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Lawmaker urges release of Venezuela strike footage as parties split over whether targets were defenseless

One of the few U.S. lawmakers who have seen classified footage of the U.S. military’s strikes against a suspected drug boat off the coast of Venezuela believes the public should get to see the evidence, too.

‘I think it’s really important that this video be made public. It’s not lost on anyone, of course, that the interpretation of the video, which you know, six or seven of us had an opportunity to see last week, broke down precisely on party lines,’ Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said in an interview with ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday.

‘I know how the public is going to react, because I felt my own reaction,’ Himes added.

Democrats quickly condemned the administration when news first broke that the U.S. Department of War had ordered a second strike to eliminate survivors who had somehow escaped an initial strike.

Republicans, by contrast, largely came to the defense of the strike, arguing that the administration had taken the necessary steps to eliminate narco-traffickers that President Donald Trump had designated as terrorists.

The War Department has ordered over 20 different strikes on small boats in the Caribbean, targeting what it calls drug smuggling activity. 

Only one strike is thought to have had multiple attacks to eliminate survivors.

‘I think it’s important for Americans to see it because, look, there’s a certain amount of sympathy out there for going after drug runners,’ Himes said. ‘But I think it’s really important that people see what it looks like when the full force of the United States military is turned on two guys who are clinging to a piece of wood and about to go under, just so that they have sort of a visceral feel for what it is that we’re doing.’

Himes said his estimation of the video turned on the defenselessness of the targets. 

‘These guys — and this is why the American people need to see this video — these guys were barely alive, much less engaging in hostilities,’ Himes said.

In addition to viewing the footage, Himes said he had met with Adm. Frank Bradley, suggesting that Bradley had received pressure to carry out the strikes.

‘Anyone who has ever worked with Adm. Bradley will tell you that he has a storied career and that he is a man of deep, deep integrity. And frankly, I have no reason to doubt that,’ Himes said.

‘An apparently good man like Adm. Bradley is placed in a context where he knows that if he countermands an order that he is perhaps uncomfortable with, it is very likely that he’ll be fired,’ Himes said.

The details of the communication surrounding the second strike and its ordering remain unclear. 

The House of Representatives and the Senate both opened inquiries into the strikes late last month. When asked about their progress, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined to describe the probe but said lawmakers would evaluate all relevant evidence.

‘The investigation will be done by the numbers,’ Wicker said.

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Congress moves to block Pentagon from cutting US troops in Europe and South Korea

Congress is moving to limit the Pentagon’s ability to pull forces out of Europe and South Korea, easing concerns among allied governments.

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, finalized by House and Senate negotiators and released Sunday evening, keeps force presence at roughly its current levels in both regions. It states that the U.S. cannot reduce its forces in Europe below 76,000 without submitting an assessment and certifying to Congress that such a move would not harm U.S. or NATO security interests.

The bill places restraints on reductions below 28,500 in South Korea. Any drawdown would require the Pentagon to assure Congress that deterrence against North Korea would not be weakened, confirm that allies were consulted, and provide both a national security justification and an assessment of regional impact.

The legislation also requires the U.S. to retain the position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), NATO’s top military post, codifying into statute a role traditionally held by an American general.

These limits follow reports that the Pentagon had considered reducing forces in Europe and South Korea and even relinquishing the SACEUR position. Whether those ideas reflected genuine planning or were intended as pressure on allies to invest more in their own defenses, U.S. leaders have recently signaled they are stepping back from such moves even without congressional restrictions.

During a meeting last week with U.S. national security officials and European leaders, American officials told their counterparts that Europe must be prepared to bear the brunt of NATO’s defense responsibilities by 2027, three European officials familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. plans to hold onto the SACEUR position but will offer some other senior NATO military posts to European nations, officials said. They also noted that Washington has no near-term plans for major troop reductions in Europe.

‘We’ve been very clear in the need for Europeans to lead in the conventional defense of Europe.  We are committed to working through NATO coordination mechanisms to strengthen the alliance and ensure its long-term viability as European allies increasing take on responsibility for conventional deterrence and defense in Europe,’ Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in response. 

