MIAMI (AP) — Have a day, Mika Zibanejad.

He made Sweden’s Olympic team, had a hat trick and put together the first five-point NHL outdoor game in history, all in the span of a few hours, to help the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday night in the Winter Classic — the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State.

Artemi Panarin scored twice, Alexis Lafrenière had three assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 shots for the Rangers, who improved to 6-0-0 when playing outdoors.

“I think it’s hard to grasp the whole day,” Zibanejad said. “But yeah, a great 12, 16 hours. It’s been a fun day.”

Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, which was playing outdoors for the first time and lost for the fourth time in its last six contests overall. The Panthers gave up goals to Zibanejad and Panarin 64 seconds apart late in the first period, giving New York a 2-0 lead, and the Rangers kept control the rest of the way.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the NHL deserved enormous credit for pulling off an event he called “spectacular.”

“A Southern setting (and) the ice was fine,” Maurice said. “The spectacle was incredible. It was just brilliant, the entire kind of weekend. … I would imagine the Rangers really loved it. But for the losing coach, it was an incredible memory.”

Florida outshot New York 37-20 and had 38 hits to New York’s 20, but watched the Rangers block of its 27 shot attempts.

The star of the night was Zibanejad, who reached five points in a game for the fourth time.

“He’s one of our core players,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “We rely on him in so many circumstances out there on both sides of the puck.”

Zibanejad’s third goal was an empty-netter with 1:28 left. Rangers fans tried throwing hats to no avail; the seats were too far from the ice for any of them to get even close to the playing surface.

“We have amazing support wherever we go,” Zibanejad said.

The roof was open, as were the huge window panels behind what typically is left field at loanDepot Park — home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins. There was some snow falling from the edges of the stadium, there were blasts of fire and after years of planning, there was hockey on a baseball field.

“Awesome experience,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Really happy I was able to able to experience something like this. Would have loved to get the win, but at the end of the day, a true first-class experience.”

Did it work? Outdoor ice typically doesn’t hold up with temperatures in the 60s, and there were some player complaints that the surface wasn’t conducive to speedy play. But it worked well enough for the Rangers, who were 4-6-3 in their last 13 games coming into Friday.

“These events are a lot more fun and a lot more memorable when you win,” Zibanejad said.

The temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Celsius) at game time was the second-warmest of any of the NHL’s 44 outdoor games that have counted in the standings. It was 2 degrees cooler than on Feb. 27, 2016, when Detroit beat Colorado at Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.

The Rangers — with a snow effect around their walkway — were called to the ice at 8:13 p.m. The Panthers — as fire shot skyward along their path — came out about a minute later. And that’s about when snowflakes began falling from the top of the stadium, as the roof continued opening.

There was another celebration before faceoff, when Rangers and Panthers players who will be part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games next month were introduced. Panthers defenseman Seth Jones made the team earlier Friday, as did injured Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Tkachuk placed an American flag over Jones’ shoulders and the crowd roared.

It was a spectacle, as expected. The Rangers showed up in all-white outfits, as if it was a beach day. The Panthers came with a “Miami Vice” theme, wearing white suits, pastel shirts and even showing up in Ferraris instead of a bus.

“If you would have asked me 25 years ago … this might be the last place that I thought it would take place,” Sullivan said. “So, I just think it speaks volumes for technology and its advancements and the ability to put a sheet of ice down in this type of environment.”

Up next

Rangers: Host Utah on Monday.

Panthers: Host Colorado on Sunday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it’s still searching for people in the eastern Pacific Ocean who had jumped off alleged drug-smuggling boats when the U.S. military attacked the vessels days earlier, diminishing the likelihood that anyone survived.

Search efforts began Tuesday afternoon after the military notified the Coast Guard that survivors were in the water about 400 miles southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, the maritime service said in a statement.

The Coast Guard dispatched a plane from Sacramento to search an area covering more than 1,000 miles, while issuing an urgent warning to ships nearby. The agency said it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, working with other countries as well as civilian ships and boats in the area.

The weather during that time has included 9-foot seas and 40-knot winds. The U.S. has not said how many people jumped into the water, and, if they are not found, how far the death toll may rise from the Trump administration’s monthslong campaign of blowing up small boats accused of transporting drugs in the region.

The U.S. military said earlier this week that it attacked three boats traveling along known narco-trafficking routes and they “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.” The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the region, said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked.

