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Justice Sonia Sotomayor faces pressure to retire ahead of Trump taking office: report

Democrats are reportedly discussing whether to call on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to immediately resign in an effort to avoid her replacement potentially being made under the President-elect Donald Trump, Politico reports.

Democrats lost their Senate majority to Republicans in the 2024 election, which, according to one Democratic senator, prompted discussion over whether to initiate an immediate replacement of Sotomayor, 70, during their remaining two months in control of the chamber.

The concerns stem from the possibility of Trump filling her seat if it happens to become vacant during his presidency – but with the former president taking office in just two months, any proponents of a quick turnaround replacement have a short window to act.

‘She can sort of resign conditionally on someone being appointed to replace her,’ a Democratic senator told Politico Playbook. ‘But she can’t resign conditioned on a specific person. What happens if she resigns and the nominee to replace her isn’t confirmed, and the next president fills the vacancy?’

The Democrat also told the outlet that there remain two top concerns about the idea: confirming a new justice under Congress’ already packed schedule and whether any members would be willing to go on the record against Sotomayor.

Proponents of the idea would have to guarantee enough Senate votes to ensure a quick confirmation before Trump takes office, which one source told Playbook, could face a potential roadblock from members such as retiring Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., if they do not support the replacement.

Those discussing a potential replacement for Sotomayor are already eyeing D.C. Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009.

The Democrats are also considering focusing their remaining time in leadership on the appointment of lower-court judges waiting to be confirmed.

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Who is Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House chief of staff? 5 things to know

President-elect Donald Trump made history twice this week, first by winning the White House for a second time as a former president, and then by naming Susie Wiles to be his chief of staff.

Wiles, a longtime GOP operative and advisor to Trump, will be the first woman to hold that coveted position in American history. By all accounts, she has earned it. Wiles is credited with tightening up Trump’s campaign operations after his 2020 loss and helping him win both the Electoral College and national popular vote in 2024 – an achievement that has eluded Republican candidates for president for 20 years.

‘Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,’ Trump said in a statement on Thursday, announcing her White House appointment. 

‘Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud,’ he said. 

However, while Wiles is known, respected and even feared in Florida, she is not well-known in Washington, D.C., and certainly not nationally. So who is Susie Wiles? Here are five things to know about the next White House chief of staff: 

Her father was a legendary NFL broadcaster, and she helped him overcome addiction

Wiles is the daughter of late legendary NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall. Summerall was an NFL champion kicker and the lead color commentator alongside John Madden on CBS for more than two decades.

During his broadcast career, Summerall admitted to becoming an alcoholic. In his 2006 biography, he recounted how his daughter, Susie, staged an intervention for him and helped him break addiction.

‘Dad, the few times we’ve been out in public together recently, I’ve been ashamed we shared the same last name,’ Wiles said in a letter that was read during the intervention, according to Summerall’s 2006 autobiography, ‘On and Off the Air.’

Summerall wrote that the words of his daughter inspired him to take steps to address his addiction. 

Her first job in politics was with her father’s old teammate

In the late 1970s, Wiles was hired as an assistant to Summerall’s old teammate on the New York Giants, someone who went on to have a long and successful career in the House of Representatives and later be nominated for vice president. That was none other than the late Jack Kemp, one of the chief backers of former President Ronald Reagan’s supply-side economics theories and architect of the Regan tax cuts. 

Wiles went on to work for Reagan himself as a scheduler for his 1980 presidential campaign and later the White House. She left Washington, D.C., for Florida in the 1990s and served as chief of staff to John Delaney, the mayor of Jacksonville. She also worked as the district director for Rep. Tillie Fowler in Northeast Florida. 

Delaney heaped praise on Wiles in an interview for Politico Magazine. ‘I’ve described her as a political savant — just otherworldly sort of political instincts,’ he said. 

Wiles continued to be a fixture of Florida politics for decades, eventually helping a health care executive named Rick Scott become governor in 2010. Scott is now Florida’s junior senator and this week is celebrating his re-election to a second term. 

She once described herself as a ‘card-carrying member of the GOP establishment,’ but supported Trump

Wiles has worked for every stripe of Republican imaginable, from moderate to hard-line conservative. However, she surprised her friends and allies when, in 2015, she decided to become the Trump campaign’s co-chairwoman in Florida. 

‘As a card-carrying member of the G.O.P. establishment, many thought my full-throated endorsement of the Trump candidacy was ill advised — even crazy,’ Wiles told the New York Times in a rare public statement. 

Though faced with skepticism, Wiles explained to the Tampa Bay Times at the time that she believed no other Republican running for the presidency in 2016 was prepared to deliver the change she felt Washington, D.C., needed. She said national Republicans had developed ‘an expediency culture’ and lost sight of core principles. 

‘I said, ‘I don’t want this to continue.’ I think it seriously will damage our republic and who among that group can really have the fortitude to shift what I’ve seen happening over all these years?’ Wiles told the paper.

It turned out that her instincts were right. Trump won the primary and shocked the political establishment by defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in an upset. 

She helped Ron DeSantis become governor before a falling out

In 2018, a young Florida congressman named Ron DeSantis decided to run for governor. He won a contested Republican primary thanks to Trump’s endorsement, but his campaign was struggling and behind in the polls.

With a little more than a month before the election, DeSantis hired Wiles to right the ship. Her guidance is largely credited with pushing DeSantis over the finish line in a narrow victory over disgraced former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

However, a rift grew between DeSantis and Wiles after the election. Politico reported that state first lady Casey DeSantis was suspicious of Wiles’ growing influence and power in the governor’s orbit. Eventually, Wiles was edged out of DeSantis’ inner circle.

She wound up back in Trump’s orbit for his unsuccessful 2020 campaign and remained a close and valued advisor as he plotted a return to the White House in 2024. She was with the Trump campaign when DeSantis mounted his own campaign for president, and many suspect Trump’s team used Wiles’ insider knowledge of DeSantis to defeat the Florida governor.

In January, Wiles responded to a report on X that DeSantis had cleared his campaign website of upcoming events.

‘Bye, bye,’ she wrote. 

She is a registered lobbyist

In addition to her work on political campaigns, Wiles is a registered lobbyist. 

Federal disclosures filed in April show Wiles was a lobbyist for the tobacco company Swisher International while running the Trump campaign. The documents show she worked to influence Congress on ‘FDA regulations.’ 

WIles is the co-chair for the Florida and Washington, D.C., offices of Mercury Public Affairs, a lobbying firm whose clients include AirBnB, AT&T, eBay, Pfizer, Tesla, and the Embassy of Qatar, although she is not a registered lobbyist for any of those clients. 

Previously, Wiles worked for Ballard Partners, a Florida-based firm started by lobbyist Brian Ballard. 

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Trump administration could lead to budget cuts, leadership shakeup at UN

A Donald Trump presidency is sure to have reverberations at the United Nations (U.N.), and first on the chopping block could be its funding. 

The U.N. currently relies on the U.S. for about a third of its budget. President Biden increased U.S. financial contributions to the U.N., boosting it from $11.6 billion in 2020 to $18.1 billion in 2022. This gives a new administration wiggle room to withhold funds to the U.N. if its global interests do not align with the U.S.’, a notion some Republicans have already pushed for. 

The U.S. gave about three times as much that year as the next-highest contributors, Germany at $6.8 billion and Japan at $2.7 billion. 

‘They will have to recalibrate now very much again in the Trump administration that will, I believe, be much more attentive, engaged and monitoring of the U.N.,’ predicted Hugh Dugan, a longtime member of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. 

‘There are teams there that have been sleepwalking the last few years without U.S. pressure on accountability, efficiency and effectiveness.’

Trump will be in office when the international body elects its next secretary general in 2026, and the U.S. will have veto power over any candidate. 

‘Over the next year and a half, it’s going to make an effort to look more managerially competent to avoid some of the stern green eyes seated across here – attention that Elon Musk and the Trump team will want to bring to the consideration of the secretary general selection.’

Trump would also likely once again withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords and the U.N. Global Compact on Migration. 

The U.N. particularly relies on the U.S. for global aid programs. In 2022, it provided half of all contributions to the World Food Programme, and about a third of all contributions to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the International Organization for Migration.

‘There’s no doubt the U.N. is frightened and horrified,’ of Trump taking office, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch. 

‘We’re going to see budget cuts,’ he said. ‘The most memorable being UNRWA.’ 

Trump cut funding to the organization that distributes aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Biden led the U.S. in reinstating that aid and earmarking $1 billion for UNRWA – before freezing that aid when it was revealed that some employees had links to Hamas. 

‘I would say the Human Rights Office, which is based in Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council, America gives voluntary funds to that bureaucracy. I could see that being cut,’ Neuer said. 

Some wonder whether Trump and a Republican-led Congress might try to withdraw the U.S. from the U.N. entirely. The GOP-controlled House passed a spending bill in June that would eliminate funding for the U.N.’s regular budget.

However, despite an adversarial tone toward global institutions, Trump is not expected to stop dealing with the U.N. altogether. In his first administration, he enjoyed a good relationship with Secretary General António Guterres, inviting him to the White House, and seemed to enjoy his yearly address to the General Assembly and the pageantry of world leaders traipsing through the New York City headquarters. 

‘He engaged personally up there quite a lot. And during the opening of the General Assembly, he brought the White House up there, frankly, and lived up there for that week every year and operated. He recognizes the value of the organization, if just as a meeting place,’ said Dugan.

Trump could also seek to push candidates for leadership over agencies like UNICEF and the World Food Programme that challenge U.N. orthodoxy and encourage American employment across the agency to counter China’s growing influence. 

China doubled the number of its nationals employed at the U.N. to nearly 15,000 from 2009 to 2021. 

‘This was very much in the mind of the Trump administration when I worked in the White House that China’s growing its influence in subtle and not so subtle ways throughout the organization, affording it a globalized platform of legitimacy that they’re ready and willing to exploit to their national ends,’ said Dugan. 

‘The U.S. has to study the terrain of the organization better and identify, in particular, the key posts and influential offices that we should show up with our best talent and make sure that we are effective. The Chinese have been doing that really well.’

Additionally, though the Biden administration did buck a number of U.N. resolutions that targeted Israel, he was naturally more supportive of international organizations as a whole. 

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MLB hot stove should heat up with top free agents, trade targets

SAN ANTONIO — There were no salacious rumors or even a single trade, as baseball’s annual general manager meetings wrapped Thursday with Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias the last executive to exit the J.W. Marriott hotel lobby at 2 p.m. and head for the airport.

“It was so quiet this year,’ one veteran GM said. “Usually when you leave here, you hear a few things bubbling under the surface. But there where really no leads, nothing.

“It makes it tough when you’ve only got two teams [the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins] really not trying to win next year while the rest of us are all looking for the same thing.’

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There were a couple of signings, with veteran reliever T.J. McFarland becoming the first free agent player to sign with the Athletics since their Oakland departure, starter Kyle Hendricks leaving the Chicago Cubs for the first time to join the Los Angeles Angels and veteran catcher Austin Hedges returning to the Cleveland Guardians.

The biggest reunion was the New York Yankees calling Gerrit Cole’s bluff – and Cole calling theirs – with the Cy Young winner returning to New York on the original four-year, $144 million he was owed in the first place.

There was actually more intrigue among managerial contracts than players with the San Diego Padres extending Mike Shildt for two more years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees opening negotiations on extensions for Dave Roberts and Aaron Boone. Skip Schumaker, the hottest managerial free-agent, decided to take a year off and join the Texas Rangers as a special assistant, something of a manager-in-waiting job for when Bruce Bochy retires, likely after the 2025 season.

The hottest name among free agent players not named Juan Soto (‘the Mona Lisa’ of the free agent market, says agent Scott Boras), was three-time Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker, who spent the past eight years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, averaging 33 homers the last three years.

There are at least six teams who plan to aggressively pursue Walker, with everyone involved from the New York Yankees to the Diamondbacks to the Washington Nationals, believing he’ll come at less than half the price of Alonso. He could ultimately be involved in bidding war between the Yankees and Mets.

The Mets’ winter strategy is the biggest mystery among executives. They don’t believe that David Stearns, president of baseball operations, is interested in keeping Alonso for $200 million or paying Soto close to $700 million. They believe he’s much more interested in spreading the money around to address numerous areas by signing Walker – or perhaps moving Mark Vientos to first base and finding a third baseman like Alex Bregman.

The wild card, of course, is Mets owner Steve Cohen. He plans to personally meet with Soto next week, according to the New York Post and could tell Stearns to sign Soto no matter the price tag.

While there’s not a team in baseball who wouldn’t desire Soto, baseball executives believe the finalists for his services will be the Yankees, Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants. The Blue Jays appear to be the popular dark-horse candidate.

The most mysterious free agent is 23-year-old Japanese pitching star Roki Sasaki, who may be the best young arm in the world.

He’ll be treated as an international amateur player and subjected to international signing bonus restrictions, meaning he wouldn’t start making big money until at least his second or third year in arbitration.

If the Chiba Lotte Marines post him, all 30 teams will make a run at him, but the Los Angeles Dodgers would be the heavy favorite to land him with (pitcher) Shohei Ohtani highly unlikely to be ready at the start of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder.

“This is uncharted territory,” said Stearns, who personally went to scout him. “It is very interesting.’

The most intriguing newcomer on the premises was Buster Posey, the future Hall of Fame catcher who was attending his first GM meetings as the San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations.

Posey met with agents, touched base with virtually every organization, and announced that their analytics team that occupied a large room in the clubhouse would be relocated for the 2025 season.

“I love baseball,’ said Posey, who helped lead the Giants to three World Series titles as a player. “This was just an opportunity to where I feel like I could have an impact with the front-office team, putting great players on the field, and an area of the country that my wife and my family grown to life. It was just such a very unique opportunity that I couldn’t pass a chance of.

Mike Hazen, D-backs president of baseball operations, was one of the most popular executives with his peers trying to take advantage of owner Ken Kendrick’s public ridicule of veteran starter Jordan Montgomery at the end of the season. Kendrick blamed himself for recommending the D-backs sign Montgomery, saying it was massive mistake, privately hoping that Montgomery would opt out of his contact. Montgomery instead stayed, and will be paid $22.5 million next year, giving the Diamondbacks six starters.

Hazen met privately with Montgomery, trying to soothe any lingering tension (“I will say that he was extremely accountable towards his season he had,’ Hazen said) but fellow GMs still are trying to seize on the opportunity, flooding Hazen with interest.

“We are talking to teams about starting pitchers because of the fact that we have six,’’ Hazen said, “and some teams after some of them. … I feel like we’re in a strong position from a starting pitching standpoint. “So, I’d like to stay there, but we’ll see what happens as we go through the off-season.’

No already-employed player was sought after more at these GM meetings than Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet, who struck out 209 batters in 146 innings and earned only $800,000 last season. The White Sox have openly told teams he’s available and are expected to trade him by the end of the winter meetings, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers the most aggressive.

“A long list of teams have expressed interest,’ White Sox GM Chris Getz said. “The right players have to be there. We are focusing on position-player return. We can’t force anything. That is clear.”

The executive who found himself in perhaps the most awkward situation was John Mozeliak, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations. He’s in his final year on the job but instead of trying to go out a World Series champion, is planning for the organization’s future.

The Cardinals, who have reached postseason 17 times since 2000, aren’t going into a full-scale rebuild, but are planning a reset.

They’re letting All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt walk away, didn’t pick up the options for veteran starters Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, and have told teams that All-Star third baseman Nolan Arrenado and starters Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas are available (if they can be convinced to waive their no-trade clauses). They also have put All-Star closer Ryan Helsley on the trade block. Catcher Willson Contreras has already declined to waive his no-trade provision, and is being moved to first base.

Meanwhile, several rumors were put to bed at the GM meetings:

The Milwaukee Brewers will listen to offers for All-Star closer Devin Williams, but plan to keep him, GM Matt Arnold says, “because we consider him to be the best closer in baseball.’ If they trade him, it likely won’t be until the All-Star break, if the Brewers are out of the race.

The Phillies have no plans to move All-Star first baseman Bryce Harper back to the outfield.

Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman, who just underwent elbow surgery to remove bone chips, is willing to move to second base.

Brewers All-Star shortstop Willy Adames is open to moving to third base.

Teams, executives and agents will next congregate together in Dallas at the winter meetings Dec. 9-12, the same site where Alex Rodriguez agreed to the richest contract in baseball history, 10 years, $252 million.

That same contract couldn’t even buy you an appetizer at the negotiating table with Soto.

“I think this is going to be a different winter than in the past,’ one veteran GM predicted. “I could see teams trading major-league players for major-league players, just like the old days. If nothing else, I think things will move quicker once we get to the winter meetings.

“It’s not like the Soto sweepstakes will hold things up. Only a few teams can even afford him. We’re going to see business as usual, hopefully, quicker than we did a year ago.’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

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Winners, losers from Thursday Night Football: Jackson, Burrow shine

The Baltimore Ravens swept the season series against the Cincinnati Bengals last season – and they did it again this year.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens defeated the Bengals 35-34 on Thursday night. The win came a little over a month after Jackson and company beat the Bengals on the road in overtime in a Week 5 shootout.

The two teams produced another thriller in Week 10. Jackson and the Ravens overcame a 21-7 deficit in the second half and outlasted Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals.

Jackson is now 10-1 in his career versus the Bengals.

Here are the winners and losers from Thursday night’s AFC North battle:

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Winners

Lamar Jackson

Jackson’s MVP campaign continued versus Cincinnati.

He was marvelous in the second half after being held to only 71 yards in the first two quarters. The two-time MVP engineered four consecutive touchdown drives in the second half and his ability to extend plays with his legs gave the Bengals fits all game.

The dual-threat QB had 290 passing yards and tossed four touchdowns. He also contributed 33 rushing yards with a two-point conversion on the ground.

Jackson did a good job picking the Bengals apart in the second half. Nine different Ravens had receptions.

Joe Burrow

Burrow was superb, albeit in a loss.

The Bengals quarterback was pressured and hit all night, but kept fighting. Burrow went 34-for-56 for 428 yards and four touchdowns. He did everything he could do to win.

However, Burrow was visibly banged up in the game. He’s bound to be sore after the loss.

Ja’Marr Chase

Ja’Marr Chase historically likes playing against the Ravens, and for good reason: The Ravens simply can’t cover him.

Chase torched the Ravens with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns. He was unstoppable on short, intermediate, and long routes. His speed, route running and strength were problems all night.

Chase might earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors despite the loss. He was that good.

The Bengals star wideout has 21 catches, 457 yards and five touchdowns in two games versus the Ravens this year.

Bengals’ run defense

Cincinnati’s run defense contained the No. 1 rushing attack in the NFL.

Derrick Henry had ‘just’ 68 rushing yards and a touchdown in the win. He was limited to 22 yards in the first half.

Bengals DT B.J. Hill, LB Logan Wilson and the front seven never let Henry get going, Henry unable to find any running lanes between the tackles.

The Ravens had 99 rushing yards in the game.

Ravens WR Tylan Wallace

The seldom-used WR came into the contest with two catches on the season. Wallace produced three catches, a career-high 115 receiving yards and his first career touchdown reception on an impressive catch and run. Wallace’s 84-yard touchdown is a play he’ll remember forever.

Losers

Bengals’ second-half performances vs. Baltimore

The Bengals had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Ravens in Week 5 and held a 21-7 advantage in the third quarter versus the Ravens in Week 10. They managed to lose both contests.

Bengals running back Chase Brown lost a fumble on Cincy’s 30-yard line. The turnover jump-started the Ravens’ offense.

Chase Brown

Brown is a promising second-year running back. But his third-quarter fumble completely shifted momentum in the game.

The Bengals had a comfortable 21-7 lead in the third quarter when Brown coughed up the football. Baltimore’s offense scored five plays after the takeaway.

Baltimore scored on four straight possessions after Brown’s fumble.

Ravens’ secondary

The Ravens pass defense is an obvious team weakness. The secondary gave up 421 passing yards and four touchdowns, mostly to one player. They are going to have nightmares about Chase.

To make matters worse, Kyle Hamilton was forced out due to an ankle injury.

Ravens’ first-half offense

The Ravens went three-and-out three times in the first half, including on their first series. As a result, they only possessed the football for 10 minutes and 35 seconds in the first half.

Baltimore’s slow start almost cost it dearly.

Referees

The officials appeared to miss multiple penalties on Cincinnati’s failed two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter.

However, Baltimore has legitimate gripes as it was called for 11 total penalties. Not all of the flags were warranted.

Questionable penalties were called on both sides.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

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Kyle Hamilton injury updates: Ravens All-Pro has sprained ankle

‘It’s not a serious ankle (injury),’ Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after his team’s 35-34 victory. Harbaugh said he doesn’t expect Hamilton to be out long.

Hamilton, the 2023 All-Pro and third-year player out of Notre Dame, headed to the locker room near the two-minute warning of the first half with members of the Baltimore training staff. He was deemed questionable to return before being ruled out in the third quarter.

Hamilton went to the ground on a first-down play with less than two minutes left in the first half. He punched the ground in frustration as Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow completed a pass to Ja’Marr Chase for 13 yards. But Hamilton walked off with trainers and into the blue medical tent. 

Amazon’s Kaylee Hartung reported that Hamilton was being evaluated in the M&T Bank Stadium X-ray room. The broadcast showed Hamilton back on the Ravens sideline later in the third quarter. He was out of his uniform, sporting a walking boot on his right foot.

All things Ravens: Latest Baltimore Ravens news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Hamilton had four tackles (two solo) and two pass breakups in the first half. His departure came with the game tied 7-7 but Cincinnati took a 14-7 lead four plays after he left the field. 

The Ravens next play 10 days from now, on Nov. 17 at Pittsburgh.

This story was updated to add new information.

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Where things stand with conference championship game tiebreakers

Conference expansion and the elimination of divisional play has made it harder than ever to map out which teams will eventually rise to the top of the Power Four.

That leaves open the possibility that the race in one or more of these conferences will come down to convoluted tiebreaking procedures.

Take the Big Ten, for example. The first tiebreaker is the head-to-head comparison. The second compares teams by records against common conference opponents. If still tied, the third decider begins by comparing common opponents with the best conference record through common opponents based on their order of finish. The fourth compares teams based on the overall winning percentage of all conference opponents in league play.

Then things get weird. If still tied, the Big Ten race will be decided by the ranking system compiled by SportSource Analytics, which also serves as the data provider for the College Football Playoff. And if still unable to make a distinction, the conference will then break the tie with a “random draw.” Over in the Big 12, the final decider will be a coin toss.

Hopefully, the next few weeks brings clarity to these conference races. Here’s where things currently stand in the Power Four:

ACC

Contenders: Miami (5-0), SMU (5-0), Clemson (5-1), Pittsburgh (3-1).

This race could conclude without any fanfare if Miami and SMU win out to finish November in an unbeaten tie atop the ACC standings. In that case, Miami would be virtually guaranteed a playoff spot win or lose. Clemson and Pittsburgh meet on Nov. 19, turning that game into an eliminator for the loser. Neither team is currently seen as a legitimate contender for an at-large playoff berth.

If Miami, SMU and Clemson are tied, the Hurricanes and Mustangs have the edge because they beat Louisville and Clemson lost to the Cardinals. This fact basically dooms the Tigers, leaving them needing to win out while one of the two front-runners loses twice. The Panthers could run the table from here but still miss out on a trip to Charlotte because of a loss to SMU.

While Louisville has made a run into fifth place in the standings, the Cardinals have miniscule odds as a result of losses to the Hurricanes and Mustangs, both by a single possession.

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Big 12

Contenders: Brigham Young (5-0), Iowa State (4-1), Colorado (4-1), Kansas State (4-2), Texas Tech (4-2).

BYU holds a one-game lead in the standings and is in great shape to reach the conference championship. The Cougars own the tiebreaker with Kansas State and will not face Iowa State or Colorado.

BYU could even lose once this month and finish in sole possession of first place should Colorado lose again and the Wildcats beat the Cyclones in the season finale. In that scenario, the Wildcats would face BYU thanks to tiebreakers against Colorado and Iowa State.

Should the Buffaloes and Cyclones finish November tied for second place at 8-1 in Big 12 play, the Cyclones would get the nod by virtue of league’s third tiebreaker. That compares the two team’s highest-ranked common opponent in the final standings, Kansas State. In this case, the Wildcats would have a win against the Buffaloes and a loss to the Cyclones.

Big Ten

Contenders: Oregon (6-0), Indiana (6-0), Ohio State (4-1), Penn State (4-1).

Oregon has the breathing room to lose once the rest of this month and still reach the Big Ten championship game thanks to last month’s win against Ohio State. That they don’t play Indiana or Penn State also helps the Ducks. The Buckeyes’ head-to-head edge against the Nittany Lions turns the matchup against Indiana on Nov. 23 into a make-or-break matchup.

The Nittany Lions’ have to hope the Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers but lose to Michigan, since that would leave OSU with two losses and leave PSU and IU tied for the second spot. In that case, both teams would have the same loss, to the Buckeyes, and the Big Ten would break the tie by comparing each team’s record of all conference opponents.

As of now, Penn State’s conference opponents are a combined 22-30 while Indiana’s are 19-32. That narrow margin will change down the stretch with the Hoosiers set to take on the Ohio State, Michigan and Purdue. Penn State closes with Washington, the Boilermakers, Minnesota and Maryland. The Big Ten would call on the SportSource rankings if the two teams are still tied in that comparison.

SEC

Contenders: Georgia (5-1), Texas A&M (5-1), Tennessee (4-1), Texas (3-1), LSU (3-1), Vanderbilt (3-2), Mississippi (3-2), Alabama (3-2).

There are eight teams still in the mix to finish the regular season with two losses. The picture could get much clearer after Saturday, though, with Alabama meeting LSU and Georgia facing Mississippi. Still to come are the Bulldogs hosting Tennessee and Texas A&M facing off with Texas. The simplest conclusion would see the Georgia and Texas A&M winning out to finish as the only one-loss teams in the SEC.

LSU is in good shape should the Tigers win out and Texas beat A&M in the season finale. In the case of a three-way tie between LSU, Georgia and Texas, the Longhorns are left out because of a loss to the Bulldogs and the Tigers’ edge in overall winning percentage of conference opponents. As of now, the Tigers’ opponents are 23-20 while the Longhorns’ are 20-25.

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South Carolina, Iowa lead women’s college basketball games to watch

Caitlin Clark is gone to the WNBA where she continues to shatter records, so where does that leave women’s college basketball? 

As it turns out, with a whole lot of star power — much of it in unfamiliar uniforms this season. 

The first weekend of the women’s college basketball season is packed with must-see TV, including a couple top 25 matchups where we’ll get a glimpse at teams that could make a Final Four push. Teams like South Carolina, which entered the season favored to win the 2025 title, and North Carolina State are back with lots of familiar faces, while programs like Duke and Maryland have new players that should bring plenty of eyeballs. 

And yes, even though they’re not currently ranked in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll, the Iowa Hawkeyes will indeed be worthy of your attention. First-year coach Jan Jensen, who took over after 24 years as Lisa Bluder’s assistant, is expected to keep the Hawkeyes as one of the highest-scoring teams in the country even without Clark. 

Here are the five best women’s basketball games to watch tonight and this weekend. 

(Note: All stats referenced are from the 2023-24 season)

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 North Carolina State 

Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN

The defending national champs got welcome news earlier this week when the assault charges against forward Ashlyn Watkins were dismissed, allowing here to rejoin the Gamecocks. She hasn’t practiced with the team in two months, so we’re not sure how much we’ll see her against the Wolfpack in the first game of the Ally Tipoff — and a rematch of the 2024 national semifinal won by South Carolina on its way to the title. If the Gamecocks need some rebounding Sunday, they can surely count on Watkins, who averaged 9.0 boards per game and 2.3 blocks during their tournament run. To pull off a preseason upset NC State will need big play from its backcourt featuring Aziaha James (16.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Saniya Rivers (12.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg). 

No. 11 Duke at No. 18 Maryland

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on FS1

The best freshman from Duke that you haven’t heard of is Toby Fournier, a 6-foot-2 Canadian forward. She’s enough of a reason to tune in, though we’re also excited to see transfer Saylor Poffenbarger (10.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg) in her first year with the Terps. Poffenbarger originally committed to Connecticut before transferring to Arkansas, where she was a standout player for two years in the SEC. This matchup used to be must-see TV when it happened annually in the ACC, and we consider it that this year, too. 

No. 20 Creighton at South Dakota State

Friday, 7 p.m. ET on Summit League Network

Don’t be fooled into thinking this will be any sort of cakewalk for the ranked Blue Jays. South Dakota State is an NCAA tournament regular, and returns Summit League player of the year Brooklyn Meyer (18.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Meanwhile Paige Meyer (no relation) is the reigning Summit League tournament MVP. Creighton returns seven of its top eight scorers from last season, including All-Big East players Lauren Jensen (17.4 ppg) and Morgan Maly (15.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg). 

Virginia Tech vs. Iowa

Sunday, 5:30 ET on ESPN2

The second game of the Ally Tipoff will be the nation’s first glimpse at Iowa post-Clark. And while the Hawkeyes lost the leading career scorer in college basketball, they replaced her with another sharpshooter in transfer Lucy Olsen, who averaged 23.3 points per game at Villanova. They also return Hannah Stuelke (14.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg), a junior forward who had a breakout season last year and proved herself more than capable of controlling the paint on both ends. Virginia Tech is undergoing a transition with coach Kenny Brooks and star point guard Georgia Amoore leaving for Kentucky and Elizabeth Kitley finishing her eligibility. More production will be needed from from senior forward Matilda Ekh (10.4 ppg) and sophomore guard Carleigh Wenzel (4.2 ppg). 

No. 12 Baylor at Oregon

Sunday, 10 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network

The Ducks are in complete rebuilding mode after losing numerous players to the transfer portal, but if you’re going to start over, it’s nice to have Deja Kelly (16.3 ppg) as the foundation. The North Carolina transfer will face her first major test against the Bears, which feature their own big transfer in senior center Aaronette Vonleh, who averaged 14.0 points and 5.1 rebounds last year at Colorado. With Vonleh inside and both Sarah Andrews (11.4 ppg, 3.9 apg) and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (10.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) outside, Baylor will have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the nation this season.

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Where do Trump’s legal cases stand after massive election win?

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it is seeking to wind down two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump ahead of his second term. 

With two other cases outstanding and the legal jeopardy expected to diminish in the months ahead, here’s a timeline of Trump’s legal troubles after his first departure from the Oval Office. 

Federal cases

Classified documents case

Trump was indicted on 37 federal counts in June 2023 on charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump’s team initially requested a partial pause in light of the Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. United States, wherein the court held that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office, but not for unofficial acts. 

Judge Aileen Cannon eventually dismissed the case against Trump in July, finding that Smith was improperly appointed to the special counsel role under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

The Appointments Clause states, ‘Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, although Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.’

Smith was never confirmed by the Senate.

Smith appealed the decision in August, with the filing reading, ‘The Attorney General validly appointed the Special Counsel, who is also properly funded.’

Election interference case

Smith filed another indictment in connection to his investigation against Trump in August 2023. He was indicted on four federal charges stemming out of the probe, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued he should be immune from prosecution from official acts done as president of the United States. 

In July this year, the Supreme Court in its ruling on presidential immunity sent the matter back to a lower court, as the justices did not apply the ruling to whether or not former President Trump is immune from prosecution regarding actions related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump was indicted a second time in August. The new indictment maintained the previous criminal charges but narrowed the allegations after the Supreme Court ruling, clarifying Trump’s role as a current candidate and making clear the allegations regarding his conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence in his ceremonial role as president of the Senate. 

The 165-page filing submitted by Smith, in which he laid out the case and alleged evidence he would use in an eventual trial against the president-elect, was unsealed in early October. Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered more documents to be open to the public later that month, just weeks before the presidential election. 

Trump’s team moved to dismiss Smith from the case in late October, arguing he was unlawfully appointed. 

State cases

Manhattan hush money case 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump in 2023 on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree relating to alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. Bragg alleged Trump ‘repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.’

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

The president-elect was later found guilty on all counts, making him the first former president of the United States to be convicted of a crime. He appealed the decision.

His sentencing date was initially set for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention where he was set to be formally nominated as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee. Judge Juan Merchan delayed the sentencing to Sept. 18 and once again to Nov. 26, after the presidential election.

Trump’s team requested the case be removed to federal court in October this year, citing the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and thus arguing he cannot be prosecuted for official acts he performed as president. Merchan is also scheduled to make a decision on Nov. 12 on Trump’s motion to vacate the case.

Georgia election case 

Trump was indicted in Georgia in August 2023 after a yearslong criminal investigation led by state prosecutors into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

In early 2023, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six of the charges against Trump, saying District Attorney Fani Willis failed to allege sufficient detail. It was then thrown into disarray when it was revealed Willis reportedly had an ‘improper affair’ with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she hired to help bring the case against Trump. Wade was later removed.

The Georgia Court of Appeals paused the proceeding in June until it heard the case to disqualify Willis. The court also said it would hear Trump’s argument to have Willis disqualified on Dec. 5, a month after the election.

When reached by Fox News Digital for comment on the state of the president-elect’s legal cases on Thursday, the Trump campaign said, ‘The American people have re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate to Make America Great Again.’

‘It is now abundantly clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponization of our justice system, so we can, as President Trump said in his historic speech yesterday, unify our country and work together for the betterment of our nation,’ campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

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Hispanics helped Trump win. Here’s how Republicans build on those gains

One of the biggest factors in President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory was his historic support from Hispanics. Almost single-handedly, Trump has remade the GOP into a multi-racial, working-class party. 

According to NBC exit polls, Trump won 46% of the Hispanic vote, a dramatic improvement over his 32% in 2020. He defeated George W. Bush’s previous Republican highwater mark of 40% in 2004.  

Trump won Hispanic men by 12 points. And he won the Florida Hispanic vote outright with 58%. Trump’s total in historically Democratic Starr County, Texas, which is 97% Latino, went from 19% in 2016 to 57% in 2024. 

Not even hardcore Republican partisans could have predicted this historic political realignment. Yet, I’ve long argued Hispanics’ values of faith, family, hard work and entrepreneurship make them a natural GOP constituency.  

In the words of Sen. Ted Cruz, ‘Our Hispanic communities aren’t just leaving the Democrat Party — they’re coming home to conservative values they never left.’ 

Two years ago, I wrote a book explaining how Hispanics are the biggest victims of big government policy and disproportionately benefit from free markets. Nowhere has this thesis proved truer than during the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations. 

Consider this striking statistic: According to US Census Bureau data, real median Hispanic household income grew $6,500 between 2017 and 2019, 10 times faster than between 2021 and 2023 under Biden-Harris.  

Hispanics ignored the campaign and mainstream media rhetoric calling Trump a racist and focused on the records of these administrations when casting their votes. 

Latinos have been on the front lines of the American economic and social decay presided over by Biden-Harris. They were especially hurt by historic inflation because they are less likely to hold assets.  

The high gas prices of the last few years also impacted Hispanics who often make their living driving from job to job, in contrast to the elite laptop class who often work from home. 

Hispanics are also more likely to live in working-class neighborhoods where high crime and public disorder have reduced quality of life. The shoplifters, vagrants and menacing thugs don’t generally venture into the wealthy White suburbs. George Gascon, the pro-crime District Attorney in heavily Latino Los Angeles, lost his reelection bid.  

Cultural and faith issues also mattered. Hispanics are religious and were turned off by the left’s obsession with transgender issues. Trump’s closing ad, ‘Kamala’s agenda is ‘they-them,’ not you,” resonated with these voters. 

Republicans also had grassroots help. The Job Creators Network Foundation started the Hispanic Vote Coalition earlier this year to motivate Hispanics to vote their values. We went into Hispanic areas of swing states with Spanish advertisements, media and materials for small businesses, faith and community leaders. We found a receptive audience willing to engage in political issues and sick of being talked down to and taken for granted by Democrats. 

The question now is whether Republicans can consolidate and build on these gains among Hispanic voters. No doubt Democrats will make a strong push to recapture them in future elections. 

To do so, conservatives need to continue to engage with and reach out to this constituency with tailored messages between election cycles, not just during them. We need a permanent Hispanic engagement infrastructure to make these voters part of our coalition for the long term. 

The degree to which conservatives can accomplish this will determine whether Trump’s victorious, multi-racial GOP survives past his leadership. But, for now, welcome Hispanics to their new political home. 

 

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