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When a franchise successfully transitions out of a legendary era without collapsing into a total rebuild, maintaining momentum becomes the ultimate goal. Few teams in the NFL have managed that post-superstar transition quite like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With head coach Todd Bowles entering another year at the helm and quarterback Baker Mayfield firmly entrenched as the franchise leader, Tampa Bay is aiming to prove that its reign atop the NFC South is far from over and that its postseason pedigree is here to stay.

The Buccaneers once again found themselves locked in a tight divisional battle, ultimately losing out on the NFC South crown. At their best, Mayfield was playing with confidence, pushing the ball downfield and making big plays in high-leverage situations while the offense operated with real rhythm. At their worst, defensive secondary lapses and occasional offensive lulls kept opponents in games longer than necessary. Mayfield looked like an MVP for the first half of the season when the team went 6-2. After their bye week, the wheels fell off as they lost seven of their final nine games. Injuries were an issue all year, but they still needed to be better than what they showed.

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The biggest issue in my opinion with this offseason is that Mayfield has kind of expressed frustration, or disappointment, with the franchise. They were apparently far apart on a contract, and that could make Mayfield a little less motivated for the team. They also lost one of the best players in franchise history in Mike Evans as he went to San Francisco. They have plenty of receivers, but Evans was still dominant and had a good connection with Mayfield. They also lost a cornerback who was a solid contributor to the defense, Jamel Dean. They did some solid additions to the defense with Alex Anzalone and A’Shawn Robinson. Cade Otton, their tight end, is back, so Mayfield will have another weapon.

There is a solid reason for optimism when looking at Tampa Bay’s roster makeup. The offense operates smoothly with Mayfield, supported by a proven receiving corps capable of winning at all three levels of the field. The run game has shown steady improvement, providing much-needed balance to keep defenses from dropping seven into coverage on every third down.

On defense, Todd Bowles’ unit remains aggressive and physical up front, anchored by strong interior line play that shuts down opposing ground games. However, depth in the secondary and consistency against high-octane passing attacks remain areas that could be tested if injuries accumulate during the autumn stretch. Adding Zac Robinson as the new offensive coordinator should also prove a good addition.

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In case you forgot, last year the Buccaneers were luckier than good. I saw Mayfield make some spectacular plays and save the day for them in the majority of their wins. Looking at their schedule for this year, they have a tough time. Their win total is at 8.5, and I just don’t see them getting over the total. I think the Falcons will likely be better, and the Panthers have a bit of momentum. I’m not taking anything on them, but I would lean to the under 8.5 if I had to play anything. I think my favorite bet for them is that they will be 1-4 after five games. That pays out at +500.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024

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A former University of Kentucky student-athlete has pleaded guilty to charges related to the death of her infant son, who was found inside a trash bag in a closet.

Laken Snelling, 22, a member of the university's STUNT team, initially pleaded not guilty before changing her plea on Friday in connection with her newborn's death, FOX 56 reported. She was indicted by a Fayette County grand jury and faced a slew of charges, including abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.

"I was under a lot of emotional stress and my baby came unexpectedly," Snelling said while crying in court. "And instead of helping him, I ended his life and afterward I cleaned up and didn’t tell anyone."

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When asked by Judge Diane Minnifield how she ended the baby's life, Snelling said: "I deprived him of oxygen."

Commonwealth's attorney Kimberly Baird said that Snelling’s attorney approached prosecutors as plans changed.

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"This was a case that needed to go straight to the grand jury anyway, as opposed to just entering a plea," Baird said, according to the news outlet. "The grand jury returned the indictment for first-degree manslaughter, and then they returned and suggested that offer. We accepted."

Officers in Lexington responded to reports of an unresponsive infant on Aug. 27, 2024, and found the child's remains inside a black trash bag, according to a news release from the city of Lexington. The baby's body was cold.

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Snelling was arrested days later. She told staff at the University of Kentucky hospital that she heard the newborn "whimper" at birth and "guessed" he was alive, according to an affidavit previously cited by FOX 56.