The strikes occurred in a part of the eastern Pacific where the Navy doesn’t have any ships operating. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts for the people who jumped overboard before the other boats were hit.

Calling in the Coast Guard is notable because the military drew heavy scrutiny after U.S. forces killed the survivors of the first attack in early September with a follow-up strike to their disabled boat. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts said the military committed a crime, while the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say the follow-up strike was legal.

There have been other survivors of the boat strikes, including one for whom the Mexican Navy suspended a search in late October after four days. Two other survivors of a strike on a submersible vessel in the Caribbean Sea that same month were sent to their home countries — Ecuador and Colombia. Authorities in Ecuador later released the man, saying they had no evidence he committed a crime in the South American nation.

Under President Donald Trump’s direction, the U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Along with the strikes, the Trump administration has built up military forces in the region as part of an escalating pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States.

“Even though I sold the company over a decade ago, I still have such a personal connection to it, and this isn’t how I thought the story would go,” said Candace Nelson, who started the company after she lost her job in 2005. The closure was announced Dec. 30.

Nelson started Sprinkles Cupcakes in her own kitchen, and the first location was in a small Beverly Hills storefront that had previously been a sandwich shop. The brand would go on to ascend to national fame, and fans took to social media following the company’s announcement to lament the closure.

The company’s cupcake-dispensing machines in malls and airports briefly went viral on TikTok for the not-so-subtle “I love Sprinkles” jingle that played repeatedly while a mechanical arm delivered the dessert.

The company no longer has any products for sale on its website, which also has removed all operational locations across the country.

Nelson sold her business to private equity firm KarpReilly LLC in 2012 after the company had expanded to 10 locations across the country. The firm owns dozens of other companies for products including a health food home delivery service, kombucha and protein wellness shakes.

KarpReilly did not respond to an emailed request for comment Friday evening. Neither the firm nor Nelson provided a reason for the cupcake company’s closure.

Private equity has dramatically expanded its influence in restaurants over the last decade, investing $94.5 billion between 2014 and 2024, according to data from capital market company PitchBook.

Some outraged Sprinkles Cupcakes fans said on social media that the closures were part of a larger trend where private equity firms purchase restaurants and retail brands — like Red Lobster or TGI Fridays — that later file for bankruptcy or close altogether.

General Daily Insight for January 03, 2026

Big feelings collide with steady choices this morning. With the emotional Moon opposing the radiant Sun for a Full Moon at 5:02 AM EST, we’re balancing our more foundational duties versus the responsibilities beyond our door. This contrasting pull increases as Luna opposes combative Mars! We should try to pause before replying to co-workers, neighbors, or family. Once the Moon conjoins expansive Jupiter, we should be better able to respond with care and forgiveness. Freed from stress, we can enjoy empowering evening rituals.

The executive order cast a spotlight on a business deal that drew scant attention when it was announced in May 2024 during President Joe Biden’s administration. The deal involved aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp. selling its computer chips and wafer fabrication operations to HieFo for $2.92 million — a price that included the assumption of about $1 million in liabilities.

But Trump is now demanding that HieFo divest that technology within 180 days, citing “credible evidence” that the current owner is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.

HieFo was founded by Dr. Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore. According to a press release that came out after the deal closed, plans for the technology acquired from Emcore were to be overseen by largely the same team of employees in Alhambra, California.

Zhang, who was a vice president of engineering at Emcore before becoming HieFo’s CEO, pledged to “continue the pursuit of the most innovative and disruptive solutions” with technology designed for purposes that would include artificial intelligence.

HieFo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s order.

Emcore was a publicly traded company at the time of the HieFo deal, but was taken private last year by the investment firm Charlesbank Capital Partner.

Minnesota officials have until next week to provide the Trump administration with information about providers and parents who receive federal child care funds or risk losing potentially millions of dollars in federal funding, state officials said Friday.

In an email sent Friday to child care providers shared with The Associated Press by multiple providers, Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families said it has until Jan. 9 to provide a set of verifying information about recipients. The announcement earlier this week by the Trump administration that it would freeze child care funds to Minnesota and the rest of the states comes after a series of fraud schemes at Minnesota day care centers, many run by Somali residents. The move came after a right-wing influencer alleged there were widespread abuses.

The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides $185 million in child care funds annually to Minnesota, federal officials have said.

The email instructed providers and families who rely on the frozen federal child care program to continue the program’s “licensing and certification requirements and practices as usual.” It does not say that recipients themselves need to take any action or provide any information.

“We recognize the alarm and questions this has raised,” the email said. “We found out about the freezing of funds at the same time everyone else did on social media.”

The state agency added that it “did not receive a formal communication from the federal government until late Tuesday night,” which was after Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill posted about the freeze on X. All 50 states will have to provide additional levels of verification and administrative data before they receive more funding from the Child Care and Development Fund, which is designed to make child care affordable for low-income families.

Minnesota is a target

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss the allegations of fraudulent use of federal funds in Minnesota. An HHS spokesperson said that the child care fraud hotline put up by the federal agency earlier this week has received more than 200 tips.

Minnesota has drawn ire from Republicans and the Trump administration over other fraud accusations.

Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Alex Adams told Fox News on Friday that his agency sent Minnesota a letter last month asking for information on the child care program and other welfare programs by Dec. 26, but didn’t get a response. The state did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler posted Thursday on X that the agency suspended 6,900 Minnesota borrowers of COVID-19 era loans because of suspected fraud. Trump has also targeted the state’s large Somali community with immigration enforcement actions and called them “garbage.”

Minnesota Democrats say the Trump administration is playing politics and hurting families and children as a result. Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth and Families said in a press release Friday that inspectors conduct regular oversight activities for the child care program, noting that there are 55 related open investigations involving providers.

It also said that investigators did spot checks and reviews on nine centers and found they “were operating as expected.” One center was not yet open at the time.

“DCYF remains committed to fact-based reviews that stop fraud, protect children, support families, and minimize disruption to communities that rely on these essential services,” the department said. “Distribution of unvetted or deceptive claims and misuse of tip lines can interfere with investigations, create safety risks for families, providers, and employers, and has contributed to harmful discourse about Minnesota’s immigrant communities.”

It is unclear how recipients will be impacted

Maria Snider, director of a child care center in St. Paul and vice president of advocacy group Minnesota Child Care Association, said providers currently get paid at least three weeks after services are provided. Some 23,000 children and 12,000 families receive funding from the targeted child care program each month on average, according to the state.

“For a lot of centers, we’re already running on a thin margin,” she said. “Even centers where 10 to 15% of their kids are on childcare assistance, that’s a dip in your income.”

Any child who attends a child care center with attendees who receive federal funding could be impacted, Snider said.

According to the Friday email from Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families, HHS sent a letter to Minnesota asking for data from 2022 to 2025, including identifying information of all recipients of the child care funds, a list of all providers who receive the funds, how much they receive and “information related to alleged fraud networks and oversight failures.” It’s unclear whether Minnesota already has the data the administration is asking for.

HHS said five child care centers that receive funds from the child care program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families would have to provide “specific documentation” such as attendance, inspections and assessments, according to the email.

HHS said it would provide Minnesota with more information by Jan. 5, but the state agency wrote that it’s unclear what kinds of funding restrictions it faces.

“Our teams are working hard to analyze the legal, fiscal, and other aspects of this federal action,” the email says. “We do not know the full impact.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Diane Crump, who in 1969 became the first woman to ride professionally in a horse race and a year later became the first female jockey in the Kentucky Derby, has died. She was 77.

Crump was diagnosed in October with an aggressive form of brain cancer and died Thursday night in hospice care in Winchester, Virginia, her daughter, Della Payne, told The Associated Press.

Crump went on to win 228 races before riding her last race in 1998, a month shy of her 50th birthday and nearly 30 years after her trailblazing ride at Hialeah Park in Florida on Feb. 7, 1969.

Crump was among several women to fight successfully at the time to be granted a jockey license, but they still needed a trainer willing to put them in a race and then for the race to run. Others were thwarted when male jockeys boycotted or threatened to boycott if a woman was riding.

Photographs of Crump’s walk to the saddling area at Hialeah show her protected by security guards as a crowd pressed in on all sides. Six of the original 12 jockeys in the race had refused to ride, Mark Shrager wrote in his biography, “Diane Crump: A Horse Racing Pioneer’s Life in the Saddle.” Among them were future legends Angel Cordero Jr., Jorge Velasquez and Ron Turcotte, who four years later would ride Secretariat to win the Triple Crown.

But other jockeys stepped up, and as the 12 horses made their way onto the track, the bugler skipped the traditional call to the post and instead played “Smile for Me, My Diane.” Crump, on a 50-1 longshot called Bridle ’n Bit, finished 10th, but the barrier had been broken. A month later, Bridle ’n Bit gave Crump her first victory at Gulfstream Park.

She again made history in 1970 by becoming the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby. She won the first race that day at Churchill Downs, but again her mount for the history-making race was outclassed. She finished 15th out of 17 on Fathom.

It would be 14 more years before another female jockey would ride in the Derby, with only four more to follow in the decades since.

The racetrack president at Churchill Downs, Mike Anderson, said in a statement on Friday that Crump “will be forever respected and fondly remembered in horse racing lore.”

He noted that Crump, who had been riding since age 5 and galloping young Thoroughbreds since she was a teenager, “was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams.”

Chris Goodlett, of the Kentucky Derby Museum, said “Diane Crump’s name stands for courage, grit, and progress.” He added: “Her determination in the face of overwhelming odds opened doors for generations of female jockeys and inspired countless others far beyond racing.”

After retiring from racing, Crump settled in Virginia and started a business helping people buy and sell horses.

In later years, she took her therapy dogs, all Dachshunds, to visit patients in hospitals and other medical clinics. Some with chronic illnesses she visited regularly for years.

Payne said when her mother went into hospice in November, she was already “quasi-famous” in the medical center because of how much time she had spent there, and a “steady stream” of doctors and nurses came to see her. One of the last people to visit her was the man who mowed her lawn.

Her daughter said Crump would never take “no” for an answer, whether it was becoming a jockey or helping someone in need.

“I wouldn’t say she was as competitive as she was stubborn,” Payne said. “If someone was counting on her, she could never let someone down.”

Late in life, Crump’s mottos were literally tattooed on her forearms: “Kindness” on the left, “Compassion” on the right.

Crump will be cremated and her ashes interred between her parents in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia.

Before each game, Furones and Perkins will select a “Best Bet” and a “Longshot.” The “Best Bet” selection is a near 50-50 proposition while the “Longshot” is at least +300 or a 3-to-1 probability.

They don’t place dollar amounts on their bets, but you’re welcome to wager as much as you can afford.

Furones is 9-7 on his “Best Bets” while Perk is 3-13. On the “Longshot,” Furones is 5-11 and Perk has slumped to 3-13.

Perkins and Furones use the Hard Rock Bet app for odds. Be sure to check the Sun Sentinel predictions for Sunday’s overall outlook.

By the way, this week’s Dolphins prop bet options were limited due to uncertainty regarding their injury situation.

Perk’s Best Bet: Rhamondre Stevenson anytime TD (-110)

The Miami Dolphins‘ run defense remains feast or famine. And while TreVeyon Henderson is the Patriots’ leader in yards and touchdowns, I could see Stevenson crossing the goal line once on Sunday. Besides, I could use some good fortune here.

Furones’ Best Bet: TreVeyon Henderson over 57.5 rushing yards (-115)

The rookie has been excellent from a yards-per-carry standpoint. It’s not a big number because he splits the workload with Stevenson. I wonder about Dolphins tackling as they get deeper in a cold-weather game after having to bring down the two all evening.

Furones lost his Best Bet last week of running back De’Von Achane rushing for 74.5 yards or fewer while Perk lost his Best Bet of tight end Darren Waller achieving 24.5 or more yards receiving.

Perk’s Longshot: Rasul Douglas over 0.5 INT (+800)

Douglas, Miami’s top cornerback, is the team leader in interceptions (two) so it makes sense that he could get one on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. The Dolphins have been more adept at forcing turnovers in the second half of the season and Douglas has had a good year, so he gets the nod here. By the way, a good pass rush would likely help him get an interception.

Furones’ Longshot: Julian Hill anytime TD (+700)

Hey, what better time than now for Hill to score his first career touchdown? Darren Waller is out, De’Von Achane is doubtful, Jaylen Waddle questionable, and after Greg Dulcich just caught one from Quinn Ewers last game. Maybe this is Hill’s chance slipping away off play action near the goal line.

Perk lost his Longshot last week of a Waller anytime TD while Furones lost his Longshot of tight end Cade Otton having an anytime TD.

Jamisha Shamari Sylvain, 26, represented herself as a caregiver or nurse to numerous elderly people ranging in age from 72 to 91, allowing her to gain access to their apartments and personal information, according to multiple probable cause affidavits.

One woman, a 78-year-old who suffers from dementia, met Sylvain through a neighbor at her apartment complex in Deerfield Beach, according to a probable cause affidavit in one of the five cases filed against Sylvain in December. Sylvain had taken the woman to a Chase Bank branch on three separate occasions in November 2025 and withdrew a total of $1,718 while pretending to be the woman’s granddaughter, the affidavit said.

The woman’s son reported the fraud to deputies a few days later. When detectives interviewed the woman, she said she remembered going to the bank with Sylvain but couldn’t remember why she went there or if she lost any money, the affidavit said.

Sylvain similarly made ATM withdrawals from another person’s bank account in October after gaining access to their apartment in a senior living complex, according to an arrest warrant. She accessed the apartment of the alleged victim, a 72-year-old with dementia, by pretending to be a nurse and took his or her Bank of America debit card. Sylvain then made four withdrawals totaling $1,620, the warrant says.

In September, Sylvain approached a blind woman who she saw holding mail outside of her apartment in the B’nai B’rith senior living complex in Deerfield Beach and asked if she needed help reading it, the affidavit said. The woman hesitated at first but then let Sylvain into her apartment.

While reading the woman’s mail, Sylvain asked for her Social Security number, “as if the mail
was requiring it,” and said the woman’s debit card needed to be canceled, the affidavit said. Sylvain went back to the woman’s apartment another day and went with her to TD Bank, where they disposed of the card and ordered a new one, records show.

Shortly afterward, the woman received a letter from Capitol One that said a credit card had been issued to her; she said she had never applied for one. Someone also tried to open a cellphone account with her information. Sylvain was the only person the woman had recently given her personal information to, the affidavit said.

Another alleged victim was a 91-year-old woman who told deputies Sylvain had approached her on a bus in October and purported to be a caregiver assigned to her through her insurance, a separate probable cause affidavit said. Sylvain went to the woman’s apartment the next day and spent several hours there pretending to be an insurance-assigned aide, despite the woman never having heard from her insurance, the affidavit said.

The woman noticed after Sylvain left her apartment that her Capitol One debit card was missing. She called Sylvain and told her to return the card, and she denied taking it. She returned to the woman’s apartment later that day and said she found the missing card, according to the affidavit.

In two other separate incidents, Sylvain entered the apartments of an 85-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman and asked them for their driver’s licenses and debit card information, according to probable cause affidavits. The man thought she was a social worker or a family member, the affidavit said, and Sylvain tried to use his information to take $1,000 from his account.

Among the charges she faces are burglary of an occupied dwelling, criminal use of personal identifying information, elderly financial exploitation and grand theft from a person 65 years or older. She remained in the Paul Rein Detention Facility as of Friday.

And they were armed with paintbrushes, not hockey sticks.

The Panthers — a few hours before their Winter Classic outdoor game at the Miami Marlins’ ballpark against the New York Rangers — unveiled a couple dozen panther sculptures, all painted in a unique way and now being auctioned off with hopes of raising $1 million for cancer research.

Gretzky commissioned a sculpture that displays some of his stats, Johnson arranged one depicting a scene from Augusta National, Bublé’s is adorned in rhinestone braille, the NBA’s Heat commissioned a pair of sculptures with some of the team’s themes, artist Romero Britto painted one as well and Navratilova didn’t technically paint hers — she dipped tennis balls into paint and then served them into the panther, creating a polka-dotted splash of various colors.

“To be able to have the privilege to reach out and make those contacts and have those folks say, ‘Of course,’ what a gift that was,” Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said. “It’s just so neat.”

About $700,000 has been raised already, Zito said. The idea for the fundraiser — “Panthers on the Prowl,” they call it — is loosely built around Chicago’s “Cows on Parade” art project. Zito and his wife Julie co-chair the Panthers’ project; she is a breast cancer survivor, and Zito has lost a number of relatives to the disease.

“It was my wife Julie’s idea,” Zito said. “And we lived in Chicago during ‘Cows on Parade,’ and then Romero Britto said we should auction them. I can’t take credit for any of it.”

Many of the panthers were on display at LoanDepot Park on Friday, where about 35,000 fans attending the Winter Classic would see them.

“There’s a tear and a smile,” Zito said. “And then you think, you know what, there’s a reason that everybody is engaged. There’s a reason that everybody gave their time and their talent. And it’s because it works and it’s right.”