one play. He was ready to go back in, but based upon rules, we had to wait a play before he did.”

Waddle made his first catch Sunday on third-and-7 in that fourth-quarter series, picking up a first down on the gain of 12 to the sideline. He was inured blocking on a De’Von Achane run that followed. Three plays later, Waddle was in the end zone for the 7-yard touchdown.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Miami shows progress but falls to Bills. Perkins, Furones break it down | VIDEO

Holland misses game

The Dolphins were indeed without safety Jevon Holland for Sunday’s divisional game against the Bills after he entered doubtful with a knee injury. Holland was officially deemed inactive 90 minutes before kickoff.

Holland first injured the knee in the previous Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He had just returned from missing a game with a hand injury, which is still lingering.

Without Holland, safety Marcus Maye started next to Poyer. Maye missed an open-field tackle on Bills running back Ray Davis on his 63-yard touchdown reception.

While the Miami secondary took a hit with Holland out, the Bills receiving corps was without Amari Cooper, who was acquired via trade two weeks ago and entered questionable with a wrist ailment.

Cooper had been opening up the offense for other targets for quarterback Josh Allen in wide receivers Khalil Shakir and Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid.

While Holland was out, the Dolphins will had fullback Alec Ingold available after he was questionable with a calf injury. Ingold aggravated the ailment during the game, though.

The Miami secondary, which was already missing Holland and cornerback Kader Kohou (neck), was also without cornerback Storm Duck (ankle). Second-year cornerback Cam Smith started as the third in the group behind starters Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller, but after Smith was called for a pair of first-half penalties, special teamer Siran Neal rotated in with him.

The Dolphins had ruled out Kohou on Friday, along with defensive tackle Zach Sieler (eye) and tight end Julian Hill (shoulder).

Other Miami inactives were running back Jeff Wilson Jr. and offensive lineman Andrew Meyer.

Another notable inactive for the Bills after Cooper was cornerback Christian Benford, who entered questionable with a wrist injury.

Walker over Long

The Dolphins replaced linebacker David Long Jr. in the starting lineup with Anthony Walker Jr. on Sunday. Walker finished with a team-leading 10 tackles.

Long, a team captain, had been struggling lately, especially last week against Arizona. Despite wearing support on his left knee, he was not listed on the injury report as receiving treatment on the knee this past week.

“I think it was more about (Walker) than anything else,” McDaniel said. “We needed to get him on the field a little bit more, and it’s something that we collectively thought gave us the best chance to win against this particular opponent.”

Offensively, the Dolphins started with Ingold, tight end Jonnu Smith and Achane, with wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Waddle and their usual offensive line.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Once again, the Miami Dolphins made the trek to Highmark Stadium in search of a badly needed victory.

Ultimately, Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass hit a 61-yard field goal with five second left to deliver the 30-27 victory.

The Dolphins played an outstanding game in this one. They ran the ball effectively, coach Mike McDaniel’s play-calling was strong, the defense made a play or two, and things seemed to be going their way.

The Dolphins (2-6) seemed on track to have hopes of reversing a miserable season.

Instead, it was another time that the usual happened. Buffalo won.

Here are some more takeaways from Sunday:

Tua vs. Josh too close to call

Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen dueled to the finish Sunday, and it was a sight to behold. In fact, individually it was too close to call a winner.

Tagovailoa (25 of 28, 231 yards, two touchdowns, 124.9 passer rating) was aided by a top-notch run game and strong play-calling from McDaniel, who stayed with the run game and didn’t force deep passes.

Allen (25 of 39, 235 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, 95.6 passer rating) had a bunch of low throws all day. — Chris Perkins

Tyreek’s day is quiet, but big … if that makes sense

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill (four receptions, 80 yards) had two big plays Sunday — one for 28 yards and one for 27 yards.

Through three quarters he had four targets and three receptions for 61 yards.

Hill was mostly kept in check as Buffalo gave him lots of attention, including jamming him at the line of scrimmage, as expected, from cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Kaiir Elam.

Fellow wide receiver Jaylen Waddle had no targets and no receptions through three quarters. He ended with two receptions for 19 yards, including the game-tying touchdown.

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Run game continues to do good things

The Dolphins, who entered the season as a passing team, rang up their fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, the first time they’ve turned that trick since 1977, with their 149-yard performance Sunday.

Running backs Raheem Mostert 10 carries, 56 yards) and De’Von Achane (12 carries 63 yards, one touchdown) did the bulk of the damage behind the offensive line of center Aaron Brewer, right guard Liam Eichenberg, right tackle Austin Jackson, left guard Robert Jones and left tackle Terron Armstead.

The Dolphins entered Sunday No. 9 in rushing yards per game at 131.7 (just behind last year’s total of 135.8) and tied for 16th in yards per carry at 4.3.

It’s nice to see the Dolphins discover a way to consistently move the ball without constantly needing the long pass.

Highmark Stadium horrors

The Dolphins had lost eight consecutive games at Highmark Stadium entering Sunday, having lost here each year since 2017, including a wild-card playoff game after the 2022 season.

The Dolphins have now lost nine consecutive games at Highmark Stadium.

McDaniel is now a .500 coach

McDaniel has a 22-22 record, meaning he’s a .500 coach.

McDaniel entered Sunday’s game with a 22-21 career record after going 9-9 in 2022 (9-8 in regular season and 0-1 in playoffs), 11-7 in 2023 (11-6 during regular season and 0-1 in playoffs) and 2-5 this season.

McDaniel’s most impressive stretch was the back-to-back wins at Baltimore (42-38) and against Buffalo (21-19) in Weeks 2 and 3 of the 2022 season.

McDaniel’s worst stretch? That could be right now considering expectations for the 2024 season. Or it could be the five-game losing streak late in the 2022 season, or the 2-4 finish, including playoffs, to the 2023 season.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Miami shows progress but falls to Bills. Perkins, Furones break it down | VIDEO

Penalties continue to decline

The Dolphins ended with eight penalties for 57 yards.

Cornerback Siran Neal was called for a defensive holding in the fourth quarter, giving Buffalo a first-and-goal at the 3-yard line in the fourth quarter, a real downer in an otherwise upbeat game for Dolphins penalties. The Dolphins ended up with six penalties for 37 yards.

In the past three games the Dolphins’ penalty yards have been 54 (at New England), 50 (at Indianapolis) and 15 (vs. Arizona).

In the first four weeks the Dolphins’ penalty yards were 103 (vs. Jacksonville), 50 (vs. Buffalo), 85 (at Seattle) and 98 vs. Tennessee).

The Dolphins began play Sunday at No. 9 in penalty yards (455) and No. 13 in penalties (51).

OBJ has first reception(s)

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had a six-yard reception in the first quarter, marking his first reception in four games with the Dolphins. Beckham was expected to be counted on as a reliable third receiving option behind Hill and Waddle but he started the season in the physically-unable-to perform list, missing the first four games, and played just 33 snaps through his first three games.

Beckham added another six-yard reception in the second quarter, absorbing a big hit.

Beckham ended with three receptions for 15 yards.

Ramsey INT turns into points

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey’s interception from a deflection from Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman early in the second quarter was instrumental in the Dolphins’ 10-6 halftime lead. Ramsey’s interception came at the Bills’ 3-yard line.

The Dolphins drove 97 yards in 14 plays to take a 10-3 lead.

Ramsey hasn’t been perfect this season (he was beaten last week by Arizona’s Marvin Harrison and has had at least one regrettable pass interference penalty) but he’s played at a Pro Bowl level, and perhaps an All-Pro level.

Bills return favor on TO-to-TD trick

Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert, who historically rarely fumbles, lost a third quarter fumble on the Dolphins’ opening possession of the half, when they were looking to extend their 10-6 halftime lead.

Buffalo turned it into a 1-yard touchdown pass from Allen to wide receiver Mack Hollins, the former Dolphins player. 

Mostert, who had a key fumble in the loss at Indianapolis, had the ball punched out by cornerback Taron Johnson and recovered by cornerback Kaiir Elam.

Demotions are happening

Linebacker David Long Jr., a team captain and one of the tone setters for the defense with his aggression, lost his starting job to Anthony Walker Jr., making him the second starter to lose his job this season.

Tight end Durham Smythe lost his starting job to Julian Hill, who missed Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury.

Long had been battling knee and hamstring injuries this season. He was burned a few times last week against Arizona tight end Trey McBride.

Smythe had a false start on second-and-5 to make it second-and-11 in the first quarter. The Dolphins converted. Smythe had a nice four-yard grab late in the possession.

Dolphins set a recent franchise best in decades with their first touchdown drive

Miami’s sublime 97-yard drive was the most complete touchdown possession in at least more than two decades. According to pro-football-reference.com, which has drive data culled since 2001, the Dolphins had never had a drive in excess of 95 yards that had taken up either at least 14 plays or at least 8:00 off the clock. That second-quarter Mona Lisa chewed up 14 plays and 8:21. — Steve Svekis

Raheem Mostert has had recent fumble issues in Orchard Park

The Dolphins running back, who had had an excellent game to that point (82 total yards in the game’s first 31 minutes), fumbled for his third mishandle in his past 18 touches on the road against the Bills.

Next year, Bills could send the Dolphins to a tie of a woeful club record

With their ninth consecutive loss at Orchard Park, the Dolphins are a defeat there in 2025 away from tying a franchise record for the longest losing streak in an opposing city. The nine-game skid in Orchard Park trails an 0-10 run in Foxboro, Mass., from 2009-18 and matches one in Oakland against the Raiders from 1966-96 (the Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982-94).

Dolphins have been challenged forcing turnovers, but they haven’t been alone

As has been noted here, through their seventh game of the season, the Dolphins are on a franchise-record pace for takeaway futility, with only five (they grabbed a sixth in their eighth game at Buffalo). Miami entered their eighth game on pace for only a dozen takeaways on the season (on pace for 13 after the Bills game). The team’s worst such number as been the 14 registered in 2022.

Incredibly, five teams entered NFL Week 9 on pace for an even more meager number. The Browns entered with five in eight games, the Eagles had four in seven, the Raiders and Jaguars each had four in eight and the Titans brought up the rear with three in eight. The Cowboys had matched the Dolphins’ five in seven games. The fewest takeaways in a season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) were the seven logged by the 2018 49ers in a 16-game season.

Run game is on its best streak in almost a half-century

With Sunday’s 149 rushing yards, the Dolphins, hit the 149-yard mark for a fourth consecutive game for the first time since 1977. That year, the Dolphins had a quartet of consecutive games running for at least 182 yards (208, 217, 182, 212). The longest five-game streak with at least 149 yards rushing? That came in 1975, when they hit at least 207 yards in a consecutive quintet.

Bills got a big one to remain perfect on fourth down

Josh Allen lofted a ball to old friend Mack Hollins in the back left of the end zone for a touchdown that made Buffalo 9 of 9 on fourth down in 2024.

A note pertaining to a future Dolphins opponent

Quarterbacks have been downright putrid in their outings at Houston’s NRG Stadium. In those four games, Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Anthony Richardson have combined for a 61.1 passer rating, completing 60-of-132 passes for 649 yards, four touchdown passes and three interceptions. The Dolphins play at NRG on Dec. 15. Conversely, in 13 career home games, Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud has an eye-popping 108.6 career passer rating in his 13 home games.

On deck: Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, Monday, Nov. 11, 8:15 p.m.

Tua Tagovailoa faces the team against whom he made his first NFL start, and will play at the stadium where he piled up the second-biggest passing-yardage total of his career (466 against the Chargers in last year’s opener). …

In Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford exists one of the NFL’s last true stationary-in-the-pocket gunslingers in the style of Dan Marino. The last time Stafford faced the Dolphins was in 2018 when, as a member of the Detroit Lions, he came to Miami Gardens and piled up a 134.1 passer rating in a 32-21 Lions win. …

The Rams, despite having given up their first-round draft pick in eight consecutive years (2016-23), have remained competitive after their Super Bowl win to close the 2021 season as they have been helped immensely by some home run third-day draft picks. The Rams have 20 players on their roster who were drafted in the fourth round or later with a couple of home runs in 2022 164th selection Kyren Williams, a running back who piled up 1,350 total yards last year, and 177th pick in the 2023 draft, Puka Nacua, their rising star wideout, who had 1,486 receiving yards as a rookie. By comparison, the Dolphins have half the Rams’ number of their own third-day draftees, 10.

Don’t be surprised as Election Day fast approaches to see many signs outside Florida churches telling you to vote a certain way.

Mixing faith and politics, churches have long weighed in on matters affecting communities in the state and across the U.S., and their efforts are underway this year with the issue of abortion on Florida’s ballot.

One example is at Fort Lauderdale’s Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, a landmark at 5555 N. Federal Highway that’s easily recognized by its spire that is 30 stories high. Just outside the church, two large signs tell drivers-by, in all capital letters, to “Vote No Amendment 4,” the abortion-rights measure. “Vote to protect life.”

In recent days, that led a South Florida Sun Sentinel reader who drives past the signs to question if churches — typically having tax-exempt status — are allowed to take such political stances.

The answer, legal and political observers say, is yes: Churches can use signs to have a say on amendments. The question touches on the broader issue of the myriad considerations for churches, which must abide by a string of do’s and don’ts during elections.

Legal experts say a church’s amendment campaigning already is allowed by federal law. On the horizon could be a legal decision on whether churches and nonprofits would be allowed to endorse candidates.

Legal history

The Johnson Amendment — named for President Lyndon B. Johnson, who authored the amendment when he was still a Texas senator — was passed in 1954 and included in the Internal Revenue Code. It prohibits nonprofits, such as charities and churches, from participating in any political campaign on behalf or in opposition to any candidate for public office. An organization that violates the prohibition could lose their tax-exempt status and face a civil injunction.

But the law does not address the issue of politicking for amendments.

IRS laws are “very specific about candidates, not issues,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. Churches “can advocate for or against issues.”