Earlier this year, the Army pulled a rotating brigade stationed largely in Romania back to the United States, prompting European allies to question whether that move might signal the beginning of broader U.S. force drawdowns on NATO’s eastern flank.

The NDAA — the yearly must-pass package outlining the Pentagon’s spending and policy priorities — is expected to move swiftly to a House vote this week. Congress aims to have the legislation on the president’s desk before Christmas.

The bill also includes $400 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative over two years and an amendment specifying when the Pentagon may reclaim equipment purchased for Ukraine but not yet delivered: only when the equipment is urgently needed for an ongoing or imminent U.S. contingency operation and failing to use it would risk loss of life or critical mission failure.

This provision follows the Pentagon’s decision earlier this year to pause delivery of certain U.S.-funded military equipment to Ukraine.

Over the weekend, War Secretary Pete Hegseth described South Korea and several European nations as ‘model allies.’

‘Model allies that step up, like Israel, South Korea, Poland, increasingly Germany, the Baltics and others, will receive our special favor,’ he said at the Reagan National Defense Forum. ‘Allies that still fail to do their part for collective defense will face consequences.’

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Senate Democrats push Obamacare subsidy vote ‘designed to fail’ as Republicans call plan unserious

The Senate is readying for a vote on extending expiring Obamacare premium subsidies, but the proposal on the table is all but certain to fail.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., unveiled Senate Democrats’ long-awaited plan to prevent the subsidies from lapsing, which Senate Republicans nearly universally panned. A vote on the plan is expected on Thursday.

‘I mean, it’s obviously designed to fail,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital.

Schumer’s proposal would extend the subsidies for another three years without any of the reforms demanded by the GOP. And bipartisan talks that have been ongoing since the government shutdown ended have virtually ground to a halt.

Thune said when the proposal fails, ‘if they want to have a serious conversation about a real solution, that can get underway.’

‘But, you know, we haven’t decided yet exactly what we’re going to do. But what that signals, though, and evidences, is they’re just not serious,’ he said.

Senate Republicans have not landed on their own proposal and may not before the upper chamber leaves Washington, D.C., next week until the start of the New Year.

There are several plans circulating among Republicans to choose from, but none have gained enough traction or support to hit the floor in a possible side-by-side vote.

The subsidies, which were initially passed under former President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic and then enhanced to virtually remove any income caps — one of the many sticking points for Republicans — are set to expire by the end of the year.

While the Senate struggles to find a way forward, lawmakers are quick to point the finger at who would own the subsidies’ expiration.

Senate Republicans contend that it’s Schumer and Senate Democrats who are to blame, given that they set the subsidies to sunset by the end of this year when they controlled the Senate. And Senate Democrats argue that Republicans would own the issue since they have yet to produce their own proposal.

Schumer argued that Republicans have ‘chosen to do nothing, absolutely nothing,’ as the deadline creeps closer. And he believes that Senate Democrats’ plan could succeed, despite a likely insurmountable math problem.

‘It is not a nonstarter, 13 votes could solve the problem,’ Schumer said. ‘That’s where the onus should be.’

But the plan is a nonstarter for Republicans for several reasons, including the lack of reforms, the length and that it has no inclusion of Hyde Amendment language that would prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortions — a tricky issue that has largely derailed bipartisan negotiations.

Meanwhile, Republicans are eyeing a proposal that would send the subsidy money directly to Americans in the form of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), a plan first pushed by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and then co-opted by President Donald Trump.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has been working on an HSA plan that he presented, among other ideas, last week to Senate Republicans during their closed-door lunch. Still, lawmakers exited the meeting and left Washington by the end of the week, without a counteroffer to Senate Democrats’ dead-on-arrival proposal.

‘The president gave the marching orders. We’re working on it. We want to deliver it,’ Cassidy told Fox News’ Shannon Bream.

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College hoops takeaways: Kentucky boos ‘well-deserved’, who is No. 1?

Kentucky is now 5-4 with all the losses against ranked teams, and it hasn’t looked good in any of them.
Iowa State’s manhandling of Purdue puts the Cyclones on the national stage and title picture.

When playing a neutral-site game, it’s tough dealing with the opposing team fans taking over the arena, booing you endlessly. But it’s much worse when that booing is coming from your own fan base.

That was the case in Nashville on Friday, Dec. 5, when Big Blue Nation was disgusted with what it witnessed. It took Kentucky nine minutes to make a shot. By the time that happened, Gonzaga was already up 19-5. The boos rained down for the majority of the night as the Bulldogs routed the Wildcats by 35 points, the fourth-largest loss in program history.

Now Kentucky is in serious trouble.

The loss to Gonzaga came on the heels of the home collapse against short-handed North Carolina, when Kentucky went more than 10 minutes without a made shot to keep the Tar Heels alive. UNC took advantage and escaped Rupp Arena with a win.

The Wildcats are 5-4, and its an ugly record. The five wins all against mid-major competition. The four losses against ranked opponents, and three of them were hardly competitive.

It’s already disaster time in Lexington and we’re not even 10 games into the season. Mark Pope has to be feeling his seat getting warmer.

This is a team that was top-10 in recruiting and in the transfer portal, yet it can’t shoot against good teams. This season, the Wildcats are shooting 47.4% from the field and 31.9% from deep. But against Power conference teams, they’re just 38.2% from the field and 24.3% from 3-point land.

It all falls on Pope, and he’s aware.

‘All the boos that we heard tonight were incredibly well-deserved, mostly for me,’ Pope said after the Gonzaga loss.

Things have to change quickly because it won’t get easier. Indiana and St. John’s are still on the schedule before the SEC gauntlet starts.

The demise of the Wildcats headlines the past weekend of college hoops. Here’s more that caught my eye:

Iowa State’s emphatic statement

Not only did Iowa State beat No. 1 Purdue, the Cyclones completely manhandled the Boilermakers. Iowa State continued its stellar offensive start to the season by going into Mackey Arena and beating Purdue by 23 points.

Coming into the game, the Cyclones shot a nation-leading 55% from the field and a 43.3% 3-point percentage. Against a stout defense, Iowa State wasn’t slowed down at all with a 54.1% field goal percentage and 47.8% from deep. After starting the second half on a 13-2 run, Iowa State never let Purdue get within single digits and silenced one of the most hostile crowds in the country.

Given the circumstances, it’s by far the best result of the season. Iowa State has been tough under TJ Otzelberger, but it felt like it wasn’t being taken seriously. This team wins by an average of 30 points per game, the best in Division I. This should put the entire country, and especially the Big 12, on notice.

The Cyclones got star guard Tamin Lipsey back from injury, and this veteran-led squad is playing like one of the top teams in the country.

Who should be No. 1?

With Purdue’s loss, a new No. 1 should emerge. The only problem is you can justify three teams getting the nod: Arizona, Michigan and Duke.

Let’s start with the Wolverines, which followed up its dazzling in the Players Era Festival performance with a 41-point romp over Rutgers. In the past four games, the Wolverines have two ranked wins and have won by an average margin of 37.7 points. They average 93.7 points per game, but did look shaky to start the season.

Then there’s Arizona and its team full of playmakers. The Wildcats just stomped Auburn by 29 points for their fourth ranked win of the season, which includes a road win at Connecticut. Arizona hasn’t been as dominant as Michigan, but the Wildcats have been consistent against all opponents.

Last but certainly not least is Duke. The Blue Devils went into Michigan State and left with a gritty win over the undefeated Spartans. That’s the third straight ranked win and fourth overall on the season, and Cameron Boozer is playing like the best player in the country, averaging 23.6 points per game, second-most in the country.

So who should be No. 1? At this moment, it has to go to Arizona. The Wildcats have been more steady than Michigan, and the wins are more impressive than Duke. Arizona and Duke do share a common opponent in Florida, and the Gators nearly took down the Blue Devils. There isn’t a wrong answer to this, especially when its still early December, but at this point, Arizona looks like the top team in the country.

What’s going on with Tennessee?

After beating Houston in the Players Era Festival, Tennessee has lost three consecutive games, the latest coming against Illinois thanks to a poor second half performance. It’s strange because Rick Barnes’ team looked so good in the first seven games, but it’s been a mess since then.

It starts with the heavy load carried by guards Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament. In the past three games, Tennessee has taken 186 shots, and the duo accounted for 48.4% of them. What’s worse is the duo is shooting 30% during this stretch. The Volunteers need more production from the rest of the team. Tennessee has another test in Louisville coming up.

Star of the week: Hannes Steinbach

Much has been made of the stellar freshman class, but there’s another newcomer making a name for himself.

Meet Washington forward Hannes Steinbach, who put on a show in his return from an ankle injury. Against UCLA, Steinbach scored a career-high 29 points and notched 10 rebounds, playing a big part in the near comeback against the Bruins. On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Huskies played Southern California and were down by as much as 18 points before Steinbach led a strong second half, propelling the Huskies for the come-from-behind win. He scored 14 points in the final 20 minutes and finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, his fifth straight game with a double-double.

Steinbach is becoming a dominant force, and what’s even scarier is he’s deadly from 3-point land when he chooses to shoot. He averages 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, which is second-most in the country. Don’t be surprised to see more of Steinbach as conference play approaches, and the Huskies are a team to watch in the Big Ten.

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32 things we learned in Week 14: Bears, Packers, Rams in NFC blender

The Packers upended the Bears in one of several NFL Week 14 games that proved highly consequential to the NFC playoff picture.
Josh Allen and the Bills caught fire late against the Bengals in the snow, all but extinguishing Cincinnati’s postseason hopes.
The Jets extended their postseason drought to 15 seasons as they joined a growing list of teams already eliminated from playoff contention.

The 32 things we learned from Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season:

1. The number of times Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow has lost to the Buffalo Bills – his first defeat coming Sunday in snowy Western New York in what basically seems like a fatal setback for the Stripes.

2. The number of fourth-quarter interceptions served up by Burrow in what was otherwise another captivating performance in his second game back from turf toe surgery. Burrow’s picks flipped a 28-25 Cincy lead into an 11-point deficit from which the Bengals never recovered (and may never recover). It also snapped his personal streak of consecutive starts won at eight.

3. The number of consecutive seasons the Bengals have missed the playoffs – assuming this one is their latest failure since dropping the 2022 AFC championship game. Burrow returned earlier than anticipated in a bid to spark a belated drive to the top of the AFC North. But the Bengals (4-9) now have a roughly 1% shot of qualifying for postseason, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

4. This is an appropriate time to shout out Bills QB Josh Allen, the reigning league MVP. He’s now 3-0 this season against Burrow, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. If he salvages a split next week against the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who’s trying to become the next NFL MVP, then maybe Allen has a legit shot at retaining the hardware.

5. The numbers don’t lie after all. Sunday, Allen become the first man in league annals with 50 games in which he’s produced a touchdown both with his arm and legs. And no one else has ever posted three separate seasons with 20 TD passes and 10 rushing TDs.

6. Yet Buffalo’s primary hero Sunday might have been CB Christian Benford, who had a sack of Burrow and a 63-yard pick-six that effectively changed the game’s complexion.

7. While Burrow has basically proven the still-undead Bengals were right to activate him amid their (very) longshot bid to reach the playoffs, the argument to shut down a vulnerable franchise quarterback was exemplified by the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels. He didn’t finish his team’s whitewashing at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings after appearing to reaggravate the injury to his left (non-throwing) elbow in what was effectively a meaningless game for the now-eliminated Commanders.

8. The number of consecutive losing seasons for the Atlanta Falcons following Sunday’s blowout loss at home to the Seattle Seahawks.

9. Atlanta was also officially eliminated from playoff contention, the Falcons to remain absent from the playoffs since their last appearance during the 2017 season.

10. The number of consecutive games the Indianapolis Colts have lost in Jacksonville, Sunday’s setback costing Indy a share of first place in the AFC South to the surging Jaguars.

11. Of course, the loss of injured QB Daniel Jones (Achilles) is what figures to crater what once seemed like it could be a surprisingly magical season for the Colts.

12. The Seattle Seahawks blasted the Falcons 37-9, recently acquired WR Rashid Shaheed a big reason. Though Shaheed isn’t one of the league’s more widely known players, the trade for him prior to last month’s deadline was expected to be an impactful one. He started delivering Sunday with four catches for 67 yards and a 100-yard TD off a kickoff return out of halftime that helped put the game away. Shaheed had four catches for 37 yards in his first four games with Seattle.

13. A week after their 26-0 loss at Seattle, the Vikings blanked the Commanders 31-0. Per NFL RedZone, it’s the first time since at least 1992 that a team has pitched a shutout the week after suffering one.

14. Minnesota orchestrated a second-quarter TD drive that consumed 12 minutes and 1 second, the longest in the league in four years.

15. The number of consecutive seasons the New York Jets have missed the playoffs after being officially eliminated Sunday.

16. The NYJ’s ignominious streak is not only the longest active one in the NFL but also in North America’s four major professional men’s team sports leagues.

17. But you’d known for weeks that the Jets were in the gutter. It just wasn’t until Sunday that they’d tried to obscure the sewage with manhole covers.

18. The Baltimore Ravens outrushed the Pittsburgh Steelers 217-34 on Sunday but still figured out a way to lose the game and their share of first place in the AFC North … though some questionable officiating decisions certainly didn’t help them. Still, it was the largest positive rushing differential for a losing team in three years.

19. The number of seasons Mike Tomlin has coached in Pittsburgh − and he’s now two wins shy of having a 19th consecutive campaign without a losing record … for his first-place Steelers. Sure you want to fire him, yinzers?

20. The number of sacks Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett now has – the first time he’s reached 20 in his nine-year career – after bagging Tennessee Titans rookie Cam Ward once Sunday.

21. Garrett now has four games to register the three additional sacks he needs to break the league’s single-season record of 22½, which is shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

22. Ironically, it was the first time this season Ward wasn’t sacked multiples times in a game. And though his Titans got a rare win, their second of 2025, Ward was largely outplayed by fellow rookie QB Shedeur Sanders.

23. We’ve managed to bury the lead here, folks. The NFC playoff picture is wiiiiiiild.

24. The Chicago Bears lost to their archrivals, the Green Bay Packers, Sunday at Lambeau Field – a defeat that dropped them the conference’s projected No. 1 seed all the way to No. 7, just one win ahead of the Detroit Lions, who are desperately trying to qualify for a third consecutive playoff trip.

25. Bears rookie coach Ben Johnson has pushed a lot of the right buttons in 2025. Taking digs at Pack coach Matt LaFleur at his introductory news conference probably wasn’t the right lever to pull.

26. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s win launched it from the projected sixth seed up to second, just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Rams, who currently sit atop the conference standings.

27. Of course, the Seahawks had that perch – for three hours – after proving much fiercer birds of prey than the Falcons. But Seattle was just keeping the top seat warm for the Rams, who reclaimed it a week after losing it in rainy Charlotte.

28. All of that NFC dominance – and the top-seeded Rams (10-3) are separated by a single game from the sixth-seeded San Francisco 49ers (9-4) and Bears (9-4) – is sandwiched around the NFC South, which is doing its traditional thing. After losing to the lowly New Orleans Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) fell into a first-place tie with the Carolina Panthers … who were on their bye.

29.Tell us again why a home playoff game should be conferred on a team that can barely prevail to secure a bad division? The Bucs or Panthers should consider themselves lucky to be relevant in what’s otherwise a murderer’s row of a conference.

30. By comparison, the AFC is much less compelling – though it does appear the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots could fight over its top seed into Week 18. Who had that on their bingo card three months ago?

31. If the season ended today – it doesn’t – the Las Vegas Raiders would select atop the NFL draft … something they’ve only done once. And if you need a refresher, they blew it – selecting QB JaMarcus Russell, a colossal bust, first in 2007 ahead of players like Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Darrelle Revis, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch and others.

32. As for the NFL’s famed parity model? Not this year. With a month left to go in the regular season, nine of the league’s teams (28%) have already been eliminated from postseason consideration.

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How to watch ‘Monsters, Inc.’ NFL game on Monday night

For a third consecutive NFL season, ESPN is taking viewers to an alternate reality with an animated ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast.

After tackling ‘Toy Story’ and ‘The Simpsons’ with their previous animated alt-casts, ESPN and Disney are teaming up to feature characters from ‘Monsters, Inc.’ during the Week 14 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers.

The animated alt-cast represents the latest effort the NFL is making to reach a younger audience. In addition to ESPN’s ‘Funday Football,’ the NFL has allowed CBS to air NFL games on its sister station, Nickelodeon. Those games have featured appearances from animated characters, and so too has the network’s weekly ‘NFL Slimetime’ show.

Here’s how you can watch ESPN and Disney’s ‘Monsters Funday Football’ in Week 14 as Mike Wazowski’s Eagles take on’Sulley’ Sullivan’s Chargers.

What channel is the Monsters, Inc. NFL game?

TV channel: ESPN2 | Disney Channel

NFL fans hoping to be whisked away to Monstropolis will be able to catch ESPN’s ‘Funday Football’ broadcast on ESPN2 or the Disney Channel.

The traditional version of the broadcast – featuring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman – will air on ESPN and ABC while the Peyton and Eli Manning’s ‘ManningCast’ will be on hiatus in Week 14.

Monsters, Inc. Funday Football live stream

Live stream: ESPN Unlimited | ESPN Select | Disney+ | NFL+ | Fubo

Cord-cutters hoping to watch Funday Football will have a variety of options to do so. ESPN features a new direct-to-consumer streaming platform, ESPN Unlimited, and will also offer the game via ESPN Select, which is a rebrand of the network’s ESPN+ service.

Disney+ – the proprietary streaming service owned by ESPN’s parent company, Disney – will also carry the battle between Wazowski and Sullivan.

Additionally, fans can stream the action with Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Watch Monsters Inc. NFL game with a Fubo free trial

‘Monsters, Inc.’ NFL game start time

Start time: 8:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. CT

The Mosnters Inc. Funday Football broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) with kickoff slated for 8:15 p.m. ET.

Who are the ‘Monsters Funday Football’ announcers?

Drew Carter (play-by-play) and Dan Orlovsky (game analyst) will be on the call for the ‘Monsters Funday Football’ broadcast in Week 14. Katie Feeney will also appear as a social media correspondent on the broadcast via a series of pre-produced segments.

Carter has been on the call for all previous editions of ESPN’s ‘Funday Football’ series – which began during the 2023 NFL season – while Orlovsky made his debut on ‘The Simpsons Funday Football’ broadcast in 2024.

What is ESPN’s Funday Football?

ESPN’s Funday Football is an alternate broadcast that uses real-time player movement tracked by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats to create a live-animated representation of an NFL game.

As part of the entertainment, various characters from Disney’s library of entertainment will be animated into the game along with avatars resembling NFL players. The 2025 version of the alt-cast will feature characters from ‘Monsters, Inc.’ – most notably, Mike Wazowski and James P. ‘Sulley’ Sullivan will take the field as players while Roz will serve as a ‘sideline reporter’ for the game.

‘Monsters Funday Football’ will be the third edition of the alt-cast. In 2023, ESPN featured a ‘Toy Story’-themed edition of a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons. The 2024 edition of the broadcast featured ‘The Simpsons’ characters during a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.

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Why is Notre Dame skipping a bowl? Season ends after CFP omission

Notre Dame football’s season has come to an end, with the Fighting Irish declining a bowl invitation.

The Fighting Irish failed to reach the College Football Playoff despite finishing with a 10-2 record and 10 consecutive wins to finish the regular season. They lost to Miami and Texas A&M, which both earned CFP bids this season, in the first two weeks of action.

Notre Dame was ranked No. 10 in the final CFP rankings before the bracket reveal, but was bounced to No. 12 in favor of Miami on Sunday, Dec. 7, which the committee said came down to the Hurricanes’ head-to-head win.

Alabama, Miami and Notre Dame were the top contenders for the final two at-large bids in the CFP this season, and the CFP committee was set up to spark controversy, regardless.

Here’s why Notre Dame is declining a bowl invitation, thus ending its season.

Why is Notre Dame skipping a bowl game?

Notre Dame’s decision to skip a bowl game starts with its omission from the CFP, as the Fighting Irish were kept out of the 12-team bracket in rather controversial fashion.

Notre Dame, the first team out of the playoff, would’ve had likely the best available bowl that wasn’t a CFP game, likely going to the Pop-Tarts Bowl or the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. With the CFP’s expansion to 12 teams, though, those bowl games have become increasingly irrelevant to many teams. Players set to be NFL or transfer portal bound opted out of the non-New Year’s Six bowls anyway prior to the CFP even expanding.

‘Bowl games not affiliated with the CFB playoff are destined to become the Pro Bowl (extinct),’ wrote Fox analyst Brady Quinn, a former Notre Dame quarterback. ‘Why are we acting like these young men should sign up for an exhibition game that puts them at risk and benefits EVERYONE but them?’

Playing in a bowl game also offers teams 15 additional practices, which are essentially used for younger players to earn more reps ahead of the next season. Early enrollee freshmen from high school also sometimes participate early, giving them a head start at the college level.

Multiple other programs have also opted out of bowl games this season, although Kansas State and Iowa State did so due to changes at head coach. At least seven teams that finished 5-7 also opted out of bowl games, although those programs didn’t reach the 6-win threshold. The 5-7 teams were only eligible due to other teams opting out.

Notre Dame is making it pretty clear that college football’s most elite programs – at least as far as it’s concerned – are CFP or bust in the new 12-team CFP era.

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Victor Wembanyama injury update, game status for Spurs vs. Pelicans

The 10-game glimpse NBA fans got of Victor Wembanyama this season was tantalizing. The 7-foot-5 French star was leading the league in blocks again, averaging career highs in many of the major statistical categories and had the San Antonio Spurs positioned as an early Western Conference contender.

But just like last season, Wembanyama’s momentum has been slowed by injury. He’s closing in on nearly a month since his last NBA appearance, though the Spurs have done an admirable job in his absence to remain within striking distance in the standings. The good news is Wembanyama seems to be nearing his return after a positive update during the team’s current road trip.

The Spurs face the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, Dec. 8. Will Wembanyama be playing? Here’s the latest update on his injury situation, as well as his status when San Antonio plays the Pelicans:

Is Victor Wembanyama playing today?

No. Wembanyama is listed as out on the Spurs injury report ahead of their game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, Dec. 8. He is expected to miss his 11th consecutive game.

Victor Wembanyama injury update

Wembanyama joined the team in New Orleans after not traveling to start this current road trip and was a full participant in a practice on Sunday, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Wembanyama appeared in just 46 games last season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.

Victor Wembanyama stats

Wembanyama was off to a strong start in his third NBA season, leading the league in blocks again (3.6 per game) and ranking second in rebounds (12.9). The 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year is averaging a career-best 26.2 points while shooting better than 50% from the floor through 12 games of the 2025-26 season.

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Daniel Jones injury update: How long is Colts QB out?

The Indianapolis Colts lost their third straight game in a 36-19 Week 14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They also lost their starting quarterback to a significant injury.

Jones remained down after the play and was visibly upset while being tended to by the Colts medical staff on the field. The 28-year-old was able to slowly hobble off the field under his own power but eventually headed to the locker room before being ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

And it seems like the Colts quarterback will be sidelined much longer than that given the serious nature of his injury.

How long is Jones out? Here’s what to know about the severity of his Achilles injury and when he may return to the field.

How long is Daniel Jones out?

Jones will miss the remainder of the 2025 NFL season after suffering a torn Achilles, according to multiple reports. The 28-year-old quarterback is set to have surgery to repair the injury.

Colts coach Shane Steichen didn’t have additional specifics about Jones’ injury during a postgame news conference. However, he acknowledged ‘it’s not looking good’ and that the ailment ‘could be season-ending.’

The bigger question for Jones will be about his availability for the start of the 2026 NFL season.

That will make Jones’ rehab one to watch as he heads towards free agency following a breakout season during which he posted an 8-5 record as a starter and completed 68% of his passes for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Who is the Colts backup quarterback?

Steichen came out of the loss impressed with what Leonard had achieved after playing just six career NFL snaps entering the Week 14 game.

‘I thought Riley stepped in and did some good things in a tough situation,’ Steichen told reporters. ‘He battled like crazy.’

Leonard was a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after helping lead Notre Dame to an appearance in the national championship game. The 6-4, 213-pound quarterback played one season for Notre Dame after transferring from Duke, completing 66.7% of his passes for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding 906 yards and 17 scores on the ground.

Leonard began the season as the Colts’ third-string quarterback but was elevated into the No. 2 spot after Anthony Richardson suffered a fractured orbital bone during pregame warmups against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6.

It isn’t clear whether Richardson will return from that injury during the 2025 NFL season, so Leonard could be entrusted with the starting job over the season’s final month.

Colts QB depth chart

Below is a full look at the Colts quarterback depth chart as it currently stands.

Daniel Jones (injured)
Anthony Richardson (injured)
Riley Leonard
Brett Rypien (practice squad)

Leonard and Rypien are currently the only healthy quarterbacks in the Colts organization. Rypien joined the team in October after spending time with the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the season. The 29-year-old has a 2-2 career record as a starter but has completed just 58.3% of his career passes for 950 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Colts will likely add another quarterback to their roster to provide depth behind Leonard and Rypien.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Politics

SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent

The Supreme Court will weigh the legality of President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause on Monday — a blockbuster legal fight that could fundamentally reshape the balance of powers across the federal government, and formally topple a 90-year-old court precedent.  

Justices agreed earlier this year to take up the case, which centers on Trump’s firing of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat, without cause and well before her term was slated to expire in 2029. 

Slaughter sued immediately to challenge her removal, arguing that it violated protections the Supreme Court enshrined in Humphrey’s Executor, a 1935 ruling that restricted a president’s ability to remove the heads of independent agencies, such as the FTC, without cause. 

Slaughter also argued her removal violates the Federal Trade Commission Act, or a 1914 law passed by Congress that shields FTC members from being removed by a president except in circumstances of ‘inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.’

A federal judge sided with Slaughter’s lawyers in July, agreeing that her firing unlawfully exceeded Trump’s executive branch powers and ordered her reinstated. The Supreme Court in September stayed that decision temporarily, allowing Trump’s firing to remain in effect pending their review.

The Supreme Court’s willingness to review the case is a sign that justices might be ready to do away completely with Humphrey’s protections, which have already been weakened significantly over the last 20 years. Allowing Humphey’s to be watered down further, or overturned completely, could allow sitting presidents to wield more authority in ordering the at-will firing of members of other federal regulatory agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among others, and replacing them with persons of their choosing.

The six conservative justices on the high court signaled as much when they agreed to review the case earlier this year. (Justices split along ideological lines in agreeing to take up the case, with Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.)

.

They asked both parties to come prepared to address two key questions in oral arguments: First, whether the removal protections for FTC members ‘violates the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor, should be overruled,’ and whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office, ‘either through relief at equity or at law.’

U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer has asked the high court to overrule Humphrey’s. He argued in a filing that the FTC authorities of today vastly exceed the authorities granted to the commission in 1935. ‘The notion that some agencies that exercise executive power can be sequestered from presidential control seriously offends the Constitution’s structure and the liberties that the separation of powers protects,’ he said.

A decision is expected to be handed down by the end of June.

The case, Trump v. Slaughter, is one of four cases the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has agreed to review this term that centers on key separation of powers issues, and questions involving the so-called unitary executive theory. 

Critics have cited concerns that the court’s decision to take up the cases could eliminate lasting bulwarks in place to protect against the whims of a sitting president, regardless of political party.

It also comes as justices for the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority have grappled with a flurry of similar lawsuits filed this year by other Trump-fired Democratic board members, including Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

The arguments in Trump v. Slaughter will be closely watched and are expected to inform how the court will consider a similar case in January, centered on Trump’s attempted ouster of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Since taking office, Trump has signed hundreds of executive orders and ordered sweeping personnel actions that have restructured federal agencies and led to mass layoffs across federal agencies, including leaders that were believed to be insulated from the whims of a sitting president.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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