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For those licking their chops just waiting for New York Giants second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart to slip up, you might be waiting a long time. He seems to get better with every passing day. Dart came into this summer fully aware of all of his shortcomings and faults. He's worked on improving in those areas, and it has shown in his performance. At the Giants' brawl-laden joint practice against the Miami Dolphins in steamy South Florida on Thursday, Dart was as cool as one could be. He didn't look like a young quarterback about to regress. He looked like a player who's about to take off.Sorry, haters.This is the day we've been waiting to see from Jaxson Dart this summer. He went 16 of 22 passing. Two of the incompletions were spikes. One interception. But he hit several downfield throws to Malachi Fields and Isaiah Likely. Looked in control. #Giants#Dolphins— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 20, 2026Does not just excel on the field; he excels off it, too. Many young players would fold under the pressure of the Big Apple media crush and the bright lights. Dart embraces those things. He was made for this city. He stood before the media after practice and modestly critiqued his performance, which was described as "eye-popping" by some.“I felt like I played clean.” Jaxson Dart said the Giants started out and hit four bombs out of the gate. Really was two to Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin. But point taken. https://t.co/2mgZ5L38ecpic.twitter.com/IaDrg1LREb— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 20, 2026Dart has not only gained the confidence of his teammates; he's won over his new coaching staff, too. Those coaches want to temper him, but they're going to have a tough time doing that. Jaxson Dart just dropped a 50 yard bomb in the bucket to Malachi Fields for a touchdown.Danced around in the pocket to extend the play and ripped it down the left sideline.— Anthony Rivardo (@Anthony_Rivardo) August 20, 2026His improvisational skills are just too great to attempt to subdue. This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants' Jaxson Dart downplays best practice of training camp: 'Clean'

“Someone like that” Carlton Cole backs Arsenal’s move for FrenchmanArsenal are one of the clubs interested in a move for PSG’s Bradley Barcola, and Carlton Cole believes the winger is a player the Gunners need to add to their squad.Barcola wants to leave PSG, while the French club is prepared to sell him provided the price is right, as they look to reinvest the money into their squad. His situation has attracted interest from several clubs, with Liverpool currently appearing to be the most serious suitors.Arsenal Consider Barcola MoveLiverpool have shown the strongest interest in Barcola over the last few weeks and could beat Arsenal to his signature. However, the Reds have not yet completed a deal, leaving the door open for Arsenal to approach before the transfer window closes.The Gunners could become more active in their pursuit of Barcola if they manage to offload Gabriel Martinelli. The French winger would provide another option on the left side and could add further quality to an Arsenal attack that has already been strengthened.Barcola has won back-to-back Champions League titles in Paris and would bring that winning experience to the Emirates if Arsenal manage to sign him. Cole believes the winger could be an ideal addition as the Gunners look to complete their squad.Cole said via the Metro:‘Bruno Guimaraes has come in, he’s a brilliant player, and I still think they probably want one more signing before the window shuts.‘I know they’re still trying to do a little bit of business. I think they need another left-sided forward, they’re obvious in the running to sign Barcola; they need someone like that.’Cole Wants Arsenal to StrengthenCole’s comments reflect his belief that Arsenal need another left-sided forward before the transfer window closes. Barcola would give Mikel Arteta another attacking option while also bringing experience of winning major European honours.Arsenal have already made several additions, but the opportunity to sign Barcola could further strengthen their attacking options. His pace, ability and experience at PSG would make him an attractive addition if the Gunners decide to pursue the transfer.Liverpool remain serious contenders for his signature, but their failure to complete a deal leaves Arsenal with an opportunity. The situation could depend on whether Arsenal can create space in their squad and make a suitable offer for the French winger.If Barcola does leave PSG this summer, Arsenal will hope they can win the race for his signature and add another proven winner to their squad._____________________________________________________________________________________________ADMIN COMMENTSo here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through this link…More Stories / Latest News“Someone like that” Carlton Cole backs Arsenal’s move for Frenchman 20 August 2026, 20:00Newcastle to make late move for Arsenal youngster 20 August 2026, 19:00Arsenal working to snatch two academy prospects from Man Utd 20 August 2026, 18:00

Daniel Suárez will have one of NASCAR’s most recognizable brands riding with him when the Cup Series regular season reaches its conclusion at Daytona International Speedway.Coca-Cola and Spire Motorsports announced that the beverage giant will serve as the primary sponsor of Suárez’s No. 7 Chevrolet for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Aug. 29.The one-race primary sponsorship puts a new spotlight on a relationship that stretches back a decade. Suárez joined the Coca-Cola Racing Family in 2016, but the Daytona partnership will bring the brand onto his Spire Motorsports Chevrolet for one of the biggest races remaining on NASCAR’s 2026 calendar.And the timing is particularly fitting.Coca-Cola joins Daniel Suárez for the Coke Zero Sugar 400Suárez will make his 18th career Cup Series start at Daytona when he returns for the regular-season finale.“For the past 10 years, Daniel has been an outstanding ambassador for Coca-Cola both on and off the track,” Don Rouse, vice president of Sports & Entertainment Marketing for Coca-Cola North America, said in the announcement. “From winning the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this season to the impact he’s making through Daniel’s Amigos, he continues to bring fans together and represent our brands in meaningful ways.”Suárez’s Coca-Cola 600 victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this season gives the Daytona partnership another layer.Now Coca-Cola will have primary placement on the No. 7 as Suárez attempts to add another marquee victory to his first season with Spire Motorsports.“We’re proud to see him carry the Coke Zero Sugar colors into one of NASCAR’s biggest races and look forward to cheering on the No. 7 team at Daytona,” Rouse added.The race will also highlight Suárez’s long-running relationship with the Coca-Cola Racing Family, which began in 2016.“Since joining the Coca-Cola Racing Family in 2016, this partnership has become a very special part of my journey,” Suárez said. “Coca-Cola has believed in me from the beginning. Having the opportunity to represent the most recognized brand in the world, especially at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, is something I never take for granted, and that support extends far beyond the racetrack.”Suárez’s Daytona history adds another reason to watchDaytona has yet to produce a Cup Series victory for Suárez, but he has shown he can contend at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.The Monterrey, Mexico, native owns one runner-up finish, one top-five and two top-10 finishes through his first 17 Cup starts at the track.His return comes during a season in which he has already delivered one of the biggest victories of his Cup career. Suárez won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte earlier this year, giving Spire Motorsports its first victory in NASCAR’s longest race.The Coke Zero Sugar 400 presents a very different challenge.Daytona will serve as the 26th and final race of NASCAR’s 2026 regular season, with the championship picture taking its final shape before the 10-race Chase begins.For Suárez, it also provides an unusually appropriate stage for a decade-long partnership to take center stage.Coca-Cola has been part of his NASCAR career since 2016. Ten years later, Suárez will carry its colors into the regular-season finale at a race bearing the company’s name.

The Baltimore Ravens completed their two-day joint-practice work with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday at the TCO Performance Center. The final session placed a heavy emphasis on red-zone and situational football, giving Baltimore’s starters another valuable evaluation before Saturday’s preseason game.The Ravens defense delivered another strong performance, while the offense continued to struggle to protect Lamar Jackson and sustain drives. Baltimore also received difficult news about center Danny Pinter before practice began.Here are 10 takeaways from Day 2 of Ravens-Vikings joint practices.1. Danny Pinter’s injury changes the center competitionPinter suffered a torn patellar tendon during Wednesday’s opening practice and will face an extended recovery. The veteran had worked with the starting offensive line for much of camp and was a legitimate candidate to replace Tyler Linderbaum.Ethan Pocic was already scheduled to increase his workload during the second week of the preseason. Pinter’s injury now makes Pocic the most likely starting option, although Jovaughn Gwyn has also earned first-team opportunities. Baltimore’s center competition went from a three-player evaluation to an immediate depth concern.2. Baltimore’s secondary won the weekThe Ravens defensive backs consistently challenged Minnesota’s receivers throughout both practices. Chidobe Awuzie, Marlon Humphrey, Malaki Starks, Kyle Hamilton and Chandler Rivers all recorded strong pass breakups during Thursday’s red-zone periods.Minnesota produced some touchdowns, including scores against Hamilton and Keyon Martin, and Awuzie was called for pass interference during an 11-on-11 period. The overall body of work, however, belonged to Baltimore’s secondary.3. Marlon Humphrey was one of Baltimore’s top performersHumphrey put together two impressive practices against one of the NFL’s best receiving groups. He denied Justin Jefferson during red-zone work, stayed in position during 11-on-11 drills and repeatedly prevented clean throwing windows.Humphrey and Nate Wiggins stopped Jefferson on consecutive red-zone snaps Thursday. Humphrey later cut off another end-zone route so completely that Jefferson never attempted to make a catch. It was an encouraging response from a veteran coming off an injury interruption earlier in camp.4. Chandler Rivers strengthened Baltimore’s cornerback depthRivers produced multiple pass breakups during one-on-one and two-on-two red-zone drills, continuing a productive summer for one of Baltimore’s younger defensive backs.The Ravens already have established starters and have made significant draft investments throughout the secondary. Rivers continues making the competition behind those players more interesting by showing he can stay attached in coverage and finish plays at the catch point.5. Trey Hendrickson looked ready for the regular seasonReporters credited Hendrickson with two or three would-be sacks while he worked against Christian Darrisaw, one of the league’s better offensive tackles. Practice rules prevented defenders from finishing their rushes against the quarterback, but Hendrickson repeatedly reached positions that would have ended plays in a game.Baltimore signed Hendrickson to add a proven finisher opposite its collection of younger edge rushers. His performance against high-level competition demonstrated the immediate impact he can provide.6. Ronnie Stanley had a difficult matchup with Dallas TurnerMinnesota’s pressure created problems for Baltimore’s offense throughout both practices. Turner was particularly disruptive Thursday, producing at least two would-be sacks while repeatedly winning against Stanley.Stanley remains one of Baltimore’s most accomplished linemen, but the two-day matchup provided useful film against an explosive young pass rusher. The Ravens must improve their protection before the regular season, especially after losing Pinter from the middle of the line.7. Lamar Jackson’s red-zone work produced mixed resultsJackson completed three of four attempts during his first seven-on-seven red-zone series, connecting with Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers. Flowers scored after winning a competitive matchup with Byron Murphy Jr.Jackson’s first interception was not his fault. A pass bounced off Justice Hill’s chest and into Blake Cashman’s hands. The second came when James Pierre intercepted Jackson to end Baltimore’s two-minute possession. The offense produced touchdowns in isolated periods, but pressure and turnovers prevented it from establishing consistent rhythm.8. Ja’Kobi Lane delivered another memorable touchdownLane caught a well-placed pass from Jackson in the back of the end zone during 11-on-11 work. The rookie punctuated the play with an emphatic spike and a yell, displaying the confidence that has accompanied his rise throughout camp.Lane continues to make contested catches and provide Jackson with a larger target near the goal line. His growing involvement with the starting quarterback suggests the Ravens are evaluating how quickly he can earn a role behind Flowers and Bateman.9. Baltimore’s defense responded in situational workK’Von Wallace intercepted a short pass intended for Myles Price along the sideline. Wiggins added breakups against Jefferson and Dontae Fleming, while T.J. Tampa made a sound open-field tackle on a swing pass.The starting defense also held Minnesota to a field goal in the final two minutes. The Vikings finished Wednesday with consecutive touchdowns, making Thursday’s situational response one of the more encouraging developments of the session.10. Tyler Loop remained perfectLoop converted all six of his field-goal attempts during the team period that ended practice. His final series included a kick from approximately 53 yards.Loop’s consistency has carried throughout training camp. On a day when the offense struggled to finish drives, he demonstrated that Baltimore can still come away with points when possessions stall.The Ravens will remain in Minnesota for Saturday’s preseason game. With many established starters receiving their most important work during the joint practices, the exhibition matchup should shift attention toward reserves and players competing for the final spots on Baltimore’s roster.This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: 10 takeaways from Day 2 of Ravens-Vikings joint practice

Analysts said the recent rise in Treasury yields partly reflected investor expectations that A.I.-driven growth could keep interest rates elevated.

Even as the White House claims to be focused on transparency, it has ignored a congressional requirement to disclose a report on foreign meddling in the 2024 election.

In an increasingly morbid world, we can learn from graveyards.

Wide view of Monrovia, Liberia, from the top of the Ducor Hotel, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg, File)2026-08-20T19:39:17Z DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Twenty migrants deported from the United States arrived in Liberia on Thursday, the first group of an eventual 1,200 deportees that the West African country says it will receive from the U.S. under a new deal.Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to two dozen countries that aren’t their own, as it pushes ahead with its immigration crackdown, advocates say.An estimated 11 of those agreements, nearly half the total, are with African countries and the Liberia-U.S. agreement involves one of the largest numbers of such third-country deportations Immigration lawyers say the practice is being used as a legal loophole to indirectly return some asylum-seekers to countries they fled. Authorities in Liberia have said the deportees being welcomed in their country can seek asylum there or leave if they choose.Here’s what to know about the deportations: Why some African countries accept deporteesOther African countries that have received or agreed to receive third-country deportees from the U.S. include South Sudan, Eswatini, Rwanda, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic. Some, like Ghana and Sierra Leone, are accepting deportees from their regions — in this case West Africa. Many of the African countries approving the deals are among the worst hit by the Trump administration’s policies, including on trade, aid and migration. A good number of them also have authoritarian governments, raising questions about the lack of accountability and due process to ensure the protection of the deportees’ rights.Details of most of the deals are never made public and some of the African nations, like Ghana’s government, have defended their actions as having been taken on humanitarian grounds. Read More The Trump administration had spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants to countries other than their own, according to a February report by the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. More countries have entered the deal since then.Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has described his country’s agreement as an “act of goodwill between partners,” without financial compensation. The deal came as Washington increased pressure on neighboring Rwanda over its support for M23 rebels, a dynamic analysts say may help explain Congo’s willingness to cooperate. Many are asylum-seekersEarly flights to Africa included people that the U.S. said had convictions for serious crimes. But later transfers have included asylum-seekers with U.S. court orders protecting them from being returned to their home countries because they could face persecution or torture.Many say they’ve been sent to countries with which they have no ties and where they were not told about until hours into the deportation journey. 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. For instance, a gay Moroccan woman deported to Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal, and an Iranian woman with U.S. court protection from returning to Iran who was sent to the Central African Republic.Immigration lawyer Alma David called that an effective legal “loophole,” saying deportees can be left with “impossible choices” — remain in an unfamiliar country with little support or return to a country a U.S. judge found unsafe.U.S. policy says that when a receiving government gives blanket diplomatic assurances that deportees won’t face persecution there, they can be removed without additional procedures, David told The Associated Press. Conditions vary in different countriesSome of the deportees have recounted being shackled while some were held in full-body restraint straitjackets called the WRAP during flights that can sometimes last more than 16 hours.Their conditions in the different countries vary. In Sierra Leone, the government hired private contractor Kenvah Solutions to provide housing, food and healthcare. In Congo, the International Organization for Migration has provided humanitarian assistance and offered assisted voluntary return. In Equatorial Guinea, the AP found deportees confined in a hotel owned by the family of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Migrants said they were barred from leaving, had uneven access to medical care and faced repeated pressure to return home. Twenty-five of at least 32 people held there had been sent to their home countries by May. Deportations have led to lawsuits and human rights concernsRights advocates say the third-country deportation program risks violating non-refoulement, the principle barring governments from sending people to places where they face persecution or torture.An international coalition sued Ghana in June on behalf of 27 deportees, alleging most were quickly sent to their home countries, despite U.S. protection orders, and that some were held under armed guard in military camps, hotels and airport cells.Rights lawyers have also brought a case against Equatorial Guinea before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, alleging deportees were returned to countries where they faced persecution despite U.S. court protections. MARK BANCHEREAU Banchereau covers 22 countries across West and Central Africa for The Associated Press. He is based in Dakar, Senegal. twitter mailto

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2026-08-20T19:37:52Z WASHINGTON (AP) — Interest rates rebounded Thursday despite efforts by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to put a lid on longer-term borrowing costs, a sign Wall Street investors remain worried about burgeoning government debt, heavy borrowing by tech firms, and the Federal Reserve’s commitment to fighting inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a key benchmark for mortgage rates, rose back to 4.69% Thursday. That is nearly where it stood early Wednesday before Bessent surprised financial markets by announcing that Treasury would double the size of a bond buyback program starting next month to $4 billion per operation from $2 billion. The buybacks are intended to reduce the supply of 10-year to 30-year bonds and boost their prices. Yields on bonds fall when their prices rise.Bessent said Thursday on CNBC that the bond repurchase program could be larger than $4 billion. “We have a big toolkit so we’ll see,” Bessent said. “We believe that the yields don’t reflect the underlying fundamentals.”Rising bond yields push up borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, and the Trump administration has set reducing interest rates as a top goal. Home purchases have slumped as mortgage rates have moved higher this year. President Donald Trump has often demanded that the Federal Reserve lower rates, but the ongoing increases are driven primarily by financial markets. The 30-year bond yield rose to 5.23% Thursday, down only slightly from a 19-year high reached Tuesday. Treasury’s move doesn’t fix the fundamental problems spooking the bond marketBessent also said the Trump administration would announce a new effort to reduce the government’s budget deficit, possibly by Monday. He argued that the deficit will peak this year, in part because it has been driven higher by tariff refunds, a temporary factor. While the deficit has been huge for years, overall debt topped $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering record that arrived just months after the national debt first blew past the $39 trillion mark in April. And the Congressional Budget Office estimated earlier this week that the annual gap between government revenue and spending would top $2 trillion this year, a remarkable number outside of recessions. But Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, said reducing the deficit is mostly up to Congress, rather than the Treasury Department. Read More “What we are seeing is the market is still a little bit skeptical that Treasury can and will be able to backstop some of these moves,” Goldberg said. Another factor pushing yields higher is how much debt Big Tech companies are raising to build AI data centers. Their deluge of bond offerings is giving bond investors more to choose from, which lowers prices for bonds and pushes up their yields. Investors are skeptical of the Fed’s willingness to fight inflationInflation also remains a threat because oil prices keep climbing on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will let tankers freely exit the Persian Gulf again. They rose again Thursday after Trump threatened Iran with “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.” The price of Brent crude oil is near $94 per barrel, compared with roughly $72 before the start of the war. 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. The Fed typically combats inflation by raising its benchmark interest rate to slow borrowing and spending and cool the economy. Yet new Fed chair Kevin Warsh hasn’t signaled whether the Fed will take such a step. At his most recent press conference in late July, he sowed confusion about whether he sees higher rates as the right approach. He also suggested the Fed could soon switch the gauge it uses to monitor inflation, which it seeks to keep at 2%. Inflation has topped that level for more than five years, and was 3.7% in June, according to the Fed’s preferred measure. Mark Cabana, head of U.S. rates strategy at Bank of America Securities, said that a key reason for higher borrowing costs “is just elevated uncertainty about how the Fed is going to contain inflation” and what it will do “in case things don’t go to plan.” Yet Warsh has underscored he doesn’t want to provide such signals because he wants financial markets to set interest rates based on economic conditions, not on what it expects the Fed to do. Bessent’s intervention appears to be at cross-purposes with that goal, since markets are now considering what next steps Treasury might take to contain rates. The rise in rates has put pressure on Warsh to clarify his approach when he delivers a high-profile speech next Friday at an annual Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “Now the ball is in the Fed’s court and the ball is really in Kevin Warsh’s hands,” Cabana said. “And the market is questioning, will Warsh respond? Will he articulate a better plan?”Warsh was appointed by Trump after his predecessor, Jerome Powell, finished his term in May. Trump relentlessly attacked Powell for not cutting rates, raising concerns that Warsh is inclined to reduce rates to placate Trump. Shorter-term bond yields dipped after the Fed’s July 28-29 rates meeting, while longer-term yields rose. It was an unusual reaction to a Fed meeting, according to strategists at BNP Paribas, and could suggest investors believe the Fed wants to keep its benchmark rate lower rather than higher. Treasury buyback is small compared to the size of the marketWhile Bessent is talking about billions of dollars in bond buybacks, the Treasury market is so large that even purchases at that scale may not have much impact. Analysts at Macquarie, an investment bank, estimate that the U.S. government will need to issue nearly $550 billion in bonds this quarter to finance its operations. History also shows that government interventions in the bond market have limited effects. “While such measures can reduce volatility and provide temporary relief, they have not permanently lowered borrowing costs when fiscal, inflation, or supply dynamics remained unfavorable,” according to strategists at UBS Wealth Management, pointing to prior examples from Japan and the United Kingdom. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto 获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The defending GHSA Class 3A boys basketball state champions didn’t have to go far to find a new head coach.Ezzard Horn, formerly an assistant coach for the team, will now assume the role of head coach following the departure of Lawrence Kelly earlier in the summer. Horn has been a key part of the Razorbacks program for the last several years. He, along with Kelly, helped bring the program back to prominence during that stretch, winning three state championships during in 2021, 2022 and 2026.I’m excited to announce that I have accepted the Head Coach position here @CrossCreekBBall. pic.twitter.com/FoANuGbmil— Ezzard C. Horn Jr /G\ PHA 🇧🇸 (@CoachEzzardHorn) August 20, 20262026 Augusta Chronicle high school football Dream 16 list revealedHow 2027 Hephzibah star Dextavion Reese landed with Rutgers footballHorn now will have the opportunity to lead the charge as the Razorbacks look to repeat for the second time during the 2020s. Amongst other players, he’ll have the highest rated player in Augusta, senior forward Frashad Tisby, on the roster to help him do that.Beyond coaching on the hardwood, Horn has also been the football coach for Cross Creek going back to 2022. He’s expected to keep that position during the fall before transitioning to basketball in the winter.This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Cross Creek names Ezzard Horn as boys basketball head coach

While the quarterback situation is still up in the air in Week 3 of fall camp, there is no doubt who will be the workhorse at running back for Duke this season: Nate Sheppard.Sheppard returns after a freshman season in which he ran for 1,132 yards and 11 touchdowns, setting several program records in the process. And despite offers from other schools, the Louisiana native decided to return to Durham.As either Walker Eget or Dan Mahan settles into the quarterback position, and as starting center Matt Craycraft put it, the Blue Devils will look to run the ball more than they did last season, which is good news for Sheppard. And if the sophomore needed even more motivation heading into the season, he received it when he was shockingly left off the Doak Walker Award watch list, prompting him to post on Twitter/X with a message to the voters.Last year, Sheppard shared a backfield with Anderson Castle, who rushed for 488 yards and 12 touchdowns, but is now gone to the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts. To fill his shoes and the role of Sheppard’s backup, Manny Diaz and his staff snatched CJ Campbell Jr. out of the transfer portal. Campbell missed the final nine games of last season for the Scarlet Knights but showed his abilities with Florida Atlantic in 2024, running for 844 yards and 11 touchdowns while also catching 40 passes for 486 yards and three scores.Another transfer, Wilhelm Daal II from Yale, will likely see snaps as the third-string running back. Over three seasons with the Bulldogs, he rushed for 523 yards and three touchdowns. Depth ChartStarter: Nate SheppardBackups: CJ Campbell Jr., Wilhelm Daal IIMORE - Duke football position previews: QuarterbackThis article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke football position previews: Running back

Even with the Los Angeles Rams’ shift toward more 13 personnel and higher tight end usage, the No. 3 receiver role is critical to the success of the offense. Unfortunately, they don’t have a clear-cut WR3 like they have in years past, but there are a few guys competing for that role – including second-year receiver Konata Mumpfield.Mumpfield and Jordan Whittington are the favorites to operate as co-WR3s for the Rams this year, and it was Mumpfield who drew high praise from Sean McVay after Thursday’s joint practice with the Saints. He earned more opportunities with Puka Nacua injured, and it sounds like he’s capitalizing on those chances.“He’s stepped up a lot,” McVay said of Mumpfield. “He’s one of those guys, he’s so conscientious, gave him a couple things. Rob Calabrese, ‘Yarbs’ (Eric Yarber) and Robert Woods, they’ve talked about some things to be able to take his game to another level, and he’s done that. In Puka’s absence – obviously, we know how special Puka is, but I think both Mump and Jordan Whittington do a good job of being able to step up and show how valuable they are, but he’s a sharp, savvy route-runner. He’s wired to be able to separate. He’s catching the ball really well and he does a great job of competing without the football, which is super important for us, so I love everything Mump’s about.”Mumpfield was a seventh-round pick by the Rams last year, playing all 17 games as a rookie. He was targeted 23 times but caught just 10 passes for 92 yards and one touchdown during the regular season.Though he and Whittington are vying for more snaps this season, they have very different skill sets. Mumpfield is more of a true outside receiver in the mold of Davante Adams, while Whittington can move all around the formation as a receiver and ball carrier on jet sweeps.It’s likely that both players will play a bunch this season, but if Mumpfield continues to stand out, he could get the bulk of the snaps alongside Nacua and Adams.This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Konata Mumpfield draws praise from Sean McVay for taking his game 'to another level'

The San Francisco 49ers will visit SoFi Stadium on Thursday to face the Los Angeles Chargers in their second preseason game of the season. For the 49ers the game will have a little different feel with some of their healthy starters getting their first exhibition action of the year. Virtually all of their starters sat out the preseason opener last Thursday vs. the Tennessee Titans. After the starters there'll be a slew of reserves worth watching as they try to carve out playing time and roster spots. Here's where to watch the 49ers vs. Chargers in Week 2 of NFL preseason.Stream 49ers vs. Chargers (free trial)What TV channel is 49ers vs. Chargers football on today?TV channel: KPIXStreaming: Fubo (free trial)6 key questions for 49ers to answer vs. Chargers49ers vs. Chargers football start timeDate: Thursday, Aug. 20Time: 7:00pm PT49ers ticketsLooking to buy San Francisco 49ers tickets? We've got you covered.San Francisco 49ers tickets49ers preseason schedule 2026Below is San Francisco's preseason schedule.Thursday, Aug. 13: Tennessee Titans 19, 49ers 13Thursday, Aug. 20: 49ers at Los Angeles ChargersThursday, Aug. 27: 49ers at Las Vegas Raiders49ers regular-season schedule 2026Below is San Francisco's regular-season schedule.Thursday, Sept. 10: 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (Melbourne, Australia)Sunday, Sept. 20: 49ers vs. Miami DolphinsSunday, Sept. 27: 49ers vs. Arizona CardinalsSunday, Oct. 4: 49ers vs. Denver BroncosSunday, Oct. 11: 49ers at Seattle SeahawksMonday, Oct. 19: 49ers vs. Washington CommandersSunday, Oct. 25: 49ers at Atlanta FalconsSunday, Nov. 1: ByeSunday, Nov. 8: 49ers vs. Las Vegas RaidersSunday, Nov. 15: 49ers at Dallas CowboysSunday, Nov. 22: 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings (Mexico City)Sunday, Nov. 29: 49ers vs. Seattle SeahawksSunday, Dec. 6: 49ers at New York GiantsSunday, Dec. 13: 49ers vs. Los Angeles RamsThursday, Dec. 17: 49ers at Los Angeles ChargersSunday, Dec. 27: 49ers at Kansas City ChiefsSunday, Jan. 3, 2027: 49ers vs. Philadelphia EaglesSaturday/Sunday, Jan. 9/10: 49ers at Arizona CardinalsMore 49ers: Ex-NFL WR says De'Zhaun Stribling can be what Brandon Aiyuk wasn'tThis article originally appeared on Niners Wire: What TV channel is 49ers vs. Chargers preseason game on today?Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.

Find all of our Week 1 high school football coverage in one place, including previews and a live scoreboard:HeadlinesCheck out our preview of every Week 1 gameFive things you need to know about the 2026 seasonTen games you won't want to miss in Portage CountyTeam PreviewsAurora, Crestwood, Field, Garfield, Mogadore, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Rootstown, Southeast, Streetsboro, Waterloo, WindhamWatch Ohio High School Football Live on the NFHS Network all seasonGame CoverageJonah L. Rosenblum will cover Rootstown-Southeast Thursday night and Crestwood-Mogadore Friday night.All other varsity programs are encouraged to send a box score to sports@recordpub.com. All submitted box scores will be included in our Week 1 Roundup.Live ScoreboardAugust 20 Rootstown at SoutheastWarren JFK at GarfieldAugust 21Crestwood at MogadoreRavenna at FieldStreetsboro at CopleyRoosevelt at TwinsburgPlymouth at WindhamSpringfield at WaterlooStow-Munroe Falls at AuroraContact Jonah L. Rosenblum at jrosenblum@recordpub.com and follow him on Twitter at @JLRSports.This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: News and scores from Week 1 of Portage County high school footballOur editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.

CNN confronted a conservative pundit with a supercut of Donald Trump insulting women, and he wasn’t able to answer why he still thought Democrats are more sexist than Republicans. The right has been outraged at Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) this past week for mentioning White House aide Natalie Harp in one of his speeches. Ossoff highlighted her unusually close relationship with the president when, in a speech last weekend, he said that Trump would rather “build his ballroom and travel with Natalie to their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar” than do his job. Related Conservative pundit called out to his face for hypocrisy about Pete Buttigieg “It’s been amazing to watch this White House melt down over this all week,” Ossoff said on MS NOW later in the week, adding that White House staffers are “public officials paid by the taxpayer with immense power in positions of public trust” to explain why he thinks it’s fine to subject them to public criticism. On CNN, conservative pundit Scott Jennings wasn’t having it. He accused Ossoff of “punching down on someone who’s effectively defenseless” and said that Harp is “a female who can’t defend herself,” as Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) pointed out that Trump celebrated the death of Rob Reiner. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Jennings: And when he injected Natalie Harp into this, he knew what he was doing, which is punching down on someone who's effectively defenseless.Moskowitz: Trump cheered the death of Rob Reiner. pic.twitter.com/0LpfwXomKd— Acyn (@Acyn) August 20, 2026 Because Jennings decided to make the issue about gender, host Abby Phillip played a supercut of Trump insulting women, since a defining characteristic of the president is how little respect he has for women. “If you’re gonna be outraged over ‘traveling on a plane with Natalie,’ are you gonna be outraged over all those things?” Philip asked Jennings. “I do not believe in demeaning women in any way,” Jennings said, but Philip tried to press him on her question, and he started to talk again about how Harp is apparently not a public figure despite her job. The conversation descended into crosstalk as everyone pointed out that Jennings was refusing to answer the question. Instead of answering, Jennings looked at the camera and said that people at home “have no idea how loud this is,” referring to gay and Black commentator Keith Boykin. CNN plays a montage of Trump attacking various women in response to Jennings attacking Ossoff over Natalie Harp Phillip: Are you going to be outraged over that? Jennings: pic.twitter.com/rh35mRGRQE— Acyn (@Acyn) August 20, 2026 Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

The commercial LINK spacecraft was supposed to give NASA's Swift observatory a boost, pushing it higher into orbit to extend its life. But after launch, LINK experienced several problems. Swift is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up by the end of this year

Senator Darline Graham has argued that her lack of political experience is a strength as she runs to succeed her brother, Lindsey Graham. But a debate misstep has rattled some of her supporters.

Guatemalans deported from the U.S. arrive at La Aurora airport in Guatemala City, Dec. 30, 2025, after deplaning a repatriation flight. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)2026-08-20T20:09:46Z GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The United States has deported nearly 2,300 Mexicans to Guatemala this year and sent at least dozens more to Honduras, according to official data, a shift from the beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term when such transfers were minimal.Until now, Mexicans deported from the United States were sent almost exclusively back to their country by air and land. Only a handful arrived in other countries.Some civil organizations believe this change reported in recent days is a way to increase pressure on Mexico, whose government has protested the deaths of 17 Mexicans in immigration custody or during enforcement operations. This also comes as Trump has expanded agreements with allied Latin American countries to conduct joint operations in the region against criminal groups and has increased its security demands to Mexico. Sent to Central America by plane and Mexico by busGuatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo confirmed Wednesday night that, so far this year, 2,284 Mexicans deported from the U.S. have arrived in the country as part of a “transit stopover” before being taken to Mexico as part of an “arrangement” with the Mexican government, and without these individuals being under any refugee or asylum status. “They are arriving on planes carrying Guatemalan returnees, and what we have done is bring them in transit so that, in coordination with Mexican immigration authorities, we can return them to Mexican territory within 24 hours of their arrival in the country,” he explained at a press conference. Read More The costs of these operations are covered by the Mexican government or, in some cases, by U.S. funding, he added.Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief message that Mexicans have been deported by the Trump administration to Guatemala and Honduras, primarily since April, and are then transported by bus to southern Mexico.“The reason is that the United States wants to prevent them from crossing back into its territory,” the institution said. The INM did not provide figures or further details. Asked about why the Mexicans were sent to Central America and not their own country, and for more details, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, said in an emailed statement that the administration “is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised.”“The Mexican government has expressed its opposition to this practice to U.S. authorities and has reiterated that every Mexican citizen has the right to enter the country,” the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. It added that Mexico is coordinating with the countries involved to ensure the safe return of Mexican citizens. 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. Third-country deportations raise concerns for Mexican migrantsHistorically, Mexico has always been willing to receive its deported citizens.Since Trump’s first term, it has also accepted deportees from third countries, although the details of immigration agreements with Washington have usually been opaque. In 2025, Mexico received some 12,000 deported foreigners, mostly Cubans and Venezuelans, according to figures provided by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The government has not updated these figures since December although the practice has continued.Authorities in Honduras also did not respond to requests for comment, but according to official documents from the country accessed by The Associated Press, 82 Mexicans deported from the United States arrived in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on two flights on August 13 and 15. An additional 35 were scheduled to arrive on Thursday. Another 165 Mexicans were deported to Honduras between May and mid-July, according to the website Third Country Deportation Watch, run by the NGOs Human Rights First and Refugees International, which track U.S. deportation flights to third countries.The website does not clarify the source of its nationality figures, but both organizations have expressed concern because these transfers could endanger migrants who possibly sought asylum in the U.S. or have few resources in an unknown country.The deportation tactic “seems to be to put pressure on the Mexican government,” said Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First. “They really don’t want any Mexicans crossing the border.” Some of those deported arrived in Honduras on U.S. military flights, she added. A recent change in the deportation patternAt the beginning of his second term, with immigration control as one of his priorities, Trump reached agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to act as “bridge” or destination countries for migrants from third countries expelled from U.S. territory. These agreements gradually expanded to more countries, including some African ones, most recently Liberia.Until recently, only a handful of Mexicans had been expelled from the U.S. to countries other than Mexico. Arévalo said on Wednesday that Guatemala received 15 Mexicans in 2025. As of February 2026, Honduras had officially reported the arrival of six. Costa Rica has received 11 Mexicans since Trump’s return to the White House, and according to local immigration authorities, they remain in the country. Presumably, these individuals may have requested not to be returned to Mexico out of fear.Immigration lawyers believe that the Trump administration is using deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers to return to Mexico when the government cannot send them there because it would violate court orders from immigration judges that recognize the dangers. Organizations and politicians both inside and outside the U.S. have also questioned the use of force by U.S. immigration authorities.___Verza reported from Mexico City and González from Tegucigalpa. Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america MARÍA VERZA Verza has focused on immigration, violence and human rights stories in Mexico and Central America for more than a decade twitter instagram mailto

A migrant who crossed from Morocco into Spain gathers his belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)2026-08-20T20:07:46Z CEUTA, Spain (AP) — For weeks, migrants in the Spanish territory of Ceuta had gathered on a beach away from the city center, sleeping on cardboard sheets, under reed huts and guarding their few possessions in tattered plastic bags.They were gone by Thursday morning after Spanish police escorted them to makeshift shelters. But an hour later, other migrants were combing through the trash they had left behind for anything useful: an abandoned mattress, plastic chairs, sheets, a scrap of tarp.The scene exemplified the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, where up to 10,000 migrants, including women and children, have remained in the city weeks after the initial border surge that saw more than 72,000 migrants pour into the small Spanish territory neighboring Morocco. Three weeks later, Spanish authorities were struggling to shelter and attend to those who refused to leave — or even determine exactly how many migrants were still in the city of 84,000. Within days of the initial border rush, in which at least 90 people died, most migrants returned to Morocco, confronted with the difficulty of staying in Ceuta and their slim chances of reaching mainland Europe from the exclave. But thousands remained, hiding in the hills surrounding the city, on beaches and outside a migrant reception center. Read More City officials estimate that 9,000 to 10,000 migrants — including about 2,000 minors — could still be in the city, based on the number of daily food rations handed out by aid groups. Spain’s interior ministry puts the figure at roughly 5,000 people. Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain are escorted by Spanish police to temporary shelters after being cleared from a beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain are escorted by Spanish police to temporary shelters after being cleared from a beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Shelter for some migrants while others roam the streetsThe U.N. refugee agency highlighted large humanitarian and operational challenges in Ceuta in an interview with The Associated Press, specifically around migrants’ access to shelter, basic services and food. While most of those who crossed in late July are from Morocco, people from war-torn Sudan, Mali and Yemen also made the crossing. The U.N. refugee agency has urged the Spanish government to start processing their asylum claims as soon as possible, estimating that about 1,200 migrants in Ceuta could be eligible for international protection, according to Paula Barrachina, a spokesperson for the agency in Spain. 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. The Spanish government says it is working to house the remaining migrants in the city, and return a sense of normalcy to Ceuta. On Thursday, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz said the government had secured space to accommodate 1,800 migrants in a parking lot and a military facility sometimes used for religious events. Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain are escorted by Spanish police to temporary shelters after being cleared from a beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain are escorted by Spanish police to temporary shelters after being cleared from a beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Even so, an Associated Press photographer saw migrants roaming the streets Thursday. Elsewhere, hundreds of women and minors were sheltering in makeshift centers run by locals.Khadija Rifai, a 20-year-old woman from Morocco, acknowledged that some migrants were receiving help, but didn’t know what Spain planned to do with adults like her.“They help the minors and the youngsters, but they haven’t found any solutions for us,” she said Wednesday.Rifai said her life in Morocco was “normal” but in late July, she and her husband swam to the Spanish territory in search of better opportunities and healthcare. Rifai’s husband was sent back to Morocco, but she hid from authorities and stayed in Ceuta. She now hopes to reunite with him and eventually move to mainland Spain, where she wants to have children.“Even though we suffered here in Ceuta, we hope that once we reach the mainland, life will be good and we will have a house, a car, and everything we dreamed of,” Rifai said. Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain gather their belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain gather their belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Discontent grows in CeutaCeuta Mayor Juan Jesús Vivas accused the national government of not doing enough to control the situation. On Thursday, Spanish police escorted several hundred migrants, most of them men, from the beach through the city’s streets to a shelter.Later that day, Vivas, a member of the center-right Popular Party, said the government’s decision to move migrants from the beach to other locations in the city did not demonstrate “a will to fix the problem.”Spain’s migration ministry said the government has allocated 6.5 million euros ($7.6 million) in emergency funds to help the city cope with the new arrivals. Speaking in Ceuta this week, Migration Minister Saiz praised the work of local organizations in Ceuta and mentioned that 4,000 meals had been distributed every day to migrants since Aug. 3.A ministry spokesperson said the Spanish government has to process every case on an individual basis. Before that can happen, police must identify those who entered the city illegally, verify every migrant’s nationality and background, determine who qualifies for international protection and establish who must leave, either voluntarily or by force, he said. Cleaning staff clear the El Trampolin beach, where migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain stayed in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Cleaning staff clear the El Trampolin beach, where migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain stayed in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Migrants await a path forwardMigrants in Ceuta say they are willing to wait out the uncertainty. Days earlier, hundreds of them had gathered in protest on a beach in Ceuta, carrying signs reading “Asylum” alongside Spanish flags.Mohamed Yaqoub, 18, a migrant from Chad hid for days in the woods after Spanish soldiers chased him in late July, he said. He managed to stay and wishes to someday continue his studies in France. Getting there will not be easy. Travelers leaving Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s other territory in North Africa, are subject to exit checks at ports and airports, an obstacle for migrants who enter the territories illegally and hope to reach the European continent.“We ask them to allow us entry and give us the necessary papers and documents,” Yaqoub told an AP photographer in a cellphone note. “The most important thing for us is to get the papers.” A migrant who crossed from Morocco into Spain gathers his belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) A migrant who crossed from Morocco into Spain gathers his belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___Naishadham reported from Madrid. SUMAN NAISHADHAM Naishadham is an Associated Press reporter covering Spain and Portugal. She is based in Madrid. twitter mailto

A migrant who crossed from Morocco into Spain gathers his belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exlave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)2026-08-20T19:58:25Z ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An Albany woman who authorities said had been plotting to bomb the New York state Capitol building in an effort to kill lawmakers because she believed laws were being passed that were an affront to Islam is facing a federal terrorism charge.Authorities said Thursday that Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, had been under surveillance for more than a month as she communicated with at least one confidential informant posing as an ISIS facilitator. Investigators said they foiled the attack just weeks away from the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.No attorney information was listed for Bowie, who was arrested Wednesday, and a phone call to the Federal Public Defenders’ office in Albany on Thursday was not immediately returned.“The allegations in this complaint are deeply disturbing,” said John Sarcone, first assistant US attorney for the Northern District of New York. “That’s an attack on democracy itself and one we will not tolerate.” Court documents said Bowie had converted to Islam about five years ago. The affidavit of probable cause said FBI counterterrorism agents saw a number of online accounts linked back to Bowie in which she had expressed support for terrorism in posts starting around May.Agents began monitoring those accounts and became aware starting around July 16 that Bowie wanted to carry out an attack on the state Capitol. She asked for lessons from at least one confidential informant on how to build an explosive device, made at least five trips to the Capitol grounds to plan where it might be most effective to set off an explosive, and scoped out security measures all while in contact with multiple informants, authorities said. Pictures of Bowie conducting reconnaissance at the Capitol and buying a list of bomb-making ingredients at a hardware store — including long nails for shrapnel — were included in the affidavit. She also arranged to buy a firearm and ammunition in order to fire the weapon at police or security if needed, authorities said. Read More “Ms. Bowie did not just plan to kill lawmakers, she wanted a complete disruption of our government,” said Craig L. Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany Field Office. Tremaroli said she planned to flee the country after the attack, but said she would be willing to return to launch more attacks on the White House or on Times Square on New Year’s Eve. 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. The affidavit also noted Bowie had considered making Albany City Hall a target, but had settled on the Capitol and specifically targeted state senators because they make laws that she considered to be offensive to Islam. It’s unclear when she hoped to carry out the attack, given the legislature has been out of session since June. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office released a statement Thursday, saying the state had taken steps earlier this year to strengthen security across state government, including at the Capitol, amid a rise nationally in political violence and threats against public officials. “While there is no immediate threat at this time, we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to protect New Yorkers and keep our communities safe,” she wrote in the statement.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Holmes delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)2026-08-20T19:55:46Z CHICAGO (AP) — Grant Holmes of the Atlanta Braves lost his bid for a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday when Andrew Benintendi lined a single to left with no outs in the seventh.Holmes was relieved by Didier Fuentes after the hit, which followed a leadoff walk to Miguel Vargas. The 30-year-old right-hander walked three and struck out three.Atlanta led 2-0 after seven in a makeup game of a June 11 rainout at Rate Field. The 30-year-old Holmes retired 18 of the first 20 White Sox hitters. Colson Montgomery walked with two outs in the second and Drew Romo walked with one out in the fifth for Chicago’s first two baserunners.There’s been only one no-hitter in the majors this season, a combined effort by three Houston pitchers in a 9-0 win over Texas on May 25. The Braves’ last no-hitter was by Kent Mercker in a 6-0 win over the Dodgers at Los Angeles on April 8, 1994.Holmes has never pitched a complete game in the majors. His longest effort was 7 2/3 innings on April 14, 2025, in an 8-4 win over Toronto.Holmes spent 10 years in the minors before making his major league debut on June 16, 2024, with the Braves.___See AP’s full MLB coverage here 获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site

With the PLL regular season coming to a close, Nathan Kapp wasn’t necessarily focused on playing in the league this year. Until he got a text from Jim Stagnitta. On a call shortly afterward, Stagnitta asked Kapp if he wanted to join the Maryland Whipsnakes that week in Philadelphia. Kapp immediately texted faceoff specialists he knew in the Ontario area, asking if they could help him prepare. He’d been doing live reps occasionally but needed to ramp up his work to get back in a groove. Local faceoff guys like Becker Lippert, Koichi Nakamura and Max Nieman all answered in no time, offering their support. “We just kind of scrambled to find a little grass patch with a line on it, and took as many reps as we could leading up, and they were all extremely helpful,” Kapp said. “I didn’t even have to ask twice. I said, ‘Hey, I got this opportunity coming up. Are you guys available?’ And they made it work.” The Whipsnakes had already clinched the playoffs when they signed Kapp, but a three-game losing streak and Petey LaSalla not being fully healthy forced a last-second change. The Jacksonville University product had an encouraging debut, going 13-for-23 against Alec Stathakis in an 11-9 defeat for the Whips. Kapp’s next challenge is slowing down rookie sensation Andrew McMeekin, who went 20-for-28 against Maryland a few weeks ago to spearhead a Boston Cannons comeback. Keeping McMeekin in check in the quarterfinals will be easier said than done, but it’s crucial if the Whips want to win their first playoff game since 2024. “Nathan’s a scrapper,” Stagnitta said. “He’s a guy who’s not necessarily a clamper, like Petey, but he’s a guy that mixes it up. We need ground balls, and we need to be able to have an opportunity to fight and pick up ground balls.” Since graduating from Jacksonville in 2024, Kapp’s only in-game reps were during his seven appearances for the Rochester Knighthawks in the NLL, in which he won 58% of his faceoffs. He was invited to the Utah Archers’ training camp in May, but with veteran Mike Sisselberger ahead of him, he wasn’t signed. In the meantime, Kapp stayed in shape with conditioning workouts and lifts at the gym before heading to an elementary school in Brampton to play wall ball. Weather permitting, he did faceoffs once a week with Nakamura, a local box lacrosse player; Lippert, a Penn State commit; and Nieman. Kapp is used to being an unknown commodity. He was an unranked recruit coming out of Middleton, Wis., which is not exactly a lacrosse hotbed. At JU, Kapp said he had to “swallow his pride” when he realized he wasn’t going to win every clamp. Because he didn’t have the fastest hands, Kapp spent his freshman and sophomore seasons working on counters and making faceoffs into ground-ball battles. As college went on, he perfected his clamp, and during his five years — four of them as a starter — Kapp won 55% of his attempts. He won58% in 2024, earning him a first-team All-Atlantic Sun selection. “I came to believe that the faceoff is not a one-on-one; it’s more of a three-on-three, as long as you know what you’re doing and I have all the faith in my wings,” Kapp said. “And at this level, everyone’s skilled. So as long as I can make it a fight, if I’m not winning that clamp, at least I can still give us that chance to get the ball and make the most out of a 32-second shot clock.” Kapp said he relies on being unpredictable and often makes in-game adjustments to counter his opponent. Against McMeekin, the challenge will be preventing him from winning the ball out in front uncontested. That’s where Kapp’s ability to muck things up comes into play. After the loss to the Philadelphia Waterdogs, Stagnitta said he added Kapp because the Whipsnakes needed someone who could make the faceoff a ground ball and utilize Adam Poitras and Blake Eiland on the wings more. Whipsnakes defensive coordinator Brian Voelker said McMeekin times the whistle really well, which leads to early offense. In the Cannons’ 14-12 overtime win over the Whipsnakes, McMeekin scored and assisted, while his late faceoff wins allowed Boston to erase a two-goal deficit in the final minute. “A lot of it depends on how the actual faceoff matchup happens,” Voelker said. “The problem with [McMeekin] is he wants to win so clean that if we try to take away the fast break, he’s athletic enough to get down there that we just couldn’t get down there fast enough.” Stagnitta pointed to multiple mistakes the Whipsnakes made in the Boston loss that ended up costing them. Still, they were on the power play with 1:06 left and needed to win just one of two remaining faceoffs to ice the game. LaSalla didn’t come up with either, and the Whipsnakes collapsed. The late-season change at the stripe was the latest in Maryland’s search for a replacement for Joe Nardella, who’s missed the entire season with an injury. The burden now falls on Kapp. He didn’t want to reveal his cards when asked about his strategy for McMeekin, but said he has a lot of respect for him and needs to come prepared. Kapp didn’t shy away from being nervous about his newest opportunity, but that’s normal for him. Kapp said he was always anxious growing up, yet he learned to play through the nerves. When the pressure’s on, Kapp has fun, and if he’s not worrying about how he’ll perform, something’s wrong. So when Kapp steps on the TCO Stadium turf in Minneapolis on Aug. 29, he’ll be right at home when he feels the butterflies in his stomach. “Being nervous gives me confidence because I know if I’m nervous, I know that I’m going to be dialed in,” Kapp said. “I know that I’m going to be putting it all out there and playing in a whole other gear. “So for me, it’s just looking at the positive of ‘Hey, you’re nervous, this is a good thing.’ Use it to your advantage. It means you’re ready, and as long as the preparation work is there, there’s no need for the nervousness to be uncertain.”

2028 four-star offensive tackle Wyatt VanBoening has seen his recruitment pick up a ton of steam since the beginning of this year. His offer list has skyrocketed to 20 as programs like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Auburn Tigers, Wisconsin Badgers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Indiana Hoosiers have gotten into the mix for him.The Florida State Seminoles have now entered the sweepstakes for the 6-foot-7, 280-pounder. He went to social media on Thursday morning to announce his offer from FSU."I am excited to receive an offer from Florida State University! Thank you, @FSUFootball , for this opportunity!," VanBoening said.He is the No. 80 recruit in the nation and the No. 11 offensive tackle per the 247Sports composite rankings. He's listed as the No. 7 player in the state of Illinois as well.In addition to being a star football player, VanBoening also excels in track and field. He competed in the Region 7 Junior Olympics in the shot put, discus, and the hammer throw in June of 2024. In April, he had a rep of 50-1 in the shot put and a 158-2.25 in the discus.VanBoening is certainly an intriguing prospect to keep an eye on for FSU in the 2028 cycle.I am excited to receive an offer from Florida State University! Thank you, @FSUFootball , for this opportunity! @CorsairsFB@FISTFootball@CoachSaboFIST@AllenTrieu@Jmack37@CoachChris_Roll@EDGYTIM@SWiltfong_@adamgorney@GregSmithCFB@AmourManrey75@Coach_Norvell@CoachHand… pic.twitter.com/WTBzJt9U4N— Wyatt VanBoening (@WyattVanBoening) August 20, 2026Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscienceThis article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Florida State offers top 100 OT

Atletico Madrid in talks with Chelsea over loan for £65m strikerNicolas Jackson is a target for Atletico Madrid, and Chelsea will be hoping a big bid is on the way soon.If you enjoy Talk Chelsea coverage and want to see more of it, add us as a preferred source on Google to make us a favourite and see more of our content.It looked for a while like Nicolas Jackson was going to be reintegrated back into Chelsea’s first team squad this season after a year on loan with Bayern Munich.But it’s now clear that Xabi Alonso is keeping three strikers in his squad, and the Senegalese isn’t one of them. Some will say that’s harsh, but it may also be down to a desire to leave on Jackson’s part.Atletico step up Jackson interestNicolas Jackson (Photo by Sona Maleterova/Getty Images)Now Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail is reporting that Atletico Madrid are one of the teams in the mix. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard them mentioned, but things had gone pretty quiet, and this is a good indication they’re about to heat up again.Gull says that Atletico would prefer a loan (perhaps with an option to buy), but as ever, Chelsea want a straight sale. It shouldn’t be that hard to come to an arrangement, and we could see Jackson doing really well back in Spain.There is “no offer yet” but talks are “ongoing.” The whole Jackson deal could be about to get very interesting, with Villa also seemingly gearing up for a bid.In other news…Another full back on the agenda was Reece James. Alonso spoke about the full back and how he intended to use him this season.Alonso also spoke about his team selection for Monday, not giving anyone much confidence that the players who made it deep into the World Cup will get the chance to start.

BATON ROUGE – When he took over LSU football back in December, Lane Kiffin knew that help was going to be needed along the offensive line.Not just the pursuit, and eventual landing, of top-rated transfer portal offensive tackle in Jordan Seaton from Colorado, but bodies were going to be needed, depth was going to be a necessity.According to Kiffin through the Tigers' first 14 practices of fall camp, that depth piece of the offensive line hasn't matriculated quite yet.PROJECTED DEPTH CHART FOR LSU FOOTBALL LSU football depth chart analysis: Where are Lane Kiffin, Tigers after 11 practices"It's a concern, something that is high on our list," Kiffin told reporters Aug. 20.LSU's first team offensive line has pretty much been set since the opening day of spring drills back in March. Seaton has been the left tackle, senior Bo Bordelon has worked at left guard, returner Braelin Moore is the starting center again, Maryland transfer Aliou Bah has been working at right guard and returning sophomore Weston Davis has held tight to the first-team right tackle spot.But behind them, there's a lot of moving parts and a lot more developing that needs to take place. Kiffin was asked if he anticipated more than five offensive linemen playing in competitive games for LSU this season and he quickly swatted that away, saying improvements must be made.In all over the offseason, LSU brought in 10 linemen out of the portal. Outside of Bah and Seaton, only a couple of other guys have seen some time with the first team in limited spots: William Satterwhite II from Tennessee and Sean Thompkins Jr. from Baylor.The rest of the transfers: Adrian Lamb (Georgia Military College), Ja'Mard Jones (Nicholls State), Ja'Quan Sprinkle (North Carolina-Central), Devin Harper (Ole Miss), Darrin Strey (Kentucky) and JaKolby Jones (Copiah-Lincoln CC) have been marred deep on the depth chart.Running a quick tempo system like Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.'s, having more than the starting unit ready to go in and perform is paramount for their offense.LSU's full offensive line complement isn't there yet. But Kiffin plans to continue the work this preseason to get the backups ready."They got to improve so that we feel more confident with that. We got to get those guys better."Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Lane Kiffin has 'high concern' about this position's depth for LSU football

The NFL has fined the Cowboys and the Saints $500,000 each for their fights during their joint practice this week.The Competition Committee has made sportsmanship, including at joint practices, a point of emphasis. The league sent a memo before training camp reminding teams of their responsibility to prevent unsportsmanlike behavior at joint practices to reduce the risk of injury.Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said earlier Thursday that the league had requested film of the joint practice.The teams had double-digit fights on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, and officials tossed Cowboys outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku after he threw a punch. Other punches went without repercussions. Schottenheimer and Saints head coach Kellen Moore, who played for and coached for the Cowboys, discussed ending the practice early after failing to get things under control. They continued to the end, with neither coach happy.

Camila Toro de Paula, a 25-year-old transgender woman from Venezuela, arrived in the United States two years ago seeking asylum after a history of abuse at the hands of authorities and family in her home country. Last August, at a routine immigration interview in New York City, Toro de Paula was arrested by ICE and sent to a detention facility in Louisiana, where she’s housed with men. She says she’s enduring another chapter of abuse, this time at the hands of the U.S. government. Related Trans ICE detainees subjected to horrifying medical neglect according to report Toro de Paula said she’s been locked in solitary confinement, denied access to water, been assaulted, and purposefully humiliated by guards over her gender identity. “I’m afraid of dying here,” she shared in Spanish during a video interview from the federal facility with The New York Times. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Like other trans detainees currently in federal custody, Toro de Paula has been placed with men in detention and denied routine gender-affirming care, after a policy addressing the rights of trans detainees first instituted under the Obama administration was eliminated in February 2025 at the start of the second Trump administration. “We are NOT wasting U.S. taxpayer dollars to provide hormone therapy to illegal aliens seeking to change their sex,” the Department of Homeland Security said in an email responding to The New York Times. Toro de Paula’s treatment is an escalation of anti-trans policy addressing immigrants instituted during Donald Trump’s first term, said Lynly Egyes, legal director of the Transgender Law Center. “The violations that we’re seeing now are, to some extent, what we had seen in Trump’s first term — it’s almost like they’re on steroids, though,” Egyes explained. “It was often difficult for trans people to access medical care. Now, it is almost impossible.” Toro de Paula’s abuse at the hands of the Trump administration follows a history of violence as she was growing up in Venezuela. She said that she was repeatedly raped as a child by relatives and stabbed by police in a homophobic attack at 14. Her mother once poured hot cooking oil on her. Long scars on her left wrist, hand, and right leg are evidence of Venezuelan police slicing her skin when she was detained by them, a doctor’s report commissioned by her lawyers shows. Toro de Paula made the dangerous journey to the U.S on foot two years ago. She reached Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2024, and was given food and clothing and temporary status as her asylum claim was processed. Toro de Paula was among thousands of asylum seekers sent to Democratic-run states as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s retributive Operation Lone Star. She started a new life in New York City. But that fresh start in New York, where she enjoyed a newfound community of other trans women, fell apart last summer with her arrest and subsequent detention in Louisiana. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Toro de Paula was detained because she entered the country illegally and had a criminal record in New York. Her lawyers say those charges, for sex work, pickpocketing, and felony assault in self-defense, were dismissed or reduced to misdemeanors. “Camila is a good girl,” said Jessica Guaman, a trans woman Toro de Paula befriended in New York. “A lot of people don’t understand us,” she said. Toro de Paula said that she’s been pressured to voluntarily return to Venezuela, but she’s refused, and continues to endure humiliations in detention. In addition to being deprived of medical care, she’s been repeatedly assaulted, she said. According to her lawyers, Toro de Paula has been locked in solitary confinement without ready access to water for up to 24 hours a day, and medical files reveal she’s complained to social workers about being punished because of her gender identity. Guards humiliated her by forcing her to wear a mask and gloves when she’s outside her cell because she’s HIV-positive, Toro de Paula said. The Homeland Security Department rejected claims that conditions inside detention centers were inhumane, adding that “no detainees are being beaten or abused.” “No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States,” the agency said. Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

The Bill Mott trained Knightsbridge is the morning line favorite in the $1 million Pacific ClassicLauren King The Pacific Classic has long been a pathway to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. First contested in 1991, Del Mar’s biggest race for classic distance horses has evolved into the crown jewel of California races as it offers a higher purse than any other regularly scheduled event in the Golden State. Offering $1 million in prize money and a fees paid berth into the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Pacific Classic has once again attracted a solid field of runners. Included in this group of accomplished contestants are runners from all over the United States and even a Japanese import (Finger). This mile and a quarter run around the Seaside Oval features a solid eleven horse field and is carded as race 10 on August 22 with an expected post time of 6:30pm Pacific time. Who will join the likes of Candy Ride, Lava Man, Beholder, California Chrome, and Flightline as Pacific Classic champions? Let’s take a look at the entrants and provide a thought on each. The horses are listed by post position with trainer, jockey, and morning line.1 Om N Joy Trainer: Aggie OrdonezJockey: Kent DesormeauxOdds: 20-1California-bred girl that is taking on the boys for the first time. Has a strong closing kick and hopes to join Beholder as a female that flies past them all in the Pacific Classic. Daughter of Om has made ten consecutive starts in Stakes company with five resulting in trips to the winner’s circle. Interesting runner, but she is no Beholder. Not likely to get it done here.2 Forged SteelTrainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.Jockey: Edwin GonzalezOdds: 5-1Was a dominant gate-to-wire winner at Santa Anita in the Hollywood Gold Cup on May 25. Finished a non- threatening fifth last out in the Suburban at Saratoga. His pappy, Vekoma, represents lots of speed and he should be a part of a hot early pace. Will be a factor early especially with the inside draw, but distance will be his undoing. Look elsewhere.3 FingerTrainer: Hiroyasu TanakaJockey: Kelia TosakaOdds: 8-1 Japanese based runner that has four wins and four second place finishes in eight career starts. All his races have been in Japan over a sand-based surface. Will this son of Gun Runner be Godzilla or Godzookie on the Del Mar dirt? Shipping and winning will be difficult, but the product from the Far East has been pretty good on the world stage in recent times. Play him in your exotic and multi-race wagers.Who will find the finish pole first in the 2026 Pacific Classic?Lisa Brewer4 SubsanadorTrainer: Richard MandellaJockey: Mike SmithOdds: 12-1Trainer and Jockey have each won the Classic four times but never together. Mandella orchestrated the biggest upset in race history in 1996 when Dare and Go defeated the mighty Cigar. After missing all of 2025 with an injury, this Argentinian-bred has not hit the board in three starts this year. Strong recent works make him a good price play as his rider is one of the best on big money days.5 MularchukTrainer: Michael McCarthyJockey: Umberto RispoliOdds: 10-1Son of Nyquist has been in the top three in nine of ten career starts with three wins, but only one of those starts has been in graded stakes company. Finished a non-threatening second in his last start on May 25 in Hollywood Gold Cup. Water may be a bit too deep where the turf meets the surf.6 Original SinTrainer: Brendan WalshJockey: Juan HernandezOdds: 15-1Kentucky shipper was impressive in winning the Blame Stakes on May 30 at Churchill Downs. Last start was a disappointing ninth in the Suburban Stakes at Saratoga on July 4. Son of Curlin should like the distance and could be a good across the board play if the price is right.Hit Show has been a warrior throughout his career and a big late run could have him right there at the endCoady Photography7 Hit ShowTrainer: Brad CoxJockey: Florent GerouxOdds: 6-1A real warrior by today’s standards, this battle tested son of Candy Ride has mad 23 trips to the starting gates in graded stakes company. He shook up the world with a win in the 2025 Dubai World Cup and his closing style is suited for this distance. Certainly can get a piece of the pie here.8 British IslesTrainer: Richard BaltasJockey: Diego HerreraOdds: 12-1 Santa Anita Handicap winner finished off the board in Stakes races at Keeneland (Ben Ali) and back at Santa Anita (Hollywood Gold Cup) in last two starts. Seems to knock on the door with six runner-up finishes and four third place runs, but only has four wins in twenty six lifetime starts. Don’t think he gets another one here.9 Navajo WarriorTrainer: Saffie JosephJockey: Micah HusbandsOdds: 8-1Nine wins in his last eleven starts tells us he knows how to find the wire. Son of Candy Ride enjoyed grade 3 scores (Pimlico Special, Cornhusker) in his last two outings but will be making his first grade 1 start. He likes to get out front and go and if an easy lead happens he could take them all the way. Pace pressure is likely, however, so don’t see that happening. Play him in all your exotic wagers.10 Full SerranoTrainer: John SadlerJockey: Joel RosarioOdds: 8-1Somewhat of a Del Mar specialist as he has three wins and a second in five career starts at the Seaside Oval. Coming in fresh as his last start was on March 28 when he finished fourth in the Oaklawn Mile in Arkansas. Conditioner won this race four times in a five year span (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) and jockey has been hot where the turf meets the surf. Our top pick as the winner.DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 02: Full Serrano ridden by Joel Rosario (R) leads the field in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile during day two of the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar Race Track on November 02, 2024 in Del Mar, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)Getty Images11 KnightsbridgeTrainer: Bill Mott Jockey: Junior AlvaradoOdds: 5-2Most accomplished runner in the field with seven wins in eleven career starts, two seconds, and a third. Dominated the Monmouth Cup Stakes in his last start in gate to wire fashion. Outside draw means he is likely to bolt towards the front again. Quality runner that is a must in all your exotics and wouldn’t be a surprise if he ships in and wins. This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson was effusive with his praise of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow after the teams' joint practice Aug. 20 near Paycor Stadium."He's like a surgeon back there, from my perspective at least," Johnson said. "He's got great pocket awareness. He can dissect defenses in a hurry. He recognizes coverages. He's able to distribute the ball. And then he trusts the guys that he's got on the perimeter as well."We know the two guys on the outside − they're probably the best duo in the business right now. He gives them a chance to make plays. This'll be a great test for our defense right now with where we are and what we're doing coverage-wise, to face an opponent like that. (Talking to) J.T. Barrett, he was teammates with Joe at Ohio State. There's some shared history there. He speaks very highly of who Joe is as a person as well."Barrett, the Bears' quarterbacks coach since 2025, and Burrow were teammates for the Buckeyes from 2015 to 2017. Burrow served as Barrett's backup at OSU before transferring to LSU and winning a Heisman Trophy and national title with the Tigers.This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bears coach Ben Johnson says Joe Burrow is 'like a surgeon back there'

This should be a crucial moment in the career of Harry Brook.After the thrilling highs and frustrating lows of the past four years and 38 Tests, he stroked 91 runs from 93 balls without breaking sweat on day two of the first Test against Pakistan.The wild swipes of previous innings, particularly during England's Ashes defeat last winter, were gone. Not once did he come charging down the pitch.Yes, he was dropped on one but after that he just kept his concentration and knocked bad balls for four.He will score a million runs if he keeps batting like this. It must be the blueprint for Brook across the rest of his Test career.Any frustration I have ever expressed towards Brook has never been personal, or because I did not rate him as a batsman.He is a very rare talent who ranks alongside the likes of Kevin Pietersen and David Gower as the most talented I have seen play for England.There have been times, like during his triple century against Pakistan in Multan, when I have sat and admired that talent.But in Australia, when he got out driving Scott Boland in Perth or swinging at Mitchell Starc in Brisbane, I feared he could waste what he has worked so hard to have.It is no surprise this version of Brook has come immediately after he was overlooked as captain.He was seriously considered by managing director Rob Key and others at the England and Wales Cricket Board before ultimately being overlooked.I am sure he will have asked himself why that was the case and, after incidents like the one in Wellington and some of the things he has said to the media in the past, it comes back to maturity.Yes, Brook has shown himself an able tactician and leader of the white-ball team but at no point did I believe he was ready to be England's Test captain.That role is about more than purely the decisions made on the field.It is about representing your country, and sometimes stepping up when needed to talk about difficult topics around the world. We have seen that in the episodes involving Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the recent past.Brook has not shown he has the maturity to do that part of the job, meaning Joe Root was the only candidate. The hierarchy had no choice.But Root's second stint is unlikely to last long, possibly only until the end of next year's Ashes, and the ball is in Brook's court to show before then that he is the best candidate next time around.Who knows, Jacob Bethell, who is highly rated as a leader, may have overtaken him by then but there is no reason Brook cannot be Test captain when Root leaves the role, especially if he is showing maturity through batting like this.Of course, some people will view Brook's innings through the prism of what has come before. They may say it only adds to the frustration around why Brook could not bat more sensibly during the Ashes.Who knows what may have happened if he did.I get that argument – the winter was one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory in English cricket - but it is now time to look to the future, and time to put the Ashes behind us.Lessons have been learned; you can see that by the decisions made and the people now in charge. Root and Stephen Fleming should be more astute operators.So, with big series on the horizon after this - a winter trip to South Africa and then the Ashes next summer – it has got to the stage where we have to move on.With that in mind, it was not just Brook's performance that has been encouraging so far.Though he will be annoyed to get out misjudging the length of spinner Usman Ali as Brook did, Jordan Cox batted with similar restraint and class for his 73.Root batted as he does, holding together a more measured batting performance. It was something every England fan will be happy to see.While two calm days have been most welcome after what we have witnessed in recent months, we do not want England to dispense with everything we saw under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes' Bazball regime.This team should retain a lot of their positivity, but do so without delving into the recklessness and inflexibility we saw before.Ruthlessness was another thing the Bazballers were often lacking and this Test has presented Root's England the perfect opportunity to show what they have learned.Pakistan have picked the wrong team. They should have picked another seamer and are desperately missing some pace in their attack.It means this is as kind an opponent England could have wished for to start their long-awaited reset.England can now press home their advantage and go 1-0 up in this series. Brook has begun to show them the way.Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Matthew HenryBrook on Test captaincy, batting and WellingtonSparkling Brook builds England lead over PakistanWood looks back at Ashes performance with 'shame'

The North Carolina Tar Heels finally have their 2026 starting quarterback, with Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr. getting the nod.Edwards is a high-risk play, given an injury that kept him out most of 2025, but he is also UNC's most experienced option under center. Edwards previously started all of 2024 for Maryland, while Texas A&M transfer Miles O'Neill has no starts through two seasons.With Edwards now the guy, how does he stack up against the other ACC gunslingers? In USA TODAY Sports' rankings of all 17 ACC quarterbacks, Edwards lands 16th, ahead of just Boston College's Mason McKenzie."The former Wisconsin Badger never got the chance to show what he could do in Madison, as his 2025 season was hampered by a knee injury," Eddie Timanus writes. "He did have some success at his prior stop at Maryland, but his running ability was a big part of his game. Whether he can rescue the Bill Belichick experiment in Chapel Hill remains to be seen."During his 2024 campaign as the Terrapins' starter, Edwards completed 273 passes for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding 15 rushing yards and five additional scores. In his first collegiate start the season prior, Edwards earned Music City Bowl MVP honors, leading Maryland that year with seven rushing touchdowns.Wake Forest starter Gio Lopez, Edwards' predecessor at North Carolina, is ranked 14th. Lopez was ineffective in 2025, failing to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark, but the Demon Deacons provide him a much-healthier atmosphere.You'll first watch Edwards in Carolina Blue on Saturday, August 29 at 12 p.m., when the Tar Heels face TCU in a rematch of their 2025 season-opener. Can Edwards hold onto the starting QB gig throughout 2026?Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: USA TODAY Sports isn't high on UNC football quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 06: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF lifts the Champion's trophy after winning the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Final match between Inter Miami CF and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Chase Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)Getty ImagesMajor League Soccer has never been shy about tweaking its playoff format.In just 31 years, the league has adjusted its postseason structure more than seven times, with each iteration adding teams, games or both.Now, with MLS on the precipice of larger shifts in terms of team finances, its calendar adjustment and another TV negotiation in the coming years, it appears more playoff changes are coming.On Thursday, The Guardian’s Pablo Iglesias Maurer reported numerous details around the potential MLS and postseason restructure. The most notable among those was the elimination of the current Eastern and Western conference alignments in favor of a (previously rumored) single table that would have teams bucketed into five geographically-aligned divisions for scheduling purposes.But for the playoffs, the plan – as reported by The Guardian – seems to be 20 teams (up from the current 18) and a double-elimination tournament that lasts across late April and into May.Playoff Format ComparisonThe current playoff structure, in place since 2023 in part because of the league’s move to Apple TV, has included 18 teams (60% of teams). In each conference, the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds compete in a one-game playoff to advance to the quarterfinals to face the top seed. Those quarterfinals are best-of-three, before turning into single elimination for the ensuing rounds.If the proposed playoff idea follows the Australian Football League model (cited in The Guardian’s reporting), the new MLS system would feature an eight-team wildcard round to determine the final four seeds in the round of 16. The AFL recently added the “wildcard round” to expand its playoffs from six teams to 10 (out of 18 clubs). With 30 teams, MLS is looking to effectively create the same bracket, but doubling the teams (rewarding two-thirds of the league with a playoff bid).MLS wouldn’t be the first U.S.-based league to create a play-in round like this. The NBA instituted one in 2020, and March Madness has featured play-in games since expanding to 68 teams in 2011.What’s unique for Major League Soccer is that it (if the proposal goes through) would also feature a double-elimination component, much like the AFL, or the NCAA’s College World Series. In that format – again, if strictly following the AFL model – teams that won in the round of 16 would skip ahead to await the winners of the losers’ bracket.While far from simple (a theme for MLS postseasons), the potential new playoff system could create significant drama and intrigue, plus more high-leverage games for MLS to sell to its next media rights holder(s).EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JULY 19: Mikel Merino #6 of Spain celebrates the World Cup champions after the team's 1-0 victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Hannah Peters - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)FIFA via Getty ImagesRunning the NCAA Tournament Playbook (Again)This summer’s FIFA Men’s World Cup recorded record ratings (and revenues) while growing the field of participants to 48 and taking on characteristics of the immensely popular NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in the U.S. The expanded 2026 World Cup was such a success, in fact, that FIFA wants to see the 2030 event feature 64 teams. Such a move would buoy record-breaking media agreements and ad revenues for FIFA, much like the majority of U.S. sports have seen in this recent era of widespread postseason expansion from the NBA, NFL, MLB and college sports.Naturally, MLS wants in on that excitement too, especially with a new TV deal coming as its Apple deal concludes early, in June 2029. And if fans can actually follow along with the a novel new format like this, it could check numerous boxes: Increase the number of fan bases with a postseason interest, pique casual viewer curiosity, entice a more lucrative deal from new TV partners, and perhaps as a byproduct of losers bracket, attempt to reward top teams more than it currently does.There’s a danger in the expanded field as well, in that it could render the regular season (currently 34 games) less meaningful. U.S. college sports already deal with this, but also have fewer common opponents. MLB, meanwhile, has common opponents and a 162-game slate, yet introduced more randomness in recent years with a 12-team field.Translating Into RevenuesMLS has already expanded its league into an era of parity as it is, with 10 new teams since 2017 and five different champions over the last five seasons (and eight different teams in the last nine).With that bandaid already ripped off, the focus shifts to how to maximize that parity-driven postseason in ways that can drive revenues and interest beyond the $250 million Apple pays annually today. Aside from international tournaments and the UEFA Champions League, soccer playoffs are relatively novel for U.S. audiences. But MLS does not feature the same quality of play as those events. So it’s sensible to try something new to make these playoffs garner attention.Given what would be assumed as increased soccer interest in the country post-World Cup, MLS will still have to contend with a crowded portion of the calendar (including direct intersection with the aforementioned Champions League). Even so, more teams and more elimination games for the playoffs could help it run past the $250 million mark en route to something more akin to the English Premier League’s $450 million-per-year deal that it signed with NBC back in 2021.Achieving those marks would be a significant boost for MLS as the league pushes to escalate its spending ability to attract higher-end talent.This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll of Canada steers his car during the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, near Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)2026-08-20T20:41:58Z SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has bought a minority stake in Formula 1 team Aston Martin.The British racing team didn’t disclose financial terms but said the former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom will focus his attention on “commercial growth, especially in the United States.”In addition to his controlling interest in the NFL club, Johnson owns a stake in Premier League soccer club Crystal Palace.Johnson will join Aston Martin’s board of directors as vice chairman but won’t undertake any day-to-day management duties, the team said.Aston Martin executive chairman and controlling shareholder Lawrence Stroll will continue to manage and control the company. He said Johnson’s “experience, passion and investment further strengthen our position as we enter the next phase of our competitive journey. “His deep appreciation for our brand, combined with his commitment to innovation and commercial opportunity, makes him an ideal partner as we look to the future,” Stroll said.Aston Martin’s announcement noted Johnson’s “considerable network of influential relationships.”Johnson said that during his time as ambassador to the U.K. during President Donald Trump’s first term, he “developed a deep appreciation for Aston Martin’s rich history” and Stroll’s vision. “We also share a commitment to growing the fanbase in the United States and introducing even more fans to the excitement of Formula 1,” Johnson said in the announcement.___See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with technology leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2026-08-20T20:50:05Z WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department investigators have sought to interview law enforcement officials related to the FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of a Florida-based inquiry aiming to establish a conspiracy against the Republican president, multiple people familiar with the matter said Thursday.The requests for interviews, made in recent weeks, suggest that a conspiracy investigation that had mostly appeared focused on the decade-old question of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is also examining a more contemporary event — the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago that resulted in the FBI seizing top secret documents from the president’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate. The requests were for voluntary interviews and not made through subpoenas, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation with The Associated Press. It is not clear when or if prosecutors might seek to bring charges, or for what, but investigating conduct that occurred in Florida might give the Justice Department the legal hook it needs to try to anchor a prosecution in the state.Joe diGenova, the prosecutor brought back to the Justice Department in April to oversee the investigation, declined to comment when contacted by AP on Thursday. The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump was indicted in 2023 on charges of unlawfully retaining classified documents and of obstructing FBI efforts to get them back. But the case was dismissed the following year after a Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, ruled that the prosecutor who brought the indictment, Jack Smith, had been illegally appointed.Trump has long maintained that law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against him over the last decade, drawing a straight line between an investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign and the more recent investigations related to his retention of classified documents and his efforts to undo the 2020 election. Read More The Justice Department has for months conducted an investigation in Florida in hopes of proving wrongdoing by the officials involved in scrutinizing Trump. Much of the questioning known to have occurred so far has centered on the government response to Russian interference in the 2016 election and the creation of an intelligence community assessment that documented the extent of the meddling.It was not immediately clear why investigators want to question FBI officials in connection with the Mar-a-Lago search, but the act has long infuriated Trump, who decried it as an invasion of privacy. In addition, congressional Republicans have long seized on accounts of tension between FBI officials and senior Justice Department leaders before the search to raise questions about whether there was an adequate justification for it, though the law enforcement dispute centered not on whether investigators had gathered sufficient evidence for a search but rather on whether there was a less dramatic and intrusive way to recover the records. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer covers the Justice Department and federal courts. She joined The AP in 2013 and is based in Washington. twitter

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUGUST 20: Gage Jump #61 of the Athletics pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on August 20, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Athletics couldn’t escape Kansas City with a win in four tries. The club was swept by the Royals in this four-game series, finishing it off with a listless 6-2 loss to wrap things up. Off to Houston.More to come…

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was very cryptic when discussing his first-team players earlier this week ahead of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in his team's second preseason contest. Whether or not a team will put their starters on the field during exhibition games is always a week-to-week question during this time of the NFL year. It especially is for the Jets after No. 1 quarterback Geno Smith was a late scratch for New York's preseason opener last week. Because of an ankle injury Smith sustained late last week, fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik took the first snap of the game instead. Initially, Glenn did not give a straight answer on the starter question against the Steelers. "The players are going to change but things can change," Glenn said. Now thanks to a report, we might know one answer.According to SNY, Smith is going to make his preseason debut for the Jets:Sources: #Jets QB Geno Smith will start tomorrow’s game against the #Steelers— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 20, 2026The Jets traded for Smith earlier this offseason. He is the presumed starter but getting his feet wet--if healthy--is important for the QB. Based on Klubnik's strong play in place of Smith in the preseason opener, he will likely be the second quarterback to play for the Jets in Pittsburgh on Friday evening.Glenn's full initial thoughts on starters playing against the Steelers can be found below: Aaron Glenn was asked if Geno Smith and the Jets' starters are going to play in Friday night's preseason game:"The players are going to play. Things can change as we get closer to game time." pic.twitter.com/7HgcfsK4Z7— SNY Jets (@snyjets) August 19, 2026Jets Wire will continue to provide updates throughout the 2026 NFL season. This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Will Geno Smith, Jets starters play vs. Steelers? (report)

CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 20: Cleveland Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey (16) singles to drive in a run during the first inning of the Major League Baseball interleague game between the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians on August 20, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images With one out in the 8th inning of Thursday’s afternoon rubber match, Cleveland Guardians center fielder Petey Halpin singled, then got caught leaning by JT Brubaker. The pickoff throw went to Bryce Eldridge, who ran Halpin to Willy Adames, who threw to Osleivis Basabe, who dropped the ball.Three pitches later, Halpin was at third after Brubaker threw a wild pitch. One pitch after that, he’d scored the final run of Cleveland’s 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on an RBI single from Brayan Rocchio.The Giants would make it interesting in the 9th, drawing two walks off closer Cade Smith (32 saves) after being down to their last strike, but Rafael Devers flew out to end the game and send the Giants to their sixth straight series loss, and their 9th road series loss in a row.The story of the game was, once again, poor Giants defense. Little Leaguers can successfully execute a pickle, but not the Cement Glove keystone duo of Basabe and Willy Adames, who committed his 18th error of the season and also fumbled the exchange on a potential double play. Cleveland’s three-run first-inning rally got a boost from a ground-ball single from Travis Bazzanna that went under Basabe’s glove, giving the Guardians first and third with no one out instead of a rally-killing double play. A bloop single and a sacrifice fly made it 2-0, then Adames booted a second double-play ball grom Angel Genao. That opened the door for an RBI single from Patrick “Patty Barrels” Bailey, the first hard-hit ball of the inning off of Landen Roupp (7-13) despite it being a 3-0 game.Hard to get mad about a 3-run 1st inning.#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/YPpFK0Vq3N— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 20, 2026Roupp settled down and gave up only two more hits in the next 4 1/3 innings, though he did issue three more walks. Conservatively, Adames forced Roupp to throw 13 extra pitches and made Tony Vitello burn a challenge on an “illegal slide” from Steven Kwan in the second inning that seemed purely motivated by trying to save his player from the embarrassment of dropping the ball for no reason. Otherwise the challenge was pure incompetence, but it’s hard to imagine we’d see that from the crafty Vitello.Adames did provide all the scoring from the Giants on offense, hitting his 20th home run of the season and the 200th of his career after a Devers single in the first. He’s now the fourth shortstop in Giants history with more than one season of 20 or more homers, joining Alvin Dark, Rich Aurilia, and Brandon Crawford. Willy's 200th career homer brings the Giants within one 👏 pic.twitter.com/zHW0y4L884— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 20, 2026Guardians starter Gavin Williams (12-7) never got Devers out, issuing two of his three walks to the Giants DH. He got 11 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, giving up only one hit outside of the 4th. Williams’ biggest weakness is the long ball, but only Adames could take advantage and only once did they get a runner into scoring position off of him, after two 5th-inning walks. After he got pulled with two outs and a runner down in the 6th, pinch-hitter Victor Bericoto’s flied out to center, though the wind may have knocked the ball down.The shaky defense continued. Bailey singled and stole second in the 4th, without anyone on the Giants noticing him running. Bryce Eldridge dove for an Angel Martinez ground ball in the 6th but couldn’t come up with it, Bailey reached base for the third time in a row with a walk and Kwan (1-for-2, three walks) singled off Sam Hentges to make it 4-2. The Giants did get a force out at third when they ran the “wheel play” on a sac bunt, but Adames declined to throw to first to try for the double play, which was probably just as well.Good defense on the other side derailed the Giants in the 8th, when Rocchio made an acrobatic play to retire Bericoto after Eldridge walked and Jung Hoo Lee singled.A sensational spinning play from Brayan Rocchio and a great scoop from Nathaniel Lowe!#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/4TLtCkAkEj— GuardsTV (@GuardsTV) August 20, 2026Left-handed relievers continued to stymie the Giants. The Giants pinch-hit the hitless Andrew Knizner and Jonah Cox, who’d struck out five times in a row, in the 7th inning off Erik Sabrowski. Knizner popped out, though he drew a walk in the 9th, and Cox eventually ran his strikeout streak to seven.Positives! Christian Koss made a nice throw on the wheel play and caught a tough popup against the netting. Adames is hitting the ball hard, even if sometimes he’s using his glove to deliver the blows. Roupp settled down nicely after a rough first inning that was hardly his fault. And Knizner added some levity when he burned an ABS challenge with two outs in the 9th on a pitch that was such a clear strike that the National Labor Relations Board sent out an official statement of support for it after the game.Ah shoot almost had it pic.twitter.com/7kMj3DCXa2— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 20, 2026Next the team will travel to Boston, a homecoming for Rafael Devers and possibly Marcelo Mayer, though he’ll likely debut at home. Devers is likely to face old friend Erik Miller, who is getting extensive use from the Red Sox since the Giants traded him, striking out 12 and yielding only a single unearned run in 7 1/3 innings over seven appearances. Maybe the Giants will even win a road series!(They will not.)

Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson seems to have gotten some brutal trolling in at Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders during a joint practice between the Bills and Browns on Thursday in Ohio. As Sanders dukes it out with Deshaun Watson for the team's top quarterback job, Gardner-Johnson yelled "check-down king" in Sanders' direction while the latter was on the sideline during the joint practice, per Browns reporter Tom Withers. While Gardner-Johnson wasn't practicing, he seems to have still wanted to get in Sanders' head. While he didn't say it directly to his face, it sure seems like the trolling was directed at the former Colorado quarterback. We're not else who this trolling would have been for unless Watson was also on the sideline. The fact that Withers pointed directly to Sanders makes us think he was the only quarterback in the area. Bills S C.J. Gardner-Johnson not practicing but talking all kinds of smack. Earlier he was yelling "Check-down King" in the direction of Sanders on the sideline.— Tom Withers (@twithersCLE) August 20, 2026Sanders could possibly win the job in Cleveland, even if Watson may have the edge right now. We're sure he'll be remembering Gardner-Johnson's taunting if he does. When do the Browns start the season? The team plays the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Did a Bills DB brutally troll Shedeur Sanders in a joint practice?

Jan 15, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) and quarterback Joe Burrow (9) warm up before an NFL wild-card playoff football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals during a wild card game at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports Joe Burrow isn’t interested in talking about the Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Bowl window as something that might still be open down the road. He wants it to happen now.And he’s making sure everyone around the Bengals hears him say it.Following Cincinnati’s joint practice with the Chicago Bears on Thursday, Burrow spoke to reporters about the team’s championship aspirations and made it clear that he isn’t shy about putting those expectations into the universe.“I’m trying to put it out into the world. I’m trying to manifest it,” Burrow said when asked about the Bengals’ pursuit of a Super Bowl.But the quote that followed may have been even more revealing.“I’m trying to show our guys the urgency that I have and that I want us to have as an organization, to go and make it happen.”That’s the mentality Burrow wants inside the Bengals’ locker room heading into 2026. Not someday. Not next year.Now.Joe Burrow speaks to the media. https://t.co/Rnv6ka1at8— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 20, 2026Burrow is tired of pushing it down the roadThere’s a reason Burrow’s comments feel different from the standard preseason quarterback optimism. He’s not simply saying the Bengals have enough talent to compete.He’s talking about urgency.Cincinnati has been in the AFC Championship Game twice during Burrow’s career and reached Super Bowl LVI following the 2021 season. But the Bengals haven’t been able to get back to the Super Bowl since that breakthrough run.Burrow is clearly tired of talking about what Cincinnati could accomplish.“You can keep pushing it down the road, or you can talk about it now and say this is the year,” Burrow said.Then came perhaps the most striking part of his comments:“I’m tired of saying next year, next year, next year.”That statement says plenty about where Burrow’s head is entering his seventh NFL season.The Bengals have spent the offseason making significant additions to a roster that already possessed one of the league’s most talented offenses. The biggest splash came on the defensive side, where Cincinnati acquired superstar defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and added veteran defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.Now Burrow wants the results to match the investment.‘This is it’Burrow’s next comment was even more direct.“This is it,” he said. “Your life is too short to keep pushing things down the road, and I’m trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day and try to go make it happen.”It’s a fascinating evolution for a quarterback who has never exactly been shy about his expectations. Burrow has consistently talked about winning championships since arriving in Cincinnati.But there’s a difference between believing you’re capable of winning a championship and openly telling the entire organization that this is the year to make it happen.Burrow appears to be trying to create that distinction. And he isn’t limiting the message to himself.Burrow wants the entire building to feel the urgencyBurrow also acknowledged that the Bengals’ defense has taken a major step forward with the offseason additions.“We have to step up and make something happen this year,” Burrow said, specifically discussing the defense reaching a championship-level standard alongside the offense.But the quarterback also challenged his own side of the football.“We have to be more consistent on offense,” Burrow said.It would be easy for Burrow to point toward the additions on defense and say the Bengals have finally given the offense the help it needs. Instead, he’s putting pressure on everyone, including himself.The offense has an incredibly high standard, and Burrow acknowledged that the standard exists because of what the unit has already accomplished—and what it believes it is capable of doing.“Our standard is so high, but it’s so high because of what we’ve done and what we can do,” he said.That’s the message of this year’s Bengals team. The standard isn’t being lowered because of what happened last season—it’s being raised because of what Cincinnati believes this roster can become.The timing of Burrow’s message mattersThere is also something significant about when Burrow chose to make this declaration. The Bengals had just completed their first joint practice of the preseason against another NFL team—a Bears team that won the NFC North and nearly beat the Rams in the Divisional Round of the playoffs just last year.The intensity was noticeably higher than a normal training camp practice, and Cincinnati’s offense reportedly had a productive day against Chicago. Meanwhile, Dexter Lawrence came away with one of the biggest defensive plays, intercepting a tipped pass. Cashius Howell and Myles Murphy also generated would-be sacks.In other words, Burrow isn’t speaking about an imaginary roster. He’s seeing the pieces come together in front of him.The Bengals have a veteran quarterback who is healthy. They have Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They have one of the league’s most explosive offensive cores.They added Lawrence and Allen to a defense that desperately needed more star power. And now Burrow is seeing something he wants to turn into a championship.That’s why he’s talking about manifesting it.Manifestation only gets you so farOf course, nobody wins a Super Bowl because they talked about it enough. Burrow knows that better than anyone.The Bengals still have to stay healthy. They have to become more consistent offensively. The defense has to prove that its offseason transformation translates to Sundays. The offensive line has to hold up. Cincinnati has to navigate the AFC, which remains brutally competitive.And ultimately, all of the talk has to become football. But that’s precisely why Burrow’s comments are interesting. He’s not presenting manifestation as a substitute for work.He’s using it as a way to establish the mindset he wants from the organization.Talk about it. Believe it. Expect it.Then work like it.The Bengals’ franchise quarterback isn’t asking his teammates to wait for their opportunity. He’s telling them the opportunity is already here. And he’s tired of saying “next year.”For Joe Burrow, 2026 is the year.

The board of directors of the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), a group whose website currently bills itself as an organization of conservative LGBT people “building a more inclusive GOP,” announced today that it’s dropping transgender people from its mission. While trans people can still join the group, the mission change suggests an alignment with the current administration’s anti-trans crusade, though the LCR’s so-called trans advocacy has always been weak and self-defeating at best. In a column published in Townhall, LCR President Ross Hemminger wrote that his group grounds its advocacy in “constitutional principles — equal protection, limited government, and individual freedom.” In 2015, LCR’s board of directors voted to add the T to the group’s mission “out of a belief that all adults should be allowed to pursue their own happiness, free of government interference, as long as it did not impede on the inalienable rights of others,” Hemminger wrote. Related The Log Cabin Republican’s new “ambassador” is a straight homophobe who declares “Heil Hitler” “At the time, we did not believe that we would find ourselves where we are today,” Hemminger continued. “The transgender movement has ceased focusing on adults at all — nearly all of their efforts and those of their aligned special interest groups focus on minors. They push schools to teach radical gender ideology; they want biological men in women’s sports regardless of the consequences; perhaps most offensively, they support gender reassignment treatments for minors, often without the knowledge or consent of the parents, knowing full well these treatments are mostly irreversible.” Hemminger is incorrect. Trans advocates have focused on fighting the nationwide rollback of their civil rights, including federal and state governments’ refusal to legally recognize their gender identities through gender marker changes on ID documents, restroom bans that force them to enter facilities that don’t match their gender identity, policies banning them from any collegiate and professional sports participation, the banning of trans military members, and the de-funding of medical and educational institutions that offer gender-affirming care and trans-inclusive student policies. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Hemminger mentions none of the above issues in his column, nor how they contradict what he calls “the Republican commitment to limited government and equal protection under the law,” adding, “When we remain focused on those principles, we win.” Hemminger’s use of phrases like “radical gender ideology” and “biological men,” along with claims of “irreversible” “gender reassignment treatments” pursued without parental knowledge and consent, are all untrue and inflammatory statements used by anti-trans Republicans nationwide. In reality, fear-mongering about “gender ideology” in schools and parental consent has been used to justify anti-LGBTQ+ book bans and repeals of trans-inclusive school policies. Also, the number of trans women athletes is minuscule. Furthermore, trans youth are almost never subjected to “irreversible” “gender reassignment treatments.” In most cases, mental and medical health providers encourage young trans kids to socially transition by outwardly expressing the gender that aligns with their identity. Minors are only administered (reversible) puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy with full parental consent, and almost all major American medical associations have suggested gender-affirming care is safe, effective, and beneficial to trans kids’ well-being. These treatments have a very low rate of regret and de-transition among trans youth. Responding to Hemminger’s announcement, Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Delphine Luneau told LGBTQ Nation in an exclusive statement, “It’s news to us that they ever pretended to care about the T. Splitting up the LGBTQ+ community and pitting us against each other is exactly what anti-equality forces want to see happen. Sacrificing one part of a community in the false hope that it will somehow protect the rest of it has never worked throughout history, and it’s a tactic that should be rejected again today. Meanwhile, support for transgender people among the broader LGBTQ+ population is overwhelmingly strong, because the vast majority of us understand that all our freedoms are intertwined.” Before Hemminger’s declaration, LCR’s support of trans rights has been anemic and contradictory. The group’s last president, Charles Moran, advised the sponsor of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans public school instruction on LGBTQ+ issues. Moran accused the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, of “destructively redefining support for the LGBT community around trans surgeries for minors, biological men competing in women’s sports, and sex and gender identity lessons in kindergarten.” Under Moran, LCR did oppose the rolling back of transgender public accommodations in public schools and suggested policies to Republicans that would accommodate trans students while giving school districts flexibility on how to do so. Yet, the group also opposed gender-affirming care for minors. The group’s Out Spoken website pushes the right-wing falsehood that mental illness causes trans individuals to “snap” and become mass shooters. The group also recruited trans male adult video performer Buck Angel as one of its recent ambassadors. Angel called to ban transgender youth healthcare, criminalize trans women for using women’s rooms, deport undocumented migrants, jail student protesters, and end diversity initiatives, The Gay and Lesbian Review reported. LCR’s decision to become, in Hemminger’s words, an “LGB advocacy” group suggests that the group is more closely aligning itself with the current Republican administration’s anti-trans crusade, just as other trans-exclusive groups, like the LGB Alliance in the United Kingdom, have done. Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Sam Williams, top, fight with New Orleans Saints tight end Moliki Matavao during an NFL football joint practice, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)2026-08-20T21:07:32Z LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints have been fined $500,000 apiece by the NFL after their brawl-filled joint practice Tuesday.The league announced the fines Thursday after requesting video of the tumultuous workout at the Cowboys ' training camp base in Oxnard, California.“The Competition Committee has made sportsmanship — including at joint practices — a point of emphasis over the past several years,” the league said in a statement. “All clubs were remined by memo prior to training camp of their responsibility in preventing unsportsmanlike behavior at joint practices that has the potential to result in injury.”Players from the Cowboys and the Saints threw punches during several skirmishes throughout the joint practice, which was conducted in uncommonly hot, humid weather in the coastal town.The brouhaha was lowlighted by Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner’s body slam of Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson in a move worthy of Rechsteiner’s father, pro wrestler Scott Steiner. Saints center Erik McCoy threw a Cowboys helmet high in the air during one scrap, while McCoy and Cowboys linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku threw punches at each other in an ugly sequence that ended with Ezeiruaku getting thrown out of practice for the second time in camp. Saints coach Kellen Moore and Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer nearly called off the practice early after repeated post-whistle scuffles. Schottenheimer called the workout “a little chippy. Not the way we like to do business.”“Obviously there was non-football stuff in that joint practice, unfortunately,” Moore said Thursday. The Saints have left Louisiana for California this week, conducting a few practices on the coast before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. Read More New Orleans had no scuffles or disciplinary issues Thursday during another joint practice with the Rams at Los Angeles’ training complex in Woodland Hills. The teams still wrapped up their workout earlier than scheduled because the Saints had already done extensive work this week before a handful of players left this practice early with injuries that currently appear minor.Moore said he spoke to his players about professionalism before they visited the Rams. New Orleans also had no issues last week when it hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars for a joint practice. “We acknowledged some of the things that happened on Tuesday,” Moore said. “Thought our guys were focused, Rams were focused, and it was a really good, clean practice.”___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL GREG BEACHAM Beacham is a sports writer in California.

Footballs are seen before an NFL football game in Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)2026-08-20T19:42:40Z The NFL is upset about changes made by Nielsen in its methodology for measuring viewership for the upcoming season, calling them “rushed” and saying they will have a negative impact on sports.Nielsen announced plans this week to change how it measures audiences on television, beginning on Aug. 31, including alterations to how the company measures whether multiple people are watching an event at the same time. The NFL is coming off one of its most successful seasons ever on television after Nielsen began using its Big Data + Panel methodology for all events last September. The league averaged 18.7 million viewers per game during the 2025 regular season, an increase of 10% from the 2024 season and the largest for a season since 1989. The Super Bowl had an audience of 124.9 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL+, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel rating system, falling just short of the record set the previous season. Paul Ballew, the league’s head of data and analytics, said on a conference call Thursday that the league was still trying to understand how the changes will impact ratings this season.“We don’t have enough impact data to fully assess. We’re still trying to make a sense of it,” Ballew said. “We’re still trying to makes sense of some of the logic behind some of the methodological changes. From our initial impact, it looks like a negative for sports. On the other side, co-viewing or partial co-viewing implementation is a positive. So we’re going to have to continue to spend some time pulling this apart and making sense of it.” Ballew said the priority for the league is to find the most accurate number for the audience, as well as having a deeper understanding of the demographics of the viewership. Read More “Media measurement matters a lot to us,” he said. “It’s adding into the amount of homework we have to take on going into the season to make sense. We do think it’s a misstep on Nielsen’s part to go do this the way they’re doing it. It continues to accelerate our pressure point to continue to pursue ongoing measurement improvement because it’s so critically important to us and everybody else in this space.”Nielsen had been working with partners for a while on the changes and nearly implemented them last October but waited until this season instead. “Nielsen is delivering the most accurate TV measurement ever, especially when it comes to live sports,” Nielsen said in a statement. “We have worked closely with clients, sports leagues and industry regulators to constantly enhance our methodologies. That includes the introduction of Big Data + Panel, the expansion of our Out of Home measurement and a pilot test of co-viewing updates, which are all successful examples of collaboration that lead into the enhancements.” ‘Nothing’s changed’ with media deal opt outsHans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, said “nothing’s changed” with the league’s television partners and the possibility of negotiating contracts early.The NFL’s deals with CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon run through the 2033 season and the contract with ESPN goes for one season beyond that. The league has the option to opt out of those deals after the 2029 season with CBS, Fox, NBC and Amazon and after the 2030 season with ESPN. The NFL gets paid an average of nearly $11 billion annually from those deals.The league can renegotiate immediately with CBS because of a change of ownership provision that was triggered when Skydance Media bought Paramount. Schroeder said talks are ongoing. “We’re always going to do that. We’re going to continue to engage our partners,” he said. “So nothing’s changed. We’re continuing to look at the future and figure out how we can continue to improve it.” NFL players express interest in Olympic flag footballThe league said there has been high interest from NFL players about participating in the Olympics in 2028 when flag football makes its debut, with the NFL’s head of global flag football, Brian Flinn, saying more than 200 players representing more than 25 countries have expressed a desire to possibly play. Flinn said there will be more details on the process for national federations choosing players at the end of this season.There will be six men’s and six women’s teams competing in Los Angeles with three of each already assured spots. The U.S. will be in as the host country, while the Canadian men’s and women’s teams clinched spots, along with the Italian men and Mexican women at a tournament last week in Germany.Flinn was encouraged by the competitiveness of that tournament, where the U.S. men lost for the first time in 14 years in a group stage match against American Samoa and also narrowly beat Japan in the quarterfinals. Flinn also said the women’s teams from Canada and Great Britain have closed the gap with traditional powers Mexico and the U.S. as the level of play and intensity continues to rise.“You saw the emotion of the players because they knew what they were playing for,” Flinn said. “Certainly the Olympic dream was alive.” Could Japan be next for an international game?The NFL will hold a record nine international games this season, including the first regular-season contests ever in France and Australia and the first game in Mexico since 2022. There will also be games in Spain, Germany and Brazil, along with three in London.Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this summer that the league is interested in playing a regular-season game in Japan for the first time. Schroeder said the process of picking countries is getting harder because there’s so much interest. “There’s more and more interest from cities around the world about hosting NFL games,” Schroeder said. “In Japan, there’s a ton of interest and appreciation and excitement about the popularity there.” ___See AP’s full NFL coverage here JOSH DUBOW Dubow is an NFL writer for The Associated Press who covers the San Francisco 49ers and provides weekly analysis of NFL statistics. twitter mailto

The Department of Homeland Security told Nevada election officials that it identified 185 “potential” noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls, not the nearly 16,000 it claimed last month.

Japan had tried to dissuade the U.S. from imposing sanctions on Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, but the White House pressed ahead.

Jake Lang has descended four times on Dearborn, Mich., which is majority Arab American. His rhetoric and protests have stirred fear among residents.

Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey spoke with detainees at the Newark detention center who said they had trouble accessing medical care. Staff members there disputed that account.

U.S. officials have sometimes eliminated access to gender-related treatment and dissolved measures meant to shield transgender detainees from harassment.

The highly anticipated Little League World Series opener for Hamilton's West Side will have to wait a bit longer.Due to inclement weather on-site in Williamsport, Pa., Little League has postponed all of Thursday's games to Friday, Aug. 21. West Side, representing Ohio and the Great Lakes region, was originally scheduled to play the Mountain-region champs Nevada at 2 p.m.Due to the impact of prolonged inclement weather in Williamsport, all games scheduled for Thursday, August 20, have been postponed.#LLWSpic.twitter.com/56Vhq0Nytw— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 20, 2026West Side is now slated for a 9 a.m. first pitch against Nevada on Friday. With the change in schedule, ESPN will no longer be broadcasting the game.Here's the full rundown of Aug. 21's new schedule:9 a.m. – Game 5: Australia (V) vs. Mexico (H) – Volunteer Stadium 9 a.m. – Game 6: Great Lakes, Hamilton (V) vs. Mountain (H) – Lamade Stadium12 p.m. – Game 7: Japan (V) vs. Curacao (H) – Volunteer Stadium 12 p.m. – Game 8: West (V) vs. Midwest (H) – Lamade Stadium 3 p.m. – Game 9: Latin America (V) vs. Panama (H) – Volunteer Stadium 3 p.m. – Game 10: Northwest (V) vs. Southwest (H) – Lamade Stadium 6 p.m. – Game 11: Asia-Pacific (V) vs. Europe and Africa (H) – Volunteer Stadium7 p.m. – Game 12: Mid-Atlantic (V) vs. Metro (H) – Lamade StadiumA full broadcast schedule will be released later.This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hamilton West Side Little League World Series opener postponed