Jacksonville, Fl — The Jaguars and Panthers will square off on Sunday in Jacksonville to open the regular season. Both teams finished last season in third place in their respective divisions, with Jacksonville going 4-and-13 and Carolina finishing 5-and-12. This will be the professional debut of Jaguars two-way player Travis Hunter, who is expected to play both wide receiver and cornerback after being taken with the number two pick in this spring’s draft. Hunter won the Heisman Trophy last season at Colorado. Jacksonville is trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2022. Kickoff is 1:00 pm Sunday at EverBank Stadium and on FOX 30.

Alligator Alcatraz can stay open after all. An appeals court ruled Thursday the state can continue running the immigrant detention facility in the Everglades. This overrules a federal judge who ordered the facility to close. But it’s not the end of the legal battle. The Miccosukee Tribe sued to shut down the facility, and they plan to continue to litigate the matter.

The federal government is ramping up its efforts to stop human smuggling. Attorney General Pam Bondi was in Tampa yesterday to announce the expansion of Joint Task Force Alpha. It’s a team of prosecutors, agents and international partners that targets human smuggling and trafficking networks. Bondi says the JTFA is responsible for recently breaking up an alien smuggling operation involving six suspects from Tampa. Bondi says we’re investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before, and the JTFA is the tip of the spear.

First Alert Weather: Hot weekend ahead. Highs today will be in the upper 80s closer to the coast and in the lower 90s well inland. Highs in the lower 90s over the weekend with only and isolated shower or storm on Sunday. The Jaguars home opener will be hot in the lower 90s. Onshore winds return next week with scattered showers and highs back into the 80s.

Tropics: A tropical wave (91-L) continues to march west today across the Central Atlantic. Showers and storms will likely get more organized over the next day or two. A tropical depression or storm will likely form over the weekend. The Lesser Antilles could see impacts as early as Thursday of next week. It’s too early to tell if there will be any U.S. impacts. The next name is Gabrielle.

Brad Keiser of Nassau County Animal Control joined Jacksonville’s Morning News ahead of this weekend’s adoption event at the Petco in Yulee. Nassau Co. runs a no-kill shelter.

Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner is officially entering the 2026 race for governor. The Navy veteran and Jacksonville-area attorney becomes the second major Republican to seek the seat after Ron DeSantis leaves office. Renner told Jacksonville’s Morning News his legislative record proves he can deliver results, and he’s confident voters will respond to his leadership under pressure.

▶ Listen to Jacksonville’s Morning News Interviews

Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.

Download the 104.5 WOKV app

©2025 Cox Media Group