A college freshman deported while flying home for Thanksgiving is fighting to return. Here’s what we know about her case

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza arrived at the airport in Boston excited to embark on a surprise trip home to spend Thanksgiving with her family in Texas. The 19‑year‑old freshman at Babson College was nearing the end of her first semester studying business – a major she hoped would help her father open his own tailor shop one day.

But instead of getting to hug her parents and two little sisters and tell them how college was going, Lopez Belloza was arrested by federal immigration officials moments before getting on her flight on November 20. She was told there was a problem with her boarding pass, and on her way to customer service she was "surrounded, (placed) in handcuffs, and dragged out of the airport," her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told CNN.

In the roughly 48 hours after, Lopez Belloza was sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country where she was born but had not seen since she was 7 years old, when her parents brought her to the United States to seek asylum.

Lopez Belloza was deported despite a federal judge's order prohibiting the government from removing her from the US while a lawsuit over her arrest played out in court, according to her attorney.

In an email to CNN, the Department of Homeland Security said Lopez Belloza entered the country in 2014, an immigration judge ordered her removal in 2015, but she "illegally stayed in the country since."

Pomerleau told CNN Lopez Belloza was never shown a warrant, a removal order or given any explanation for why she had been detained. "I still am not convinced that she ever had an order removal. … She wasn't shown any proof," he said.

Pomerleau said the only records he's found in government databases indicate her case was closed in 2017.

The student's father, Francis, told theAustin American-Statesmanhis family was denied asylum, but they had been assured by the judge they did not have deportation orders. The outlet identified him only by his first name due to his immigration status, it said.

After her arrest, Lopez Belloza was taken to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's regional headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, according to Pomerleau.

From the field office, she was transferred to a military base in Massachusetts and then flown to Texas, where she spent the night in a detention facility before being deported to Honduras the following afternoon.

"She had chains around her ankles. Handcuffs on her wrists," Pomerleau told CNN. "Put on a plane and deported to a country she hadn't been at in like 12 years. It's beyond the pale."

In response to CNN's questions about the attorney's allegations, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Lopez Belloza "received full due process and was removed to Honduras."

A college dream in limbo

Lopez Belloza – who spent most of her life in Texas, where her father is raising her two younger sisters, ages 2 and 5 – decided to enroll at Babson after visiting colleges across the country.

She had worked hard throughout high school and received a scholarship to study in Massachusetts, her lawyer said.

"She wanted to study business and help her dad create his own business one day, a tailoring shop," Pomerleau said. "He hand-made suits for her so she could wear them to interviews and go to … internships, things like that."

A spokesperson for Babson College directed CNN to a couple of statements sent by theschool's leadership, in which they shared that a student was detained by immigration authorities while traveling home for the Thanksgiving holiday and indicated the school won't be commenting further.

"We understand that this news may feel unsettling, particularly for our students, faculty, and staff who may already be navigating uncertainty," the college said in one of the statements. "Our ability to share specifics is limited by law, but please know that our focus remains on supporting the student and their family, as well as the wellbeing of our community."

Speaking toThe Boston Globe,which first reported the story, Lopez Belloza said she had been eager to return home to Austin and share her college experiences with her family. "I have worked so hard to be able to be at Babson my first semester, that was my dream," she told the Globe from her grandparents' home in San Pedro Sula.

Pomerleau said the focus now is on returning Lopez Belloza to the US.

"We're going to ask that the federal judge require the United States to bring her back to the United States because it is an egregious violation of her due process rights."

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byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

A college freshman deported while flying home for Thanksgiving is fighting to return. Here’s what we know about her case

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza arrived at the airport in Boston excited to embark on a surprise trip home to spend Thanksgiving with her family in...

