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Fall Weather Predictions Nearly all US states are likely to see warmer-than-average temperatures in the coming three months, a new federal forecast reveals. See more here (w/maps). Summerlike weather is most likely to persist in the Pacific Northwest, where below-average rainfall is also expected—potentially fueling the spread of wildfires. Wetter-than-average conditions are forecast for the Southwest and Southeast. On the East Coast, an El Niño fall is expected to suppress hurricane activity, though high-tide flooding is predicted on the West Coast (El Niño 101). Forecasters could not say whether temperatures would be above or below average in the Ohio Valley, encompassing Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Separately, the Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmers’ Almanac both released their outlooks yesterday. Research shows only about half of the latter's predictions have historically been borne out. Read how the forecasts differ from federal predictions.

North Korean Missiles North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters yesterday, according to South Korea’s military, hours after Pyongyang dismissed President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to ease tensions. The missiles traveled roughly 185 miles before landing in the sea (explore the North’s missile arsenal). The test came during the annual US-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which Trump shortened from 11 days to five in a bid to reduce tensions. Washington and Seoul call the drills defensive, while North Korea considers them preparations for an invasion and often responds with weapons tests. Kim Jong Un’s sister said the reduction changed nothing, though she described Trump and Kim’s relationship as “excellent.” Trump, who met Kim three times from 2018 to 2019, said Wednesday he hopes to meet him again this year; Pyongyang has rejected giving up its nuclear arsenal as a condition for renewed talks (who has nuclear weapons?). Explore 25 years of US-North Korea negotiations and provocations with this interactive.

Charter plane crash kills 8 near remote radar site in western Alaska, military says JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site in western Alaska on Thursday, killing all on board, the U.S. military said. https://apnews.com/article/alaska-charter-plane-crash-bda232d16205502288149db380610d05?

2 organizers of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigils convicted in national security case HONG KONG (AP) — Two former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were convicted Friday for what the government-approved judges ruled was inciting others to overthrow China’s communist leadership. https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-tiananmen-verdict-alliance-9e1f5c915931eecfa083053dd262548b?

People are opting out of the two main political parties ☐ Republican ☐ Democratic ☑ Other An increasing percentage of voters are registering with a minor party or no party at all. In states that require party affiliation on voter registration (because not all do), three out of four counties had voters shifting away from the Republican and Democratic parties over the past decade. In some states, both Republican and unaffiliated voter growth drew away from Democratic registration. In North Carolina, unaffiliated registrations grew in every single county, while the Republican share grew alongside it in 78 of the state’s 100 counties. The Democratic share fell in all 100. In other states, both parties lost ground in roughly equal measure. A prime example of this is Colorado, where unaffiliated and minor party registration climbed 16 percentage points over the decade, while both major parties lost ground. In 2016, 38% of Colorado voters were registered as unaffiliated or with a minor party. In 2026, that share had grown to 54%. The Democratic share of registrations was 31% in 2016 and declined to 24% in 2026. The Republican share of registrations was 31% in 2016 and dropped to 22% in 2026. (You might assume that some government agency has a number of registered Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters at the ready for public use. But you would be wrong. Check out the Analyst Notes on how we collected and analyzed this voter registration data.)

Mortgage rates ease again, but remain higher than this time last year The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased for the second week in a row, but remains elevated compared with this time last year. Read More.

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Croatia orders detention of Ukrainian man wanted in Germany for Nord Stream blasts in 2022 A Croatian judge on Thursday ordered the detention of a Ukrainian man who is wanted in Germany in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, his lawyer said. Read More.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer-turned-enemy, is hosting the president on his radio show President Donald Trump is expected to appear Thursday on the radio show of his former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, making a public reunion with the man who once called him a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain” and testified against him both in court and before Congress. Read More. Canadian premier says Trump is a ‘bad person’ as Canada weighs concessions for trade deal The premier of a Canadian province launched a blistering attack on U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a “bad person” and “not to be trusted” and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to make concessions in trade talks with Washington. Read More. More than 2,300 Mexicans sent to Guatemala and Honduras as Trump ramps up third-country deportations 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. Read More. Trump keeps embracing data centers even as they become toxic in midterm races President Donald Trump, speaking alongside cryptocurrency leaders at the White House this week, made a statement that Republican and Democratic candidates alike wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Read More.

🍸 1 for the road: Union Station's glam new bar Photo: Albert Ting/Continental Club A fancy new cocktail bar just pulled into Washington's Union Station, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel reports. Continental Club, a lofty cocktail lounge at the station's soaring Beaux-Arts Main Hall, opens today through the end of the year. 🚂 Founder Rochelle Julich tells Axios that the narrow rooms overlooking the station reminded her of train cars, inspiring a look modeled after vintage parlor cars and refreshments that nod to the "Golden Age of Rail." Think mahogany, brass and blue velvet, with Union Station's gilded architecture and historic Legionnaire statues as the backdrop. Photo: Albert Ting/Continental Club 🥃 The drink menu riffs on Prohibition-era classics like Bee's Knees and Manhattans, alongside modern spins like a cucumber-basil Capitol Gimlet. Bar bites include fried chicken biscuit bites, truffle popcorn and "railway style" hot dogs with mustard, relish and onions. Go deeper ..

🇸🇾 Syrian foreign minister: Israeli bombing unjustified Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Tom Nicholson, Antonio Masiello, and Ula Muhammed/Anadolu via Getty Images Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani made it clear to Israel that his government wasn't working with Turkey to amass a military presence at a Syrian airbase — but Israel attacked the site anyway, he tells Axios' Barak Ravid. The Tuesday morning strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase has heightened tensions among three close U.S. partners in the region, just as the Trump administration is trying to prevent further escalation. 🇹🇷 Al-Shaibani tells Axios: "[T]here was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site." President Trump told Axios in a phone call yesterday that he'd been briefed on the Israeli strike, but declined to comment on it. "I can't talk about it," he said. 💥 Israel dropped at least eight bombs at the base in northern Syria, about 45 miles from the Turkish border. The strike damaged the runways, which had recently been rebuilt. There were no casualties. Keep reading.

Cancer vaccine trial shows promise Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios A new personalized mRNA treatment from Moderna and Merck prevented skin cancer from recurring or spreading in a late-stage trial, Axios' Tina Reed reports. The results could help lift the cloud hanging over mRNA technology, after Trump administration health officials cut federal funding and asserted that it poses more risks than rewards. 🔬 The experimental therapy, called intismeran, was tested in combination with Merck's cancer drug Keytruda in more than 1,100 patients with high-risk melanoma that had been surgically removed. The combination demonstrated a "clinically meaningful improvement" over treatment with Keytruda alone. 🧬 The mRNA-based drugs train the immune system to find mutations that cause tumors. That's in contrast to chemotherapy, which damages or destroys cancer cells. Moderna President Stephen Hoge tells Axios: "I do hope that this will move people away from pigeonholing mRNA as a vaccine platform, or maybe even more incorrectly, tying it to the things they didn't like about the pandemic era that had nothing to do with the technology." "I hope this starts to move us past that because it is, we think, a transformational moment in cancer." 📊 What's next: The full results of the trial will be released at an upcoming medical meeting. Go deeper.

ICE Worked With Iranian Regime to Set Up Deportation Flights as Trump Laid Plans for War Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents appear to have worked directly with government officials in Iran to deport over 100 Iranian nationals as the United States prepared to bomb their home country, according to a newly released trove of internal emails from ICE. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/18/iran-trump-deportation-flights-ice/? The Short Life of a Newborn During the Iran War Mohammad Ali Kialha’s first hours were all he knew of peace. He was born on February 26 in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Two days later, President Donald Trump began his war on that country. “Bombs will be dropping everywhere,” Trump wrote on social media on February 28. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/18/iran-war-civilian-deaths-families-infant/? Immigrant Wants to Pay $368,000 in Fines, but Broken Payment System Won’t Let Him When Daniel arrived in the U.S. about two decades ago, he came on a legal tourist visa. Once here, having fled his home country in South America, he filed an asylum application. A judge, however, eventually denied his claim. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/20/trump-immigration-civil-fines-deport/? A Democratic Socialist Aims to Oust a Top AIPAC Beneficiary in Florida The conventional thinking for Democrats hoping to win in Florida is to be tough on Cuba, friendly to Israel, and careful to avoid appearing too liberal. It’s a tactic aimed at courting powerful voting blocs, and one that helped Rep. Jared Moskowitz take office in the land of sunny skies and low taxes. https://theintercept.com/2026/08/17/florida-congress-oliver-larkin-jared-moskowitz-aipac/?

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No Guarantees (Chip Somodevilla / Getty)   View in browser Cory Mills’s reelection campaign was in trouble before it even began. Washington, D.C., police investigated the Florida representative early last year after a woman alleged that he’d assaulted her; later in 2025, a different woman was granted a restraining order against him. Neither woman was his wife. Mills, who has denied any wrongdoing, was never charged with anything, and the woman who alleged that he’d assaulted her walked back her claim after it became public. Still, questions lingered. Then, in February, Donald Trump endorsed him anyway, calling him an “America First Patriot and Tremendous Champion” of his district. Not everyone in Florida’s Republican establishment felt the same. Governor Ron DeSantis declined to back him, and Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos threw their support behind his opponent. A House ethics probe is ongoing. On Tuesday, Mills lost his primary election—and despite never having rescinded his endorsement, Trump is now trying to back away from the congressman retroactively. “I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen,” he posted on Truth Social yesterday morning. Mills’s opponent, Ryan Elijah—who already won the primary—now has Trump’s “Complete and Total Endorsement!” What does a presidential endorsement mean for a Republican facing a primary election in 2026? If not enduring loyalty from the White House, then at least a reliable boost in the polls. The candidates that Trump supports still tend to win big; about 96 percent of the politicians he tapped this year (more than 300 of them) won their primary, according to Ballotpedia—an impressive ratio. Trump clearly enjoys the perception that his endorsement makes or breaks a candidate. “If they don’t get the endorsement, they don’t win,” he said in 2021. For many voters, particularly in the MAGA camp, perceived loyalty to Trump remains a deciding factor. (Just ask Bill Cassidy.) But not every bet Trump makes pays off. An endorsement has never been an outright guarantee of victory, and the rare exceptions illuminate some truths about Trump and the GOP. Two of the president’s other picks lost their primary race on Tuesday: Megan Degenfelder, the head of Wyoming’s Department of Education, who was running for the state’s governorship, and the former Commerce Department adviser Catalina Lauf, who was up for an open House seat in southwest Florida. By CNN’s count, that makes 10 Trump-endorsed candidates who have so far lost their primary this year. No single, unifying theory can explain these races. Sometimes, the timing makes a difference. When Trump endorsed Degenfelder as Wyoming’s best choice for the governorship, back in January, the state’s education chief hadn’t even entered the race. Once she did, the nod gave her campaign an early lead—an advantage she held on prediction markets for about seven months, despite being outraised and outspent by her main opponent in the GOP primary. In the end, she couldn’t sustain it. Lauf got her endorsement from Trump last week, almost a full year into her campaign, and well after mail-in voting had already begun. Her primary was always more of a toss-up than Degenfelder’s, but Trump’s endorsement may have arrived too late to make a difference. The president also cares more about some races than he does about others. In Indiana, he was able to use his endorsement power to punish those who had opposed his agenda. Trump vowed that Republican state senators who were up for reelection would lose their race if they rejected a gerrymandering plan he backed—and in May, after a concerted effort and successful fundraising from the MAGA base, most of those politicians did indeed lose their primary. Compare that with what he gave Lauf: not much more than a one-off Truth Social post. Not every race is a blanket referendum on Trump’s endorsement power; the particulars always matter. The Republican strategist Doug Heye told me that “when the voters go in the voting booth, the word Trump doesn’t appear. It’s those candidates.” Mike Lindell, the Trump-endorsed MyPillow founder and MAGA stalwart, lost his bid for the Minnesota governorship earlier this month. He’d been leading in the polls, despite the fact that he was obviously unqualified—and that the state’s GOP leadership had declined to endorse him, suggesting that he’d be an “easy target” for Democrats. On Election Day, though, he lost to the experienced state House speaker Lisa Demuth. His adjacency to Trump couldn’t get him over the line. As much as Trump likes the idea that he alone can propel a candidate to victory, he also seems to try to skew the odds in his favor. As NPR points out, the president has lately been backing more incumbents than he did during the 2018 midterms (75 percent of his choices this year have been sitting politicians), which suggests a greater aversion to risk. He also tends to make endorsements much earlier than he used to, getting involved from the outset and attempting to deter competition. Recent history is full of examples of races where Trump’s endorsement did make a big difference: The Ohio Senate seat that ultimately went to J. D. Vance in 2022 was fiercely contested until the president made his pick. Often, though, the president is simply playing the odds, betting on the candidate he thinks has the best chance. That’s exactly what happened in Texas earlier this year. Ahead of the GOP primary for John Cornyn’s Senate seat, Trump was widely expected to endorse the incumbent. As my colleague Elaine Godfrey noted at the time, the senator tried to rename a highway after Trump in an effort to secure his support. But the president went with a competitor, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’d been ahead in the polls despite being impeached a few years prior. Back in 2022, in the lead-up to Missouri’s Senate primary, Trump went with a more unusual strategy. He wrote on social media that he’d decided to endorse “ERIC”—but didn’t specify which of the three candidates named Eric he actually supported. Was it a gaffe, or a sly acknowledgment that he didn’t want to pick among them? Trump has been more involved in primaries than his predecessors were, setting a new expectation for how active presidents should be in those races. Many of his endorsements have been a boon for his favored candidates. But not every election is about Donald Trump. Related: Trump might already be a lame duck. David A. Graham on the price of Trump’s primary wins

Trump’s Attempt to Suck Up to Brutal Dictator Gets Humiliating Response The president’s brags were met with a flat denial and a missile launch. Donald Trump’s attempt to curry favor with Kim Jong Un received an embarrassing response from Pyongyang. Trump, who radically cut joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea while bragging about his “very good relationship” with Kim, suggested this week that he is secretly negotiating with the dictator and planned to meet with him this year. In response, Kim Yo Jong—the North Korean leader’s sister and a top adviser—dismissed outright any talk of correspondence. “As for reports coming out of Washington that there has recently been communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, I know absolutely nothing about it, and it would probably be the only matter related to our supreme leadership’s foreign policy of which I am unaware,” she said Wednesday. She added that Trump’s move is “not even worth commenting on” and that cutting the drills does not cut their “provocative and aggressive” nature, the FT reports. The situation escalated hours later when Pyongyang launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea’s military said Thursday. Trump is gunning to revisit talks with North Korea after meeting with Kim Jong Un three times during his first term in a bid to denuclearize the Hermit Kingdom. His need for a diplomatic win has only become more urgent as the president now barrels toward midterm elections overshadowed by his ongoing war with Iran over its nuclear program. The U.S. president pledged that conflict would last a “few weeks” when he started it in February. Almost six months later, there’s no end in sight, and the president has privately admitted he might have to abandon his demands about Tehran’s nuclear capabilities altogether. His latest overtures to the Kim regime have included canceling two major annual joint military exercises with South Korea. He said on Monday that continuing with those drills, which North Korea has always decried as practice runs for an invasion, would have been “inappropriate and hostile.” The exercises remain ongoing but will now end by Friday, six days ahead of schedule. “If the U.S. side calculates that it can portray the measures it has recently taken as some kind of ‘goodwill gesture,’ it will not get the response it wants,” Kim Yo Jong said in her Wednesday statement. She did, however, throw a consolation prize the president’s way, reassuring him that her brother, totalitarian leader of the country with one of the absolute worst human rights records on the planet, holds “fond personal memories and feelings” from their earlier meetings. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-attempt-to-suck-up-to-brutal-north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-gets-humiliating-response/? ps:What a pathetic suckup!!

US carries out its first deportations under pact for Liberia to accept 1,200 non-Liberians HARBEL, Liberia (AP) — The United States on Thursday carried out its first deportation under an agreement for Liberia to accept up to 1,200 people who are not from the African country, one of the Trump administration’s largest efforts yet to deport people to countries other than their own. https://apnews.com/article/liberia-us-deportees-318ab0f9ad74ada4fcd2dff8653c342e? Federal agents seize devices from ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell in sexual misconduct probe, AP source says WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Rep. Eric Swalwell and searched his Washington home as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the ex-Democratic congressman from California, according to a person familiar with the matter. https://apnews.com/article/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-investigation-congress-4615d9309781afd72fc2cd3fb7d7c121?

👋 Good morning! The NFL season is less than three weeks away. Now streaming: "Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter" premieres today on Prime Video. I got an early look, and thought it was one of the best docs I've seen this year. In today's edition: MLB awards races, World Team Tennis unveils new teams (exclusive), Big Numbers, "Succession" in Laker Land, PGA Tour playoffs resume, Week 2 of NFL preseason, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   ⚾️ BEST OF THE BEST MLB AWARDS RACES: TOP CONTENDERS (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The National League MVP race leveled up earlier this week, with both Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong blasting three homers in a two-day stretch. But that isn't the only major award race with razor-thin margins heading into the homestretch. NL MVP: Crow-Armstrong (-160 to win) and Ohtani (+130) are the two most complete players in baseball. With both putting up similar offensive stats — and both leading World Series contenders — this award could hinge on whether voters value PCA's defense or Ohtani's pitching more highly. PCA: The Cubs CF is batting .279/.378/.550 for a .928 OPS that ranks second in the NL, and his 31 HR, 79 RBI and 90 R are all near the top, too. His biggest differentiators against Ohtani are on the base paths, with 31 steals (2nd in the NL), and in the outfield, with an NL-best 23 outs above average. His 7.8 WAR leads baseball. Ohtani: The Dodgers DH/SP is batting .291/.388/.554 for a .942 OPS that leads the NL, while his 30 HR, 80 RBI and 82 R are roughly in line with PCA's marks. As a pitcher, he's 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 14 starts, though a knee injury has kept him off the mound since July 3. Add it up, and his 6.8 WAR ranks third in baseball. AL Cy Young: Yankees ace Cam Schlittler is the slight favorite (-165) over Blue Jays newcomer Dylan Cease (+130) in the other major award race that's still very much up for grabs. Schlittler: The second-year sensation is 10-6 with an AL-best 2.19 ERA for the wild card-leading Yankees, while his 0.94 WHIP ranks first and his 152.0 IP ranks second. He's struck out 189 batters (third-most) against just 34 walks, and his 5.2 WAR leads AL pitchers. Cease: Toronto's season has been disappointing, but don't blame this guy. Cease is 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA that trails only Schlittler in the AL and a 1.06 WHIP that ranks sixth. He has a league-leading 201 strikeouts against 59 walks, and his 5.0 WAR trails only Schlittler among AL pitchers. The other two "races": With all due respect to the contenders having superb seasons in their own right, the AL MVP and NL Cy Young races are all but locked up. AL MVP: Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez (-1600) leads the AL in all three Triple Crown categories (.317 AVG, 36 HR, 88 RBI) and has an MLB-best 1.040 OPS. His closest competition is Rays 3B Junior Caminero (+850), who has 35 HR and an .899 OPS. NL Cy Young: Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski (-1000) has been extraordinary, leading all of baseball in ERA (1.75), WHIP (0.75) and strikeouts (210). In any other year, Atlanta's Chris Sale (+1000) and Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez (+1200) would be more than worthy winners. Plus… The ROY races in both leagues are excellent. Detroit SS Kevin McGonigle (-500) is second in the AL with 5.7 WAR, while White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami (+425) has 29 HR and a .904 OPS; Cardinals SS JJ Wetherholt (-150) has 4.8 WAR thanks mostly to his slick glove, while Reds 1B Sal Stewart (+190) has 27 HR and an MLB-leading 94 RBI.   🎾 WORLD TEAM TENNIS FIRST LOOK: WTT REVEALS NEW TEAMS (World Team Tennis) World Team Tennis, the pioneering mixed-gender league relaunching this December, will unveil official clubs today — and Yahoo Sports AM has the exclusive first look. A new era: As part of its reimagined future, WTT is introducing three new team identities, each with a distinct crest and logo inspired by its city. The league, originally co-founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, is also revealing one elite player with local ties who will represent each club. The teams: 🦩 Florida Flamingos: Revives one of the most recognizable identities from the WTT's early years, while reimagining the flamingo motif in a vibrant palette of pink and burgundy. 🗽 New York Empire: Builds on the franchise that won the 2020 WTT championship with an imperial "NY" monogram and geometric crown that evokes the city skyline. 🇨🇦 Toronto North: A six-antlered moose (for Toronto's six districts) boldly announces WTT's return to the region for the first time since the Toronto-Buffalo Royals competed in '74. The stars: Jessica Pegula (New York) was born in Buffalo and her family owns the Bills and Sabres; Tommy Paul (Florida) has resided in Boca Raton since he was a teenager; Denis Shapovalov (Toronto) grew up just outside the city. Pegula rocking her Empire gear. (World Team Tennis) What they're saying: "Our view is that tennis' popularity starts with the best players in the world, but has always extended well beyond the court into lifestyle and culture," said WTT CEO Stephen Amritraj. "That's why we prioritized creative direction for our teams, developing unique identities that fans and players will connect with and want to be a part of." Looking ahead: Opening night is set for Dec. 2, 2026, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, before the league shifts to a home and away competition calendar.   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS Injury aside, Love was electric in his preseason debut. (Ian Maule/Getty Images) 🏈 14 touches Running back Jeremiyah Love, the Cardinals' No. 3 pick and arguably their most exciting player for the upcoming season, sprained his ankle after getting 14 touches in his preseason debut last week — an uncommonly high number for a player as valuable as he could be. Bold move, Mike: Love's 14 touches were by far the most in a preseason game by a first-round rookie RB in the past 10 seasons. Why give him so many? "I mean, it's a rookie that hadn't played," first-year head coach Mike LaFleur said, adding that he essentially decided to give him such a big workload just to see how he could handle it. ⚾️ .066 There have been 45,719 player-seasons in MLB history where a player got at least 85 plate appearances, and Braves SS Ha-Seong Kim's batting average (.066) and slugging percentage (.066) are both ranked dead last. Quite the fall from a guy who got MVP votes three years ago. Speaking of bad seasons: The Dodgers gave four-time All-Star Kyle Tucker $240 million last offseason, and he's returned the favor by hitting .232 with a .694 OPS and 0.0 WAR (yes, 0 WAR). And it's not just his bat: His -9 outs above average ranks last among the 199 players who've played at least one inning in right field this season. Ogwumike before a game earlier this month. (Soobum Im/Getty Images) 🏀 7,879 points Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike announced Wednesday that she will be retiring at the end of this season, concluding one of the greatest careers in WNBA history. The 2016 league MVP ranks fourth all-time in points (7,879), third in rebounds (3,565), fifth in steals (707) and second in All-Star selections (11). Off-court impact: As good as she was on the court, Ogwumike's impact off it as the president of the players' union is where her biggest legacy will lie. She's served in that role since 2016, guiding the union through two CBA negotiations including the transformational one this past offseason that increased the salary cap more than four-fold. ⚽️ $15 million Zavier Gozo, the 19-year-old winger who was in the mix for the U.S. World Cup squad earlier this summer, has been sold from Real Salt Lake to Crystal Palace for $15 million — the largest transfer fee ever for the MLS side, and the 12th-largest outbound transfer in league history. Americans abroad: Gozo joins USMNT standout Chris Richards at Crystal Palace, as well as Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Brenden Aaronsen (Leeds) and Haji Wright (Coventry City) among the growing list of Americans playing in the Premier League, which kicks off this weekend.   📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Dylan Dittrich: Succession: The Buss family's Laker dynasty Kendall, Roman, and Shiv spent years captivating HBO viewers. But nobody does Hollywood quite like the Lakers, and the Buss family appears set to pen a new and potentially final season of the most gripping family succession drama in sports business. (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) 🥊 Elliot Worsell: What makes a great chin? The strange science behind boxing's most mysterious question You can train to punch harder, move faster and fight smarter. But can you really train yourself to take a punch? For a fighter it's the touchiest of subjects, one's chin. Durability, after all, is rightly considered a prerequisite of a fighter's trade. To be seen to be lacking it therefore makes them feel like half a fighter, if not half a man. (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) ⚾️ Jake Mintz: Looking at the strength of schedule and remaining opponents for each wild-card contender Strength of schedule, in MLB, is generally less relevant than it is in the NFL or in college sports. With the new balanced calendar, every club plays every other club at least once. Plus, teams play their division rivals for four series per year instead of six, which evens things out over the long haul. But at this point in the year, SOS emerges as a crucial character in our baseball lives. (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 Nick Bromberg: College football coaches under the most pressure entering the season After over 30 coaching changes took place following the 2025 season, it's unlikely that 2026 will yield a similar number of moves. But that doesn't lessen the pressure that some coaches are facing as the season approaches.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, AUG. 20 All eyes on Scottie during Tuesday's practice round. (James Gilbert/PGA Tour via Getty Images) ⛳️ BMW Championship, First Round The second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs tees off today (10am ET, ESPN; 3pm, Golf) at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, where 50 golfers are competing for a $20 million purse and one of 30 spots in next week's Tour Championship. On the bubble: Some of the biggest names who still need to play their way into the field at East Lake are Ben Griffin (38th place), Sungjae Im (40), Patrick Cantlay (43) and Justin Thomas (44). 🏈 NFL Preseason, Week 2 The NFL preseason resumes this evening, with the Texans hosting the Raiders in Houston (8pm, ESPN) and the Chargers hosting the 49ers in Los Angeles (10pm, NFL). Injury watch: The Niners' laundry list of ailments, which is becoming a perennial issue in the Bay Area, is one of the many injury-related storylines across the league as the regular season approaches. More to watch: 🎾 Cincinnati Open: No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 9 Amanda Anisimova (1pm, Tennis); No. 7 Flavio Cobolli vs. No. 18 Tommy Paul (3pm); No. 2 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 7 Iga Świątek (7pm); No. 21 Arthur Fils vs. Thiago Tirante (8:30pm) … Quarterfinals. 🏀 WNBA: Fever at Wings (8pm, Prime); Dream at Sparks (10pm, Prime) … Caitlin Clark is averaging 25.4 points and 9.4 assists during Indiana's (24-12) five-game winning streak. ⛳️ LIV: Indianapolis (1pm, Fox Sports) … The Club at Chatham Hills hosts the season finale for the embattled league, whose future remains uncertain. Plus: ⚾️ LLWS, Day 2 (12-6pm, ESPN/ESPN2); ⛳️ LPGA's Canadian Women's Open (6pm, Golf); ⚾️ Nationals at Rangers (8:05pm, FS1)   ⚽️ LET'S PLAY TRIVIA TIME (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) The English Premier League will begin its 35th season this weekend, with all 20 teams taking the pitch between Friday and Monday. Question: Can you name the seven clubs that have won Premier League titles since its founding in 1992? Hint: Five have won multiple titles. Answer at the bottom.   🍿 SPORTS SHORTS WATCH: "PANTHER PAT" Yahoo Media Group and The Nonfiction Hotlist invited filmmakers worldwide to submit documentary shorts for recognition and distribution. Nearly 1,000 filmmakers answered the call — and now, the results are in! Five films were selected in the Sports category, and we'll be sharing one each day this week ahead of our inaugural Film Festival this weekend. Title: Panther Pat Director: Ashley Brandon Runtime: 12 minutes About the film: In 1970, Patricia Palinkas became the first woman to play professional football when she joined the Orlando Panthers. Panther Pat revisits her groundbreaking journey, exploring how one determined schoolteacher challenged the gender barriers of America's game and left a lasting mark on sports history.   🏈 NEW FEATURES 29 DAYS OF FANTASY "Guillotine Leagues" have been rebranded as "Death Leagues." It's Yahoo Fantasy Football's 29th year. To celebrate, we're dropping a brand-new fantasy feature every day for 29 days straight. That's 29 days, 29 features, all built to help you dominate your league. What's new: We've announced six new features since our last update on Friday morning. Death Leagues: A rebranded version of the unique format in which each week's last-place finisher is eliminated, and their players are released to the waiver wire. New Draft tab: Everything you need to prepare for your draft, including commissioner reminders, quick access to league settings and personalized draft prep, all in one place. More customization: All features previously included with Commissioner Plus are now available to everyone, providing more customization at no additional cost. New tools on the app: Record Book, pre-draft rankings and draft ordering are all now available on mobile as well as web. The Flock League: Starting this season, Yahoo Fantasy will be the official platform for The Flock League, stacked with some of the most well-known fantasy creators on YouTube. Sirius XM: We're teaming up with Sirius XM to seamlessly allow users to listen to live game streams on game pages across the Yahoo Sports app and website. Day 11: The next feature will be announced today at 9am ET.   Trivia answer: Manchester United (13x), Manchester City (8x), Chelsea (5x), Arsenal (4x), Liverpool (2x), Blackburn Rovers (1995), Leicester City (2016)

Thanks for posting that, PH. Appreciate the work you do, posting the news from various sources.

Trumpy Nut Who’s Giving ICE Electric Shock Gloves Is Exposed Jeff Niklaus sees God’s “fingerprint” in his products and conspiracy theories everywhere else. The founder and CEO of the company contracted to supply ICE agents with shock gloves has said the Hand of God played a role in Donald Trump becoming president. “I think President Trump is doing a great, fantastic job,” Jeff Niklaus of Compliant Technologies said last year on Stand in the Gap Today, a Christian podcast on the American Pastors Network. Niklaus is a retired Army helicopter pilot, and the primary focus of the podcast was the Jan. 29, 2025 mid-aid collision between a military UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet (PSA Flight 5342) in the notoriously congested airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. He suggested that God also played a direct role in this crash that killed 67. “There’s so many near misses that I think the odds are we knew that the Lord allowed that to happen that day,” he said. “And it’s a sad situation and nobody wants to see that happen again.” He proceeded into secular silliness, suggesting the Biden administration’s DEI policies bore part of the blame. “But we have to understand there’s other agendas that came into play with the, if you want to call it the philosophy of a previous administration allowing people in cockpits and maybe other people weren’t allowed.” He then went full MAGA.“And then we also know the effects of the vaccines,” he added. Niklaus and Compliant Technologies did not respond to a query from the Daily Beast about the genesis of the 351-volt Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or GLOVE, that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly committed up to $20 million to purchase under a single-source, no-bid contract. The Kentucky-based company’s website, which declares Compliant “#1 in Hands-On De-Escalation,” does have several videos showing GLOVES in action. The subjects appear to be quickly immobilized. “That sucked! That was terrible,” one subject exclaims. An on-screen caption reads, “It does suck. But, it sucks a lot less than other options.” Another video reports, “We usually see compliance in 2 to 3 seconds.” Page four of a GLOVE user manual viewable online includes a snippet of scripture as a kind of Biblical endorsement of the product soon to be issued to the agents of ICE. Romans 13:4: “If you do wrong be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for no reason, for he is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Niklaus, in an interview posted on YouTube in June, also said he believed God’s “fingerprint” was in his products. The text of the manual says the company recommends against using the GLOVE on “vulnerable” people such as the elderly, small children, pregnant women, and the “severely handicapped.” Does that suggest only slightly handicapped is fine? When it comes to GLOVEs, DHS is a year behind Omaha, Nebraska, which purchased 40 pairs of GLOVEs for its police department last year. The total cost was $65,924, or $1,648 a pair. But the acquisition of shock gloves for 29 school resource officers at Omaha’s high schools and middle schools initially received little public attention. That changed last week when the Associated Press reported that ICE was purchasing shock gloves, triggering an uproar among parents and students. Omaha Mayor John Ewing and the city’s police department responded with a joint statement on Monday seeking to ease concerns by describing GLOVE as “the safest use-of-force option in the rare times when it is used.” They stressed that strict protocols would be followed that include “verbal commands and a warning” before an officer even resorts to putting the GLOVE on. If their warnings don’t work, “an officer then puts one G.L.O.V.E. on their hand for skin-to-skin contact,” the statement said. “An electric shock ranging from 324 to 362 volts is administered in duration of one second up to 15 seconds. Once compliance is gained, the GLOVE is shut off or placed in standby mode.” The statement reported the gloves have been used on two occasions during the 2025-2026 school year, once to detain a student who had been trespassing from another school, and once to restrain a student “who had made verbal threats and threw a chair at the school security guard, striking the guard in the head.” The statement described the GLOVEs as safer than other alternatives: “A Taser emits higher voltage - up to 1,000 volts - via metal probes that latch onto the body. SROs also are equipped with batons, firearms and pepper spray – which have higher potential for harm.” And the use of GLOVEs are subject to significant restrictions, the police department said, with officers “required to document the use and the circumstances surrounding it” and each case “subject to review through the department’s established use-of-force review process.” The association with ICE still had parents voicing outrage, though, which was apparently enough to do away with the practice. Omaha School Board Superintendent Matthew Ray announced Tuesday that he had asked police to ”no longer be authorized to carry GLOVEs on any Omaha Public Schools premise.” But ICE agents by the thousands are still slated to carry them, and there is a whole genre of online videos of them using excessive force with no apparent fear of review. They are not likely to give a verbal warning before even donning a GLOVE. They too often approach with guns drawn when civilians do nothing more than video them. And it is hard to imagine them documenting the use of GLOVES. Niklaus did not respond to phone and email request for comment. In response to a query about the particulars of Compliant Technologies’ contract for GLOVEs, a DHS spokesperson offered a non-responsive response, saying: “ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country. Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards.” But when asked if DHS was aware that the company’s founder has said that President Trump was “anointed” by God, the spokesperson had no response at all. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpy-nut-whos-giving-ice-electric-shock-gloves-is-exposed/? ps:Truly, truly, Spiritually Pathetic!!!!!

Trump Goon Accused of Inciting Violence Against Judges A complaint backed by 128 former judges says DHS lawyer James Percival put a “bullseye” on sitting jurists. Donald Trump’s top Department of Homeland Security lawyer has been accused of risking bloodshed by publishing a “Worst of the Worst” list of sitting federal judges. A group of 128 former state and federal judges, described by organizers as bipartisan, announced Wednesday that it had filed an ethics complaint against DHS general counsel James Percival. The Florida Bar member, 40, is accused of making false or recklessly misleading claims about judges who ruled against the Trump administration. Threats against judges are already widespread. Updated U.S. Marshals Service figures show 415 threats against federal judges during fiscal 2026 through Aug. 17. A total of 307 different judges were targeted. That didn’t stop Percival from unveiling his “Worst of the Worst, District Judge Edition” on his official X account July 23. He named Clinton-appointed Judge Matthew Kennelly, Obama appointees Allison Burroughs and Paula Xinis, and Biden appointee Hernán Vera. The list included no Trump appointees. Percival accused Kennelly of “judicial sabotage” over an immigration ruling. He claimed Burroughs deliberately slowed a case to obstruct deportations and described an order from Xinis as “crazy.” He also accused Vera of endangering DHS officers by restricting their use of force against journalists, legal observers and protesters. Percival continued his attacks the following day. He branded another judge, Clinton appointee Patti Saris, “rogue,” and claimed district judges were engaged in “mutiny against the Supreme Court.” Led by former Florida Supreme Court chief justice Peggy Quince, Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy submitted the complaint. Virginia Canter, Democracy Defenders Fund’s chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption, said in a statement that Percival’s tactics “could be used to incite violence” against judges. The filing cites U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, 57, whose 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl was murdered at their home in 2020 by a lawyer angered by her judicial work. Salas said Percival was “in essence, putting a bullseye on” the named judges. The complaint also alleges Percival violated a Florida rule barring lawyers from knowingly or recklessly making false statements about a judge’s integrity. DHS has defended Percival’s posts as “nothing more than a factual review of judicial decisions and their real-world consequences.” Percival told Fox News on July 30 that he was not attacking the entire judiciary. He said he was identifying a small number of judges “who are causing the same problems over and over and over again.” When asked about the complaint that had been made against him, he told the Daily Beast in an emailed statement: “In honor of former Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, who just filed a bar complaint against me for calling out judicial activism, I will be creating a new award. The award is called the Justice Peggy Quince Lifetime Achievement Award for Worst of the Worst Judging. I am now accepting nominees!” DHS and the White House regularly complain that threats and assaults against ICE agents have skyrocketed during Trump’s second term. DHS claimed last October that death threats had risen 8,000 percent. The Daily Beast has contacted DHS for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/senior-trump-dhs-official-james-percival-accused-of-inciting-violence-against-judges/? ps:They've learned from the most pathetic leader of all time!!!!!

Trump’s White House Exodus Spirals With Major Departure Another major player in the president’s team has scrambled for the exit. One of President Donald Trump’s congressional point men has fled the White House, deepening a growing departure crisis. James Braid, described by Politico as “the top White House aide in charge of liaising with Congress,” lasted just 19 months in Trump’s tumultuous second term, a tenure punctuated by several high-profile departures. The timing will prove a headache for Trump, who, with just 75 days to go until the Midterm elections, could use a canny operator to bridge the gap between the White House and Congress. Braid follows four of his colleagues out the door, with more departures on the horizon. Andy Baker, 46, the White House’s deputy national security adviser and close ally to Vice President JD Vance, is on his way out. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 28, White House Counsel David Warrington, 58, and Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson have also quit. Braid, officially Trump’s director of legislative affairs, has been a vital conduit between the president and a narrow majority in both chambers. Indeed, Braid, who also served in Trump’s rollercoaster first term, played a key role in pushing through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature legislative achievement. Braid’s next move remains unknown. His exit follows a string of departures that have stymied the wider operation. Perhaps the biggest of those is Leavitt, who announced earlier this month that she is leaving the administration to focus on her young family. Leavitt, who turns 29 next week, announced the move after a period of maternity leave following the birth of her second child, Viviana, in May. “Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!” Trump reacted on Truth Social. The president added that Leavitt would remain one of his “top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party.” Leavitt has been the face of the administration, jostling with the press and hammering home Trump’s message. One of his lesser-spotted enforcers, deputy chief of staff James Blair, has temporarily departed the White House to oversee the president’s “entire political operation from the outside as well as midterm spending.” Brash comms whizz Tricia McLaughlin was an early casualty. The Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, who is in her early thirties, left in February last year after carving out a niche as one of the administration’s most vocal defenders of its aggressive, often deadly, immigration crackdown. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer are all out, too. Noem’s firing in March meant that Corey Lewandowski, her senior adviser and rumored lover, got the boot, too. Joe Kent was appointed as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center when Trump took office. He resigned in protest of the Iran war on March 17. The war is proving divisive in the upper echelons of government, so losing Braid could hurt Trump even more. The conflict, launched by Trump alongside Israel in February without congressional approval, is also deeply unpopular with the public. In fact, the 80-year-old’s approval rating has hit a nadir, a measly 33 percent, because of the war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday. Americans are worried that the war is growing more and more attritional and the quick-in-and-out job promised by Trump is a fallacy. A huge 64 percent of respondents said they don’t have faith in the president. This new low ties the lowest level of his first term, reached in December 2017. The White House has been approached for comment on Braid’s reported departure. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-white-house-exodus-spirals-with-major-departure-of-james-braid/? ps:The only question I have is this: Is it any different than when others have left the Biden, Obama, Bush 2, Clinton, Bush 1, Reagan White houses? Or is it because??

Trump turns to ‘economic warfare’ President Trump announced on social media Wednesday what he described as a “crushing economic operation” against Iran, threatening “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.” He offered few details about what the operation would involve but warned of economic consequences for any country whose financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities provide “any type of lifeline to Iran.” Despite ramping up the pressure, Trump also said Wednesday that the situation with Iran is “so good” right now — days after halting all US talks with Tehran. ps:As I've said many times, he talks out of both sides of his mouth!!!!! + Analysis: Trump has a new plan to crush Iran’s economy. But will he stay the course? + Meanwhile: More than 750 US service members wounded since start of Iran War, Pentagon database shows