Because the newest panel of U.S. Supreme Court justices “seem very pro-religion … even if someone (a private citizen) were to try to file a lawsuit, it’s unlikely that it would get much traction over the long run in the federal courts,” he said.

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Bob Jarvis, a professor with Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law, agreed. “Nonprofits and churches are allowed to engage in issue advocacy, as opposed to advocating for a person.”

The current laws allow candidates to speak at churches, too. “That’s how you see Kamala Harris go to churches,” Jarvis said. “That’s OK. But they could not put a sign out saying, ‘This church supports Donald Trump, this church supports Kamala Harris.’ ”

Ripe for a legal challenge?

But Jarvis said some experts believe the Johnson Amendment could be considered a violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech, and in today’s landscape, “if nonprofits were ever to challenge, they would win.”

He bases that on a 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a decision that reversed campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections.

In the court’s opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that limiting “independent political spending” from corporations and other groups violates the First Amendment right to free speech.

And the IRS today doesn’t tend to enforce its own rules about nonprofits campaigning, experts said.

In part, it might “not be worth the bad press,” and seen as taking on a church, Jarvis said. But it’s also likely that’s because they are saying, “We’re not sure we’re going to win this thing.'”

In 2022, The Texas Tribune co-published an investigation with ProPublica that found that while federal law bars churches from directly involving themselves in political campaigns, the IRS has “largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities as churches have become more brazen about publicly backing candidates.”

In the first 40 years after the law was passed, the IRS stripped a handful of religious nonprofits of their tax-exempt status, the news organizations reported. None were churches, the investigation found.

But in 1992, Branch Ministries in New York ran two full-page ads in USA Today and The Washington Times urging voters to reject then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, a Democrat, in his challenge to Republican President George H.W. Bush. Clinton, the ads said, was “openly promoting policies that are in rebellion to God’s laws.”

The IRS revoked the church’s tax-exempt status, leading to a long legal battle that ended with a U.S. appeals court siding with the federal agency.

The case remains the only publicly known example of the IRS revoking the tax-exempt status of a church because of its political activity, Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported.

In 2017, President Donald Trump promised he would “totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution.”

He signed an executive order that directs the executive branch to limit its enforcement of the law, but eliminating the Johnson Amendment would require congressional or judicial action.

Churches’ participation

Churches are participating in various ways in this year’s elections.

Church groups have helped with contributions. This summer, the Orlando Sentinel reported, Catholic groups had donated about $234,000 to Florida Voters Against Extremism, a political action committee opposing Amendment 4, and urged parishioners to reject the proposal.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, the church’s lobbying arm, supported the anti-abortion campaign, both financially and practically. It offered free political consulting services valued at nearly $108,000 to the campaign and used its website to share anti-abortion resources with parishes.

And the bishops have distributed cards that include a “prayer to defeat Florida’s abortion amendment.”

Aside from specifying any ballot measure, some churches have urged people to just get out and vote.

Souls to the Polls, an early voting initiative, has seen churches in African American communities mobilizing Black voters, with weekend events being held in Florida.

Placing signs outside church

For its part, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church felt it was important to voice its position on Amendment 4.

Andrew Nichols, the executive director of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, said in an email statement that the church decided to get involved because “we believe that human life is sacred, from the moment of conception. We believe that it is our moral obligation to educate Christians about what the Bible says about the issues of our day.

“We believe that Christians should support candidates and policies that best reflect their religious convictions.”

On Amendment 4, voters will weigh in whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The question comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis and lawmakers backed preventing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

A Florida Atlantic University poll released Tuesday found that the proposed amendment is close to passage: Amendment 4 has the support of 58% of Florida voters, just short of the 60% threshold that the state requires for passage of a constitutional amendment.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash

One would think that less than a month before Thanksgiving, and two months before the Christmas-New Year’s holiday season, this is not an ideal time for news pages to be filled with reports about an airline’s possible bankruptcy filing, or renewed takeover talk by an old suitor, or a spate of layoffs looming in January.

But the public discussion is one of the realities facing South Florida-based Spirit Airlines as the carrier’s management labors to raise cash and plot a course to return to profitability amid fierce industry competition.

Travelers have choices when they book trips for the year’s busiest travel seasons. As Spirit alters its route network, sells airplanes, cuts capacity and arranges hundreds of furloughs as part of an $80 million cost-cutting program, customers would like to know whether they will be facing changes in their plans.

“I think Spirit is going to do everything possible to minimize disruptions to its customers for the holidays,” said Henry Hartveldt, founder and president of Atmosphere Research Group, an industry consultancy in San Francisco. “One challenge Spirit faces is unfortunately there is a lot of bad news swarming around the airline, and that inspires concern among travelers.”

Spirit, which publicly acknowledged Thursday another round of 330 furloughs among its pilot ranks planned for January, was less clear when asked if the airline plans any route changes that might impact the forthcoming holidays, and whether customers would be notified in advance.

“We don’t have any route adjustments to share at this time,” a spokesman replied by email.

The lobby of a flight crew training facility that includes simulators at Spirit Airlines’ headquarters campus in Dania Beach. The carrier, though, has notified its pilots that it intends to furlough up to 330 cockpit crew members as it downsizes operations as part of an $80 million cost-cutting program. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

In 2023, Spirit was the leader in passengers carried at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, whose annual report placed the discount airline’s share at 29%, or more than 9.8 million travelers using the Broward County airport. JetBlue Airways was second at 20% and Southwest Airlines third at 14%.

“We are a month away from Thanksgiving,” Harteveldt said. “I don’t think we are going to see Spirit make any major changes to the Thanksgiving schedule. If bookings are strong enough I expect the airline will fly the flights scheduled for the Christmas and New Year’s period as well.”

Ivan Reich, a lawyer who lives in West Palm Beach, said he remains a fan of Spirit for its low prices. Asked if he’d continue to fly with the airline amid its turmoil, he replied, “most likely.”

“If you’re flying the next two or three weeks, it’s still the best deal, ”he said. “The price difference between Spirit and everybody else is a lot. And you get to fly nonstop, which is the other thing.

“Will I keep an eye on the news? Of course,” he added. “I’m presuming between now and January they will be fine.”

Capacity reductions

Of late, the airline has engaged in substantial scheduling adjustments, and in a regulatory filing it forecast year-over-year capacity reductions of 20% in the fourth quarter and in the “mid teens” for the entirety of 2025. The reductions are partly attributable to the sale of 23 Airbus jetliners, which will be removed from its fleet.

Late last month, The Points Guy, the travel website for airline passengers, reported Spirit had cut 32 routes, many in the West. The site also noted seven routes were dropped from  Logan International Airport in Boston. Only one route was cut from Fort Lauderdale — to Salt Lake City.

Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, said he doubts any further reductions are in the offing until at least January because the airline already has instituted deep cuts.

“If I had a flight booked for the holidays I would not be worried at all,” he said.

“Hopefully passengers have already been notified and have made alternate arrangements for the holidays,” he added, speaking of flights that have been removed from the schedule.

