Florida
Pope names pro-immigrant pastor bishop of Florida diocese where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is located
Pope Leo XIV on Friday named the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of a predominantly Hispanic church in the Queens borough of New York City, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.
The diocese is home to the Mar-a-Lago estate of President Donald Trump, whose get-tough immigration policies have drawn objections from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Rodriguez has been a staunch advocate for migrants, which make up most of his 17,000 congregants at the Our Lady of Sorrows church — the largest parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn, which also oversees churches in Queens.
“I never, never, never expected anything even close to this,” Rodriguez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday from Palm Beach, where he was visiting a homeless shelter.
“I’m even a little bit scared. But I trust in God’s assistance,” he said. “One thing I can tell you is that this diocese is a diocese of hard-working priests and hard-working people, and I’m here to help.”
The Diocese of Palm Beach comprises about 260,000 Catholics and 54 parishes and missions. On its website, the diocese said that Rodriguez will be ordained and installed at a future date during a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.
A Dominican native
Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic and ordained to the priesthood in 2004, in the capital, Santo Domingo. He led the Our Lady of Sorrows parish in the mostly Latino Corona neighborhood of Queens when more than 100 of its parishioners died from COVID-19.
Earlier this year, Rodriguez joined numerous faith leaders across the U.S. expressing their concern about how the immigration crackdown launched by Trump’s administration had sown fear within their migrant-friendly congregations.
In his new assignment, he will lead the diocese where Mar-a-Lago — Trump’s vast south Florida estate — is located. Trump has called the resort the “Center of the Universe.”
“The president is doing really good things, not only for the United States, but for the world. But when it comes to the migrant, the immigration policy, we want to help,” Rodriguez said. “We want to assist the president as a church because we believe that we can do better … than the way we’re doing this right now.”
Some church leaders have condemned Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying it targets parishioners without a criminal record who are now too scared to leave home to attend Mass, buy food or seek medical care.
At many immigrant parishes, U.S.-born children have parents in the country illegally. Some of these parents have signed caregiver affidavits, which designate a legal guardian, in hopes their children stay out of foster care in case they are detained.
“When it comes to enforcing immigration laws, we shouldn’t be enforcing them by focusing on deporting 5-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 9-year-old kids, people that have never committed any crime. So, we’re here to help. We’re willing to help, and God willing, we will,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he’s in line with the Catholic Church, which staunchly defends the rights of migrants, even as it acknowledges the rights of nations to control their borders.
“The Church’s position about this important and urgent matter has been made crystal clear by the bishops of the United States,” he said.
Immigration a challenging issue for Catholic bishops
The Vatican announced Rodríguez’s appointment the day after it shared that Pope Leo had accepted the resignation of conservative Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan who led the New York archdiocese and also had ties to Trump, including praying at his inauguration earlier this year and being appointed to his Religious Liberty Commission.
On some issues, such as greater inclusion for LGBTQ+ people, U.S. bishops are divided. But on immigration, even conservative Catholic leaders stand on the side of migrants.
During their general assembly earlier this year, U.S. bishops issued a rare “special message” criticizing the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants and their “vilification” in the current migration debate. It also lamented the fear and anxiety immigration raids have sown in communities, and the denial of pastoral care to migrants in detention centers.
U.S. Catholic bishops shuttered their longstanding refugee resettlement program after the Trump administration halted federal funding for resettlement aid.
Rodriguez said the church will always be ready to defend the dignity of poor people and migrants, who over generations, “have contributed to the growth of the United States.”
“Migrants are not to be demonized … Good migrant people that are here to work hard for their families — they share many of our core values,” he said. “They’re to be not to be rejected and treated harshly but instead, they’re to be treated respectfully and with dignity. So, that’s the idea, and Pope Leo is backing us up in this.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
In 2025, the Ole Miss Rebels’ PA announcer came over the mic and proclaimed “B.T.A.” after they beat the Florida Gators 34-24.
That Rebels team has some key pieces coming back for their 2026 campaign, but they will be playing a totally different Florida team. However, if the Rebels did what they did last year, they will have a great chance of beating the Gators this season.
Kewan Lacy Repeat
Last year, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns against Florida. He had himself a day, and though he will be going against a different defensive style in 2026, it is still a scheme that he and the Rebels have seen.
The Florida Gators hired new head coach Jon Sumrall last winter to bring back a winning mindset to Florida.
Ole Miss got to see the defense Sumrall runs twice this past season when he was the head coach at Tulane. Lacy rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns in their two games against Tulane.
If Lacy does what he did last year to the Gators, the Rebels have a great shot to win this game.
The Trinidad Chambliss & Deuce Alexander Connection
In addition to Lacy having two great games against Sumrall’s defense, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and wide receiver Deuce Alexander both showed out as well.
Chambliss threw for 589 yards and threw three touchdown passes. He also rushed for an additional 148 yards.
Furthermore, Chambliss showed a lot of patience in the pocket and progressed through his reads quite well. He just tore apart Tulane’s defense, and a lot of that happened with the help of his receiver, Alexander.
Alexander had the most receptions in both games against the Green Wave. He totaled 11 catches for 181 yards and one touchdown.
Chambliss found Alexander down the field a lot in both these games, and the duo will be a huge threat to the Gators in 2026.
Take Florida seriously
Florida has struggled in the past few years, but they are no cake walk. In their last two seasons, they have gone 12-13 but have proved they can beat good teams.
This includes upsetting Ole Miss and ruining their playoff run in 2024. That game was in Gainesville, where the Rebels will return for the game against the Gators in 2026.
The Florida Gators have made many moves to their roster and coaching staff. This team is a lot different from last year. A new team has the ability to surprise a lot of people.
Golding and the Rebels must recognize that and prepare diligently for a battle against the Gators.
The Rebels have a better team going into this game, and if they can repeat what they did so well against Sumrall’s defense last year, they will walk out of Gainesville with a huge win in what could be an early turning point of the season.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Florida baseball’s Brendan Lawson home run vs Rider in NCAA Gainesville Regional
Florida baseball topped Rider in walkoff fashion behind Brendan Lawson’s home run. See the moment.
Florida baseball is now one win away from returning to a Super Regional for the first time in three years.
The Gators dispatched in-state rival Miami behind seven home runs to come away with a 22-10 win over the Hurricanes to reach the Gainesville Regional final on Saturday, May 30, at Condron Ballpark.
Florida (41-19) jumped out to a 6-1 lead over Miami, but the Hurricanes steadily chipped away at the deficit.
After Miami hit a solo home run in the first inning, Florida quickly answered with six runs in the bottom of the frame, which was highlighted by a 3-run homer from Cade Kurland.
The two teams traded runs as Miami delivered back-to-back RBI hits in the third with Karson Bowen hitting a solo home run to make the score 7-4. Then, in the fourth inning, the Hurricanes picked up two more runs, while Bredan Lawson scored on a fielding error as Miami (39-19) narrowed UF’s lead to 8-6.
The Hurricanes tied the game in the fifth inning after a run was walked in and another scored on a fielder’s choice.
Florida then erupted for a seven-run rally with two outs in the sixth inning. Miami needed four different arms to get out of the inning before Kyle Jones hit a decisive 3-run double to build a 15-8 lead.
Miami picked up two more runs in the eighth inning, but the Gators answered decisively by hitting five home runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away.
Here’s what happened in Florida’s win over Miami:
The Gators hit five different home runs in the eighth inning, which came from Kurland, Blake Cyr, Brendan Lawson, Ethan Surowiec and Karson Bowen.
Cade Kurland hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to extend Florida’s lead over Miami to 16-10.
In the eighth inning, Jackson Barberi surrenders an RBI single. He then get hits by a line drive, which allows a run to score as Miami narrows Florida’s lead to 15-10.
The Gators plate seven runs all with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Canes walked back-to-back runs, which is followed by an infield error that plates another run. Karson Bowen scored on a wild and Kyle Jones delivers a 3-run double build Florida a 15-8 lead over Miami. The Canes have made four pitching changes in the inning.
The Hurricanes score for a third straight inning as they pick up two more runs in the fifth to make it an 8-8 game. Luke McNeillie walked in a run, which led to him exiting the game. Florida failed to turn a double play and allowed the tying run to score.
Another throwing error to first base allows for Brendan Lawson to score from first base and extend UF’s leads to 8-6 in the bottom of the fourth.
Luke McNeillie throws a wild pitch, which allows for the Hurricanes to score a run and narrow the score to 7-6 in the fourth inning.
Aidan King’s night is done after allowing an RBI single as Miami narrows the score to 7-5 in the top of the fourth inning. King allowed five runs from eights and recorded three strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Luke McNeillie enters the game on the mound.
Karson Bowen hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning to extend UF’s lead to 7-4
Miami narrows the score to 6-4 after plating three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Aidan King gave up four straight hits with two outs, which included an RBI double and a 2-run single.
The Gators answer quickly in the bottom of the frame as UF takes a 6-1 lead over Miami. Kyle Jones scores from a fielding error followed by Ethan Surowiec driving in a run with a sac fly. Karson Bowen came up with an infield RBI single, while Cade Kurland delivered a 3-run homer over the left field wall.
Before the inning ends, Miami takes out starting pitcher AJ Ciscar.
The Canes hit a solo home run from the fourth pitch of the games.
Miami’s Jake Ogden hits a home run off the fourth pitch of the game to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Aidan King then gives up a double and a hit by pitch, but gets out of the jam with a double play.
- CF Kyle Jones
- SS Brendan Lawson
- LF Blake Cyr
- 3B Ethan Surowiec
- DH Caden McDonald
- C Karson Bowen
- 1B Landon Stripling
- 2B Cade Kurland
- RF Hayden Yost
On the mound is Aidan King
How to watch Florida baseball vs Miami
TV Channel: ACC Netowrk
Streaming: ESPN+
Florida vs. Miami will be broadcast nationally on the ACC Network on Saturday, May 30. Eric Frede and Lance Cormier will call the game from the booth at Condron Family Ballpark.
Stream Florida baseball vs Miami
Florida baseball vs Miami projected starting pitchers
RHP Aidan King (2-5, 4.00 ERA) vs RHP AJ Ciscar (4.44 ERA, 5-4)
Florida baseball upcoming schedule
- NCAA Regionals, May 29-June 1
- NCAA Super Regionals, June 5-8
- College World Series, June 12-22
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
A Florida woman was arrested after she drove onto a golf course while intoxicated, crashed her car, and found with dozens of miniature bottles of Fireball whiskey, according to authorities.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified her as 34-year-old Erika Mayer, of Palmetto.
“She was smashed,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a video shared on X earlier this week. “She was drunk — capital DRUNK. Wrecked her car. She said, ‘But I haven’t been drinking.’
The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a single-car crash near Streamsong Golf Resort on May 14 shortly before 7 p.m. When deputies arrived, they found a red 2018 Hyundai resting on a sidewalk and a woman sitting beside the car.
Investigators said Mayer appeared impaired, displayed slurred speech, poor balance, and incoherent behavior. Deputies also detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath, the sheriff’s office said.
A witness told deputies they saw Mayer driving across one of the golf courses in the area before the crash.
Judd said deputies searched Mayer’s car, where they found 21 open mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, two empty 50 milliliter bottles of 99 Brand liqueurs, and an unopened 10-pack of Fireball.
“And she had empty Fireball bottles in her pants,” Judd said, adding that she was “drunker than Cooter Brown” and “had no idea where she was.”
Deputies said they asked Mayer to perform field sobriety exercises and provide breath samples, but she refused both requests.
According to Judd, Mayer told deputies she declined the tests because she heard it was a bad idea to participate in field sobriety exercises.
Mayer was arrested and charged with DUI, DUI with property damage, and refusing to submit to a DUI test. She was also cited for failure to drive within a single lane and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (3)
No one was hurt in connection with the crash, authorities said.
-
Arkansas1 minute agoKansas baseball earns chance at NCAA regional title, defeats Arkansas
-
California4 minutes agoCalifornia reports one of largest drops in homelessness in past year, Hud reports
-
Colorado9 minutes agoPolice arrest burglary suspect in southeast Colorado Springs
-
Connecticut16 minutes agoMan arrested after stealing from Connecticut Children’s Hospital donation bin
-
Delaware19 minutes agoISP investigating after Delaware County Sheriff deputy shoots at vehicle
-
Florida24 minutes agoWhat Wins the Game For Ole Miss vs. Florida
-
Georgia31 minutes agoGeorgia football picks up two commitments for 2027 recruiting class
-
Hawaii34 minutes agoMan charged with murder in killings of 3 on Hawaii’s Big Island | CNN
