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Retired General Barry McCaffrey condemned the plans on Sunday, following Trump’s suggestion he wants to bring in Exxon Mobil or another U.S. oil company “to go in there and do it properly…and spread out the wealth” from the oil fields. Trump’s plan has drawn significant criticism, coupled with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the northeast of the country where their presence had been protecting America’s Kurdish-led allies from Turkish attack....

That ‘one thing’ was, naturally, the COVID-19 pandemic. If your country lost over 210,000 of its citizens to coronavirus, then catching it yourself could be seen to be a major strategic misstep. Trump’s attempts to belittle the crisis, and to maintain that it’s not a threat, and even “a blessing from God,” looked a little flimsy as he was first swept into hospital (with son Eric openly calling for prayers,) and it looked no better when his self-penned miracle cure and recovery tale was undermined by the video of him gasping for breath on the White House balcony....

In addition to election-related lawsuits filed in Georgia and Nevada, the campaign filed two suits charging a lack of transparency at the polls in Michigan and Pennsylvania, two battleground states in which Trump campaign officials called for ballot counting to halt until alleged problems could be resolved. But state leaders and election law experts have said that the campaign’s allegations are baseless. “The claims made by the Trump campaign are without merit, and we will respond accordingly in court,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s press secretary, Ryan Jarvi, told Newsweek....

In a tweet Thursday, Andrew Weissmann—a former associate of special counsel Robert Mueller who once prosecuted top figures in the mob—appeared to cast doubt over claims the former president’s political career was over following a low-energy 2024 campaign announcement at Mar-a-Lago before his closest sycophants. “The reports of MAGA’s death,” he wrote, “are greatly exaggerated.” Since leaving the special counsel’s office, Weissmann has spared nothing in his public statements about the former president....

While appearing on CBS This Morning on Tuesday, Adams was asked about states that have imposed laws preventing schools from imposing mask mandates. For instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said that his state could withhold funding to schools that impose mask mandates for students and staff. “As a physician, as a public health expert, it’s deeply troubling that it seems we’re letting politics get in the way of protecting our youth,” Adams said in response....

Consumer sentiment for August dropped to the lowest level since January, decreasing 6.4 percent from last month and falling far below expectations. The 92.1 figure for this month was 4.3 percent decline from the previous year. Since consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, a slowdown in consumer confidence can have serious ramifications for the country’s economic health. “Consumers strongly reacted to the proposed September increase in tariffs on Chinese imports, spontaneously cited by 33 percent of all consumers in early August, barely below the recent peak of 37 percent,” Richard Curtin, a research associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center wrote in an explanation of the figures....

A “phase one” deal may be signed by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping and is expected to roll back tariffs on around $156 billion worth of Chinese imports from December 15. These would include cell phones, computers and toys, according to Reuters. But Scott Kennedy, who is senior adviser and trustee Chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS] in Washington, D....

China has imported pharmaceutical products to the U.S. since the 1990s, becoming the United States’ second-largest exporter of medications and medical supplies. However, the Trump administration has looked at ways to diminish China’s role in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. Defense Production Act policy coordinator and Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro said in March he was working in collaboration with Trump on an executive order that would incentivize American production of pharmaceuticals....

Trump has been pushing that he rightfully won the 2020 presidential election since the race was called for Biden and has been critical of legislators and judges who don’t back the belief as well. He has yet to prove widespread fraud occurred that would have changed the outcome of the election and on Wednesday, he railed against a Georgia judge who dismissed a fraud suit. In a statement, Trump denied that little evidence has been produced to prove he’s the rightful winner of the presidential election, saying that they’ve “thoroughly and conclusively documented” it....

Footage and pictures from the final night of the Republican National Convention showed attendees on the South Lawn stood close together as they awaited the president, with only a handful wearing face coverings to curb the chances of them spreading the novel coronavirus. Questions were also raised about the Trump campaign’s seating arrangement, with images posted to social media showing little distance between the white chairs set outside the Oval Office last night....

“Nobody has the right to possess crack, period,” says Sgt. Orlando Rolon of the Orlando police. Not even a drug-treatment facility, says Rolon, who thinks that the Bush incident could codify rules for how facilities dispose of illegal drugs. “Hopefully, changes will take place,” he says. By shielding Bush from the law, the center might not be doing her any favors. “It’s important that addicted people that run into trouble be held to the same standards,” says William C....

Team Envy lost their best-of-five series against Gambit Esports 3-0 in the grand finals of the Valorant Champions Tour Masters Berlin last night. The Russian side got the better of their NA opponents and secured a flawless victory. Despite the loss in the grand finals, Team Envy qualified for the Valorant Champions 2021, the biggest Valorant event for the year. However, the result affected TSM harshly as their chances of qualifying for the Champions have now officially ended....

When it was all over, when Jim Tressel walked arm in arm with Maurice Clarett and the confetti flew and the crowd at Sun Devil Stadium still boomed, there finally was perspective. Ward Cleaver and college football’s newest superstar were surveying the madness, waving and gazing at a sea of scarlet and silver, and somehow, some way, bridging one magical moment with the glory of the past. When it was all over, when Tressel had gift-wrapped his second season as coach at Ohio State with the storied program’s first national title since Lyndon Johnson was the president, one word from Tressel shed light on how it all had come together so quickly....

Squads to choose from: Tshwane Spartans: Heinrich Klaasen (C), AB de Villiers, Tom Curran, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi, Theunis de Bruyn, Roelof van der Merwe, Lutho Sipamla, Pite van Biljon, Tony de Zorzi, Waqar Salamkheil, Dean Elgar, Wiaan Mulder, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Corbin Bosch, Donavon Ferreira Cape Town Blitz: Quinton de Kock (C), Wahab Riaz, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Janneman Malan, Dale Steyn, Sisanda Magala, Anrich Nortje, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, George Linde, David Bedingham, Vernon Philander, Marques Ackerman, Gregory Mahlokwana, Aviwe Mgijima, Khwezi Gumede...

Squads to choose from: Tshwane Spartans: Heinrich Klaasen(C), AB de Villiers, Tom Curran, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi, Theunis de Bruyn, Roelof van der Merwe, Lutho Sipamla, Pite van Biljon, Tony de Zorzi, Waqar Salamkheil, Dean Elgar, Wiaan Mulder, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Corbin Bosch, Donavon Ferreira. Nelson Mandela Bay Giants: JJ Smuts (C), Jason Roy, Farhaan Behardien, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, Junior Dala, Beuran Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Onke Nyaku, Ben Dunk, Heino Kuhn, Marco Marais, Grant Thomson, Akhona Mnyaka, Nandre Burger and Dyllan Matthews...

The former Alabama quarterback is expected to be one of the first names off the board later this month, though his stock could take a hit because of the dislocated hip he suffered in November. While those who performed the surgery said Tagovailoa will be fully healthy by the time NFL training camps open, ex-New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum suggested teams should not spend a top-10 pick on the quarterback because of the medical concerns....

Not in the literal sense — his defense was mostly dominant against Louisville, limiting Bobby Petrino’s normally explosive offense to 268 yards and forcing two turnovers in a 51-14 blowout victory in Orlando, Fla. No, Saban is defenseless in that he can longer justify a so-called quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. The answer to that supposed question was made abundantly clear on Saturday: Tagovailoa needs to be the Tide’s starter until he leaves for the NFL....

Unlike the hit suffered last week against Buffalo Bills’ linebacker Matt Milano, Tagovailoa wasn’t able to get up and walk away. Instead, he was loaded up on a stretcher and carted off the field, where he will be further evaluated by medical personnel. Knowing Tua Tagovailoa was on the team’s injury report this week, Miami added a third quarterback to the active roster. Tagovailoa was 8-for-14 with 110 yards and an interception prior to his injury....

Carlson took aim at Rivera during his prime time show on Friday and accused the coach of lying and spreading propaganda in a statement the team issued about Del Rio’s fine. Del Rio had referred to the storming of the Capitol in 2021 as a “dust-up” during a press conference on Wednesday and later apologized for that phrasing but defended other comments about “violence in communities across the country.”...

Speaking on MSNBC, Moulton, who served in the Marine Corps, called out the conservative Carlson by stating that he doesn’t “know anything” about being in the military. The Democratic lawmaker added that Carlson’s comments were “offensive” to both men and women. “He doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. It’s offensive not just to women in the military but to men in the military, too. It’s offensive to leaders in the military....