After a stellar run at Memphis Mike Norvell has had a rollercoaster run in Tallahassee as the Florida State Seminoles head football coach. Norvell finished his four year stint at Memphis with a 38-15 record.
Florida
When the word ‘big’ isn’t big enough: FLORIDA TODAY looks at NASA’s VAB and giant cruise ship
Take a look inside KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building
Florida Today reporter Brooke Edwards talks with KSC’s Elizabeth Kline about the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building’s past, present and future
Sometimes it’s fun to go big.
Sunday’s FLORIDA TODAY takes a deeper look at an iconic Space Coast building and a new boat docking at Port Canaveral — and in both cases, the word “big” isn’t even big enough to describe them.
Let’s start with the boat. Look for Business Editor Dave Berman’s detailed report on our Style cover of everything you need to know about Utopia of the Seas, the world’s second largest cruise ship, which started its twice-weekly sailings from Port Canaveral this weekend.
Dave’s story on this new Royal Caribbean ship covers everything from what to expect in the restaurants to the ship’s famous godmother. Here are some fun numbers from Dave’s story that really illustrate the size of this floating city: Utopia features 18 decks (including 16 passenger decks); 2,834 staterooms; a crew of 2,290; and is 1,188 feet long. It has 22 restaurants; 13 bars and lounges; five pools; eight hot tubs; two casinos with more than 370 slot machines and nearly 30 table games; two rock-climbing walls; and a mini-golf course.
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Next up in the go big category is NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building. Whenever I drive over the State Road 520 causeway, I’m always awed by the site of the VAB in the distance. Space Reporter Brooke Edwards decided to take a deeper look at its history and future timed around the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, which, of course, the VAB was constructed to support.
The VAB stands 525 feet, making it the equivalent to a 50-story structure. That’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and just under half the size of the Empire State Building. But what’s so remarkable about this building is that it’s all one giant single-story structure; it’s not subdivided like a typical skyscraper. And, of course, what’s even more remarkable is what it represents: our nation’s space ambitions, both those already achieved and those still being planned.
“You kind of think about it, the elevator cars themselves are original to the building, and you think about the past and think ‘all those people have stood where I’m standing right now’,” Elizabeth Kline, the element operations manager for the VAB, told Brooke.
I hope you not only spend time with our VAB story but also go to floridatoday.com to scroll through the accompanying photo galleries. Our photographers have captured stunning images of this historic building through the years.
Other stories I hope you don’t miss in Sunday’s FLORIDA TODAY:
- Our front page story on Brevard County’s budget proposal for next year. Dave Berman walks you through the priorities — and what this budget would mean for your taxes. It’s probably no surprise that roads and other transportation-related infrastructure from bridges to sidewalks are top priorities. And topping that to-do list is widening and improving Ellis Road.
- Education Reporter Finch Walker showcases some of Brevard’s talented youth who competed this month in the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics during the NAACP national convention in Las Vegas.
- Get some insight on investing from our financial planner columnist.
- For all those pickleball fans out there, Trending Reporter Michelle Spitzer tells you about an indoor pickleball facility coming to Brevard. Playing indoors might be particularly welcome to those of us who are extra vulnerable to insect bites. Michelle also gives us the scoop on mosquitoes and why they bite some people more than others.
- Finally, today is National Ice Cream Day. Read our story inside Sunday’s newspaper then get out there and enjoy a scoop (or two). What’s your favorite flavor? Mine is mocha chip.
Starting this week, we’ll be rolling out our local August primary election preview stories. We’ve got reporters working on many of the key races around Brevard County, so look for those stories at floridatoday.com and in your newspaper. Our goal is to make sure you have as much information as you need before casting your ballot.
Executive Editor Mara Bellaby can be reached at mbellaby@floridatoday.com. Thank you for subscribing and supporting local journalism.
At FSU Norvell started off slow winning only eight games in two years. Then the ‘Noles had an awakening and won 23 games from 2022-2023. And now that reality has come crashing back down with seven wins the past two seasons.
FSU will have 17 transfers in the 2-deep once again in 2026. It’s become a double-edged sword where he only way Norvell can keep his job (buyout be damned) after this year is to inject talent into the roster but he’s got a bad culture in the field house up at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Now let’s put the ‘Noles through The Goal, our 2026 Summer Scheming analysis system.
Acquisition: The ’Noles high school recruiting hasn’t been as ‘bad’ s advertised. FSU is 16th over the past three years in prep signings and 14th when it comes to the transfer portal for an average of 15th overall.
Development: Now this is the crazy part. Over the past couple of years the ‘Noles have only produced eight NFL players. Only eight have stuck it out from the 2025 and 2026 NFL Draft classes. Remember all of those drafts loaded with FSU talent like Jameis Winston and Jared Verse? Right now it’s Deuce Robinson and who else?
Deployment: This preseason Bill Connelly’s SP+ has FSU 35th in overall SP+. The Seminole offense is 45th, the defense 30th and the kicking game is 94th. So where as Mike Norvell has the 15th best players he’s producing the 35th best team. He’s revamped his coordinators once again sending Gus Malzahn off to the glue factory and promoting Tim Harris Jr to OC.
The bottleneck to success at FSU is the culture within the program. The Seminoles went hellbent on the transfer portal to improve from 5-7 to 10-3 and dipped their toe in again to move to 13-1. They were Jordan Travis’ leg away from competing for a national championship. But injuries do happen and losing your starting QB is a devastating one.
Mike Norvell has taken the Manny Diaz approach to the transfer portal and it’s killed any semblance of a culture that could possibly have been built in the FSU locker room AND he’s losing games.
The FSU strength of schedule is 45th of 138 in FBS per CFB News. Florida State faces SMU before an off week. Then they head to Tuscaloosa to play the Alabama Crimson Tide. After a cupcake, FSU hosts UVA before consecutive road trips to Louisville and Miami. The ‘Noles also face Clemson, Pitt and Florida over the back half of the schedule.
The inventory space includes returning production per Bill Connelly, the On3 top-100 list and the Athlon preseason All-Conference Team honorees. The ’Noles returning production is 48th in FBS at 57% production. FSU has two players on the On3 top-100 list in WR Deuce Robinson (74th) and DL Mandrell Desir (97th). The ‘Noles have one player on the Athlon All-ACC Team and that’s Robinson.
FSU hit the transfer portal for four of their five potential starting OL in ‘26. They also brought in QB Ashton Daniels (Auburn) and RB Quintrevion Wisner (Texas). Daniels is another FSU QB with a penchant for throwing interceptions.
Robinson averaged 19.3 yards per catch with six scores in 2025. Wisner adds over four yards per carry and three TD’s from his run at Texas. On defense M. Desir returns with 7.5 TFL’s and 6.5 sacks from a year ago.
Southern Miss transfer LB Chris Jones logged 9.5 TFL’s and 3.5 sacks a year ago. Another transfer, this one DB Nehemiah Chandler, picked up 13 PBU’s last season with two INT’s.
Mike Norvell is committing highway robbery with the past two seasons performances. After the 13-1 season and the Alabama opening with Nick Saban’s retirement, Norvell landed himself a nice raise up to $10.3M a season. The issue is they’ve only won six games per season under Norvell which adds up to $1.7M per win. That’s second to only Bill Belichick in the grand theft coaching category.
There is no chance the goal at FSU is anything short of eight wins. What a sad cry from only three seasons ago when the ‘Noles were potentially a national championship program. That’s the crux of the transfer portal, live by the transfer / die by the transfer.
Highly successful clubs have started to be extremely careful with who comes in and out of their program, think: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Indiana and even lately- Miami. The vetting process is pivotal for not bottlenecking your success by bringing in locker room cancers.
Season Prediction: I can see this winding up anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5. They’ve got the 2nd most players on the On3 top-11 than anyone else on Miami’s schedule (ND has five). They also have the 15th best grouping of talent in the country. And yet I just can’t see Daniels, four new OL, a new RB, and another dozen guys on defense gelling together under Mike Norvell and into some phoenix that rises from the ashes of the ACC cellar.
An Iranian-made drone displayed at the Biltmore Hotel served as a stark warning from national security advocates and South Florida officials who say Cuba’s growing military ties with Iran could pose a threat to the United States.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, chairman of the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, joined U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida, to highlight concerns about what they say are roughly 300 Iranian drones that have been delivered to Cuba.
Standing alongside one of the drones, Bush described the weapon as among the deadliest battlefield threats faced by American forces in recent years.
“Most loss of life of the U.S. military than any single weapon that exists over the last 15 years,” Bush said.
Gimenez warned that the drones’ capabilities make them particularly concerning because of their ability to carry significant explosive payloads over long distances.
“This particular model, there is about over 100 pounds of explosives,” Gimenez said. “That’s a pretty big bang. That’s why they call them kamikaze drones — they crash into their target and they explode.”
According to Gimenez, the drones can reach speeds of about 115 miles per hour and travel more than 1,000 miles, placing South Florida well within range. He said the aircraft could also reach the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay and other cities throughout the southeastern United States, including Tallahassee and Atlanta.
The congressman said one of the primary concerns is the potential for Iran-style drone warfare tactics, in which large numbers of drones are launched simultaneously to overwhelm air defense systems.
While the United States has sophisticated defense systems capable of intercepting incoming drones, Gimenez noted that a successful strike may require only one, or a handful of aircraft to penetrate those defenses.
The event was organized by United Against Nuclear Iran, which has sought to draw attention to expanding military and strategic cooperation between Iran and countries aligned with its interests, including Cuba.
Supporters of the group’s effort say the growing presence of Iranian military technology in the Western Hemisphere warrants increased attention from policymakers and defense officials.
For South Florida residents, the warning underscores the region’s proximity to Cuba and the continuing role the island nation plays in broader geopolitical tensions involving the United States and its adversaries.
Body camera video shows a man fighting with Florida deputies who were trying to rescue him from a snake-and-alligator-infested canal, authorities said.
The incident happened July 3 when Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a man lying on the ground shirtless in front of an elementary school.
The man, 47-year-old Ryan McMinn, who had been then subject of a previous welfare check, fled on foot, the sheriff’s office said.
A short time later, authorities received a call about a man trying to climb on the side of a house in Palm Coast.
Deputies responded and found McMinn near the canal behind the house and when he spotted the deputies, McMinn ran into the canal and started swimming, authorities said.
“What’s your name?” a deputy asks him in the bodycam footage, as McMinn is seen swimming backwards. “You getting tired?”
Officials said McMinn was ordered to get out of the water multiple times but refused, and when he started to show signs of exhaustion, two deputies went into the canal to pull him out.
The video released by the sheriff’s office on Monday shows the deputies wading into the water before a struggle ensues.
Authorities said McMinn tried to grab one deputy’s head to push it under the water, before he tried to grab the neck of the other deputy.
The deputies were able to get control of McMinn and get him safely to shore.
He was hospitalized before he was arrested and booked into jail on two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer.
“Battering a Deputy Sheriff will guarantee you the loss of your freedom and a trip to jail,” Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said. “These deputies went into the water to rescue this guy, and he responded by fighting them. I commend our deputies for their willingness to get in a canal that usually have snakes and gators and pull this guy to safety before he drowned.”
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