The baby also showed "a little fetal movement," the court document stated. Snelling told investigators that she was awake for 30 minutes after giving birth before passing out on top of the baby. When she woke up, she saw the newborn "turning blue and purple," court documents state.

She believed the baby was dead, so she "wrapped him like a burrito" and laid next to him, saying it "gave her comfort," officials said. At some point, she told her roommates that she was going to see a doctor because she had fainted from not eating.

Afterward, she picked up McDonald’s and went to the student health clinic but "did not go inside," the affidavit stated.

A subsequent search of Snelling’s phone revealed she had deleted labor photos and evidence of the pregnancy, police said.

Snelling faces up to 10 years in prison.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Snelling's attorney and the Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for comment.

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Drivers are waiting hours in fuel queues, as Moscow prepares to celebrate Russian Flag Day.

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Democratic socialist Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, who recently won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, blasted the idea of restricting children’s access to drag shows, and called such entertainment "wholesome" during an interview in August.

During a sit-down with Nixon on the "Legal AF" podcast, Melba Pearson, a criminal law expert and civil rights advocate, appeared to conflate Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which concerns children’s education, with the Protection of Children Act that restricts minors' access to drag shows.

"I believe it was today or yesterday, the appeals court upheld that, the law that basically we call ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ that the biggest provision that everybody’s most familiar with is that it makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to be at a drag show," Melba said. "So basically it’s criminalizing drag in a lot of ways, right? And so, you know, in seeing that, what does that tell you and how can you translate that into policy, you know, when you get to D.C.?"

"Yeah, for sure. What that is telling me is that there’s an attack on an 'othering' of people who don’t look like Donald Trump. Like, right?" Nixon said. "Like, it is just an attack on marginalized communities. They want to create this country that looks a certain way, that acts a certain way, that believes a certain way. And it’s frustrating."

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She went on to defend drag shows as "wholesome entertainment," saying she has taken her own children to shows.

"I don’t understand, like, there’s no sexualization at a drag show! It’s just people dressing up and singing and performing! I’ve taken my children to drag shows, and it’s fun! It’s entertainment," she said. "It’s wholesome entertainment and it’s nothing wrong. It’s just like, I don’t get it."

Theo Wold, former assistant attorney general and former White House deputy assistant for domestic policy under President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital that Nixon's statement was inaccurate.

"Drag has always been sexualized entertainment — that’s why it originated in bars and nightclubs in front of adult audiences. On one hand, DSA candidates like Rashida Tlaib endorsed Angie Nixon, want to Islamify America by opening our borders, and electing radical Muslim clerics to high office, especially our courts; on the other hand, they want to bring drag performers to kids," he said.

"It doesn’t make sense until you understand their larger project, which is to destabilize Western civilization — whether by undermining our legal regime or by destabilizing the nuclear family," he said.

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Curtis Houck, the managing editor of the NewsBusters division of the Media Research Center, suggested that certain news networks will desperately try to avoid covering Nixon's comments.

"Needless to say, it's doubtful this will be a comment that's played on the regular across the liberal, elitist networks like ABC or CNN in the months to come as proof she's outside the mainstream," Houck said.

"It's a completely cockamamie claim that, if the so-called fact-checkers like Politifact were honest brokers, they would have already penned an item with a pants-on-fire rating. The only thing that's ‘wholesome’ about drag shows is how wholly sexual they are. Even those who support that kind of thing should be able to acknowledge that. What a grotesque commentary on the left that someone like her would want young children to attend drag shows," Houck added.

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Founder of Gays Against Groomers, Jaimee Michell, condemned Nixon's statements of drag shows being wholesome family events as "dangerous" lies.

"Angie Nixon’s comments are a lie, and a dangerous one," Michell told Fox News Digital.