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England's resident doctors plan pre-Christmas strikes over pay

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Resident doctors in England will stage a five-day strike starting on December 17,​ timed just before Christmas, citing the government's failure to ‌make a credible offer on jobs and pay, a union representing them said on Monday. ‌

The British Medical Association, which has been locked in a months-long dispute with the government on behalf of resident doctors, says the government's 5.4% pay offer does not address years of salary erosion when adjusting for inflation, ⁠while the government says the ‌deal is fair and affordable.

In response to the latest strike notice, Health minister Wes Streeting criticised the BMA for choosing ‍to walk out "when it will cause maximum disruption" and "untold anxiety".

"These strikes are in no one's interest and there is no moral justification for them,​" he said in a statement released by his department, adding ‌that the government was open to talks.

Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, carried out five days of strike actions last month and another five-day walkout in July after the government said it could not meet their demands for an improved pay deal this year.

Last year the then ⁠newly elected Labour government quickly reached a settlement ​with the doctors for a 22% pay rise ​as part of its pledge to fix the National Health Service and in hopes of drawing a line under a long-running dispute.

The ‍BMA has been seeking ⁠a 29% rise this year to restore pay to what it said was 2008 levels in real terms. Streeting wrote to the union ⁠last month stressing the "enormous financial pressures facing the country mean I am not able to ‌go further on pay".

(Reporting by Muvija M; ‌Writing by Catarina DemonyEditing by Frances Kerry)

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

England's resident doctors plan pre-Christmas strikes over pay

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Resident doctors in England will stage a five-day strike starting on December 17,​ timed just b...

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Hong Kong fire survivor recalls agonizing last call with his wife

Hong Kong —Yip Ka-kui told CBS News he was about to take a nap when his wife called him from the other room to say a fire was climbing up the building next door, where their son lived.

"I was so nervous. I immediately got my clothes, phone and went downstairs," he said.

He never imagined that the blaze at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong wouldspread so quickly. It tore through bamboo scaffolding, mesh netting covering it, and then foam window coverings that had adorned the sprawling complex's eight buildings for ongoing renovation work.

"I got outside and saw a big fire," he told CBS News on Monday, as the official death toll from the blazeclimbed to over 150. "Fire was spreading everywhere, and I could hear the bamboo exploding. The fire spread to the other block. The mesh caught alight."

That other block was his own building, where he knew his wife was still upstairs. He watched as the blaze spread up the sides, quickly blocking the main lobby.

"I called my wife immediately and said there's a big fire and we have to go now," the 67-year-old recalled through tears. "I told my wife, don't come down."

He had hoped that firefighters would be able to get the blaze under control before it was too late.

On the other end of the phone, his distraught wife, Bai Shui Lin, told him she couldn't move through the thick smoke.

"Then there was so much noise," he said. "I can't hear her anymore … only noise. And then I can't contact her anymore. That's the last call I had with her."

"I kept waiting, hoping the fire would be put out. I thought maybe only the outside would be affected. But the fire just kept getting bigger," he said.

As the blaze spread to seven of the buildings on the complex, Yip watched from behind a police cordon for any sign of his wife being carried out, but he never saw her.

He said he pored over lists of photos and names of victims for days as the death toll mounted, giving her description to nearby hospitals in the hope that she had been rescued.

"I couldn't find my wife," he said through tears. "I tried everything."

Five days later, police confirmed his worst fears in a phone call on Monday. Bai, his wife of 40 years, never made it out of their building.

The couple's two sons had to confirm her identification, but her remains were burned so badly that authorities used an ID card found in her purse to verify it was her.

Yip said she had gone door to door, warning neighbors of the fire that had spread to their building. He said she helped at least three other families make it out before it was too late.

Both of their sons survived the catastrophic fire, but Yip said he was struggling with guilt over the loss of his wife.

"If I'd asked her to leave a minute earlier, I think she would have survived," he said. "But we know her. She wouldn't have left without warning others."

Hong Kong authorities said at least 30 people were still missing on Monday, and recovery teams were still sweeping the seven charred buildings to find victims who failed to escape.

At least 14 people have been arrested for suspected manslaughter, as details of apparent safety regulation violations involving the materials on the outside of the building continue to come to light. Authorities have not ruled out further arrests.

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byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

Hong Kong fire survivor recalls agonizing last call with his wife

Hong Kong —Yip Ka-kui told CBS News he was about to take a nap when his wife called him from the other room to say a fire...

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When do CFP rankings come out? Schedule, release date after Week 14

Thecollege footballregular season has come to an end, which means only one more set ofCollege Football Playoffrankings will be released before the official 12-team bracket is set on Sunday, Dec. 7.

Only a handful of teams will be on action duringconference championship week, with No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten championship headlining the Week 15 schedule. The game not only has the Big Ten title on the line, but also the top overall seed in the final CFP ranking.

CFP PROJECTIONS:Updated bracket predictions for 12-team field

The ACC championship game winner will be also interesting for the CFP race: Ifunranked, five-loss Dukebeats No. 16 Virginia (No. 18 in CFP rankings), there's a strong chance the ACC will be left out entirely, opening the door for two teams from outside the Power Four to reach the playoff. The most likely teams would be the American Conference winner between North Texas and Tulane and a potential Sun Belt Conference champion James Madison.

No. 6 Texas Tech (No. 5 in CFP) faces No. 11 BYU (No. 11 in CFP) in the Big 12 championship. It will be a rematch of a regular-season matchup that saw the Red Raiders win 29-7.If the Cougars win, it would almost certainly make the Big 12 a two-bid league and knock out the lowest-ranked at-large team from the top 12.

Heading into the penultimate set of CFP rankings, that team is No. 10 Alabama (No. 10 in CFP), which must rematch with No. 3 Georgia (No. 4 in CFP) for the SEC title in Atlanta on Dec. 6.

Here's a look at when the penultimate CFP rankings release ahead of conference championship week:

When do CFP rankings come out after Week 14?

• Time: 7 p.m. ET

• Date: Tuesday, Dec. 2

The penultimate CFP rankings will release at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 2, five days before the final 12-team bracket is set on Dec. 7.

CFP rankings release schedule

Here's the remaining CFP rankings release times in 2025:

• Tuesday, Dec. 2: 7 p.m. ET

• Sunday, Dec. 7: Noon ET

CFP schedule

• First round: Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20

• Quarterfinals: Wednesday, Dec. 31 and Thursday, Jan. 1

• Semifinals: Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9

• National championship: Monday, Jan. 19

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:When do CFP rankings come out? Schedule, release date after Week 14

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

When do CFP rankings come out? Schedule, release date after Week 14

Thecollege footballregular season has come to an end, which means only one more set ofCollege Football Playoffrankings wi...

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Lane Kiffin's disastrous exit from Ole Miss is a stain on college football

Yahoo Sports AMis our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports.Sign up hereto get it every weekday morning.

🚨 Headlines

🏈Coaching carousel:Lane Kiffinleft Ole Miss for LSU(more below), Kentuckyfired Mark Stoopsafter 13 seasons, Floridahired Jon Sumrall(Tulane), Arkansashired Ryan Silverfield(Memphis), Auburnhired Alex Golesh(USF), Michigan Statehired Pat Fitzgerald(ex-Northwestern), andmore.

🏎️Down to the wire:Red Bull's Max Verstappenwon Sunday's Qatar Grand Prixto set up a season-ending three-way race for the title. McLaren's Lando Norris leads Verstappen by 12 points and teammate Oscar Piastri by 16 points entering the finale in Abu Dhabi.

🏀NBA Cup knockouts:Group play is complete and theknockout stage is setfor the in-season tournament, with the Magic, Raptors, Knicks and Heat advancing in the East and the Thunder, Lakers, Spurs and Suns advancing in the West.

⚽️Iran boycotts draw:Iran isboycotting this week's World Cup drawin Washington, D.C., after members of its delegation were denied visas to enter the United States. Barring further action, Iran still plans to compete in next summer's World Cup.

🏀Deadline extended again:The WNBA and players associationhave agreed to extend their CBA for a second timeas negotiations continue, this time through January 9. The first extension was set to run out on Sunday night.

🏈 Kiffin's disastrous exit from Ole Miss

After weeks of public scrutiny and private consternation, Lane Kiffinfinally made his decisionon Sunday, ditching Ole Miss on the eve of the College Football Playoff to take the job at LSU.

Behind the scenes:In his statement announcing his departure, Kiffin said he wanted to coach the Rebels in the postseason but the school wouldn't allow it. Hard to disagree with them on that one.

From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken:

Kiffin leaving the No. 7 team in the country to take a job with another SEC program before the sport's marquee event is bad for the product, and no other well-run sports league would tolerate it.

While it's easy to blame "the system" or "the calendar," as you might have heard on ESPN over the weekend, this is a story of individual choices and responsibilities.

It's Kiffin's choice to leave a trail of sleaze on his way out of town. And it's the choice of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and other college sports leaders to do nothing about it, to shrug their shoulders and to rail against professionalization of college sports when making it a priority would be the best path for their business.

Instead, lack of action is a strategic choice, and it's one that needs to be called for what it is: A dereliction of duty in protecting the best interests of college football.

Don't you think, during all those years of the Patriots winning championships, that other NFL franchises would have liked to break up the dynasty by putting a huge pile of cash in front of Bill Belichick right before a Super Bowl run?

Loyalty wasn't the reason it never happened. It's not possible because the NFL understands how bad it would be for its product and has made rules that govern when and under what circumstances coaches can change jobs when they're under contract.

Without collective bargaining, college sports has often run into legal trouble when trying to regulate anything regarding compensation or movement of personnel.

And yet, every time people like Sankey end up on Capitol Hill begging for some type of NCAA protection legislation, it's amazing how the focus is always on the chaos of NIL and the transfer portal while the coaching carousel never gets mentioned as a source of harm for the product and schools that pour hundreds of millions of dollars into their programs.

A coach leaving is, by definition, traumatic and overwhelming. Players start thinking about their own futures and options. Routines get broken up. It would truly defy the odds if Ole Miss was as good of a team under these circumstances as it has been for the past three months.

That's Kiffin's fault, and his reputation will pay a price across generations. The circus of the last few weeks will go down in SEC infamy, a forever stain on his already pock-marked record.

But this is also the product of an ecosystem where players changing jobs on a whim or for a paycheck is a crisis that needs to be dealt with immediately and regulated through a literal act of Congress, while coaches getting paid $10 million a year wrecking their own teams gets met with a shoulder shrug.

This might be the first time it's happened in college football. But in the 12-team playoff era, you can bet it won't be the last.

If the leaders of college sports aren't willing to make this as much of a priority as opt-outs and portal windows while it turns their national playoff into a punch line, they've lost all sense of perspective on what's good or bad for the game.

Read the full story.

🏀 OKC is unstoppable

The 2024-25 Thunder put together a historic campaign en route to a championship. So far this season, the defending champs look even better.

Historic start:OKC beat Portland on Sunday to win their 12th straight game and become just the fourth team in NBA history to start a season 20-1 or better.

• The 1969-70 Knicks started 20-1 and went on to win the championship.

• The 1993-94 Rockets started 20-1 and went on to win the championship.

• The 2015-16 Warriors started 21-0 and went on to lose in the NBA Finals.

• The 2025-26 Thunder started 20-1 and [TBD].

The straw that stirs the drink:Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is putting up 33-5-7 on 67.3% true shooting, which is pretty incredible for a guy who rarely even plays in the fourth quarter and has been without his wingman, Jalen Williams, for all but two games.

• If not for Nikola Jokić, who is casually averaging a near 30-point triple-double, SGA would be the runaway favorite to win back-to-back MVPs.

• He scored 20+ points for the 93rd consecutive game on Sunday, which is the longest streak by any player not named Wilt Chamberlain (126 straight).

Just how good are these guys?Well, let's see: Last year's Thunder team outscored opponents by 12.9 points per game, which broke the previous NBA record that had stood for more than half a century (12.3 by the 1971-72 Lakers). This year's Thunder squad? They're outscoring opponents by15.5 points per game.More nights than not, they're cruising to victory.

Looking ahead:What if I told you the NBA's best team could soon be adding the NBA's best prospect? The Thunder own the Clippers' 2026 first-round pick, and L.A.'s putrid 5-15 start means OKC currently has a 10% chance of landing the No. 1 pick (and a 40% chance of landing a top-four pick) in next year's draft. Something to keep an eye on as L.A.'s season spirals dangerously out of control.

🏈 Does anybody want to win the Super Bowl?

The Rams, Eagles, Chiefs, Seahawks and Colts entered Week 13 as the five betting favorites to win the Super Bowl. Four of those teams (all but Seattle) promptly lost and got exposed in various ways.

The big picture:The final month of the regular season is upon us, and it'shard to find any reliable contenders.

• In the NFC, the defending champion Eagles (8-4) are flailing and the rock solid-seeming Rams (9-3) just showed they, too, are prone to a bad loss. The Bears (9-3) are the No. 1 seed, but can they really be trusted?

• The Seahawks (9-3), 49ers (9-4), Packers (8-3-1) and Buccaneers (7-5) are the other teams in playoff position, while the Lions (7-5), Cowboys (6-5-1) and Panthers (7-6) are all in the hunt.

• Meanwhile, in the AFC: The Colts (8-4) have gone from "best team in the league" to ceding control of their own division to the Jaguars (8-4). They now find themselves in the messy middle alongside the Bills (8-4), Chargers (8-4), Texans (7-5), Chiefs (6-6), Ravens (6-6) and Steelers (6-6).

• The Broncos (10-2) have won nine straight games to leapfrog the Patriots (10-2) for first place, but they continue to fly under the radar. Perhaps that's because they barely eked out most of those wins, with seven of the nine being decided by four or fewer points.

Week 13 Scoreboard:

• Cowboys 31, Chiefs 28 (Thanksgiving)

• Packers 31, Lions 24 (Thanksgiving)

• Bengals 32, Ravens 14 (Thanksgiving)

• Bears 24, Eagles 15 (Black Friday)

• Texans 20, Colts 16

• Panthers 31, Rams 28

• Seahawks 26, Vikings 0

• Broncos 27, Commanders 26 (OT)

• Bills 26, Steelers 7

• Buccaneers 20, Cardinals 17

• Jets 27, Falcons 24

• Jaguars 25, Titans 3

• 49ers 26, Browns 8

• Chargers 31, Raiders 14

• Dolphins 21, Saints 17

Fantasy Focus:Underdog in your league? Week 13 showed there is always hope for an upset

🇺🇸 Photos across America

Fort Lauderdale, Florida —Inter Miami crushed NYC FC,5-1, on Saturday to reach the MLS Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. Breakout star Tadeo Allende netted a hat trick, giving him eight goals across Miami's five playoff games.

Meanwhile, out West: Vancouver ended top-seeded San Diego's dream debut seasonwith a 3-1 victory, sending the Whitecaps to their first MLS Cup Final.

Seattle —The Seattle Torrent drew 16,014 fans to Climate Pledge Arena on Friday for their inaugural home game,breaking the attendance recordfor a professional women's hockey game in the U.S.

On the ice: Seattle lost, 3-0, to two-time defending champion Minnesota, leaving the expansion Torrent as theonly PWHL team without a winthrough two weeks of action.

Las Vegas —No. 7 Michigandominated the Players Era Festivalwith blowout victories over No. 21 Auburn (102-72) and No. 12 Gonzaga (101-61), making the Wolverines the first team in AP poll history (since 1948) to post consecutive 30-point wins against ranked opponents.

On the women's side: No. 4 Texaswon the Players Era Festivalafter beating No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 South Carolina on consecutive days.

Copper Mountain, Colorado —Death, taxes, and Mikaela Shiffrin winning the slalom. Sunday's victory, which came in front ofan adoring crowd on her home snow, marked the Olympian's fourth straight win in her best discipline and her record-extending 104th career World Cup win.

A league of her own: How dominant was Shiffrin? The 1.57-second gap between her and the runner-up was the same as the gap between the runner-up and 11th place.

📺 Watchlist: Monday, Dec. 1

🏈 Giants at Patriots

New England hosts New York(8:15pm ET, ABC/ESPN)in just theirfourth meetingsince Super Bowl XLVI nearly 14 years ago. Can the last-place Giants (2-10, six straight losses) pull off another stunner against the first-place Pats (10-2, nine straight wins)?

⚽️ USWNT vs. Italy

The Americans close out the year in Fort Lauderdale with another friendly against the Italians(7pm, TBS/HBO Max)just three days after beating them,3-0, in Orlando.

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA: Bulls at Magic (7:30pm, Peacock); Suns at Lakers (10pm, Peacock) … The Lakers (15-4) have won seven straight games to take over second place in the West.

• 🏒 NHL: Penguins at Flyers (7pm, NHL) … Philly hosts the season's second Battle of Pennsylvania. The Flyers took round one in a shootout.

Today's full slate.

🏈 NFL trivia

Josh Allen recorded his 76th career rushing touchdown on Sunday, passing Cam Newton for themost by a QB in NFL history.

Question:Who ranks third on that list with 63 rushing TDs?

Hint:Unlike Allen and Newton, he was not a first-round pick.

Answer at the bottom.

🍿 Top plays of the weekend

This weekend featured some of the best catches you'll ever see on the football field. Four of them top our list, and five made the cut overall.

1. 🏈 Treylon Burks!!!

2. 🏈 KJ Duff!!!

3. 🏈 Puka Nacua!!!

4. 🏈 Brock Bowers!!!

5. 🏀 Pitt at the buzzer

6. 🏀 Stanford at the buzzer

7. ⚽️ Tyler Adams from way out

8. 🏈 CJ Daniels!!!

9. 🏒 Assist while injured

10. 🏒 Ridiculous finish

11. 🥍 No-look goal

12. 🏈 Hardy to the house

13. 🏀 Block → Dunk

Watch all 13.

Trivia answer:Jalen Hurts

We hope you enjoyed this edition ofYahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports.Sign up hereto get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

Lane Kiffin's disastrous exit from Ole Miss is a stain on college football

Yahoo Sports AMis our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports.Sign up hereto get it every weekday...

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'Fire Tomlin': Steelers fans losing patience with Pittsburgh’s long run of mid football

The year that Mike Tomlin took over the head coaching duties of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tom Brady and the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season and lost the Super Bowl to Eli Manning and David Tyree's Helmet Catch. Adrian Peterson was the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Randy Moss, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning were in the primes of their careers. George W. Bush was still president, and there was no such thing as a Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Mike Tomlin took charge of the Steelers a long time ago, is what we're saying. But now, judging from the "Fire Tomlin" chants that resounded throughout Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon, that union might just be reaching its end.

[Get more Steelers news: Pittsburgh team feed]

By any measure, Tomlin has had a spectacular head-coaching career. A Super Bowl champion, his next win will move him into a tie with Dan Reeves for 10th place on the NFL's career coaching wins list at 190. His famous, and justly celebrated, streak of never finishing a season below .500 remains intact; the Steelers are 6-6 even after Sunday's miserable loss to Buffalo.

That woeful 26-7 defeat brought fans' long-simmering frustrations to a full boil.Chants of "Fire Tomlin" resonated throughout Acrisure Stadium. And these weren't just a few isolated cranks hopped up on cheap beer. No, these chants wereloud:

Fire Tomlin chants loud and clear at Steelers game. The city has finally had enoughpic.twitter.com/GNkLkUDLJt

— Simon Ince (@SirSimon43)December 1, 2025

"I share their frustration tonight," Tomlin said, when asked about the chants. "We didn't do enough."

That's a fair assessment of Sunday, where the Steelers gained just 166 yards of total offense — 108 in the air, 58 on the ground — and managed to convert only three of nine third-down opportunities. Meanwhile, the Bills set a stadium rushing record of 249 yards over, around and through the Pittsburgh defense.

But "we didn't do enough" applies to the season as a whole, too … maybe to the entire decade of the 2020s for Pittsburgh. Although Aaron Rodgers' name isn't exactly synonymous with Pittsburgh, it was impossible to look at photographs of him aftersuffering a cut to his nose on Sunday— weary, bleeding, bandaged, gray in his beard and a resigned look in his eyes — and not think of the larger picture, that the best on-field days of both Rodgers and the Steelers are, for now, behind them.

"I totally understand the frustration," Rodgerssaid after the game. "That was a boo-worthy performance."

The Steelers of the 2020s lurk in the NFL's murky middle — enough name recognition to earn a few nationally televised games, but not enough talent to seize control of the division or the conference. Enough wins to make the playoffs on a regular basis, but too many to get anywhere near a position to draft a reliable quarterback.

Since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger — whose arrival in Pittsburgh predated even Tomlin's — the Steelers have cycled through a procession of rent-a-QBs whose performances have ranged from decent to disastrous, with a whole lot more lows and mids than highs. Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Russell Wilson, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields and now Rodgers — all quarterbacks whose best days, whether college or pro, came long before they arrived in Pittsburgh.

One column on one spreadsheet tells the Steelers' tale. In the "Notes" section of Tomlin'sPro Football Reference career chartare his full-season accolades — a Super Bowl championship in his second season, an AFC title game in his fourth, and then … nothing since then. A long stretch of emptiness. The Steelers have reached the playoffs four of the past five years, but haven't won a playoff game since the 2016 season and have only three playoff wins since their Super Bowl run in 2010 when they lost to a 27-year-old QB named Aaron Rodgers.

A coaching change in Pittsburgh would be a seismic civic event akin to tearing down one of the city's signature bridges. The Steelers have only had three head coaches — Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin — since1969. Between them, they've won six Super Bowl titles, so that's the baseline for any new hire. Tomlin was just 35 years old when he took over from Cowher, and managed to nab his Lombardi quickly. Could any replacement do the same with this roster?

Tomlin, still just 53, remains under contract through 2027. Should he and/or Pittsburgh decide a fresh start is in order, he'd have a line of suitors waiting at his front door before he got home from his farewell press conference. A whole lot of teams in the NFL would love to have the "problem" of never finishing below .500.

But that's a hypothetical. The reality is that Pittsburgh has five games remaining — Baltimore twice, Miami, and at Detroit and Cleveland. Pittsburgh remains tied with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North, although on the outside of the playoff bracket due to tiebreakers. (The AFC North's overall stench means that merely mediocre is enough to lead the division.)

Even if Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, though — by any definition a good season — how long would the Steelers last against, say, the Colts, Chargers or these same Bills? Steelers fans have decided that "good" isn't good enough. And if the front office feels the same way, some fascinating days are ahead in Pittsburgh.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

'Fire Tomlin': Steelers fans losing patience with Pittsburgh’s long run of mid football

The year that Mike Tomlin took over the head coaching duties of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tom Brady and the Patriots went ...

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In Trump country, suburban grandmas push back against ICE

HAMILTON, OH ‒ A group that's grown almost 70-strong shows up weekly to commissioner meetings in this conservative Ohio county toprotest officials' agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They're mostly grandmas.

"I'm here because I'm outraged. I'm here because I'm angry," Cassie Stevens, who lives in Hamilton, said at a Butler County Commissioners meeting on Nov. 18. "I'm here because I need to be able to look my grandkids in the eye and say I did not remain silent."

For 17 weeks, this group of Butler County residents has spoken at the commissioners' meetings in Hamilton. They want commissioners to cancel Sheriff Richard Jones' March agreement with ICE, which allows theButler County Jail to detain people facing deportation.

Commissioners authorized the agreement, which bringsmillions of federal dollars to the county.

At the latest commissioners' meeting, more than 70 people sat, stood and spilled through the doors. Most were White women who sported silver and white cropped hair. After the meeting, they took their protest outside, braving the November rain with fleece jackets and handmade signs.

Commission meetings prompt residents to band together

Sharon Meyer, who lives in Hamilton, criticized the county's agreement with ICE and said it sends one message: "If you don't look like us, bring a passport to Butler County."

Some people cried as speakers shared their neighbors', friends' and grandchildren's classmates' fears about ICE arrests and detentions. Toward the end of the meeting's public comment portion, and after one commissioner told them not to, critics of the contract broke into song: "America the Beautiful."

Anne Jantzen, 82, who lives in Seven Mile, first began attending commissioners meetings over the summer to protest the county's agreement with ICE. There, she met others with the same beliefs and started an email chain.

"They said, 'I heard about you and I want to be part of this,'" she told The Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, after the meeting.

Their group, Butler County for Immigrant Justice, ranges in age from 60 to 85, she said. Retirees are more likely than younger people to be able to attend commissioners meetings, which are held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays.

"I can do it; therefore I need to," Jantzen said.

The meetings are also streamed online, but speakers must be present to make a public comment.

A 'dirty money contract'

President Donald Trump won Butler County in 2024 with 62% of the vote. The federal government'sextra funding for the Butler County Sheriff's Officebegan to arrive this month.

Stevens, a member of Butler County for Immigrant Justice, called the agreement a "dirty money contract" and said it has "emboldened racists."

"They use the dehumanizing term 'illegals' just like they use the n-word," she said.

Melanie Stearns, who lives in Hamilton, said the county's cooperation with ICE has given the region a bad reputation. The sheriff's office is the only one in Ohio with a Jail Enforcement Model agreement, according tocurrent ICE contracts, which allows the Butler County Jail to hold ICE detainees for extended periods of time.

"We look like idiots, just like we did withthe cats and JD Vance," she said, referring to the vice president's comments last year that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, about an hour north of Butler County, were eating pets. Vance was raised in Butler County's Middletown.

Resident, Jay Stevison, who joined the group after the meeting, got teary-eyed as he spoke about his three grandchildren, who, he said, have a Latino parent.

"I would have to defend them with my life if ICE tried to take them," he said.

Commissioners give reasons for not canceling ICE contract

Twenty residents spoke out against the contract for about an hour. None spoke in favor of it.

The three commissioners, all Republicans, responded.

Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, who has served on the board since 2011, said the sheriff "alone" sets policies, determines operations and makes decisions about cooperating with federal agencies, including ICE.

But the sheriff is not an independent contractor, said Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser. Jones' office needs commissioner authorization to sign most contracts and agreements, as was done for the ICE agreement.

In a phone call with The Enquirer the day after the meeting, Carpenter said commissioners aim to facilitate county operations without inserting their own political opinions.

"We would lose a lot of credibility with our officeholders if we started undermining their judgment," she said.

The resolution passed by commissioners in February amended the sheriff's agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service to allow the jail to hold ICE detainees. Commissioners could take action to cancel the agreement. The ICEdocumentsays either party can terminate or suspend the agreement.

Commissioner T.C. Rogers,citing CNN coverage, said there is a need for ICE arrests because of a 2023 surge of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. That surge wasdeclining under President Joe Biden and has slowed even furtherunder Trump.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer:Suburban grandmas protest ICE contract in Trump-voting Ohio county

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

December 01, 2025

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