In the end, Congress will almost certainly get President Donald Trump's financial records -- and Republican efforts to investigate the Christopher Steele dossier could be one reason why. Trump has asked the courts to stop the records from getting to the Democratic-held House of Representatives. Yet one past court case that could hurt his arguments was, ironically, the case that hurt the Democrats in the last two years. That was the Republican-led House pursuit of political research firm Fusion GPS' financial records. Rep. Devin Nunes, a Trump ally and then-chairman of the House Oversight Committee, targeted the firm for its commissioning of the Russia dossier. In that case, Nunes, a California Republican, subpoenaed the bank used by Fusion GPS, and Fusion GPS sued the bank to stop it from turning over the records to Congress, which would reveal who paid for the dossier. "The difficulty that Trump faces is the same one that we faced," said Bill Taylor, Fusion GPS' attorney in the case. Fusion ultimately lost the court fight to keep the records away from Congress, following a federal district judge's ruling. Though Fusion's situation is only one case, the legal history doesn't look good for the Trump team's approach. A better understanding of how federal judges might respond to Trump will come as soon as Tuesday, at a scheduled court hearing in the accounting firm subpoena challenge. Trump's legal team has brought its court cases against subpoenas with a similar tactic to what Fusion unsuccessfully tried -- suing the banks and the accounting firm directly to thwart Congress. Their legal arguments, so far, even cite some of the same laws and precedents. The financial companies haven't taken positions in court in the Trump financial records cases, and the House of Representatives' general counsel has stepped in, like in the Fusion case, to argue for the subpoenas. In the Fusion case, a judge in DC federal court said Congress' Russia investigation was a legitimate legislative endeavor -- meaning it overrode even laws that offer some personal financial privacy protection. After the judge ruled, the bank gave the documents to the House committee for its investigation. The Fusion GPS clients -- which included the Democratic Party looking for opposition research on Trump --were revealed. Multiple fights Trump's attempts to stop Congress from getting his financial records have multiplied in recent weeks. That's because four committees in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives have converged to pursue his financial records. The committees are seeking Trump's information from an accounting firm, as well as banks that have loaned to him and the IRS, which has his tax returns. If any of the subpoenaed groups were to hand over Trump's records, those documents, in theory, could include enough detail to reveal the President and his company's earnings, losses, debts and wealth from before he took office. Trump quickly challenged the subpoenas of the accounting firm Mazars USA and the banks Deutsche Bank and Capital One in court, seeking to delay, potentially limit or ultimately kill the requests. At the same time, demands from a House committee to obtain Trump's tax returns directly from the IRS were rejected by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin this week, and a fourth House committee responded with subpoenas to Mnuchin and to the IRS on Friday. If the Treasury Department refuses to give the House the tax returns, that standoff, too, may be headed for court. Several tax attorneys and lawyers from both political parties who specialize in congressional court fights this week cast serious doubt over how successful Trump may be. "There's a very good chance that the public eventually does see information coming out of this litigation," said Kevin Sweeney, a former federal tax prosecutor, who added that the accounting firms might have more financial information on Trump than the IRS does. "Arguably you could get a lot more information from the accounting firm than you could from the tax returns," Sweeney said. "They'd keep the documentation they used to prepare that return, and the work papers with the analysis that they prepared that return from." While the IRS tax return fight still may be headed for court, the cases over the bank and accounting firms' subpoenas are moving swiftly already, with hearings lined up starting Tuesday. The length of time the cases last may be just as significant for Trump as an ultimate win or loss -- with a delay past November 2020 a possibility if the cases and appeals drag out. The federal judges will have to weigh whether the House of Representatives' subpoenas could have valid legislative purposes. Courts, generally, haven't limited Congress' power or curtail its activities, finding that legislation could arise out of many topics of investigations. The Supreme Court once even noted that Congress may take its investigations down "blind alleys" that don't result in legislation. "There's a heavy presumption in favor of the validity of a congressional subpoena," Taylor said. "Courts typically don't quash them or even force Congress to narrow them," Taylor said. Yet Trump's legal team has asked the court to carefully consider the limits of Congress' power. The President's attorneys criticize what they believe are "limitless, suspicion-free, judicially-unquestionable investigations to find 'potential conflicts of interest,'" according to one recent legal brief. They warn of "massive ramifications for our republic." They are also arguing for privacy expectations that they say any person should have with their financial records. But Trump isn't just any company, organization or citizen -- he's the President. Judges may want to weigh the high political stakes and his team's claims that he's being unfairly targeted as President. Marc Mukasey, a lawyer for Trump in the Deutsche Bank and Capital One case, declined to comment on his team's legal strategy, and instead pointed to the arguments his team has made on paper in court. Congress, for its part, has argued that they seek the Trump financial records as a way to learn about possible foreign money in the US and influence in politics. Congress also says the documents could help them develop policy on banking and may reveal whether the President has conflicts of interest from his business past. "Congress's power to conduct oversight and investigations is firmly rooted in the constitutional separation of powers," lawyers for the House wrote in a court filing Friday. "Rather than respect the Committees' legitimate investigations into these serious issues of national importance, Mr. Trump and his companies have continually engaged in stonewalling intended to obstruct and undermine these inquiries." The fast track So just how quickly could these court cases get decided? Federal District Judge Amit Mehta , assigned to oversee that crucial subpoena fight with Trump's accounting firm, has already kicked the court activity into a higher gear. Mehta had been scheduled to weigh an initial legal question in the case before digging into its substantive questions, but now plans to weight the full case all at once on Tuesday. "The sole question before the court -- Is the House Oversight Committee's issuance of a subpoena to Mazars USA LLP for financial records of President Donald J. Trump and various associated entities a valid exercise of legislative power? -- is fully briefed, and the court can discern no benefit from an additional round of legal arguments," Mehta wrote in a court order on Thursday. Sitting in Washington, Mehta has handled legal arguments involving Congress before. In 2018, he denied a request from 17 Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, then in the minority, to get details from the agency that agreed to lease the Old Post Office building in Washington, DC, to the Trump family to open a hotel. The Democrats didn't have the ability to pursue those records, Mehta found, because they didn't have the full House's backing. Yet he noted in his opinion how in other situations, the House of Representatives can subpoena -- and that gives the House "greater political force" against challengers. Even the former FBI Director James Comey was stymied in an attempt to stop a congressional request for information, after sending his attorneys to argue before yet another federal judge in Washington in November last year. Comey had called a Republican-led House committee's request for a private hearing with him "extraordinary and frivolous," and took issue with it not being public because he believed Republicans would leak and spin what he said. The judge cast doubt on Comey's challenge at the hearing, noting that the court had never limited Congress in the way Comey wanted. Comey's attorney appeared to concede, responding, "Here's your opportunity, Judge." Comey settled before Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump judicial appointee overseeing that case, could make a judgment. Congress got its interview.


The 2016 draft class for the Raiders won't be one for the history books, to say the least. While Oakland found some decent talent that has produced in the NFL, it's a class that is very underwhelming as a whole. In a recent piece by The Athletic's Dane Brugler , he graded every team's haul for the 2016 draft. Unfortunately, the Raiders didn't receive high marks. According to Brugler, the Raiders received a "C-" grade after only two players (Karl Joseph and DeAndre Washington) are still on the roster entering the 2019 season. Only six teams finished with a worse draft grade in 2016, per Brugler. Brugler pegged defensive lineman Jihad Ward as the team's biggest miss, citing his No. 96 ranking on his big board in 2016. Ward was selected over the likes of Michael Thomas, Derrick Henry, and Deion Jones. He is now on his third team and left the Raiders tallying just one sack in his Silver and Black career. On the positive side, Washington was named as the Raiders' best value selection as he has significantly outproduced many backs selected before him. While Washington has never been an every-down back, he has been successful in a part-time rule. Look for him to continue to be productive as a change-of-pace runner for the Raiders in 2019. Overall, the 2016 draft was one of the worst of the decade for the Raiders. By the 2020 season, it's very likely that the team will not have a single player left from this draft class as Joseph and Washington are scheduled to become free agents. This draft is one Raiders' fans would soon like to forget. MORE: 'Jeopardy' star James Holzhauer fell just short of breaking his own ridiculous record Draymond Green to LeBron James' 14-Year-Old Son: "I'm at Your F--king Neck This Summer" Jimmy Butler would reportedly like playing with LeBron James Ahead of Finals, Stephen Curry defends Kevin Durant against critics Oshane Ximines named Giants' most dangerous new weapon


Burnley fell at the hands of Arsenal in their last game of the season, losing 3-1 in a feisty affair at Turf Moor. Sean Dyche's men have found it hard to live up to expectations this season, after finishing in seventh place last term made them a favourite to finish in the top half of the table and challenge for best of the rest. PL pts compared to 17/18 (exc. promoted teams) Man City ⬇2 Liverpool ⬆22 Chelsea ⬆2 Tottenham ⬇6 Arsenal ⬆7 Man Utd ⬇15 Everton ⬆5 Leicester ⬆5 West Ham ⬆10 Watford ⬆9 C.Palace ⬆5 Newcastle ⬆1 Bournemouth ⬆1 Burnley ⬇14 Southampton ⬆3 Brighton ⬇4 Huddersfield ⬇21   Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) May 12, 2019 A busy fixture list at the beginning of the campaign saw them play nine games in the month of August, two of which went to extra-time, and Dyche claimed that inexperience and the fatigue that European competition brings with it ended up taking its toll on his team. Speaking to BBC Sport after Sunday's Premier League finale , the Burnley boss explained that he would have taken their final league position if given the chance before the season kicked off. When asked if he would have taken the 15th spot pre-season, Dyche said: "I would on reflection. "Because we knew it would be a tough season with the Europa [League] and coming off the back of a really strong season. "I've said many times, when you're here it's a restart. It's not always like the last one looks after the next one, we have to restart each season and grow again as a side, and I think we've done that in different ways this season." He expressed his delight at how his players have performed in order to keep the club in the Premier League for a fourth consecutive campaign, the first time that has happened in their history. He said: "I've been proud of them all season, I mentioned that when we weren't winning. REACTION | The Gaffer thanks the fans for sticking with the team throughout the season. WATCH ➡ https://t.co/yyFO0gzLQQ pic.twitter.com/rog9HPH1x1   Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) May 12, 2019 "There's players here that have carried themselves and the club a long, long way. My pride in them doesn't change, it just gets greater when you're doing well and you're winning. "I think the way the players have taken on the second half of the season, and under some duress around Christmas time, a lot of noise outside of our camp saying that we were done, doomed and finished and all the rest of it, it happens. "But I think the way they have seen through that and concentrated focused on the challenge in front of them has been magnificent."