"There is no shortage of video of drag performers in pasties, thongs, or barely-there costumes grinding, twerking, and simulating sex in front of children — including babies and toddlers — while those kids are encouraged to stuff dollar bills into their outfits. That is not 'people dressing up and singing.' That is adult sexual performance. Calling it 'wholesome entertainment' is gaslighting," she said.

Michell also said that the practice of drag was inherently sexual and built on "exaggerated, hyper-sexualized parody of women."

"Nixon taking her own children to these shows does not make it wholesome. It makes her judgment a warning," she added. "Florida passed a law to keep minors out of lewd live performances for a reason. This is not about banning adults from performing. It is about whether we are going to keep pretending that exposing kids to nearly nude adults collecting tips is just 'fun.' It isn’t.

"Nixon is wrong, the footage proves it, and Florida voters already know it," Michell said.

Nixon, a progressive activist and DSA member, defeated establishment-backed candidate and retired Air Force officer Alexander Vindman by more than 10 percentage points despite Vindman’s $16.3 million campaign war chest, compared with Nixon’s roughly $1 million.

Nixon will now face Trump-backed Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., in November for the right to serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s Senate term.

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Another Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member just toppled the party establishment’s preferred candidate, this time in Florida.

Florida state lawmaker Angie Nixon, who recently disrupted a vote in the Florida Legislature with a bullhorn protest inside the state Capitol, defeated establishment-backed candidate Alexander Vindman. Nixon, a progressive activist and DSA member, defeated the retired Air Force officer by more than 10 percentage points despite Vindman’s $16.3 million campaign war chest, compared with Nixon’s roughly $1 million.

Nixon’s viral moment came in April when she took a bullhorn to a legislative fight, walking down the aisle and disrupting proceedings on the Florida House floor during final passage of a redistricting bill backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Dressed in a pink jumpsuit and carrying a pink megaphone, Nixon approached the House speaker's dais and shouted to fellow Florida representatives as the final vote was called. She shouted, "This is a violation of the Constitution! It is!"

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Nixon continued shouting into the bullhorn for the entirety of the vote. She insisted, "What y’all are doing is illegal!" and "I will not allow you to destroy our democracy!" As she shouted, several colleagues could be seen filming her on their phones.

The protest did not stop the vote. While she continued shouting, "You are out of order!" and "This is a violation of the Constitution," the Florida House granted final approval of the redistricting bill in an 83-28 vote.

A month later, WUSF reported that Nixon was arrested after she refused to leave DeSantis’ office while protesting the redistricting measure. She was released shortly afterward.

WUSF previously reported that Nixon self-identified as a member of the DSA.

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Nixon also publicly objected to resolutions honoring the late Charlie Kirk. In a September social media post, Nixon called it "BEYOND disrespectful" to honor Kirk because, as she wrote, "that man said some of the most hateful about [sic] Black People and cloaked it in scripture."

Nixon claimed that if someone supported honoring Kirk, "you are a tool of white supremacy." After his assassination, Nixon also claimed that Kirk was "homophobic, antisemitic, [and] misogynistic."

On her campaign website, Nixon vows to fight for what she calls a "working families guarantee," which she says includes Medicare for all, free childcare, a national rent freeze, a moratorium on evictions and a universal jobs program with inflation-adjusted wages. Her website says the government could pay for the programs by taxing billionaires "so that everyone pays their fair share" and by prioritizing "the needs of everyday Americans instead of spending trillions on war and violence overseas."

Nixon also advocates for "abolishing ICE and rebuilding immigration enforcement from scratch." Nixon has said, "I don’t believe any person is illegal, and I don’t believe human beings should be treated as commodities in a system built to punish rather than to heal."

On policing, Nixon has called for "demilitarizing policing and investing in community-based public safety, violence prevention and crisis response."

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Nixon has also claimed that the U.S. has "fueled the genocide in Palestine."

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Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon and the DSA for comment.

Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.

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Prime Minister Carney hailed "significant progress" in trade talks as the two countries seek to hammer out final details ahead of a new weekend tariff deadline.

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The Trump administration has vowed to dismantle the international court "brick by brick".

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