Great American Festival Celebrates Freedom

It was a funeral where people were laughing, not crying. A big crowd filled a big church in Ocala Wednesday to celebrate the life of Kenneth “Buddy” MacKay, who briefly served as Florida’s 42nd governor under trying circumstances in 1998. Weeks earlier, MacKay had lost a governor’s race to Jeb Bush. It marked a turning point in the rise of conservatism and the Republican Party in Florida. Forced to steer an orderly transition to the man who had just beaten him, MacKay served gracefully as governor for three weeks after Gov.

MIAMI — Friday night was not the end, even with Jimmy Butler’s seven-game unpaid Miami Heat suspension drawing to a close. Instead, based on Butler’s postgame comments, as the Heat turned from Friday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets to Sunday’s visit by the San Antonio Spurs, the page has merely turned to the next chapter in the saga of a player who wants out and a team that publicly remains on record as being amenable to moving him out. So, no, nothing close to resolution, even with Butler scoring 18 points in his return. “I guess it’s basketball, at this point,” Butler said as he dressed in a Michael Jordan No.

By SAMY MAGDY, MELANIE LIDMAN and SAM MEDNICK, Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced for news of loved ones, Palestinians prepared to receive freed detainees and humanitarian groups rushed to set up a surge of aid. But in a national address 12 hours before the ceasefire was to start, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was treating the ceasefire as temporary and retained the right to continue fighting if necessary.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U. S. Capitol after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Four years later, some of them are allowed to return to the nation’s capital so they can celebrate Trump’s return to the White House. At least 20 defendants charged with or convicted of joining the Jan.

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, ERIC TUCKER and COLLEEN LONG WASHINGTON (AP) — During hearings on Merrick Garland’s nomination to be President Joe Biden’s attorney general, the longtime federal appeals court judge told senators in 2021 that he hoped to “turn down the volume” on the public discourse about the Justice Department and return to the days when the agency was not the “center of partisan disagreement.” It didn’t go as planned. Garland came in with a mission to calm the waters and restore the department’s reputation for independence after four turbulent years under Republican President Donald Trump, who fired one attorney general and feuded with another.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR WASHINGTON (AP) — It is unclear who will take over at the Pentagon and the military services when the top leaders all step down Monday as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office. As of Friday, officials said they had not yet heard who will become the acting defense secretary. Officials said the military chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force were getting ready to step in as acting service secretaries — a rare move — because no civilians had been named or, in some cases, had turned down the opportunity. As is customary, all current political appointees will step down as of noon EST on Inauguration Day, leaving hundreds of key defense posts open, including dozens that require Senate confirmation.