G iven the vast Star Wars lore that's been circulating for over 40 years, there's surprisingly little mythology surrounding the food. The blue milk that Luke Skywalker drinks on Tatooine in the 1977 film has become iconic, and Rey has what can best be described as inflatable green bread in The Force Awakens (2015), but that's about all fans have to go on. So how does the Walt Disney Company go from milk and bread to five restaurants and stands with distinctly different offerings? As is the case with everything Disney creates, it starts with the story. When Disney Parks embarks on a new project whether it's a restaurant, a hotel, a ride, or a show the conceptualization begins with a narrative and world in which the experience takes place. Luckily, there's no shortage of expertise on the Star Wars universe, so when imagineers approached the culinary team with the challenge of developing menus for Galaxy's Edge, the food and beverage crew made a visit to Skywalker Ranch (after watching all the Star Wars movies, of course). But the consultants at Lucasfilms didn't have much to offer beyond what was already in the movies, forcing chefs to dig deeper and ask about the climates and landscapes of fan-favorite planets. Could berries grow in the forests of Endor? Would inhabitants of an icy planet like Hoth rely on root vegetables and preserves? Since pod racing was big on Tatooine, might people/aliens/droids use a discarded engine to grill street food? (The answer at Ronto Roasters is yes, a droid can definitely grill sausage on a pod racer engine.) Courtesy of Disney The Ronto Wrap piles roasted pork, grilled sausage, and tangy slaw in soft pita. The process forced chefs to think outside the galaxy while also allowing them to to create dishes that would challenge guests' perception of earthly dining. For instance, chef Gary Jones, Disney's culinary dietary specialist, was instrumental in developing the Ithorian Garden Loaf, which looks like meat but is actually plant-powered. By drilling into the details, the culinary team did more than learn; they ultimately contributed to the Star Wars canon by being the first to define the scents and flavors of that universe. Once chefs had an idea of what flavors they'd be working with, they faced the challenge of aesthetics. What does space food look like? Determined to do better than the dehydrated "astronaut ice cream" that every '90s kid regretted begging for, the team sent their creativity into hyperdrive with textures and appearances, using popping boba pearls to layer the elements of surprise in beverages and adding some kick to the popcorn at Kat Saka's Kettle stand for a spicy-sweet treat. They also tapped into techniques less commonly used in quick service kitchens the blocky "tip-yip" at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo is an unusual cut of sous vide chicken, meaning it's cooked very slowly at a controlled temperature in a water bath until done all the way through, after which the chicken is fried or roasted to get some color on the outside. (Though meat that has been prepared via sous vide is safe to eat without any additional preparation, a rectangular hunk of gray-white mass not the most appetizing thing to look at.) Courtesy of Disney The Fried Endorian Tip-Yip at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo comes with roasted veggies mixed in mashed potatoes and an herb gravy. While the culinary team experimented in the kitchen, imagineers provided constant input on looks, on flavors, on names, on the types of glasses for each drink, on everything. Some of the imagineers' ideas were easy to tackle when one suggested a Fuzzy Tauntaun, Brian Koziol, the food and beverage concept and development director, immediately knew that the beverage would be a take on a Fuzzy Navel. Others, like the Blue Bantha Milk, presented additional challenges. Since not many people in sunny Florida or Southern California want to walk around with a glass of milk, the famous blue beverage at the Milk Stand is actually a dairy-free blend of coconut milk, rice milk, and tropical flavors. Chefs also experimented heavily with a Bantha-inspired cookie that could be served with the drink and made en masse to meet the inevitably high demand of thousands of guests each day. A similar treatment was given to the Bloody Rancor, which is a sleek take on the Bloody Mary with a meringue rancor bone. Courtesy of Disney Garnishes are as important as the drinks themselves at Oga's Cantina, as demonstrated by the zero-proof Blue Bantha Milk (middle left) and the boozy Bloody Rancor (middle right). Beyond the food created specifically for Galaxy's Edge, creative packaging came into play. Disney collaborated with breweries and wineries on some special pours that keep the drinks feeling foreign (in a good way). Since nothing breaks immersion like seeing someone drinking a can of Bud Light next to a Stormtrooper, Oga's Cantina instead offers White Wampa Ale from Ballast Point, Bad Motivator IPA from Sierra Nevada, Imperial Guard wine from Sonoma, and several other options that feel true to Star Wars . Even the name brand sodas come in eye-catching vessels that are unique to the theme park. At the end of the day or at the edge of the galaxy it all comes back to storytelling. Chefs and imagineers spent years researching the ecology of fictional worlds and conceiving their food, not just because it was a fun opportunity but also because Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge promises an immersive experience, and visitors won't feel like they're walking around another planet if they're eating hamburgers they could get in Tomorrowland or at In-N-Out or pretty much anywhere in the United States. The attention to detail, narrative drive, and ambition to create something that's never been seen before are what make eating at Galaxy's Edge special. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, on May 31. It opens at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, on August 29. >>Next: The Grown-Ups' Guide to Disneyland


Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport is adding a 20th nonstop destination in 2019. Southwest will begin nonstop service to Baltimore on Nov. 3. Six major airlines currently operate out of GSP with nonstop flights available to 19 airports in 16 cities. The addition of Baltimore marks the latest in a series of nonstop flight addition announcements over the past several months. In September 2018, Frontier Airlines began seasonal nonstop service to Las Vegas and Orlando as well as nonstop year-round service to Denver. The Denver flights were doubled to four per week in May of this year. LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? Support stories like this by supporting local journalism. Please consider becoming a subscriber. Here's our special offer . In November 2018, Frontier added seasonal nonstop service to Tampa. In December 2018, American Airlines began twice-daily nonstop service to Miami. Next week, United Airlines will add nonstop daily service to Denver. The additions come as GSP continues to grow, recording its 19th consecutive month of passenger growth. The airport also set an all-time passenger record in 2018 with 2.3 million passengers. Cities with nonstop access from GSP: Atlanta, Baltimore (beginning Nov. 3), Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando (International and Sanford), Philadelphia, Tampa, St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C. (Dulles and Reagan) This article originally appeared on The Greenville News: GSP adds Baltimore as 20th nonstop destination with Southwest flight


A city of Cleveland employee has pleaded guilty to extortion and bribery charges for accepting below-market improvements on his property from a contractor who was pursuing city business. Khalil Ewais, the city's section chief of engineering and construction, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act extortion, bribery, federal program theft, making false statements and filing false tax returns. According to the FBI, Ewais, 44, admitted to hiring a contractor (referred to in an indictment as "Company 1") to perform parking lot paving work at Captain's Grill, a Storer Avenue restaurant he and his brother owned. Despite receiving quotes that the job would cost as much as $59,000, "Company 1" apparently performed the job using subcontractors "for a lump sum of $26,000." Federal prosecutors say this was one of several jobs for which Ewais used the company to benefit himself in exchange for more contracts and faster payment from the city. In addition, after more needed repairs were discovered, authorities say Ewais used his position to categorize those repairs as city work. Ewais is also accused of avoiding established city repaving processes to allow areas such as W. 62nd Place, an alley next to his restaurant parking lot, to be repaved, even though it was never rated as an area of concern in city meetings during which Ewais was present. The work cost the city nearly $11,000, according to the FBI. Ewais also filed numerous false tax returns in which he failed to report rental income. He is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 16. Ewais' brother, Abdeljawad Ewais, is also facing charges of filing false tax returns. He is scheduled for a change of plea hearing Monday. MORE | City of Cleveland employee Khalil Ewais charged with extortion, receiving bribes


A National Park Service image shared on Friday quickly went viral.


Reactions to the West Side blackout that hit New York City shortly before sunset on Saturday night ranged from Broadway's storied show-must-go-on resilience to the unusual question, "Where is the mayor?" When TV news coverage began, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson was the de facto city spokesperson, providing updates via Twitter and on-air interviews. Mayor Bill de Blasio was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Waterloo, Iowa, and didn't appear on camera until well after the power outage began. Although de Blasio appeared up-to-date on the circumstances behind the blackout   a mechanical failure at a Con Edison substation around 6:47pm set off a chain of outages, ultimately dimming 30 blocks along Broadway, Rockefeller Center and Times Square   and its status as the night wore on, that didn't prevent Gov. Andrew Cuomo from getting in a dig. "Mayors are important and situations like this come up," he said Saturday night on CNN. "And you have to be on site." Cuomo deployed stateState troopers during the outage and said on Sunday that he would tour the transformer that caused the power failure, the Associated Press reported. "We have to have a system that is designed to handle disruptions and rather than domino, we have a redundancy in this system so this doesn't happen," Cuomo said. "And that's what we're going to work on and I want to see with my own Queens eyes the transformer that started it all." De Blasio ultimately elected to travel back to New York City late Saturday night. In the meantime, the estimated number of those affected ticked upward: From 27,000 around 7:30 to 38,000, before an estimate of 90,000 at 10 p.m. shrank to the official number of 72,000. On social media, not a few city residents pointed out an eerie coincidence: That night, July 13, was the 42nd anniversary of the infamous 1977 blackout which lasted 25 hours and led to looting throughout the five boroughs. This time, the story was much different. Traffic lights went out, but Good Samaritans sprang into action to direct traffic. Multiple reports of stalled subway trains and stuck elevators resolved without reports of serious injuries. According to the MTA, five subway trains carrying 2,875 riders were trapped in Manhattan subway tunnels, but all were evacuated by 9 p.m. without incident. Cast members from canceled Broadway musicals gathered in the streets outside their darkened theaters, giving impromptu concerts. A Jennifer Lopez concert at Madison Square Garden lost power and the arena was evacuated, leading Lopez to tweet a video in which she said she was "emotional" and "devastated." Bargoers continued to drink in the dark. By midnight, power had been restored. And on Sunday morning, it was de Blasio who was doing most of the cleanup, defending his whereabouts on CNN. "I'm responsible for making sure everything in New York City is handled quickly and well," de Blasio said. "The whole team responded immediately the way everyone is trained to do." "When you're a mayor or a governor, you're going to travel for a variety of reasons," de Blasio said. "The important thing is to have the hand on the wheel and make sure things are moving effectively and communicate to people even from where I was. I was able to do that right away with the people in New York City."


Israel's Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday announced the creation of a committee that would "address the legal status of West Bank lands" in order to potentially legalize Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are currently termed unlawful under international law. Shaked, a member of the pro-settlement, nationalist Jewish Home party, said that she would help secure the legal status of Jewish settlers residing in the occupied West Bank territory. "There are many areas in Judea and Samaria where the status is unregulated," she said, using the official Israeli term for West Bank, Newsweek reported. "The time has come to dispel the legal fog and to enable the residents of Judea and Samaria most of them in settlements set up by generations of Israeli governments to stop worrying about the constant threat to the very ownership of their homes." The establishment of the committee was previously agreed upon in a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and the Jewish Home party, the Times of Israel reported. The move comes amid sustained criticism from Israel's Western allies. The European Union this week agreed to keep pushing for products manufactured in West Bank settlements to be labeled as such, and also heard a proposal from a think tank to identify Israeli banks, charities and financial institutions affiliated with the settlements. The think tank reportedly argued that the EU was breaching its own laws and called for it to firmly separate its dealings with Israel from Israel's activities in the West Bank by targeting the country's financial sector. The latest decision follows Tuesday's reports that Israel was set to authorize the construction of almost 900 new homes in the occupied West Bank, ending an unofficial moratorium declared last year. The new panel will begin its work this week. It is reportedly expected to rule on settlements on a case-by-case basis rather than a sweeping ruling about the legality of the West Bank settlements. A 2013 United Nations Human Rights Council report said that Israel had repeatedly violated international law through its settlement policy and called for the removal of all settlers and an end to "all settlement activities without preconditions." Israel has accused the European governments of discriminatory policies, and argued that they encourage the activist-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Middle East country.


Here's what you need to know about what's happening in Seattle. Seattle police investigate shooting near Cal Anderson Park Seattle police are investigating a possible shooting near Cal Anderson Park. SPD tweeted there was one reported victim. No suspect information was immediately available. Seattle Department of Transportation tweeted all lanes on Broadway at E Howell Street were completely blocked. Read the full story on KOMO News . Agency sets bicycle limits for Seattle water taxis SEATTLE (AP) - King County Metro has enacted regulations limiting the number and size of bicycles on Seattle water taxis. KING-TV reports bicycles must fit inside the designated storage spaces on the vessels and the number cannot exceed set limits starting Monday. Read the full story on SeattlePI . Jury selection proceeds in Seattle protest shooting trial SEATTLE (AP) - The trial of a couple accused of assaulting people protesting the appearance of a right-wing speaker at the University of Washington is proceeding despite a pending appeal over excluded testimony. Read the full story on SeattlePI . 4,500 Expedia employees are coming to Interbay in Seattle. How will the company avoid a traffic mess? Expedia employees will start their move from Bellevue to the new campus this fall, with 4,500 workers there by February. The company could expand to as many as 8,000 employees by 2031. Read the full story on The Seattle Times . Seattle Fire: Truck involved in landslide off Aurora Avenue North Seattle Fire is responding to reports of a truck involved in a landslide. Read the full story on Q13FOX . This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle , then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Worlds collided Monday at Saints training camp as two of New Orleans' biggest stars came together. Saints quarterback Drew Brees welcomed Pelicans rookie and first-overall NBA Draft pick Zion Williamson with a game of catch at the NFL team's facility after Williamson agreed to participate in the team's daily quarterback challenge the day before. . @DrewBrees ▶ @ZionWilliamson #SaintsCamp @PelicansNBA pic.twitter.com/RnDccCX9Ny   New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 29, 2019 It's on: @Zionwilliamson accepts @drewbrees ' challenge to compete in a #SaintsQBs Challenge! ⚜ pic.twitter.com/FOPjPH1nvg   New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 29, 2019 Sunday's challenge featured target practice using Gatorade bottles, so we can't wait to see what the Saints have in store for Monday's special guest. Today's #SaintsQBs Challenge: @Gatorade bottle bash! #SaintsCamp @teddyb_h2o @JT_theQB4th @T_Hill4 @drewbrees pic.twitter.com/rdUmdY30IL   New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 29, 2019 Backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater also got in some reps, but he traded the football for a basketball. Don't let @teddyb_h2o get hot #SaintsQBs pic.twitter.com/IiZeLcVx5D   New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 29, 2019 Saints running back Alvin Kamara also took some shots. An extra guest appearance for the #SaintsQBs challenge: @A_kamara6 pic.twitter.com/K8YDvZI2Jf   New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 29, 2019 MORE : Freddie Kitchens punishes Browns for training camp fight, makes them run sprints | John Harbaugh: 'Bet the over' on Lamar Jackson rushing more than Cam Newton | Panthers' Cam Newton admits he shouldn't have thrown with shoulder injury The Saints held their fourth practice and second with pads Monday after opening camp last Thursday. Related slideshow: Best of the 2019 NFL training camps (Provided by imagn)


Scouts for NFL teams give anonymous quotes all the time. Sometimes their comments are flattering and paint a bright future for the player they are discussing. Sometimes, though, their comments cut deep. It was inevitable that one of those gut punch scouting reports would come out of the NFL Combine. This one is targeted at Jameis Winston. While Winston was impressive throwing during his workouts, in team interviews and at the podium during his time in Indianapolis, one unnamed scout wasn't at all convinced that Winston will be a terrific NFL quarterback. Just the opposite, in fact. IYER: Winston charms his way to No. 1 pick | Winston: Manning-like IQ | QB 40 times "Someone will take him in the first round, but how could you even let that guy in the building?" a scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . "The second law of thermodynamics basically is the more ways something can happen, the more likely it is to happen. That's true of players. The more ways they can (expletive) up, the more chances they (expletive) up. This guy's got a lot of stuff that would lean him more likely to be a bust than a good player. He's talking about the player who told the media that he wants to win the Super Bowl next year. The one who led Florida State to a national championship a year ago and won the Heisman Trophy. And also the one who has been investigated on a rape allegation for which he was not charged, was seen on video shoplifting from a grocery store (no charges filed), and was out of his mind shouting obscenties from a table top on campus. PHOTOS: 10 NFL stars who overcame bad Combines | Vic Beasley blows doors off "If he doesn't (mature) he won't be playing football," another scout told the Journal Sentinel. "(He) Knows how to play the position. I don't think he's Andrew Luck. He's not a John Elway arm coming out, but he's a talented kid." Winston, who also played baseball, shot down a report that he has a shoulder issue. It didn't show during his throws, but his athleticism   4.97 40-yard dash and 28-1/2-inch vertical   was unimpressive, especially compared to Oregon's Marcus Mariota. There's still more than a month before the NFL Draft   time for scouts to build Winston up and tear him down. Be prepared for both.


The Marlins announced that they've outrighted outfielder Rosell Herrera and infielder/outfielder Peter O'Brien to Triple-A New Orleans. Having been outrighted in the past, O'Brien could reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but Wells Dusenberry of the Sun-Sentinel suggests he'll stay in the organization. The Marlins designated Herrera for assignment this past Wednesday to make room for the acquisition of outfielder Cesar Puello . A former Royal and Red, the 26-year-old Herrera had chances to prove himself with the Marlins before they cut him. Herrera batted just .200/.288/.314 in 119 plate appearances in the majors this season, though, leading the Marlins to ax him from their roster. O'Brien, whom the Marlins acquired from the Dodgers in June 2018, hasn't been able to consistently put his big power to use in the majors. While the 28-year-old journeyman's a .257/.316/.507 hitter in 1,358 Triple-A plate appearances, he has only slashed .209/.275/.434 in 200 major league attempts. O'Brien batted .167/.255/.262 in 47 trips to the plate this year before Miami designated him.


Video by CBS Denver GREELEY, Colo. (AP)   The disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews shortly after singing "Jingle Bells" with classmates at a 1984 Christmas concert stunned this rural town in northern Colorado. Her case attracted the attention of the White House, and came at a time when the faces of missing children across the nation were being placed on milk cartons. On Thursday, police announced that human remains found by construction workers earlier this week were that of the little girl who would have been 47 now, answering one question that has haunted police and others for decades but reigniting a gnawing mystery of what exactly led to her demise. Jonelle, a member of the Franklin Middle School Honor Choir, stood on a garland-adorned staircase during the concert, sporting short, thick dark hair and smiling slightly, perhaps shyly. She was a 7th grader, active at the Sunny View Church of the Nazarene. After the concert, Jonelle was taken home by a friend and the friend's father. She was last seen at 8 p.m. on Dec. 20, entering her family's simple ranch-style home with a detached garage, the front yard blanketed by snow. No one was ever arrested. Jonelle lived with her father, Jim, her mother, Gloria, and a sister, Jennifer. Months later, the lack of answers surrounding the case of Jonelle and other missing children was taken up by then-President Ronald Reagan, whose administration helped open a national center for missing children that ran a toll-free hotline. More than 1 million children disappeared each year, Reagan said, urging members of the National Newspaper Association to publish pictures of the nation's missing children as a "mission of mercy." Jonelle, Reagan said, "would have celebrated a happy 13th birthday with her family just last month. But five days before Christmas, Jonelle disappeared from her home." Three years earlier, a Florida boy, Adam Walsh, vanished and was later found murdered, sparking his father John Walsh to become a crusader for the plight of missing children. Tuesday's discovery near Jonelle's hometown of Greeley was the first significant development since police announced last December   on the 34th anniversary of her disappearance   that they were ramping up their investigation and hoped to use modern technology to solve it, The Greeley Tribune reported . At the time, police released a video of Jonelle and classmates at the Franklin Middle School holiday concert in a plea for more information. Greeley police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said Thursday he could not comment on how authorities were able to identify the remains as those of the young girl so quickly. He also declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. Jonelle's sister, Jennifer Mogensen, remembered Jonelle as "a strong, independent, opinionated 12-year-old." "She knew what she wanted and how things should be done," Mogensen told The Associated Press Thursday. Mogensen, who was a junior in high school at the time, said she was playing varsity basketball the night her younger sister disappeared. The family's house was empty when Jonelle was brought home because their father was at the game and their mother was out of state, Mogensen said. Jonelle was missing when their father arrived home about 8:30 p.m., Mogensen said. "I'm grateful for this closure after 34 years," she said. "It does bring up some old wounds and some more questions, maybe, of what happened. But we've received so much love and support already." Mogensen, who lives in Washington state, said their parents, Jim and Gloria Matthews, are retired and living in Costa Rica. "They're sad," she said. "They're grateful for all the hard work the Greeley Police Department has done." Mogensen said she and her parents would travel to Greeley at some point but their plans were not certain. The Tribune reported Wednesday that workers were constructing a new pipeline when they discovered bones Tuesday night. Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said his deputies were treating the case as a homicide investigation. Greeley is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Denver. The remains were found along a rural route southeast of Greeley. "Parents cry out for help, many through letters to me," Reagan told editors in 1985. "But a president can only do so much." ___ Associated Press writers James Anderson and Dan Elliott in Denver contributed to this story. ___ Information from: The Tribune of Greeley, Co, http://greeleytribune.com


WHITE PLAINS   Local golf enthusiasts turned up Thursday to check out the Maple Moor Golf Course on its first day of reopening. The Westchester County-owned facility has been closed this season while undergoing a major renovation that began in November. Though some minor construction is still ongoing, the county decided to reopen the course on the Fourth of July as all 18 holes are ready enough for golfers. "We wanted to take advantage of the holiday weekend. I think golfers have been very anxious to come back," said Neil Squillante, chief of operations with the county's parks department. "We're happy we got it open today." GOLF: Maple Moor scheduled to re-open July 4 following a major renovation SAFETY: Even novelty fireworks can be dangerous FOURTH OF JULY: What to know today through Independence Day weekend Indeed, many eager golfers showed up on the first day. One of them was Dorothy Klein, 56, of Harrison, a longtime Maple Moor regular. Since this spring, she has been playing at county-owned Sprain Lake Golf Course in Yonkers while awaiting for Maple Moor to reopen. "We found out last week they're going to be open, so I wanted to come on the first day," said Klein, as she got ready for her round in the parking lot. "I'm looking forward to seeing changes." Some golfers, including Bill Sabia, 56, of Port Chester, got up at the crack of dawn to be one of the first to play in the renovated course. "I think it's well renovated. They put new sod on the fairways," said Sabia, whose tee-off time was at 5:45 a.m. "It's going to take a little more time to finish completely, but I enjoyed playing." Steve Simmons, 50, also from Port Chester, agreed. "The eighth hole was totally different and new. There's a whole new pond coming into play," Simmons said. "It's beautiful. They've done a lot of great work. Once everything is established, it's going to be really fantastic." But Gary Spilatro, 63, of Yonkers, who started playing golf at Maple Moor years ago and still comes back often, wanted to make sure officials know that more work needs to be done. "It's done well, but it still needs time to grow in and everything," he said. "The first hole was just a swamp." The $5.5 million makeover included improvements to the drainage and irrigation systems as well as updates to bankers, cart paths and landscaping. The eighth and ninth hole fairways have been raised to address flooding issues. Once all the work is completed, "it'll be a dramatic change," said Squillante. "The eighth and ninth will probably become signature holes of this golf course." Golfers planning to play Maple Moor opening weekend need to call the pro shop at 914-995-9200 to make reservations. Walk-ups are also accepted. The online reservation system at golf.westchestergov.com is available for reservations for July 8 and later. Twitter: @AskAkiko , Instagram: @amatsudanyc , and Facebook: @AkikoJournalist This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Maple Moor Golf Course reopens after $5.5M renovation


Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi battle to the bitter end during the final laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Pagenaud takes the checkered flag for his first Indy 500 victory.


SACRAMENTO (CBS13)   As Governor Newsom rolls out his plan for extending maternity benefits and paid family leave , CBS13 investigated the loophole that leaves hundreds of thousands of state workers, teachers, firefighters, and other public employees without access to any state-funded paid leave after having a baby. CBS13 uncovered an estimated 95,000 state employees who currently are not entitled to paid family leave, along with an unknown number of city, county, special district and federal employees, and the majority of the more than 300,000 California teachers. Elementary school teacher Emily Price is among them. "People are surprised. People just think 'oh, you're out on maternity leave. You're just getting paid to take care of your baby.'" Price said, "No, not really. I ran out of pay a while ago." Most California mothers are entitled to six-to-eight weeks of disability pay after giving birth, allowing moms to physically recover. Then moms, dads, and adoptive parents are entitled to another six weeks of paid family leave   otherwise known as the baby bonding period. The leave is paid for through a 1% disability tax that entitles most Californian's to 60-70% of their pay while on leave. That money is intended to supplement a parent's income and it is often crucial to cover the costs of diapers, medical bills, childcare and all of the additional expenses that go along with a new baby. "Babies are really expensive," Price noted, explaining that she was surprised how much babies actually cost. READ ALSO: Gov. Newsom Aims To Restore Health Insurance Mandate Unfortunately, for Price and many others, State Disability Insurance Code exempts "any public employee." That means public employees don't pay into the SDI fund with the 1% tax, but they also can't collect the benefits when they need them. Instead, many state and public employees only have access to saved-up vacation and sick time while on leave. Once that is used up, the rest of their leave is unpaid. Teachers like Emily also get differential pay after their sick leave is exhausted. But, she noted the difference between her salary and what the district pays her substitute isn't enough to get by. In Price's case, her sick and vacation pay didn't last long because her baby came late. "I basically burned through my paid days before she was born," Price said. And she noted, now that her sick time is gone, she won't have any if her baby gets sick once she returns to work. The paid family leave is a marquee issue for Governor Newsom. The governor's proposed budget would expand extend paid leave an extra two weeks next year for each parent, to 8 full weeks of paid leave. His landmark plan pays for the additional paid days without any new taxes or impact to the budget, he says the money will come from significant SDI reserves. Newsom has also commissioned a working group to figure out how to extend paid leave even more. His long term goal is 6 months total paid leave after having a baby. READ: CBS13 Investigation Into How CHP Responds To 911 DUI Calls Prompts Changes But while it will extend the length of time off for most people, it won't guarantee any paid time for public employees. CBS13 sat down for an exclusive interview with Gov. Newsom to discuss paid family leave and those left out. "There are hundreds-of-thousands of Californians who are not entitled to this leave right now including firefighters, CHP officers, and public employees. How is that possible?" CBS 13 Investigative Reporter Julie Watts asked. "It's possible because they haven't bargained for it. It's not an excuse. It just hasn't been a high enough priority," Newsom said. While the disability insurance code exempts "any public employee," it does allow their employer, in this case, public entities, to elect coverage. Paid leave is also something the unions must bargain for   or they can vote to take part in SDI as a group and contribute 1% of every member's paycheck. But that's a tough sell for many male-dominated unions whose members aren't thinking about having babies. That leaves the new parents among them to fend for themselves since they can't individually opt-in to SDI. Of the 21 bargaining units for state employees, only the nine represented by SEIU have bargained for disability coverage including paid family leave. READ: Ripon Cancer Concerns Spread From Water To Vapor Another 40,000 exempt state employees will soon get partial paid family leave paid by the state. That's thanks to a plan put in place last year by Governor Brown just before he left office. He decided supervisors, managers, high-ranking appointees, and other non-union employees should get 50% of their paycheck without having to pay into disability insurance at all. The new program takes effect in July of 2019. It does not include rank-and-file state employees represented by unions. That leaves an estimated 95,000 union state employees without access to disability insurance or paid family leave according to California HR and union representatives. The unions include Cal Fire, CHP, corrections officers, engineers, state scientists and many more. There is also an unknown number of other public employees who don't have access to paid leave including city, county district and federal employees. The state says it cannot disclose who does not have coverage, however, it did confirm 1,890 public entities and their employees have elected SDI coverage. As for teachers, there is at least one teachers' union and several classified professional unions that have bargained for paid family leave. However, union representatives say the vast majority of the estimated 300,000 California teachers don't have access to state-funded paid disability or family leave after having a child. "Teachers' unions say they have bigger fish to fry," explained Brian Ha of the California Federation of Teachers. He notes that their negotiations are dominated by issues like pay and class sizes and paid family leave usually gets bargained away. "The truth of the matter is, they're not doing this because it only affects a small number of employees," Ha adds. Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez recently reintroduced legislation that would require school districts to pay a teacher's full salary for just the first six-to-eight week disability period after having a baby. After that, they would continue to get differential pay for what would otherwise be the paid family leave period for private employees. "Whether or not leave is protected, whether it's paid or not depends on who you work for," Gonzales pointed out. She introduced the same legislation in 2017 and it passed but was vetoed by Governor Brown who said he believed, "further decisions regarding leave policies for school employees are best resolved through the collective bargaining process at the local level." Gonzalez is reintroducing the bill with renewed hope under the new governor. But, she acknowledges the proposed fix still leaves tens-of-thousands of Californians uncovered, many of whom may want to pay into SDI, but can't. "It's a much bigger problem," Gonzales said. "I'm dealing with teachers because there's a teacher shortage we're talking about an overwhelming workforce that's women, but even the Governor's office is like, 'you know it's a bigger problem?' and I said 'I know it is.'" CBS13 asked Gov. Newsom, "So why not just allow individuals to opt in without the rest of their union?" "Let's look at the cost. Let's look at where the unions are," he responded, noting union negotiations are a complicated process. "So, just to be clear," we asked, "There's nothing that you as the governor can do to allow anybody who wants to opt-in to disability insurance to do that?" "Well, there's a lot the governor can do and we're pursuing that and every day we're pursuing more of that," he said. Newsom has commissioned a working group of people he calls "the best minds in the country." They're working to create a blueprint for expanding paid family leave even more. In the meantime, he notes the State is currently in negotiations with several unions and says he now plans to make this issue a higher priority. See more of our interview with Gov. Newsom below.


Whoopi Goldberg on "The View" (Credit: ABC/"The View") Bill Cosby's most staunch defender (apart from Camille ) has finally thrown in the towel today. Whoopi Goldberg, "The View" co-host who has come under fire in recent weeks for persisting in her defense even when faced with definitive proof of Cosby's guilt, spoke with Mediaite founder Dan Abrams on Tuesday's daytime program and revealed that she's had quite a change of heart. It's unclear what triggered the change of heart, exactly -- whether it was the slew of alleged death threats sent her way, or one of the many viral late-night take-downs highlighting her tone-deaf defenses through the years. What is clear: Goldberg now appears to be a huge champion of justice for rape victims. "If this is to be tried in the court of public opinion, I got to say all of the information that's out there kind of points to guilt," Goldberg told Abrams in the segment. Goldberg also expressed outrage over the fact that a statute of limitation currently shields Cosby from any real criminal repercussions for 40+ reported instances of sexual assault. The co-host asked Abrams who viewers could write to to see that these laws were lifted and justice was served for the country and this "ass" -- echem, "bone-head," specifically. "I have to say I thought that, yeah, here's all the information, take his ass to jail," Goldberg said. "I find out from you [Abrams] that that's not possible. So I can't say any more 'innocent until proven guilty,' because there's no way to prove it. We are the only proof that folks have." Goldberg saved her best shots for last, closing out the segment with a direct address to Cosby: "It looks bad, Bill. Either speak up or shut up. Because people know now that there's a lot more out there than they thought." Watch the clip courtesy of Mediaite below: This article was written by Colin Gorenstein from Salon and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.


The Broncos have two talented running backs in Royce Freeman (a bit of a bruiser) and Phillip Lindsay (a shifty back). Denver's coaching staff will share touches between the two of them to keep both of them fresh this season. The two players remind Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello of the Falcons' backfield duo from 2015-2018. "I think Royce and Lindsay are perfect complements," Scangarello said after practice Sunday. "They kind of remind me of Tevin Coleman and Devontae Freeman in Atlanta. They have different skill sets. They are both talented in their own way. They are both able to be used with their strengths so that they can be the best they can be. "Royce is big, and he is physical in pass protection. That's a big deal in the NFL - that durability that comes with it. As far as running the football in the scheme, they both can do it. One is just going to do it probably with a little bit more physicality and the other is going to make you miss." Because the two backs have different running styles and different bodies, they won't ask them to do the same things. Freeman's more of a heavy workload, between the tackles, goal-line option. Lindsay's more of an outside runner and weapon as a receiver out of the backfield. "You don't want Lindsay, a smaller guy, to have to take A-gap pressure from linebackers on a regular basis," Scangarello said. "Being able to share the load and to put those guys in positions to do something that they can do better, that's our job. "I think that's what Royce brings. He is just a physical dude. He is smart, he is instinctive and I've enjoyed coaching him so far." If the two players can stay healthy, Freeman and Lindsay have the talent to form one of the best RB duos in the league this fall. MORE: Lakers' Quinn Cook Q&A: 'It feels like this team has been together a while' Brooks Koepka explained what's the most frustrating part of J.B. Holmes' slow play Brooks Koepka Calls Out J.B. Holmes Following Disastrous Final Round at The Open Phil Simms: 'Multiple' teams were set to take Daniel Jones before No. 17 What if Saints, Michael Thomas don't reach new contract by deadline?


This "roundie" is ready for racing! Before the BMW 3 Series stole the hearts of performance and track enthusiasts around the world, there was the BMW 2002. Straight from the factory, this compact had impressive handling thanks to its size and balance, but this particular 1972 BMW 2002 has been fully modified for any track day or car show. Toss in a fuel cell, and this car should be ready for vintage racing! For maximum track safety, this 2002 has been fitted with a full bolt-in roll cage, FIA-approved racing seats, racing harnesses and a fire suppression system. The center stack has all the controls for the kill switch, fuel pump and ignition, and the battery has been relocated to the trunk with a battery cut-off switch. Safety is only half of what it takes to turn a street car into a track car, and this 1972 BMW 2002 has received a host of handling and performance upgrades as well. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder was bored .040 over and was beefed up with high-compression pistons, BMW E12 head and a Schrick camshaft, this car also has a Weber carburetor, upgraded cooling system and electronic ignition. The suspension was enhanced with coilovers, front and rear strut braces and polyurethane bushings, while the big front brake kit and stainless steel brake lines help ensure that this car will stop as good as it will corner. This "roundie" (named for the pre-1974 round taillights) 2002 is eye-catching thanks to its gorgeous Santorini Blue paint job and wide fender flares inspired by the 2002 Turbo. Hella driving lights and eight-spoke wheels wrapped in Yokohama rubber finish off the car's cool racer look. If this small, track-ready 2002 is what you're looking for, check it out at Auto Source Group where it's currently being sold for $19,950, or you can make an offer HERE . Read More... Grab This Incredibly Clean 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo Video: Elina Lipilina's 1971 BMW 2002 Rally Racer


Mariota takes Heisman Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota kisses the Heisman Trophy during a press conference Saturday in New York. IMAGES: HEISMAN TROPHY WINNERS 15 and counting Warriors players Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson walk up court near the end of their 105-98 victory over the Mavericks Saturday in Dallas. Curry had 29 points, Green had 20 points and Thompson had 25 points as the Warriors won their 15th straight game. IMAGES: 2014-15 NBA SEASON Navy sinks Army Members of the Navy Midshipmen celebrate in the stands after defeating the Army Black Knights 17-10 Saturday in Baltimore. IMAGES: 2014-15 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Just another Saturday night in the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jordan Leopold (3) and Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bobby Farnham (34) fight during the first period at Nationwide Arena on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. IMAGES: 2014-15 NHL SEASON Grizzlies get OT win Grizzlies guard Mike Conley and 76ers forward Robert Covington scramble for a loose ball during overtime Saturday in Philadelphia. The Grizzlies won 120-115 to improve to 19-4. IMAGES: 2014-15 NBA SEASON Santa's icy helper A Colorado Avalanche ice girl clears the ice during the first period against the St. Louis Blues at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 13, in Denver. IMAGES: NHL ICE GIRLS Wildcats keep winning Kentucky Wildcats guard Devin Booker celebrates in front of J.P. Tokoto of the North Carolina Tar Heels Saturday in Lexington, Ky. The No. 1-ranked Wildcats won 84-70. IMAGES: 2014-15 COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON Home cooking Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden competes in the World Cup women's slalom in Are Saturday. Pietilae-Holmner won the race and became the first Swede to win a women's slalom in Sweden. Home sweet home Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing arrives in Abu Dhabi in third place from Leg 2 between Cape Town, South Africa and Abu Dhabi, UAE on Saturday. The Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 is the 12th running of this ocean marathon. Masters champion Feng Shanshan of China (C) is congratulated by Carlota Ciganda of Spain (R) after winning the Dubai Ladies Masters on Saturday. 1st NHL goal Philadelphia Flyers' Scott Laughton celebrates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday in Philadelphia. IMAGES: 2014-15 NHL SEASON Slish splash Mauro Formica of Cruz Azul challenges Matthew Spiranovic of WS Wanderers FC during the FIFA Club World Cup Quarter Final match between Cruz Azul FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC at Prince Moulay Abdellah on Saturday in Rabat, Morocco. Good morning Vietnam Cyclists ride around Hoan Kiem Lake during a trans-Vietnam cycling tournament in Hanoi Saturday. As many as 300 riders representing 15 domestic and two foreign teams (Laos and Cambodia) are participating in a trans-Vietnam cycling tournament from Vietnam's south end of Ca Mau to Cao Bang in the country's north from December 2 to 16. French kissing Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, of France, compete during their Ice Dance Free Dance at the Grand Prix Final figure skating competition in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday. Closeup coaching Coach Jac Orie of The Netherlands shouts encouragements to Sven Kramer of the Netherlands as he competes during the men's 5000 meters race of the World Cup Speed Skating at Thialf skating rink in Heerenveen, northern Netherlands, Saturday. Deer crossing Santiago Luna of Spain competes during the second round of the MCB Tour Championship played at the Legend Course, Constance Belle Mare Plage on Saturday in Poste de Flacq, Mauritius. Out of reach Wojciech Szczesny of Arsenal fails to stop the header by Ayoze Perez of Newcastle United during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on Saturday in London, England. Victory parade David Kirisia, a Maasai moran athlete, celebrates after winning the 5000m race in the Maasai Olympics 2014 at the Sidai Oleng wildlife sanctuary at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro near the Kenya-Tanzania border in Kajiado Saturday. Scores of young Maasais representing four manyattas - a barrack for warriors aged about 16-25 - competed against each other on Saturday for prestige, bragging rights and a prized breeding bull for their manyatta. The Maasai Olympics is a biennial event focused on ending Maasais' enduring cultural tradition of killing lions. Hard head Chelsea's Diego Costa (L) challenges Hull City's David Meyler during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London Saturday. Free-styling Jussi Penttala (front) of Finland and Thomas Rowley of the U.S. competes during the men's dual moguls event during the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup season opener in Ruka, Kuusamo, Finland, Saturday. Say what? Milan Lucic #17 of the Boston Bruins has words with Mark Borowiecki #74 of the Ottawa Senators Saturday in Boston. First blood Cologne's Anthony Ujah from Nigeria scores the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Schalke 04 and 1. FC Cologne in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Saturday. Good as gold Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, of Canada, compete during their Pairs Free Skating at the Grand Prix Final figure skating competition in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday. Cheer squad Young Maasai women arrive to support the young warriors from their village at the annual Maasai Olympics in the Sidai Oleng Wildlife Sanctuary near to Mt Kilimanjaro, in southern Kenya Saturday. Maasai men and women from the Amboseli and Tsavo region compete for medals and prizes in the event which aims for a sports competition of Maasai skills such as running, jumping, and throwing, to replace lion-hunting as the traditional warrior activity. Punch and counter-punch Amir Khan (L) and Devon Alexander trade punches during their welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 13, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Khan won via unanimous decision. In sync Chinese team performs during the 2014 FINA Synchronized Swimming World Trophy on December 13, 2014 in Beijing, China. The Buckeye dunk D'Angelo Russell of the Ohio State Buckeyes dunks the ball while being guarded by Billy Reader of the Morehead State Eagles during the second half at Value City Arena on December 13, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Morhead State 87-71. IMAGES: 2014-15 COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON Kung fu Soccer Kieran Gibbs of Arsenal challenges for the ball with Yoan Gouffran of Newcastle United during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on December 13, 2014 in London, England. IMAGES: PREVIOUS DAY'S PHOTOS


Juventus have revealed their new home kit for the upcoming 2019/20 season, and the design has certainly divided the opinion of fans. The black and white stripes which have been synonymous with the club since they took inspiration from Notts County in 1903 have been done away with, and supporters are not best pleased. Una scelta. Una promessa. Fianco a fianco. BE THE STRIPES. ⚫⚪ Il nostro nuovo 19/20 home kit by @adidasfootball   acquistalo subito ➡ https://t.co/QLNeBVSBJu #ForzaJuve #DareToCreate #BeTheStripes pic.twitter.com/3YzMhs7w8y   JuventusFC (@juventusfc) May 12, 2019 Despite the "Be The Stripes" tagline on their official Twitter unveiling, the shirt is now simply half white and half black, with a bright pink line down the middle to divide the two sections. Pink was the colour of the club's first ever shirt, so adding a splash of the colour is a nod to Juventus ' storied history. The sleeves on the shirt continue this pattern of block colours, with one white sleeve and one black sleeve helping the colours on the front of the shirt stand out. Both the shorts and socks are predominantly black with white accents, such as the Juventus logo and three adidas stripes. Recent years have seen Juventus' traditional pinstripe design slowly fade, with the stripes on the shirt getting larger and larger with each passing season, and the Serie A giants have now opted to move away from their historic style in favour of a simpler look. One of the most prominent figures in the release video is Paulo Dybala , who has found himself the subject of transfer speculation in recent weeks. The likes of Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with the 25-year-old, but his presence in the video could be a sign that Juventus are not interested in selling.


Odell Beckham Jr. is a rock star of a football player. If that wasn't obvious to the fans of his new team in Cleveland, the last few weeks should have done the trick. A quick glance around the sports media landscape since his arrival in Cleveland shows just how much attention loves Beckham and he loves it right back. We've covered a litany of it, from his (awesome) new Rolls Royce to a celebrated trip to Monaco, a curious fashion choice at the ESPYs to his own self-imposed hiatus from social media feeds and the millions of followers. He even played a little football in California with his teammates after skipping out on the voluntary team sessions. The latest issue of GQ magazine features Beckham on the cover. Inside is a meaty fluff piece that covers his eccentric fashion, love of bounce music, the trappings of fame, how moving to Cleveland from New York impacts his "brand", rumors of his homosexuality, his signature hair (since cut), and some passing allusions to the fact he actually plays football from time to time. The New York media remains obsessed with Beckham. Giants fans clog the comment sections and Twitter mentions anytime anything Beckham sprouts from Cleveland (or Paris or Monaco or Los Angeles). Even GM John Dorsey acknowledged the circus. The man who orchestrated the trade that blessed the Browns with Beckham playfully asked for his autograph during the wideout's youth camp on Tuesday. At Odell Beckham Jr's Football Pro Camp, John Dorsey just asked for an autograph. #Browns  @Browns  pic.twitter.com/dNzyfj6QR8 - Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) July 23, 2019 Now it's finally football time in Cleveland. Beckham will remain in the news, but now Browns fans will get to see him catching passes and running routes in his new brown and orange No. 13 jersey. This is the reward for putting up with the antics and the traveling circus that seems to surround Beckham. It can be hard to remember he's one of the most spectacular wide receivers in the NFL, capable of incredible catches and making defenders look like clowns as they try to tackle him in space. It's going to be great to put away the sideshows and catch the main attraction: Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver, Cleveland Browns. MORE: Mike Trout's perfect 98.6 MPH throw to home plate had everyone in awe What might Kostas Antetokounmpo bring to the Lakers on offense? The 21 dumbest ideas in NFL history New York Mets' New 'Foul Poles' Are an Abomination Jaguars set to start training camp $8.78 million under salary cap


The Ravens have released Alex Lewis , according to a social media post from the offensive lineman. Just this week, Lewis was cleared for action, but he's apparently not part of the team's plans for 2019. The Ravens shopped Lewis before cutting him and there was trade interest in him in recent days, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets . That suggests that the former starter won't be out of work for very long, especially after passing a physical. Before Monday, Lewis was expected to compete for the Ravens' starting left guard job. Over his last two healthy years (interrupted by a torn labrum in 2017), Lewis has made 18 starts in total.


CINCINNATI (AP) All nine Reds crossed the plate in a parade unseen in Cincinnati since the days of the Big Red Machine. All the down-and-out Pirates could do was watch glumly. Jose Iglesias' grand slam completed Cincinnati's 10-run second inning and the Reds beat the Pirates 11-6 Monday night after Pittsburgh traded scheduled starter Jordan Lyles to the Brewers. The last-place Pirates lost their ninth straight, their longest skid since they dropped 10 in a row in 2011. ''It's hard right now, there's no doubt about it,'' manager Clint Hurdle said. ''We battle adversity in different areas just about every night.'' Lyles was dealt to Milwaukee - which has an injury-depleted rotation - in the afternoon for pitching prospect Cody Ponce. Alex McRae (0-3) took Lyles' spot, his first major league start after seven relief appearances. He retired only four batters and was replaced during Cincinnati's biggest inning in four years. McRae learned when he got to the ballpark about four hours before game time that he was going to make his first start. ''I was excited, obviously a little bit of nerves the first inning,'' McRae said. ''No excuses though.'' Ten days earlier, the Reds gave up a 10-run inning by the Cardinals during a 12-11 loss at Great American Ball Park. This time, they were on the other end of one . They piled up six hits and three walks while sending 13 batters to the plate. Joey Votto singled home a pair of runs, first baseman Josh Bell had a throwing error, and Iglesias' second career grand slam off Montana DuRapau made it 10-1. After he rounded the bases, Iglesias rubbed his hair in the dugout and told teammates he'd make good on a promise. ''I told them before the game that `If I hit a home run, I would paint my hair like you guys,''' Iglesias said. What color? ''Purple or yellow,'' he said. Every Reds player scored in an inning for the first time since Sept. 3, 1975, when they beat the Dodgers 13-2, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Cincinnati hadn't scored so many runs in an inning since it also had 10 in the sixth against Detroit on Aug. 24, 2015. ''That doesn't happen a lot, but we've been so in tune with our players and our offense these days,'' manager David Bell said. ''An inning like that can be really good for offense.'' Sonny Gray (6-6) gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings, including Starling Marte's 18th homer and Bryan Reynolds' ninth. Colin Moran hit his third career grand slam off Wandy Peralta. The game matched the NL Central's bottom teams. The Pirates have anchored themselves in last place by going 2-15 after the All-Star break, prompting them to trade Lyles two days before the deadline. BAD KARMA During that 17-game stretch, the Pirates have led only three times after the fifth inning. NEWCOMER DuRapau was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Lyles' spot on the roster. He pitched in 10 games during three previous stints with the Pirates this season. KEEP GOING Hurdle says the Pirates have incentive to keep playing hard even as they trade away players. ''There's an honor code out there about continuing to play,'' Hurdle said pregame. ''And the one thing we do mention is the name on the front of the jersey is important. It's important for the fan base, it's important to your organization, the people who work for your organization. And that name on the back should be important to you because you're carrying your family name out there every day.'' TERRIBLE TWOS The Pirates' previous worst inning? They gave up nine runs - also in the second inning - during a 14-8 loss to the Cardinals on July 24. TRAINER'S ROOM Pirates: Left-hander Steven Brault could start a rehab assignment Thursday. He's been in the injured list since July 6 with a strained left shoulder. ... Corey Dickerson missed a third straight game with a sore groin. He might return during the series. Reds: Reliever David Hernandez might be activated during the series. He's been sidelined since July 18 with a sore right shoulder. UP NEXT Pirates: Joe Musgrave (7-9) has matched his career high with seven wins, accomplished with the Astros in 2017. He won his other start against the Reds this season, throwing seven scoreless innings for a 2-0 victory on April 5 at PNC Park. Reds: Tanner Roark (6-6) is 3-1 in eight career starts against the Pirates. He had no decision in a 6-5 loss on April 30 at Pittsburgh. --- More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports


Whether you're a once a week sheets washer or you wait until you do a sniff test, you've probably wondered exactly how often you should be changing your sheets. Like many of the big questions in life, the answer isn't so straightforward, so that's why we're breaking it down for you. Why do we need to change our sheets? "There are a lot of things that can get in your sheets," says Dr. Robb Akridge , Co-Founder of Clarisonic and Skin Expert, PhD in Microbiology specializing in Immunology and Infectious Diseases. "First, you need to understand that everyone has tiny mites all over their bodies and these mites feed off dead skin. (You can't see them, but they are there.) For our skin to be healthy, we need these mites on the body. When these mites   commonly known as dust mites   excrete feces, it is the fecal matter that then causes irritation, inflammation and other allergy responses. When we shower, we wash off the feces, which is often why we can minimize irritation. When you sleep , you often shed skin and mites into your sheets, and remember, dead skin is food for these dust mites which are transferred from your skin to the sheets. If you don't change your sheets, you create a breeding ground of mites (and they breed very rapidly), and the more mites, the more feces. The more feces, the more likely you will have irritation, especially if you are more sensitive to this." But that's not the only thing you have to worry about. You also could have fungi that can grow within your sheets. "For example, if you have athlete's foot, the fungi can live in your sheets and can be passed on to someone who you are sharing a bed with," Akridge says. What type of sheets are best? "It is important to use sheets that are breathable," Akridge says. "Cotton is really the best. Also, if you have any skin infections, acne or mite allergies, you should stick to white cotton sheets. That way you can clean them with super-hot water and bleach. You obviously cannot use bleach if your sheets are colored, so this is something to consider when purchasing. Bleach and extremely hot water will help to get rid of the mites and kill microbes in the sheets." To deal with dust mites, you need to use water that is at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the highest heat setting on your dryer. If you don't have a mattress cover, you'll want to get one. They are designed to keep your mattress safe from mites and prevent their feces from going into the mattress. "You can get an allergy mattress cover and allergy pillowcase covers," Akridge says. "Your mattress and pillows have ample area for dust mites to expand and multiply, and therefore, over the years, if you don't have a protective cover, it can easily become the source of irritation and other allergy-related symptoms." And just like how cotton sheets are best, the same holds true for pajamas, since they also need to be breathable. Avoid anything made with polyesters, since they aren't breathable. Should people with skin conditions wash their sheets more often? If you have acne, eczema or other skin conditions, the answer is probably yes. "With acne, it's generally better to do it weekly," says Board Certified dermatologist Dr. Dhaval G. Bhanusali . "Oil, dead skin cells and pollutants can populate on the pillows and sheets and ultimately lead to clogged pores and breakouts. With sensitive skin and eczema, it depends on a person by person basis. Many are sensitive to basic laundry detergents and need to be careful with overdoing it." Plus, if you have acne, you should change your sheets and pillowcases more often because you may be transmitting the oil and makeup from your face onto your pillows. This can then transfer back to your face and cause pore congestion, cautions Akridge. "If you are a heavy makeup user or if you forget to take your makeup off before bed, then you should wash your pillowcases more often. But washing it once a week regardless is essential." What if my pet sleeps in my bed with me? Then your sheets should be hitting the washing machine more frequently. "We see lots of skin rashes and conditions due to pets," Bhanusali says. "It's better to do at least once or twice a week to minimize the chance of negative effects." What other factors should I consider? If you shower more often, especially before you go to bed, you can get away with changing your sheets less often. But if you toss and turn a lot, it's back to the washing machine. "The more you move in your sleep, the more likely that dead skin cells will shed from your body and onto the sheets," Akridge says. "Since dust mites feed off dead skin, I am guessing that this would increase the presence of them." Another factor is your climate. People tend to shed more dead skin cells when they are in a dry environment. You are always shedding dead skin cells, but when you are in a dry environment, your skin tends to be drier and will flake more, explains Akridge. And even though it's always good to be tidy, making your bed every day won't make a difference when it comes to washing your sheets. So how often should I be changing my sheets? "Overall, the amount of times you change your sheets really depends on your lifestyle, personal habits and living conditions," Akridge says. "For example, if you are active or if you are someone who perspires a lot when you are sleeping, then you should change your sheets at least once a week. Also, if you have acne, then you may want to change your sheets more often." To be on the safe side, aim to wash your sheets once a week, but try not to stretch it past two weeks. (VIDEO) Have you been sneezing wrong? Here's the right way to sneeze (Provided by Buzz60)


Each week on GolfChannel.com, we'll examine which players' stocks and trends are rising and falling in the world of golf. RISING Patrick Cantlay (+9%): No one could have seen his scorching 64 at Muirfield Village coming, but it was only a matter of time before the 27-year-old Cantlay broke through for his second PGA Tour title. There are no weaknesses in his game   he's 29th or better in every major statistical category, and third overall   and he's going to do a lot more damage before his career is over. Jeongeun Lee6 (+8%): Over the past few years she'd had trouble differentiating herself   that's why she puts a "6" at the end of her name, because there were five others with the same name on the KLPGA   but there's no mistaking her now, with white-blonde streaks in her hair, $1 million more in her bank account and the U.S. Women's Open trophy in her possession. Tiger (+5%): His Muirfield tune-up couldn't have gone much better. His driver is under control, his irons are sharp and his putting is holding steady. Returning to the site of his greatest performance ever, Woods is   once again   one of the top 3 players to beat next week at Pebble. Jordan (+2%): His ball-striking remains a work in progress, especially in crunch time on Sundays, but the fact that he's been able to string together three consecutive top-10s illustrates that his scoring skills are back. This will be far from a lost year. Lexi (+1%): OK, so the last-minute switch to the claw grip didn't turn her into Inbee Park   she needed at least 31 putts each round at the USWO   but her ball-striking is so good that it was worth the gamble. If she can just become an average putter with this method, she'll return to her winning ways   and soon. FALLING DJ (-1%): Johnson made official his rumored split with Claude Harmon III, which was no surprise, seeing how it'd be an untenable situation for CH3 to coach the top two players in the world who are, now, fierce rivals. It's just another example of how Brooks Koepka's ascendance has shaken DJ's comfortable footing. Bad timing (-2%): Adam Scott's 17-under total would have won each of the past eight editions of the Memorial, but all it got him this time was a runner-up finish. Add in his 19-under performance earlier this year at Torrey Pines, and Scotty easily could have nabbed a couple of big trophies in 2019. Matt Kuchar (-3%): Kooch's once-impeccable rep took another hit last week at the Memorial, where he asked for (and was emphatically denied, twice) a free drop in the fairway, a request so dubious that the entire caught-on-camera episode was scrubbed from the Tour's social channels. Oops. Amateurs (-4%): Poor Andrea Lee, the Stanford standout who was singled out at the U.S. Women's Open and docked a stroke for slow play despite rounds taking six-plus hours. If only she'd had a few more years of experience under her belt, then she'd know how to game the system, just like everybody else. Hank Haney (-7%): The underlying racism and sexism were bad enough, and his "congratulatory" tweet afterward was hilariously tone-deaf, but this is why Haney should never be allowed back on the PGA Tour radio airwaves: How does someone in that position   on a premium channel, for golf diehards!   brag about his ignorance?


FRISCO, Texas - Jeff Sims has already nailed the easy part: Florida State's future quarterback doesn't like Miami. Actually, it's a little stronger than that. "I hate Miami," said the rising senior at Jacksonville's Sandalwood High School. But it wasn't always that way. Sims grew up a Miami fan, but started drifting away from the Hurricanes as his recruitment heated up in high school - Miami didn't show the same level of interest as Florida State, leading Sims to verbally commit to second-year coach Willie Taggart in February. "At first, I was a big Miami fan. I was all Miami," Sims said. "And as I got older and started playing football and getting serious … they didn't really offer me a scholarship. I just gravitated away from Miami." Florida State, the "next team on my list," fit the bill. And in the four-star prospect, the Seminoles are set to end a worrisome and potentially crippling run of recruiting failures at this crucial position: Sims would be the program's first traditional quarterback recruit - meaning a non-transfer, such as projected backup Alex Hornibrook from Wisconsin - in two full recruiting cycles. The gaps in the team's quarterback depth chart wasn't a primary topic of conversation during his recruitment, Sims said, with Taggart and the coaching staff largely focusing instead on how well he fit in the Seminoles' offensive scheme. CREAM OF CROP: Breaking down this year's Elite 11 quarterback class EMOTIONAL MOMENT: Quarterback 'teared up' before Notre Dame commitment Florida State "didn't really talk about not having a QB or anything," Sims said. "(Taggart) just talks about how he can't wait for me to get there and all the great things I can do when I get there." But the opportunity wasn't lost on Sims: "I knew the situation," he said. Projected starter James Blackman will be a redshirt junior when Sims enrolls as a true freshman; while FSU will aim to add at least one quarterback during next year's recruiting cycle, Sims will potentially be in line to ascend into the starting lineup during his second year on campus. "You always have to consider where you're going to play or how much playing time you're going to get," he said. Sims has seen a significant rise in his recruiting rankings since committing to FSU, which identified the 6-foot-3, 180-pound quarterback when he was a three-star prospect ranked outside the top 600 nationally. In a four-month span, Sims has surged to 221st overall in the country and 10th among pro-style passers, according to the composite rankings compiled by 247Sports.com. The rapid rise helped earn Sims an invite to the annual quarterback showcase, where he's matched well with the nation's top players at the position. While he described his own performance as merely "good," Sims has shown flashes of an electric skill set during individual and 7-on-7 drills, highlighting the idea that he's beginning to tap into a significant skill set. "He tells me I can write my own story," Sims said of Taggart. "I've got to work when I get there." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeff Sims aims big future at Florida State as critical recruit for Seminoles


United States military operations in Afghanistan, now in their 15th year, are routinely described as America's longest war. For overseas combat, that is true. But nothing tops the domestic "war on drugs" that an American president declared more than four decades ago. The casualty rate has been exceedingly high. Nearly 44,000 Americans a year   120 a day   now die of drug overdoses. Neither traffic accidents nor gun violence, each claiming 30,000-plus lives a year, causes so much ruination. The annual drug toll is six times the total of American deaths in all wars since Vietnam. There are obviously many historical aspects to this calamity: the crack cocaine epidemic that once laid siege to urban America, for example, or the spread of H.I.V. infection through shared needles. Retro Report, a series of video documentaries that examine major news stories of the past and their continued impact, trains its lens on a heroin scourge that menaced cities in the late 1960s and early '70s. It was an era when some soldiers, too, came home from Vietnam with a heroin problem. Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter Even as that plague was beginning to wane, President Richard M. Nixon announced his war on drugs in 1971, and threw a good deal of federal money into it. Treatment programs were part of this enterprise. But rising crime rates, and fear, soon shaped government policies nationally and locally. Preventing and treating addiction took a back seat to locking up users and their dealers for long stretches. The Sentencing Project , an advocacy group on prison issues, says that from 1980 to 2009, the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses rose to about 500,000 from 40,000. It was lost on no one that these inmates were disproportionately African-Americans. Now heroin is back , big time. (The drug, an opium derivative, was synthesized by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company, and introduced in 1898 as a cough suppressant. "Heroin" was originally a brand name, said to have been taken from heroisch, German for "heroic" and meaning "strong" when applied to medicines.) The crisis today is markedly different from its predecessors. It has settled not so much in large cities as in suburbs and rural America. New users are mostly white. Indeed, a study last year for JAMA Psychiatry, a journal published by the American Medical Association, found that in the last decade whites accounted for 90 percent of those who tried heroin for the first time. Typically, they were young people who initially got hooked on OxyContin, Percocet or other widely prescribed pain relievers belonging to a class of drugs known as opioids. Heroin, also an opioid, became desirable because it is a lot cheaper than those medications, and readily available. Its users are estimated at 330,000 , triple the number a decade ago. Death has come calling. Of the 43,982 drug fatalities recorded in 2013 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8,257 were heroin-related. That was 39 percent more than a year earlier and four times the toll in 1999. Deaths from other opioids have leveled off in recent years   there were 16,235 in 2013   but they are nonetheless quadruple the 1999 figure. Something else is different about this crisis: In and out of government, among Republicans as well as Democrats, the pendulum has swung from the "lock-'em-up" ethos that long prevailed. The emphasis now is more on treating addiction as a disease , not a police matter. The Obama administration has significantly increased , to about $12 billion, the federal budget for drug prevention and treatment. In the last few weeks, it granted early release to several thousand imprisoned drug offenders deemed nonviolent. Not everyone is thrilled with this. Some law enforcement officials predict that at least a few of the newly freed inmates will return to crime. But compassion is the ascendant spirit. One reflection of this is a spate of state laws enabling relatives of addicts and other nonmedical people to administer the drug naloxone, known by its brand name, Narcan. It rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, and is a proven lifesaver. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a nasal spray to go along with injectable versions of Narcan already in use. Is it purely a coincidence that the pendulum swung from punishment to caring at the same time that heroin abuse became a crisis largely affecting whites , not blacks? Perhaps, although many would doubt it. In any event, the shift is welcomed by key figures like Kurt L. Schmoke, a former Baltimore mayor and now president of the University of Baltimore. During his City Hall years, starting in the late 1980s, Mr. Schmoke was a prominent critic of the drug war, urging that the focus instead be on treatment and on decriminalizing drug use. He faced considerable resistance back then, including from some fellow black politicians. In an interview with Retro Report, Mr. Schmoke spoke ruefully about "the lives that could have been saved, the families that would have remained intact" had less-punitive approaches been pursued. "The war on drugs was pretty devastating to the United States," he said, "and hopefully we've seen the error of our ways and are going to move in a different direction." Similar sentiments were expressed by John R. Dunne, a former New York state senator who in the early 1970s was instrumental in enacting the Rockefeller-era drug laws, named for Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller. At the time, drug-fueled crime seemed to be spinning out of control. The Rockefeller statutes were the sternest in the country, mandating long prison sentences even for first-time offenders caught with small amounts of narcotics. They embodied the punitive mood that spread across the state of New York and the country. In 1971, the year of the infamous and bloody Attica prison uprising in northern New York, the state's inmate population totaled 12,500. After passage of the Rockefeller laws in 1973, that number rose , and then kept rising. It peaked at 72,584 in 1999. Now, with less crime afoot, it has shrunk to about 53,000. Several detention centers have been closed, though not without bruising political fights. Prisons mean jobs in the rural areas where many are. For those regions, big-city crime amounts to their economic development. New York prosecutors generally endorsed the tough drug laws, but the critics ultimately prevailed. In 2009, the Rockefeller statutes were swept aside by a law permitting judges to send low-level offenders to treatment programs (though drug kingpins were not spared firm prosecution). By then, Mr. Dunne had long become a penitent. He was convinced, as he said to Retro Report, that the stiff laws he had helped create were a mistake that did little to stem the drug trade while they condemned vast numbers of blacks and other minorities   and their families   to lives of despair. Might a strongly punitive approach make a comeback? It is always possible. Pendulums, by their nature, swing. But even if that were to happen, narcotics seem unlikely to disappear. That was the sense of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a four-term United States senator from New York. Mr. Moynihan, who died in 2003, wrote an essay in 1998 on the 100th anniversary of heroin's introduction that offered this observation: "Since the desire of man to alter his state of consciousness is as old as human history, and technology continues to provide a breathtaking array of drugs capable of producing everything from oblivion to nirvana, I think it safe to assume that we may never win a 'war' against drugs."