INS MAG

The first year of President Trump's push to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants was a financial boon for two companies that own and operate private detention centers.

CoreCivic and The GEO Group both reported their year-end earnings for 2025.

Each company reported seeing a boost in revenue of more than 13 percent, both making more than $2 billion.

GEO Group's executive chairman George Zoley called 2025 the "most successful year for new business wins in our company's history."

The two companies opened nine new detention centers across the country under contracts with ICE, adding thousands more beds able to hold arrested immigrants who are awaiting deportation hearings.

MORE ON IMMIGRATION |Federal authorities announce an end to the immigration crackdown in Minnesota

The Scripps NewsICE Inc. seriesof investigative reports has uncovered complaints about inadequate medical care, understaffing, and overcrowding at some for-profit detention centers. Two cases of measles were reported at a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, owned and operated by CoreCivic. During their earnings calls, company leaders did not address reports of problems at their lockups but said they take seriously the wellbeing of those in their care.

ICE Inc. |Autopsy raises questions about death at private ICE detention center

CoreCivic and The GEO Group see room to grow in 2026 by bringing more idled detention centers online and by possibly converting warehouses owned by ICE into more facilities able to hold migrants. A record 70,000 immigrants are in detention, a number the Trump Administration would like to increase to 100,000.

There's a sense of urgency in Basim Sabri's voice as he stands in the middle of a banquet hall at his mall in the heart of Minneapolis, directing the flow of busy volunteers and jovially asking his cooks to be patient as he finishes his call with CNN.

Sabri's urgency is understandable, perhaps even necessary. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is right around the corner, and Sabri is determined to maintain the annual tradition of hosting a Ramadan feast for the Twin Cities community at Karmel Mall – which he has owned for more than two decades – especially in the aftermath of the ongoing federal immigration crackdown.

"I'm not just a landlord, I'm also a very involved person within the community," Sabri told CNN. "I see the fear, the depression with many tenants, and the anger that this is happening to them."

Hundreds attend the annual gathering, according to Sabri. And given Karmel Mall's cultural and economic status within Minneapolis' Muslim community, particularly its Somali population, he said he believes this year's feast – or iftar – is practically a self-assigned duty to help the community recover spiritually and boost its morale during the holy month.

Ramadanis the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During its approximately 30 days, which start Wednesday in North America, Muslims abstain from food and drinks from dawn until sunset. Ramadan also holds profound spiritual and social significance: It is celebrated as an opportune occasion for observers to congregate to break their fast, pray and practice countless forms of communal support.

However, in the aftermath ofOperation Metro Surge, launched by the Trump administration in December with the ostensible purpose of apprehending and deporting undocumented immigrants in Minnesota, the mere notion of congregating is putting a lot of Muslims in the Twin Cities on edge.

"It's been a very difficult time," said Khalid Omar, a community organizer and a leader at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center. "You can only imagine the weight of the full government being utilized in the state, going against and going after the Somali and Muslim community."

At the peak of Operation Metro Surge, about 3,000 immigration officers descended on the North Star State. Federal agents arrested more than 4,000 undocumented immigrants from the beginning of the operation on December 1 through February 4, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The operation also resulted in the killing of two US citizens, the deployment of aggressive tactics by armed, masked DHS agents, and a soaring sense of trepidation permeating Minnesota's immigrant communities.

Economic and religious activities disrupted by DHS

Muslims in Minneapolis, estimated now to be more than 100,000, have lived in the city for well over a century, and the city has embraced them. In 2006, Minneapolis elected thefirst Muslim US congressman, and in 2023, it became the first major US city to allow the broadcasting of the Islamiccall to prayerfive times a day, year-round.

However, the recent federal aggression,fueled by President Donald Trump's vitriolcalling Minnesota's Somali community "garbage," has seemingly soured that sense of embrace.

"I'm a very proud Muslim … and extremely proud to be a Minnesotan," said Sabri, who is Palestinian American. "We're very fortunate to be in Minnesota, and very fortunate to be in America, and Trump is trying to make it difficult for people to even think that they are American."

Many members of the Muslim community,particularly Somalis, reported an unprecedented disruption to daily life since the start of Operation Metro Surge. Fear of stepping out of their houses, going to work, grocery shopping and even practicing their religion. Foot traffic at restaurants, shops and mosques sharply declined, turning once-lively economic and social hubs into ghost towns, and threatening to cripple the livelihood of an entire community.

