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US Water Targeted At least 12 states have reported cyberattacks targeting drinking water and wastewater utilities, with officials investigating whether Iranian-linked hackers were behind some of the incidents. Authorities say drinking water was not contaminated, though some Minnesota residents experienced low-pressure water flow or received boil water notices. The attacks targeted internet-connected control systems used to manage pumps, wells, valves, and water pressure rather than the water itself. More than 30 systems in Minnesota and nine in Michigan have reported compromises, while utilities in at least 10 other states have also been affected. Officials say hackers changed passwords, altered network settings, and temporarily locked operators out of control systems, but built-in safeguards and manual operations prevented contamination. Iranian-linked groups have previously targeted US water facilities and other US organizations. There are over 152,000 public water systems in the US. See how hackers can turn critical infrastructure into a weapon—and how a raindrop can travel miles before it reaches your tap.

The Moon's New Scar A discarded SpaceX rocket segment was on track to slam into the moon this morning at around 2:35 am ET, likely creating a crater about 16 feet deep and 65 to 100 feet wide. The unintentional impact offers scientists a rare chance to study human-made lunar collisions, which could become more common with the rise of space debris. The 45-foot-long, nearly 10,000-pound second stage helped launch two lunar landers in January 2025 (scroll for rocket diagram). Atmospheric drag was supposed to pull the stage back into Earth’s atmosphere afterward, but SpaceX says conditions including solar activity redirected it toward the moon. This morning's collision will likely have occurred near the Einstein Crater at a speed of roughly 5,400 miles per hour—more than twice that of a rifle bullet—releasing as much force as about 15,000 sticks of dynamite. The SpaceX collision is the second known accidental human-made impact on the moon, following a 2022 crash by a Chinese rocket segment that created a pair of craters (w/photos).

The day after Thanksgiving is called “Brown Friday” by plumbers in America because it is their busiest day of the year. James

A view of one's own Photo: Ashley Corso Finish Liner Ashley Corso of Alexandria, Va., sent us this sublime view from a trip to Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica, last week.

Need for Speed View in browser For Donald Trump, social media is a fundamental component of the presidency. He shares his thoughts freely and constantly; world-shaking announcements that other presidents might have reserved for prime-time speeches, he posts online. Trump Media and Technology Group, the company that controls Truth Social and is majority-owned by the president, is now selling speedy access to those posts through a service called Truth API. Launched this weekend, it provides users a raw feed of “market-moving” posts from the “highest-ranking Truth Social accounts”—the top one being Trump’s, which has 13 million followers. Typically, social-media users encounter split-second lag times before being notified about new posts; Truth API purports to minimize delays. It’s aimed at investment firms that can afford the subscription price (Trump Media has not publicized the cost, but The Wall Street Journal and others have reported that it’s up to $100,000 a month), and promises traders an advantage over their competitors. It also gives Trump Media a way to capitalize directly on the president’s words—and gives Trump another way to capitalize on the nation’s highest office. The initial press release for Truth API made no mention of the president’s posts. But Truth Social was created primarily as a vehicle for Trump’s own commentary after he was booted off Twitter in 2021 following the January 6 riot. New accounts on the website automatically follow Trump, as well as Donald Trump Jr. and many others. (Trump Media declined to answer my questions, and the White House denied that Truth API creates conflicts of interest for the president.) The value of the new service hinges on the fact that Trump’s statements move markets. This president has a habit of sharing new policies on social media before the White House has had a chance to release an official statement. He has used Truth Social to make adjustments to tariff rules, announce military actions, and telegraph future plans for foreign interventions. (Many observers have also pointed out that he tends to wait until after trading hours to share news that might have an undesirable effect on markets, as has been the case throughout the Iran war.) The president’s comments portend stock-market shifts in lower-stakes situations too. One recent example: Trump told the public to “go out and buy” a Dell computer at least four times this year. He began doing this on February 19, about a week after he purchased at least $1 million worth of Dell stock. The last time Trump dropped this line, at the White House in July, the share price immediately climbed by almost 8 percent. Maybe the president just really likes Dell computers—or maybe he really likes the company’s CEO, Michael Dell, who, along with his wife, pledged to donate more than $6 billion to the administration’s new child-savings-account program. The president encouraged people to buy in, and shareholders made money. Trump Media has said that Truth API data will be delivered in “milliseconds,” providing what they say is the “fastest access” to these posts. Critics argue that this gives certain traders an unfair, or even illegal, leg up: Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission last week demanding an investigation into the service. The letter suggests that, because the service offers access to market-moving posts before most people have had a chance to see it, it could potentially violate insider-trading laws, which ban trades based on nonpublic information. But most of the experts I spoke with questioned this logic. Existing securities laws don’t fit this situation perfectly. Trump Media told The Wall Street Journal that Truth Social posts will continue to be publicly viewable at the same time for all users, whether they pay for Truth API or not. Those who subscribe will be notified slightly before the rest of us, but the posts themselves won’t be delayed or hidden—which could make it hard to argue that the information contained within them isn’t actually public. And Trump Media didn’t invent the concept of high-speed data feeds for institutional traders. As Stephen Bainbridge, a professor at UCLA Law, has pointed out, today’s stock exchanges already sell similar products, which are broadly considered legal. Some of the legal scholars I interviewed observed that because this situation is unprecedented, the law may simply not have caught up. The SEC could potentially play a role in investigating Trump Media, but the agency, now under the aegis of Trump’s handpicked chair, Paul Atkins, has not commented on Warren and Schiff’s letter. (A spokesperson for the SEC declined to comment for this story.) When I asked Jonathan Macey, a professor at Yale Law, what he thought of Warren and Schiff’s letter, he told me that they were essentially asking the fox to come check on the henhouse. Truth API is a clear attempt to create a new revenue stream for a struggling company—its CEO, former Representative Devin Nunes, stepped down earlier this year after overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses during his tenure. It’s also yet another way for Trump to make money from the office of the presidency. Trump reported that he earned more than $2.2 billion last year, much of which came from cryptocurrency tokens and investments. No other president has ever come close to generating this much personal wealth while in office. Now he stands to profit from something more straightforward: unmediated access to his own thoughts. Related: David Frum: The Trump presidency’s world-historical heist The real Trump family business is crypto.

⚡️Jeffries loyalty test Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus want a condition for incoming Democrats seeking to join their ranks: You have to support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker. 🔥 Why it matters: Things could get dicey fast, as several Black Democrats who are all but guaranteed to be elected in November have declined to commit to voting for Jeffries. But Darializa Avila Chevalier wants in: The Afro-Latino nominee in New York's 13th District told Semafor she will seek to join both the CBC and the Hispanic Caucus if elected. Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, the nominee for a Philadelphia-based House seat, told us he is "definitely planning to join" the CBC. "I absolutely plan on joining the Black Caucus," said Melat Kiros of Colorado — another Black Democrat running in a safely blue district. All three DSA-aligned candidates have declined to commit to voting for Jeffries as speaker. 🎧 What we're hearing: Several members of the Black Caucus, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer frank remarks about likely incoming colleagues, said criticism of Democratic leadership could be an issue. One senior CBC member, when asked if Avila Chevalier would be allowed to join, told us: "Not if she doesn't support Hakeem along with other issues." Asked if that would apply to all incoming members, the lawmaker replied, "Yes." Avila Chevalier "absolutely will not be welcomed if she doesn't support Hakeem," said a second CBC member. "Under no circumstances would anyone be welcomed with a warm embrace if they are going to undermine the brotha! Just no path." 🥊 A Democratic leadership source strongly pushed back against the notion that any incoming Black Democrats would be denied entry to the CBC based on their vote for speaker. "I don't believe the CBC decides its membership based on one's pledge to support leadership," the source said, adding that Avila Chevalier "will get the same review process as everyone else." "I don't think it's a thing at the end of the day," the source said. The bottom line: "As with every new Congress, matters related to membership for the 120th Congress will be addressed following the 2026 election cycle through the Congressional Black Caucus' established processes," a CBC spokesperson told us. — Andrew Solender

Inside Hegseth's plea Top Pentagon officials are already pitching reconciliation 4.0 to Senate Republicans behind closed doors, underscoring the need for a massive boost in military funds, we've learned. Why it matters: Thune hasn't embraced reconciliation 3.0. The White House is already looking beyond it. ✏️ Trump officials are quietly sketching out a lame-duck package that could pair significant Pentagon funding with other priorities, including a debt ceiling increase that will be necessary sometime in 2027. The administration's case goes beyond replenishing weapons depleted by the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine. Officials are also sounding alarms about the need to invest in artificial intelligence now as China advances. Driving the news: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and several undersecretaries gave Republican members of key Senate committees a detailed, closed-door briefing this morning, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. 🌎 The officials gave an around-the-world threat analysis, laying out for senators how the U.S. stacks up against key adversaries — with an emphasis on China, the sources said. Emil Michael, undersecretary for research and engineering, laid out the importance of significant spending on AI to maintain the U.S.' edge over China. Officials showed "candor" on U.S. munitions stockpiles amid the conflict with Iran, and provided "a level of detail that the committees have been seeking," as one source described it. The meeting was held in a secure setting, with some classified material covered. 🤔 The intrigue: Multiple senators urged the officials to expand their outreach beyond Republicans already sold on a massive increase in defense budgets to try to start winning over senators on the fence. Democrats were not invited to the briefing. 🛑 They also have been excluded from other recent briefings on Iran, another source familiar with the matter told us. — Stef W. Kight

Big oil companies continue to post banner profits as fighting in Iran drives prices higher Big oil companies continue to book massive profits as fighting in Iran disrupts energy markets and sends oil and gasoline prices sharply higher. Read More. ps:Makes you wonder about this war?????

US stocks hit records as profits keep piling up for Palantir and others, while oil prices ease NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rallied to records on Tuesday as profits kept piling up for companies and as oil prices eased. https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-dollar-yen-trump-iran-war-fbbe6128d618509e33d45a493c2615b1?

🤖 1 for the road: AI flyer pushback Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Some businesses are pledging not to use AI-generated flyers or ads after consumer pushback, Axios Salt Lake City's Erin Alberty reports. People say they can spot AI-made posters immediately, usually thanks to the busy or repetitive designs — and that they're a turnoff. 🚫 Zoom in: SLC's Aces High Saloon recently announced that it would no longer share AI flyers for events there. The venue posted: "Please hit up a local artist, or cut out magazines or we can help too — DIY or die baby." 💸 The other side: Some small businesses say they can't afford a graphic designer or other professional creator. Go deeper ...

📺 It's Kornacki time NBC News is launching a new franchise centered on Steve Kornacki's signature data-driven analysis, Kornacki tells Axios' Sara Fischer exclusively. 📊 "Data Dive With Steve Kornacki" will bring Kornacki's analysis to a weekly, subscriber-exclusive newsletter. It'll launch with a heavy focus on the 2026 midterms, offering readers a detailed breakdown of election numbers, trends and data points. Kornacki tells Axios: "I'm trying to give folks who are reading it a real sense of — when they start watching those results on primary night — where to be looking, what to be looking for and what the trends have been that might explain how this thing is going to shake out." Keep reading.

Moon in the crosshairs Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The upper stage of a SpaceX rocket will unintentionally crash into the Moon early tomorrow morning, Alex Fitzpatrick reports. 🚀 The Falcon 9 rocket launched in 2025, carrying a pair of privately funded lunar rovers. It was then left in a high Earth orbit that occasionally crosses the Moon's path. Gravity and other forces eventually sealed its fate. The resulting crater could be about 90 feet across and about 16 feet deep, scientists estimate. 🛰️ The inevitable collision is a reminder that our celestial neighborhood is getting busier by the day, with nearly 30,000 active satellites and trackable bits of space junk now orbiting Earth. SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation accounts for more than half of all commercial satellites, per Orbital Radar. Advocates lament the ever-busier night sky, which complicates both recreational stargazing and scientific observations. The Moon and the Earth as seen by the Artemis II crew on April 6. Photo: NASA via Getty Images 🔭 Yes, but: Many astronomers are looking forward to this particular event as a chance to collect valuable data about Moon collisions. It's not every day you can predict when something will smack into our nearest celestial companion. What's next: SpaceX says it's working on better ways to handle spent rocket segments involving high-orbit launches. That's a key step if the Trump administration's lunar colony dreams are to be realized. Life on the Moon would be hard enough without worrying about rocket bits raining down from above. Go deeper.

Netanyahu says no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza City (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel will not withdraw from its current lines in Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed and pushed back on a recent deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-gaza-news-1215e52022856b9de9837237a0e188fa?

Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate funds WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort. https://apnews.com/article/epa-grants-climate-united-trump-36ad8c6684939a1788dd49979e0f3ad9? Trump administration revokes visa of Brazil’s ambassador to US in spat with Lula WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States in retaliation for Brazil’s denial of visas last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit ahead of upcoming elections as well as what it said was Brazil’s stalling on approving President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador in Brasilia. https://apnews.com/article/trump-brazil-lula-ambassador-diplomats-4d7f64110fff5dda2ffd374d5e52c682? FBI agents fired over Trump investigation get broad backing in lawsuit against administration An association of thousands of FBI agents and other groups are backing a lawsuit filed by three bureau employees who were fired last year for their roles in an investigation into President Donald Trump's efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election. Read More.

UFC Takes $30M Beating Over Trump’s Tacky Birthday Bash The Ultimate Fighting Championship has suffered a heavy blow. The UFC hemorrhaged money with Donald Trump’s big White House birthday bash. The promotion, led by his ally Dana White, lost a staggering $30 million in its bid to give the president what he wanted, as he turned 80 in June. The Freedom 250 event saw 4,300 people descend on the White House’s South Lawn, with tens of thousands more on the nearby Ellipse, to watch Justin Gaethje defeat Ilia Topuria at the top of the bill. TKO Group Holdings Inc. chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer told investors on Monday that, “Given the event’s profile, which as anticipated, resulted in an approximate $30m loss, our margins at UFC as well as on a consolidated basis were meaningfully impacted,” BBC reports. TKO said it had been anticipating the loss, but had gained brand exposure and media deals, and still saw revenue growth in the second quarter. Bloomberg reports that on a conference call, UFC said the expenditure would pay off in the long run, claiming the event itself had been a “roaring success.” They said that the impact in terms of reach and new deals was key, with 25 new marketing partnerships and earned media—publicity through organic, unpaid means—worth $1 billion. Paramount Skydance Corp, which Trump-loving Larry Ellison owns, said that the event had pulled in 34 million viewers. According to the BBC, the initial outgoings of the event for TKO had been expected to be $60 million, but that number was brought back down by sponsorships. UFC also strengthened its position last year, when it signed a deal with Paramount worth $7.7 billion to make it the new home of its coverage. The UFC footed the bill, with the exception of federal agents detailed to work on the event. The 250 event, so-called to mark the 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, sparked controversy and led to Democratic staff producing an interim report as part of a wider investigation, titled “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday,” the Guardian reports. The Daily Beast has made efforts to contact the UFC for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ufc-takes-30m-beating-over-trumps-tacky-birthday-bash/?

Trump’s Staggering Missile Crisis Revealed The president’s war has the Pentagon running out of money, ideas, and now even the weapons he would need to defend the U.S. from attack. Donald Trump’s war with Iran is becoming even more disastrous by the day as his own officials warn the Pentagon has used up “virtually all” of its long-range missiles. The U.S. military has spent the overwhelming majority of those stockpiles carrying out strikes against the Islamist regime since the president, 80, launched that conflict on Feb. 28, according to sources familiar with Defense Department data, who spoke anonymously to Reuters on Tuesday. Those officials are now panicking that the depleted supply of “highly accurate long-range missiles” could affect “the military’s readiness for future conflicts,” leaving the U.S. vulnerable to attack by even more capable adversaries like Russia and China, the outlet writes.Trump, 80, is fast running out of time to save any semblance of face over the war he promised would last a “few weeks” and which has now entered its sixth month. He signed a memorandum of understanding for a temporary ceasefire in June. It lasted just 21 days before talks for a lasting peace fell through. Washington and Tehran have engaged in an escalating series of tit-for-tat strikes in the weeks since.The Pentagon has also let slip that it is running out of ideas for how to sustain the conflict until the president’s diplomats can get their act together. “We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” a top defense official pleaded in an email blast to military analysts last week. CNN, which first reported the message, said the “crowdsourcing-style” request shows how dire the situation has now become. The Defense Department has further signaled that it is running out of money amid the soaring costs imposed by Trump’s war. Officials told The Washington Post in July that the Pentagon has been forced to scale down training and maintenance to save cash as the Trump administration begs Congress for $67 billion to plug the hole blown in its budget by the president’s war. Trump, in a statement to Reuters, said the U.S. has “far more munitions than anyone in the world” and “far more than we need,” adding that “our defense companies are, at this moment, making more munitions than they have ever made before, in addition to expanding their plants and equipment at record levels.” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly added that “the United States Military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond,” and claimed, “Democrats destroyed our military, but President Trump rebuilt it.” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Reuters that “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the president’s choosing.” He added that “we have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.” The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for further comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-war-with-iran-has-almost-entirely-depleted-us-missile-stockpiles/? ps:What a pathetic bunch of clowns! They seem to think that they're playing a video game where the weapons never run out!!

FDA Eases Restrictions On Compounded Peptides Despite Safety Warnings An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened on July 23–24 to discuss whether seven peptides should be added to a list of drugs that compounding pharmacies are allowed to manufacture. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/compounded-peptides-eased-restrictions-fda?

No I do not see the direction that you are going. If you know your geography, you would know that with good reason SDAs in one part of the word believe that the seventh day of the week is named Sunday. So, they say that the Biblical Sabbath occurs on Sunday in their part of the world. https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=297&q=ON+SOME+OF+THE+PACIFIC+ISLANDS+DO+SRBRMYJ+DAY+ADVENTISTS+CCELEBRATE+THE+sABBATH+ON+THE+DAY+NMED+sUNDAY&cvid=aba455ac6f254d548317cbd8f9c4ef23&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQ6wcYQNIBCDM5OTRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&FORM=ANSPA1&adppc=EDGEBRV&PC=EDGEBRV

👋 Good morning! How'd your team do at the trade deadline? In today's edition: Olivia vs. Caitlin, MLB trade deadline recap, MLS elects new commissioner, horse racing's Triple Crown may be dead in the water, college fantasy football drafts are live, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚽️ MLS names new commissioner: MLS owners have elected LAFC co-owner Larry Berg as the league's next commissioner. Berg will succeed Don Garber, who has held the position since 1999 and will remain in the role through the end of the season. ⚽️ Four more years: Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to a new contract to remain the USMNT's head coach through the 2030 World Cup. Despite the team's ugly exit last month, Poch's three World Cup wins are the most ever by a USMNT head coach. ⚾️ Harper's new position: The Phillies have one too many infielders following Monday's acquisition of Luis Arráez, so Bryce Harper will be moving from first base to his former position in right field for the remainder of the season. 🎾 Eala's historic victory: Alex Eala upset top-seeded Jessica Pegula in the DC Open final to become the first Filipino tennis player (man or woman) to win a singles title. On the men's side, Taylor Fritz defeated Rafael Jódar for his 11th career title. 🏀 Bosh's warning for Wemby: Chris Bosh said that he "almost dropped dead" from a blood clot in January, and urged Victor Wembanyama to stay on top of his condition, which forced him to miss nearly half of the 2024-25 season. "Take your medicine," Bosh said. "Make sure that doesn't happen again because it only takes one more time."   🏀 EMBRACE DEBATE IS OLIVIA MILES THE BEST ROOKIE EVER? Clark defends Miles during Sunday's game. (Abbie Parr/AP) Two years ago, we witnessed arguably the best rookie season in WNBA history. Is it already being eclipsed? Miles bests Clark: The first-place Lynx (25-6) defeated the Fever (19-11) on Sunday for their 10th straight win, as Olivia Miles (28-4-6) outdueled Caitlin Clark (19-1-10) in the first matchup between this year's No. 2 pick and the third-year superstar. Tale of the tape: For Miles, it was just the latest impressive performance in a season that is sure to earn her Rookie of the Year — as well as serious MVP consideration — and might even top Clark's 2024 campaign as perhaps the best ever by a first-year player. Miles: In 29 games, Minnesota's point guard is averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks and 3 turnovers. Her shooting splits are 50.2% FG, 38% 3PT and 87.5% FT — in shouting distance of the third 50/40/90 season in league history. Clark: In 40 games as a rookie in 2024, Indiana's point guard averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks and 5.6 turnovers. Her shooting splits were 41.7% FG, 34.4% 3PT and 90.6% FT. You be the judge: Their scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks are a wash, with Clark the more effective distributor and Miles the more efficient shooter and better caretaker of the ball. Miles is also leading a first-place juggernaut, while Clark's Fever went 20-20 her rookie year. Big picture: No discussion of "best rookie season ever" is complete without mentioning the likes of Candace Parker (2008), Tamika Catchings (2002), A'ja Wilson (2018) and Breanna Stewart (2016), among others. And we can add reigning ROY Paige Bueckers to that list, making it three straight years with an all-time great rookie campaign. The last word: "She just sees the game," says Parker, who remains the only rookie to win MVP. "For her to play so well in a position that is so sought-after is special." Dawn Staley had a more visceral reaction to watching the rookie's sensational play on Sunday: "[Olivia Miles] got me in my house cursing on a Sunday. Lord have mercy!"   ⚾️ NEW FACES, NEW PLACES DEADLINE DAY: WHO WENT WHERE? (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Another MLB trade deadline has come and gone, with more than 60 deals being completed. 5 biggest trades: Dodgers acquire SP Tarik Skubal from Tigers Red Sox acquire C Adley Rutschman from Orioles Rays acquire SP Freddy Peralta from Mets Cubs acquire SP Kevin Gausman from Blue Jays Cubs acquire SP Clay Holmes, OF Tyrone Taylor from Mets Further reading: 50 biggest trades Grading every team Winners and losers Team-by-team tracker: Who's in and who's out for all 30 rosters   🐎 END OF AN ERA? HORSE RACING'S TRIPLE CROWN MAY BE DEAD IN THE WATER (Heather Diehl/Getty Images) Over the last few years, the concept of winning the Triple Crown has been fading among horse racing's stakeholders. On Monday, Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association might have delivered its death blow. Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: In announcing a joint partnership for a six-race series beginning in 2027 with a $5 million bonus attached to the end of it, one entity was notably missing: The Preakness. The six races will cover the Kentucky Derby on May 2; the Belmont Stakes on June 5; back to Churchill for the Matt Winn stakes in early July; the Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes at Saratoga in late July/August; and then a newly created race to finish the series at Churchill in September. As for the Preakness, the second jewel of the Triple Crown? Well, it still exists, but the traditional timing of the race — two weeks after the Kentucky Derby — has become incompatible with the way modern trainers manage their thoroughbreds. Golden Tempo and Sovereignty, the last two Derby winners, both skipped the Preakness, as did Rich Strike in 2022. Sources told Yahoo Sports that the Maryland Jockey Club was close to announcing a move that would have pushed the Preakness to three weeks after the Kentucky Derby. But Monday's announcement — which leaves the Belmont in its traditional placement five weeks after the Derby — suggests the coordination among Triple Crown stakeholders was only a two-way conversation with Maryland being frozen out. As one industry source told Yahoo Sports: "The bigger picture here is the wider future of the sport, and Maryland just ain't it. You could still run in the Preakness and win the series, but Maryland is on an island. They're by themselves. They run one big race a year. We can't let these traditional elements of the sport be anchors for its future, and you can argue we've let it go on for too long."   🏈 BACK TO SCHOOL COLLEGE FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTS ARE LIVE! Great news: Drafts are now open for Yahoo College Fantasy Football! The traditional fantasy football you know and love, designed for the college game. Create or join a league now. How it works: Like NFL Fantasy Football, our new college version is a season-long game with head-to-head weekly matchups. Drafts, trades and waiver pickups work the same way, and the scoring system is similar. Player pool: Draftable players include those from all 68 teams in the Power 4 leagues (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC), plus Notre Dame. New position added: In addition to drafting individual players and a defense, there's also a roster spot for "Team Offense," rewarding team-level aggregate scoring. Expanded rosters: Whereas traditional fantasy football rosters have 15 spots, the college game has 18, reflecting a sport that has more stars than ever. Robert Griffin III is going back to school, thanks to Yahoo Fantasy Football. (Yahoo Sports) Play now: Drafts are live, and our experts have a strategy guide and player rankings to help get you ready to win your league when scoring starts in Week 1 on Sept. 3.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, AUG. 4 (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) There's little else to watch today besides a full 15-game MLB slate, headlined by Tarik Skubal's Dodgers debut (8:05pm ET, TBS) at Wrigley Field in a battle of NL contenders. Elsewhere: The Yankees, whose injury-depleted lineup has been fortified by newly-acquired lefty slugger Luis García Jr., host the Cardinals (7:05pm); the surging Red Sox host the first-place White Sox (7:10pm); the Diamondbacks host the Padres in a clash of NL West foes and wild card contenders (9:40pm).   ⚾ BATTING CHAMP TRIVIA TIME (Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) Luis Arráez, acquired by the Phillies at the deadline, is one of just two players in MLB's modern era (since 1900) to win a batting title in both leagues. Question: Can you name the other? Hint: 2016 and 2020. Answer at the bottom.   📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH Miguel Garcia dives from the 27.5-meter platform during the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stop in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina. (Romina Amato/Red Bull via Getty Images) Spot the cliff diver.   Trivia answer: DJ LeMahieu (Rockies in 2016, Yankees in 2020)

Florida Sheriffs Association is ‘significantly concerned’ about Amendment 3 Two months after it was placed on the November ballot, the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) is weighing in on Amendment 3, the proposed property tax cut that, if enacted, could reduce local government funding by billions of dollars in the coming years. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/08/03/florida-sheriffs-association-is-significantly-concerned-about-amendment-3/?

MAGA-Curious CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ Boss’ Leak Crackdown Backfires The flagship news show is leaking like a sieve. The executive producer of 60 Minutes begged his staff to stop leaking word of turmoil on his watch—only for them to go ahead and leak that message to another outlet anyway. TV news virgin Nick Bilton, 49, is the former New York Times tech columnist and filmmaker who had never worked in television at all before CBS’ MAGA-friendly new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, 42, handed him one of TV’s most prestigious jobs earlier this year. Weiss recruited Bilton after taking the helm at CBS last October after Trump ally David Ellison took control of the network’s parent company in a controversial merger. Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, is a Republican megadonor. Critics say Weiss has since carried out a conservative overhaul of the network and steered coverage away from anything critical of the Trump administration. Her time in the top job so far has been a disaster. Staff, and in particular the team at 60 Minutes, roiled and bucked at her changes, with long-time host Anderson Cooper leaving the show. She responded by purging the program of veteran journalists like executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich, senior producer Matthew Polevoy, and correspondent Cecilia Vega. Those firings all landed on a single day in May, since dubbed “Black Thursday” by staff. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi left after her contract lapsed unrenewed the same week. Bilton, hired just days later to replace Simon, then fired 60 Minutes mainstay Scott Pelley after Pelley told him in front of the team that Weiss had been “murdering” the program. Weiss and Bilton have since set out on a hiring blitz in a desperate scramble to fill the desks their firings have emptied. Critics have slammed many of those new recruits—among them right-wing opinion writer Ross Douthat and controversial U.K. broadcaster Sir Trevor Phillips—as grossly underqualified compared to the caliber of journalists the program has historically attracted. Bilton has reportedly been using job interviews as “therapy sessions” to discuss with prospective hires just how tough he’s finding his role. These and other shocking details of Weiss and Bilton’s stewardship at 60 Minutes have emerged because their staff cannot keep from talking about the turmoil with colleagues at other media organizations. Status has led much of the reporting on the chaos—and it was to Status that Bilton’s sprawling 734-word anti-leaking memo leaked on Tuesday. “In the memo, Bilton made clear he is frustrated by the unrelenting speculation regarding the show, along with the torrent of unauthorized information making its way into the press,” the outlet wrote. “While he didn’t mention this publication in particular, one imagines he isn’t especially thrilled when we end up informing his own staff about developments regarding their own program.” Status adds that Bilton has told his employees that “since I started there has been roughly a rumor a day,” and that those rumors “about me, about you, about what’s coming next—95 percent of them are fabrications and blatantly incorrect.” “I no longer have the time or the patience for them, and I’d rather we spend that energy on the stories,” he went on. “If you hear something and it matters to you, come ask me and I’ll tell you what I know. Otherwise I’d like this place to be talked about for what we put on television.” The Daily Beast has contacted CBS for comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-60-minutes-boss-nick-biltons-anti-leaking-memo-is-immediately-leaked-amid-staff-discontent-at-cbs/? ps:What did anyone expect?

Trump Is Drowning in Failure as Crises Mount: Political Guru The president is having trouble cleaning up his own messes, according to political analyst David Rothkopf. President Donald Trump is struggling to stay afloat as a series of crises he helped create continues to pile up, political guru David Rothkopf argues. Appearing on the latest episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Rothkopf explained how the 80-year-old president is floundering in his attempts to contain the consequences of his administration’s actions—whether it’s his reshaping of the federal government or his deepening war with Iran. “Over the course of the past 18 months, Donald Trump has dismantled the parts of the U.S. government that protect us from foreign election interference, that protect us from foreign spying,” the political analyst told host Joanna Coles. Rothkopf pointed to how staffing cuts at the FBI and other national intelligence agencies over the last year have left the U.S. more vulnerable to foreign meddling than ever before. Between January and August 2025, then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard slashed more than 500 intelligence jobs, including roles associated with the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which monitored efforts by foreign agents to manipulate the American public. “They shut down... the group that tracked Russian interference,” Rothkopf said before predicting that Russia and Iran are going to interfere in U.S. elections over the next three months. “Trump is going to use that to his advantage,” he added. “Buckle up, everybody,” Rothkopf warned. “The next 90 days are going to be a weird and wild ride.” When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast in a frequently recycled statement: “David Rothkopf is a far-left loser who clearly suffers from a severe and debilitating disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.” “Did you see the poll results he’s getting in the past few days?” Rothkopf asked. “Donald Trump has—on inflation, on his war, on his overall approval, on his approval with Independents—the worst poll ratings, not just of his career, but of any president of the modern era.” Trump’s approval rating has plunged to 32 percent amid backlash over his unpopular Iran war and the continued strain of rising costs on Americans. A CNN poll last week also found that a staggering 70 percent of respondents disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy and 73 percent believe the administration isn’t focusing on the most pressing issues. “Donald Trump is drowning in failure,” Rothkopf declared. “Nothing he says or does is working anymore. And so he’s got to try these wild schemes to distract from it, to get attention, to hope it disrupts something.” “When I look at these polls and when I look at thing after thing, whether it’s failures in the courts or failures in Iran or failures overseas or problems with the economy,” he concluded, “Donald Trump is drowning in failure, and we are going to pay the price as he tries to keep his head above water.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-is-drowning-in-failure-as-crises-mount-political-guru-david-rothkopf/?