More Than Just Swordplay

By LINLEY SANDERS and NICHOLAS RICCARDI WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Republicans say they are confident in the 2024 vote count after Donald Trump’s win, according to a new poll that finds a sharp turnaround from GOP voters’ skepticism about U. S. elections after the president-elect spent four years lying about his loss to President Joe Biden. About 6 in 10 Republicans said they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that the votes in last year’s presidential election were counted correctly nationwide, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

MIAMI — The tipping point apparently came in the wake of Wednesday’s victory over the New Orleans Pelicans when it came to Jimmy Butler’s souring relationship with the Miami Heat turning toxic. In the wake of an uneven effort that night by Butler, Butler’s camp was left with the perception that the team was considering a suspension. Then came Butler’s pointed comments after Thursday night’s loss to the visiting Indiana Pacers that he no longer saw a future with the Heat as a viable option. While not a public trade request, which is banned by the NBA, backchannel machinations have made apparent that Butler would agree to a trade to any of the 29 other NBA teams, the South Florida Sun Sentinel confirmed. With Butler offering his Thursday postgame comments shortly after coach Erik Spoelstra downplayed, and even dismissed, Heat concerns about simmering tensions and unease, there has yet to be a team response to Butler’s distress. From Butler’s perspective, the Heat not only have made clear they do not plan to move forward with a contract extension, but the team has moved to an offensive system that does not allow him to display his true worth. Butler is under contract for $48.8 million this season.

The Transportation Department said Friday it will hit JetBlue Airways with a $2 million penalty for chronically late flights along the East Coast, including flights to Fort Lauderdale, and half the money will go to passengers who were delayed. The agency said it’s the first time it has fined an airline for chronic delays on specific routes, which it blamed on “unrealistic scheduling” by JetBlue. “Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers.

By AMANDA SEITZ, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday. Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health, but his proposal for a label would require a rare approval from the U.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will visit New Orleans next week, with the city still reeling from the deadly New Year’s rampage in which an Army veteran plowed a truck into revelers. The White House says the president and first lady will travel to New Orleans on Monday to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack.” Fourteen people were killed in the attack.

By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U. S. President-elect Donald Trump is “strong and unpredictable,” and those qualities can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, Zelenskyy said it won’t be possible to end the almost three years of war in one day, as Trump claimed during his election campaign that he could do. “The ‘hot’ stage of the war can end quite quickly, if Trump is strong in his position,” Zelenskyy said in a Ukrainian television interview late Thursday, referring to fighting on the battlefield. “I believe (Trump) is strong and unpredictable.