WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and CeaseFirePA this week teamed up to host the fourth stakeholder listening session for PCCD’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

This meeting brought together local and regional experts and organizations to discuss strategies and policies to prevent suicides by firearm.

“While many people think of mass shootings and community violence when they hear the term ‘gun violence,’ the fact is that most firearm deaths in Pennsylvania are from suicides,” said Samantha Koch, Interim Director of PCCD’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention. “We know firearm suicides are preventable, and by having open and honest conversations and listening to those on the front lines, we can develop strategies to bolster support for individuals in crisis, reduce access to lethal means, and save lives.”

In 2022, there were 1,941 firearm-related deaths across Pennsylvania, and more than half (55%) were firearm-related suicides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Additionally, guns are used in the majority of suicides (54%) and homicides (78%) across the Commonwealth.

Pennsylvania has made significant investments in public safety and public health initiatives in recent years to address this issue and has seen some positive developments. The number of homicides statewide decreased by 16 percent overall in 2023 — compared to 12% nationally. Philadelphia was one of 29 Pennsylvania counties that saw declines in homicides in 2023, with that trend continuing so far in 2024 with homicides down 40% year-to-date.

While progress has been made, too many Pennsylvanians are still impacted by gun violence. Firearm-related injuries remain the leading cause of death for children and adolescents, exceeding motor vehicle crashes.

Rep. Meuser supports legislation to protect small businesses from excessive federal overreach

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week voted in favor of H.R.7198 — the Prove It Act of 2024 — to modernize the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and protect small businesses from excessive regulatory challenges.

Small businesses now spend seven times more per employee on compliance than medium-sized businesses — up from five times in 2014. Meuser said the Biden administration has imposed $1.7 trillion in regulatory costs and 326-million hours of paperwork on small businesses.

Meuser said while the RFA was designed to require federal agencies to assess the economic impact of regulations on small businesses, consider less burdensome alternatives, and justify proposed rules, it hasn’t been updated since 2010. As a result, small businesses are increasingly vulnerable to rising regulatory costs.

Meuser said H.R. 7198 addresses this by requiring agencies to evaluate the full economic impact of their regulations on small businesses, consider alternatives, and involve the Small Business Administration’s Chief Counsel for Advocacy early in the process. It also empowers small businesses to petition the SBA for review of proposed regulations, ensuring transparency and fairness.

“Burdensome regulations and red tape make it harder and more costly to start a business and achieve the American dream,” Meuser said. “The harder it is to comply with federal regulations to start a new business, the fewer people will take on the task of seeing their ideas through. We must ensure that bureaucracy does not interfere with American innovation, entrepreneurship, and competition. House Republicans will always stand with small businesses against federal overreach. The Prove It Act guarantees small businesses have a voice in shaping the rules and regulations that affect them.”

H.R.7198 passed the House by a vote of 208-196 and was referred to the Senate for further consideration.

PA Department of Education highlights importance of career/technical education

Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin and Deputy Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) this week traveled to Wallenpaupack Area School District to highlight how the district is preparing students for good-paying, high-demand careers through its career and technical education programs.

During the visit, PDE officials also visited the proposed site of a future regional career and technology center (CTC).

“Career and technical education is essential for providing students with the skills and opportunities to succeed in today’s dynamic economy,” said Deputy Secretary Rowe. “As Pennsylvania continues to grow, it’s vital that every student, regardless of where they live, has access to high-quality career training that leads to good-paying, in-demand jobs. The creation of the Wayne/Pike Career and Technical Center is an exciting step toward closing the gap in educational access and ensuring that all students in these counties can explore, develop, and excel in careers that will drive their futures forward.”

In addition to a $61 million boost to put more career and technical education in our classrooms, the Shapiro Administration has increased funding for K-12 public education by more than $1.5 billion — driving resources to the public schools that need them most.

While the Wallenpaupack Area School District offers its own career and technical education classes to students, Wayne and Pike counties are the only two Pennsylvania counties that are not served by a regional CTC. Identifying a community-wide need to provide those services, Wallenpaupack Area School District is partnering with Wayne Highlands, Western Wayne, and Delaware Valley school districts to create the first-ever Wayne/Pike Career and Technical Center to fill a regional gap in access to career and technical education.

A feasibility study is underway to determine the size and scope of the new CTC, which will be located on the Wallenpaupack Area School District’s campus behind the North Primary School.

PITTSTON TWP. — The Luzerne County Transportation Authority (LCTA) is holding its Stuff the Bus for Toys for Tots through 8 p.m. today, Saturday, Dec. 7, at Walmart Supercenter on Highway 315.

LCTA staff, U.S. Marines, Santa and Mrs. Claus and Tux from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are collecting new, unwrapped toys, books and games, as well as cash donations. Toys for children ages 9 and older are especially needed.

LCTA has again partnered with Cumulus Media, home of radio personalities from Magic 93, Hot 97.1, NASHFM 93.7, and 979X FM, as its exclusive media sponsor. Radio personalities from all four stations are broadcasting live from the event throughout the day.

LCTA thanks its sponsors, Motorworld/Toyota/MileOneCares; Joyce, Carmody, & Moran, P.C.; Fidelity Bank; and Geisinger.

First, I believe in generally free trade. Americans are better off when they can buy and sell products from friendly nations without tariffs and other trade barriers.

Second, I believe that Congress should tax products imported into the United States and provide a credit to companies exporting their products to foreign countries. Call it an export-import adjustment.

How do I square the second idea with the first?

Start with the fact that the U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t already have such a system in place. When American companies export to Mexico, their products are automatically slapped with a 16% tax.

To Germany? 19%.

To Italy? 22%.

To Hungary? 27%.

Other countries impose these taxes on American products because comparable taxes apply to what their own domestic businesses produce. In effect, foreign countries have decided that taxes should apply to products sold and consumed within their borders, regardless of where they’re made.

In other words, they use what economists call destination-based tax systems.

But the U.S. takes a different approach: an origin-based tax system, with a few international provisions patched on to discourage offshoring of jobs and intellectual property.

When products originate in the United States, the American companies that produce them are subject to income taxes here, whether the products are consumed in the U.S. or exported abroad. But products that are imported into the U.S. from abroad largely escape U.S. income taxes.

Other countries’ export-import adjustments apply on their consumption taxes, not on their income taxes. But since the U.S. has no federal consumption tax or federal sales tax, there ends up being an imbalance between U.S. and international taxes.

This favors foreign-produced imports and penalizes exported American products.

Adding an export-import adjustment of 7% — much less than the domestic corporate tax rate — would mitigate that imbalance. And since most other countries apply larger adjustments, the U.S. couldn’t reasonably be accused of unfair trade practices that justify a tit-for-tat response from our trading partners.

Because the U.S. consistently runs a large trade imbalance, the export-import adjustment would raise a large amount of tax revenue. The tax adjustment imposed on imports would outweigh the credit against income tax liability that would be allowed for exports. A 7% export-import adjustment could raise upwards of $600 billion in revenue over a decade.

That revenue could be used to reduce taxes for companies here in the United States.

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to reduce corporate taxes to 15% for companies that make their products in the U.S. The revenues from the export-import adjustment could be used to allow Congress and the president to do just that.

With an export-import adjustment, Congress could also eliminate many of the complicated features of the international tax system that were added to discourage companies from shifting their intellectual property and profits overseas to countries with lower corporate income taxes.

Specifically, Congress could eliminate the base erosion anti-abuse tax and the foreign derived intangible income incentives. Taxes on global intangible low-taxed income could also be reduced or eliminated in most cases.

An export-import adjustment would be more beneficial to U.S. exporters than across-the-board tariffs. Under tariffs, an American manufacturer that uses Canadian widgets as an input in its production of goods that it exports would bear some tariffs.

But under the export-import adjustment, while the American manufacturer would be taxed 7% on the value of the widget, it would then be credited back 7% on the value of the final goods it exports. Companies that export more than they import would have less tax burden, not more.

Further, Congress could set up the export-import adjustment such that exports to foreign countries of concern, such as China, would be ineligible for the export credit.

While Trump could impose tariffs under existing presidential powers, Congress wouldn’t get any credit for deficit reduction in the budget reconciliation deal. On the other hand, if Congress includes an export-import adjustment in the reconciliation package, those revenues could be used as an offset against other pro-growth tax reductions.

An export-import adjustment could meet the political moment in a way that pays for tax cuts that are a boon to American families and businesses.

INDIANAPOLIS — The empty trophy case that stares back at the players in the Penn State team meeting room says as much about the program as it does about its coach.

James Franklin was in on the decision to place it there. With one exception in 2016, there hasn’t been much to put in it since Franklin arrived a decade back to restore solidness, if not greatness, to one of the nation’s most storied but also troubled programs.

The Nittany Lions and their 52-year-old coach have a chance to place something in the empty case — first if they can win the Big Ten title game Saturday against No. 1 and undefeated Oregon, then again in the College Football Playoff — a 12-team affair that No. 3 Penn State is virtually certain be part of, win or lose, against the Ducks.

“We’ve wanted to fill up one of our cases that we have empty on purpose, and that’s just the next thing ahead,” sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas said. “The Big Ten championship, it starts with Coach Franklin and us.”

In 11 seasons, Franklin has amassed numbers most would be jealous of

At first glance, the numbers are impressive. The 99-40 record, the five finishes among the AP’s top 15, the regular appearances in big-time bowl games — Rose, Cotton, Fiesta — put Franklin in with company almost any college coach would envy.

Franklin is the quintessential coach who treats players like family, does his best to hold them accountable on and off the field and does things “the right way.” That’s something that carries weight everywhere, but especially at Penn State.

He came to Happy Valley from Vanderbilt, where he turned that SEC straggler into a winner, two seasons after the sex-abuse scandal involving Joe Paterno’s assistant, Jerry Sandusky, delivered a near-fatal blow to a program that had long been revered as a buttoned-down bastion of success.

Franklin, from the Philadelphia suburbs and a self-described “Pennsylvania boy with a Penn State heart,” figured out the delicate balance between respecting Paterno and his 56 years at the school (45 as head coach) without deifying him.

