Florida
Dream hire Florida Gulf Coast’s Smesko as coach
The Atlanta Dream hired longtime Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko to lead the team Wednesday.
Smesko built Florida Gulf Coast into a perennial NCAA Tournament team and has the third highest winning percentage (.829) in women’s college basketball over his 23 years at the school. The Eagles have been one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country yearly. They knocked down 300 or more 3-pointers in 15 straight seasons, including setting the NCAA record with 431 in 2018.
“Karl is a proven leader with a history of developing his players and creating a winning culture,” Dream GM Dan Padover said. “His fast-paced, innovative style of play will be attractive to our players and fans alike. We are excited to have Karl bring his incredible basketball IQ to the Dream.”
The 54-year-old Smesko will join the franchise later this month.
Atlanta went 15-25 this year and had to win its last few games to qualify for the playoffs. There’s a strong young nucleus with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray leading the way along with veteran center Tina Charles. The Dream haven’t had a winning record since the 2018 season.
“This is an exciting moment for our fans, the city of Atlanta, and the entire Dream organization,” Dream owner Larry Gottesdiener said. “A great basketball mind is coming to our city. Karl’s passion for and commitment to women’s basketball bring out the best in everyone around him. I am confident we have found the right leader to take our organization to the next level.”
The Dream fired former coach Tanisha Wright last month after Atlanta fell in the opening round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
Atlanta was one of a record seven WNBA coaching openings this offseason. Three now have been filled with Stephanie White going to Indiana and Ty Marsh taking over in Chicago. Washington, Dallas, Los Angeles and Connecticut still have vacancies.
Florida
Florida couple in alleged embryo mix-up have identified biological parents of ‘non-caucasian’ baby
A Florida couple who claimed a fertility clinic error led the woman giving birth to a “non-Caucasian child” who was not related to them said they have identified their child’s biological parents, according to reports.
“The results of testing delivered to us today confirm that our baby’s genetic parents have been identified,” Tiffany Score and Steven Mills said in a statement obtained by People on Wednesday.
Score and Mills filed a lawsuit in January against Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging that another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus in April 2025.
The mix-up led to the birth of their now 4-month-old daughter, Shea, who is not biologically related to them, the filing alleged.
“This ends one chapter in our heartbreaking journey, but it raises new issues that will have to be resolved,” the statement continued. “In addition, questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and are even more unlikely to ever be answered.”
“Only one thing is as absolutely certain today as it was on the day our daughter was born —we will love and will be this child’s parents forever.”
The couple added that they will respect the privacy of Shea’s biological parents and will keep their identities “confidential.”
Score and Mills, who are both white, stored three viable embryos at the Longwood clinic in 2020 for in vitro fertilization, a process that creates embryos and stores them until pregnancy.
Five years later, after an embryo was implanted, the couple gave birth to a “beautiful, healthy female child” on Dec. 11, 2025, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 22 in Orange County Circuit Court and obtained by Law & Crime.
“Tragically, while both Jane Doe and John Doe are racially Caucasian, Baby Doe displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child,” the lawsuit said.
Further genetic testing confirmed that baby Shea had no biological relationship to either parent — raising questions about where their embryos had gone or whether another woman was impregnated with their biological child.
The new parents had an “intensely strong emotional bond” with their child during pregnancy and wished to keep the girl, but recognized she “should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents so long as they are fit, able and willing to take her,” the lawsuit stated.
Scarola told People, following Wednesday’s development, that Shea’s biological parents have not made any requests to take her into custody.
“Remaining questions about the fate of Tiffany and Steven’s unaccounted for embryos…are still pending,” Scarola said.
“The current legal proceeding will remain open to address those matters,” the attorney added. “However, we expect that we will now also begin to focus on the need for our clients to be compensated for the expenses they have incurred and the severe emotional trauma that they endured and will continue to experience.”
The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced earlier this month that it would close by May 20 — a decision leadership said was made after “thoughtful consideration.”
Neither Scarola nor the clinic immediately responded to The Post’s request for comment.
Florida
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Florida
Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university
Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.
“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.
Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.
In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.
“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.
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