Morning Update: South Florida’s Top Stories For Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

MIAMI GARDENS — Things haven’t gone the way the Miami Dolphins (6-8) planned this season. The same is true for Sunday’s opponent, San Francisco (6-8), which is also dealing with massive disappointment. The storyline of the longtime friendship between Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan won’t be a focal point this year as it was in 2022 when these teams met. Rather, Sunday’s focal point will be which of these teams can win and keep hopes alive for a winning record. Things have changed. With that in mind, here are five things to look for in Sunday’s matchup:  Motivation Playoff hopes are thin.

A Broward County judge could face a 10-day suspension and a public reprimand stemming from allegations that she acted improperly during a 2022 re-election campaign. In a filing Wednesday at the state Supreme Court, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission said it had reached agreement with Judge Mardi Levey Cohen on the proposed discipline. The filing came after the Supreme Court in September rejected a proposal that would have led to a public reprimand. The Supreme Court did not explain its reasons but sent the case back to the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates alleged misconduct by judges and makes recommendations.

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Billy Napier pulled his wife Ali close to his side and kissed the top of her head as a chorus of boos awaited her husband at the south end-zone tunnel of the Swamp. This show of strength and vulnerability for his life partner — whose forlorn expression embodied her family’s uncertain future — would serve as Napier’s north star with his program. To salvage a season already slipping away in Week 3, avoid his unceremonious ouster and appease a furious fan base, Napier had to change. “For me, it was like, ‘All right, this is not going to work,’” Napier told the Orlando Sentinel as UF prepared for Friday’s Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa against Tulane.

Fort Lauderdale might start charging a new tax that would bring in tens of millions to help cover the cost of ocean rescue and emergency medical services. The tax would come to $456.78 for a home with a taxable value of $590,000, according to current estimates. The higher the value of the home or commercial property, the higher the tax. Commissioners got details about the possible new tax from an outside consultant on Tuesday. If Fort Lauderdale moves forward with the plan, the tax would show up on property tax bills as soon as 2026. The tax would apply not only to single-family homes, but to all properties currently taxed in Fort Lauderdale, said Peter Napoli, a senior manager with Stantec Consulting. Napoli had a dire warning for the commission, saying the city can expect a growing shortfall over the coming years if drastic measures are not taken. The city will face a deficit of $4.7 million in 2026; a deficit of $35.4 million in 2027; $39.4 million in 2028; $52.9 million in 2029; and $45.3 million in 2030, Napoli said.

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is calling for legislators to repeal the state law that requires an annual abortion report, saying that it infringes on patients’ privacy, which echoes other Democratic officials’ push to reduce or eliminate such requirements. Related Articles National News | DOJ files complaint against CVS for facilitating unlawful sale of prescription opioids National News | Invasive ‘murder hornets’ are wiped out in the US, officials say National News | Rudy Giuliani ordered to appear at contempt hearing in January over failure to give up assets National News | How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione National News | Jay-Z’s lawyers challenge rapper’s inclusion in rape lawsuit after accuser’s TV interview “The government has no place in surveilling Arizonans’ medical decision-making or tracking their health history,” Hobbs, a Democrat in a state where Republicans control the Legislature, said in a statement Wednesday as the state released its report covering 2023.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge on Wednesday ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear in court in early January to face claims that he should be held in contempt for failing to turn over assets including a New York apartment lease and a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt to two Georgia election poll workers who won a libel case against him. Related Articles National News | DOJ files complaint against CVS for facilitating unlawful sale of prescription opioids National News | Invasive ‘murder hornets’ are wiped out in the US, officials say National News | Arizona governor urges the state to stop collecting abortion data, citing patient privacy National News | How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione National News | Jay-Z’s lawyers challenge rapper’s inclusion in rape lawsuit after accuser’s TV interview Judge Lewis J.