A few years ago, the Buffalo Bills threatened to leave New York State unless a new stadium deal was secured. This kind of relocation bluff is common in the NFL, with only the Green Bay Packers standing out as a team with a municipally owned facility and a market too small to seriously consider relocation. Despite the ever-present threat of the Bills moving to a more lucrative market, Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul ultimately signed a deal providing $600 million in state funding for a new $2.1 billion stadium for the Bills, with Erie County contributing an additional $250 million. This was after team owner Terry Pegula threatened to move the franchise to Austin, Texas, where he would privately finance a stadium.
The Pinellas County Commission has approved a $312.5 million bond issue to finance its part of a new $1.3 billion stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. The 5-2 vote, which was delayed twice, allows the county to move forward with selling the bonds, contingent on the Rays meeting their obligations under the deal. The approval follows the St. Petersburg City Council’s earlier vote to approve its $287.5 million share of the project on December 6.
Moderna has paused its mRNA RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine trial for children after five infants were hospitalized with severe respiratory complications.
President-elect Donald Trump is suing the Des Moines Register and its leading pollster, J. Ann Selzer, for "brazen election interference" and fraud over a presidential election poll that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading in Iowa.
The White House, in coordination with the FBI and other officials, has determined that the mysterious drones recently reported across the country are "legal" and "lawful."