"Forty percent of our sales, if not more, were impacted," said Mohamed Hagi, co-owner of four Minneapolis-area locations of Qamaria, a Yemeni coffee shop chain.

The 30-year-old Somali American, who also co-owns a Mediterranean restaurant in the same area experiencing similar economic tribulations, described his coffee shops as local melting pots for Muslims and non-Muslims, East Africans and White people. However, during the federal crackdown, they were practically empty.

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The finances of Sabri's Karmel Mall were also severely dented by the surging DHS presence. Home to 710 stores and vendors, mostly Somali retailers serving Somali patrons, the mall was plastered with anti-ICE posters due to daily raids, according to Sabri. However, declining sales meant Sabri received only about 35% in rent due from retailers – a loss of more than $400,000, according to his company.

Not even mosques were spared the consequences of the aggressive crackdown. Omar reported dwindling congregations at Dar Al-Farooq as worshipers feared being detained, and what he described as federal "harassing" was reported near several local mosques. Faith leaders advised community members to carry their passports or immigration documents to the mosque. At Karmel Mall's prayer hall, where hundreds worshiped daily, congregations were less than half their usual size, Sabri said.

A time to 'lean into our faith'

Despite the bleak reality felt by many Muslims during Operation Metro Surge, they express hope that Ramadan will carry winds of change for the reeling community. They feel it's perhaps heaven-sent that the start of Ramadan follows Trump's border czar Tom Homan announcing the monthslong Minnesota operationwould be ending, and many are cautiously optimistic.

"This is the time when we need to lean into our faith more," said Omar. "Make dua (prayer) for the people that are suffering, the people that felt this atrocity."

In preparation for the holy month, Dar Al-Farooq is reiterating protocols for the community should they be confronted by federal agents, as well as boosting its own security by hiring more security personnel and buying enhanced surveillance cameras. The Islamic center and Karmel Mall are coordinating with police to ensure the safety of worshipers and patrons. Omar and Sabri say they are optimistic the spirit of Ramdan will inspire wary worshipers to return to mosques.

Hagi, too, says he is hopeful Qamaria's extended Ramadan hours will entice patrons to return to his coffee shops. Qamaria will be hosting iftars throughout Ramadan followed by Q&As, he said, with the aim of dispelling misinformation about the community and curbing federal fear-mongering. He also intends to host a "coffee with a cop" event to bridge gaps between the community and local law enforcement.

And preparations for Ramadan are not exclusive to Muslims. Interfaith leaders are launching several initiatives to show solidarity with the Twin Cities' Muslim community, such as putting up #BlessedRamadan lawn signs, offering to serve as ICE watchers during Friday prayers, and hosting community dinners, capitalizing on Ramadan coinciding this year with the Christian period of Lent.

"An attack on anyone's freedom and anyone's democracy is an attack on us all," said the Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown, a local interfaith leader, drawing inspiration from Pastor Martin Niemöller's famous words in"First They Came"after World War II.

But faith alone will not sustain Minneapolis' road to recovery. Omar and Sabri say they support government bailouts to compensate local businesses for their financial losses during the surge. Last week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proposed a one-time,$10 million emergency relief packagefor small businesses that were impacted.

Those detained during the crackdown are also present in the hearts and minds of the community.

"There are so many who were probably praying with us last Ramadan who may not be praying with us this Ramdan," said Omar. "The people that are in detention centers … we want them back. We want them back in their homes. We want them back in Minnesota."

In the meantime, Sabri said he is already planning his second Ramadan banquet, this time for the Minnesotans who braved the frigid temperatures to protect the immigrant community from DHS with their presence andwhistles.

"Minnesotans have shown big support for the immigrant community. They are amazing people," Sabri said. "I don't think there's any other community in the US that would've done what Minnesotans have done. They have a very big heart."

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The US government's release of more than3 million documentsrelated to Jeffrey Epstein has raised further questions about the ties of three prominent figures in British public life to the disgraced financier, who appears to have been granted access to the heart of Britain's government and royal family.

The formerPrince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the United States, are all listed multiple times in the latest trove of Epstein files, ramping up pressure on the trio to explain their ties to the late sex offender and further distance themselves from British institutions.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged the former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, to testify before the US Congress, while Mandelson, who resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday, is set to quit the House of Lords on Wednesday.

