Diretório

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02575-5Treat biological databases as infrastructure, not projects

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02531-3Building on the region’s oil infrastructure, investment funds and shipping corridors, Gulf nations can thrive in the clean-energy economy.

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02576-4Asia’s longevity gains must be translated into better health

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02578-2Europe must adapt to live with megafires

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02577-3Heatwaves expose weak links in food systems

Beijing wants to portray today’s China as carrying forward Zhu Rongji’s era of growth, but for many Chinese, the optimism of that time has since faded.

As the NFL continues to play more of its games outside the United States, it's only a matter of time before NFL teams operate from overseas and permanently play their home games other countriesThat's the word from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who said teams located in other countries are inevitable."At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA. I have no doubt that this will happen one day," Goodell told former NFL player Markus Kuhn in interview for German broadcaster RTL/ntv.Goodell said that once an NFL team is established in a foreign country, its home field could host a Super Bowl."There are definitely international cities that could host something like that," Goodell said of the Super Bowl. "But we would like to see an NFL team in such a city first."The NFL will play an all-time high nine games outside the United States this season, with three in England and one each in Australia, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany and Mexico. That's still a far cry from one team playing eight or nine home games a year, every year, in a foreign country. But Goodell is sure that's coming.

In need of a boost at the wide receiver position, the Indianapolis Colts reportedly signed veteran free agent Keenan Allen. So let's grade this move.For the Colts, this addition makes so much sense. For one, Allen has a proven track record of production. Entering his 14th season, he is a six-time Pro Bowler and eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark six times, most recently in 2023. Last season, he didn't hit 1,000 yards, but Allen, 34, was still productive, totaling 777 yards with four scores. Following the departure of Michael Pittman earlier this offseason, the Colts' receiver depth has been in question, and the need has been further heightened in training camp with Alec Pierce out.Originally competing for the WR3 role were Ashton Dulin, Laquon Treadwell, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, with Dulin seemingly the front-runner for those snaps. However, this trio has dealt with inconsistency in training camp and struggled to get open at times.Allen can step in and immediately fill a Pittman-like role in the offense as a high-target option in the passing game, who attacks the short to intermediate levels of the field. Allen's familiarity with Shane Steichen and his offense should help him hit the ground running as well.And with the Colts having north of $31 million in cap space prior to this signing, according to Over the Cap, Allen's reported one-year deal worth up to $8.32 million with incentives is very digestible.Grading Keenan Allen to Colts free agent signingIn a variety of ways, this addition was an obvious one. The Colts don't need Allen to be a high-volume target with Pierce, Josh Downs, and Tyler Warren, but he can be if needed. He provides stability to a position that was searching for that element, and his contract doesn't break the salary cap bank by any means.Final grade: A-This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Grading Keenan Allen to Colts free agent signing

ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Former Buffalo Bills and NFL Hall of Fame members (L-R) Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and Andre Reed wait to take the field at halftime for a Buffalo Bills induction ceremony for Andre Reed at Ralph Wilson Stadium on September 21, 2014 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Michael Adamucci/Getty Images) | Getty Images There’s one important new distinction inside the Buffalo Bills new stadium that’s drastically different from the old stadium that stood across the street for over 50 years. Gone is the Wall of Fame. Only a select few Bills legends will be honored with name and number inside the new Highmark Stadium, along with team founder Ralph Wilson Jr. Those players are Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly, and Thurman Thomas. Kelly is trying to change that by making one addition.The numbers of Smith, Kelly, and Thomas are the only three retired numbers in Bills history. At his annual golf tournament, Kelly made a statement about a change to the stadium regarding another one of his teammates (shout out to Zach Sheldon of Trainwreck Sports for getting this quote, which was relayed by WGR’s Brayton Wilson):One interesting note from the Jim Kelly Celebrity Classic this morning at Terry Hills Golf Course in Batavia: Jim Kelly says from what he's heard, the #Bills are working to get Andre Reed's No. 83 retired and up at the new stadium with Nos. 12, 34 and 78.— Brayton J. Wilson (@BraytonJWilson) August 17, 2026To quote Kelly: "It will… From what I've already heard, they're working on hopefully next year to get it up sooner rather than later."It looks like the #Bills will soon honor their Hall of Fame wide receiver.(Question courtesy of @ZachSheldon)— Brayton J. Wilson (@BraytonJWilson) August 17, 2026Currently, Wall of Fame members beyond Wilson, Smith, Kelly, and Thomas are positioned in the Family Circle, which surrounds the three Buffalo statues outside the stadium. That’s where Reed will be honored during the 2026-2027 season. Kelly’s push for Reed to be honored alongside him inside the stadium does have a strong basis, as Reed is the only other member of the 1990’s Bills in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, meaning he’s now the only HOFer featured in the new Family Circle. What do you think? Should Reed be included in the super-exclusive club honored inside the new Highmark Stadium and the No. 83 be retired by the team?

📲 OneFootball streams Bayern friendly free this Tuesday; detailsBayern Munich takes the field this Tuesday (18) for its final test before the official start of the 2026/27 season.And OneFootball will broadcast the Bavarian giant’s friendly against 1. FC Heidenheim LIVE and FOR FREE.Download the OneFootball app or visit the OF website from 1:00 PM (Brasília time) and follow Bayern Munich’s final steps before the start of the 2026/27 season for free!To watch, just click the card below! 👇* the match will feature commentary in English or ambient sound onlyUnder head coach Vincent Kompany, Bayern is looking to make its final adjustments before the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup showdown, which will take place four days later against rivals Borussia Dortmund.Match: 1. FC Heidenheim x FC Bayern MünchenDate: Tuesday, August 18, 2026Time: 1:00 PM (Brasília time)Venue: Voith-Arena, Heidenheim (Germany)Broadcast in Brazil: OneFootball (Free)Friendly match outlookThe two teams are in very different situations at the start of the European season:Bayern comes in as the reigning domestic double winner (Doublesieger) and once again emerges as the overwhelming favorite in German competitions.Kompany will use this final test to give his stars match rhythm and to try out young prospects who stood out during summer training.The home side, coached by Frank Schmidt, is going through a rebuilding phase.After three years in the top flight, Heidenheim suffered bitter relegation and now competes in the 2. Bundesliga.Unlike Bayern, they have already officially kicked off their season, recording a 4-3 win over Osnabrück and a 4-1 defeat to Hertha BSC.Recent meetings between Frank Schmidt’s and Vincent Kompany’s squads usually guarantee entertainment.In the teams’ last official meeting, on Matchday 32 of last season, the game ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw.This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

[BBC]It's been another shambolic week at Rangers - is it ever anything else?Thursday night's embarrassing Europa League exit is fully on Derek McInnes. The half-time substitution and change of shaped killed any chance of qualification.Giving up the midfield in Europe isn't the move of an experienced manager, it's a rookie mistake.I feel the comments after it - blaming the players and suggesting they weren't ready for that level - was a bit of self-preservation. Clearly, the two legs and McInnes' tactical choices proved he's not ready to manage at that level.Then we have the Couhaib Driouech debacle. It's a shame because he would have been a quality addition but given where we are at the moment, I'm not sure we can attract players of that level. That remains to be seen in the rest of the window.On a brighter note, Sunday was much better. Going with three in the middle of the park helped get control, who'd have thought it? And James Penrice and Djeidi Gassama were excellent on the left-hand side.Vanja Dragojevic and Nico Raskin were superb and with Ryan Naderi in attack, despite his flaws, his pressing was good and the whole front six was much more fluid and less static.Also, I'm pleased the manager wasn't against dropping his two Hearts boys. We looked far better for it.Hopefully we see more attacking players arrive before the Conference League squad deadline and we can put in a good performance on Thursday night in the Conference League play-off.It's been a terrible start to the season, but we have to kick on from here.Consistency of shape and selection has to come from Sunday. Better players will obviously help if we can get them in the door. One game at a time and let's see how we deal with an in-form Jablonec side next.

This is a locator map for Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. (AP Photo)2026-08-18T09:27:31Z KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A hand grenade attack near a school in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday afternoon wounded multiple children, authorities said.Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said late Monday that “a number of children” had been wounded, and said an investigation was underway. He did not provide further details.Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for Afghanistan, on Tuesday condemned “the heinous attack harming numerous children near a school” the previous day.Afghan media said around 50 children were hurt in the blast, which occurred in a part of the capital populated mainly by the Hazara ethnic minority. Hazaras, who make up around 9% of the Afghan population, have long suffered attacks and persecution in Afghanistan. Most are Shiite Muslims, and they have been targeted repeatedly in the past by Sunni Muslim radicals like the Islamic State group, while they have also faced discrimination in the Sunni majority country. In May 2021, a few months before the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in the wake of a chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops, three bombings at a school in Kabul killed dozens of people, all of them from the Hazara community and most of them young girls leaving class.That school, like the one where the explosion occurred Monday, was in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, the main Hazara district in the Afghan capital. In a social media post on X, Bennett said an independent investigation to bring those responsible to justice was essential. “Once again this mainly Hazara part of Kabul has been targeted. Deplorable!” he wrote.

This is a locator map for Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. (AP Photo)2026-08-18T09:24:43Z DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Israeli airstrikes on an airbase in northwest Syria early Tuesday caused material damage without inflicting any casualties, Syrian state TV reported.State TV said eight strikes hit the runway of the Abu Duhur airbase in the northwestern province of Idlib. It gave no further details.There was no comment from the Israeli military on the attack. Turkish officials also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said foreign fighters used to stay at the base before they were recently asked to leave.The Observatory added that Turkey, which is a main backer of Syria’s government, has been rehabilitating the air base that had been out of service for years during Syria’s conflict that left nearly half a million people dead.Since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in December 2024 when insurgents marched into his seat of power in Damascus, tensions between Israel and Turkey over Syria have been on the rise. Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes around Syria after Assad’s fall, mainly destroying assets of the Syrian army to keep them out of the hands of his successors.Israeli drone strikes on a southern suburb of Damascus last year killed eight soldiers and wounded others.The new authorities in Damascus have said they do not want a conflict with Israel, but Israel has remained suspicious of the government led by former Islamist insurgents.

Plus, inside the scramble to track cyclospora.

Intensifying restrictions have hit every part of the territory’s dealings, spurring worries about whether the Palestinian Authority can remain solvent.

Republicans hold every statewide elected office and have drastically swung voter registration in the state. A newly gerrymandered congressional map has added four Republican-leaning seats.

The “Heroes” and “Nashville” star, who died Sunday at 36, endured personal struggles that were compounded by her public profile.

Dan Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher from tiny Petersburg, Alaska, shares a name with the incumbent senator he hopes to defeat. Is he a spoiler trying to divide the Republican vote? We traveled to Alaska to find out.

BURRILLVILLE — The fall months are always far more welcome in Burrillville.And this summer might have dragged more than most years. The football program is ready to debut its own version of the Greatest Show on Turf. The long-awaited artificial turf field opened to spring sports earlier this year and now it’s time for football to have its ribbon-cutting ceremony.That showcase comes in Week 2 against West Warwick on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. A night game in Burrillville will come with some shock factor – gone are the afternoon games on Alumni Field. The town shouldn’t have any troubles adjusting to the new scheduling – it waits for these next three months all year – but new traditions are needed.Burrillville’s 2026 prep began as soon as last year ended. Its first official day back together started on Monday, Aug. 17 at Eccleston Field.“We finally got that field and I could not be more amped to get on it,” Lucas Gustafson said. “The whole offseason, anytime I trained, I went to that field. I'm just picturing that turf field in my mind. I can't wait to get on it.“We had pretty packed crowds, but not everyone wants to get up that early on Saturday morning. Getting the whole school out there, getting families out there on Friday nights, it's going to be electric. I'm going to be enjoying it as much as I possibly can.”Burrillville dropped to Division II this fall after two seasons in the state’s top league. It fell in the non-state D-I final against North Kingstown in 2024 and managed three wins last year. Burrillville tried what most small schools are afraid to attempt — it took on the challenge of playing against the best.It likely would have added to its 24 football titles if the last two seasons were played in D-II. But now it’s a better program for having tested itself and the Broncos’ impressive run should only continue.“I thought it was great for these kids, the sophomores on this team that played for the divisional championship [two years ago],” Burrillville coach Gennaro Ferraro said. “They want to get back to Cranston Stadium. They understand what it takes.”“It was a learning curve,” Gustafson said. “It was a big test, especially to about 95% of the team that was new to varsity, including myself.”The Broncos scheduled a difficult regular season, something every team should strive for in the RPI system. The Broncos sandwiched that home-opener against West Warwick, the league’s runner up last year, against two D-I programs in Barrington and Portsmouth. A loss against either the Eagles or Patriots still boosts their RPI rankings. Sneaking out a win against either team would go a long way toward hosting a playoff game on that new field. But the Broncos certainly won’t play against a team like either of those programs in its divisional games. The harder schedule makes preparation for a playoff run that much easier as the Broncos can ride the rest of the schedule knowing that the toughest games of the year are behind them.“I feel like we we’re kind of looking at it as we were the underdog in D-I,” Jack Belluzzi said. “We're in D-II now and it's more of our own division. People want to beat us, we're more of a top dog in D-II.”“Iron sharpens iron,” Chace Gavis said. “Being able to play them last year, I feel like moving down to D-II will set us up great.”Burrillville has 13 seniors and 43 total kids in the program. Every coach in the state hopes for more participation in its program, but the 40-some in Burrillville’s group are in step with Ferraro. Belluzzi nearly matched his coach’s words verbatim on how the start of the season felt. “No, there's nothing like it — it’s like Christmas morning coming out here with all my boys,” Belluzzi said. “We worked all offseason to get here, and I'm a senior, so it's my last one. There’s a little bit more juice in my bones.”This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Burrillville football ready to debut on new turf for 2026 season

We recently had a chance to sit down and talk to Fantasy Football expert analyst Michael Fabiano and get his perspective on the Pittsburgh Steelers and their prospects for the upcoming fantasy season. If you have been a Steelers fan for any amount of time, you know that this team finds ways to win games but they haven't churned out fantasy football MVPs since the days of the Killer Bs.Fabiano also told us about National Fantasy Football Draft Day. It's coming up on August 21st and while this year's even is set for Las Vegas, the goal is to make it national. You can read everything about it at Draft Nation and trust us, if you are a fantasy football player, you aren't going to want to miss this. On the Steelers running backs: You know, the Steelers had two running backs in the top 20. Ken Gainwell is obviously now in Tampa Bay. Rico Dowdle, I feel like, is a better fantasy option in standard scoring leagues where you're not getting points for catches, which is kind of like Jurassic at this point. Most leagues give points for catches. In PPR, it's going to be Warren, but remember, I mean, Dowdle has familiarity with this offense. He was a thousand-yard rusher in Dallas under McCarthy, so he knows this offense. So, much like a lot of backfields in the NFL, it's going to be maybe a little bit difficult to decipher who's going to be the guy that you want from one week to the next.On QB Aaron Rodgers:It's funny because, you know, you just think of Rodgers being old, but he was the QB 17 last year. It's not bad. I mean, it's not like he used to be, which was elite, but it's still not bad. I mean, he's going to get drafted as a low QB2 or a high QB3, as you mentioned. He's going to be a guy who's going to be utilized when the matchup's right. And I would think he'd be a little bit better statistically than he was last yearOn a bounce back for DK Metcalf:So, I have him ranked as a WR3, and I had him as WR2 last year. I thought he was going to be better than he was. And so, he comes with less risk because you're not drafting him to be necessarily a weekly starter. He's going to be a three or a flex. And maybe he bounces back, and he's more like the guy that we saw in Seattle. We'll find out."National Fantasy Football Draft Day:I'm so fired up for this. Uh first off, kudos to my pals, Billy Enright, Rick Wolf, and Ed Bunnel. I mean, they have put this whole thing together, Ian Richie, and it's going to be fantastic. I mean, Rick Wolf basically got us a national day. National fantasy football draft day, which to me should be a national holiday. You shouldn't have to work, but whatever. It is what it is. Imagine going to Vegas and drafting with your pals outside the stadium. You've got this gigantic, like just massive board of televisions, pools, you know, maybe have a few libations. There's going to be some great folks there. A lot of fantasy football analysts like myself will be there. A lot of celebrities, you know, Adrian Peterson's going to be there. Michelle Beetle, my pal, she's going to be hosting the whole thing. Richard Christie's going to be there. You know him from the Stern Show. James Rode Rodriguez, Thomas Everett Scott, there's going to be so many awesome people. They're all very passionate about fantasy football just like I am.This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Fantasy Football expert Michael Fabiano talks Steelers and National Fantasy Football Day

Little League World Series schedule 2026: Full bracket, times, channels, scores for every LLWS game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.One of the most anticipated sporting events of the summer is back, with the 2026 edition of the Little League World Series set to crown another champion. Baseball players between 10 and 12 years old representing 20 teams from around the globe are back in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with the winners of the U.S. and International brackets set to face off for the championship on Aug. 30. There will be no repeat champion this year, as Taiwan didn't make it through the Asia-Pacific region tournament after winning the LLWS title in 2025 and finishing as runner-up in 2024. The U.S. bracket also features 10 new teams from last year, illustrating how difficult it is to navigate the regionals and make it to Williamsport. Who will claim youth baseball glory to close out this summer? Here's all you need to know to watch every game of the 2026 Little League Baseball World Series. Where to watch the Little League World SeriesTV channels: ESPN, ABC, ESPN2Live streams:fuboLittle League World Series games will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC or ESPN2 (see the full schedule below) and can also be streamed live on fubo, which offers a free trial to new users. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)Little League World Series schedule 2026Wednesday, Aug. 19GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch1Caribbean vs. Latin America1 p.m.ESPN, fubo2Southeast vs. Northwest3 p.m.ESPN, fubo3Asia-Pacific vs. Canada5 p.m.ESPN, fubo4Metro vs. New England7 p.m.ESPN, fuboThursday, Aug. 20GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch5Mexico vs. Australia12 p.m.ESPN, fubo6Mountain vs. Great Lakes2 p.m.ESPN, fubo7 Curacao vs. Japan4 p.m.ESPN, fubo8Midwest vs. West6 p.m.ESPN2, fuboFriday, Aug. 21GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch9Panama vs. Game 1 winner1 p.m.ESPN, fubo10Southwest vs. Game 2 winner3 p.m.ESPN, fubo11Europe-Africa vs. Game 3 winner5 p.m.ESPN, fubo12Mid-Atlantic vs. Game 4 winner7 p.m.ESPN, fuboSaturday, Aug. 22GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch13Game 3 loser vs. Game 5 loser1 p.m.ESPN, fubo14Game 4 loser vs. Game 6 loser3 p.m.ESPN, fubo15Game 1 loser vs. Game 7 loser5 p.m.ESPN, fubo16Game 2 loser vs. Game 8 loser7 p.m.ESPN, fuboSunday, Aug. 23GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch17Game 6 winner vs. Game 10 winner9 a.m.ESPN, fubo18Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner11 a.m.ESPN, fubo19Game 8 winner vs. Game 12 winner1 p.m.ABC, fubo20Game 7 winner vs. Game 11 winner2 p.m.ESPN, fuboMonday, Aug. 24GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch21Game 9 loser vs. Game 13 winner1 p.m.ESPN, fubo22Game 10 loser vs. Game 14 winner3 p.m.ESPN, fubo23Game 11 loser vs. Game 15 winner5 p.m.ESPN, fubo24Game 12 loser vs. Game 16 winner7 p.m.ESPN, fuboTuesday, Aug. 25GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch25Game 18 loser vs. Game 23 winner1 p.m.ESPN, fubo26Game 17 loser vs. Game 24 winner3 p.m.ESPN, fubo27Game 20 loser vs. Game 21 winner5 p.m.ESPN, fubo28Game 19 loser vs. Game 22 winner7 p.m.ESPN, fuboWednesday, Aug. 26GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch29Game 18 winner vs. Game 20 winner1 p.m.ESPN, fubo30Game 17 winner vs. Game 19 winner3 p.m.ESPN, fubo31Game 25 winner vs. Game 27 winner5 p.m.ESPN, fubo32Game 26 winner vs. Game 28 winner7 p.m.ESPN, fuboThursday, Aug. 27GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch33Game 29 loser vs. Game 31 winner3 p.m.ESPN, fubo34Game 30 loser vs. Game 32 winner7 p.m.ESPN, fuboFriday, Aug. 28No games scheduledSaturday, Aug. 29GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch35International championship: Game 29 winner vs. Game 33 winner12:30 p.m.ABC, fubo36U.S. championship: Game 30 winner vs. Game 34 winner3:30 p.m.ABC, fuboSunday, Aug. 30GameMatchupTime (ET)Watch37Third place: Game 35 loser vs. Game 36 loser10 a.m.ESPN, fubo38Championship: Game 35 winner vs. Game 36 winner3 p.m.ABC, fuboLittle League World Series teams 2026United States bracketGreat Lakes: Hamilton, OhioMetro: Bayonne, New JerseyMid-Atlantic: West Chester, PennsylvaniaMidwest: Davenport, IowaMountain: Henderson, NevadaNew England: Bridgewater, MassachusettsNorthwest: Tacoma, WashingtonSoutheast: Phenix City, AlabamaSouthwest: Boerne, TexasWest: Bonita, California International bracketAsia-Pacific: Seoul, South KoreaAustralia: SydneyCanada: VancouverCaribbean: Santiago, Dominican RepublicCuracao: WillemstadEurope-Africa: Brno, CzechiaJapan: TokyoLatin America: Leon, NicaraguaMexico: TijuanaPanama: ChiriquiRelated LinksLatest MLB news and rumors2026 MLB schedule and scoresMLB standings 2026

American Legion World Series championship game channel, time, schedule to watch Nebraska vs. Oregon final originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The next American Legion World Series champion will be crowned Tuesday.The Central Plains region champion from Lincoln, Nebraska, meets the Northwest representative from Portland, Oregon, with a title on the line. Both teams have learned to win when it counts. Portland dropped the first game of the Northwest region tournament before reeling off five consecutive victories, then went 1-2 in pool play at the World Series before edging Tupelo, Mississippi, in the semis. Lincoln also bounced back from a loss in the regional and won four games in two days to reach the World Series. The Nebraska team fell to Tupelo during pool play but made it through and blew out Midland, Michigan, to reach the final.Who will bring home the trophy? Here's when and where to watch. Where to watch American Legion World Series championshipTV channel: ESPNU Live streams:fuboFans can watch the finale of the 2026 American Legion World Series live on ESPNU or stream it via fubo, which offers a free trial to new users. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)What time is the American Legion World Series final? Date: Tuesday, Aug. 18Time: 6 p.m. ETThe 2026 American Legion World Series championship game is set to begin Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be played at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, North Carolina, which has hosted the event since 2011. American Legion World Series schedule, scores 2026Thursday, Aug. 13GameTime (ET)WatchGreat Lakes 11, Northeast 2——Central Plains 4, Western 2——Southeast 4, Northwest 3——Mid-South 10, Mid-Atlantic 4——Friday, Aug. 14GameTime (ET)WatchNorthwest 8, Northeast 5——Great Lakes 5, Southeast 4——Saturday, Aug. 15GameTime (ET)WatchMid-Atlantic 3, Western 2——Mid-South 7, Central Plains 4——Northeast 8, Southeast 7——Sunday, Aug. 16GameTime (ET)WatchCentral Plains 4, Mid-Atlantic 2——Great Lakes 4, Northwest 3——Mid-South 6, Western 2——Monday, Aug. 17 - SemifinalsGameTime (ET)WatchNorthwest 3, Mid-South 1——Central Plains 10, Great Lakes 0——Tuesday, Aug. 18 - ChampionshipGameTime (ET)WatchCentral Plains vs. Northwest6 p.m.ESPNU, fuboAmerican Legion World Series teams 2026Stripes BracketCentral Plains: Lincoln, NebraskaMid-Atlantic: Whitehouse, New JerseyMid-South: Tupelo, MississippiWestern: Fairfield, CaliforniaStars BracketGreat Lakes: Midland, MichiganNortheast: Bedford, New HampshireNorthwest: Portland, OregonSoutheast: Jacksonville, FloridaRelated LinksLatest MLB news and rumors2026 MLB schedule and scoresMLB standings 2026

❌ Ruled out for the opener, Simeone confirms Julián Álvarez is outAtlético de Madrid will not be able to count on Julián Álvarez for their competition opener. The Argentine forward’s absence for the clash against Málaga was officially confirmed by Diego Pablo Simeone during the pre-match press conference.The Rojiblanco coach explained that the decision is based strictly on fitness and preparation criteria. He believes the team’s star still needs more work on the pitch to reach the optimal rhythm required for competition.Despite ruling him out of the squad, the coach once again made clear the striker’s central role in his setup. "We still believe in the idea of building a team around him,"Simeone said, reaffirming the player’s strategic importance.The dressing room is looking to protect the player in every respect to avoid unnecessary risks. In this regard, Cholo was blunt about his current condition: "We take care of the person and the player; we understand that for this match he is not in the right condition to play."On a personal level, the coach highlighted the great relationship he has with the forward, whom he described as an "extraordinary lad". The manager also backed the firm stance of the club’s hierarchy, putting any debate to rest by saying that "if the owner of the club spoke bluntly, I don’t think there’s anything more to add."This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

Exterior view of a Home Depot in Uniontown, Pa., on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)2026-08-18T10:05:13Z Home Depot’s sales improved during the second quarter as customers focused on smaller projects during the summer months. Revenue for the Atlanta company increased to $47.86 billion from $45.28 billion, edging out the $47.24 billion that Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by FactSet. Globally, sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, climbed 1.7%. In the U.S., comparable store sales rose 1.3%.“Our second quarter results exceeded our expectations,” Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said Tuesday. “We saw broad based demand across the business as customers continued to engage in smaller projects.”Customer transactions slipped 1% in the quarter, but the amount shoppers spent rose to $92.50 per average receipt from $90.01 a year earlier.Home Depot earned $4.77 billion, or $4.79 per share, for the three months ended Aug. 2. A year earlier the home improvement retailer earned $4.55 billion, or $4.58 per share. Excluding one-time items, earnings were $4.92 per share. That’s much better than the $4.73 per share that Wall Street predicted. Home Depot’s solid quarterly performance comes at a time when the housing market continues to pressure retailers. The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows that fueled a homebuying frenzy at the start of this decade. While the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell slightly for the first time in six weeks last week, it is still up from last year and borrowing costs remain steeper than they were a year ago. Read More Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed again in July as record prices and the highest mortgage rates in a year prove to be an insurmountable hurdle for many prospective buyers. Existing home sales fell 1.7% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units, the National Association of Realtors said last week.Home prices continued to rise, hitting unprecedented levels for the month of July, NAR said. The U.S. median sales price increased 2% from a year earlier, to $434,100. Home Depot still expects fiscal 2026 total sales growth of approximately 2.5% to 4.5% and comparable sales to be about flat to up 2%.

Regional theaters can once again produce “Les Misérables” because a national tour has ended. One veteran actor called the popular show “an instant moneymaker.”

The actor went from oracle to angel of vengeance in the HBO drama. In an interview, he discusses his two Emmy nods for two very different characters.

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are taking the social media giant to trial in the first bellwether federal case over child harm.

At home, moderation and restraint are the rule for tech parents. Boredom is exalted. Maybe they’re onto something.

The power grid relies on thousands of aging, hand-built transformers. If enough fail, the blackout could last years.

Enzo Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica for £107m in 2023 [Getty Images]Alexander Isak's protracted £125m move to Liverpool dominated last summer's transfer window and there are signs that Manchester City's pursuit of Enzo Fernandez could follow a similar pattern.Chelsea agreed with the Argentina midfielder's agent Javier Pastore in late May that Fernandez could leave the club for £120m - but put a deadline of 14 August for any bids.Now that last Friday's deadline passed without any formal offers, the Blues have told Fernandez's camp that the player is not for sale in this transfer window.But, as last summer's Isak saga showed, it is rarely that simple. The Sweden striker finally clinched his British record transfer move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day after weeks of Newcastle United insisting he was not for sale.Twelve months on, the Fernandez uncertainty is not going away.Manchester City, managed by Fernandez's former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, are still keen to sign the 25-year-old and believe the London club still want to do a deal.City, who are also in advanced talks about a £85m deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, are bidding to bolster their midfield after Rodri agreed a move to Barcelona.They have already signed midfielder Elliot Anderson for a club-record £116m from Nottingham Forest, winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City for £12.5m and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from Marseille for £1.7m. If Fernandez and Bouaddi join, it means Maresca will have overseen a total spend of more than £330m. A chunk of that outlay will be funded by the sales of Rodri and James Trafford as well as the likely departures of Tijjani Reijnders and Savinho. The exits of Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have reduced the wage bill too.Reports from Spain also suggest Chelsea remain privately open to selling Fernandez and that the club have appointed high-profile agent Jorge Mendes, who also represents winger Pedro Neto, to resolve the situation.Fernandez tried and failed to secure a move to Real Madrid earlier in the summer - despite the club later publicly denying any interest - and the situation is further complicated by his relationship with Chelsea's fans.There were audible jeers when he came on in Saturday's 3-1 friendly win over Real Sociedad, although others responded with cheers. There was a similar mixed reaction every time he touched the ball.Chelsea remain confident the midfielder can be reintegrated back into the squad and made a show of intent by giving him the captain's armband when he replaced Reece James last weekend.However doubt remains over whether Fernandez will stay, and there is concern about the disruption such a late transfer would create, not least if new manager Xabi Alonso wanted to recruit a replacement.Fernandez wants Chelsea exit but club would demand £120mMan City move for £85m Bouaddi and still want FernandezAre Chelsea leaving it late?There are echoes of last summer's Isak story, with Newcastle appearing to take a strong stance and rejecting an initial £110m offer despite widespread knowledge that he was training away from the club with his former side Real Sociedad.It continued throughout the summer and only came to a conclusion when Liverpool announced the deal two-and-a-half hours after the transfer window closed.The Magpies had already signed attacking reinforcements, bringing in Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart for a club-record fee of £69m and Yoane Wissa from Brentford for £55m. Neither signing performed as hoped though, and Newcastle endured a disappointing season.Alonso has used a 3-4-2-1 system in pre-season and it has been successful. It largely mirrors the set-up he used when Bayer Leverkusen to an historic league and cup double in 2024.Moises Caicedo and James were the midfield pair at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Jordan Henderson sidelined by injury. Romeo Lavia came off the bench, with Valentin Barco and Dario Essugo remaining unused substitutes.Chelsea are well stocked in midfield, especially in a season without European football, and could cope in terms of numbers without signing a replacement for Fernandez if he left. In fact, they know they need to move on a significant amount of players before the window closes.However, earlier this summer they made a £64m bid for Bournemouth's Alex Scott and were reportedly offered Arsenal midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly. They have also been linked with Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton and Monaco's Lamine Camara.Bournemouth say Scott is not for sale at any price and it's also understood that Lewis-Skelly, who set up the first goal in the Community Shield win over City, is keen to remain at Arsenal.Whether Chelsea resist City's interest and fully reintegrate Fernandez to the squad or whether they sell the midfielder is likely to be one of the themes of the final two weeks of the transfer window.Fernandez booed by Chelsea fans as Alonso offers glimpse of blueprintChelsea say no Fernandez move as deadline passes - but is it really over?

Gyokeres linked to Barcelona as Lewandowski, Torres depart—but Arsenal say no approach has been madeBarcelona have not made direct contact with Arsenal to discuss a deal for Viktor Gyokeres, despite reports.Gyokeres has been named as a potential option for Barcelona before the deadline as the Spanish champions look to sign a striker. The Catalans are seeking replacements for Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, who have departed for Chicago Fire and Paris Saint-Germain.Barcelona have been frustrated in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, despite the Argentine'sdesire for a move to the Camp Nou. Atletico have turned down multiple offers for Alvarez and are insistent that the 26-year-old is not for sale.Spanish outletEl Chiringuito TV have claimed Gyokeres has been earmarked as an option. The Swedish striker's future at Arsenal is uncertain after a mixed debut campaign, despite Premier League title success.The 28-year-old scored 21 goals in 56 games, but was overlooked for some high-profile fixtures.Gyokeres started the Champions League final defeat to PSG on the bench and was also a substitute for Sunday's Community Shield win over Manchester City. Kai Havertz, who scored in both of those fixtures, has been preferred as first-choice forward.Arsenal paid around £54m to sign Gyokeres from Sporting CP last summer and are reportedly open to a sale if a suitable bid arrives.“Arsenal have not received any kind of call” — Barcelona linked to Viktor Gyokeres but no direct contact yetHowever,Fabrizio Romano has reported that there has been no 'direct contact' from Barcelona to discuss a deal at this stage."Is there a chance to see Viktor Gyokeres at Barcelona? What I can tell you, checking this news overnight, is that Arsenal have not received any kind of call or direct contact for Viktor Gyokeres," Romano said."At the moment, the information is that Barcelona have not reached out to Arsenal."

We have already taken an in-depth dive into Maryland football’s quarterbacks. With the 2026 season coming in just a few short sleeps, we will now move to examine the Terps that make up head coach Mike Locksley’s running back room.The run game was one of Maryland’s biggest areas of weakness in 2025, finishing last in the Big Ten with just 104.3 rushing yards per game, its lowest total since joining the conference in 2014. While the Terps averaged 4.1 yards per carry — an increase from 3.6 in 2024 — the inconsistencies of the platoon-style room played a large part in forcing then-freshman quarterback Malik Washington to lead the conference in passing attempts.The majority of the rushing production was carried out by Washington and running back DeJuan Williams, who rushed for 64% of Maryland’s total yards on the season. However, former offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s air raid offense limited Williams to just 128 carries.The rushing limitations were a team-wide trend, as the Terps squeaked out only 305 rushing attempts to finish comfortably at the bottom of all Division 1 offenses. But with new offensive coordinator Clint Trickett entering the picture, fans could see that number skyrocket.Maryland’s 2025 running back depth chartNameYear2025 StatsDeJuan WilliamsRedshirt Sophomore128 Att, 501 Yds (3.9 Avg), 3 TDTerrez WorthyGraduate Student23 Att, 71 Yds (3.1 Avg), 1 TDIverson HowardSophomore39 Att, 125 Yds (3.2 Avg), 0 TDHarry Dalton IIIRedshirt Freshman8 Att, 44 Yds (5.5 Avg), 0 TDSolomon FoyeRedshirt FreshmanN/ADJ SamuelsRedshirt JuniorN/ALiam WillsonJuniorN/AWilliams takes the throneWhile Nolan Ray — who has since transferred to Boston College — was expected to shoulder the bulk of Maryland’s carries in 2025, it was Williams who stole the show. And with a brand-new speed-focused offensive playbook at his disposal, the redshirt sophomore is set up for a potential breakout this season.Williams also presents as an immense threat in the passing game, catching 45 passes for 426 yards and one touchdown. That score came against a potent defense of the eventual national champions.55 days until Maryland football is back ⏳Relive DeJuan Williams’ 55-yard touchdown catch against eventual national champions Indiana last season 🐢What does this duo have in store this fall? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EX3yTyaKj6— Inside Maryland Sports (@Terrapins247) July 12, 2026That play, along with a 40-yard rush against Michigan State in the season finale, displayed Williams’ breakout potential when given room to run out of the backfield. While Hamilton’s condensed formations may have provided restrictions to an inexperienced running back last season, this season’s spread formations should provide more freedom for Williams to flex his muscles.Who makes the platoon?Of the six remaining running backs on Marland’s roster, only Iverson Howard received carries in a Terps uniform. The former four-star from Gaithersburg, Maryland, had just 39 carries behind Ray and Williams in 2025, but now presents as the second-most experienced back on the depth chart. He made appearances in all 12 games last season, but primarily served as a kick returner, where he led the Terps with seven kickoff returns for 108 yards.Behind Howard sits a pair of fairly inexperienced transfers in Harry Dalton III and Terrez Worthy. Dalton, who measures in at a stocky 5-foot-10, 205 pounds, could serve as the prototypical goal-line bruiser in a room of shorter, more elusive backs. Despite appearing in just four garbage time scenarios in 2025, Dalton managed to average 1.6 more yards per carry than anyone else on Maryland’s depth chart,On the other hand, Worthy’s slender frame provides an entirely separate skill set for Trickett to experiment with. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound running back from Salisbury, Maryland, transferred in after a down sophomore year at Temple. In 16 games over two years in Philadelphia, Worthy ran for 496 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also put his blistering speed to use while serving as a returner in 2024.A look at the big-play ability of new Maryland running back Terrez Worthy. He hit 20.9 mph on this 75-yard touchdown run 🐢 pic.twitter.com/epMdG2iSOF— Inside Maryland Sports (@Terrapins247) May 15, 2026Due to a top-heavy room in 2025, Solomon Foye did not see any game action. The redshirt freshman was converted from his recruited position as a talented high school linebacker.DJ Samuels and Liam Willson are the only juniors on Maryland’s depth chart. Samuels acts as the de facto battering ram in the trenches for the Terps, but he saw his season cut to just four games after suffering a season-ending injury in 2025. In 2024, Samuels appeared in all 12 games in various roles on offense, defense and special teams, causing havoc in all facets of the game. Willson serves as the final new addition to the running back room, but he was brought to College Park from Wake Forest to play an entirely different sport. The junior started 23 games for the Maryland baseball team, finishing with four doubles, a triple, a home run and 13 RBI before committing to his secondary sport during spring practices. He hasn’t played a snap of football since his senior year of high school, when he rushed for 1,657 yards and 27 touchdowns.

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 13: Will Campbell #66 of the New England Patriots reacts following an NFL preseason football game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Year 2 leap is a common phrase around the NFL.For a New England Patriots team that counted on several rookies to handle starting roles in last year’s run to the Super Bowl, there are a handful of options when it comes to players taking a jump in their second season.Among the top of the list is last year’s first-round pick Will Campbell.Campbell’s rookie season is well-documented, as a strong start was derailed by a midseason MCL injury that left him — and his performance — hobbled upon his return. Now healthy, Campbell has performed well throughout training camp after attacking the offseason.“Couldn’t be happier with where he’s at,” offensive line coach Doug Marrone said Sunday.That’s why 34% of participants view Campbell as the Patriot player most likely to take the biggest Year 2 leap, according to the latest SB Nation Reacts survey.With a talented second-year class to choose from, the comment section featured many choices.For Pats SakeJared Wilson will make the Year 2 Leap. He was pretty bad as a Guard but he’s far more comfortable at Center since it’s what he played in college.McNCBiggest leap will come from Elijah Ponder. We’ll see it if Landry sits more and if they rotate with Jacas but Jacas is a rook and his power and burst will fade as the long season continues against pro-level Olinemen. Ponder will cement his role to take over for Landry this year with Jacas as the future behind him and Jones and Swinson as ED5 this year and ED4 next.DiehardPatsfanTough pick but going with Wilson. Learned a lot playing guard last year and now playing his natural position. Also think Campbell will have a solid year.Mosi_TatupuPicked Woodson based off his excellent playoff performance after being mediocre all season. Also has a great veteran S back there with him for pointers.Leoa888Even though I’ve been taking Kayshon Boutte over KW, I do want KW to succeed and be a great player. And it got a lot harder for him now with brown and DoubsArscholochThere’s a really good chance that they will all make that leap, yet I went with Woodson as making the most improvement.All in all, this week’s survey results look as follows:Behind Campbell, last year’s second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson was second receiving 24% of the votes. Henderson’s big play ability was on display last year, but a jump could lead to more consistency or impact in the passing game.New England’s third rounders from last year — Jared Wilson and Kyle Williams — each received 15% of the votes. Both players were named off-season award winners, in addition to Campbell, as Wilson moved back to his natural center position and Williams transformed his body and now is working to improve his versatility within the offense.Rounding out the voting was fourth-round selection Craig Woodson, who played the best football of any rookie down the stretch last year and in the Super Bowl.The Patriots’ talented rookie class helped them get to the Super Bowl last season. Now with the group back for Year 2, New England is hoping their improvements will help them get back and finish the job. The Patriots currently have the fifth-highest odds on FanDuel Sportsbook to win Super Bowl LXI.

Goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel has won 12 caps for Wales [Huw Evans Picture Agency]Wales goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel has joined Watford on loan from Manchester United for the duration of the 2026-27 season.Middleton-Patel spent the second half of the 2023-24 campaign on loan with the Hornets but is now poised for a full season with the club in Women's Super League 2.The 21-year-old made her senior bow for the Red Devils against Newcastle United in December 2024.She made three appearances under Marc Skinner last season, including in her side's Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford.A Manchester United statement read: "We will be tracking Saf's progress closely and wish her the very best of luck."'I love my fans, but also dread meeting them' - life as an autistic elite footballerMiddleton-Patel's Euro 2025 history 'so important'Lego and tattoos - Wales' role model goalkeeperMiddleton-Patel - who has previously had loan spells with Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City and Coventry United - started five of Wales' six World Cup qualifying group stage matches earlier this year.She will bid to retain the number one jersey as Rhian Wilkinson's side face Albania in a double header in October in the play-off first round.The winner of that tie will take on either Romania or Norway in the second round.

A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)2026-08-18T10:34:16Z NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still has an Alzheimer’s disease program. Congress appropriated $41 million to it this year. There’s just no one staffing it.Then there’s the agency’s Office on Smoking and Health. Congress allocated $246 million for that. Its staffers were cut, too.Same for the epilepsy program. Its sickle cell disease data collection operation. Its rape prevention unit.Think of them as the CDC’s zombie programs — they appear to be alive, at least according to legislation and congressional appropriations. But functionally they are dead or nearly dead, because the CDC experts who did the work were laid off by President Donald Trump’s administration or remain on leave — paid but not allowed to do their jobs.The Atlanta-based CDC is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats. When Dr. Erica Schwartz became the agency’s latest director last week, she inherited these zombie programs and congressional pressure to bring some of them back to life. In Schwartz’s confirmation hearing, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine pressed her to restart the smoking office’s dormant activities.“This is an office that is in statute, and it’s an office that receives congressional appropriations,” said Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. “Will you follow the law if we appropriate money for this mission and the CDC?”“I will always follow the law,” Schwartz replied. Trump officials turned some CDC programs into the living deadThe decision to freeze the programs came from Schwartz’s political bosses.In April 2025, Trump’s Republican administration sent layoff notices to thousands of employees at the CDC and other federal health agencies. It was part of a sweeping effort to remake the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and consolidate some of its programs under a new subagency called the Administration for a Healthy America. That reorganization hasn’t happened, amid congressional pushback.But the layoffs did. Led by then-adviser Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, the cuts affected researchers, scientists, doctors, support staffers and senior leaders, leaving the government without many of the key experts who long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues. Read More The cuts were challenged in lawsuits and through pleas to legislators. Some were reversed. Drastic cuts to the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, for example, were rescinded. Other reinstatements included staffers at labs that test for sexually transmitted diseases and support lead poisoning control.But many of the cuts endured. As a result of litigation, staffers who initially were laid off have been placed on administrative leave while the fight moves through the legal system, paid to not do their jobs.Not all public health efforts associated with every impacted program stopped. Most of the CDC’s budget is passed on to state and local programs, and much of grant processing has continued.Staffers at the CDC and other federal health agencies “deserve a lot of credit for getting money out the door,” said Eric Gascho, executive director of the Coalition for Health Funding.But gone are seasoned experts doing research into the health threats, assessing which grant-funded programs work and which don’t and setting a national framework for best ways to save and prolong lives.“Without the experts, the coordination is not there across the country” in tackling public health problems, said Erika Sward, chief advocacy officer for UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “You’re often flying blind, and without a parachute, when you don’t have the CDC staff in place.” A union is keeping track of the zombie programsIn January, Congress passed an appropriations bill, which became law, that specified funding for more than 200 projects and activities. The law requires that HHS maintain staff to carry out statutorily required program work, although it does not say how many staffers must be in each program to do it. Have a news tip? Tell our investigators AP’s global investigative team accepts tips securely and confidentially. Choose the method that works best for you. Email [email protected] Signal +1 (202) 281-8604 Secure and confidential Since then, current and former CDC employees have compiled a list of dozens of funded-but-decimated CDC programs. They include:— The Office on Smoking and Health, which tracked trends, supported quit lines and operated the “Tips from Former Smokers” ad campaign that researchers associate with billions of dollars in saved healthcare costs.— A $41 million Alzheimer’s initiative for better surveillance, risk prevention and communications campaigns. Affected work includes development of a webpage that was to explain what’s known about a potential link between menopause and Alzheimer’s disease, whether early menopause is related to higher risk and whether hormone therapy can lessen that risk. — An $18 million program to support overdose prevention in tribal communities. — An $11 million program focused on tracking epilepsy and community programs that help people manage the condition.— A sickle cell disease data collection program, for which Congress appropriated $6 million.— The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, the most comprehensive collection of data on the health behaviors and outcomes before, during and after childbirth. Researchers have been using its data to investigate the nation’s maternal mortality problem. — A $2 million program focused on preventing drownings.Notably, the cuts affected a number of programs focused on the causes and prevention of chronic diseases. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said tackling chronic disease is his central priority, and he has faulted the CDC for not doing enough.Democrats say what’s happening at the CDC is illegalAfter President Richard Nixon, a Republican, refused to spend appropriated funds, Congress passed the Impoundment Control Act in 1974. The CDC’s zombie programs represent a violation of that law, Democratic lawmakers say.But there is no appropriations police or law enforcement agency that Congress can use to enforce the law. Republicans control the House and the Senate, so there’s been limited appetite for Congress to challenge the Trump administration.“President Trump is showing time and again that he will put politics ahead of Americans’ health — and sadly, my Republican colleagues continue to look the other way,” said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, in a statement.In a spending bill passed this year, Baldwin and other senators included new requirements that federal health agencies maintain staffing levels necessary to fulfill statutory responsibilities, but the bill did not specify staffing levels for each program. Sen. Jon Ossoff is a Democrat who represents Georgia, where the CDC is based. He suggested legislators are watching whether Schwartz will administer the programs that Congress funded.“We will learn swiftly whether she intends to follow the law,” he said in a statement.Plans to hire people have not revived the programsKennedy visited the CDC earlier this month. An Associated Press reporter heard a recording of an employee forum at which Kennedy praised CDC employees and told them: “My sole purpose is to allow you to do your jobs.” He didn’t address the funded programs that have no staff.In April, Kennedy said in a congressional hearing that more workers were needed at federal health agencies, and he planned to hire 12,000 people — mainly to address chronic health conditions.It’s unclear how many have been hired at the CDC since then. U.S. health officials did not respond to a question about that.Apparently there’s been very little, suggested an official with the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing CDC employees.“Not only have we not had any … really significant hiring of CDC employees, but we’ve also had ignoring and stalling when it comes to those employees that had been (laid off), who were supposed to have priority for some of those jobs,” said AFGE Local 2883 President Yolanda Jacobs.Schwartz started at the CDC last week. The AP requested her comment on her plans regarding the programs. The response came from an HHS spokesperson, who emailed: “Dr. Schwartz is determined to support and empower employees to ensure they have what they need to succeed.”___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. MIKE STOBBE Stobbe mainly covers public health for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump speaks about TrumpRx in the South Court Auditorium in the Old Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2026-08-18T10:50:41Z NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has been taking credit for new federal data that shows U.S. prescription drug prices fell 0.8% in July and are down 3.1% from a year ago, the steepest year-over-year drop since 1963.The plunging prices, the White House said, resulted from the Republican president’s “most favored nation” drug deals with pharmaceutical firms and the TrumpRx website, which it said are “delivering real relief to American families and putting patients first.”The real picture is more complicated, said drug pricing experts, who noted that other factors, including a law from Democratic President Joe Biden’s time in office that allowed Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, are potentially more significant contributors to the latest consumer price index figures. Also at play, they said, are generic and biosimilar products that have come onto the market, offering competition that drives down the price of expensive brand-name and biologic drugs. In addition, the prescription drug price index measured by the Labor Department and released last week doesn’t directly reflect how much consumers pay — it measures how much pharmacies get paid for the drugs, both by insurers and consumers. “It’s difficult to know in one number what’s going on beneath the hood,” said Juliette Cubanski, a vice president and director of the Program on Medicare Policy at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. “I don’t think we can attribute this price reduction to any one specific policy change or initiative.”Here’s what to know about the decline in prescription drug prices: Competition and policy both contribute to changing pricesDrug pricing experts said both market competition and various policy changes have influenced prescription drug prices in recent years.On the market side, “when big blockbuster products face generic competition, their prices fall,” said Dr. Benjamin Rome, a health policy researcher at Harvard Medical School. For example, he said, various biosimilar drugs have arrived on the market to treat the same autoimmune conditions as the brand-name drug Humira, offering similar treatment at a lower cost.Similarly, competition has led to price reductions for Stelara, a popular biologic medicine that treats chronic inflammatory conditions, said Stacie Dusetzina, a professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Read More Biden-era federal policies also likely played a role — most notably the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which for the first time allowed Medicare to haggle with drugmakers over the cost of the top-selling prescription drugs in the program. New prices for the first 10 of those negotiated drugs launched in January, a change Cubanski, Rome and Dusetzina all said likely made an impact on aggregate prices. The Trump administration has carried forward those negotiations, as mandated by law, and projects additional savings on prescription drugs in the years ahead.A new Trump administration policy lowering the price of GLP-1 weight loss drugs for certain eligible Medicare enrollees could also be playing a role in driving down prices, the experts said. But that went into effect in July, so only its first month is reflected in the data. It’s hard to measure the impact of MFN deals and TrumpRxTrump has sought to attribute the drop in prescription drug prices to his “most favored nation” deals to bring U.S. pharmaceutical prices to the same level as other developed countries.Drug pricing experts said the actual impact of those deals so far is unclear, since the contracts with drug companies have not been made public and the models designed to put MFN policies into practice in federal health programs have not gone into effect yet.“These policies are under development and have not affected payers in the index,” Dusetzina told The Associated Press in an email. “Ultimately, I believe that the change is likely to be more directly related to the IRA’s policies and the Medicare drug price negotiation program than it is to current policies.”Experts lauded TrumpRx, the White House’s website funneling Americans to the best deals on a variety of prescription drugs, for bringing a helpful resource and more price transparency to the public.But they said it’s unclear how many Americans are making use of the service. In addition, many of the brand-name drugs it has featured are cheaper with insurance or have lower-cost generic versions sold elsewhere. The White House said the website has generated $700 million in savings for patients but didn’t explain how it reached that figure. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts last week questioned that claim in a letter to the Trump administration, saying Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has admitted that TrumpRx doesn’t store patient, health or prescription information.“Without this information, the accuracy of any claim of savings made by the Trump administration is unreliable,” she wrote. Many consumers still face high drug costs – and rising health costs overallEven as the consumer price index shows a year-over-year drop in drug prices, experts warned consumers aren’t necessarily seeing that in their budgets.That’s because the Labor Department’s figures measure not what consumers pay directly but what pharmacies are paid by insurers and consumers. Insurers often eat much of the cost, and what patients pay can depend on a variety of factors, including whether they are insured and what plans they have. Plus, some Americans still rely on expensive drugs that don’t have cheaper alternatives yet.Higher health spending and federal policy changes are also resulting in higher insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for many Americans. That could mean even as drug prices decline, they’re paying more for healthcare than they once were. “A price measure like the CPI is not going to adequately capture consumers’ experience with healthcare and prescription drugs and other hospital services, the same way it would for groceries and gas and other tangible services that people go and pay for at the store,” Rome said. ALI SWENSON Swenson covers politics and the information landscape for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter

President Donald Trump speaks about TrumpRx in the South Court Auditorium in the Old Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2026-08-18T10:50:23Z TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Explosions rocked an Ohio industrial recycling business Tuesday morning, sparking a large fire that drew a swarm of emergency responders. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.The Toledo Fire & Rescue Department said there were two explosions at Brent Industries shortly before 5 a.m. TV news video showed fire engines surrounding the building as flames and dark smoke poured from the structure.Few other details have been released. Authorities urged the public to stay away from the area as crews worked to extinguish the blaze.A phone message was left for Brent Industries.The company, based in Brent, Alabama, offers textile reconditioning and industrial recycling services aimed at reducing waste and saving money, according to its website. It was founded in Alabama in 1977 and has operations in Brent and Toledo.

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02527-zRobotic supports were once designed for clinical use, but researchers are now developing cheaper, smaller devices aimed at everyone — from people with ageing knees to 20-somethings seeking to climb mountains.

Nature, Published online: 17 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02589-zEmerging treatments known as orexin agonists show wide-ranging promise similar to that of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Plus, postdocs protest in Argentina and the highest-resolution image ever of the Sun’s photosphere.

The artificial intelligence start-up announced a chatbot mode that will automatically limit some conversations to better protect young users.

We look into the exploding business of buy-now-pay-later loans.

They made a risky bid to reunite after three years of separation, illness and deprivation — the kind of ordeal suffered by many thousands of families torn apart by the war in eastern Ukraine.

NEW DELHI: Devdutt Padikkal’s alertness gave KL Rahul a second chance during India’s second innings in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday. India had lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early, with Asitha Fernando getting him caught behind with the third ball of the first over. But Rahul and Padikkal then steadied the innings and added 59 runs to take India’s lead to 237.Padikkal convinces KL Rahul to reviewKL Rahul looked set to walk back when Prabath Jayasuriya trapped him on the back pad in the 11th over. The ball came in with the arm and KL Rahul was beaten on the inside edge before being hit on the back pad. The decision looked plumb to the naked eye.KL Rahul was not confident about taking the review and was almost walking back. But Padikkal quickly asked him to review the decision.It turned out to be a crucial call.The replays showed there was no bat involved and the impact was in line. However, the ball was going over the stumps, meaning the on-field decision was overturned.KL Rahul looked relieved and gave Padikkal a big hug, thanking his partner for convincing him to take the review.— nibraz88cricket (@nibraz88cricket) KL Rahul, Padikkal build another 50-run standThe pair had already put together a 50-plus partnership in the innings, adding to a rare list of Indian opening and top-order pairs who have managed 50-plus stands in both innings of a Test in Sri Lanka.Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das did it in Colombo in 2001, while Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir achieved the feat in Galle and Colombo in 2008. VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina also did it in Colombo in 2010.Rahul and Padikkal became the latest Indian pair to join the list in Galle in 2026.— karnataka_sport (@karnataka_sport) KL Rahul eventually falls for 35KL Rahul could not make the most of his second chance, though. He was eventually dismissed for 35 off 47 balls, with two fours and two sixes.Jayasuriya got his revenge when Rahul stepped down the track and tried to loft the ball over mid-on. The bat twisted at impact and the ball went towards deepish mid-off, where substitute fielder Milan Rathnayake took a safe catch.

Harry Kane unsure over playing time against DortmundIn their first competitive game of the 2026/27 season, Bayern Munich will lock horns with familiar foes Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.Star striker Harry Kane is back with the squad after enjoying his post-World Cup vacation following England’s run in the tournament, but the 33-year-old is unsure how many minutes he will play at the weekend.“That's not certain. I've already spoken to the coach about it,” Kane told reporters on Monday, as captured by iMiaSanMia.“It's only a week of pre-season, but I'm used to this quick transition. I've played in these tournaments almost every year in my career. “We have to wait and see. Whether it's 90 minutes or 45 depends on how I feel this week.”The clash at Signal Iduna Park will kick off at 20:30 on Saturday.

Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story, who started his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, needed just one game to make the somewhat surprising claim that he could be activated as early as Friday against the San Francisco Giants, as shared by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.If he is, that would be a major mistake…It’s not just me saying it! It’s recent history saying it!Romy Gonzalez, who missed all of spring training after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, appeared in just six minor league games before being activated off of the injured list. I don’t have to tell you how poorly that has gone, as the utility infielder slashed an atrocious .185/.265/.308 (12-for-65) across 19 games split between first base and second base before being optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 4.Adley Rutschman, who was on the injured list when acquired via trade with the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 3, was given even less time as he appeared in two games during his rehab assignment before being called up to slash .059/.273/.059 (1-for-17) across five games heading into Monday’s contest with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before finally collecting two hits and his first extrabase hit in last night’s romp.Story has missed at least half of the games in three of his five seasons with the club, is coming off sports hernia surgery, and slashed .206/.244/.303 across 41 games before heading to the injured list on May 16. I don’t see him being much different than the other two guys.Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy admitted that the expectation was for Story to take over as the everyday shortstop and Anthony to take over as the leadoff hitter and left fielder/designated hitter during his pregame media availability on Monday, as shared by Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe.It’s not a matter of if, but when those two things happen.I hope that you all come back and make fun of me for being wrong, but we’ll see.

Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala during the 2026 German Cup final victory over Stuttgart (John MACDOUGALL)Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala is training alone after tests following his collapse on the pitch during Saturday's 3-1 home friendly win over RB Leipzig.The 23-year-old Germany international fell to the pitch at the end of Saturday's match and required medical attention in hot conditions in the Bavarian capital, with temperatures well over 30 degrees Celsius. AFP sports subsidiary SID reported Musiala complained of dizziness, circulatory issues and feeling feverish after the match. The one-time Chelsea junior player did not take part in an open training session in Munich on Monday but trained individually at the club's Saebener Strasse home earlier in the day. German media reported Musiala is in line to return to team training this week ahead of Saturday's Supercup clash at Borussia Dortmund. Musiala missed the first six months of the 2025-26 season due to a broken ankle sustained at the Club World Cup. He was recalled to the Germany squad for the 2026 World Cup. Germany crashed out at the last-32 stage to Paraguay. dwi/gj

Tickets for VfB Stuttgart, pre-sale starts on ThursdayAdvance ticket sales for the Bundesliga away match against VfB Stuttgart (Sat, 09/19/2026, 6:30 PM) begin for membersThis article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters, who reportedly withdrew from Turkey with their weapons, stand to attention during a ceremony in the Qandil area of northern, Iraq, Sunday, Oct 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya, File)2026-08-18T11:15:54Z ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed into law a measure that would introduce a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdish militants as part of a government peace effort with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.The measure was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday. It will only come into force after Turkey’s National Security Council confirms that the group has fully dissolved itself and disarmed.Parliament approved the bill overwhelmingly last week. It would suspend certain prison sentences for convicted PKK members and postpone ongoing investigations and trials against others for five or 10 years, depending on the severity of the crime. Authorities would drop the cases against the individuals if they don’t re-offend during those periods.The legislation also establishes a committee to oversee the group’s disarmament, with its first meeting expected next week. Last year, the PKK — considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies — announced its decision to disband, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan and other key PKK figures are excluded from the pardon.Soon after that, some fighters laid down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq, where the group is based, and withdrew some fighters from key locations in Turkey to Iraq.The conflict with the PKK has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s.

The ChatGPT app is displayed on an iPhone in New York, May 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)2026-08-18T11:00:56Z SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI is launching a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers — the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence — who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life and even companionship.The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens, which launches Tuesday, is tailored for kids aged 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things like suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays. The idea is to guide teens toward healthy AI use in an age-appropriate environment, the company said. “We want to treat teens like teens, which means that we have to make sure that we’re showing up with the right developmental stage when we’re not either talking down to them or treating them like kids, but we’re also making sure that they’re not exposed to material that they shouldn’t be exposed to,” said Ann O’Leary, vice president of global policy at OpenAI. Risks abound in widespread teen usage of AI chatbotsParents, educators and child development experts have been sounding alarms over children’s use of AI chatbots, which have been blamed for facilitating cheating on schoolwork and even suicide. And while even adults can fall victim to anthropomorphizing AI and developing unhealthy relationships with it, teenagers’ brains are not yet fully developed and they can be particularly vulnerable. Last year, research from a watchdog group found that ChatGPT would tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked. In interactions with researchers posing as vulnerable teens, ChatGPT typically warned against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury.In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a 2025 study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly. Read More OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that the company is trying to study “emotional overreliance” on the technology, describing it last year as a “really common thing” with young people. For users of ChatGPT for Teens, the chatbot is prevented from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions, according to OpenAI. That’s in addition to blocking romantic or sexual chats. “We went through and identified what are the hypothetical cues that a model could give that might make a teenager kind of develop a relationship to it,” said Allison Mishkin, head of child development at OpenAI. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. A new version of the chatbot expands safety protectionsOpenAI doesn’t verify users’ ages, but it already uses age assurance to estimate if someone is under 18 based on factors such as their types of queries. If someone is identified or identifies themselves as a minor, they are automatically placed into the teen version of the chatbot. This is similar to Meta’s approach to teen accounts on Instagram, which have stricter content, chat and privacy restrictions than regular accounts. To use parental controls, both the teen user and their parent or guardian have to opt in. But O’Leary said the idea with the teen chatbot is to “make sure that this is safe, even if you don’t use parental controls.” Parents with linked teen accounts can set “quiet hours” when their teen can’t access ChatGPT, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations, such as the possibility of a user hurting themself. “We are adding additional notifications related to eating disorders, while limiting what is shared and focusing on moments when offline support may matter most,” OpenAI said. For homework help, OpenAI said the teen chatbot is designed not to give easy answers but to guide students to come up with answers on their own. The company already offers a version of ChatGPT for teachers, and tailoring a model to help kids with studying and homework could give OpenAI more ways to bring its product to schools. “We continue to also invest in expanding interactive learning because research shows that people learn more effectively when they actively engage and struggle with concepts,” Mishkin said. BARBARA ORTUTAY Ortutay writes about social media and the internet for The Associated Press. mailto

This book cover image released by Alfred A. Knopf shows "Belonging: A Journey of Love" by Sonia Gandhi. (Alfred A. Knopf via AP)2026-08-18T11:00:29Z NEW YORK (AP) — Sonia Gandhi has a memoir coming out this fall in which she will reflect on the promise and the tragedy of marrying into India’s Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and on her own career in government.Alfred A. Knopf announced Tuesday that Gandhi’s “Belonging: A Journey of Love” will be published Nov. 10.“Much has been written about my family, but few narratives were able to reach into the truth of their motivations, their actions and even their very human failings,” Sonia Gandhi said in a statement issued through Knopf. “In many ways, this book is a homage to their humanness. My story also offers readers a unique perspective of the social and political changes I have witnessed for six decades in the beautiful country of my belonging.”Gandhi, 79, is a native of Italy who was studying in Cambridge, England, when she met fellow student and future husband Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and son of India’s first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi. In “Belonging,” she writes of her life being upended when her mother-in-law is assassinated in 1984 and succeeded by Rajiv Gandhi, who seven years later was also murdered. She too would eventually enter politics and become the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress Party while also turning down her party’s offer to become prime minister. Her party lost power to current Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party in 2014.“It was heartbreak and loss that threw me into the public world of politics. Up till then I had guarded my privacy fiercely,” she said in her statement. “Writing about my life did not come easily to me. It meant opening myself up, sharing moments and experiences I had always held deep inside,” she said. “Yet as I gradually removed myself from the political sphere and looked back at all I had seen, the thread of love and loyalty that wove through my story began to define itself, from the simplicity of my childhood in small-town Italy, to the complexity of my years in India as the wife of Rajiv Gandhi and the daughter-in-law of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.” Read More The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty remains active in politics. Both of Sonia Gandhi’s children, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are members of India’s lower house parliament from the Congress party. HILLEL ITALIE Italie has covered the publishing industry since 1998. He writes about notable books, industry trends and ongoing issues such as book bans, AI, consolidation and copyright. twitter instagram mailto