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Republicans Panic That Trump’s Convention Will Backfire Horribly The so-called “Trumpapalooza” event will take place in Dallas next month. Republicans fear that Donald Trump’s plans to energize Republican voters with a huge midterm convention will be a waste of time. The 80-year-old president and the Republican National Committee are hoping to avoid a political catastrophe in November’s elections by holding a two-day event in Dallas next month. The idea is that the event, which Trump will headline on the second night, will give the GOP a much-needed boost ahead of the midterms amid fears of an electoral wipeout, and convince Trump’s loyal MAGA supporters to actually turn up and vote in November, even though he will not be on the ballot. Multiple panicked Republican figures have told CNN that they do not think the convention will have the desired effect, citing numerous potential issues. These include whether it is a good idea to center the GOP’s midterm strategy around Trump amid his dire approval ratings. Other issues include the eye-watering $25,000 entrance fee for House members and whether it is necessary to pull candidates from their districts to attend the Dallas event during a crucial campaign period. “I’ve heard people say, why are we doing this? What’s going on?” Reb Wayne, a Texas-based Republican consultant, told CNN. “It was a good idea at the time, but as we’ve gotten closer to it, I’m not sure it’s going to serve much benefit.” The convention, once dubbed “Trumpapalooza,” is part of the president’s plans to make the midterm elections a referendum on himself. The plan is to try to stave off a Blue Wave by dragging his MAGA supporters to the ballot boxes in November, even though they will not be voting for him.“What is always the biggest issue when Trump is not on the ballot? Voters don’t show up,” a Republican lawmaker in a competitive race said. “So what’s [Trump] trying to do? Motivate the base to come out.” However, CNN reports that some in the GOP have “cringed” at the prospect of making the midterms about Trump, seeing as the president is at near-record-low approval ratings and facing intense voter backlash over major issues such as the economy and the war in Iran. Some are also concerned that, rather than using the convention to boost Republicans’ election hopes, Trump will waste his headline appearance by rambling on about his White House ballroom or suggesting that the affordability crisis faced by tens of millions of Americans is a “hoax.” Another potential issue is who exactly will be watching the convention. Both events will be held on the same nights as the first two games of the NFL season, which are guaranteed to draw a bigger primetime audience. “I don’t understand the programming still. It seems to just be five hours of speeches,” one GOP donor told CNN. “The upcoming Midterm Convention will showcase the momentum behind President Trump’s agenda and Republicans’ record of delivering real results for the American people,” RNC spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre said, adding that “while Democrats remain divided and distracted, Republicans are united behind a shared vision.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-panic-that-trumps-midterms-convention-will-backfire-horribly/?

Insiders Reveal Alarming Reason Behind CIA Chief’s Trip to Russia John Ratcliffe flew into Moscow on a U.S. military transport aircraft. The worrying reason CIA Director John Ratcliffe took a secret trip to Russia has been revealed. Speculation has run rampant after a U.S. military transport aircraft unexpectedly landed at a Moscow airport. It was later revealed that Ratcliffe was traveling aboard the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III in what was the CIA chief’s first publicly known visit to the Russian capital. Insiders have now told The Wall Street Journal that Ratcliffe’s trip on Tuesday was to warn Russia not to launch an unprovoked attack on NATO countries. There have been fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has faced multiple humiliations as Ukraine continues to resist Russia’s invasion, could lash out by carrying out an attack ranging from a cyberattack to an incursion into a neighboring country in order to test NATO’s resolve in the coming years. Any scenario in which Putin attacks a member of the military alliance could have devastating consequences around the world. Under NATO’s Article 5, an attack against one NATO country is considered an attack against all 32 allied members. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his visit, but said the CIA director did not meet with Putin. “All I can ⁠tell you is that there have been contacts via the security services. I can tell you that there have been no meetings with the Russian president. Naturally, President Putin is kept informed of everything without delay,” Peskov said. U.S. officials previously told the Journal that it had long been assumed Putin would not provoke NATO while he was still fighting Ukraine—a conflict that has now dragged into its fifth year. However, this assessment changed earlier this year when Kyiv began fighting back with wave after wave of drone attacks that put Moscow on the back foot. This includes targeting Russia’s major oil refineries, which play a key role in funding the invasion, as well as warehouses and facilities used by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, to cripple Moscow’s economy. It is also believed that the U.S.’s dwindling stockpiles of munitions amid Trump’s war in Iran could influence whether Putin decides to attack a NATO country. The U.S. has also been a major supplier of weapons and munitions to Ukraine as it supports its bid to fight off the Russian invasion. It remains to be seen how successful Ratcliffe’s trip to the Russian capital will prove to be. William Burns, who led the CIA under former President Joe Biden, was the last known intelligence agency head to visit Moscow, heading there in November 2021. Burns’ trip was to warn Putin not to attack Ukraine, which the Russian president did three months later. Heather Conley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Putin would be hoping to fracture the NATO alliance with an aggressive move against one of its member states. “The question mark is how the United States would respond in that case,” Conley told the Journal. “It has always been a goal [of Russia’s] to challenge the credibility of NATO and to separate the United States from its allies.” Kremlin spokesperson Peskov tried to frame Ratcliffe’s visit as positive, saying talks between U.S. and Russian intelligence agencies could help repair the poor diplomatic relations between the two countries. “These ⁠contacts often continue even during the most difficult periods in bilateral relations. Our president, incidentally, has spoken about this. However, it is still too early to say to what extent this ⁠will, overall, help to steer our bilateral relations out of the profound crisis in which they currently find themselves,” he said. President Donald Trump downplayed the significance of Ratcliffe’s Moscow visit during an interview on Glenn Beck’s radio show Wednesday. “He’s there on, you know, very sort of semi-routine. I hate to disappoint people,” Trump said. “John Ratcliffe is a fantastic guy. He’s the head of the CIA, and he is not in there for any of the things that you said. Now something may come out, you know, out of it. We’re working very hard to get that war ended.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the CIA for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/insiders-reveal-alarming-reason-behind-cia-chief-john-ratcliffes-trip-to-russia/?

Judge denies Minnesota’s bid to compel the extradition of an ICE officer from Texas BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order Texas to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-texas-ice-shooting-christian-castro-extradition-384843049feeba26fac6fc09412161ca?

Spy on Me No More: The Shocking Windows 11 Upgrade Every PC User Needs Microsoft is finally blocking downloaded software from secretly accessing your camera, mic, and location without asking. https://www.pcmag.com/news/spy-on-me-no-more-the-shocking-windows-11-upgrade-every-pc-user-needs?

Exactly the problem, AJ. Dragging Jesus into places where government holds sway. Vaxxing is an issue of public safety/health. It's not a religious matter. Lot of the religious issues today really have little or nothing to do with Jesus. Atheist countries have sense enough to execute bad actors, while so called Christian nations don't. "Christians" ring their hands over abortion, even though the Bible mandates it in certain situations. Luther said he would rather ~be a hog than be subjugated to bad religion.

That's what Jesus would do.

🍏 Coming attractions: Foldable iPhone Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus. Photo: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images Apple sent invitations for a Sept. 9 event where it's expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone and other new products, Axios' Ina Fried writes. Why it matters: The launch would push Apple into a smartphone category it has long resisted — and give incoming CEO John Ternus a chance to put his stamp on the company's most important product. 🔭 Zoom out: Apple is preparing its latest devices as rising demand for AI computing pushes up memory and other component costs.

🛑 Big Tech faces Big Resistance Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Amy Harder/Axios and Jason Henry/Bloomberg, Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images Meta's landmark social media settlement marks the latest milestone in a decade-long unwinding of Big Tech's once-unfettered freedom to operate, Axios' Madison Mills writes. Why it matters: The AI industry is watching closely. Its expansion, already fraught with job risks and public anxiety, depends on building power-hungry data centers in communities where opposition is rising. 😡 State of play: "The last time we've seen the public this angry about an industry was during the financial crisis," Nidhi Hegde, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, told Axios. Meta's $17 billion settlement requires sweeping changes to how teens use Instagram and Facebook, including time limits and restrictions on certain beauty filters. Meta is calling on competitors to adopt similar protections as the industry standard, arguing there won't be "meaningful progress" on teen safety without them. Meta took a full-page ad in today's New York Times headlined, "An open letter to TikTok and YouTube to join us in supporting teens." Within hours after the terms were announced, state attorneys general from both parties called for a wider industry push, with several naming TikTok, YouTube and Snap. Investors were relieved by the settlement, with Meta stock up 1% yesterday. Between the lines: The pressure extends beyond Meta, as public frustration produces cash penalties and constraints on how tech companies operate. Amazon agreed last year to pay $2.5 billion to settle an FTC consumer-protection case over Prime subscriptions. Apple and Google have been forced to loosen their grips on their app stores after years of litigation. TikTok agreed just last week to pay $400 million to settle federal allegations that it violated children's privacy laws. ⚠️ Threat level: AI may be especially exposed because, unlike social media, its growth depends on a massive physical buildout in communities that can fight back. Share this story. Data: Axios research. Note: Google's 2018 fine was reduced from around $5.07 billion to $4.81 billion by the EU General Court in 2022. Google's 2017 fine was upheld by EU General Court in 2021. Amazon's 2021 fine was reduced from about $1.3 billion to around $878 million after court proceedings. Meta's settlement of up to $17.1 billion is partially contingent on whether other Big Tech platforms join it. Non-USD amounts converted at Aug. 26, 2026, exchange rates. Table: Sara Fischer/Axios For the first time, U.S. officials — at least at the state level — have proven they're as serious about policing Big Tech as their European counterparts, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes. European fines against American tech companies have totaled well over $15 billion over the past decade. The Meta settlement eclipses all of those combined.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY August 27 1883 Krakatoa explodes with massive force The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatoa (also called Krakatau), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1875 Tycoon William Ralston drowns American Revolution 1776 British forces defeat Patriots in the Battle of Brooklyn Arts & Entertainment 1967 Beatles manager Brian Epstein dies Crime 2007 NFL star Michael Vick pleads guilty in dogfighting case 1979 Lord Mountbatten killed by IRA Sports 1976 Transgender athlete Renée Richards barred from U.S. Open U.S. Presidents 1908 Lyndon B. Johnson is born World War I 1916 Romania enters World War I

The average person in France sleeps 8.83 hours per day, the most in the developed world. James

The average person in France sleeps 8.83 hours per day, the most in the developed world. James

Money, Money, Money (Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Brian Hagiwara / Getty; Nieudacza / Getty; Passakorn_14 / Getty.)   View in browser America’s national debt hit $40 trillion last week. That number certainly feels like something worth panicking over—the mind balks at all the zeros. But although the debt has been in the trillions for decades, not everyone has considered it a problem. One camp of economists has been warning about the perils of high debt for years: Budget hawks predicted that if the country kept spending and didn’t raise taxes enough to keep pace, the resulting fiscal crisis could be devastating. But others—the doves—have brushed it off. Their perspective was that as long as the U.S. GDP was growing faster than the interest rate it was paying on its debt, the Treasury would be able to keep rolling over its bonds without too much of a problem. For much of the 2010s, this was essentially the status quo, and debt panic was muted. We’re nowhere near a complete failure of the Treasury market, and yet, over the past couple of years, some economists who were once more dovish have switched teams. Martha Gimbel, the executive director of the Budget Lab at Yale and the author of a recent Atlantic story on this issue, told me that part of the reason these economists are pivoting is that they’re starting to realize that interest rates are “probably going to be elevated for quite some time.” The average interest rate on U.S. debt—that second variable the doves look at—has been relatively high for several years now, and it’s only growing. It was hovering around 1.5 percent in 2021, and it’s now roughly 3.4 percent. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond has more than doubled since 2021. “I was not a deficit hawk, and that reflected the dynamics” of the 2010s, when rates were lower, Gimbel told me. Now, she said, “the environment has changed.” Why are rates rising? The Fed’s reaction to inflation is one reason. It may also have something to do with the extreme investments being made in AI, and these companies’ demand for credit. And it’s likely connected to the deficit panic—concern about the expansion of the national debt and the government’s ability to sustain it. Investors are starting to think of long-term Treasurys as riskier than they once did, and they’re demanding more money in exchange for taking on America’s debt. At the same time, the federal government has shown no real appetite to pull its two main levers for reducing the debt: cutting spending and raising taxes. Jared Bernstein, the former head of Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in The Atlantic a few months ago that he’d “flipped from dove to hawk”—and told me this week that it was partly the government’s complacency on this issue that spurred this change. “Neither side seems particularly motivated to do much of anything about this,” he said. Rather than attending to the debt problem, politicians of both parties have instituted major tax cuts and increased spending over the past 25 years. The U.S. had its credit downgraded by a major ratings agency last spring, in part because of rising debt. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add an estimated $4.7 trillion to the deficit through 2035, and Donald Trump’s efforts to decrease immigration will add another half a trillion to that number over the same period, per the Congressional Budget Office. Despite some recent attempts at short-term stabilization, his administration hasn’t done much to assure the country’s creditors that everything’s fine; they now appear to be seeking greater yields as a result. When longer-term bond yields rise, as they have been, everyday forms of borrowing such as mortgage rates and student loans tend to become more expensive as well. That’s why yields are ultimately “a kitchen-table issue in the same way that inflation is,” Ernie Tedeschi, a former chief economist for the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, told me. Last week, in an apparent attempt to depress yields, the Treasury Department announced that it would be more than doubling the size of its longer-term-bond buybacks. It worked briefly—yields fell—but about 24 hours later, they climbed higher than where they were before. In a scathing (and AI-written) Wall Street Journal op-ed this week, the investor and longtime deficit hawk Stanley Druckenmiller, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s former mentor, stressed that the increased buybacks were a distraction from the real problem: the government’s spending. This political inertia likely stems from the fact that the two most important levers for reducing the debt—raising taxes and cutting spending—remain unpopular among lawmakers and voters alike. Bessent suggested last week that he’s interested in a third option: stimulating the economy enough that it once again outpaces interest rates. But without a concrete plan in place, this sounds like wishful thinking, especially when the more obvious solutions to fix the deficit remain untapped. “This is the era of ‘No tax on blank’ in our politics right now,” Tedeschi said. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to remove taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security payments; he accomplished the first and second, and took steps toward the third. That’s “exactly the opposite mentality we need to have if we want to stabilize our debt going forward,” Tedeschi said. Likelier than a true collapse of the Treasury market, he told me, is that both the debt and interest rates keep rising over time, and that “the days of the 2 or low 3 percent mortgage of a few years ago are just gone.” With affordability concerns playing a major role in the midterms, politicians aren’t exactly clamoring to raise taxes on their constituents. But affordability is exactly what’s at stake if Washington doesn’t at least attempt to chip away at the debt problem. Related: Americans are already paying dearly for the national debt. The national debt’s unforgiving math

Strong AI chip demand fuels Nvidia's Q2 results well beyond Wall Street's expectations Nvidia's latest quarterly results once again blew past Wall Street's expectations as revenue for the computer chip company's high-end artificial intelligence chips soared, the latest sign that AI infrastructure spending remains strong. Read More.

Lucky Charms and Trix go au naturel as General Mills ditches artificial colors General Mills said Wednesday it has removed artificial colors from all its U.S. cereals, including Lucky Charms and Trix. Read More.

📸 1 for the road: Getting the shot Photo: Courtesy of Jean Fruth Famous sports photographer Jean Fruth recently gave some first-hand baseball photography tips to Axios San Diego's Claire Trageser. Fruth has shot games at every MLB park, and co-founded the nonprofit Grassroots Baseball. ⚾️ Fruth tells Axios that when she shows up to photograph a game, she's looking for stories. She starts at batting practice with small details, like a glove, bat, ball or a player's hand. "Then, of course, the game begins, and we have game action and reaction." "So game action, a home run, or a play at second. Now who's reacting? Maybe it's the player who created the action celebrating, maybe it's the opposing team, or maybe it's the fans." Go deeper ...

⚡️ Catch me up Graphic: The Economist; used with permission 🍔 The average American worker earns enough money to buy 10,215 Big Macs yearly, per The Economist's newly updated Big Mac index. It's a long-standing measurement of global purchasing power. Gift link.

What's bad for the goose... Data: Financial Modeling Prep; Chart: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Share prices for luxury apparel maker Canada Goose are down amid tensions between the U.S. and longtime ally Canada, Axios' Emily Peck reports. The company is known for its pricey parkas worn by various A-listers. 📉 Canada Goose stock has been falling all year amid higher tariffs from its southern neighbor. The prospect of a warmer winter courtesy of El Niño isn't great for the outerwear business either, Wells Fargo analysts noted this week. By the numbers: A 50% tariff on Canadian goods — which kicked in this past weekend — would increase Canada Goose's effective tariff rate on U.S. imports from 4.3% to 41.4%, per a Bank of America estimate. Go deeper.

FDA OKs groundbreaking cancer drug Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios The FDA approved a groundbreaking new drug for the most common form of pancreatic cancer, offering patients a more effective treatment against one of the deadliest types of cancer. 💊 The first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib, blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. The daily pill will be sold by Revolution Medicines under the brand name Rasonque. Patients taking the drug nearly doubled their survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned them to receive the experimental treatment or additional chemotherapy. The treatment hit the spotlight earlier this year when former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) described his positive experience with it on "60 Minutes." 🩻 Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, in large part because it's often not detected until it's spread. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 67,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, while more than 52,000 people will die from the disease. Dr. Pashtoon Kasi of City of Hope Orange County, a California-based cancer center, tells AP: "This is not a cure, it's one more option for these patients." "But it's the best option we've ever had." Go deeper.

Actually it is. If people who refuse vaccination infect others, that would be immoral. One solution would be deporting anti-vaxxers.

Judge removes one hurdle for Trump mail voting order as states file new challenge before midterms A federal judge on Wednesday lifted a major obstacle to President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting, even as Democratic state officials filed a new court challenge with the midterm elections fast approaching. https://apnews.com/article/trump-voting-mail-ballots-midterms-executive-order-7ed54dda90705ff169d0a022f6a1dde9?

Meta reaches landmark $18 billion settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta agreed Wednesday to pay up to $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of a landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state. https://apnews.com/article/meta-trial-instagram-settlement-97d342f2a33d835eda2356c5e1af9e37? Meta joins a list of corporations that have settled cases for billions of dollars Tech giant Meta this week agreed to pay $17 billion as part of a settlement to end a landmark trial related to safeguards for younger users of social media. It is one of the largest such settlements ever, though it represents only a fraction of the $201 billion in revenue that the company booked last year. Read More.

Well, not everyone agrees with that. The Amish are asking the Supreme Court, for that very right. https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/us-news/amish-threaten-mass-exodus-from-new-york-over-vaccine-fight-which-is-heading-to-the-supreme-court/ Time will tell.

👋 Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: New alarming CTE study, conferences ban pro players, match play returns to PGA Tour, stadiums getting smaller and more premium, old man on campus, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🎓 Big Ten, SEC ban pros: In the midst of college sports' eligibility crisis, the Big Ten and SEC have both approved bans on former professional athletes who want to return to play in college. Which, I don't know, seems pretty obvious? The ACC and Big 12 are considering the same ban. 🏀 The field is set: The Wings beat the Fire on Tuesday to clinch the WNBA's eighth and final playoff spot. While the field is set, seeding is still very much up for grabs, with second-place Golden State (26-11) and eighth-place Dallas (23-16) separated by just four games. ⚾️ 9 in a row: The last-place Royals (59-74) won their ninth straight game on Tuesday, becoming the first AL team since the 1910 White Sox to win that many consecutive games after entering said streak at least 24 games under .500. 🏈 49ers owner arrested: Jed York, the principal owner of the 49ers, was arrested on Sunday in Ohio after responding to a fictitious prostitution ad posted online by the police. York was charged with a pair of misdemeanors and sentenced to two days in jail. ⚾️ NCAA approves ABS: The automated ball-strike system has been approved for all divisions of college baseball. The ruling gives teams the option, when available, to implement a system to challenge balls and strikes like the one now seen in MLB.   🧠 BRAIN DISEASE STUDY: AT LEAST 25% OF NFL PLAYERS HAD CTE (Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports) A new study of NFL players who had played in at least one game and died between 2016-2021 showed at least 25% of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease known as CTE. What they're saying: "We've known that this disease process can be caused by, in part, repeated traumatic brain injury. But we didn't know how common it was," said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar of Mass General Brigham, the lead author of the study. The study used brain samples from the UNITE Brain Bank at Boston University, where the brains of more than 330 players who died from 2008-2021 have been donated. Researchers tested the brains of 235 of the 878 players who died from 2016-2021 for CTE and found the disease in 215 of them. Of note: The authors of the study, published Tuesday in The British Medical Journal, said the 25% estimate is likely low, as it doesn't account for deceased players whose brains were not tested. Jori Epstein, Yahoo Sports: The NFL has tweaked rules in recent decades in hopes of reducing the frequency and severity of concussions and associated traumatic brain injuries. Helmet regulations have advanced, including the increasing popularity of the league's Guardian Cap. Concussion protocols have become stricter and more formalized. The most dangerous phase of the game for head injuries — the NFL kickoff, where high-speed collisions unfolded often — has been overhauled. Still, the football ecosystem seems to tacitly acknowledge head injuries will not be eliminated from the sport anytime soon. Instead, the league, union and researchers wonder how to treat the conditions that result from this inherent risk. NFLPA executive director JC Tretter and NFLPA medical director Dr. Thom Mayer met with the lead author of the study published Tuesday, a union source told Yahoo Sports. The union will hold a call with medical experts in the coming weeks to answer player questions and create a forum for discussion. The league said it will continue to consider in-game safety strategies. The last word: "Many of the symptoms associated with CTE are treatable with the right care," Dr. Daneshvar advised in an email to players. "While we don't have a cure yet, we have seen improvements in players who receive care from doctors specializing in neurodegenerative disease and who know how to treat athletes. No one should walk away thinking there's nothing they can do."   ⛳️ COMING SOON MATCH PLAY RETURNS TO THE PGA TOUR Tommy Fleetwood hoists the FedEx Cup trophy after winning last year's Tour Championship. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) On the eve of the season finale at East Lake Golf Club, the PGA Tour has announced plans for a radical reinvention of its playoff system: match play is coming back. How it works: Starting in 2028 — which is also the first year the tour will split into its dual-track Championship and Challenger Series — the PGA Tour will replace the current three-round stroke-play playoffs with two weeks of match play to determine that year's champion. This will mark the first time match play has taken place on the PGA Tour since 2023. Series Finale: The final 72-hole stroke-play event of the season will feature the top 90 players on the season-long points list. When the event ends, the No. 1 player will be crowned regular-season champion and the top 32 will advance to the Tour Championship. Tour Championship, Week 1: The field of 32 will be split into eight groups of four, similar to the World Cup. Group members will square off in a round-robin of 1v1 matches, with the top two per group advancing to Week 2. Tour Championship, Week 2: The 16 remaining players compete in a bracket-style match play event, culminating in the final 1v1 match on Sunday afternoon for the title of Tour Champion. How about the venues? Unlike the current Tour Championship, which has been held at East Lake outside Atlanta since 2004, the new format will take place at "rotating, prestigious venues." That change is made possible because the new format is about player vs. player instead of player vs. course, as explained in this excellent infographic video. Big picture: This new playoff model is part of new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp's plan to make the season more comprehensible to fans and more competitive for players. The current format allows top players to ease their way through the first few rounds or even skip them entirely, while the new one will more closely mirror an actual playoff.   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Ethan Palowitz/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 413 touches Those considering drafting Christian McCaffrey for their fantasy team, beware: He had an NFL-high 413 touches last season, which has historically spelled disaster for running backs in the subsequent season. As you can see above, just one RB in the past decade posted a top-10 fantasy season a year after leading the league in touches (Ezekiel Elliott in 2019). Wild stat: Over the last 11 seasons, the first RB selected in the NFL Draft has outscored the previous season's fantasy RB1 nine times, notes Yahoo Sports' Joel Smyth. In other words, history says you should take Jeremiyah Love over McCaffrey in your upcoming draft. ⚾️ 30 saves Aroldis Chapman keeps racking up milestones, notching his 30th save of the season on Monday to become just the fourth pitcher in MLB history with 10 such seasons. The others are Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera (15), Trevor Hoffman (14) and Lee Smith (10). Speaking of milestones: The hard-throwing lefty, enjoying another excellent year in Boston (1.81 ERA), is just three saves shy of becoming the ninth pitcher ever with 400 career saves. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) ⚽️ $3.35 million The "Hand of God" ball that Diego Maradona infamously netted during the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals has sold for $3.35 million at auction. That's well short of its estimated $10 million price tag, though still above the bidding levels reached in two prior auction attempts in the early 2020s, when the ball failed to meet its reserve.* Booming market: Ambitious estimate aside, this is another multimillion-dollar sale in a market where those are suddenly commonplace. Put together Maradona's jersey ($3.35M), armband ($512k) and the ball ($9.3M) from the game and you have over $13 million in memorabilia. 🏀 2,899 threes Klay Thompson, officially introduced by the Heat on Tuesday, is sitting on 2,899 career 3-pointers, just 75 shy of passing Ray Allen for the third-most all-time. And given he hit 202 triples last season in Dallas even in a supporting role, it's safe to assume the 36-year-old — who called his upcoming campaign "a redemption season" — will catch Allen. How high can he climb? Third place is likely Thompson's ceiling considering the only other players ahead of him are James Harden (3,390) and Steph Curry (4,248), who are both still active and playing at a pretty high level. *A reserve price is set by the consignor (seller) of an item at auction. If bidding doesn't reach that reserve price, which is often known only to the consignor and the auction house, the item does not sell and the consignor retains it.   🏗️ FIXER UPPERS BIGGER AND BETTER IS NO MORE (Ishika Samant/Getty Images) As the US Open welcomes hundreds of thousands of people for Fan Week, they'll notice that Arthur Ashe Stadium has a new look after extensive renovations. But if fans around the world look closely, they'll see that what happened at Ashe is happening just about everywhere. Down to the court and upmarket: Arthur Ashe, the US Open's crown jewel, is in the midst of $800 million worth of renovations, the results of which will be visible at this year's tournament. The stadium's total capacity has not changed materially, but the reallocation of that capacity is significant. The courtside-level bowl has been expanded from 3,000 to 5,000 seats, and there are now two dedicated luxury suite levels. Much of this new capacity was created by a reduction in the loge level, which lost 3,500 seats. In simpler terms, cheaper seats were removed to make way for premium and hospitality offerings, which generate higher revenue. Global phenomenon: Frustration with the increasingly costly US Open is inescapable, but the adjustments to Ashe are merely one example of a far more common trend across professional sports. In fact, that Ashe's capacity remained stable perhaps positions it among the friendlier updates. The broader trend is for stadiums to get smaller and more premium. NFL: The new Highmark Stadium (Bills) seats approximately 9,600 fewer people than Ralph Wilson, and ticket prices are reportedly up 88% over last year. MLB: Recent renovations to Citi Field (Mets) and Progressive Field (Guardians) have shifted seating allocations to more premium options. NBA/NHL: The upcoming transformation of Capital One Arena (Wizards, Capitals) will roughly double the percentage of capacity allocated to premium seating to ~40%. Soccer: Manchester United controversially relocated long-time season ticket holders to clear space for new hospitality seating. Optimize and ostracize? The quest to optimize seating allocations and maximize per-seat revenue yield is generally not lost on fans. It adds another arrow to the fan-frustration quiver in a revenue-crazed professional sports industry. This is an excerpt from today's edition of Yahoo Sports Biz. To read the full story, and get the inside scoop on all things sports business, sign up here.   🇨🇴 MEANWHILE, IN COLOMBIA IN PHOTOS: SOCCER FESTIVAL (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images) The annual Botas, Ruana y Sombrero Festival took place last week in Jenesano, Colombia, as the four-day event brought together residents from different towns for a soccer tournament in which participants wear boots, traditional ruana (woolen poncho) and hats. (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images) There are separate men's and women's tournaments, and people of all ages are welcome to participate. The festival also includes other cultural expressions of the region like its music and food. (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images) A player takes a swig of Guarapo, a traditional beverage made from fresh-squeezed sugarcane juice mixed with ice and lime. (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images) Either this guy is making a highlight-worthy save, or the soccer rules at this festival are more lenient than we're used to.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, AUG. 26 Married couple Monfils and Svitolina are in the semis tonight. (Brad Penner/USTA via Getty Images) 🎾 US Open, Mixed Doubles Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils face Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli in tonight's first semifinal (7pm ET, ESPN2), followed by Karolína Muchová and Jakub Menšík vs. Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev in the second. Then the winners square off in the $1 million championship (9pm, ESPN). Abbreviated format: The only way they can squeeze this tournament into two days is with quicker contests. All matches before the final are best-of-three sets to four games, with no-ad scoring (i.e. just one deciding point at deuce) and a 10-point tiebreak used in lieu of a deciding third set. The final is the same, but with sets to six games instead of four. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Astros at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime) … Houston (66-66) is in a tight race for both the AL West and third wild card, while New York (74-57) sits comfortably in the first wild card spot. ⚾️ LLWS: Nicaragua vs Curaçao (1 pm, ESPN); Nevada vs Iowa (3pm, ESPN) … Winners book their spots in the International and U.S. Championships. ⚽️ Leagues Cup: Austin FC vs. Toluca (8:30pm, Apple/FS1); Columbus Crew vs. Club América (10:45pm, Apple/FS1) … Quarterfinals. 🚴 Vuelta a España: Stage 5 (8:45am, Peacock) … Five stages in, the Vuelta has finally reached Spain.   🎾 LET'S PLAY TRIVIA TIME (Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) Roger Federer, who returned to Flushing Meadows on Tuesday for a special exhibition, is one of three men in the Open Era to win five US Open singles titles. Question: Who are the other two? Hint: Same country. Answer at the bottom.   🏈 RISK OR RUST OLD MAN ON CAMPUS (Justin Buzzard) Justin Buzzard, a 47-year-old pastor, husband and father of three, has made the football team at San Jose City College. Buzzard played growing up, but thought an injury had ended his career in the 1990s; now, he's back in game shape and ready to contribute as a defensive end. What he's saying: "Risk or rust," said Buzzard, spreading his message as he's taken on this new chapter in his life. "You're either risking or you're rusting as a man. Take risks. Don't rust."   Trivia answer: Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors