Political Notebook: Macon Republican Eyes Statewide Prize

UCF coach Scott Frost continues to add some familiar faces to his new coaching staff, bringing in Mike Dawson as the Knights’ new defensive run game coordinator and edge coach. Dawson previously worked with Frost as part of his coaching staff in 2016-17. “I’m incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Frost’s staff,” Dawson said in a statement.

By MELISSA GOLDIN President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims. Related Articles National Politics | Trump adds Europe to list of US trade partners he’s threatening with tariffs National Politics | Judges topple gun restrictions as courts chart an uncertain path forward National Politics | Transgender people working in US government see peril under Trump National Politics | White House starts scrapping pending regulations, including student debt cancellation National Politics | Senate set to approve 235th judge of Biden’s term, beating Trump’s tally The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years. “Trump has got himself a handful with Musk,” John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email.

A federal jury in Tampa on Thursday convicted a Broward County woman of one count of conspiracy against rights for her involvement in a group that spray painted threatening messages on pro-life pregnancy clinics in South Florida and elsewhere in the state. Gabriella Oropesa, of Cooper City, along with three other people in the summer of 2022 vandalized reproductive health clinics in Hollywood, Hialeah and Winter Haven, between Orlando and Tampa, that provided “abortion alternatives” to women, including counseling and ultrasound exams, according to the indictment presented to the jury. They disguised themselves with masks, hats and gloves, and targeted the clinics at night, federal prosecutors said. In May 2022, Oropesa and the others traveled to Hollywood in Broward County and spray painted on a clinic affiliated with the Archdiocese of Miami Ministry: “If abortions aren’t SAFE then niether [sic] are you,” the indictment said.

Hurricanes tight end Riley Williams is looking for a new program after two years with the team, according to multiple reports. Williams is at least the eighth UM player known to be transferring this offseason. Williams, a four-star prospect coming out of Bradenton powerhouse IMG Academy, was one of the top tight ends in the 2023 class.

It’s Nights of the Living Dead: The Sequel. When Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros closed out 2023 last December in Fort Lauderdale, the three-night Broward Center run by the Grateful Dead-adjacent band felt like an unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime event. But exactly one year later — like one more milepost on the “long, strange trip” that echoes the Dead’s signature lyric — Weir and Co.

MIAMI GARDENS — The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Miami Dolphins writers are picking out a pair of prop bets each week in the 2024 season. Dolphins columnist Chris Perkins and Dolphins reporter David Furones, neither of whom condones gambling, will make predictions on player or team props they believe will occur for every Dolphins matchup. Each writer will offer their “Best Bet,” a near 50-50 proposition they believe will occur, and a “Longshot,” which has to be given betting odds of at least +300, or 3-to-1 probability. Odds are according to the Hard Rock Bet app.