“We’ll do everything we can to bring this community back together,” the new coach said when he arrived in 2014, “and really take pride in this program.”

Living up to the standard has always been tough in Happy Valley

But thanks more to the standard Paterno set than the program he left, there are bigger expectations at Penn State than simply being solid.

This is a program that won national titles (1982, 1986), had perfect seasons (five) and even won the Big Ten three times under JoePa after coming out of its century-plus stance as an independent in 1993.

That’s the prism through which a lot of the school’s diehards view Franklin’s 1-10 record against Ohio State. That’s how they view his 3-18 record in games against teams in the AP top 10. That’s why they look sideways at the fact that the coach is on his sixth offensive coordinator in 11 years. It’s why they say that, yes, Franklin wins lots of games — just not the big ones.

“I understand the frustration for sure,” said Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth, who played for Franklin from 2018-20.

Others see that, but also look at the task Franklin took on in 2014, when the team was coming off a postseason ban, massive scholarship losses and a backlash against what many felt had become an untethered sports program in the wake of the abuse scandal.

This will mark the first time since the early 1980s that Penn State has strung together three straight seasons with double-digit wins.

“He takes over a team with bare cupboards,” Nittany Lion great LaVar Arrington said in an interview with the Reading Eagle earlier this year.. “He comes here and brings in recruits. For him to turn Penn State back into a very, very reputable and respectable place to play football was probably a job that very few people realize how daunting a task it was.”

Expanded playoffs might be perfect for Franklin and the Nittany Lions?

After this year’s 20-13 loss to Ohio State — a tepid offensive performance in which Penn State failed to score on two trips inside the Buckeyes 5 — Franklin got booed off the field, and barked back at fans heckling him.

After the game, he spoke to his own frustration, which involved the difficult losses, but also all those wins.

“Nobody is looking in the mirror harder than I am,” he said. “I’ve said this before, but 99% of the programs across college football would die to do what we’ve been able to do in our time here.”

In some ways, then, the expanded playoff was built for a program like Penn State.

Even had the Buckeyes not lost to Michigan last week, thus allowing Franklin and Co. into the Big Ten title game, they would be in the playoff. In fact, they have been ranked in the top 12 by the CFP playoff committee in five of the 10 seasons it has existed.

Maybe a new setting with new stakes is the thing that gets Franklin over the hump. Even his lone Big Ten title, in 2016, did not bring with it a trip to the playoffs, which was only four teams then.

“Regardless of how this game goes, going to the playoffs and making some noise in there, I think that’s going to help him out a lot,” Freiermuth said.

This week, though, the coach is looking only at Oregon — a challenge that’s daunting enough without worrying about that empty trophy case sitting back home.

“I understand the question and I appreciate the question, but we’re just focused on trying to beat the No. 1 team in the country,” Franklin said. “Totally focused on that and not the other scenarios or discussions.”

Penn State will have to play its best football of the season on Saturday to have a celebration on the flight back home. But a little bit of revelry was called for on Friday on the flight out to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship.

While the Nittany Lions were still in the air, they scored their biggest recruiting victory of the 2025 signing class. Southern Lehigh tight end Andrew Olesh, the top-ranked prospect in Pennsylvania for this cycle, chose the Lions over Big Ten rivals Michigan and Oregon.

Olesh made the announcement at his school on Friday, the final day of the early signing window. He joins 26 other seniors who officially joined the Lions on Wednesday.

The four-star recruit becomes Penn State’s highest rated signee for the class. Checking in at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Olesh is the No. 55 overall prospect nationally in the class and the No. 3 tight end in the country, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. Landing Olesh prevented the Lions from getting shut out of the top four recruits in the state, which would have been a rarity in the James Franklin era.

The team that will play Oregon for the Big Ten title on Saturday includes the last five No. 1 recruits in the Keystone State — RB Quinton Martin Jr. (2024), OL J’ven Williams (2023), RB Nick Singleton (2022), OL Nolan Rucci (2021) and WR Julian Fleming (2020). Rucci and Fleming started their careers at Wisconsin and Ohio State, respectively, before transferring to Penn State last offseason.

In addition, Penn State already has a verbal commitment from Pennsylvania’s top 2026 recruit in Harrisburg offensive lineman Kevin Brown.

Olesh joining that group seemed like a long shot after he verbally committed to reigning national champion Michigan in the summer. And while the Wolverines had a significant fall-off during the season, going from 15-0 to 7-5, they had a huge week, flipping the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, quarterback Bryce Underwood, from LSU before shocking archrival Ohio State on the field.

Beating out the Ducks to sign Olesh was also no small task. Oregon is widely known as one of the richest teams in the country in the NIL realm and was looking to add a tight end to the class after missing out on the player one spot ahead of Olesh in the 2025 position rankings, Linkon Cure.

But Penn State had perhaps the biggest selling point, aside from being close to home for Olesh. Tyler Warren is in the midst of the most prolific season by a tight end in the history of the Big Ten, a year in which he has received plenty of national attention for his versatility.

In the spring, Warren will make it 6-for-6 in starting tight ends under Franklin who have been drafted, joining Theo Johnson (fourth round), Brenton Strange (second round), Pat Freiermuth (second round), Mike Gesicki (second round) and Jesse James (fifth round).

Penn State is expected to return tight ends Khalil Dinkins, Luke Reynolds, Joey Schlaffer and Andrew Rappleyea, who missed all but one game with an injury this season. Jerry Cross announced his intention to enter the transfer portal earlier in the week.

As it is, the Lions now have three tight end prospects in the incoming class with Olesh joining Virginia four star Matt Henderson and Ohio three star Brian Kortovich, who also flipped this week from a Big Ten foe in Purdue. A fourth signee, Pittsburgh-area native Brady O’Hara, played tight end at North Catholic but is bound for the offensive line in college.

Signing three tight ends in the same class would have been a bigger risk in previous years when teams dealt with an 85-scholarship limit. But in the rapidly shifting landscape of college sports and the expected advent of direct revenue sharing between schools and players, the new cap is now an overall roster limit of 105.

Adding Olesh bumped Penn State up one spot to No. 15 nationally in the On3 Industry Team Rankings for 2025.

JUNIOR WR COMMITS

Penn State wasn’t done on the recruiting trail Friday. Shortly after Olesh made his decision, the Lions landed a commitment for the 2026 class in Indiana wide receiver Jerquaden Guilford.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Guilford is a three-star propsect from Northrop High School in Fort Wayne. In the early 2026 rankings, he checks in as the No. 63 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 2 overall prospect in Indiana.

Guilford also held offers from College Football Playoff contenders Ohio State, Georgia and Tennessee.

Adding Guilford gives Penn State eight commits for next year’s signing class, with three of them at wide receiver — Guilford, Delaware’s Jahsiear Rogers and Maryland’s Lavar Keys.

Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, already under fire from revelations about his scant qualifications, is facing the heat of an in-depth New Yorker magazine piece detailing his drunken mismanagement of the organizations Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.

The detailed evidence doesn’t just disqualify Hegseth, but disqualify him many times over along various tracks. America cannot have a drunken defense secretary who is incompetent and more interested in chasing women who do not want to be chased.

From the perspective of pure managerial ability over what is by far the government’s largest department by budget and headcount, Hegseth is worse than merely unqualified. While some of his fellow cabinet picks simply lack much management experience, Hegseth has some, and it’s been dismal.

Not one but both right-wing veterans’ organizations — one with a tiny staff of fewer than 10 people — forced him out over the same series of management and financial impropriety concerns, several years apart, with employees giving consistent accounts of the same types of boorish and devil-may-care approach to management and spending.

If this was the case then, we shudder to imagine the man let loose on a department with close to 3 million employees and a budget exceeding $800 billion a year.

Then there’s the matter of the specifics of this mismanagement and his response to it. It wasn’t merely that Hegseth was terrible at organizing events or managing staff. He seems to have actively sought to use these positions for his personal gain, particularly to pursue women, including some who worked for him.

In fact, every sexual assault and harassment allegation that has so far emerged against him involves him being sloshed on the job, sometimes to the point of totally passing out, when he was supposed to be representing his organization.

In response to the most serious such allegation, that he sexually assaulted a woman after an event at a hotel in late 2017, Hegseth’s lawyer told the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer that the investigation had not been followed up by local law enforcement because the woman ostensibly had a prior instance making a false claim against someone. When Mayer checked this out, she quickly discovered that it wasn’t true.

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, a loyal Trump doormat if there ever was one, has acknowledged that Hegseth would face a steep confirmation fight in the Senate. Hegseth should avoid himself the additional embarrassment and go the way of Matt Gaetz, who abandoned his hope of being attorney general.

One good thing to have come out of the bizarreness of some of Trump’s nominations thus far is the sense that the incoming president has overplayed his hand and even his own party isn’t going to give him carte blanche in the way he seems to have expected. The checks and balances are still here and should protect the Pentagon from a Secretary Hegseth.

If Hegseth chooses to stick it out, we hope that Senate Republicans and their Democratic counterparts prove that they’re not a subservient branch by really holding his and Trump’s nominees’ feet to the fire and engaging in their constitutionally-protected right to say “no thanks,” for the good of the country.

— New York Daily News

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HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has dealt a blow to Philadelphia and other municipalities’ efforts to pass stricter gun laws, but advocates say their fight isn’t over.

They’re preparing to continue pushing for greater gun control on two fronts: the courts and divided state legislature.

Pennsylvania is one of 42 states with a law that preempts local governments from passing or enforcing gun statutes stricter than those allowed by the legislature. This has long rankled leaders in big cities, who argue their jurisdictions have unique public safety needs that require their own laws.

In 2021, the city of Philadelphia, anti-violence group CeaseFirePA, and others sued the commonwealth, arguing the state preemption law denies Pennsylvanians their constitutional rights to life and liberty. The state Supreme Court rejected the argument in a unanimous decision.

Pittsburgh also appealed a preemption case to the high court, asking the justices to rule on several stalled local gun laws, including an assault rifle ban. City officials have said that litigation is likely over.

Despite the ruling, Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, says he still sees legal avenues to challenge the preemption law more directly.

Other pending lawsuits specifically challenge whether the preemption law applies to municipalities regulating the sale of “ghost gun” parts — kits to build untraceable firearms at home — or the reporting of lost or stolen guns. The high court delayed them while it considered Crawford v. Commonwealth.

“In each of those cases, we are saying simply, this isn’t about firearms,” Garber said. “This is about parts that aren’t preempted, or this is about people who aren’t the possessor legally of the firearm, and that those statutes should be allowed to go ahead.”

He added that in Crawford, the state Supreme Court “did not in any way say … that every law was preempted. And so we really urge them to … consider that there are policies that are not preempted by state statute that they should allow for.”

Even though legal avenues might not be exhausted, state lawmakers who support tougher gun laws are feeling additional pressure to use the legislative process now that the state Supreme Court has ruled that the preemption stands.

“It’s troubling the court came out against communities making their own decisions about public safety, but the ruling is the ruling,” said state Rep. Tim Briggs (D., Montgomery), who chairs the committee through which most gun legislation passes in the state House.

“Now it’s up to the legislature to keep up the fight and once again advance real gun violence prevention measures supported by a vast majority of Pennsylvanians and deliver results meeting constitutional muster,” he told Spotlight PA.

The state House, controlled narrowly by Democrats, passed three notable gun-related bills during the last two-year legislative session.

One is known as a “red flag” law, which would allow courts to issue extreme risk protection orders seizing guns from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. Another would require background checks for all gun purchases, ending a longtime exception for private sales of long guns. The third would ban ghost gun kits.

The Republican-controlled state Senate did not consider the bills.

State Sen. Lisa Baker (R., Luzerne) chairs the upper chamber’s Judiciary Committee and has said she is open to certain gun-related bills. In 2019, her committee held a series of hearings on guns and mental health, after which she said she called for “constitutional, enforceable, and practical” legislative proposals.

Last year, after Democrats advanced bills to expand background checks and allow for the temporary seizure of guns, Baker said in a statement that they did not meet her standard.

“I believe the issue of helping individuals in crisis would be more appropriately addressed through a modernization of the mental health procedures law as it relates to gun rights to ensure those in need of treatment receive it and that due process is maintained,” Baker said at the time.

A spokesperson for Baker did not respond to a request for comment on other bills she might support in the session that begins in 2025.

While the lower chamber is more amenable to gun restrictions, passage of these bills isn’t guaranteed.

A number of initiatives faltered during the last session, including bills requiring secure gun storage in homes with children; creating penalties for parents who let a minor possess a gun; banning sales of assault-style weapons; regulating 3D-printed firearms the same as regular guns; and shortening the deadline for judges to notify State Police of mental health conditions that should preclude someone from owning a gun.

Some failed by a single vote, including a bill to require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to police more quickly.

Others succeeded by similarly narrow margins. The bill to ban ghost guns passed the chamber with the support of three suburban Republicans; the red flag bill got support from just two GOP members.

The universal background check got slightly stronger support, with nine Republican votes in favor. (The chamber’s most conservative Democrat voted against all three.)

Garber, of CeaseFirePA, said he thinks lawmakers should learn from the successful state House bills. In particular, he thinks there is room for compromise on measures specifically targeted at stopping violent crime or cutting down on gun trafficking.

“I think when we talk about policies that address gun trafficking and guns used in violent crime, like ghost guns, there’s real hope [that] Republicans, who are often saying they want to back the blue and back law enforcement, will step up,” Garber said.

The trick, as he sees it, will be marrying the things that both parties care about.

“I think there’s a lot of places where there are policies that have strong bipartisan support, strong support from the law enforcement community, and where the Republicans can … say, ‘Look, we have to deal with this particular aspect of the crisis. It has nothing to do with your ability to have a gun for hunting or for personal protection.’”

Spotlight PA’s Stephen Caruso contributed reporting.

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BOISE, Idaho — Ashton Jeanty ran for 209 yards and a touchdown and No. 10 Boise State earned a College Football Playoff spot, beating No. 19 UNLV 21-7 on Friday night for its second straight Mountain West title.

Boise State (12-1, No. 10 CFP) is all but assured of a first-round bye in the playoffs if it maintains its ranking ahead of the Big 12 winner and finishes as one of the four highest-ranked conference champs.

Jeanty, who had the spotlight to himself to state his Heisman case, didn’t disappoint, ripping off an electrifying 75-yard touchdown run. It was his fifth TD run of 70 yards or more this season, tying LaDainian Tomlinson’s FBS season record.

Jeanty also surpassed 1981 Heisman winner Marcus Allen of Southern California to move into fourth place on the FBS season rushing list and needs 132 more to pass record-holder Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State.

Maddux Madsen threw a touchdown pass and rushed for another score for the Broncos.

UNLV (10-3, No. 20 CFP), which entered the game seventh nationally in scoring offense averaging 38.7 points, hadn’t been held below 23 this season.

With UNLV loading the box with eight or nine defenders early in the game, Boise State leaned heavily on Madsen in the first quarter. And he delivered, completing six of his first seven passes, including a 22-yard scoring strike to Latrell Caples for a 7-0 lead.

Madsen used his legs to put the Broncos ahead 14-0, scrambling for a 14-yard TD run with 2:40 left in the first half.

After a quick stop, Boise State got the ball back and let Jeanty work his magic. Two plays later, he raced through the teeth of the defense and sprinted to the end zone for a 75-yard TD run, giving the Broncos a 21-0 lead with 29 seconds left in the half.

UNLV had a chance to claw back into it late in the third quarter when Kylin James raced 86 yards before Seyi Oladipo ran him down at the Boise State 5. But the Rebels lost 4 yards on the next four plays and failed to score.

The Rebels finally got into the end zone with 9:06 left on Greg Burrell 31-yard run.

Hajj-Malik Williams led UNLV offensively with 110 yards passing and 56 yards rushing.

AAC CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 24 ARMY 35, TULANE 14

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Bryson Daily rushed for four touchdowns to tie the American Athletic Conference championship game record, and Army completed a perfect first season in the league by beating Tulane.

Kanye Udoh rushed for 158 yards, including a 72-yarder to set up a Daily TD, and a score. Daily added 126 yards on the ground for the Black Knights (11-1), who overwhelmed AAC opponents with their bruising, clock-eating rushing attack during their first around the league, then ran it to perfection in the championship game. Army won the first conference title in its 134-year history.

Daily had runs of 5, 3, 4 and 7 yards. The 221-pound quarterback’s four rushing scores gave him 29 this season, breaking the AAC record of 25 set by Navy QB Will Worth in 2016. The conference player of the year has rushed for multiple TDs in 10 consecutive games.

Except for an unsuccessful stint in Conference USA from 1998-2004, the Black Knights had played as an independent since their program began in 1890. Coach Jeff Monken said this week that Army felt that it needed to be in a conference to have a pathway to college football’s expanded postseason.

As cadets poured out of the stands to join players in a midfield celebration, the Black Knights must have been loving the decision.

Darian Mensah threw two touchdown passes for Tulane (9-4), which was playing in its third straight AAC championship game and has lost the last two. The Green Wave had hopes of hosting before losing at home to Memphis on Thanksgiving night, ending their 17-game winning streak in conference games.

They were even shakier Friday, botching field goal attempts after their first two drives, then fumbling a kickoff and having a pass intercepted in their own territory on the next two.

Then Tulane could barely get its hands on the ball in the second half, when Army had TD drives of 11 and 16 plays.

A temperature of 29 degrees to begin just the third December game in the 101-season history of Michie Stadium demanded a strong running attack and nobody does it better than Army, which came in leading the country with 312.5 rushing yards per game.

Daily didn’t even attempt a pass until the second half — when he kept a scoring drive alive with a 9-yard completion on fourth-and-5.

The Green Wave were asked during the week about playing in the chilly conditions along the Hudson River, and the weather may have been a factor when Tulane attempted a field goal after a good first drive. Holder Brice Busch dropped the snap on the Army 27.

Army promptly went 72 yards in 11 plays for Daily’s 5-yard score. Tulane got inside the Army 20 again on its second drive but had to settle for another field goal attempt. The Green Wave handled the snap this time but Patrick Durkin’s kick was wide right from 38 yards.

Daily’s 4-yard run made it 21-0 before Tulane finally got on the board on Mensah’s 42-yard pass to Mario Williams with 44 seconds left in the half.

But Army regained control with a 6 1/2-minute drive to open the third quarter.

C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP

JACKSONVILLE STATE 52, WESTERN KENTUCKY 12

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Tre Stewart ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns and Tyler Huff threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third as Jacksonville State rolled to its first Conference USA championship, dominating Western Kentucky.

Jacksonville State (9-4) wins the conference title in just its second season as an FBS member and avenged a 19-17 loss to the Hilltoppers (8-5) in the regular-season finale.

Lucas Carneiro opened the game with a 54-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive, but Jacksonville State answered with a six-play, 75-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown. Huff broke free for a 48-yard gain to give the Gamecocks a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line and Huff hit Sean Brown for the final six yards to take a lead they never surrendered.

Jacksonville State stopped Caden Veltkamp on fourth-and-one at the Western Kentucky 42, then needed just six plays to reach the end zone to take a 14-3 lead. Tyler Huff hit Stewart for seven yards on fourth down and 5 at the WKU 37 to keep the drive alive, then threw a 26-yard fade to a wide-open Cam Vaughn for the touchdown.

Stewart scored on a pair of short runs in the second quarter before Carneiro kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the half for a a 28-6 lead. Huff added a 3-yard run to the end zone in the third quarter and Stewart added a 29-yard run for his third touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Huff completed 11 of 15 passes for 176 yards and carried 23 times for 167 yards. Stewart carried 27 times and caught three passes for 54 yards. Vaughn caught four passes for 91 yards.

Veltkamp was 18-of-30 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown for the Hilltoppers. Elijah Young carried 19 times for 108 yards.

This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown.

When Penn State University’s administration brings a proposal to its board of trustees, the measure is all but assured to pass.

A Spotlight PA analysis of public full board meetings since 2019 found that nearly 85% of the proposals that Penn State’s 36-member board considers pass without a single dissenting vote.

The other 15% of proposals tended to face limited opposition, even for major decisions like tuition increases and the university’s annual budgets that led to a $150 million deficit in 2022.

Measures are also often approved with little, if any, public discussion.

The board’s size prevents even alumni-elected trustees, the voting bloc most likely to dissent, from having the power to kill a given proposal. And recent revisions to how trustees get a board seat could shift the composition of this group of typically outspoken trustees.

Two trustees from that group face possible removal from the board — Barry Fenchak and Anthony Lubrano, who both have lawsuits pending against the university.

“You don’t want a homogeneous, ‘yes board,’” said Terry Mutchler, a lawyer with Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel who represents Fenchak. “You want a situation where people have enough information to make common sense, reasonable, and visionary decisions. What I think is happening here, and I think the statistics would bear this out, is groupthink.”

A university’s governing body should support an administration, but it cannot be a rubber stamp, said Framroze Virjee, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Boards must ask substantive questions about proposals, he said.

“This creates a sense of not only on the board, but of the stakeholders, that seriousness is being given to the question at hand,” Virjee told Spotlight PA.

The newsroom shared its findings for this story with Penn State’s Office of Strategic Communications and requested an interview with board leadership. The university did not respond.

Counting the votes

For this analysis, Spotlight PA reviewed recordings and meeting minutes of the Board of Trustees’ public meetings between 2019 and 2024. For each item that required a board vote during this time, the newsroom logged the number of opposing votes and who cast them. The analysis did not track abstentions, which were occasional. Consent agenda items were counted as individual votes, because the board periodically considered some of the items separately.

During the years Spotlight PA reviewed, Penn State’s trustees considered 328 proposals. Of those, 277, or about 85%, did not receive a single dissenting vote. Just 21, or about 6%, received at least two “no” votes. Nearly all board actions require a majority vote to pass, according to the group’s bylaws.

The board only voted down four proposals, three of which were motions Fenchak made in the middle of a meeting. The other proposal, in July, was an option for how trustees should be elected to the board.

Apart from these votes, most trustees who served on the university’s board over the past half decade did not record a single vote in dissent.

Who votes ‘no’

In July, seven of the eight alumni-elected trustees present for the meeting voted against changes to the board’s bylaws that would allow a committee to determine which alumni could be on the ballot for board elections.

Despite the near-unanimous view from the alumni-elected trustees, the change passed by a large margin due, in part, to the size of Penn State’s board.

The nine trustees that alumni elect to the board were most often the ones voting against proposals, Spotlight PA’s analysis found. Some of these trustees have consistently voted against tuition increases, and they are among the most outspoken.

However, among these semi-consistent “no” voters, Fenchak is an outlier. Across the board’s six full meetings in 2023 — the year after Fenchak was elected to the board — 15 items received at least one dissenting vote. Fenchak was involved in all of them. And for 10 of the items, he was the lone “no” vote.

Fenchak faces possible removal from the board over an interaction with a university employee that the board said violated its code of conduct. Weeks before those allegations surfaced, Fenchak sued the university’s board for allegedly withholding information about how Penn State manages its $4.6 billion endowment. The case is ongoing in Centre County.

Lubrano could also lose his board seat after suggesting Penn State name its football field after former coach Joe Paterno in February, and for public statements in the weeks that followed, according to court records of an ongoing case in Lackawanna County.

Lubrano, who alumni reelected to the board in 2020, has also regularly voted against board proposals, including tuition increases and granting emeritus status to former trustees.

Daniel Brier, an attorney with Myers, Brier & Kelly who represents Lubrano, told Spotlight PA that Lubrano’s fiduciary duties as a trustee require vigorous discussion.

“It strains credulity to suggest that it is a coincidence that the two board members who are most often dissenting are being sanctioned for separate reasons, unrelated to their disagreement with the board’s practices,” Brier said.

If Fenchak and Lubrano had not been on the board in the past five years — to either vote or suggest proposals for other trustees to consider — the total number of items that received at least one dissenting vote would drop from 51 to 17.

Mutchler, Fenchak’s lawyer, told Spotlight PA the data should spur some soul-searching among the trustees. Her client’s case, as well as other instances of questionable board transparency, she said, suggest board leaders might be driving the agenda and that some trustees are not provided with full information before their votes.

The university has not offered comments on either Fenchak’s or Lubrano’s cases because the litigation is pending.

Spotlight PA previously analyzed the board’s public deliberations before votes, finding that Penn State’s governing body rarely discusses motions in public before voting on them. Between 2019 and 2024, the university’s board spent around 7.6% of its meeting time deliberating university business before a vote, the newsroom found. When deliberation occurs, it is often about athletics or internal board operations.

SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at spotlightpa.org/donate/statecollege. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.

DANVILLE — Lauren Murphy, manager of nursing quality at Geisinger, was recently recognized for excellence in nursing at the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania’s 35th annual gala in Harrisburg. This statewide nonprofit organization recognizes exemplary nursing practice and grants scholarships to students pursuing degrees in nursing at all levels. Over the past 35 years, the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania (NAP) has provided more than 220 nursing scholarships totaling over $525,000 and has honored more than 800 Pennsylvania nurses at its annual gala.

Murphy won the 2024 Doctor of Nursing Practice Award, which is presented to a nurse who exhibits healthcare improvements and contributions via practice and clinical scholarship; demonstrates noteworthy involvement or influence in health care policy and advocacy; contributes to interprofessional collaboration and improves patient and/or population health; and significantly contributes to the advancement of nursing practice.

“To be recognized by the Nightingale Awards is an incredible achievement,” said Janet Tomcavage, executive vice president and chief nursing executive at Geisinger. “Lauren personifies what it means to be an exceptional nurse and leader, and her dedication to nursing excellence is evident to everyone she works with. She’s so deserving of this recognition and we’re proud to have her as part of our Geisinger family.”

Murphy, a resident of Laflin, was recognized as a leader who fosters relationships with staff, nurse leaders and other departments to develop new quality initiatives to improve patient care. She was key in helping Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre achieve two consecutive Magnet designations, which is the highest national honor of nursing practice. She keeps staff informed of quality initiatives throughout the system to maintain and exceed national benchmarks and has developed a quality council. She is described as kind, humble, dedicated, caring and genuine, and she always wants what’s best for her fellow nurses and their patients.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive NAP’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Award,” said Murphy. “It’s a privilege to be recognized for something I’m so passionate about. I want to express sincere gratitude to my superiors who mentored and supported me, my colleagues who have been with me on this journey throughout my 20-plus-year career at Geisinger and my mom, who inspired me to become a nurse. This recognition fuels my passion and commitment to making a positive impact in our profession of nursing.”

In addition to Murphy’s award, several other Geisinger nurses were nominated in various award categories at this year’s gala:

• Renee Blakiewicz, chief nursing officer for Geisinger’s northeast region – Senior Level/Executive.

• Wendy Franklin, inpatient RN, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, PACU – Clinical Practice RN.

• John Hall, vascular access team resource, Geisinger Medical Center, vascular access – Clinical Practice RN.

• In remembrance of Alissa Heeman, nursing professional development practitioner, Geisinger Medical Center – Staff Development.

• Alyse Hommel, professional development coordinator, Geisinger Medical Center, nursing professional development practitioner – Staff Development.

• Jana Kass, nursing program director for system nursing informatics – Nursing Informatics.

• Crystal Muthler, chief nursing officer for Geisinger’s central region – Senior Level/Executive.

• Kellee Neyer, nurse coordinator, Geisinger Medical Center, general surgery – Clinical Practice RN.

• Tanya Ulichney, nursing professional development practitioner, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, nursing professional development practitioner – Staff Development.

ATLANTA — Texas wasted no time making its presence felt in the mighty Southeastern Conference.

In their debut as a member of the powerhouse league, the No. 2 Longhorns posted the best regular-season record and earned a spot in the SEC championship game Saturday.

“Not a lot of teams can go into a league their first year — especially the SEC — and get a chance to play for the championship,” Texas running back Jaydon Blue crowed.

In an intriguing matchup between the brash newcomer and a stellar member of the old guard, Texas (11-1, 7-1 SEC, No. 2 College Football Playoff ) will face No. 5 Georgia (10-2, 6-2, No. 5 CFP) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The Bulldogs are playing in the title game for the seventh time in nine seasons under coach Kirby Smart, who has won a pair of national championships and established Georgia as the dynasty everyone else is chasing.

Adding more fuel to the fire, the Dawgs handed Texas its only loss during the regular season with a 30-15 drubbing in Austin back in mid-October.

“Georgia and Kirby have been the standard in college football,” Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Georgia has got the heart of a champion and you see it time and time again.”

No matter the outcome in the A-T-L, both teams are headed to the College Football Playoff.

But there’s still plenty on the line, with the winner claiming both a coveted SEC championship and a trip straight to the Sugar Bowl for the national quarterfinals on New Year’s Day.

The loser will be saddled with an extra playoff game, likely hosting a first-round contest on either Dec. 20 or 21.

“It’s an opportunity to rest and recover while others are playing formidable opponents,” Smart said. “It removes you from that.”

THE REMATCH

Texas is eager to atone for its only loss of the season, that ugly performance against Georgia when the Longhorns were ranked No. 1.

“We’re going to have to play a better version of football than the first time around,” Sarkisian said. “We were out of character, out of sorts.”

It was the most lopsided loss for a No. 1 team at home in 42 years.

“They deserve to get our best shot,” Sarkisian said. “I know we’re going to get their best shot.”

QUARTERBACK DUEL

Both starting quarterbacks will be looking for better performances than they showed in the first matchup.

Georgia won despite Carson Beck tossing three interceptions, while Quinn Ewers of Texas had two fumbles to go along with a pick.

Also keep an eye on Texas backup Arch Manning, who came on in last week’s victory over Texas A&M to run for a touchdown on fourth down. With Ewers still nursing a sprained ankle, Manning could provide an intriguing change of pace with both his arm and his legs.

“He’s a really good athlete that can take off and run at any time, which is the toughest guy to defend,” Smart said. “I’d much rather have a guy that only runs than a guy that does both.”

INJURY REPORT

Trevor Etienne rushed for three touchdowns in the first meeting with Texas, but he’s missed three straight games with a rib injury and was listed as questionable for Saturday.

Georgia has also been without defensive lineman Christen Miller, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Without Miller, the Bulldogs surrendered a season-high 260 rushing yards in an eight-overtime victory over Georgia Tech.

Texas could be missing Outland Trophy finalist Kelvin Banks Jr., who went down last week with a leg injury after just seven plays.

Freshman Trevor Goosby will start at the crucial left tackle position if Banks can’t go — and be on the firing line against a Georgia defense that bullied the Longhorns for seven sacks in October, two of which resulted in fumbles.

RUN, TEXAS, RUN

Texas had just 29 yards rushing the last time out against Georgia, but the Longhorns run game has been dominant of late.

Quintrevion Wisner has emerged as the go-to back with 344 yards in the last two games, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

“When you have 30-40 carries in multiple games, there is a great commitment to the run,” Smart said. “They’re extremely physical, they’ve got really good backs, their offensive line is massive and the quarterback does a great job putting them in the right runs.”

DAWGS IN ATLANTA

While Mercedes-Benz Stadium is only about a 75-mile drive from the Georgia campus, making this a de facto home game for the Bulldogs, that hasn’t proven to be a big advantage when playing for the SEC title.

The Bulldogs are only 2-4 in conference championship games played at the Benz, not to mention an overtime loss to Alabama in the national title game at the end of the 2017 season.

Going back to the years when the Georgia Dome hosted the SEC championship, the Bulldogs are just 4-7 in Atlanta with the league championship on the line.

“We’re essentially playing a road game,” Sarkisian said. “But I do expect a good amount of burnt orange to be there.”

…BUT NO BEVO

The game will not feature another mascot showdown.

The SEC said there wasn’t enough space on the sideline at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Texas to bring along its 1,700-pound longhorn Bevo XV.

The teams have two of college football’s most famous mascots. There should be enough sideline space for Georgia’s pure white English bulldog, the much-smaller Uga XI.

Before the 2019 Sugar Bowl at the Superdome in New Orleans, Bevo XV toppled his barrier and began to charge at Uga X, who was Uga XI’s predecessor as the Bulldogs’ mascot. Texas handlers were able to pull back Bevo before the massive animal caused any harm.

That won’t be an issue in Atlanta.

“When we received the request for Bevo to be on the sideline in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, our staff looked at several alternatives including the sideline location,” said Chuck Dunlap, an SEC spokesman. “The reality is there is limited sideline space at the stadium. We can’t jeopardize the safety of Bevo or the game participants.”

In addition to the crowded sidelines, Mercedes-Benz Stadium also features field-level suits right behind the benches.

“With the narrow sidelines, location of multiple sets for television and camera carts, there is not enough space,” Dunlap said. “While we want to honor tradition across the conference, the space limitation is a reality.”

He added later Friday that the SEC tried to find space for Bevo, including a fan event at the adjacent Georgia World Congress Center.

“We did identify several options for Bevo, including a location at SEC FanFare, but there was no opportunity for him to be on the field due to the space limitations,” Dunlap said in an email to The Associated Press.

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips wants clarity on how two-loss Miami sits behind three-loss Alabama in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark believes his league’s champion deserves a first-round bye instead of a Group of Five team.

And while Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez’s league is positioned to get in, there’s concern about any future with bigger leagues getting designated numbers of bids.

Those scenarios illustrate how, as the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences position themselves as a Power Two from overflowing coffers to gobbling up CFP bids, the other leagues are trying to maintain footing and avoid getting squeezed. That includes Sunday’s unveiling of the expanded 12-team field and beyond.

“Decisions by the committee should be based on facts, not on perception,” Phillips said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Not on the league that you come from, not in the geography of where you sit, but on your resume: what have you done? … Who did you lose to and who did you beat?

“To me, you have to stay true to the facts. Logos and brands and names, they have to be checked. And there shouldn’t be persuasion because of a past history of a specific team or school.”

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Power Four leagues all play championship games Saturday. The Group of Five leagues — American Athletic, Conference-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt — play Friday and Saturday.

The five highest-ranked champions earn automatic bids, the top four earning a first-round bye.

Take out those bids and the designated entry point for fourth-ranked independent Notre Dame (No. 4 CFP), and that leaves six openings. Yet the Big Ten had four top-10 teams and the SEC three in Tuesday’s latest CFP ranking, with some of those not even playing this week in what CFP committee chairman and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said amounted to closed cases.

“Any team that is not playing right now, we don’t have a datapoint to rearrange where we have those teams ranked,” Manuel told ESPN this week.

ONE BID FOR ACC?

That’s one of multiple concerns for Phillips, a year after unbeaten ACC champion Florida State was left out of the four-team playoff because starting quarterback Jordan Travis went down to a late-season injury.

Eighth-ranked SMU (No. 8 CFP) went unbeaten in its first league season to reach Saturday night’s title game, but No. 14 Miami (No. 12 CFP) lost its finale at Syracuse to send No. 18 Clemson (No. 17 CFP) to face the Mustangs — and potentially doom its playoff chances.

That’s because the Hurricanes (10-2) fell six spots despite losing on the road to a team with nine wins and top-25 CFP standing, and now trails No. 11 Alabama (No. 11 CFP).

A win by SMU could mean only one ACC bid. Or SMU could be penalized with a loss and fall out completely, a scenario likely enough that coach Rhett Lashlee told the ACC Network that his team wouldn’t opt out of Saturday’s game to protect its CFP ranking.

“I think to the majority of the world, this is pretty clear cut: if you’re in the field going into championship weekend, you’ve earned that right, you should be in,” Lashlee said.

Phillips believes SMU should be in regardless, along with Miami if the Mustangs win.

“We have not performed at the level of a one-bid conference,” he said.

RANKINGS ‘CONFUSION’

Phillips’ concerns included Manuel citing Miami losing two of its last three, though the Hurricanes’ other loss was on the road against a Georgia Tech team that just took Georgia to eight overtimes.

Comparatively, the Crimson Tide’s last three games were a blowout of Championship Subdivision program Mercer, failing to score a touchdown to lose at Oklahoma (now 6-6) and beating five-win rival Auburn.

Additionally, as Phillips noted, No. 7 Ohio State (No. 6 CFP) fell only four spots after losing at home to a Michigan team that finished 7-5. None of those teams are in the CFP’s latest rankings like Syracuse.

Phillips also took exception to the week’s idle teams essentially being locked in order rather than the committee starting fresh weekly to analyze the latest overall picture.

“I’m not here to bash the work that’s been done or to question the integrity or anything like that, that’s not what I’m saying,” Phillips said. “What I’m saying is we would like some clarity on our situation and how what we saw (Tuesday) occurred. We feel there’s just confusion right now.”

GUARANTEED BIDS

It’s a good year for Nevarez, who entered Friday night’s title game between No. 10 Boise State (10th CFP) and No. 19 UNLV (20th CFP) with her league set to earn one of the slots designed to provide playoff access to Group of Five leagues.

That’s because both are ranked ahead of the American Athletic Conference finalists in No. 24 Army (24th CFP) and Tulane. And a Boise State win could earn a first-round bye since the Broncos are ahead of Big 12 title-gamers 12th-ranked Arizona State (15th CFP) and No. 16 Iowa State (16th).

“One game could’ve gone either way and it wouldn’t be us,” Nevarez told the AP. “And it is us this year and we’re really excited about that. … Next year it could be someone else. But as long as all of us have the opportunity to play into it, that’s an exciting thing that it came down to this year.

“We were lucky to end up on the right side of it. Won’t happen every year. But that’s the important piece: the excitement and the opportunity.”

Yet there has been conversations about guaranteeing specific bid counts to Power Four leagues as the playoff evolves. Nevarez isn’t on board.

“Anything can happen: upsets, good years, bad years,” she said. “It’s incumbent on each team to look at what they’re going to face in conference play, to look at the team they have, and schedule the nonconference accordingly. Build the resume for selection, and then get it done on the field.

“To arbitrarily manufacture anything beyond that, to me, feels very wrong.”

Sophia Benyo and Kaitlyn Bindas led a Hazleton Area offensive explosion with 22 points apiece as the Cougars rolled past Emmaus 82-44 on Friday night.

Sophia Shults added 13 points for Hazleton Area, which got scoring contributions from 10 different players in the win.

Crestwood 56, Selinsgrove 46

Jackie Gallagher had 20 points to lead the Comets to victory over Selinsgrove.

Kate Gallagher added 13 points for Crestwood, with Charlie Hiller chipping in 11 and Cameron Vieney finishing with 10 points.

Madi Merrell led Selinsgrove with 16 points.

Nanticoke Area 46, Berwick 28

Kate Reed led all scorers with 16 points, and Nanticoke Area turned in a fine defensive performance in a win over Berwick.

Caitlyn Majiros added 12 and Nevaeh Baran finished with eight points for Nanticoke Area.

Abby Calarco had 10 points to lead Berwick.

Wyoming Valley West 50, Delaware Valley 46

The Spartans rallied from three points down at the start of the fourth quarter to take down Delaware Valley.

Thalia Irizarry had 21 points to lead Valley West and Gabbi Novitski added 11 points. The two combined for 11 of the Spartans’ 18 fourth-quarter points.

Ciara Newton led Delaware Valley with 16 points.

Scranton 55, Dallas 45

A big third quarter for Scranton helped the Knights pull away from Dallas. The Mountaineers were up by a point at half, but a 16-6 edge for Scranton in the third quarter flipped the game in favor of the Knights.

Chrissy Jacklinski had 16 points to lead Scranton, while Madelyn O’Shea and Rhylee Bell both finished with 12.

Odessa Kanton led all scorers with an 18-point performance for Dallas.

Northwest Area 62, Hanover Area 25

The Rangers had four scorers in double-figures in a win over Hanover Area.

Ashlyn Hermanofski led the way with 19 points. Natalia Ninotti finished with 16, Ava Ruckle had 11 and Jordin Bowman added 10 points.

Emma Schlingman scored 14 points for Hanover Area.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hazleton Area 82, Emmaus 44

HAZLETON AREA (82) — Mariah Marolo 1 3-3 5, Sophia Benyo 7 8-10 22, Jayla Eberts 1 0-0 2, Kaitlyn Bindas 8 4-8 22, Olivia Williams 1 0-0 2, Evelyn Shults 0 2-2 2, Kayla Lagowy 3 0-0 6, Alexis Reimold 1 2-2 4, Sophia Shults 5 3-4 13, Juliana Silva 2 0-0 4, Sofia Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Miranda Chupela 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 22-29 82.

EMMAUS (44) — Olive Whitney 3 0-0 8, Kayla Snyder 2 1-2 6, Kaitlyn Grochowski 0 0-0 0, Gabby DeVita 5 1-1 13, Olivia Quinn 0 0-0 0, Sylvia Sokolofski 0 0-2 0, Sophia Shutkufski 1 0-0 2, Olivia Haberl 1 1-1 3, Emma Naccarato 0 0-0 0, Sofie Laird 1 3-3 5, Sierra Stevens 1 1-2 3, Cassie Doemling 0 4-4 4. Totals 14 11-15 44.

Hazleton Area`19`21`25`17 — 82

Emmaus`11`19`9`5 — 44

Three-point goals: HAZ 2 (Bindas 2). EMM 5 (Whitney 2, DeVita 2, Snyder).

Crestwood 56, Selinsgrove 46

CRESTWOOD (56) —Aryanna Kijek 0 0-0 0, Cameron Vieney 4 2-4 10, Charlie Hiller 5 1-4 11, Kendall Petrosky 0 2-2 2, Jackie Gallagher 9 1-2 20, Jordan Andrews 0 0-0 0, Mia Manoski 0 0-0 0, Kate Gallagher 4 5-5 13. Totals 22 11-17 56.

SELINSGROVE (46) — Grace Morrone 2 0-0 4, Erika Piepszowski 2 1-3 6, Madi Merrell 6 2-2 16, Lake Dent 0 0-0 0, Karsen Dodge 0 1-2 1, Gillian Hackenburg 1 0-0 2, Lissa Kruskie 5 1-4 13, Kristin Schaffer 1 2-6 4. Totals 17 7-17 46.

Crestwood`14`10`19`13 — 56

Selinsgrove`11`9`6`20 — 46

Three-point goals: CRE 1 (J. Gallagher). SEL 5 (Merrell 2, Kruskie 2, Piepszowski).

Nanticoke Area 46, Berwick 28

NANTICOKE AREA (46) — Natalee Atkins 1 1-2 3, Amiah Ceruti 2 0-0 5, Caitlyn Majiros 2 8-10 12, Kate Reed 5 4-5 16, Marli Donahue 0 1-2 1, Nevaeh Baran 3 0-0 8, Haley Verazin 0 1-2 1. Totals 13 15-21 46.

BERWICK (28) — Abby Calarco 4 0-3 10, Addy Zanoline 1 2-4 4, Lily Nespoli 0 0-0 0, Carly Post 2 1-2 7, Ashlyn Zakrewsky 3 0-0 6, Grace Robbins 0 1-2 1. Totals 10 4-11 28.

Nanticoke Area`11`10`13`12 — 46

Berwick`4`6`13`5 — 28

Three-point goals: NAN 5 (Reed 2, Baran 2, Ceruti). BER 4 (Calarco 2, Post 2).

Wyoming Valley West 50, Delaware Valley 46

DELAWARE VALLEY (46) — Ciara Newton 6 0-0 16, Jordan Dickerson 2 0-0 4, Amanda Aragona 5 0-0 12, Leah Bird 0 0-2 0, Keira Lazzaro 2 0-2 4, Bri Waldron 2 2-4 6, Rainna Carr 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 2-8 46.

WYO. VALLEY WEST (50) — Gabbi Novitski 3 3-4 11, Thalia Irizarry 7 7-8 21, Aniyah Davis 0 0-0 0, Becca Staniecki 2 0-1 4, Liv McLaughlin 2 0-0 4, Anya Richet 2 3-5 7, Helen Lewis 1 1-1 3, Makenna Colleran 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 14-19 50.

Delaware Valley`10`8`17`11 — 46

Wyo. Valley West`11`12`9`18 — 50

Three-point goals: DV 6 (Newton 4, Aragano 2). WVW 2 (Novitski 2).

Scranton 55, Dallas 45

SCRANTON (55) — Madelyn O’Shea 5 1-2 12, Eyinah Smith 1 0-0 2, Chrissy Jacklinski 4 6-6 16, Catherine Hill 0 0-2 0, Jaelyn Alers 1 1-2 4, Maggie O’Shea 3 2-4 9, Rhylee Bell 4 2-2 12. Totals 18 12-18 55.

DALLAS (45) — Izzy Evans 1 2-2 4, Caitlyn Mizzer 3 1-2 7, Mia DelGaudio 5 0-3 10, Odessa Kanton 6 6-8 18, Lucy Brunn 0 1-2 1, Brianna Casey 1 3-4 5. Totals 16 13-21 45.

Scranton`15`8`16`16 — 55

Dallas`10`14`6`15 — 45

Three-point goals: SCR 7 (Jacklinski 2, Bell 2, Mad. O’Shea, Alers, Mag. O’Shea). DAL 0.

Northwest Area 62, Hanover Area 25

HANOVER AREA (25) — Flora Tirado 0 0-0 0, Emma Schlingman 6 2-5 14, Caitlin Vigorito 0 0-0 0, Reyni Ortega Hernandez 0 0-0 0, Destinee Tapia 1 0-0 2, Symone Mims 0 2-4 2, Kiymani Bowman 1 0-0 2, Kalianna Wilde 1 0-2 2, Dayjah Marcinkiewicz 0 0-0 0, Ella Place 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 4-11 25.

NORTHWEST (62) — Ashlyn Hermanofski 6 7-11 19, Ava Ruckle 3 2-6 11, Natalia Ninotti 7 0-0 16, Jordin Bowman 5 0-0 10, Arheya Williams 0 0-0 0, Ali Miner 0 3-6 3, Callie Moyer 0 0-6 0, Natalie Mullins 0 0-0 0, Auria Daniels 0 0-0 0, Hartley Crawford 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 12-29 62.

Hanover Area`5`12`2`6 — 25

Northwest Area`15`32`12`3 — 62

Three-point goals: HAN 1 (Place). NW 6 (Ruckle 3, Ninotti 2, Crawford).

Spencer Smith scored 18 points and Alex Smith had 15 as Lake-Lehman defeated Lackawanna Trail 53-42 Friday night in high school boys basketball.

Ben Dowling added 12 for the Black Knights.

Jake Antolick led Trail with 15.

Scranton 62, Dallas 49

The Mountaineers struggled in the first half, falling behind 31-9 in their loss to Scranton.

Jude Nocito paced Dallas with 21 followed by Pat Flanagan with 12 and Joey Nocito with 10.

Alex LuDovici had 19 for Scranton.

Hazleton Area 57, Harrisburg 47

Luis Guzman scored a game-high 30 points as Hazleton Area defeated Harrisburg.

Ryan Staffin added 16 for the Cougars. Dylan Stish had eight.

Jaylon Lewis led Harrisburg with 10 points.

Nanticoke Area 55, Western Wayne 43

Mathias Mitchell scored a game-high 26 points as Nanticoke Area defeated Western Wayne.

RJ Brogan added 17 for the Trojans.

Sean Owens scored 21 points to pace Western Wayne.

Northwest 64, Milton 40

Josh Miner sparked a 19-point first quarter for Northwest with three 3-pointers as the Rangers went on to defeat Milton.

Miner finished with a game-high 25 points. Tucker Crawford added 14.

COLLEGES

WRESTLING

King’s competes at Messiah

King’s College competed in day one of the annual Messiah Petrofes Invitational.

Isaiah Camacho (157) lost his first match 12-8, but came back with a 14-7 decision over Olen Moshier of Adrian in a 14-7 decision. Camacho then lost his third bout. MJ Turi (157) won by pin and technical fall before losing 4-1 in overtime and by pin.

Jordan Bentley (165) opened with a technical fall, but was pinned in his next two matches. Alex Ballantyne (165) lost his first match via technical fall. He came back with wins by major decision, decision and medical forfeit. He is in eighth place entering Saturday’s action.

Nick Costello (174) opened with a loss by technical fall. He followed with two pins before losing by pinfall.

Nick Valenzano (285) lost by pin, but rallied with a pin and decision. He was pinned in round three. Preston Spontarelli (285) started out with a pin, but then lost by decision and pin.

Ryan Tran (285) posted a pin, but was then pinned in his next two matches.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Lake-Lehman 53, Lackawanna Trail 42

LAKE-LEHMAN (53) — Alex Smith 6 2-2 15, Hunter Palka 0 2-2 2, Spencer Smith 7 1-2 18, Hayden Evans 1 1-2 3, Ben Dowling 6 0-0 12, Jake Evans 1 0-0 3, Finn Cronin 0 0-0 0, Kasey Shook 0 0-0 0, Logan Smith 0 0-0 0, Bodhi Cronin 0 0-0 0, Vinny Saparico 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-8 53.

LACKAWANNA TRAIL (42) — Ashton Thiel 1 1-3 3, Hayden Bluhan 0 0-0 0, Lucas Filipek 0 5-8 5, Jake Antolick 5 4-6 15, Lorenzo Domano 1 1-2 3, Jimmy Phillips 3 0-0 8, Ethan Gorton 1 0-2 2, Sean Langley 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 11-17 42.

Lake-Lehman`14`12`11`16 — 53

Lackawanna Trail`10`7`12`13 — 42

Three-point goals: LL 5 (A.Smith, S.Smith 4, J.Evans). LT 3 (Antolick, Phillips 2).

Scranton 62, Dallas 49

DALLAS (49) — Jude Nocito 9 0-0 21, Joey Nocito 3 2-2 10, Jack Dale 2 2-2 6, Pat Flanagan 5 1-3 12, Brady Mizzer 0 0-0 0, Max Scatton 0 0-0 0, Tyce Mason 0 0-0 0, Talan Geskey 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 5-7 49.

SCRANTON (62) — Gabe White 2 0-0 4, Jonathan Levine 1 0-0 2, Jaheem Roberts 4 4-6 13, Tony Battaglia 3 2-4 9, Alex LuDovici 7 0-0 19, Lincoln McIver 0 0-0 0, Jayden Burrett 3 1-4 7, Pedro Lugo 3 2-2 8. Totals 23 9-16 62.

Dallas`4`5`16`24 — 49

Scranton`10`21`15`16 — 62

Three-point goals: DAL 6 (Ju.Nocito 3, Jo.Nocito 2, Flanagan). SCR 7 (Roberts, Battaglia, LuDovici 5.

Hazleton Area 57, Harrisburg 47

HARRISBURG (47) — KeJuan Sinkler 2 0-0 4, Elias Coke 1 0-2 2, Jaylon Lewis 3 3-4 10, Quincy Brannon 3 0-2 6, Mekhi Jackson 2 0-0 6, Trays Walker 2 1-4 5, Ryan Strain 0 2-2 2, Julian Bair 4 2-4 10. Totals 17 8-18 47.

HAZLETON AREA (57) — Luis Guzman 11 6-8 30, Angel Saladin 2 0-2 4, Ryan Staffin 5 1-4 16, Gavin Perkosky 0 0-0 0, Estarling Malencaine 0 1-2 1, Dylan Stish 1 6-6 8, Yohansel Moran 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 16-20 57.

Harrisburg`10`4`20`13 — 47

Hazleton Area`16`10`15`16 — 56

Three-point goals: HAR 3 (Lewis, Jackson 2). HA 5 (Guzman 2, Staffin 3).

Nanticoke Area 55, Western Wayne 43

NANTICOKE AREA (55) — RJ Brogan 4 8-10 17, Ethan Ball 0 1-2 1, Reagan Jackson 0 0-0 0, Dylon Ball 0 0-0 0, Shane Pearson 1 0-0 2, Louden Mullery 1 0-0 2, Steh Piontkowski 0 1-2 1, Treyton Mishanski 0 0-0 0, Ethan Yendrzewski 3 0-0 6, Nemico Sosa 0 0-0 0, Mathias Mitchell 9 5-11 26. Totals 18 15-25 57.

WESTERN WAYNE (43) — Archer Long 1 0-0 3, Ashan Stookey 1 4-10 6, Sean Owens 10 1-5 21, Omar Vargas 0 0-0 0, Jacob Lawlor 2 0-0 6, Logan Weaver 0 0-0 0, Dave Elias 0 0-0 0, Donovan Gregorski 0 0-0 0, Damian Galdain 1 0-0 3, Jared Goldman 0 0-0 0, Evan Dean 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 5-15 43.

Nanticoke`6`11`21`14 — 55

Western Wayne`15`11`9`8 — 43

Three-point goals: NAN 4 (Brogan, Mitchell 3). WW 4 (Long, Lawlor 2, Galdain).

Northwest 64, Milton 40

NORTHWEST (64) — Josh Miner 8 5-6 25, Ryan Miner 2 0-0 4, Brady Shea 3 2-2 8, Jace McCoy 4 0-0 8, Tucker Crawford 5 4-4 14, Garrett Bau 0 0-0 0, Chase Patterson 0 0-0 0, Billy Johns 2 0-0 5, Cooper Crawford 0 0-0 0, Matt Zugarek 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-12 64.

MILTON (40) — Izeyah Minom 3 1-2 8, Jake Harris 1 0-0 3, Adrian Castellinos 1 0-0 3, Schuyler Humphrey 0 0-0 0, Chase Knorr 3 0-0 9, Carter Bailey 0 0-0 0, Rylin Scott 3 0-0 8, Luis Santos 3 3-4 9, Tavin Reitz 0 0-0 0, Juniel Medina 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 4-6 40.

Northwest`19`12`18`15 — 64

Milton`11`8`14`7 — 40

Three-point goals: NWT 5 (J.Miner 4, Johns). MIL 8 (Minion, Harris, Castellinos, Knorr 3, Scott 2).

Luzerne County has retained an outside consultant to examine prison operations, county Manager Romilda Crocamo announced Friday.

“As I have stated before, the administration is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety and efficiency at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. To address the current challenges we face, I am announcing the hiring of a specialized consultant who will assist us in tackling staffing issues and enhancing our operational effectiveness,” Crocamo’s statement said.

The consultant — Dauphin County-based Sweeney Corrections Consulting — was “highly recommended” and will receive $200 per hour, Crocamo said.

Company owner/operator Edward Sweeney will work on upgrading the prison’s standard operating procedures “to ensure they meet the evolving needs of our facility and the community we serve,” her announcement said. Sweeney also will conduct a thorough review of the current staffing structure and collaborate with the administration to “develop strategic solutions,” it said.

“I believe that this partnership will provide valuable insights and foster improvements that will strengthen our operations and enhance the overall environment within the facility,” Crocamo said.

The consultant’s site, sweeneycorrections.com, said Sweeney has more than three decades of high-level corrections experience and is “poised to help others navigate the many challenges of the American corrections system.”

He has operated the consulting service since March 2017 and previously worked as Lehigh County’s director of corrections from September 1999 through January 2017. In that cabinet-level position in Lehigh, which is also a home rule county, Sweeney was responsible for overseeing a 1,350-bed jail, a 400-bed community corrections center and 48-bed juvenile detention center.

Prior to that position, Sweeney held progressively advanced correctional positions in Lehigh County, starting as a corrections officer at the end of 1984 and becoming warden of the county jail in February 1993.

He has a bachelor’s degree in business management and holds various correctional certifications.

According to the latest county division report, the total average daily population was 557 at the prison on Water Street and minimum offenders building on Reichard Street, both in Wilkes-Barre.

The county prison system has a $31.7 million budget this year and approximately 290 union workers and 20 non-union employees, the budget report said.

Issues periodically made headlines at the facility.

Most recently, council approved two legal settlements requiring the county to pay $150,000 each to the estates of two female prison inmates related to their 2023 suicide deaths.

The prison came up during Crocamo’s Thursday presentation before the county Government Study Commission, which is considering potential changes to the home rule charter that must be put before voters to be implemented.

Commission member Stephen J. Urban, a prior county councilman, said he believes the county should restore a prison board that was eliminated by home rule, asserting a board could “offer some advice.”

“I think a lot of litigation still comes out of that operation. I don’t know how we tame that beast,” he said.

Echoing predecessors, Crocamo said the multi-story layout of the aging prison is “extraordinarily challenging.”

She said a prison board could appear to be a good thing in theory, but the facility in the past had “become a political dumping ground.”

Crocamo said two county branches — correctional services and Children, Youth and Families — have more liability exposure due to the nature of their work, but the county has worked to implement positive changes.

One example she cited is a medication-assisted treatment program to address the agonizing physical and mental effects for inmates withdrawing from opioids upon arrival.

“There are things we can do that can reduce our exposure, but there will always be some level of litigation that comes out of the prison,” Crocamo told the commission.

OK, all you genealogists out there. What is a “half cousin”?

If you don’t know, don’t feel bad. That’s not a common term, but it’s explained by Lisa Lisson on the latest podcast from Family Tree Magazine.

There is plenty more about cousins and cousinship in the podcast, which subscribers to the magazine get. It’s just 19 minutes long – a good investment for study of an absolutely essential genealogical term.

We all know what first cousins are – people who share a set of grandparents. After that, things can get a bit more complicated.

By the way, the subject of cousinship is very timely in December. That’s because DNA tests have become popular Christmas gifts. Most recipients take them after the holidays, send the kits in to the sponsoring company and wait for the results.

Once those results come to you, you’ll soon start receiving emails from the testing company informing you that several cousins of yours have been identified. Some of them you will already know. Others, sharing less DNA, will be new names to you, and you’ll probably wonder about exactly what kind of cousins they are.

First cousins are the easy ones to identify. They are two people who share a set of grandparents. You probably know your first cousins now. Second cousins share a set of great-grandparents. You can keep going back through the generations, identifying third cousins, fourth cousins and the like.

Where does the term “removal” come in, as in “second cousin once removed”?

Well, “removal” refers to a generational difference. The shared “grands” are from two different generations. You can’t just go by age, Lisson points out. There must be two actual generations involved, such as one set of grandparents and another of great-grandparents.

OK, what about those half-cousins?

That happens when you and the other person share just one grandparent, most likely because of multiple marriages, Lisson says.

Here’s something you don’t find every day: you and another person are double cousins.

That relationship, admittedly rare, happens when two brothers of one family, for instance, marry two sisters of another family.

Now, how do you interpret “cousin” when the testing company sends you a name and profile?

As little as 1.6 percent shared DNA means that you and the person whose name you’ve just been sent could be second or third cousins, Lisson says. You might not know for sure unless you choose to contact that person.

The interviewer on the podcast is Lisa Louise Cooke.

Cemeteries: Genealogists accustomed to looking for ancestral graves could be confronted by a new reality in the near future. Some cemeteries are abandoning the traditional manicured look in favor of a more overgrown environment, with longer grass than before, native plants cultivated and little pesticide used, the “New York Times” recently reported.

U.S. Census: The Bureau of the Census will begin adding a new category to those already denoting ethnicity and race. It will be Middle Eastern and North African. Says PBS in a news story, “People descended from places such as Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and Syria had been encouraged to identify as white, but now will have the option of identifying themselves in the new group.”

RootsTech: The annual genealogy event is set for March 6-8 2025, and there is plenty of advance material about it online. Much of the first day requires payment, but the talks over the next two days are available online free and will be archived. Search “RootsTech 2025” and get a preview of the many sessions.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday offered a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Defense Department, whose confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat.

Hegseth, a former Fox News Host, Army National Guard major and combat veteran, spent much of the week on Capitol Hill trying to salvage his Cabinet nomination and privately reassure Republican senators that he is fit to lead Trump’s Pentagon.

“Pete Hegseth is doing very well,” Trump posted on his social media site. “He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense.” The president added that “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”

The pitched nomination battle over Hegseth is emerging not only as a debate about the best person to lead the Pentagon, but an inflection point for a MAGA movement that appears to be relishing a public fight over its hardline push for a more masculine military and an end to the “woke-ism” of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Trump’s allies are forcefully rallying around the embattled Hegseth – the Heritage Foundation’s political arm is promising to spend $1 million to shore up his nomination – as he vows to stay in the fight, as long as the president-elect wants him to.

“We’re not abandoning this nomination,” Vice-President-elect JD Vance said as he toured post-hurricane North Carolina.

“Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, not a sham hearing before the American media,” Vance said. He said he had spoken with GOP senators and he believes Hegseth will be confirmed. “We are completely behind him.”

The effort has become a test of Trump’s clout and of how far loyalty for the president-elect goes with Republican senators who have concerns about his nominees. Two of Trump’s other choices have stepped aside as they faced intense scrutiny: former congressman Matt Gaetz, his first choice for attorney general, and Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff who was Trump’s first choice to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The president’s son Donald J. Trump Jr., also made a show of support for Hegseth on Friday, part of a full-court MAGA press.

“If you’re a GOP Senator who voted for Lloyd Austin, but criticize PeteHegseth, then maybe you’re in the wrong political party!” he wrote on X. referring to President Joe Biden’s defense secretary.

Thanking the president-elect for the support, Hegseth posted on social media, “Like you, we will never back down.”

Hegseth has promised not to drink on the job and told lawmakers he never engaged in sexual misconduct, even as his professional views on female troops have also come under intensifying scrutiny. He said as recently as last month that women “straight up” should not serve in combat.

He picked up one important endorsement from Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, whose support was seen as a potentially powerful counterweight to the cooler reception Hegseth had received from Sen. Joni Ernst, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel.

“Huge. Thanks to Katie for her leadership,” Vance posted on social media.

Ernst, who is also a sexual assault survivor, stopped short of an endorsement after her meeting with Hegseth this week. She said she appreciates his military service and they “had a frank and thorough conversation.”

On Friday, Trump put out the statement in response to coverage saying he had lost faith in Hegseth, according to a person familiar with his thinking who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The president-elect and his team have been pleased to see Hegseth putting up a fight and his performance this week reiterates why he was chosen, the person said. They believe he can still be confirmed.

If Hegseth goes down, Trump’s team believes the defeat would empower others to spread what they cast as “vicious lies” against every candidate Trump chooses.

Still, Trump’s transition team has been looking at potential replacements if Hegseth’s nomination cannot move forward, including former presidential rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis plans to attend the Army-Navy football game with Trump on Dec. 14, according to a person familiar with the Florida governor’s plans who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss them before a public announcement.

And DeSantis and Trump had spoken about the defense secretary post when they saw each other Tuesday at a memorial service for sheriff deputies in West Palm Beach, Florida, according people familiar with the matter who said Trump was interested in DeSantis for the post, and the governor was receptive.

At the same time, DeSantis also is poised to select a replacement for the expected Senate vacancy to be created by Marco Rubio becoming secretary of state, and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump is seen as the preferred choice by those in Trump’s orbit.

Despite a weeklong push of private Capitol Hill meetings, Hegseth is facing resistance from senators as reports have emerged about his past, including the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies.

The New Yorker cited what it described as a whistleblower report and other documents about his time leading a veterans advocacy group, Concerned Veterans for America, that alleged multiple incidents of alcohol intoxication at work events, inappropriate behavior around female staffers and financial mismanagement.

The New York Times obtained an email from his mother Penelope from 2018, in which she confronted him about mistreating women after he impregnated his current wife while he was married to his second wife. She went on “Fox & Friends” this week to defend her son.

Trump ally Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said senators are judging “Pete for who he is today.”

In many ways the increasingly pitched battle resembles the political and culture wars that exploded over Trump’s pick of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court during his first term at the White House.

Kavanaugh had also faced allegations of sexual assault that he strenuously denied, but Republicans rallied to his side and turned a tide of opposition into a more sympathetic view of the Supreme Court nominee as the victim of a liberal-led smear campaign. He eventually won confirmation.

While Hegseth was still fighting for votes in the Senate, he did appear to make incremental progress with some Republicans who had expressed concerns about the reports of his drinking, in particular.

“I’m not going to make any decision regarding Pete Hegseth’s nomination based on anonymous sources,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said of the allegations against Hegseth, “I have no reason to doubt him any more than believe somebody else.”

Still, Cramer indicated he could still change his mind. A background check “will be informative.”

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said after meeting with Hegseth that he wanted to see how he does in a hearing but “he went a long way” toward getting his support.

NEW YORK — The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer made sure to wear a mask during the shooting yet left a trail of evidence in view of the nation’s biggest city and its network of security cameras that have aided authorities piecing together his movements and his identity.

A law enforcement official said Friday that new surveillance footage shows the suspect riding the subway and visiting establishments in Manhattan and provided more clues about his actions in the days before he ambushed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The gunman’s whereabouts and identity remained unknown Friday, as did the reason for Wednesday’s killing. New York City police say evidence firmly points to it being a targeted attack.

Investigators believe the suspect may have traveled to New York last month on a bus that originated in Atlanta, according to the law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Once arriving in New York, he always appeared to pay with cash in establishments where he was captured on camera, the official said.

Investigators have tested a discarded water bottle and protein bar wrapper in a hunt for his DNA. They also were trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone recovered from a pedestrian plaza where the gunman fled after shooting Thompson outside his company’s annual investor conference at a hotel just blocks from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.

The shooter then got on a bicycle, riding though an area dotted with security cameras. He was last seen disappearing into the southern tip of Central Park near the famed Plaza Hotel after crossing a street that’s often bustling with joggers, horse-drawn carriages and taxis.

Police have released photos of a person wanted for questioning in connection with the killing that were taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The images, showing an unmasked man smiling in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel, add to a collection of photos and video circulated since the shooting — including footage of the attack itself, as well as images of the suspected gunman stopping at a Starbucks beforehand.

Surveillance images from the shooting show the man wearing a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face — a look that would not have attracted attention on a chilly morning.

Investigators have learned the man lowered his mask at the front desk of the hostel because he was flirting with the woman who checked him in, the law enforcement official told the AP, leading to a photo of his face. The woman told investigators that during that encounter she asked to see his smile and he pulled down his mask, the official said.

Investigators believe the suspect used a fake New Jersey identification card, the official said, when he checked in at the hostel, which has a café along with shared and private rooms and is just blocks from Columbia University.

Employees who work at the hostel told investigators they remembered a man who almost always wore a mask when interacting with them or walking by the front desk. The person wore a jacket that looked like the one worn by the man in surveillance images, the official said.

Investigators believe the shooter had at least some firearms training and experience with guns, the official said.

Security video shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind, firing several shots with a gun equipped with a silencer, barely pausing to clear a jam while the executive fell to the sidewalk.

The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, two law enforcement officials told the AP on Thursday. The messages mirror the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by lawyers and critics about insurers that delay payments, deny claims and defend their actions.

Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.

The insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting in New York for investors. The company abruptly ended the conference after Thompson’s death.

UnitedHealth Group said it was focused on supporting Thompson’s family, ensuring the safety of employees and assisting investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring,” the company said.

UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans. It manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.

In October, UnitedHealthcare was named along with Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its denial rate for prior authorizations for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years.

The shooting has shaken corporate America and the health insurance industry in particular, causing companies to reevaluate security plans and delete photos of executives from their websites. A different Minnesota-based health care company said Friday it was temporarily closing its offices out of an abundance of caution, telling employees to work from home.

The remains of a woman who fell into a sinkhole were recovered Friday, four days after she went missing while searching for her cat, a state police spokesperson said.

Trooper Steve Limani said the body of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was being taken to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.

Authorities planned a midafternoon news conference at a nearby fire hall to provide additional details.

The announcement came in the fourth day of the search for Pollard, who had last been seen Monday evening, looking for the cat near a restaurant half a mile from her home in the village of Marguerite.

Axel Hayes, Pollard’s son, said a state trooper told him and other family members that her body had been found.

“I was hoping for the best, I really was,” Hayes said in a phone interview. “I was hoping she was still alive, maybe in a coma or something. I wasn’t expecting all of this.”

Pollard’s family reported her missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday as the temperature in the area dropped below freezing.

The search focused on a sinkhole that began as a manhole-sized gap and may have only recently opened above where coal was mined until about 70 years ago. Hunters and restaurant workers who were in the area in the hours before Pollard’s disappearance told police they hadn’t noticed the sinkhole.

Police said they found Pollard’s car parked about 20 feet from the sinkhole with her 5-year-old granddaughter sleeping inside. The cat, Pepper, has not reappeared, Hayes said.

The effort to find Pollard included lowering a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, although it detected nothing. Crews removed a massive amount of soil and rock to try to reach the area where they believed she fell into the chasm about 30 feet deep.

Pollard grew up in Jeanette, about 12 miles from Unity Township, where she lived for much of her adult life. She previously worked at Walmart and was married for more than 40 years.

Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Northeast Region partnered with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Pennsylvania State Police two years ago for the first-ever Special Olympics Night with the Penguins, which consisted of a dunk tank in front of the arena. Special Olympics Pennsylvania athletes were highlighted during the game with a table on the concourse, torch lighting, messaging on the ribbon board, a 30-second video, and an ice walk-on during the second intermission to teach the fans about their journeys with the Special Olympics.

In January 2025, the Penguins are stepping things up a notch by adding a mobile plunge unit in front of the arena. There are three levels on the plunge registration page, with the top tier being $200 per person. The top tier includes plunging, a plunge day sweatshirt, and a seat in the ice level lounge. This package also includes a 20% chance of winning a seat on the FAN-boni, as well as an on-ice photo after the game.

For $150, fans can experience the plunge and get a sweatshirt, and watch a game in a center-ice seat. For $75, fans can watch the plunge and receive a sweatshirt. For an additional $27, fans can stay and enjoy the Penguins game in whatever seats are available. Every ticket purchased on https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/SOPA2025 will result in Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Northeast Region getting $5 in proceeds.

The Penguins are offering business sponsorship packages, as well. A $5,000 sponsorship, for instance, can get 25 people the benefits of the aforementioned top tier. This also counts as a plunge sponsorship, which gets a business listed on the back of the sweatshirts and signage at the big plunge at Montage Mountain on Jan. 25.