Here's how the US Justice Department's latest drop of files is scandalizing Britain.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

The former Prince Andrew has for years attempted tobat awayquestions about his links to Epstein. In a now-infamous interview with the BBC in 2019, Mountbatten-Windsor claimed that he had severed all ties with Epstein in 2010, following the financier's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

Emails uncovered last year called Mountbatten-Windsor's claim into question. The British media reported that Mountbatten-Windsor appeared to contact Epstein again in 2011, telling him to "keep in close touch" and that they were "in this together." Soon after, King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor, his brother, of his royal titles in October and began the process to evict him from the royal estate at Windsor.

But the latest trove of Epstein files has heaped further scrutiny on the disgraced royal. Three undated photos appear to show the former prince kneeling over what appears to be a woman or girl who is lying fully clothed and supine on the floor. Her face has been redacted. In two photos, Mountbatten-Windsor touches her stomach and waist; in a third, he looks at the camera while on all fours, leaning over her body.

It is unclear when or where the images were taken; no captions or context for the photographs were provided with the document release. Neither the photographs nor the email messages suggest any wrongdoing.

Mountbatten-Windsor previously faced pressure to explain a 2001 photograph that showed him standing with Ghislaine Maxwell, then Epstein's girlfriend and now a convicted child sex trafficker, and Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein who died by suicide in April.

In her posthumous memoir, Giuffre once again accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexually abusing her when she was 17. She wrote that Mountbatten-Windsor "believed that having sex with me was his birthright." Despite claiming never to have met her, Mountbatten-Windsor reportedly paid millions of dollars to Giuffre in 2022 to settle a civil case she brought against him. He has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior that Epstein was accused of.

The latest Epstein documents also contain an emailexchangebetween Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor in August 2010, in which the financier invites the royal to meet a "friend" — whose name was redacted — for dinner in London. Mountbatten-Windsor replied that he would be "delighted to see her" and told Epstein to pass on his contact details. Epstein then describes the woman as a 26-year-old Russian who is "clevere (sic) beautiful, trustworthy," and confirms that she has Mountbatten-Windsor's email.

Thames Valley Police said Tuesday that they are aware of "reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes," and that they are assessing the information. It is unclear if police are referring to the same woman referenced in the email exchange.

"We take any reports of sexual crimes extremely seriously and encourage anyone with information to come forward," police said. "At this time, these allegations have not been reported to Thames Valley Police by either the lawyer or their client."

In November, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee requested that Mountbatten-Windsor come to Washington to give evidence as part of the panel's investigation into Epstein. Although Mountbatten-Windsor did not respond to the request at the time, Starmer on Saturday urged the former prince to submit himself to questioning.

"Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that," Starmer said. "You can't be victim-centered if you're not prepared to do that."

The royal family has not issued a statement on the latest revelations. At a summit in Dubai on Tuesday, Prince Edward, the brother of Charles and Mountbatten-Windsor, told CNN, "It's all really important always to remember the victims." He did not comment further.

Sarah Ferguson

Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, known as "Fergie," is also mentioned several times in the latest tranche of files, although this does not indicate any wrongdoing. Ferguson was dropped last year as the patron or ambassador to several British charities after earlier documents showed she had called Epstein her "supreme friend." At the time, a spokesperson for Ferguson said she regretted her association with Epstein.

But the latest documents are further evidence of the depth of their relationship. In August 2009, Ferguson, then the Duchess of York,sentan email thanking Epstein, touting fashion and media outlets that she said now wanted to work with her.

"In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends (sic) kindness," she wrote. "Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for."

In January 2010, shewrote: "You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me."

The emails also appear to suggest that Epstein wanted to use Ferguson to help clear his name. In one undatedemail, Epstein wrote to Mike Sitrick, chair of the crisis management firm Sitrick and Company, which was retained by Epstein's law firm. "I would like you to draft a statement that in an ideal world fergie would put out," he wrote. Sitrick told CNN that he had never contacted Ferguson or her representatives directly.

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In a March 2011 email to Sitrick and two others, Epstein wrote: "I think Fergie can now say, I am not a pedo." Inreply, Sitrick said there is a "strategy" to "get newspapers to stop calling you a pedophile and get the truth out," and that one tactic was to "get Fergie to retract."

The next month, Fergusonwrotein an email to Epstein and James Henderson, her spokesperson at the time, saying she "did not" and "would not" call him a "P."

In October 2009, shewroteto Epstein saying that she "urgently" needed £20,000 for rent, and that her landlord had "threatened to go to the newspapers if I don't pay."

It was not clear if Epstein sent that money. However, in 2001, years before Ferguson's request, newly released documents appeared to show that Epsteinwiredthe former duchess $150,000 after helping her to cash in the share options she earned from her work for Weight Watchers. CNN has asked a spokesperson for Ferguson for comment.

On Monday evening, Ferguson's charitable foundation "Sarah's Trust" announced it would close "for the foreseeable future" after "some months" of discussion, according to the United Kingdom's PA Media news agency.

Peter Mandelson

Mandelson, widely known in political circles as the "Prince of Darkness" for his Machiavellian approach to power, was fired as the UK's ambassador to Washington in September over the deepening scandal surrounding his ties to Epstein. That month, US lawmakers had released a "birthday book," compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003, in which Mandelson penned a handwritten note describing the financier as "my best pal."

The latest tranche of documents has revealed that Mandelson appeared to leak sensitive UK government tax plans to Epstein. They also show that his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, regularly received undisclosed payments from him.

In September 2009, da Silva — who married Mandelson in 2023 after three decades together —emailedEpstein to ask for £10,000 to help fund his osteopathy course. Epsteinreplied: "I will wire your loan amount immediated'y (sic)."

In April 2010, da Silva emailed Epstein again, sharing his bank details. Epstein forwarded the message to his accountant, Rich Kahn,adding: "send 13k dollars."

That same month, Epstein told Kahn to "send 2k per month to reinaldo." When Kahnaskedif this was in addition to the original $13,000, Epsteinreplied: "no after rethinkoing (sic) send 4000 dollars only."

In October that year, MandelsonaskedEpstein, jokingly: "Have you permanently stopped the reinaldo sub?! I may have to put him out to work on the streets."

Financial records newly released by the DOJ also appear to show that Mandelson himself may have received payments totaling $75,000 from Epstein between2003and2004. A spokesperson for Mandelson told British media that neither the former ambassador nor da Silva "has any record or recollection of receiving payments in 2003 and 2004 or know whether the documentation is authentic."

The latest files also revealed that Mandelson appeared to leak a sensitive UK government document to the financier while he was business secretary in 2009. Thememo, written for then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, advocated £20 billion of asset sales to help relieve Britain's debt burden following the 2008 financial crisis, and revealed Labour's tax policy plans.

In December 2009, Mandelson and Epstein alsoexchangedemails about Britain's plans to impose an additional tax on bankers' bonuses — a punitive one-off measure following the crash. An email from Epstein asked if "jamie" — possibly referring to Jamie Dimon, who was then and still is CEO of JP MorganChase — should call "darling," likely Alistair Darling, then Britain's finance minister, "one more time." In reply, Mandelson appears to suggest that Epstein should call Darling again and "mildly threaten" him. The BBCreportedthat Darling later had a "painful and angry" phone call with Dimon.

In another exchange, in May 2010, Mandelson appeared to tip off Epstein that the European Union was planning a €500 billion bailout to save the euro. Epsteinwrote: "sources tell me 500 b euro bailout, almost compelte (sic)." Soon after, Mandelson replied: "Sd be announced tonight." Mandelson had previously served as European commissioner for trade between 2004 and 2008.

On Sunday, Mandelson, who also sits in the House of Lords, announced his resignation from Labour, saying he did not want to cause the party "further embarrassment." He also apologized "to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now." CNN was unable to contact Mandelson for further comment.

London's Metropolitan Police said Monday it had received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office following the latest release. Mandelson will face a criminal investigation into allegations that he leaked market sensitive information from Downing Street to Epstein, PA Media reported Tuesday.

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown, whose government Mandelson had served in as business secretary, wrote to London's Metropolitan Police to provide information relating to the alleged disclosure of sensitive information, according to PA.

"The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation," police commander Ella Marriott said.

Mandelson will also resign from the House of Lords on Wednesday, the speaker of the British Parliament's upper chamber said Tuesday.

CNN's Kara Fox, James Frater, Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Eleni Giokos contributed reporting.

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New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge readily admitted that it was "brutal" to wait on his team to make some transactions this offseason.

The three-time and reigning American League Most Valuable Player had his first media availability of spring training Monday in Tampa.

"It was brutal. I'm like, 'I see a lot of free agents out there,'" Judge said. "I'm like, 'Let's sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces,' because I've seen other teams around the league get better.

"Early on, it was pretty tough to watch. I'm like, 'Man, we're the New York Yankees. Let's go out there and get the right people, get the right pieces to go out there and finish this thing off.'"

Judge was asked whether he expressed his view to the team, and he grinned and said, "Yeah, oh, yeah."

In the end, New York mostly brought back the same roster from 2025 that finished 94-68, lost the AL East title to the Toronto Blue Jays in a tiebreaker and then fell to Toronto in the AL Division Series.

Center fielder Trent Grisham accepted a qualifying offer last November, after which it was all quiet for a franchise known as one of the major leagues' biggest spenders. At one point in the winter, the Yankees were the only team in baseball that had not yet added a new player.

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That changed when the Yankees traded four prospects for Miami Marlins left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers. But the biggest names they signed were brought back from the 2025 roster -- outfielder Cody Bellinger landed a five-year, $162.5 million deal last month and veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt came back on a one-year, $4 million pact.

That was enough for Judge.

"We're right where we need to be," Judge told reporters. "I love it. I don't know, people might have their opinions on (running it back) because we didn't win it all last year and fell short in the Division Series."

Judge also said his right elbow is at full strength after his flexor strain last summer did not fully heal. Manager Aaron Boone recently said Judge would play in four or five of the Yankees' first nine Grapefruit League games as he gets back to throwing at game speed.

Judge said he was "definitely concerned" after the postseason ended and didn't know whether he'd need surgery until the team doctors assuaged his concerns.

"They ran all the checks again and did all the tests and they said, 'You're good to go,'" Judge said. "And I said, 'All right, when can we start throwing?' So it was good. It was great. It was great to hear those words so that now I can go into the offseason and just prepare the way I need to be in the best shape to start the year."

--Field Level Media

Say this for the Big Ten's quest to expand theCollege Football Playoff: It doesn't become fixated with any particular idea.

While theSECremains stuck on a 5+11 playoff plan theBig Tenrefuses to accept, Tony Petitti's idea-du-jour playoff think tank has devised yet another proposal.

Thislatest idea from Big Ten landwould have made four-loss Iowa a playoff qualifier.

Before you laugh, remember what those four-loss Hawkeyesdid to 10-win Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

More specifically, the Big Ten reportedly wants a 24-team playoff in place by the 2029 season. In this newest idea from the B1G think tank, 23 bids would be assigned via at-large selection, with one automatic bid for the Group of Five. ESPNfirst reportedon the plan last week.

How serious is the Big Ten about this plan? Hard telling, because its mood consistently shifts.

At one point last year, Petitti became obsessed with play-in games. He once liked the idea of a 16-team playoff — so long as he couldrig it with multiple automatic bids. Then, theBig Ten graduated to a 24-team playoff, but it maintained a preference for multiple AQs.

Now, in this proposal, it's to heck with AQs, to heck with conference championship games, and to heck with 16 teams.

One thing we know for sure: The Big Ten really, really doesn't want the 5+11 plan the SEC really, really does want.

This 24-team idea hatched by the Big Ten will be a test of the SEC's anguish. Just how desperate is the SEC for playoff expansion, after getting shut out of the national championship game for three straight years and getting stiff-armed in its quest to create a 16-team playoff? Desperate enough to accept a 24-team plan the Big Ten (and its television partner) wants?

The Big Ten is calling this latest 24-team plan a "compromise," but it's not really compromise. It's bait designed to lure the SEC off the idea of 16 and toward the idea of 24.

Here are three things I like, and three things I don't like, about this 24-team playoff proposal:

What I like about Big Ten's 24-team CFP plan

1. It would get rid of conference championship games.

Conference championships were built for 12-team conferences divided into divisions, in a landscape with no playoff. Years later, conference championships became an important data point in selection for the four-team playoff.

They've outlived their utility.

Consider last season. Georgia thumped Alabama in the SEC Championship. Neither team moved even one spot in the ensuing playoff rankings. Duke won the ACC championship but didn't represent the conference in the playoff.

Conference championships persist purely for dollars. Dumping them requires a new revenue stream. Insert a 24-team playoff, with new inventory that can be sold to TV partners. By eliminating antiquated conference championships, the playoff could start the first weekend of December.

2. It would nix past idea of multiple AQs per conference.

Unlike past Big Ten plans that included a bevy of automatic bids preassigned to conferences based on prestige and clout, this 24-team format would be more of a meritocracy.

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Why should any conference be guaranteed four bids? Earn it on the field.

Putting so much responsibility on the playoff committee's shoulders would create extra controversy and the difficulty of determining between two 9-3 teams from different conferences. That's better than rigging the bracket before the season starts with a lopsided number of AQs.

3. More playoff games on college campuses.

College football belongs on college campuses. The debut of first-round playoff games played in college towns became an undeniable upside of the 12-team playoff.

The 24-team playoff would result in 16 playoff games on campus sites, with eight in the first round and eight more in the second round, before shifting to neutral sites for the quarterfinals and beyond.

A 24-team playoff could have served up Texas at Texas Tech in a second-round game in Lubbock. Holy tortilla shells, that would've been good theater.

What I don't like about 24-team CFP plan

1. In-season attention will shift away from best teams.

A smaller playoff keeps the focus on the best teams. In the 12-team playoff, attention fixes on the top 15 or 20 teams that are in the playoff hunt.

Double the playoff's size to 24 teams, and much of the spotlight will shift toward the cavalcade of three- and four-loss bubble teams battling for the final bids.

Regular-season results become less consequential, too, the bigger the bracket is. In 2024, Alabama would've coasted into a 24-team playoff despite a pair of losses to teams that finished 6-6.

In essence, the regular season would be devalued.

2. Playoff exclusivity is sacrificed for playoff revenue.

The 12-team playoff achieves a healthy balance between exclusivity and access. This past season, six conferences were represented. The 12-team bracket is exclusive enough that 10-2 Notre Dame, 10-2 Vanderbilt and 9-3 Texas did not earn entry, but accessible enough that Oregon, Mississippi and Texas A&M were not omitted just because they lost once to a good opponent.

The Ducks, Rebels and Aggies were the types of good teams that would not have earned playoff selection in the four-team CFP era. Four is too small.

But, in a 24-team playoff, the Michigan team that got creamed by Oklahoma, Southern Cal and Ohio State would become a playoff qualifier. Once you create an abundance of accessibility and degrade the playoff's exclusivity, the sport shifts to talking heads debating which 8-4 team got "snubbed" by the committee.

3. Playoff becomes overloaded with postseason roadkill.

In this past playoff, James Madison and Tulane had no shot to win it all and little chance of winning even one game. In a 24-team playoff, the playoff roadkill multiplies. Half the field would have little to no chance at winning the national championship.

Teams like Iowa and Houston that finished their seasons with celebratory bowl triumphs against SEC teams would get rerouted into a playoff from which they have no hope of emerging victorious.

Our verdict

This 24-team playoff has the benefit of being better than some of the Big Ten's worst ideas that preceded it. That doesn't make it a good plan, or one the SEC should embrace.

Blake Toppmeyeris the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him atBToppmeyer@gannett.comand follow him on X@btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:24-team College Football Playoff plan offers upsides — but not enough

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is now starting to shift his mindset toward the NFL, which really was his goal when he transferred to Indiana.

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Mendoza and the Hoosiers just happened to have a perfect season together that ended with animprobable national championship.

"It's been a whirlwind. I think now it's finally settled in and the dust has started to settle," Mendoza said Monday night before receiving the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top college quarterback. "The national championship, and then boom, next thing you know you're on a new chapter."

The latest award ceremony for Mendoza, the transfer from Cal who grew up a few miles from Miami's campus, came exactly four weeks after Indiana won its first national championship 27-21 over the Hurricanes in their home stadium. It was also a week before the NFL combine, and just over two months from the opening night of the NFL draft on April 23, when Mendoza very wellcould be the No. 1 overall pickby the Las Vegas Raiders andtheir new coach.

"I'd be blessed and honored to play for the Raiders, or I'd be blessed to play for any team. Any NFL team that drafts me, I'd be ecstatic," he said. "I know at the draft, I'll probably shed a tear or two just because it's such a full-circle moment for me. ... The goal of transferring to Indiana was to make the NFL. It wasn't to be a great college player. It was to try to develop into being an NFL quarterback one day."

Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards and an FBS-leading 41 touchdowns while completing 273 of 379 passes (72%) with only six interceptions. He had 4,712 yards passing and 30 TDs in 20 games over two seasons at Cal, which gave him a late scholarship offer after he had been prepared out of high school to "put myself into student debt" to play football at Yale — since no athletic scholarships are offered in the Ivy League — because he loved the game so much.

Now the 22-year-old QB is preparing to move on to the highest level, knowing that college success won't automatically translate to the pros.

"College is great, but that part's behind me," he said. "I feel like I've been satisfied with my college career. However, now I'm on to the NFL career. It requires a new skill set. It's a grown man's league."

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His Heisman Trophy

When Mendozaaccepted the Heisman Trophyin December, his intention was to keep the trophy in Bloomington forever, where he felt it belonged.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later, when the Heisman Trophy was in a case on the Indiana campus, that he realized he also got one of his own to keep.

"Then I took it back home, and so it's in my living room, which is great," he said. "Think about that decoration."

He even took his trophy to St. Paul Catholic Center in Bloomington, where he regularly attended Mass, to share with the church leaders around Christmas. He also hopes to take the trophy to his high school in Miami.

Mendoza's heir apparent

The ceremony for the Davey O'Brien Award, named for the former TCU quarterback and 1938 Heisman winner, is held only a few miles from the TCU campus. That is also where the quarterback who likely will replace Mendoza was a starter the past three seasons.

Josh Hoover threw for 9,629 yards and 71 touchdowns over 36 games for the Horned Frogs before leaving in the portal for Indiana even before the national championship game.

Mendoza said he hadn't had the opportunity to speak with Hoover, and said any advice he would have for his successor would be given in person.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college football:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-football

GENEVA (AP) — Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were in Geneva on Tuesday for another round ofU.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth anniversary ofRussia's full-scale invasionof its neighbor.

Russia Ukraine War

However, expectations for any breakthroughs in Geneva were low, with neither side apparently ready to budge from its positions on key territorial issues and future security guarantees, despite the United States setting aJune deadlinefor a settlement.

Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyysaid his government's delegation was in Switzerland and Russian state news agency Tass said the Russian delegation had also arrived. Talks, to be held over two days, were expected to start later in the day.

Discussions on the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory are expected to be particularly tough as U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, sit down with the delegations. That's according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Russa is still insisting that Ukraine cede control of its eastern Donbas region.

Also in Geneva will be American, Russian and Ukrainian military chiefs, who will discuss how a ceasefire monitoring might work after any peace deal, and what's needed to implement it, the person said.

Duringprevious talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, military leaders looked at how a demilitarized zone could be arranged and how everyone's militaries could talk to one another, the person added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cautioned against expecting developments on the first day of talks as they were set to continue on Wednesday. Moscow has provided few details of previous talks.

Ukraine's short-handed army is locked in a war of attrition with Russia's bigger forces along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile)front line. Ukrainian civilians are enduring Russian aerial barrages that repeatedlyknock out poweranddestroy homes.

The future of the almost 20% of Ukrainian land that Russia occupies or still covets is a central question in the talks, as are Kyiv's demands for postwar security guarantees with a U.S. backstop to deter Moscow from invading again.

Trump described the Geneva meeting as "big talks."

"Ukraine better come to the table fast," he told reporters late Monday as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida.

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It wasn't immediately clear what Trump was referring to in his comment about Ukraine, which has committed to and taken part in negotiations in the hope of ending Russia's devastating onslaught.

Complex talks as the war presses on

The Russian delegation is headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow's team of negotiators in the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022 and has forcefully pushed Putin's war goals. Medinsky has written several history books that claim to expose Western plots against Russia and berate Ukraine.

The commander of the U.S. military — and NATO forces — in Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, and Secretary of the U.S. Army Dan Driscoll will attend the meeting in Geneva on behalf of the U.S. military and meet with their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S. commander said.

Overnight, Russia used almost 400 long-range drones and 29 missiles of various types to strike 12 regions of Ukraine, injuring nine people, including children, according to the Ukrainian president.

Zelenskyy said tens of thousands of residents were left without heating and running water in the southern port city of Odesa.

Zelenskyy said Moscow should be "held accountable" for the relentless attacks, which he said undermine the U.S. push for peace.

"The more this evil comes from Russia, the harder it will be for everyone to reach any agreements with them. Partners must understand this. First and foremost, this concerns the United States," the Ukrainian leader said on social media late Monday.

"We agreed to all realistic proposals from the United States, starting with the proposal for an unconditional and long-term ceasefire," Zelenskyy noted.

The talks in Geneva took place as U.S. officials also held indirecttalks with Iranin the Swiss city.

Burrows reported from London. Associated Press writer Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine