FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers have canceled plans to receive their Stanley Cup championship rings at a public event Monday night, doing so out of concerns about Hurricane Milton as it bears down on the state.
Fans had been invited to attend the event for a $20 donation that would have benefited the team's foundation, the United Negro College Fund and the United Way. Players will now receive their rings in a private ceremony on Monday, the team said.
For now, the Panthers’ opening regular-season game — and Stanley Cup banner unveiling — against the Boston Bruins is scheduled to go on as planned on Tuesday night in Sunrise.
“As this event would take resources from first responders and service providers, we have made the tough decision to cancel our Champions Ring Ceremony out of an abundance of caution for the safety of all involved," Panthers President and CEO Matthew Caldwell said Sunday night. “We will instead distribute our championship rings privately.”
Milton intensified Sunday and forecasters expect it will become a major hurricane, one that could approach the Tampa Bay area on the state's Gulf coast by Wednesday. Much of that side of the state is still dealing with the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 51 counties in Florida — including Broward, where the Panthers play, along with neighboring Miami-Dade to the south and Palm Beach to the north.
DeSantis said the state is bracing for “a major disaster” in some areas.
The Panthers said they will remain in contact with state and local authorities while going ahead with plans to open the season on Tuesday.
“We are closely monitoring the situation,” Caldwell said, adding that the team “will continue preparing our arena and surrounding areas to safely welcome guests” for the opener.
The Tampa Bay Lightning's preseason schedule ended earlier than expected, with the team canceling its home exhibition finale against the Nashville Predators because of ongoing preparations in the region for Milton's arrival.
It was the second time this Lightning-Predators game was called off. The teams were scheduled to play Sept. 27, only to have that moved to Monday because of the effects of Helene.
This time, it will not be rescheduled. Tampa Bay opens its regular season Friday at Carolina.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) celebrates his game winning goal during overtime at a preseason NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Florida Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save during the third period of a preseason NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings in Quebec City, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)
President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims.
The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years.
“Trump has got himself a handful with Musk,” John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email. “Trump’s done this kind of thing before, blowing up a bill at the last minute. This time, though, it looks like he was afraid of Musk upstaging him. Now there’s a new social media bully in town, pushing the champion social media bully around.”
Hansen added: “We’ll see what Musk’s influence is when he runs up against reality — like when he proposes cutting off ‘wasteful’ spending for other people but not NASA contracts for Space-X.”
Musk’s objections to the 1,547-page omnibus bill included misinformation about congressional salaries, federal funding and public health preparedness, among other topics.
He alleged that the plan included a 40% raise for lawmakers. But the maximum pay increase possible through the proposal would have been 3.8%, according to the Congressional Research Service.
One way that members of Congress can receive a pay raise is through automatic adjustments that go into effect unless denied by law. Most members make $174,000 per a year after their last increase of 2.8% in 2009. Congressional leadership is the exception, with the Speaker of the House earning the most at $223,500 annually.
The rejected bill struck a section from a previous appropriations act that denied members of Congress this automatic pay raise. A maximum increase of 3.8% would have bumped their annual salary by about $6,600, to approximately $180,000 annually.
Musk also shared a post from another user that falsely claimed the bill provided $3 billion in funding for a potential new stadium for the NFL's Washington Commanders, commenting: “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!”
The bill included a provision to transfer control of the land that houses RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. That transfer is necessary to pave the way for the Commanders to possibly build a new stadium in the franchise's old home — though the team is still considering other locations.
However, no such funding is provided by the bill. It states, in fact, that the federal government “shall not be responsible for payment or any costs or expenses” that the District of Columbia incurs after the transfer is complete aside from responsibilities related to specific environmental issues.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed false claims about the stadium's funding on Thursday, calling them “frustrating.”
“It was stated that the C.R. contains $3 billion for a stadium,” she said at a press conference. "All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK and in fact, the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium.
Bowser added that she has reached out to the Trump administration to correct misinformation about this issue.
In a third post, Musk incorrectly claimed that “We're funding bioweapon labs in this bill!”
The plan provided funds for up to 12 regional biocontainment research laboratories, not facilities for creating bioweapons. It stipulates that among their uses, the labs will conduct biomedical research to prepare for biological agents such as emerging infectious diseases.
A spokesperson for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Some members of Congress expressed dismay that Musk had disseminated misinformation about the bill.
“I love you Elon but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before highlighting bottom feeders looking for clicks,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, wrote on X.
In a hastily convened Thursday evening vote, the House rejected a new Trump-backed bill whittled down to 116 pages, with the bill failing 174-235. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.
The House finally approved a third spending deal Friday evening, and the Senate followed suit early Saturday. President Joe Biden planned to sign it into law later Saturday.
Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history in his first term during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over.
FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, left, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP, File)