Specific figures for the third quarter are hard to come by as Spirit has yet to report its quarterly results, saying it will do so in mid-November, well after its peers. In the second quarter, Spirit posted a net loss of $192.9 million. The airline hasn’t posted a net profit since before COVID-19.

Spirit’s shift into downsize mode came after a variety of setbacks for the airline, starting with a federal judge’s rejection of Spirit’s proposed $3.8 billion takeover by New York-based JetBlue Airways on antitrust grounds. JetBlue, which has had its own financial losing streak, is also in the midst of a campaign to make money again.

The proposed takeover by JetBlue would have meant the end of Spirit as an independent carrier. A previously proposed merger with Frontier collapsed in the face of JetBlue’s offer.

Once the merger and takeover offers went off the table, Spirit was left to fend for itself.

One immediate major problem — beyond its control — involves a manufacturer’s recall of Pratt & Whitney engines that forced Spirit to ground aircraft to allow for an extended program of inspections. Although Spirit has worked out a compensation program that runs into the millions to account for the business losses, the aircraft groundings created a major disruption in its operations.

An Airbus jetliner operated by Spirit Airlines, which carried 29% of the travelers using Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last year, takes off from the Broward County facility last spring. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Heavy debts spawn bankruptcy talk

Earlier this year, Spirit CEO and President Ted Christie, who has labored long and hard to upgrade the airline’s brand and reputation — the latest being a revised menu of more fare and service options for customers — publicly bristled at analyst predictions that a bankruptcy filing might be the only way to relieve the company of its financial pressures.

The company line has been that it prefers to renegotiate its debt obligations without the help of a bankruptcy court and the controlled supervision it provides.

But industry analysts have wondered if the approach can be sustained under pressure from lenders who are owed up to $3.3 billion.

“Spirit fully unveiled its standalone plan with a (still low-cost) premium and passenger-friendly offering that should reinvigorate the brand,” Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note to investors. “However, we see risk in the patience of Spirit’s creditors to fund an uphill marketing battle …”

Cash is king, and the airline has spent a number of months building a war chest.

“They have to figure out how to get enough cash liquidity to get to the finish line,” said Joseph Luzinski, senior managing director of DSI, a financial advisory firm in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

By the end of the year, the company has said in a regulatory filing, it expects to have roughly $1.1 billion in liquidity, in large part on the strength of its recent sale of 23 Airbus jetliners. It also borrowed $300 million from a credit line.

“I think what they’ve done is going to get them through the first quarter of next year,” said Joseph Smith, an investment banker specializing in aviation at Cassell Salpeter & Co. in Miami. “They’ve raised enough cash selling these birds.”

The company has not commented on a more recent Wall Street Journal report that it discussed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy scenario with its bondholders, and that it  renewed merger talks with rvial discounter Frontier Airlines in the context of a possible asset acquisition through bankruptcy.

The Denver-based airline has declined comment.

If a bankruptcy filing does occur, Spirit would likely continue flying, but under a court’s supervision. “Even if the worst case happens, consumers are still pretty protected when a U.S. carrier declares bankruptcy because it keeps operating,” Henderson said.

It remains unclear how the airline will ultimately fix its finances as it deals with creditors behind the scenes.

“Often these things are on a parallel track,” Luzinski said. “We’re going to file for bankruptcy and blow everybody out. Or as a negotiating ploy you say, ‘if we make a deal we file and get exactly what you want out of this transaction.'”

Whither the discounters?

Whatever happens, customers such as Ivan Reich would like to see the airline preserved. Without discount carriers, he suggested, consumer choices will be narrowed to legacy carriers such as Delta Air Lines. which charge higher prices.

“I like the cheap flights,” Reich said. “If you are going to go away for a weekend and throw everything in an overnight bag, you can’t beat it.”

“Look at the Spirit prices compared to everybody else and there is a substantial difference,” he added.  “Where are you going to find bargains? What happens to the marketplace where all you have is the legacy carriers?”

Today is Sunday, Nov. 3, the 308th day of 2024. There are 58 days left in the year. Daylight saving time ends today.

Today in history:

On Nov. 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the spacecraft Sputnik 2, carrying the first animal into orbit, a dog named Laika.

Also on this date:

In 1908, Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, outpolling Democrat William Jennings Bryan.

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In 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt easily won reelection, losing just two states to the Republican candidate, Kansas Gov. Alf Landon.

In 1961, diplomat U Thant of Burma (now Myanmar) was elected secretary-general of the United Nations following the death of his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjold, in an airplane crash.

In 1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in a clash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis during an anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush.

In 2012, the lights went back on in lower Manhattan to the relief of residents who had been plunged into darkness for nearly five days by Hurricane Sandy.

In 2014, 13 years after the 9/11 attack, a new 1,776-foot skyscraper at the World Trade Center site opened for business, marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.

In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency, though his victory would not be known for more than three days as counting continued in battleground states; Republican President Donald Trump would refuse to concede, falsely claiming that he was a victim of widespread voter fraud.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 91.
• Economist and Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen is 91.
• Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, is 77.
• Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is 75.
• Boxing Hall of Famer Larry Holmes is 75.
• Scientist David Ho is 72.
• Comedian-actor Roseanne Barr is 72.
• Actor Kate Capshaw is 71.
• Comedian Dennis Miller is 71.
• Singer Adam Ant is 70.
• Actor Dolph Lundgren is 67.
• Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 42.
• Actor Antonia Thomas (TV: “The Good Doctor”) is 38.
• Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is 37.
• TV personality-model Kendall Jenner is 29.

(Editor’s Note: Today’s Opinion page is devoted to the many letters we received about the presidential election, for and against both candidates.)

Still undecided? Why?

It blows my mind that so many people do not realize the danger we’re in. There are still people who claim they haven’t made up their mind. If they would only turn off Fox News and open their eyes, they would recognize that Donald Trump is a menace to society.

How many lies, bankruptcies and felonies, and how much venom he spurs, is enough to realize that if he wins, it would be the end of this country, perhaps the end of the world. I’m not a college graduate, but I know the difference between right and wrong. Donald Trump is definitely wrong.

Fred Brown, Boynton Beach

Harris looks desperate

Panic, or desperation, is setting in with Harris’ campaign.

Why else would she and her acolytes like Hillary Clinton and Joe Scarborough mimic what Gen. John Kelly said about Trump — that he’s a fascist like Hitler.

Why has the Sun Sentinel, out of respect for its Jewish readers, not disavowed this horrendous comparison, knowing how Trump has always supported Israel and how many Holocaust survivors survived the unbelievable horror Hitler put them through?

Doesn’t your editorial board have any compassion for survivors of Hitler, knowing this vile and unwarranted designation of comparing Trump to Hitler is a folly that conjures up awful memories? Your silence speaks volumes about putting politics over decency.

Rob Berg, Boynton Beach

Democracy vs. fascism

Fascism is a key word in this election, but I doubt many Trump people know the difference between fascism, communism, socialism and democracy. Here’s some of what they should know, when considering the type of country they want.

Democracy is government for and by the people; fascism is authoritarian rule by an individual. In a democracy, people have constitutional rights; in a fascist society, people have no inherent rights.

Tracy Anton, Hollywood

Don’t let Trump destroy us

We thought Hitler was full of mere threats in 1933. We learned otherwise.

When a candidate for president threatens a politician he doesn’t like, as Trump did with Liz Cheney, he’s not only endangering her life, he is endangering us all. If Trump is elected, where do threats end and firing squads begin? A vote for Trump is a vote for complete dismemberment of the tenets that uphold democracy in our nation. Think wisely before you vote. You may not get another chance.

Stacie M. Kiner, Hypoluxo

Did Joe Biden get even?

Joe Biden ran as a moderate Democrat in 2020, promising to unite our nation.

Like Kamala Harris, he promised to be a president for all. In reality, he divided us like no other president. His calling Trump supporters “garbage” may be Biden’s way of getting even with the Democratic Party for forcing him out of the presidential race. Biden may have driven the final nail into Harris’ political coffin and cost her the election.

JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater

Non-endorsements? So what?

I do not understand why so many liberals are upset by newspapers not endorsing their candidate for president. You know who you’re voting for; do you really need a liberal newspaper endorsement to tell you? It’s like the fake Democratic Party palm card that shows up every election.

You don’t need a newspaper or anyone to tell you how to vote. Just go vote.

Dennis Ulmer, Fort Lauderdale

Don’t make it a dictatorship

I will never support an attempt to change our country to a dictatorship.

George Washington was asked to be a dictator and he refused, calling the offer disgusting. I value our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Even with its flaws, it is the best such document in the world. I honor the many Americans who have fought to protect us. Democracy is fragile. Once it is gone, it is very, very hard to put back in place.

I ask our citizens to study, think and vote by Nov. 5. I truly believe our government of, by and for the people is at risk. To keep our democracy, I hope Americans will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

Maureen Dinnen, Fort Lauderdale

Who belongs in jail

When I hear Nancy Pelosi say that if we re-elect Donald Trump he will be a dictator who will jail his opponents, it’s like saying a convicted bank robber opposes a mayor who might put him in jail if he robs another bank.

Presidents don’t put people in jail, the attorney general does. If any robbers should be in jail, it’s those who gave billions to the corrupt dictator in Ukraine and $750 in emergency disaster assistance to hurricane victims in North Carolina.

Frank Pucillo, Davie 

The choice is clear

The Trump rally at Madison Square Garden was a platform for anger, division and disdain punctuated by racist and misogynistic rhetoric.

The speakers, including an insult comedian making offensive remarks about Puerto Rico, and Stephen Miller declaring America is for “Americans only,” openly advanced an agenda that marginalizes anyone not fitting their narrow definition of real Americans. I am bewildered that many immigrants, minorities, and even members of my Jewish community support this movement.

Can’t they see how their voices are used as tools in a dangerous, fascist power play? Unlike Trump, who vilifies our own citizens (“the enemy from within”), Kamala Harris criticizes only the candidate and his cronies. That contrast tells us all we need to know.

I. Scott Singerman, Delray Beach

Harris has real solutions

One of Trump’s latest comments, as reported by The Atlantic magazine, is that he “wants the same generals that Hitler had,” and that he once claimed Hitler “did some good things.”

Those of us who know history and watch real news look forward to the inauguration of Madame President Kamala Harris and First Husband Doug Emhoff in January. She has real solutions to real problems. She will keep our economy on track, as President Biden did after inheriting Trump’s mess.

Ellen Menges, Port St. Lucie

A simple question

How can anyone vote for a former president who’s a convicted felon, owes a woman $90 million for sexual assault and defamation, inflated his property value by some $400 million, admires dictators like Putin and Hitler’s generals, and staged an insurrection against our government, and at Madison Square Garden, he held a rally where Latino Americans were insulted?

Michael Paschkes, Boynton Beach

Trump is best for the U.S.

What’s the matter with you, America?

One survey said that 17% of voters are voting for Harris because they don’t like Trump.

Have you lost your minds? It’s not a popularity contest. Vote on the issues and who’s best for the country. Unless you’re brain dead, you cannot believe Harris is best for the country.

Michael Adler, Miromar Lakes

Divisive Democrats

Here’s a hoot. The Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Harris, saying she’s a woman of color who will unite the country. Right.

Nothing brings people together like referring to her opponent as Hitler and his supporters as Nazis. Equating good, decent hard-working voters with the perpetrators of the Holocaust is as low as any politician can sink.

To invoke Hitler when speaking of our 45th president and calling Republicans Nazis is despicable. It smacks of desperation. When you are out of ideas and sinking in polls, the “great uniter” goes into the gutter. These Democrats are the most divisive people on Earth — especially when they’re losing.

Neal Bluestein, Boca Raton

The morning after, maybe

On Wednesday, Nov. 6, we will all take stock of the election results.

If Trump wins, Democrats will be sad, disappointed and fearful.

If Harris wins, Republicans will be angry, vindictive and vengeful.

What else is new?

Barbara Senfeld, Pembroke Pines

Submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out this form. Letters should be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length. 

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As Floridians, we stand on the brink of an election that could profoundly shape the future of our communities, our state and our country for generations to come. Our choices in this election will echo beyond Election Day, which is why every eligible voter must cast a ballot.

Voting is our most powerful tool for change. Locally, our votes signify personal preference. Florida’s ballot offers a chance to restore reproductive rights, to challenge outdated marijuana laws that discriminate against Black and Brown communities, and to elevate leaders who uphold justice.

Nancy Metayer Bowen is a city commissioner in Coral Springs. (courtesy, Nancy Metayer Bowen)

Nationally, our votes signify our collective desire for freedom, our eagerness to help shape legislative policies and our dedication to protecting our courts by voting for those, like the president and senators, who play a crucial role in appointing to the federal bench fair-minded judges, whose rulings will impact our everyday lives.

The consequences of judicial appointments are clearer today than they have been in years. It’s been four years since Donald Trump left office, and the judges he appointed, with the support of senators like Rick Scott, continue undermining essential rights and freedoms. We are witnessing relentless attacks on affirmative action, reproductive rights, environmental protections and other hard-won advances meant to promote justice and equality.

Floridians are experiencing some of the most extreme consequences of the past administration’s judicial agenda. Supreme Court justices appointed by Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping away women’s right to choose. Florida responded by enacting severe abortion restrictions that directly impact maternal health and disproportionately endanger the lives of Black women, who are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications.

For every publicized, tragic story, countless more are hidden from the headlines. Restrictive reproductive laws impact families, workplaces and communities, weakening the very fabric of our society as a result of court decisions that are life-and-death matters affecting the well-being and safety of millions. The ripple effects of this issue alone are closely tied to decisions being made in our courts.

As the proud daughter of Haitian immigrants, I am increasingly worried about the future my children will inherit if we fail to vote. The nation’s health care system, which includes reproductive care, has failed Black women, ignoring their pain, dismissing their needs and putting their lives at risk.

But with this election, we can push back, demand accountability and secure the rights and protections we deserve. This election allows us to say enough of courtroom judges who prioritize their personal beliefs and power over justice.

Voting in this election is not just about choosing candidates. It’s about choosing a vision for our future. It’s about electing leaders who will advocate for an America that respects all its citizens, supports a judiciary that upholds rights and values every life and voice.

With our votes, we can build a society where Black women are safe, where immigrant children can dream without fear, and where justice is more than a hollow promise.

To every Floridian, I urge you to recognize the weight of this moment. Vote like your life depends on it — because for many, it genuinely does. Vote for your loved ones and for those who cannot cast a ballot. Every vote we cast is a stand against oppression, a declaration of resilience and a rejection of regression.

This moment is ours. Our ancestors fought, sacrificed and struggled for the rights we often take for granted today. We owe it to them — and to ourselves — to continue that struggle and to carry their legacy forward. With our votes, we have the power to demand the America we want to see, including courts that reflect the value of the people they serve.

Let’s make our voices heard and build the America we deserve.

Nancy Metayer Bowen is a city commissioner in Coral Springs. She is the first Black and Haitian-American woman to serve on the commission.

Q:  Ira, I suspect that before the Bucks allow Giannis Antotokounmpo to get away, they will try to move Damian Lillard. Lillard doesn’t seem to enjoy playing for the Bucks. He has had a lot of poor shooting games and doesn’t play any defense. Maybe if the Bucks can get some younger talent and some picks, they’ll be able to appease Giannis. It might have been fortunate the Heat never acquired Dame. – Rich Plantation.

A: Or it could open the door for the Heat to make another run at Damian Lillard. And then the question becomes if the willingness would be similar to when the bid was considered for Dame in the 2023 offseason with Portland. For example, what previously did not stand as a question now might: Would you trade Tyler Herro, and his youth, and his significantly lower salary, for Dame? For that matter, would consideration be made for a possible three-team deal that would send Jimmy Butler to the Warriors and bring in Dame? Some of the shine appeared to have been tarnished when it comes to a player, in Lillard, who now is 34 and has three years left on his contract at $48.7 million this season, $54 million next season and a player option for $58.8 million in 2026-27. But then came Saturday night’s 41-point performance by Lillard that included 10 3-pointers. But it also came in another Bucks loss.

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Q: So the Heat went to Mexico because of Jaime Jaquez Jr., so next to Serbia for Nikola Jovic? – Ant.

A: I would think if the NBA was going to Serbia to showcase a Nikola, it would be Jokic and not Jovic. Besides there is a lot more to the equation, including NBA-level infrastructure, from the arena on down, as well as a desire to build a market. The NBA approach would far more likely be an exhibition in such an instant, because of the logistics.

Q: I hope we play Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson. – Ivan.

A: Eventually, yes. But only when needed, as was the case with Pelle Larsson getting his minutes in a deeper rotation at altitude on Saturday night in Mexico City. If this was a team building for the future, it would be one thing. But after last season’s miserable start, the Heat have the look of a team living in the moment. So Kel’el Ware and Larsson are getting ample reps in practice and even pre-practice. And when Erik Spoelstra sees enough, convinced one or both can help winning, then they play. This is not summer league. This is not preseason. This is a team with a very fine margin of error when it comes to positioning in the East.

Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s  118-98 victory over the Washington Wizards in Mexico City:

– The irony of this one is that it seemingly took the thin air for Bam Adebayo to finally exhale.

– After failing to score more than 12 points in any of the previous fours games this season, Adebayo surpassed that total early in the second period and was up to 20 points at halftime.

– He took the Heat’s first shot, scoring the Heat’s first basket.

– Draining threes along the way.

– It shouldn’t have taken this long.

– Or required going to such lengths.

– Or reaching such an altitude to get this kind of result.

– But Adebayo needed it.

– As much as the Heat needed it from him.

– Now all he has to do is do it again.

– And again.

– And again.

– The 20-point first half was Adebayo’s highest-scoring half since he had 20 in New Orleans in the second half last February.

– It was his highest-scoring first half since he scored 20 over the first two periods against the visiting Pacers on Feb. 7, 2023.

– The Heat remained for the fifth time in as many games with an opening lineup of Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier.

– Out for the Heat were Kevin Love (personal reasons), Duncan Robinson (personal reasons), Josh Christopher (G League) and Keshad Johnson (G League).

– That left the Heat with 13 available players.

– The Wizards started three rookies: Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr. Plus second-year Bilal Coulibaly and Jordan Poole.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. continued as Heat sixth man.

– Alec Burks and Thomas Bryant followed, with Burks getting his run with Robinson out.

– And then Josh Richardson made his season debut, after being sidelined by shoulder, heel and calf issues.

– Richardson entered playing point guard.

– With the Heat, in part because of the altitude, going 10 deep early, with Pelle Larsson entering in the second period.

– Butler’s second assist was the 3,500th of his career.

– Burks’ first point was the 8,000th of his NBA career.

– Herro converted a 3-pointer for the 44th consecutive game. His longest career streak is 53 consecutive such games.

– Herro scored in double figures for the 35th consecutive game, three games shy of the longest such streak of his career.

– Of the trip, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said going into the game, “It’s fun. We love it down here. I know it’s also a special time for Jaime.”

– Spoelstra also said, “I think these are great experiences. We’ve enjoyed it.”

– Asked before the game about Jaquez’s uniqueness as a person, Spoelstra said, “He’s like a renaissance man. He’s a really interesting guy. He has a lot of different interests.”

– Of playing on the night of Mexico’s Dia de la Muertos, Spoelstra said, “It’s always alive in here.”

– The game came a day after Spoelstra’s 54th birthday.

– Asked pregame how he celebrated, Spoelstra said, “I celebrated with a hard, two-hour practice with the team and a nice dinner with the staff afterwards.”

– Butler spoke of his passion as a fan in making the trip, “I love that they love basketball here, but I’m a football player first, that’s my first true love.”

– As in soccer.

– Of the trip, Adebayo said, “This is my third team being here and it’s a surreal moment, always.”

– The game counted against the Wizards’ home schedule, but Adebayo said the trip felt otherwise.

– “Here I don’t think we’re the visiting team,” he said. “Even if we didn’t have Jaime, I feel like there’s a lot of great support of Heat fans here.”

– And, “For us here, I don’t feel like we’re a road team.”

– Adebayo added, “I’ve said it before, the atmosphere is amazing here. It’s a different culture, but it’s kind of the same when you go to Miami.”

– Of the Heat’s goal going in, Spoelstra said, “It’s just about where we are early in the season. We’re trying to gain our footing and to see if we can improve.”

– Former Heat guard Goran Dragic was among ex-NBA players in attendance.

On Día de los Muertos on Saturday in Mexico City, the Miami Heat came to life.

Uneven over their first four games, and coming off a disheartening Wednesday night home loss to the New York Knicks, the Heat found their legs at altitude in a 118-98 victory over the Washington Wizards.

The turnarounds were numerous for Erik Spoelstra’s team, from the first emphatic statement of the season by center Bam Adebayo to the first positive third quarter in the season’s first five games.

Although technically a road game, it was in many ways a homecoming at Arena CDMX, with the Heat improving to 3-0 in their Mexico City appearances and second-year forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. receiving an emphatic embrace from the sold-out crowd in light of his Mexican heritage.

“We had a great time,” Spoelstra said of the trip. “And that was the players, the staff, everybody. We love coming down here. We love the fans. The environment out there was amazing.

“And the most important thing — we were able to get a win.”

Against a team that started three rookies (including former University of Miami forward Kyshawn George), and one second-year player, the Heat wore down an overmatched opponent.

Adebayo led the Heat with 32 points and 14 rebounds, going 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.

Adebayo was supported by 18 points from Jimmy Butler, 15 apiece from Tyler Herro and Alec Burks, and 12 from Terry Rozier.

“My teammates got me going early, and it was a snowball effect from there,” Adebayo said.

Then there was Jaquez, who, despite two days of whirlwind appearances and a significant family presence in the crowd,  played with his typical measured approach, closing with eight points and 10 rebounds.

“Jaime had his moments in there, as well,” Spoelstra said.

“Every time he touched the ball, you could hear the crowd noise go up, but that was fun.”

The Heat next host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night at Kaseya Center, before heading out on a six-game, 13-day trip that opens Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns.

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game against the Wizards:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 31-21 after the first quarter and 56-48 at halftime.

That’s when the Heat arrived at a moment of truth, having been dominated in the third period through the season’s previous four games.

This time they extended their lead to 89-70 going into the fourth quarter, shooting .545 from the field compared to the Wizards’ .381 over the third quarter, with a 15-11 rebounding advantage.

Butler led the Heat with eight points in the third, on 3-of-3 shooting.

“What we talked about was making a lot more multiple efforts,” Spoelstra said. “That was on both sides of the floor.”

2. Statement from start: Having entered the night with just one first-quarter basket on the season, Adebayo made the most of the Heat’s first shot by converting a short hook.

Moments later, Adebayo converted a 3-pointer, after opening the season 0 for 8 on 3-pointers.

That gave Adebayo the Heat’s first five points.

Adebayo entered 1 of 5 for six points in the previous four first quarters this season. This time he had seven points on 2-of-3 shooting in his opening 6:19 stint.

He then returned and converted another 3-pointer early in the second period . . . and kept going from there, even while dealing with the shot-blocking threat of Wizards rookie big man  Alex Sarr.

Adebayo closed 12 of 24 from the field, 5 of 6 from the foul line.

“This is my third time being here, and all three times it’s been a great energy, it’s been a great crowd,” Adebayo said. “You walk in and you feel the intensity and the environment.”

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3. Viva Jaime: Jaquez drew cheers with each touch, again playing as the Heat’s sixth man.

“Everyone blew my expectations away,” Jaquez said. “I couldn’t imagine this much love shown to myself and my family.

“I can feel the love and it’s very much reciprocated.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, in pregame comments, said the potential influence on Mexican youth should not be underestimated.

“Who knows,” Silver said, “maybe he’ll inspire a young boy to play in the NBA or a young girl who aspires to be in the WNBA one day.

“I think it also helps he’s in, of all markets, Miami, that has a huge Spanish-speaking population there. In some cases more Spanish being spoken there than English.”

Silver also addressed potential expansion to Mexico City.

“I’ll say personally I would love to have a team in Mexico City,” Silver said. “It’s of course the largest city in North America. I believe if we were to come here, we would be Mexico’s team, not just Mexico City’s, and it would be a gateway into Latin America.”

Jaquez closed 4 of 12 from the field.

“He wasn’t nervous,” Spoelstra said. “He’s an experienced player. He’s mature. He’s been in a lot of tough environments.”

4. Richardson returns: Josh Richardson made his season debut late in the first quarter, after missing time since the start of camp with shoulder, heel and calf issues.

The playing time opened with Duncan Robinson away from the Heat due to a personal reason and Josh Christopher on G League assignment.

It was Richardson’s first game action since Feb. 1, when he suffered the shoulder injury against the Boston Celtics that eventually led to season-ending surgery.

Still finding his way, Richardson was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in 14 minutes.

Richardson entered at point guard, with two-way player Dru Smith previously handling that initial assignment off the bench.

5. Larsson look: With the game at altitude, Spoelstra wound up going 10 deep early, including rotation minutes for second-round pick Pelle Larsson.

Larsson responded by helping spark the Heat’s second unit in the third period with five points in the period, including a 3-pointer. He closed with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

“It was good to see Pelle get some action out there,” Spoelstra said.

The rotation reshuffle this time had forward Haywood Highsmith out of the mix until the closing minutes, when the game already was decided.

General Daily Insight for November 03, 2024

Aggression is at risk of surfacing with little warning. Touchy Mars in Cancer opposes harsh Pluto in Capricorn, sending provocations flying. When relational Venus engages with bombastic Jupiter and tender Chiron, coming together may merely give us additional opportunities to hurt each other under the overall circumstances. Mars then powers into dramatic Leo at 11:10 pm EST, potentially adding theatrical flair to any outbursts. If we aren’t personally caught in the middle of an uproar, we might find it entertaining to watch!

Aries

March 21 – April 19

A power struggle you encounter today may remind you of a dynamic you experienced in your childhood. Whether or not you triumph this time around, there are still ways you can take charge of your path forward. Once energetic Mars pushes into your playful 5th house, try to remember any positive aspects of being a kid. Getting reacquainted with a game or hobby you haven’t pursued in a while or never got to appreciate as a child could reconnect you with your sense of fun!

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Being forceful about your beliefs as you talk to people could seem to come naturally today. It might feel urgent to get everyone to agree with your viewpoint. Hold on! With determined Mars shifting into your 4th House of Roots, building the security you crave may turn out to be more of an inside job. You often can’t control what others do, so defining and fortifying a space that’s just for you (and perhaps your closest loved ones) is probably a safer bet!

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You may be especially eager to improve your financial status at the moment. Maybe you feel like doing so requires you to battle against someone else who is much more powerful than you are. Whether or not that’s totally true, you probably find the narrative of your efforts inspiring. As competitive Mars bursts into your verbal 3rd house, consider concocting additional tales of that sort to increase the excitement in your daily affairs. Enjoy seeing yourself as the hero of a grand drama!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

You may presently wonder whether it’s possible to assert yourself and still be in a relationship (platonic or not) with someone else. As individualistic Mars in your sign jabs domineering Pluto in your partnership zone, it could seem like an all-or-nothing proposition. Identifying any resources that are yours to fully control might help you feel less overwhelmed. Although confronting the other person directly is probably a scary prospect, there should be things you can do that don’t involve them for the time being.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

A poorly defined workload could currently lead you to feel resentful. Perhaps you suspect someone else is not being clear about what they want from you so that you can perpetually be in trouble for getting it wrong. Dragging your feet would be an understandable response! That said, it also keeps the dynamic going indefinitely. After assertive Mars shifts into your sign, consider taking the risk of demanding more specific instructions. Even if you don’t get them, you’ll at least have done your part.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Throwing yourself into a competition with your peers could be rewarding today. As driven Mars in your social sector goads intense Pluto in your individualistic 5th house, you’re likely willing to act on your longing to be the best — it might pay off handsomely! On the other hand, all good things must eventually come to an end. There’s no shame in taking the time you need to rest after a big burst of activity, so plan your schedule with that in mind.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Getting a reality check on a frustrating power dynamic might be necessary at any moment. Perhaps you’re caught up in an equation where there seemingly has to be a clear winner and loser. Once action-oriented Mars dashes into your 11th House of Community, contrastingly, turning your focus to relationships that are less charged can reduce the tension. See how it feels to connect with peers on an even footing — merely experiencing a very different vibe could give you the insights you need.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Figuring out what you really want to tell people could be a challenge at this moment. It’s all too easy to get sucked into arguments over petty details that lead you away from your core concerns. As decisive Mars charges into your goal-oriented 10th house, take the opportunity to restore your focus. You may be able to achieve your most significant aims if you let go of a few preferences that aren’t crucial, so keep your message as clear as possible.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

A money matter could be difficult to unravel at present. As aggressive Mars in your 8th House of Shared Resources argues with entrenched Pluto in your personal finance zone, the situation may seem like a battle of wills at this point. Might doesn’t always make right, though. Looking at any external rules that govern what you’re dealing with can at least give you a fresh perspective. Also, if anyone is genuinely in danger of consequences, you’re better off knowing that right away!

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

You might feel like another person is currently pressuring you to open up about private matters you’d rather not discuss. Once pushy Mars maneuvers into your 8th House of Intimacy, some amount of intense connection may seem practically impossible to escape. In that case, you’re likely better off deciding how to navigate it on your terms instead of resisting it. Your interrogator doesn’t have to get everything they want, but giving them any information they genuinely need could help them move on peacefully.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

A mysterious feeling of resistance could block your efforts to power through your present to-do list. As confrontational Mars creeps into your partnership zone, you might turn your attention toward someone else who has a role in your tasks. If you resent that they’re not pulling their weight, it’s understandable that you wouldn’t be enthusiastic to do your share either! Take it up with them, but try to pin down why the present arrangement isn’t working instead of playing the blame game.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

A hobby or leisure activity could become a source of stress today. Especially if you usually engage in it with friends, that group element has the potential to spiral into drama. Fortunately, this probably isn’t the only thing going on in your life. As motivated Mars bounds into your 6th House of Responsibilities, throwing yourself into productive work might be a relief. Wounded egos can stem from matters of personal taste, but you’re capable of obtaining concrete results that can’t be contested.

JACKSONVILLE — How do you not feel bad for embattled Florida coach Billy Napier?

For some reason, a song from Hee Haw — the old cornpone country variety show — popped into my head as I looked down on the field Saturday and saw the grim-faced Napier as injured quarterback DJ Lagway was carted away with an inspired Gators  team leading mighty Georgia.

“Gloom, despair, and agony on me,Deep, dark depression, excessive misery.If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,Gloom, despair, and agony on me.”

That song pretty much sums up what could be Napier’s fateful final season at Florida.

If it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.

The man simply cannot catch a break.

First he lost starting quarterback Graham Mertz for the season when the Gators were on the verge of upsetting No. 7 Tennessee three weeks ago in Knoxville. Mertz, the nation’s leader in completion percentage, blew out his ACL midway through the third quarter after just throwing a touchdown pass to put the Gators up by 10. Florida ended up losing in overtime.

Then came Saturday as the Gators were giving the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs all they wanted late in the second quarter when Lagway, the freshman phenom, tried to cut upfield on a running play and fell to the ground while grabbing his left hamstring. He rolled onto his back as medical personnel and Napier ran onto the field. Lagway was carted away, perhaps taking Napier’s chance of saving his job with him.

“Gloom, despair, and agony on me.”

I’m not saying the Gators could have beaten Georgia if Lagway had stayed healthy, but they might have. The defense was motivated and forced Georgia quarterback Carson Beck into three interceptions; Florida’s offensive line was pushing Georgia’s vaunted defense off the ball and Lagway already had thrown a perfect 43-yard TD pass to Aidan Mizell.

Even as it was, the Gators tied the score 20-20 in the fourth quarter with shaky third-string quarterback Aidan Warner, a Yale transfer from Winter Park High School, running the show. Then Georgia turned back into Georgia and coach Kirby Smart’s Dawgs closed out the game with two touchdowns in a matter of 58 seconds for the 34-20 win. The Dawgs have now beaten the Gators four straight times — Georgia’s longest winning streak in the rivalry in 40 years.

Warner did his best, but, without Lagway, Florida’s passing game was essentially non-existent. Warner completed just 7-of-22 passes for 66 yards with an interception.

Sadly, it appears Lagway’s injury is significant, which means he could be out for the next stretch of games against No. 6 Texas, No. 16 LSU and No. 19 Ole Miss. Without Lagway, you wonder if the Gators can win another game — with the possible exception of the season finale against moribund FSU (1-8).

It would be nice if UF fans and administration would give Napier some grace and understand that this has been an injury-ravaged star-struck season, but that’s about as likely as a presidential candidate admitting, “Yeah, my opponent’s plan is actually better than mine.”

It’s too bad because, before Lagway’s injury, it looked like the Gators were finally beginning to turn the corner under Napier. They’d won three of four heading into Saturday’s game and — in the one loss during that stretch — they outplayed and outgained Tennessee before losing in overtime. Even the staunchest Napier critic couldn’t argue that his up-and-coming young team was getting better each week and improving in all facets of the game.

“This group is very unified,” Napier said, ”and I think unity is powerful. I do think in the last couple of weeks this group has started to believe that they can play with anybody and beat anybody. I think we have some unbelievable human beings on our team. We don’t have a distraction. We don’t have one guy that’s not compliant. We have no discipline issues.

“Ultimately, when you start to play toe to toe with some of the better teams, you start to believe,” Napier added. “For the first time since I’ve been the head coach here, we showed up and we believed we could beat that team.”

The fact that the Gators held their ground against Georgia for much of Saturday’s game is a minor miracle in itself. And they did it with not even close to their full allotment of players. They did it without their top two quarterbacks — Mertz and Lagway. They did it without their most talented receiver (Tre Wilson), their most talented cornerback (Jason Marshall Jr.) and their starting running back Montrell Johnson Jr. — all of whom missed the game because of injury. In addition, two other starting cornerbacks — Devin Moore and Dijon Johnson — were injured early in the game.

However, Gator Nation is in no mood for moral victories. In the end, this was just another loss in a big game, giving Napier a 1-10 record in rivalry games and a 2-13 mark against ranked teams.

A win against Georgia might have saved Napier, but now the clock is ticking on his job security once again … and with each second, it’s echoing gloom, despair, and agony on me.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen