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Dems see a mixed bag in Florida

Outlier candidate scores another stunning upset

Phillip M. Bailey USA TODAY

Democrats continued to trade blows in their factional war with a progressive firebrand prevailing in the Florida Senate primary while two centrist House incumbents flooded off more left-leaning challenges.

The primary contests stretched across the nation Tuesday, Aug. 18. but most of the action was in the Sunshine State, where state Rep. Angie Nixon, an outspoken member of the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated Alex Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, in a stunning upset.

"We showed the world what organized people can accomplish," Nixon said in her victory speech.

Florida Rep. Angie Nixon, a firebrand democratic socialist, won her primary race for U.S. Senate by double digits. JOE BAZEL/EGETTY IMAGES

At the same time, Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, two well-known Florida Democrats solidly in the establishment camp, won their respective fights to remain on Capitol Hill against progressive opponents.

Both were theatrical on freshly governmental districts created by the Florida Legislature at President Donald Trump's behest to give Republicans an advantage in the midterms this fall.

In both races, the two incumbents faced insurgents who ran under the democratic socialist banner with campaigns that emphasized universal health care, cost-of-living concerns and opposition to Israel.

Florida voters also were charged with selecting contenders to succeed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former presidential candidate who is term-limited.

Everything was stacked against Nixon, the 32-year-old state legislator in a race establishment Democrats had hoped to make somewhat competitive this fall.

There was little polling in the race, but many had expected a win by Vindman, a former national security official who testified against Trump during his first impeachment trial. He outpaced Nixon in fundraising by a wide margin.

But with about 95% of precincts reporting, Nixon, won the primary by about 8 percentage points in arguably the most surprising win for a D&A candidate this year.

"We did 8 ya'll ... the fight has just begun," Nixon posted on X Aug. 18.

Nixon ran on a platform that called

See FLORIDA, Page 6A

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Lights illuminate the gash in the Pentagon at sunrise days after a commercial jetliner slammed into it on Sept. 11, 2001. PHOTOS BY LARRY DOMANG/REUTERS

Karissa Waddick USA TODAY

ARLINGTON, VA

The first video captures the eerie, mundane moments of that morning. Through the windshield, viewers see vehicles speeding by, then halting in bumper-to-bumper traffic along Interstate 66. A sign shows they're about 5 miles from the Pentagon. Inside the car, someone says, "you can smell it." On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Jude Coke and her two crew members, cameraman Billy DeWeese and firefighter Christopher DeWolf, were creating an emergency responder training video with the Baltimore City Fire Department when they learned of the attack at the Pentagon. They changed their mission and raced to the scene. See 9/11 FOOTAGE, Page 2A

A rescue helicopter surveys damage to the Pentagon as firefighters battle flames on Sept. 11, 2001.

9/11 museum coming near Pentagon

Work to start after years of funding, planning delays. 2A

"I've carried this with me for over two decades. ... The footage and the human stories inside of it have been within me."

Jude Coke Documentary Filmmaker

The Witness Tree in South Carolina's Eutaw Springs Battlefield is estimated to be 300 to 350 years old. PROVIDED BY ERN MEADE

Racing to save a living relic of the Revolution

Phaedra Trethan USA TODAY

Rick Wise let his imagination wander for a bit, thinking about an oak tree that's about 50 years older than our country.

"If that tree could talk," said Wise, an Army veteran, military historian and executive director with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, "the stories it would talk ..."

Situated near a two-story brick house that was a focal point in a Revolutionary War battle, the tree at Eutaw Springs Battlefield in South Carolina has borne witness to history. It was there during the Sept. 8, 1781,

See WITNESS TREE, Page 6A

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2A 1 THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2025 | USA TODAY

NEWS

2 die after explosions at recycling building

Owner of Toledo site was fined for 4L fire

Thos Nguyen USA TODAY

Two workers were killed after explosions and a large fire tree through an Ohio industrial recycling building early on Aug. 28, prompting a massive emergency response, officials said.

Firefighters were dispatched at around 4.50 a.m. local time after receiving 90 calls report as explosion and heavy fire at Brent Industries in Toledo, according to Toledo Fire and Rescue Chief Allison Armstrong. When were arrived, Armstrong said they encountered heavy flames and smoke.

“Part of the building had already collapsed,” the fire chief said at a news conference. “Very challenging conditions for both the employees to execute and the fire and rescue department.”

Crows found the bodies of two employees, a man and a woman, inside the building hours later, according to Armstrong. Two or three other employees were in the electric injuries and were treated at the scene.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kuperakiewicz said a shift change was underway at the time of the explosions. The incident prompted an unusually large response because of the size of the structure, hazardous materials on site and repairs that workers were trapped inside the building, officials said.

By the allumance, portions of the building were still burning and smothering as firefighters worked to contain the fire, and instead it from spreading to nearby businesses and structures. Armstrong said dangerous conditions, including the risk of more explosions and structural collapse, complicated firefighting efforts.

The Toledo Fire and Rescue Department is working to determine the cause of the explosions.

Air monitoring finds no immediate public threat

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was notified of the incident through the National Response Center at around 9 a.m. local time and displayed personnel from San Arbor, Michigan, to assist with air monitoring and environmental assessments.

“When we arrived shortly after, the fire of the tanks was pretty much extinguished,” Ellis on-scene coordinator Jon Gulch said at the news conference.

“We were told that we had an anatomic result of contaminants, indicating no immediate threat to the surrounding community, according to Gulch.”

Company feed utilizes after fatal Alabama explosion in 2015

Brent Industries, which is based in Brent, Alabama, provides textile re-conditioning and industrial recycling services to help companies reduce waste and save money, according to the U.S. EPA company was founded in 1977 and operates in Brent and Toledo.

In 2005, one worker was killed and several others were injured after explosions and a fire occurred at the company’s Alabama manufacturing plant, reported The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the explosion occurred in an industrial laundering and dry cleaning operation, records show.

The agency subsequently cited Brent Industries for nine serious workplace safety violations involving flammable liquids, hazard communication, and routes and protective equipment. It issued a fire that was later reduced to 827,000, according to records.

USA TODAY reached out to Brent Industries and OSHA for comment.

Pentagon’s 9/11 museum set to break ground after long delays

Slowed by Arlington Cemetery expansion

Karius Waddick USA TODAY

Twenty-five years after 9/11 deeply wounded the nation, construction will soon begin on a museum designed to tell the tragedy’s final despite.

The project is led by the Pentagon Memorial Fund, a nonprofit created in 2003 by families of victims. In 2008, the group erected an outdoor memorial honoring those who perished in the Pentagon attack. Ever since, it has sought to build an accompanying education facility with information about the victims, the attack and the global war on terror.

Those efforts have been delayed for 28 years by a series of funding and planning challenges, such as Sept. 22, the organization is set to finally break ground on the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center.

“It takes time to build buildings within the DC metro area,” said Joseph Kornhoff, the group’s executive director. “But we are slowed ready.”

A long time coming

When it opened in 2008, the Pentagon memorial became the first of its kind. Today, it is the only site attacked on Sept. 8 without a museum or education facility.

The 9/11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center site on New York City opened in 2014, three years after twin reflecting pools opened in the footprints of the Twin Towers. The Flight 95 National Memorial Visitor Center and Museum near Blandsville, Pennsylvania, opened in 2015.

The Pentagon’s 9/11 education center has taken longer, longer, because it houses people to relocate Arlington National Cemetery nearby.

In 2016, the Pentagon Memorial Fund secured a land grant from Virginia to hold the museum. Around the same time, the federal government was negotiating a land exchange with Virginia and Arlington County so it could increase the number of burial sites at the cemetery.

Then, in 2020, the Department of Justice opted to use eminent domain to acquire land and roadways from Ar-

A large American flag is unfated on the side of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Sept. 11, 2025, to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack, two color TV shows in a new house on the ground.

lington to build the cemetery’s southern expansion.

Over that time, the land given to the Pentagon Memorial Fund for the education center changed. The project is now included in the broader cemetery expansion plan, which also incorporates the Air Force Memorial.

The expansion isn’t expected to be completed until summer 2029. Kornhoff estimates the education center will open sometime that year, too.

Also at issue is funding. The group has to be raised about 40 million of the 8100 million estimated cost for the project. That includes $12 million in federal funding and $1 million in state funding from Virginia. It’s enough to break ground, but the nonprofit will work more from public and private sources to build the museum, Kornhoff said.

Private fundraising has significantly risen since the beginning of the year, when the nonprofit received money to a federal district with Kornhoff said.

“That has really allowed the private sector to easily jump off,” he said.

Vision for the education center

The two-story education center will sit about 200 yards southwest of the existing memorial, across a roadway. A pedestrian pathway will connect the two-story building with the memorial, which lies close to the site where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

The memorial draws about 1 million visitors each year. Kornhoff said people often view it as the “last step” of their day when they’re visiting the nation’s capital. He hopes that the new connectivity to the Air Force Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery will make it more of a destination.

“From can be dropped off and go through each of the sites,” he said.

The center will feature 10 exhibits, including stories about each of the 104 people killed. Much of the museum will focus on how the terrorist attacks changed the world. Other exhibits will illuminate the national and global responses, as well as what it means for people to “never forget.”

For Kornhoff, the 25th anniversary of Sept. 8 marks an especially poignant moment for that mission.

About 30% of the U.S. population today, some 850 million Americans, were not alive on that date. Millions more were too young to understand what was happening.

“What we’re trying to do as an organization is educate that one that of Americans that weren’t alive and don’t have any recollection of that day,” he said. “How do we do that? It’s through making a personal connection.”

Before the anniversary, the Pentagon Memorial Fund is preparing to create a pop-up digital visitor education experience showcasing artifacts it plans to display in the museum, Kornhoff said.

9/11 footage

Continued from Page 1A

Coke, DeWeese and DeWolf embeded with the Arlington County Fire Department and for three days decordated the overhang disaster response. They were the only civilian centers crew affected near the burning building, according to Coke.

Twenty-five years later, some of their rare footage is being released to the American public. Coke partnered with the 9/11 Legacy Foundation, an education-focused nonprofit, to create a six-part documentary covering what they witnessed. The series is the first of its kind.

Since April, they’ve released the three- to seven-minute videos once a month.

On the timing, Coke said this year’s anniversary provided the impetus to get the footage in front of the public.

“This needs to happen. This needs to be preserved,” Coke said. “This needs to be shared with the American people and the world.”

What’s in the footage?

The videos show search crews, creating the Pentagon’s chariot corridors, and interviews with firefighters working to contain the disaster.

In some scenes, responders pick up pleased American Airlines Flight 77. A police chaplain delivers a poignant prayer. Another slip shows service members recovering a Red Marine Corps flag that stood untouched on the

building’s fourth floor where the walls had collapsed.

Coke used her team’s story to guide people through the events, starting with how they ended up on the scene.

Months earlier, Coke was laid off from a corporate video producing jokingit. It was her first day working with a production company on emergency training films.

When they arrived at the Baltimore fire station, it was clear it wasn’t going to be a normal day. All the leaders were huddled around a television, watching news about the first attack at the World Trade Center.

As the tragedy unfolded, Coke’s boss urged the team to get as close as they could to the Pentagon.

“I was already nervous about my first day,” Coke remembered. “I don’t think anything prepared me for that.”

Once on scene, the weight of their duty to history peaked from to stay, despite the dangers.

“We were granted an immense responsibility to capture this event in the most responsible way we could,” she said. “In the aftermath of that event, we couldn’t control what happened to us, but we could control how we responded to it.”

An urgent moment

When Coke arrived home to Texas—after 9/11, she created an hour-long training video with the footage, then showed the tapes she’s sold, back control of her home. There, they collected dust for nearly two decades.

As the 20th anniversary approached, Coke felt a nagging obligation to ensure

the scenes she and her teammates shared their lives to film every preserved. A few calls with former colleagues revealed she possessed the only surviving set of the recordings.

She again felt the weight of stewardship.

Short clips from the footage had appeared in a few documentaries. But the raw footage hadn’t been digitized or given to historical institutions keeping the memory of 9/11 alive. Cook and her video crews were going to be a new home visit.

She reached out to officials at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City to ensure they received copyright access to use the entire archive of images, then was put in contact with Chris Meek, founder of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation.

He asked her to produce a film. Coke knew instantly which stories she wanted to tell.

“I’ve carried this with me for over two decades. Being there, it changed my life,” Coke said. “The footage and the human stories inside of it have been within me.”

Though she hopes to eventually make a full-length documentary, Coke said she treated this project as the last way the film will be viewed.

She hopes it will be used to educate the next generation and is working with the Pentagon Memorial Fund to officially house the footage at a planned visitor education center near a memorial honoring the victims.

More than anything, she said, she hopes people see it and understand the fortitude of their expanders after 9/11.

“We all have a choice,” she said, “to bring that light when darkness hits.”

USA TODAY

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USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2020 | 3A

Will Amelia Earhart's plane be found?

JANET LOEHRKE AND GEORGE PETRAS/USA TODAY

Though she vanished nearly 90 years ago, aviation legend Amelia Earhart never really left us.

The world remains fascinated – some say haunted – by her life, what she accomplished, and what she dared to try. And now a new search is on for Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E, which was lost over the Pacific during her attempt to fly around the world.

The effort is the 20th-organized search since Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished July 2, 1937.

They were flying east from Lee in Papua New Guinea, trying to reach Howland Island, a tiny speck of land smaller than New York's Central Park, located between Australia and Hawaii.

The newest expedition, conducted by the Archaeological Legacy Institute and Purdue University, will dig up what's known as the Taraia Object, a plane-shaped anomaly buried in ocean sediment in a lagoon of Nikumaroro Island. That's a coral stroll about 350 miles southeast of Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean.

On the day Earhart vanished, the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Itasca was waiting near Howland to refuel the Electra after it landed. The ship received voice messages from Earhart as her signal increased. She said the plane was almost out of fuel.

Neither Earhart nor Noonan knew Morse code, so there was no two-way contact, according to the Smithsonian Institution's analysis of government records.

It's commonly believed Earhart ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific while searching for Howland

Robert Ballard and National Geographic Findings

First detected in satellite imagery in 2020, the Taraia Object was later found in aerial photographs of the island's lagoon taken as early as 1938, according to Purdue University. Researchers believe the object could be the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's long-lost Lockheed 10E Electra.

Island. The U.S. Navy reached that conclusion after its 16-day search in 1937.

However, sophisticated satellite imagery, reported radio transmissions and other discoveries have led some to theorize Earhart and Noonan landed

on Nikumaroro reef. Many people believe the two survived briefly as canteways and the bus-sized plane was swept into the sea.

The Nikumaroro theory is chiefly associated with TIGHAR. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, which has

investigated the idea since 1988.

TIGHAR sent a dozen expeditions to the island between 1989 and 2017. It says 'whatever remains of the Electra lies in deep water off the island's west end.'

Lockheed Electra 10E

The Electra was equipped with a radio direction for the island to a manually rotated, loop antenna mounted above the control. To accommodate its extra fuel tanks, Earhart took out the aircraft's swab, leaving the cockpit accessible only by crawling over the tanks.

What will the new expedition do on Nikumaroro?

The 16-member Taraia Object Expedition will depart in early October. The group will spend several days on Nikumaroro, most of them in the lagoon, where they'll use a hydraulic dredge to carefully remove sediment from what could be the Electra.

The team will be looking to identify the largest sections of the aircraft: the fuselage and wings. If team hires find rivets in aluminum aircraft skin, a comparison of their spacing and geometry will help identification.

If the ALI/Purdue team locates the Electra, it won't go inside it but will return the next year for a full-scale excavation. The team then would plan to remove the aircraft and other remnants, which would be brought back to the United States.

Steve Scholtz, senior vice president of Purdue University, said the institution is discussing an agreement with Kiribati, the island nation that maintains control of Nikumaroro, to entrust Purdue with custody of the wreckage, USA TODAY reported.

Earhart's connection to Purdue dates to 1935, the university says. She was a career counselor for women and an adviser to Purdue's Department of Aeronautics. The Amelia Earhart Terminal is part of the Purdue University Airport.

How many organized searches have been done?

Teams have searched for Amelia Earhart's plane 19 times since her disappearance in 1937. (Two were done in 2017.) The 2020 expedition will be the 20th.

What clues led to Nikumaroro?

ALI/Purdue says the Taraia Object was revealed in satellite imagery in 2020, but photographs show it appears to have been in the same location in the lagoon since 1938. Other evidence includes:

• Radio bearings recorded from 1937 transmissions by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and Pan American World Airways converge on Nikumaroro.
• Human bones were discovered on the island in 1940. A 2018 analysis of bone measurements suggests they belonged to a woman of Earhart's stature.
• Airfacts found on Nikumaroro included a woman's shoe, a compact case, a freckle cream jar and a medicine vial. All dated to the 1930s.
• The Berington Object, a photographic anomaly on the Nikumaroro reef captured three months after the Electra's disappearance, appears to represent one of the plane's landing gear assemblies.

SOURCE National Air and Space Museum, Lockheed Martin, Google Maps, Reuters, USA TODAY research PHOTOS Getty Images, Library of Congress; GRAPHIC Janet Loehrke and George Petras/USA TODAY

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4A | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2025 | USA TODAY

NEWS

SpaceX's Starship rocket is recovered intact

Upper stage towed to Christmas Island

Eric Lagaris and Brooke Edwards USA TODAY

The battle to save a section of SpaceX's giant Starship rocket from the clutches of the Indian Ocean appeared to have been lost.

For days; teams on boats on the other side of the world had tracked down and grabbed the 1ft-foot-tall section of the rocket that flies in space, known as the upper stage, following a July 24 flight test. But hope of recovering the spacecraft had dwindled so much that even Elon Musk, the tech mogul who founded SpaceX in 2002, took to social media to declare that the odds of success were "not looking good."

Silence followed for more than 10 days after the discouraging Aug. 7 update. Then, on Aug. 18, SpaceX revealed that it had accomplished what it thought could even had made impossible: the Starship upper stage had been towed to shore wave Australia.

The feat is the latest victory to come of the 407-feet-tall Starship's most recent flight test, which saw the world's largest rocket launch from South Texas and fly halfway around the world before the upper section landed intact in the ocean. Never before had an upper stage survived a flight test, and now SpaceX has nabbed one that it can return to its Texas headquarters to analyze further.

Here's everything to know about SpaceX's saga to recover the upper stage of its Starship rocket following a mission it refers to as "flight 13."

Starship upper stage lands intact after flight 13 from Texas

The section of the Starship rocket that SpaceX recovered was used in a launch that got off the ground July 24 from the company's Starbase headquarters in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The mission was the 13th flight test of Starship since 2023.

While the 236-foot first-stage booster known as Super Heavy made a water landing off the Gulf Coast of Texas after providing the initial burst of thrust at

SpaceX's Starship rocket floats at sea off the coast of Christmas Island. The 171-foot-tall upper stage was thought to be lost after a test flight July 24. PROVED BY OREGIA VA KILTOFF

liftoff, the upper stage continued on into suborbital space. Along the way, the vehicle hit a number of SpaceX's objectives for it, including the short-lived deployment of operational Starlink satellites that demissed as intended in Earth's atmosphere.

One hour after launch, the upper stage, designated Ship 40, then made a controlled landing following a dangerous reentry into Earth's atmosphere and landed upright in the Indian Ocean. Because the landing was so gentle, Ship 40 was able to slowly tip over and float in the ocean without exploding or sinking, as prior prototypes have done.

SpaceX set out to recover Starship section in Indian Ocean

SpaceX soon dispatched teams on an ambitious mission to locate and haul Ship 40 to shore.

But while boats attached a line to Ship 40 and began towing it through the sea, SpaceX said in an Aug. 7 post on social media site X that teams faced "challenging conditions and increasingly

SpaceX said in an Aug. 7 post on social media site X that teams faced "challenging conditions and increasingly rough seas." And CEO Elon Musk had said "recovery is not looking good."

rough seas." The dire situation prompted Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, to admit in a comment that "recovery is not looking good right now."

SpaceX tows Starship to Christmas Island near Australia

Teams, though, apparently did not give up, because SpaceX shared in a post on Aug. 18 that the mission ended in success.

Following what SpaceX said was 24 days at sea, the upper stage was hauled off the coast of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean about 840 nautical miles northwest of the mainland.

"Starship Flight 13 is being recovered from sea," Musk said in a post sharing SpaceX's update.

Up next, SpaceX said it plans to return Ship 40 to Starbase in Texas. While prolonged exposure to salt water has likely rendered the vehicle unusable on another flight, SpaceX has expressed interest in studying it to make improvements to future iterations.

Wildlife photographer captures striking images of recovery

Photographer Chris Bray managed to capture overhead photos with a drone of the Starship being hauled to shore that set the internet abuse.

"There had been rumors it was on its way, and then this morning I heard it was here, so I grabbed my wildlife telephoto lens and drone and dashed down to the coast to see it," Bray wrote to FLORIDA TODAY, part of the USA TODAY Network. "My first reaction as I grasped it through the trees was 'ONG that thing is it!'."

Bray, who runs small-group wildlife photo tours around the world, said he had never seen anything like it in his career. Bray said now he's curious to see just how SpaceX goes about recovering this giant milestone spacecraft.

What is SpaceX's Starship megarocket?

SpaceX has been testing Starship since April 2023 on a series of flights from Starbase as it develops the massive rocket for future spaceflight missions, including interplanetary travel.

Musk's vision has long been for Starship to be the vehicle that takes humans to Mars, where they can establish a self-sustaining colony.

While Musk has indicated that SpaceX will focus on building a lunar city first, the company has already announced a human-led expedition to Mars' orbit – though it has not set a target date.

SpaceX also is under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander configuration of its Starship, known as the Human Landing System, to ferry astronauts to the moon under the U.S. space agency's Artemis program.

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USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | 5A

Kent eyes a MAGA rebellion over Iran war

Conservatives fuel growing opposition

Zac Anderson USA TODAY

President Donald Trump led an insurgent takeover of the Republican Party. Now one prominent MAGA dissident believes conservative critics of the Iran war could use the same playbook.

After resigning from the Trump administration over his opposition to the conflict, Joe Kent has been exploring how to channel with war sentiment into political action. Trump led the MAGA movement series with the war, he said. War critics could take a lesson from the president and 'bipack' the GOP, he told USA TODAY in an interview.

'We know that we have something how in terms of political energy,' Kent said. 'We know that people are frustrated.'

Kent is at the center of growing MAGA backlash in the war, which has sparked outrage among some on the right who believe the conflict clashes with Trump's campaign pledges to avoid foreign military entanglements. He met with other prominent MAGA war dissenters but month to plot their next steps.

It's rainhast how deep the appetite is for a GOP reckoning on Iran. A recent AP-NORC survey found most Republicans still back Trump on the conflict, but that suggests has slipped Kent said in the could have looting political repercussions.

A gathering he intended at the Maine home of conservative media personality Tucker Carlson fueled speculations about a new political movement centered around conservative criticism of the war. The meeting included Rep. Thomas Maxon, 8 Kentucky, and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Jones, who resigned from her position this year and said she no longer supports the Republican Party.

Maxon, Greene and Carlson all have clashed with Trump on Iran. Greene posted a photo on social media afterward with the caption 'The movement has begun.'

Kent shared details of the ombik, saying an anti-war political coalition could be a force in future elections and offering different scenarios for the shape it might take, while noting it's still in the early stages.

'We still just have to flesh out what this coalition is all about,' he said.

'No military solution'

Kent joined the Trump administration last year as the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center.

An Army veteran and close ally of former Director of National Intelligence Trials (Jadison), another military veteran who has embraced MAGA non-interventioners, Kent said he was drawn to the president by his foreign policy platform. He resigned from the administration

A meeting at the home of conservative media personality Tucker Carlson has boosted speculation about a new anti-war movement. HAIYAMA

tion on March 17. Sower than three weeks into the Iran war.

In his resignation letter, Kent wrote about his 11 combat deployments and looting his with, who was killed by a suicide bomber while serving with the Navy in Syria. He told Trump he opposed sending 'the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.' There have been 18 U.S. service members killed in the war, and concerns about troop morale amid complaints about living conditions on the USA Abraham Lincoln.

Five months after resigning, Kent is continuing to press his case publicly while taking tentative steps to organize politically. He told USA TODAY that the president is too focused on a formal peace deal and should simply walk away.

'There's no military solution,' Kent said. 'If there was one, then he just would simply execute it.'

The White House responded by calling Kent a 'quitter.'

President Trump has destroyed nearly all of Iran's military capabilities and is crashing when's left of its abysmal economy with the most powerful naval blockade in world history. White House spokesman Davis eagle said in a state news: 'So gather, be Kent's violent mind,

that somehow means Iran is winning.' Trump told reporters after Kent's resignation that 'I always thought he was a nice guy. But I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.'

War shadows midterms

Trump has struggled to run the war. He announced a peace deal in June, but it quickly fell apart amid picketing over the 30-oh of thornes, a vital waterway that was not yet known as the 'splendid' threatens shipping in the stead. Trump said Aug 18th left the United States to no engaged in talks with Iran amid an ongoing naval blockade, suggesting a stalemate.

The unpopular war is shadowing the 2026 midterm elections, hurting Trump's approval policy and threatening to drag down his party as it seeks to maintain control of Congress. Iran 10% of voters approve of Trump's job performance in the final First Politico average of 2026 and 2026. But kan't the 2026 war could follow could extend further, with the war continuing to be a potent issue in the 2026 presidential contest.

Kent and other MAGA war critics are looking ahead and plotting how to influence future elections. Maxon, Greene and Carlson also were among the first wave of prominent MAGA figures opposing the war, a group that has been growing as the conflict wears the six-month mark. Kent said the four have been in 'regular contact' through phone calls and text messages. Carlson eventually suggested the in-person meeting at his house.

The Maine gathering was 'just kind of putting our heads together . . . like, what do we think the future is?' Kent said.

The MAGA rebels agree that the GOP establishes has failed. Where they go

next remains to be seen, Carlson and Greene have talked about hacking a new political party and their criticism of Trump.

Yet while everyone gathered around Carlson's wooches table lined 'the idea of a third party,' Kent said, he noted there are significant hurdles to getting a new party on the ballot. He spoke with individuals involved in Robert F. Kennedy in 'a 2024 independent presidential bid, who talked about the challenges and expense of getting ballot across in all 50 states.'

'I don't know how viable the third-party independent line actually is,' Kent said.

Instead, Kent pointed to the 'Trump model' in floating the idea of trying to 'bipack' the Republican Party. He also suggested that an existing third party, such as the Libertarian Party, could serve as a vehicle to channel a coalition of voters who oppose foreign conflicts and want to focus on domestic needs.

'These scenarios would require sanity, 'by helping the party to be a candidate. But nobody at Carlson's house was eager to be that person,' Kent said.

'We all kind of did the 'One, two, three, not it,' he said.

Carlson was a 'hard no,' Kent said, while Greene ride that running in an interview with Politico.

After twice losing races for Congress in Washington state against Democrat Marie Ghemekamp Percy, Kent said, 'I've got that out of my system' and won't be a candidate again. Sont's campaigns going to be a 'good way,' Kent associated Press reported in 2022 on his ties to right-wing extremists, while Democrats pointed to in opposing his nomination to lead the National Counterterrorism Center.

GOP 'reset'

Whoever run, Kent suggested there could be an effort to 'reset' the Republican Party on foreign policy in the 2028 presidential primary Vice President JD Vance as a likely contender for the party's nomination, but Kent said he could have a 'credibility' problem after serving in an administration that launched a new war despite Trump campaigning against foreign entanglements.

'It's going to be hard to go to the 77 million voters who voted for Trump who are probably going to be hard and feel a certain degree of betrayal, and say 'Yeah I was a part of that but trust me it's going to be different this time,'' Kent said. 'I just think that's going to be really really hard.'

Vance has been a skeptic of American military intervention abroad, and Trump said his vice president was 'less enthusiastic' about launching the Iran war. He has since defended the conflict, though, while working to negotiate its end. He led negotiations on a peace deal that eventually collapsed.

Man hurt in black bear attack at apartment complex in CO

Jeanine Santucci USA TODAY

A man was injured at a Colorado apartment complex on Aug. 17 when a female black bear attacked him, authorities said.

The man, whose identity was not released, was visiting the laundry room of the apartment building in Eagle Well, a small mountain community in the Eagle River Valley in Colorado, when he encountered the bear, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement on Aug. 16.

The bear weiped at the man, scratching his arm, while trying to escape, he was killed and injured his foot, the agency said.

The man was taken to a hospital by a family member and treated for his injuries and is now recovering at home, the agency said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said its officers have placed a bear trap in the neighborhood. Officials believe the female bear and her cabs have been playing away due to the presence of a larger male bear in the area. There have been multiple reports of a female bear and cabs swamaging in dampness, the agency said.

Best sightings have been on the line this summer, which wildlife officials attribute to severe drought conditions that are limiting bears' food sources, forcing them to forage in populated areas. Bears are also in their phase of their formation called hyperphagia as late summer turns to fall, when they become

more active as they try to consume up to 20,000 calories per day to prepare for hibernation, the agency said.

Wildlife officials recommend people take the following steps as bears are more active.

• Never feed or approach bears. Feeding bears teaches them to lose their natural fear of humans.

• Look up track and other food receptacles to eliminate odor that attracts bears. Most conflicts between humans and bears are traced back to human food, garbage, pet food, bird seed, or other things that attract bears.

• Don't leave pet food outdoors. Feed pets inside or clean up after them thoroughly if they eat outside.

• Clean outdoor polls, burning off food particles and grease, and store them securely in a garage or shed.

• Keep windows and doors locked.

• If you encounter a black bear, don't approach it. If you see it before it notices you, stand still and quietly move away from it. If it sees you, back away slowly. Do not run, as it may trigger the bear to chase you. If the black bear approaches you, hold your ground, wave your arms and pull, 'Buy bear,' and it leaves. Do not play dead with a black bear; fight back aggressively if it makes contact.

• However, if a grizzly or brown bear attacks, you should play dead, according to the National Park Service. Fighting back will usually worsen on attack from a grizzly or brown bear, but if the attack persists, then fight back with everything you have.

(USA, NY/CI)
BY THE NINED YOUTH EMERGENCY AND THEIR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
By	Angela L. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.P.,
BRITISH NATIONAL PARKS AND RECREATION
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BRITISH NATIONAL PARKS AND RECREATION

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6A | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2028 | VISA TODAY

NEWS

More human remains found as Lake Mead recedes

Trevor Hughes USA TODAY

Authorities are investigating the Aug. 16 discovery of human remains at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, the latest gruesome discovery there as the nation's largest reservoir continues emptying.

Due to ongoing drought, Lake Mead has now fallen to some before even levels, exposing new shoreline and uncovering hidden debris. Officials have recovered multiple bodies from the shrinking lake, including one found stuffed in a barrel in 2022.

The National Park Service in a statement said there is no indication that the most recent body found on Aug. 16 is suspicious. The park service manages public access to Lake Mead and the surrounding area. The Clark County Coroner's Office said investigators are working to identify the cause and manner of death, along with the identity of the deceased found at Boulder Beach.

A non-criminal, dead body report was taken for the remains," the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told USA TODAY in a statement.

In 2022 - when lake levels were a foot higher - massive discovered a still-unidentified body stuffed inside a barrel in the Hamsuneng Harbor area of the lake. Investigators said the man inside the barrel appeared to have been shot, possibly sometime in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, found on his clothes and footwear. At the time he was shot, Lake Mead was almost completely full and the water in the area would have been at least 20 to 30 feet deeper.

Authorities that same year recovered the body of a man who reportedly drowned in 2002, another man who drowned in 1976, and the body of a man who died of as-yet-unidentified causes after disappearing in 1998.

Experts say Lake Mead's proximity to Las Vegas - 20 miles from the Strip as the crew flies - makes it highly likely that there are more bodies to be discovered in the lake, especially given the population of his City as a home for the park. Authorities also have recovered firearms and sunkers boats from the reservoir.

Lake Mead also is the final resting place of a surplus WWII B-29 that crashed in 1948. The lake's receding waters also are uncovering ghost towns flooded when the Hoover Dam was built, along with pedestrians salt mines.

The lake began filling in 1935.

Witness Tree

Continued from Page 1A

fight that was one of the war's final battles in the Palmetto State, a battle that set the stage for British fans. Charles Cornwallis eventually surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, later that year. Despite claiming a tactical victory, the British suffered heavy losses from the American forces led by Gen. Nathaniel Greene and were effectively driven from the interior of the Carolinas.

But age, the elements and a lightning strike 10 years ago have taken their toll on what's now called the Witness Tree to an ill-advised, if well-intentioned, long-age effort to save the tree after the lightning strike, iron chains and steel support cables were wrapped around its trunk. But the tree kept growing, eventually swabbing the metal into its vascular system and, said, admit! Anas, Landrace of 3x6.87cm, choking off its ability to fully absorb vital nutrients.

Now 3x6.87cm is working to ensure the 500-year-old Witness Tree can survive at least another century, embarking on an effort to remove the old chains and supports, aerate the end surrounding the tree and make sure it's able to recover fully from any damage already inflicted and prevent any further harm.

An arboreal job unlike any other

Landrace, an Illinois native who's been an arboreal for 15 years, said perhaps the most dangerous part of the job is removing the old cables, which requires workers to climb into the tree's canopy, which stretches more than 40 feet high and 50 yards across, while avoiding a scenario where the cables snap back at the workers.

The cables, well-intentioned at the time, are now "slowly killing it," he said.

They've installed a lightning protection system so that, if the tree is struck again, the current will run down into the soil around the tree and dissipate out.

The soil at the tree's base was compacted, so workers also used what Landrace described as a "supressive air tool" to disperse the soil without harming the tree's roots. That, he explained, will help the tree better retain moisture and avoid runoff, and allow the roots to better absorb nutrients.

"It's a delicate, surgical process," he explained. "We've done a few trees of this size and age, but nothing that I know of with this sort of significance. This tree stood witness to a battle in the war that secured our freedom."

There are similar tasks in the region that are estimated to be an old as 600 years, he said. "We think we can get at least another couple hundred years" of life for the Witness Tree.

"It's been a fun adventure for me, and a history lesson."

A witness to Revolutionary history

Doug Bostick, Wira's predecessor at the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, first recognized the need to protect the site of the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Wira explained. As the trust acquired parcels around the site, Bostick noticed "a really, really old tree" on a parcel the trust took control of in 2023.

A worker near the canopy of the Witness Tree at Eutaw Springs Battlefield tries to remove some of the wires and chains once used to shore up the massive oak.

Chains and wires once used to help save the Eutaw Springs Witness Tree have over the decades begun to choke off its ability to absorb nutrients.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ERIN MEADE

Bostick died later that year, however, and the trust's volunteers realized the tree was in distress.

Working with the American Battlefield Trust, a nationwide nonprofit, the South Carolina group took down trees in imminent danger but when they came to the old oak, no one really knew how old it was or whether it had any significance. An assessment found some lightning and other damage, and more statements passed the age at around 300 to 350 years.

"My thought was, this was sitting in the British camp," Wira said. "We actually wondered how it survived [the battle] because they had cut down other trees for heat. We think maybe they kept it for the shade.

"But the bottom line is, it was there. It witnessed all that happened."

Wira, as long War vet who holds a master's degree in military history and was awarded a Bronze Star, said he's glad the Witness Tree can be preserved.

"We can look at this tree and know it was actually part of this battle," he said. "Folks always go to museums and they see artifacts students and bayonets and uniforms and flange, and they can tell the stories of a battle. But here is this living thing, sitting right there within sight of where the action took place.

"It really touches a place in my patriotic heart, and I hope it does the same thing for everyone else who sees it."

Florida

Continued from Page 1A

for universal health care and a $25 an hour minimum wage. She gained a lot of notoriety after staging a sit-in at DeSantis' office outside this year in protest against Florida's complete congressional map. That incident is yet for trial in September after she was charged with trespassing and resisting an officer without violence.

Nixon is the first Black woman to win a major party nomination for Senate in Florida and will lose Rep. Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in a race forecasters rate as solidly in the GOP column. But progressive and Democratic Socialists of America activists are likely to spotlight this win as another example of their grassroots strength.

Jared Moskowitz beats back 'anti-Zionist' opponent

Centrists looking to keep democratic socialists at top record a high-profile win in Florida's 23rd Congressional District, a sonny dozen area that forecasters rate as the only two-up House race in the state.

Moskowitz, a Senate officials of Israel, caused to victory over Oliver Larkin, who went viral for many of his confrontations with conservative commentators over his views on color TV leading up to the election.

Initial results showed the two-term incumbent winning by almost 30 percentage points as a district that is 25% Jewish with a high concentration of Holocaust survivors.

Much of the race centered on the U.S.

Wisconsin's relationship with Israel, which has defined several Democratic primaries this year.

Larkin ran as a sharp critic of the Younger ally, calling its war in Gaza a genocide and casting

himself as the "anti-Zionist" option in the race. Moskowitz, who is Jewish, declined to debate his opponent, accusing him of "running against me wholly on my religion," which Larkin denied.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins in historically Black district

Wasserman Schultz, a former chairwoman of the Democratic National

Committee, raised eye-books when she jumped into the race for Florida's 23th Congressional District, another newly received seat.

That's because the district is made up of a plurality-Black area at a time when Black Demi-

cants are concerned about eroding diversity initiatives and representation on Capitol Hill.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court limited parts of the 1992 Voting Rights Act in a ruling cheered by core executives as a symbol of a solubited society but that civil rights leaders and other liberal opponents say could ultimately reduce the number of Black and Hispanic members of Congress.

Wasserman Schultz, who is White, argued that her years of experience would benefit South Florida constituents, but she was sharply criticized by fellow Democrats for entering the race

against four Black candidates: Dale V.C. Holness, a former Broward County mayor, Elijah Manley, a teacher and democratic socialist, former Rep. Sheila Chaffina-McCormick, who resigned amid a fraud scandal, and Luther Campbell, founder of Sgt-Sop group 2.1pro Crew.

Wasserman Schultz received a plurality of the vote, including Holness, but closed rival, by about 25 percentage points.

Byron Donalds, David Jolly will face off for Florida governor

Rep. Byron Donalds joined the growing rank of Black candidates running for governor after winning Florida's Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Donalds, 47, received the Sgt. Trump endorsement and raised more than $100 million for his campaign in a campaign that featured secondary attacks by Republican primary rival James Hubback, a conservative activist who helped anti-Black remarks against the congressman throughout the election.

Donalds, a ruling Republican star in the House, now faces former Rep. David Jolly, a Republican-named Democrat and noted Trump opponent, who gilded through his nomination by a 53-point margin. He hopes to which together a coalition of Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans in a contest that will force the GOP in a state the president carried by 33 percentage points in 2024.

Donalds is just the second Black

candidate nominated for Florida governor, following former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gilkes, a Democrat, who made history as the first Black major-party nominee in 2018.

Embattled Trump ally Cory Mills loses GOP primary

The president's trout wasn't enough to get Rep. Cory Mills over the bump

after troubling massive East allegations against him now many fellow Republicans turn against him before the Aug. 16 primary.

Mills was the subject of a House ethics inquiry over accusations of 'ex-

sual misconduct and/or dating violence' stemming from a Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department response to a report that he had assaulted a woman with whom he was in a relationship.

The congressman has faced calls from within his own party to resign over the allegations, which he has vehemently denied and which the president overlooked when supporting him for reelection.

By a decisive 13-point margin, however, Republican voters chose Ryan Elijah, a former Orlando-based news anchor, who was backed by Rep. Mike Haddapolos and Anna Paulina Luna. The outcome marks another race loss for Trump in picking women in Republican primaries this year.

Elijah beat out Mills along with three other Republicans to face Democrat Bob Dalton, a former Navy captain and NASA chief of staff, in the fall.

Contributing: Terry Collins and Emily R. Condon

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NEWS

USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | 7A

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No, AOC, 'Woke 1.0' was more than just 'crazy'

Vince Petas USA TODAY

Now that progressives are setting power within the Democratic Party, one of their main hurdles is explaining away 'Woke 1.0,' the pandemic-era of American politics in which progressives adopted a slew of ridiculous positions.

When asked about her own past ridiculous positions, as well as those of democratic socialist Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesco Hong, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, explained it as if it were nothing more than a bad fashion choice.

There is local city councilman that has this varying power to take a cool, Ocasio-Cortez said. 'And I think that what's required is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.'

Ocasio-Cortez, thing and other progressives have struggled to distance themselves from the positions they took during the COVID-19 era, and for good reason. They were the enslavers of Woke 1.0 and the cancel culture that came with it. If progressives want Americans to believe they've changed, laughing it off won't cut it. They want to explain why the pandemic-era of progressive politics went too far – and why voters can trust them not to go down that cool again.

Ocasio-Cortez got the phrase from Chi One, a New York City councilman who used 'Woke's was crazyzy,' to rationalize his own past racist statement. 'A no white man should not be the next speaker of the Council.'

Hong, a Wisconsin lawmaker who recently lost the Democratic primary in the governor, says, has tried a similar white man. 'I'm jamming out of the second-hand takes on Twitter,' she told Politics. 'But I've evolved, I've learned.'

Those social media 'hot takes' in-

cluded wanting to 'cancel Thanksgiving' and claiming that police 'wont to uphold white supremacy.'

I'm glad AOC and others are now at least willing to admit that the COVID-19 binary went too far. But Woke 1.0 wasn't an oopsie. To anyone paying attention, woke was a lot more than 'a derogatory euphemism for civil rights & justice,' as AOC put it back in 2022, when she wanted those positions taken seriously.

Among the excesses of Woke 1.0 was a movement aimed at defending or abolishing the police, gender reassignment surgery for minors, the insistence that men can concentrate, justification of testing, racial discrimination in hiring and much, much more.

'We were shut down'

Not every progressive held such of these positions, but as a collective, they were thus biting them onto the political mainstream. By her own admission, AOC described Woke 1.0 as an attempt to shift the Overton window, the range of ideas considered acceptable to mainstream political debate.

'During this time, especially during COVID, there was a huge opening of the Overton window,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'We were shut down. There was some of the highest unemployment rates that we have seen because of those shutdowns, and I think that the doors were really open in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place, and I actually think that the discussions that were bad ... were quite fruitful.'

But it was more than that. Progressives pushed corporate America into diversity, equity and inclusion mandates that indoctrinated employees and built a cancel culture that just dissent with job levers and charges of bigotry.

Even progressives who didn't believe the most extreme positions were incentivized to promote them, since it made their own positions sound reasonable

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 22. (CC: LEE/MUTERS)

by comparison. Instead of 'abolish the police,' mainstream Democrats arrived at 'defunct' instead of 'abidish leaders,' many arrived at 'abolish ICI.'

It's not enough to wave away that luxury as if you were swept up in a ball trend – it's an indictment of your judgment and character to have advocated for it. Either you actually believed these positions, making you unfit for office, or you took them up for political cornerstones, which is just as disqualifying.

America's pullback from this orthodoxy has been rapid. Voters didn't hand Donald Trump a second presidential term for one reason alone, but the backlash against the woke era was a significant step.

• a Support for Black Lives Matter, after spilling in 2020, is now more polarized than it was even before the movement's peak.

• a Defending the police was never popular – just 10% backed it in 2021, even as progressives like AOC change-outed it.

• a Power Americans now support biological men in women's sports, or gender transitions for minors.

• a Corporate America has shifted, too. Just a quarter of S&P 500 companies in 2025 weighed gender or race when adding directors, down from nearly half in

2024. Courts have created Nohag's push for racial travel targets, and Goldman Sachs dropped its diversity requirements for companies that it takes public. Corporations are no longer bowing to the political pressure that forced those superficial requirements in the first place.

Progressives now want to distance themselves from positions that repel the medium voice. But its thing on, they shirk responsibility. This wing of the Democratic Party wasn't tricked into these positions; they enforced them, pushing Americans to fall in line or be branded bigots.

People lost jobs for disagreeing with the fashionable take of the day, or for old tweets in poor taste. That's the kind of enforcement that let the movement spiral, unopposed and unapologetic.

The left owes us an explanation

Failing to explain what they believed then, what they believe now and why they changed is going to haunt progressives with higher aspirations.

The Democratic Socialists of America party still calls for 'fully abolishing the police and driven system,' a position many on the left once held and are now trying to walk back.

As it stands, the reversal looks too convenient, and we only thing that's changed since 2020 is that voters rejected these positions – and progressives want to look palatable again.

The existence of 'Woke 2' implies that a 'Woke 2' is already in the woke. From what I can tell, it isn't all that different in substance, just misusing and derent. Progressive candidates will keep being haunted by Woke 1.0 for as long as they run for office, unless they explain – explicitly – why this time is different. Otherwise, voters will see right there.

Once Petas, a less student, is an opinion statement for USA TODAY. Follow him on X. @DavePetas

'Woke 1.0' was tasked with putting Band-Aids over bullet holes

Carl Mhama USA TODAY

'Woke' used to mean something.

Like many facets of American culture, 'woke' was derived from African American Vernacular English, meaning to 'alert to social prejudice and discrimination.' The term has been central to Black political consciousness from its adoption in the 1930s, to its use in both iterations of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014 and 2020; to its appropriation by non-Black people to discuss matters of gender and openness; to its addition to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.

Since 2020, woke has taken on a new meaning entirely directed from its original context, serving more as a dual-sided straw man. Breathless Republicans have turned woke into a pejorative for anyone and anything they don't like. And the progressives they outgrow with the term don't even ascribe to it. On the left, woke is used almost ironically to gesture toward more progressive politics or poke fun at right-wingers who misappropriate it.

The eBooks enticing of 'Woke 1.0' history seems less like a much-needed course correction and more like an attempt to woo all those undecided voters who definitely want and capitalize to Republicans who were bound to grind their anti-progressive ears regardless.

The lack of specificity in defining the woos of woke suggests that its perceived failure isn't a result of the ideologies it propagated, but a reflection of a culture where paradigms and mores are ever-changing.

Sure, whatever these people are calling Woke 1.0 could've been more focused, but we can't say all its wounds were self-inflicted.

As democratic socialists win elections across the country, there's been a concerted effort from progressive politicians to distance themselves from

Protesters rally on Aug. 28 in New York City, urging corporate America to resist the Trump administration's campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The march comes on the anniversary of the March on Washington in 1983. (HONDE, W. SANTIAGO/277TY IMAGES)

past interpretations of woke: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, agreed with her local city councilman that 'Woke's was crazy.'

A clumsy political awakening

To me, Woke 1.0 represents an era of political awakening between the mid-1930s into the early 2020s where complex discussions of race, gender, sexuality, class and disability entered the Overton window. Academic ideas like patriarchy, systemic racism, intersectionality, sports theory and the like found their way into the progressive lexicon, especially online.

The most salient criticism of Woke 1.0 can be found in the clumsy application of these ideas. Although it's attainable that so many sought after a more robust understanding of the world around them, we didn't have the political acumen or imagination to effectively apply these ideas and create our progressive utopia.

Instead, we opted for virtue signaling. Land acknowledgements at movie theaters and on university websites recognized the genocide of Native Americans but did little to improve the material conditions of Indigenous communities. 'Internet activists' spread awareness about racism and other political topics through infographics that seldom materialized into actionable change.

Woke 1.0 reached its peak in 2020 after the death of George Boyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The culture of isolation and chronic internet use brought on by COVID-19 made this moment inescapable.

For the first time, institutions were incentivized – or forced, rather – to acknowledge America's world racial history. It was a flash-in-the-pan moment when those in power were actually held accountable for past missteps.

This is where many Woke 1.0 dissenters express their grievances with the era. Many thought the 'cancel culture' that woke propagated was too punitive

and unspecific. But let the right tell it, and woke supports were hosting public executions for anyone who strayed from liberal dogma.

I'm sure more wrongful cancellations happened, but more since eightfold reprimanded for food things they said. Actions have consequences.

Trump now rules cancel culture

The reelection of President Donald Trump in 2024 effectively ended Woke 1.0 and the momentum toward a culture it wanted. But the New Englander publicans have regained power, they've employed woke-wops cancel other tactics against anything they dislike – be it books, find Light, NPR, PBS, drug shows, transgender people or diversity, equity and inclusion.

But if the alleged slash-and-burn tactics of Woke 1.0 were not a failure, why have Republicans born able to use them with such success?

It's clear these tactics weren't the sole cause of Woke 1.0's demise. Do calls for radical woke like police and prison abolition were more idealistic than realistic, and the way these ideas were packaged online haphazardly posited them as easy solutions instead of long-term efforts to reimagine ossified institutions. Why would the powers that be want to take part in their own collapse?

Many proposals that came as a result of Woke 1.0 were doomed for this very reason. Bill efforts were tasked with putting Band-Aids over bullet holes with little institutional support. They were set up to fail.

The right has effectively morplied 'woke' into a serious housemism. Progressives should let them wear themselves out, and keep moving along with all the same ideological for that made the right meth down in the first place.

With Woke 2.0 on the horizon, now is the time to take hold of many Americans' dissatisfaction with the state of things in our country. Hopefully, with a bit more practicality.

Bill Mhama is a columnist and digital producer for USA TODAY

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MONEY

USA TODAY | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 | SECTION B

You can check the headlines from your home state or city

We survey and compile the top news stories from all 50 states plus Washington, DC. Page 38

Experts: Economic fix can help SSI

Policies that strengthen wages, workers can help

Medara Lee

USA TODAY

It's the economy, stupid.

Political strategist James Carville coined that phrase during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential run against George H.W. Bush to remind Democrats to focus on pocketbook issues, but some analysts said that logic can also be applied to keep Social Security afloat.

The trust fund that supplements incoming payroll taxes to pay monthly Social Security benefits is expected to run dry by the end of 2032, according to the program's trustees.

When that happens, the law requires benefits to be reduced by an estimated 22% to ensure the program's costs do not exceed its revenues.

While Congress has yet to raise taxes, cut benefits, or do both to keep affording payouts as population growth slows, some economists say the strongest Social Security reforms may not look like Social Security policy at all. Instead, they say, Congress should shift its focus to managing the economy better to encourage more Americans to work and earn.

'Social Security is a reflection of, and is supported by, the strength of the economy,' said economist and Social Security expert Kathryn Anne Edwards at center-left think tank Roosevelt Institute.

'Who is working, how much they earn, how healthy they are, and how much they save matter more than the head count. People could live longer, have fewer kids, and have a solvent Social Security if workers earned enough money.'

Why is Social Security facing cuts and what are current ideas to boost H?

Social Security is financed through a dedicated payroll tax. Employers and employees each pay 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, while the self-employed pay 12.4%.

Now that the large Baby Roomer generation is retiring and collecting Social Security, and population growth has slowed, there aren't enough workers and payroll taxes to fully fund the benefits. That has resulted in the program dipping into its trust fund to make up for the shortfall and running down the balance.

Many politicians, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Sen. Bernie Moreno, B-Ohio, support raising or eliminating the wage cap for the payroll tax to extend Social Security's solvency. Others have suggested raising the full retirement age from 67 years, increasing the payroll tax rate, or capping the annual cost-of-living adjustment.

See ECONOMY, Page 28

GETTY IMAGES PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

See BUDGETS, Page 28

Treasury gives Trump-owned crypto firm a bank charter

Erin Mansfield

USA TODAY

The cryptocurrency company that made President Donald Trump needy $800 million since he returned to the White House has received the green light to become a bank and potentially make him even more money.

World Liberty Trust Co. received conditional approval from the Treasury Department on Aug. 14 to become a bank. The approval specifically gives World Liberty the right to issue a type of cryptocurrency called stablecoin, which is tied to the U.S. dollar.

'Our ambition is clear: to build the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world while strengthening the role of the U.S. dollar across the global economy,' Zach Wilkoff, chief executive officer of World Liberty Financial, wrote in a social media statement.

Trump and his sons cofounded

World Liberty Financial, and the company brought in nearly $800 million for Trump in 2023, according to his financial disclosure.

The Trump organization advertises the company as its website.

Additionally, Zach Wilkoff is the son of diplomat Steve Wilkoff, a key foreign policy figure in the Trump administration.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, called the charter approval 'the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen' and said she would introduce a bill 'to stop this kind of unprecedented corruption.'

Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement 'All of President Trump's investment holdings are held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions. This is the same, tired narrative that Democrats have

pushed against President Trump, his family, and his administration for a decade.'

Trump is a champion of crypto

Many of Trump's policies since taking office have benefited the crypto industry, including implementing federal rules for stablecoins, which is what World Liberty Financial will now be able to issue, and dialing back how much the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission police the industry.

'A charter makes it easier for you to support customers and provide new services,' said Christian Catalini, founder of the MIT Cryptocurrencies Lab. He said World Liberty Financial represents part of a backlog of crypto companies seeking to operate as banks and now getting approved under the Trump administration.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump gesture outside the Nasdaq building after ringing the opening bell to celebrate the closing of ALT's $1.5 billion offering. EDWARD WORREZ/BOTTER

Treasury Secretary Scott Bassett, who was appointed by Trump, wrote on social media Aug. 17 that his department is working 'to provide the regulatory certainty businesses need to innovate

See CHARTER, Page 28

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28 | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | USA TODAY

MONEY

Corporate boards are taking a page from Elon Musk

Ross Kerber FE/UTSA

Extraordinary corporate compensation deals for Elon Musk have opened the door for the CEOs of other S&P 500 companies to win huge paydays, a new study shows.

Even excluding the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, average compensation for chief executives in the S&P 500 soared 20% to $32.4 million in 2025, according to data to be released later on Aug. 20 by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. That is the highest amount since the top U.S. labor federation began tracking the figure in the 1990s.

Joining the gains was an increasing number of mega pay plans inspired by Musk's compensation deal at Tesla worth as much as $6 trillion if he hits all possible targets. Later officials said Shareholders of the electric vehicle maker last November approved a restricted stock plan that the company valued at $600 billion.

Including that figure, average S&P 500 CEO pay reached $340.1 million last year, according to this year's edition of the AFL-CIO's widely followed Payworth study.

Musk also became the world's first trillionaire, based on his state in satellite and artificial intelligence company SpaceX.

Musk's pay "changes the dynamic when often CEO compensation plans come up, boards use it as a reference," Fred Redmond, the AFL-CIO's secretary-treasurer, said in a telephone interview.

Widening any gap back union anger

Meanwhile, said Redmond, wages of employees are being held back by the rise of Al and a National Labor Relations Board run by Republicans, whom labor leaders view as hostile to union organizing efforts.

Both factors helped drive the average ratio of CEO-to-worker pay to 312.1 at S&P 500 companies last year, up from 205.9 in 2024, excluding Musk's Tesla compensation. When Musk's Tesla compensation is included, last year's average pay ratio between CEOs and workers reached 5.387 to 1.

"As we talk to our members, they're pissed off over what's happening to them, and they feel as though they should be more vocal in terms of calling attention to inequality," Redmond said. He noted union representation has hit the highest level in 36 years.

Rising CEO pay and inequality connect to broader political debates on why U.S. workers have trouble affecting housing, health care and other necessities, which remain strong for all U.S. workers were $69,770 as of May 2020, up 3% from a year earlier, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.

Residency compensation committee often argue their pay plans are linked to shareholder value and incentive executives to deliver. They note investors, including the largest asset managers, usually back the pay plans at corporate annual meetings.

Average support for those advisers "say us pay" votes at S&P 500 companies were more at 99.9% strong, late June, according to compensation consulting

Elon Musk, founder, CEO, chairman and chief engineer of SpaceX, speaks via videotalk on the day of SpaceX's initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City on June 12. BROWDER MCDERMOTT/REUTERS

firm Semler Bessey, up from 89.4% for all of 2025.

Not further votes

The trend does not always apply to the proliferation of special pay awards, however, former Bessey found. "Those awards, which are usually intended to be one-off, and exist outside of annual compensation programs, are a hot-butten issue," the first found.

Among S&P 500 companies disclosing special pay awards, Wall Street bank officials, and the state notes between $118.9 million last year, including a ma-

jor retention award. In an advisory vote, 75% of shares cast backed the pay before the average. Asked to comment, Goldman Sachs spokesman Tony Puthwaud, "We're very pleased with the strong surprisingly thin vote received."

Also, real estate investment trust Wellcome paid CEO Alanda Mitra $621 million, meant to include most of his pay over the coming decade. Only 8% of shares cast supported the pay.

"Wellcome's board and compensation committee remain committed to engaging with shareholders to gather that flexibility and understand their perspectives," a spokesperson said.

Budgets

Continued from Page 18

Oregon has the highest childcare costs relative to the state's median family income.

The state's median care incomes 20.1% of median family income in the state.

That means a typical household would need to nearly triple its income for care to reach the 7% threshold.

Where day care is least expensive

Mississippi has the lowest estimated income needed to afford toddler care, at $92,743. But that is still nearly $20,000 higher than the state's median family income, at $73,381.

West Virginia ranks second-lowest at $25,000, with 2% of Alabama at $121,534, South Dakota at $126,557 and Arkansas at $123,618.

Mississippi also has the lowest average annual toddler care cost in the analysis, at $6,492. Even so, that repre-

sents 8.9% of median family income, showing that lower child care prices do not necessarily make care affordable for typical households.

Childcare can also cost more than other major household expenses. ConsumerAffairs found annual toddler care costs more than average in-state tuition, as a four-year public college in 37 states.

Nationally, toddler care costs about 10% more than average in-state public college tuition. Childcare costs are lower than median mortgage and rent payments in most states.

The analysis used 2023 state averages for full time, center-based toddler care from Child Care Aware of America. ConsumerAffairs calculated the income needed for care to represent 7% of household income by dividing each state's annual childcare cost by 0.07.

New Mexico was excluded because it began offering universal no-cost child care to residents in late 2025. Colorado and South Carolina did not report 2025 childcare costs, so their figures were estimated using the national year-over-year change in childcare costs.

Economy

Continued from Page 18

Why aren't those ideas good enough?

People see Social Security as "the inexorable result of demographics," Edwards said. "This view stems from understanding Social Security as basically a pyramid scheme. Workers pay in, retirees get out, so the ratio between them underpins the program's stability. People desiringly add less down time, says, Social Security is running out of money. That's a one-dimensional view of a multidimensional problem."

Instead, Social Security depends more on the underlying strength of the economy and how well it is managed, analysts said. Polices that strengthen the economy, encourage more people to work and enable people to earn higher wages are better options to boost Social Security, they said.

What kind of policies could help?

Policies that strengthen the labor economy and increase wages and the number of workers would automatically translate into more money for Social Security. Edwards said those examples of policies that she said could help include:

• Basic changes in labor regulations, such as paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, and the right to work part time, as well as infrastructure investments including universal free childcare funds. However, to increase the labor force participation of parents, particularly mothers.

• Raising wages through such policies as a higher minimum wage and stronger collective bargaining would strengthen the programs' finances—not just workers' purchases. Wage inequality has contributed to Social Security's erosion.

• Comprehensive immigration remains also directly affects the number of workers paying into the system. Immigrants increase the number of workers and payroll taxes, even if the immigrants aren't authorized.

• Changing Social Security rules such as the special benefit and the work of a labor force.

Currently, partners married for at least a decade are eligible for the higher of two benefits: one based on their highest (5 years of earnings or one that is half of their partner's benefit, which is based on the partner's highest 35 years of earnings. Spouses who never worked and those who worked but with gaps for parent or child caregiving may both end up with half their partner's benefit despite work history differences.

Social Security reduces benefits for retirees who claim better reaching full retirement age and imposes a retirement earnings test that reduces benefits further for those who earn more than $32,400 annually—with benefit amounts lowered by $6 for every $2 earned above the cap. "The Retirement Earnings Test was passed during the Great Depression, specifically to post-older Americans out of the workforce and free up more jobs for younger Americans," Sen Rick Scott, R-Pexels, said in a March statement introducing a bill to reduce jobs related to "any all aware—it's not the 1930s anymore."

Other work-friendly policies could

include eliminating "benefits cliffs," said Stephen Bell, assistant professor in the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Benefits cliffs are what government benefits programs create difficult trade-offs for low wage workers. Workers often must choose between earning or saving more and losing eligibility for or facing reductions in food, health care, housing, and childcare assistance that are worth more than any added income.

"These policy-design choices may place workers in a position where taking a case, acceding more issue, or holding emergency savings could make them worse off financially," Bell said.

The government could consider, for example, gradually reducing benefits as earnings rise, rather than allowing a relatively small raise to produce a much larger loss in assistance, he said.

"The simple idea here is that people should always be better off financially when they earn more," Bell said.

"These cliffs make it on an individual could save thousands of dollars in benefits if they take a 50-cent on-hour case. Programs with these cliffs should instead shift to phoneend structures, like the Earnest Income Tax Credit, to avoid these major work disincentives."

Although Bell doesn't let his benefits cliffs analyze to Social Security insolvency issues, other economists say any policies to encourage work and higher wages would inevitably help.

What about AI's effect on labor?

So far, studies show artificial intelligence has mostly cut employment 100% for early career workers in occupations most exposed to AI, such as software

development and customer support, according to a 2025 50-skilled report.

But Philip Diehl, former U.S. mint director during the Clinton administration and president of gold and previous metals dealer U.S. Money Reserve, said he expects AI to take a longer toll in coming years that will hit Social Security.

"There is a painful transition coming during which new jobs will be created at a slower pace and require new skill sets that the older generation doesn't have," he said. "These older employees who don't make the transition will retire earlier and take benefits, which has an immediate effect on Social Security. Then, there's to what extent AI will reduce jobs and reduce pay for jobs. There is some evidence of reduced pay for jobs more exposed to AI."

Lower wages mean less money to tax for Social Security.

"None of these factors are reflected in the latest estimates for Social Security insolvency," he said. That means insolvency could come even sooner than 2032, he said.

"In purpose for that, Diehl said Congress should start working on a plan 'to move funding from labor to capital—having wealth, assets, and income at a higher level,' he said.

Government could also begin preparing the workforce for AI disruption, Edwards said.

AI's impact is determined by the extent to which policymakers help affected workers reenter the workforce. That has less to do with technology assistance with policymakers' ability and effectiveness," she said.

"The biggest threat to Social Security is mismanaging the economy," Edwards said.

Charter

Continued from Page 18

and govern it America, cement the role of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, and keep America the crypto capital of the world.

The Treasury Department did not comment in response to USA TODAY's inquiry about the chartering process or potential ethical implications, but the approval letter from the Office of Comptroller of Currency describes public comments that claimed there could be conflicts of interest because Trump ap-

pointed the comptroller.

"The comptroller and staff acted consistently with their illegal duties and ethical obligations with respect to the application," the letter says.

It further says that career staff, not the comptroller himself, supervise and enforce laws related to banks such as World Liberty Financial.

'Not a joke'

In a statement, David Wachsman, spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, pointed to language in the preliminary conditional approval letter designed to keep the Trump-owned family

company that owns a stake in World Liberty Financial separate from banking operations.

In plain English, it requires the Trump family entity to remain separate from the state's company's operations and prevents it from influencing how the company is run," Wachsman said. "These safeguards were included specifically to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest."

The charter is preliminary and requires the company to notify the Office of Comptroller of Currency of any major business plan changes, maintain at least $25 million in capital and hire an internal audit manager.

"Critics are missing the point: World Liberty Financial is embracing regulations, not avoiding it," Wachsman said.

A national charter would place World Liberty Trust Company under permanent federal oversight – well beyond the Trump administration.

Catalan, who generally supports regulating crypto more similarly to banks, said a future Democratic president could choose to appoint someone who regulates the company differently.

Being regulated as a bank is not a joke," he said.

"I think in the long run this is going to be a net benefit for society."

Contributing: Reuters

---

MONEY

USA TODAY 8 THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2024 | 18

50+ States

News from The USA

ALABAMA Trucaloosa: The United Way of West Alabama on Aug. 31 kicked off its 2026 campaign drive with a goal of raising $5 million.

ALASKA Skagway: The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has suspended state ferry service to Skagway indefinitely after major structural damage was discovered at the town's state-owned ferry dock, KJ050 reported.

ARKANSAS Hot Springs: The iconic Planters NJ/Trouble, a 26-foot peanut-shaped vehicle, is scheduled to visit Hot Springs on Aug. 29 for a free public event at the Mid-America Science Museum, KARK reported.

CALIFORNIA Sacramento: California is phasing out use of a highly toxic herbicide almost two years after state thousands of dollars for investigation into its health risks and five months after a spill of the concentrated chemical closed a rural loshiyou County town. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation said that an of the first week of August, every pesticide manufacturing company that used paragraph to California had voluntarily canceled their state paragraph product registrations.

COLORADO Denver: Reluctance are getting closer to a big launch in Denver. Waymo already has its autonomous vehicles, often referred to by others as robotaxis, driving in the city for training. That joint 8-m to truck to what providing rules in Denver through its app before the year is out. 2024, the 2026 agency's first city where vehicles could routinely face money conditions, an important feat for launching in other markets outside of the foothold.

CONNECTICUT New Haven: New Haven officials have unveiled a low-cost, after-school initiative that will offer care and assistance programs for app to 2,000 elementary and middle school students, WFM reported.

DELAWARE Seaford: State officials have closed a fishing pier on the Nanticoke River in Seaford due to structural concerns.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: The Savannah Bananas will return to Washington, DC's Nationals Park on Oct. 10 for the inaugural Bananas Road championship tournament featuring all on Bananas Ball teams, WUSA's reported.

FLORIDA Orlando: A popular Florida resort is under contract for a staggering $0.18 billion. Ryman Hospitality Properties is a definitive agreement to purchase Grande Lakes Orlando Resort. The seller is Trinity Investments.

GEORGIA Benzfort County: Benzfort County Mosquito Control said additional West Side virus-positive mosquito samples were reported on Aug. 10 in the county, less than a month after first reporting other cases in July.

Jamaica Honolulu: Public memorial services honoring former Gov. George Arjovich, the state's longest-serving governor and the first Asian American-slaved governor in U.S. history, will be held Sept. 10-19 in Honolulu, Hawaii News Now reported.

IDAHO Boise: State officials said Idaho has spent about $5 million on wildfire suppression this year as nearly 700,000 acres have barbed statewide during an especially active fire season, Idaho Capital Jun. reported.

ILLINOIS Springfield: A 25-foot-tall Cory Dog topped with some mustard and best-bag has been added to the Illinois Route 66 Experience at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The installation was unveiled Aug. 15 and celebrates one of Springfield's best-known Route 66 attractions, according to a community announcement.

INDIANA Lafayette: Recent conversations around the use of Flock cameras and the rise of Al State prompted Lafayette's home to form a new ad-many committee on an effort to focus on the state's history. The city of Lafayette will establish a Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee to review the city's use of technology and related policies, with a particular focus on transparency, accountability, privacy and the protection of residents' constitutional rights.

MISS Des Moines: The fourth day of the 2026 Iowa State Fair saw $23,340 people attend a record for the first Sunday of the fair. The previous record for the first Sunday was $35,048, which was set in 2024.

HIGHLIGHT: ARIZONA

National Park Service biologists have trapped invasive species including crayfish in this slough and other backwaters just below Glen Canyon Dam. BRANDON LOOMOLGA TODAY NETWORK

Flagstaff: Crayfish have joined the last of non-native species among below Glen Canyon Dam for a potential invasion of the Grand Canyon, raising alarms from conservationists who want to protect pristine tributary streams in the national park. National Park Service biologists say the invasive species that has caused ecological havoc in other streams has now shown up by the thousands in agency acts below the dam. They author more than 2,000 so far this year is a short stretch of the Colorado River where last year they found the over-the-double Park Service Colorado River Coordinator Nicki Gibney told members of an advisory group that works to minimize the dam's environmental impacts.

KANSAS Topeka: Energy is planning to build more power plants to serve Kansas as the electric utility experiences a boom in demand from data centers.

KENTUCKY Covington: Benjamin Ruelin will spend time in federal prison after telling staff of Rep. Thomas Watson that he wanted to shoot the congressman in the head. He also threatened a U.S. senator with a "hammer visit".

LOUISIANA Alexandria: Coca-Cola UNITED announced that it will invest $500 million to expand and modernize warehouse operations at its Alexandria location.

MAINE Wolfe: If ever there were a year for the Wolfe town clerk to uncover a long lost local transcription of the Charleston in Independence, this is it. Town Clerk Michele Droulette-Noble recently discovered a handwritten copy prepared by one of her predecessors and read about by a Wolfe minister shortly after the nation's founding fathom drafted and signed the document in the summer of 1776.

MARYLAND Govoshel: A federal judge blocked a Trump administration plan to relocate the new FBI headquarters to Washington, DC, rather than in Maryland, which had been joined in 2012 to beat the building. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chiang ruled with the Democratic-led state of Maryland and Prince George's County in ruling the administration had unlawfully scrapped a plan to construct a new FBI headquarters in Gosshel, Maryland, and diverted money approved by Congress for that project to an alternate location, the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Harvard University agreed to pay $63 million to involve lawsuits by families alleging it mishandled the bodies of loved ones donated to its medical school and whose parts were then sold on the black market by the former manager of its meager.

MICHIGAN Delta Township: LG Energy Solutions officials welcomed lawmakers and media for a tour of the newly opened LG battery plant in Delta Township for an official opening ceremony on Aug. 18. Production at the $2.4 billion, 2.8 million-square-foot facility is expected to range up in August.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Minnesota used Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for refusing to extradite a federal immigration agent facing assault charges for shooting a Venenman man in the leg in Minneapolis during last winter's deportation surge.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Jackson city leaders have approved plans that could transform one of the capital city's most visible long-vacant properties along the Interstate 55 corridor into a residential and recreational development.

MONTANA Beverhead County: Gov. Greg Gauscher said Montana received a FEMA Fee Management Assistance Grant to help combat the Sand Creek Fire, the state's largest active wildfire, as it continues to grow beyond 30,000 acres. The Daily Montanese reported.

MISSOURI Lincoln: Gov. Jim Pillen appointed 37 members to a new Data Center Task Force that will study how the rapidly growing industry affects the state's water, energy and infrastructure resources, KOLY reported.

NEVADA Carson City: Nearly two-thirds of Nevada voters would support raising the state's tobacco tax, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Nevada Current reported.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Enrollment in the state's school was double program, known as Education Freedom Accounts, is up 25% by the upcoming academic year. New Hampshire Public Radio reported. There are 32,360 students enrolled, and the Children's Scholarship Fund, which operates the program, said 943 students are on its satellite, according to the news outlet.

NEW JERSEY Pennsylvania: A new groundwater cleanup plan has been proposed for a long contaminated industrial site in the township. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a proposed plan for the Chernedine. Superfund site that targets groundwater contamination that has spread beyond the former facility.

NEW MEXICO Tucumcari: A new Turquoise Child Development Center facility has opened at Tucumcari, adding space for 55 children and more than doubling the program's capacity to expand child care access in Quay County, KIKJE reported.

NEW YORK Buffalo: Three nursing homes in the Buffalo area will repay $9 million after an investigation. Today they submitted tens of thousands of fraudulent claims to Medicaid to increase their reimbursement rates. New York Attorney General Letitia, home announced.

NORTH CAROLINA Belmont: Gascon College's Kindred Campus will become the headquarters of Future-TEX, a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute focused on expanding U.S. capabilities in filters, textiles and advanced materials manufacturing. The initiative is a 10-year Department of War effort designed to modernize materials textile production and strengthen support for the defense industry, according to a news release.

NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: Gov. Kelly Armstrong has declared a statewide drought disaster and activated the state's Interstate Disaster Fund for the first time since 2024 as worsening dry conditions continue to impact historic and maritime, KVRR reported.

OHIO Cincinnati: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official found near Cincinnati is no longer working for the agency amid criminal cases in state and federal court.

OKLAHOMA McCurtain County: SWX and Google have signed a 10-year power purchase agreement for the total output of a 155-megawatt solar project planned for McCurtain County, marking the major German multinational energy company's first solar development in Oklahoma.

OREGON Saline: The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new regulations Aug. 16 and 18 of reducing whole entanglements in the state's commercial以及以及 delivery. They include requirements for electronic record monitoring, and for experimental fishing permits that will pilot the use of new up fishing gear, which is safer for whales.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order that would require companies setting up AI data centers in the state to meet environmental and transparency safeguards and secure local community approval for the projects.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: In旺盛, two of new automated former pilot-reader cameras in Rhode Island may be passed and a 60-day review will be conducted to establish standards on the use of the cameras and the data they collect.

SOUTH CAROLINA Myrtle Beach: President Donald Trump is expected to campaign in Myrtle Beach on Aug. 21 on behalf of a Republican candidate running for U.S. Senate.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls, in partnership with the City of Sioux Falls, broke ground Aug. 31 on its second affordable housing development, marking a major step toward adding 36 new owner-occupied homes on the city's south side.

TENNESSEE Knoxville: The University of Tennessee at Knoxville estimates its fall 2026 enrollment at more than 40,000 students, marking another record-breaking year for the university.

TEXAS Houston: Bristol News's Squibb is bringing a $2.3 billion drug manufacturing campus and 500 jobs to Houston. The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical manufacturer said it had selected the city for the 600,000-square-foot campus, which will be built to speed up the delivery of what it calls "cost" generation medicines to patients.

UTAH Moab: Utah wildlife officials removed four beam from Moab after extreme drought and food shortages drove the animals into the city in search of food, KUTV reported.

VERMONT South Burlington: One way local groups can get money from South Burlington in blueprinting. The city plans instead to focus on funding mental health support and drug-use treatment, using opioid settlement money. If a priest from the city's usual approach - opening up small grants to all sorts of social services organizations - to put money toward problems at the root of public safety concerns and to services that specifically help South Burlington residents.

VIRGINIA Augusta County: The Augusta County Community Development Department and the Friends of the Middle River are training up for a clean up event Aug. 20.

WASHINGTON Beckley: The Port of Seattle approved initial funding for a $2.5 billion overhead of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's aging 8 Concession, KINGS reported.

WEST VIRGINIA Belmont: Power producer NWS Energy has been named as a potential suitor for a West Virginia coal plant that landed in bankruptcy with $10 million in cash and several profitable years ahead of it, a court filing shows.

WISCONSIN Beaver Dam: A partnership between Meta and inspire WI will bring expanded cancer readiness opportunities and a new student leadership program to bridge County high school students. The initiative was adopted begins WI's Academic and Community Program efforts across the county during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, according to a community announcement.

WYOMING Cheyenne: Wyoming Gutter and Fish Department data show says growth in all attendees fall 13% in 2026 from the previous year, a decline biologists attribute to the species' natural population cycle and dry habitat conditions across the state. The Sheridan Press reported. From USA TODAY Network and acre reports.

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48

THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | USA TODAY

MONEY

Discover the history and beauty of the

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Democrat & Chronicle

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SPORTS

USA TODAY | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 | SECTION C

Solomon Tuliaspupu, reacting after a sack, started in 12 of the 14 games he played in 2025 for the Montana Grizzlies. His season was highlighted by being named second team All-Big Sky and he earned Academic All-Big Sky honors, too. The graduate student was granted eligibility for 2026, nine years after first committing to the USC Trojans in January 2016. TODAY MARTIN/LIVING/USA-FRIZES

Wild yes but ... inspirational

The college football story that sounds ridiculous until you hear the whole truth

Jordan Mendoza USA TODAY

Just as Bobby Kennedy arrived as a Stanford assistant in 2008, he knew of a highly touted recruit out of vaunted Southern California powerhouse Mater Det. Solomon Tuliaspupu.

As a receivers coach, Kennedy didn't think much of the linebacker, other than knowing he played a role in the Monarchs' undertouted national championship season in 2017. The coach spent four seasons at Stanford, took a year off coaching and spent a season at Rice in 2024. He arrived at Montana last season and was promoted for 2026.

And in his first season as a head coach, who will be have on his team? Well, none other than that BoCal recruit all those years ago.

In an era of college sports when it seems like player eligibility is unlimited, no one may exemplify it like Tuliaspupu, who enters his ninth-yes, ninth - season of college football.

To casual football fans, it's a preposterous headline. There were plenty of people up in arms when he received his ninth season of eligibility in February. Why would someone in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence, Micah Traverse, Ja'Marr Chase and graduate high school with Amon-Ra St. Brown still be playing college football in 2026? It sounds ridiculous, yet it's anything but to the 26-year-old. "I totally understand how some people could be frustrated about just hearing my story, without having all the content and clues," he told USA TODAY Sports.

To Tuliaspupu, a ninth season represents overcoming a long, painful road, one that

nearly made him walk away from the game he loves multiple times. Did he want it to go like this? No, but he doesn't regret any part of the journey. "It's a special story," Kennedy said.

Tuliaspupu had his future snapped out partially in high school. He was going to play college ball for three seasons and make it to the NFL. He had the tools to do so as the No. 54 overall recruit in the 2018 class and the 2017 USA TODAY All-USA National Defensive Player of the Year.

However, that plan got off course before high school finished.

After no injury history, he twisted his left ankle in fall camp of his senior year and did it again during the season. Painful, but still powering through as he tried to finish the season.

Then came the playoff semifinal against Mission Viejo, when he suffered a left Lisitano tear. He wanted to play on it but recalled doctors telling him doing so would "do irreversible damage to your whole foot."

Tuliaspupu decided to have the reconstructive surgery, and in January 2018, he lived the dream of committing to the Trojans. The start to that, though, was disrupted.

There were risks of the surgery not being entirely successful, and it ended up not working. His first summer at USC was spent doing rehab, and he eventually got put in an immobile cast that meant sitting out all of his first year.

See INSPIRATIONAL, Page 2C

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

The nation's best players play on the nation's best teams. It's funny how that works out. The USA TODAY Sports preseason All-America college football team for 2026 features standouts from the favorites for this year's College Football Playoff, with multiple first- and second-team selections from Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas, including Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (above). Who made the team, 2C ISIN LONDRDAM THE BUGDIE, ORIGINE REGISTER-GUARD

PGA Tour Playoffs lacking real drama

Adam Schupak OCTOBER 2, USA TODAY SATURDAY

ST. LOUIS - Ryan Gerard is on the verge of completing his top goal for the season, something he's never accomplished on the PGA Tour. Gerard, 27, enters the BMW Championship ranked No. 17 in the seasonlong FedExCup points race and looks to be a lock to finish in the Top 30. That would punch his ticket to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

"That's my white whale," he said. "I told myself if I got to East Lake, it'd be a successful season. That's the barometer. It gets you in all the majors, a two-year exemption and it means you've had a solid season. Then I'll go to Atlanta

See PGA TOUR, Page 3C

EXCLUSIVE

Cunningham wants more game talk

Meghan L. Hall USA TODAY

ATLANTA - Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is signing autographs for a way of screening fans ahead of a matchup against the Atlanta Dream of Aug. 26.

Sophlet Sophlet Sophlet® they shoot, hanging over the railing at State Farm Arena with outstretched arms. Cunningham has a mountain of items waiting for her signature. A jersey. A deflated basketball. A pair of her ankles Crazy Energy Tophie Cunningham! I'll show that sold out on July 24, the same day they debuted.

See CUNNINGHAM, Page 3C

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham averages 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists. THE VIN RUSZKOWSKI/MAON RASSIN

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2C 1 | TULINGDAY AUGUST 20, 2028 | USA TODAY

SPORTS

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Moore wins QB debate in USA TODAY reveal

Paul Myerberg USA TODAY

The nation's best players play on the nation's best teams. It's funny how that works out.

The USA TODAY Sports preseason All-America college football team for 2028 features aluminum from the favorites for this year's College Football Playoff, with multiple first- and second-team headroom team changes. Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas.

The biggest debate might have come at quarterbacks, where Oregon's Dante Moore earned first-team accolades over Ohio State's Julian Sayin.

On the other hand, there was no debate over the three players who earned unanimous first-team honors. Ole Moss running back Kansas Lacy, Ohio State wide-receives Jeremiah Smith and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore.

Voting was conducted by more than 20 college football writers and editors in the USA TODAY Sports Network. Our results are below an asterisk denotes a unanimous choice.

First-team offense

• QB Dante Moore, Oregon
• Moore opted to come back to Oregon after throwing for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2025, his first season on the starter after transferring from UCLA.
• 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pounders, 2,000-pound

Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith led the Big Ten with 67 catches for 1,243 yards in 2025, and 7 touchdowns in 2025.

player in college football and has a chance this season to cement his place among the best players at his position in modern history. There's 1,126 yards in 2025 in a de-everything skill talent for the thurricanes. After making 32 grabs last season, Johnson is expected to play an even larger role for the Ducks in 2026:

• OT: Carter Smith, Indiana
• OT: Trevor Goutley, Texas
• C: Juipini Laboula, Oregon
• OIG: Evan Tongendahl, Cincinnati
• OIG: Kade Pinger, Iowa
• Smith is the anchor of what should again be a bruising and intimidating in-about-offensive front. Goutley's decision to come back to Texas will give Anzi Manning an elite blinds-side protector, Lincoln made the way for an Oregon running game that averaged 5.4 yards per carry and had 15 touchdowns last season. After an often brilliant first year as a starter in 2025, Tongendahl will be in the mix for national hardware even if the Broncos fail to move beyond the seven-win mark. Pinger can play multiple spots along the anterior and would be an All-America candidate at center, no

First-team defense

• DE: Colin Simmons, Texas
• DE: Dylan Stewart, South Carolina
• OT: X-Moon Washington, Oregon
• OT: Tyreque Tucker, Indiana

• Johnson delivered a breakout 2025 (15.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and is at times the most undergraduate edge maker in the nation. When healthy, Stewart (12 tackles for loss in 2025) over his behind Washington, is a force along the missive of what looks like the best defensive front in the Power Over. Tucker (12 tackles for loss in 2025) is simply a wrecking ball.

• LB: Roderers Biles, Texas

• CB: Riddle Hargh, Indiana
• LB: Sammy Brown, Clemson

• A very strong 2025 of Pitt 2015 tackles, 27 tackles for loss) paints Biles as one of the most important finishers in the Power Over. Hardy led the defending champion in tackles 2025 and seeks bright white adding 35 tackles for loss. Brown (106 tackles) is the centerpiece of a Chesnech-Holmes that may be the best in the ACC.

• CB: Leonard Moore, Notre Dame*

• CB: Brandon Denny, Oregon
• R: Ed Redden, Georgia
• R: Bryn Hibbisch, Alabama
• Moore is easily fueled by quarterbacks but still manages to make plays after interceptions, one returned for a score in 2025) as the nation's best-de-broster look. Denny came up big with two interceptions. In fact, the team was against Texas Tech. It's easy to slot holders (75 tacks) two interceptions in 2025) among the run-of elite safety-wins she fights. Smart at Georgia, Hibbisch has posted seven interceptions since stripping into Alabama (living in 2024).

First-team specialists

• K: Trite Bandell, Oklahoma
• P: Evan Corneluse, Troy

• RET: De Bredorf Clark, Kent State

• AP: Wayne Knight, UCLA

• Bandell was terrific in 2025 (24 of 27 field goals) and at his best from doing distance, making eight of nine attempts from 50 plus yards. Leveraging 45.7 yards per punt last year made Corneluse the first Troy player since the program joined the Pitt to earn All-America honors from multiple selections in the same season. Clark averaged 28.3 yards per hand off series with two scores in 2025. Knight finished with a 50.4 yards from Cheney from James Madison, where he ran for 1,575 yards and had 397 receiving yards in last year's playoff push.

Second-team offense

• QB: Julian Sayin, Ohio State
• RB: LJ Morris, JPO
• RB: Mark Fletcher, Miami
• WR: Cora Gorman, Texas
• WR: Nick Marsh, Indiana
• TE: Troy Two Green, LSU
• OT: Tayden Green, Missouri
• OT: Jordan Sexton, LSU
• C: Drew Keale, Georgia
• OG: Greg Johnson, Minnesota
• OG: Anthony Knupp, Notre Dame

Second-team defense

• DE: Anthony Smith, Minnesota
• DE: John Henry Daley, Michigan
• DT: Al Helmes, Texas Tech
• DT: Manuel Moten, Miami
• LB: Ray Lewis, Oklahoma
• LB: Ray Lewis, Oklahoma
• LB: Rayne Wilson, Georgia
• CB: Zabren Brown, Alabama
• CB: Ellis Robinson, Georgia
• R: Ke Pexels, Oregon
• R: Bryce Fitzgerald, Miami

Second-team specialists

• K: Lucas Carneiro, Ole Moss
• P: Palmer Williams, Buche
• RET: Ryan Miskitt, Texas
• AP: Titchie Williams, Texas Tech

Inspirational

Continued from Page 1C

Tuliangupu was on the field in spring of 2009 when he had another LaGarde test. This one wasn't an severe, but he was again told surgery was needed or he faced the same possible consequences. A future was done on the wouldn't have to worry about turning it again, but this meant another best, another instance of limited mobility.

If you add that together, it's like over a year of not using your foot," he said.

Two seasons down the drain, but there was optimism in 2020. He was ready for spring half—until COVID-19 lockdowns halted that.

Given how tathrish the Pre-12's 2nd season, he was going to be 1500-2000's start full practice until October. Tuliangupu was feeling strong, going after it, and in the first week, he was doing a drill where he planted the foot, and he didn't feel his left foot give out.

Instead, it was his left knee. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament. A third straight season not playing.

"At that point I'm like, Alright, what the heck is happening with my body"—Tuliangupu said. "I don't know what's going on."

The 2023 when Tuliangupu was finally ready to play, and he awaited a debut against Stanford, according to he on the special teams unit. That didn't happen, and just his luck, it wasn't long before his left knee started to feel funny again.

He met with medical professionals, and they advised him to focus on recovery to figure out what's going on. The plan of three years and the NFL turned into four years and injured for it all.

That season was about Day. He then was a good start in 2023, and he was a Lincash Riley came in to lead the Trojans. He said the morning stuff did player evaluations on the scene, and Tuliangupu's history was hard to ignore.

He was cut.

"I kept calling them," he said. "I was like, 'Hey, please, just give me a shot. Just give me a shot. I feel like I haven't even got a shot in my college career yet, man.'"

After permitting, Tuliangupu was given a spring tryout. He proved he belonged, coming his spot on the video. He was again ready to go for the season, and this time he actually did it.

Switching to the defensive line, Tuliangupu appeared in all 14 games for the Trojans ex route to a Cotton Bowl appearance. Not even a turn brings him in the season stopped him.

The momentum of the first full season carried Tuliangupu into earning a

starting spot going into the full camp of 2020. He was on the job, an expanded role. But during a preseason practice, he planted his foot and again felt something wrong.

It was his right knee. He tore the other ACL. Another season gone before it begins.

Even with all the pain before, this one was different. In five years, injuries detailed four of them. Family and friends were constantly asking if he was sure he still wanted to play. He'd treat them like they were crazy, telling them of course he will want to be on field. He'd puff his chest out and let everyone know he was built for this.

But inside, Tuliangupu was struggling. He did wonder if football was really meant for him.

"I don't know if this is for me," he recalled. "There's a sight of just stay up and cry, and I go lift some weight to feel better. Then I'd want to feel sad again, start crying again, and just go lift some more weight."

Support from family didn't waive, specifically, from his wife, Okiva. She was in his corner every time doubt crept in. They also were enjoying their first child.

The 2024 season arrived and Tuliangupu was good, not missing a beat from the jump. However, the day after USC played Nebraska, he got out X—and it got pretty bad.

He had defecates A, swathing in high, fevers and losing 20 pounds in a quick open. Any time he tried doing any physical work, he was throwing up, and he missed the rest of the season. It was worse trying to help care for his newborn baby.

"That sickness really scared me," Tuliangupu said. "I never felt that sick before. I thought I was gonna die. I was mad."

And the time he recovered, Tuliangupu walked into Riley's office and told him it was time to retire. He thanked him for letting him continue his dream of being a Trojan, but he didn't think he had anything left in him. Not only did he retire, he was actually trusting for a job to support his family.

However, a few months later Tuliangupu realized he had an extra year of eligibility. After the NCAA combined it, he sat down with Okiva and decided to enter the transfer portal, seeing if anyone would offer.

The initial process was rough. A true forebeater who turned into a defensive end, he wanted to go back to his old position, but without some only offering him at the edge. Each time he expressed that 'in potential nations, talks fall through.

There weren't any leads until Montana, whose coaches told him he could

play forebeater. That's all it took for him to move from Southern California to Missoula.

In his first year with the Gritzlins, Tuliangupu had his best season with 43 tackles, two sacks and two forced families, earning second team All-Big-Big for played in 14 of Montanari 15 games on its way to a Football Championship. Subdivision semifinal appearance, only winning one game to help care for his wife after her deal died, something he had on frustration doing.

That wouldn't be the end of it. Around the 2023 postseason, Tuliangupu said Montana staff members said they could maybe get him ninth year. He didn't even realize it was possible.

"I expelatory you not, I was like tearing up," he said. "I was like, dude. I've been looking for him and like I was getting out of the present from jobs. If you guys can give me another year, I will play. I'll play however many extra years you guys get me."

A few weeks were by without an update, resulting in Tuliangupu getting ready for the job-mother again. In February, after longtime coach Bobby Houck announced his retirement, Tuliangupu got the good news. He was granted a ninth season.

There was jubilation in Missoula. "I was the happiest guy in America," Riley a fly said.

Then came the announcement of it. "Everyone in the whole breaking country is like roasting my ass," Tuliangupu said.

Just about everyone at Montana understands it may be silly for Tuliangupu to play a ninth season.

He does hear it from his teammates, referring to him as "unc" and calling just about everyone "mighthood".

Defensive coordinator Eric Sanders attended them were staff members who gave them their names and the same time as Tuliangupu, and they had a PowerPoint presentation where they went through all of the fashion stages he went through in his college career.

It's all in fun, but that's not how everyone sees it. Tuliangupu has gotten his fair share of trolls and unpleasant comments, telling him to get a job or it's ridiculous to still be playing. It used to really bother him, but now some of it does mean him. It's something him up.

"Sometimes it's kind of like it's fuel or not to do good. This next year and he like, alright, you guys want to talk on that season," Alright. "He gonna show you then," he said. "It's funny, but at the same time, it's like, alright, cool. I got some ammo."

Besides, it's not like he's been playing all of the first eight years. In the 98 games in those eight seasons, he's played in just 38 contests.

Missing basically five seasons of action is more than enough reason to stop playing. But Tuliangupu didn't, and that should be viewed as inspiration.

It takes a guy with great fortitude and belief in himself that they can come through on the other end. That's what I see with Schi. Kennedy said. "We only get so long to play this game, and if he's having a good experience at the University of Montana, then heck, I would say this: I want him around as long as we can keep him. He's let's get him an lift, or 1200 year."

Double-digit years may be pushing it, and don't worry. Tuliangupu is pretty sure this is the first year—and he's excited.

Coaches describe him as a true leader on a team under a new coaching staff. Sanders said he was the first player he wanted to be in the game of the same brain. He added Tuliangupu has been a vocal leader, able to distinguish what it takes for his teammates to succeed.

"He's a father to young kids and so he's got a little bit of an ability to be a goodball too and he just has a good personality," Sanders said. "Obviously have the maturity that is required to be a father and he responsible for other people, but he also can be a good and make jokes, and that enables him to connect with his teammates."

While a strong final man is what Tuliangupu wants, it's not his ultimate goal in 2026. Really, he wants to inspire his teammates and people who learn just an ounce of his activity.

Instead of just fuel for anger, what I do hope (people) get is some inspiration of not giving up. Even when your hardest year of life comes, even when you feel like everything's falling in on you and there's nowhere else to go, just get up, start yourself off, and just keep going," he said. "He only won to live it in keep going."

So yes, Tuliangupu will play a ninth season of college football.

The path was nothing he envisioned, but he didn't quit. Tuliangupu entered college as a highly touted prospect and well leave full of battle soon he proudly shows off.

With his wife and two kids—with one more on the way—beside him, Tuliangupu is standing tall, ready to end his college career strong.

It's been a long and painful road, but he is grateful for every happy he endured, and persevering to finish out his dream the right way.

"It's nowhere near been how I planned it when I was coming out of high school. I'm so grateful the way the land has worked in my life and kind of just painted this awesome picture that I never saw coming," he said. "I wouldn't write it any other way."

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SPORTS

USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2025 | 1C

PGA Tour

Continued from Page 1C

and see if I can make some extra birdies and see what happens"

The 50-man field at Bellevive Country Club will be watched to 10 this week, and golf fans can only hope that there will be more drama and tension than last week's exosser at the first playoff stop, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

There's no stopping bootie Scheffler when his puffer is the best in the field, and he won last week by eight strokes, the most this season on the PGA Tour. But the tournament within the tournament – the cut from 70 to 50 for this week's BMW Championship that begins Aug. 20 – had even less juices.

Sure, golf fans get to watch Keith Mitchell, No. 49 at the start of the week, and Jordan Sparks, No. 32, tighten up under the pressure and come up empty in their desperate point of the one last birdie. But only one player – Sangjue Im – moved from outside to inside the top 50, which meant only one fell out.

The PGA Tour unkown the volatility out of the first two legs of the playoffs by reducing the point totals. Instead of 2,000 FedExCup points being awarded to the winner, Scheffler earned 750, the same on The Pogoro Championship.

The tour also abandoned the starting strokes format at the Tour Championship, which had been instituted in 2009 and gave FedExCup leaders a head start in the finale. Now, the last event of the season in a 72-hole stroke-play event with all players starting the tournament at even-par. The best performer over the course of the season at the Tour Championship wins the FedExCup and the largest share of the season, $10 million. It was a step in the right direction.

The tour's argument for the change is that a player's regular season shouldn't be easily prohibited by a one-week wonder – or one lackluster week – during the playoffs. Last year, with parked up points available in the first two playoff events, the players moved into the top 50 with their performance at the St. Jude. But that is the essence of playoffs – when a sportsman or season's game earns a first-round bye or home-field advantage, but there's no guarantee that the top team makes the World Series or Super Bowl.

The reduction in point value removed the consequences of playing poorly. Last week, Salthy Thergals finished 4Ths in a field of 49 (from even two withdrawals) and dropped two spots and didn't have to invest out falling from the top 50. Bory McIlroy? He finished 66th and dropped from No. 21 to 21.

Last year, McIlroy realized he didn't need to play in Memphis and skipped

Rickie Fowler, playing during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, is on the bubble at No. 99 this week. | First FORTH: MARSHANLEY

the event. This time, he admitted he showed up unprepared after a long layoff (it was his first event since the Open Championship in mid-July) and was a nondictive. Some could be said for Akshay Bhatia, who was dead last in Memphis and fell from No. 14 to 51. British Open champ Ryan Fox finished 7-58 but advanced easily, slipping four spots to No. 25. Then there's Robert McIntyre, who withdrew after a first-round 82, the tumbled down the standings, right? Not really. He slipped from No. 31 to 36.

In all, 42 of the players were mathematically guaranteed to play in the BMW regardless of how they finished. There should be more punishment for stinking up the joint at TPC Southwind. Otherwise, this isn't a playoff; it's a money grab and the Tour Championship becomes a glorified version of the Hero World Challenge, the 20-man hit-a-giant in December where everyone gets world ranking points.

While much is on the line at the BMW Championship – from determining the

top 30 who advance to East Lake next week to potential Masters invites and the top six automatic qualifiers for the U.S. President's Cup team – don't expect much visibility in the FedExCup points list. If you want real excitement this time of year, it's on the back story: First, the PGA Tour's top developmental circuit, whose careers are on the line. The Tour Championship? Only two players moved up into the top 30 after Memphis, with Red Cauley (34th to 29th) and Kurt Kituyama (35d to 28th) pushing out Gary Weindland (32d from 27th) and J.T. Poston (32nd from 30th). [Rickie Fowler is the flexible boy at the start of this week at No. 10.]

Twenty years into the FedExCup Playoffs and it's been an endless game of What's a Mole – Its one fans and one-pose another. The Tour has said the 2020 playoffs will be decidedly different – with greater emphasis on highlighting the regular-season champ and with the introduction of match play to open things up. That can't come soon enough.

PGA Tour BMW Championship

Course: Bellevive Country Club (Par 70): 7.4/48 yards) in St. Louis. TV: Aug. 20-21: 10 a.m.-noon ET (ESPN) and 2-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Aug. 22: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) and 3-8 p.m. ET (CBS and Paramount+); Aug. 23: Noon-2 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) and 2-6 p.m. ET (CBS and Paramount+).

Inside the numbers

The number of players seeking to achieve and make their first Tour Championship appearance in Ryan Stewart, Mrs. Miss Lee, Kristoffer Reitan, Alex Fitzpatrick, Alex Smidny, Ryan Fox, Kurt Kitayama, Bud Cauley, Nicola Hajiganci, Alex Noone, Jake Krogan, Michael Thorburnen, Nico Echanama, Roy Hnatunow, Michael Brennan, Eric Cole, Matt McCarty. The figure also represents the player in this week's field and competed in the 2019 PGA Championship held at Bellevive, including Adam Scott (ENG), Justin Thomas (T-6), Gary Woodland (T-6), Rickie Fowler (T-12) who all finished in the top 75, notation who missed the cut that week include Alex Noone, Matt Fitzpatrick and Si Woo Kim.

Keep an eye on

Adam Scott. The Aussie is the only player in this week's field to compete in the 2008 BMW Championship held at Bellevive when he finished 7-50. He bettered that performance with a third at the 2019 PGA Championship held here. Scott enters the week at No. 27 in the standings and recorded top-5s in his two most recent starts at the BMW (T-8 at 1h-202) and T-7 (2024) – Kerrigie (m. The Gold Korean improved 12 spots in the FedExCup to No. 40 following No. 7-6 finish last weekend and was the only player to move into the top 50. Im has made the Tour Championship in all seven years on the PGA Tour and some the second-largest active streak of qualifying for East Lake behind only Bory McIlroy with eight. Im has not spent a single week inside the top 20 this season, marking the 2019 season inside the top 30 in his career.

Rickie Fowler. He enters the BMW as the flexible Boy at No. 30. He is making his 10th BMW Championship appearance and seeking his eighth Tour Championship start and first since 2023. He has notified 10 top-20s and five top-10s this season.

Cunningham

Continued from Page 1C

Cunningham's popularity has skyrocketed this season amid a unusual conversation about transgender athlete inclusion. The WNBA veteran made comments in a July ESPN story about "protecting women's sports" by banning transgender females from participating in leagues for girls and women. Since the interview was published, "Support Sophie Cunningham" demonstrates have become commonplace outside New games. Conversations surrounding Cunningham and the WNBA's policy regarding transgender athletes also demolished, including her to ask for the focus on the WNBA's system to basketball.

"People are like, 'You have a platform. Use it, and then you you use it, it's like. 'Go back to playing basketball.' I think the reason why I stated that is because you go into media, and it's not anything even about basketball. I think I could do both," Cunningham told USA TODAY Sports. "Ask me about what's going on and what I said. And also ask me how great my teammates are doing, how good our teams is doing, how great the leaps of the team."

"We can be a great example of how to do both."

Cunningham and the Fever have penned on during the ongoing clashes, amassing a 24-12 record, including five straight wins. The Fever guard is second in the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage (44.1%), while her teammate Kelsey Mitchell is fourth at 43.7%. Mitchell, who is second in points per game (2-2) in the WNBA, is also in the middle of a record-bending streak (20 games) of scoring 20 points or more.

Cathy Clark, who is averaging a career high in points (22 per game) and field-goal percentage (46%), was player of the week for the fourth time this season on Aug. 18. Fever forward Allyoh Boston in nearly averaging a double-dodde (37 points and 8.7 rebounds).

Cunningham told USA TODAY she's used to the noise around the Fever be-

cause it's been there since 2025. For her, the goal remains the same: "protect our locker room" and highlight the high-level basketball the Fever are playing. For as much as the Missouri native would like to shine a light on basketball, the conversations around her comments remain.

"I think the most important thing is just try to lead by example. Look, it's really challenging, I think. So our team to silence it. You can't silence it," Fever coach Stephanie White said.

"For us, it's how she see minimize it, and how do we use it in a way that brings us closer together. How do we use it in a way that helps us grow not just on the floor but off the floor to become a better basketball team, to become better human beings, to become better teammates, to become better friends, to become better allies? I think that there's all of these different ways that we can minimize it to help us grow."

WNBA's free speech battleground after Cunningham's remarks

On Aug. 17, the WNBA distanced itself from an cWNBA fire subreddit in the middle of a controversy for appearing to ban mention of Cunningham's name. "The WNBA does not moderate or have any affiliation with the cWNBA subreddit," a league spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement.

The subreddit posted a clarification regarding the use of Cunningham's name in the online conversation platform, saying content related to the Fever guard was not honored. "Posts about Sophie are welcome when they are invited to basketball, including games, highlights, interviews, statistics, mailing endorsements, and other WNBA-related news. Off-road Sophie content can be shared as well," the statement said.

On Aug. 18, Cunningham fans who attended the Fever vs. Dream matchup said they were "made to cover up" their 7-shirts by league security staff at State Farm Arena. Video captured inside the arena and posted on social media shows a mother and daughter covering up their

XX-XY Athletics branded shirts with shirts provided by the Dream.

In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, the WNBA said the fans shouldn't have been made to cover their clothing. "The WNBA is aware of intrusion, and their sight's game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts, 'a league spokesperson said. "This should not have happened."

XX-XY Athletics, which bills itself as a brand "have to protect women's sports and spaces," was founded by former gymnast and former Levi Strauss chief marketing officer Jennifer Roy. XX-XY has also been part of rallies around WNBA games this season in "Support of Sophie Cunningham".

Cunningham's comments on transgender athlete participation and the making conversation came after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld stated right to ban transgender females from participation in women's sports. There is no need to be a significant player in the WNBA history.

"It's sort of surprising to be the headline, and I would say the only reason we are is because people who have been censorship the league... they tend to be censored when they're wearing our product," Roy, the XX-XY founder, told USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously, I didn't make that happen. I don't think anyone should be censored at the games. People can wear stamps and other shoes. I'm hearing now that - I saw too Tuesday! that could be sort reporting that several people wearing 'buns kids belong' shirts were told to cover them up. I don't think that should happen either."

"News of these shirts are violent or mean. They say you can think 'We may not agree, and that's fine. I think every body should get to wear what they want, and I think the league is making a mistake by attempting to censor anybody.'"

Cunningham: WNBA leadership future 'up to Adam Silver'

When USA TODAY spoke to Cunningham, she acknowledged WNBA leadership and the league have been under a

high amount of scrutiny this season and the spotlight has only be persuaded as the debate around transgender athletes continues.

Cunningham said anyone in a positive of power has a challenging job, but she looks said it's seasoning might help the WNBA. She said the league is changing, and an players have an opportunity to be "inulledness of what women's leagues can look like." It needs leaders who support the growth.

"You do have to have a person in power who is bold, who is confident, who wants the best for the players and not maybe for themselves all the time. So I do feel like, as a whole, that could be a position that's maybe open at the end of the year, but that's not my call," Cunningham said.

"Cathy Engelhert's done a lot of good things, but with where one league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that. That's just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, in as players – we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but... that's up to Adam Silver at the end of the day."

Cunningham and the Fever's season continues in Dallas against Page Brackers and the Whip on Thursday, Aug. 20 (June 17, 2025). "The whole Cunningham doesn't plan to change how she operates, she told USA TODAY she understands the weight of her words.

"When you do have so many eyes on you... that people can use your words for the positive. People can weaponize your words. So that's just how people are. That's how human nature is. So, that's not gonna make me like my light any more," Cunningham said.

"Try to just show people love and try to go that way. I don't think who actually talk to me in person, I think they feel that, and I'm some wide open. So I can't control how other people do stuff, but I do think that you just always have to do, how you want to work can maybe be interpretative, other people. But at the end of the day, if you're constantly doing that, you're going to love yourself, and so I just try to control what I can control."

---

4C 1 THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2028 1 USA TODAY

SPORTS

APPRECIATION

ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen never forgot his roots

Bana Hunsinger

The Indianapolis Star

USA TODAY Network

INDIANAPOLIS — Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN and a 1954 graduate of DePauw University who pushed to get the legendary Monon Bell football game on national TV, died Aug. 18 after a battle with Parkinson's disease. Rasmussen was a

Rasmussen's death comes 48 years and two days after the moment he blurted out a really crazy idea that not only changed his life, but entirely shifted the way people consume television, launching the 24-hour news cycle.

"Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement announcing Rasmussen's death. "Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn't for Bill's passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN to the late 1970s."

It was Aug. 16, 1976, and the traffic was Friday afternoon gridded on Connecticut's Interstate 84 as Rasmussen and his son, Scott, made their way to a birthday party on the New Jersey shore.

As they sat at a standstill, the two started talking about possible programming for their newly acquired 24-hour access to a satellite transponder from RCA, a cutting-edge, neednugled technology that allow much more

Rasmussen was a 45-year-old former sports broadcaster and public relations executive who had been fired three months before from his job as communications director for the New England Whaleen of the World Hockey Association.

He was looking for a new way to blend his love of sports with technology.

"So, they were sitting in traffic and stuck and just handstorming and spit-balling," says Ken Owen, former anchor at USA Today Network, that a friend of Rasmussen. "And Bill came up with the idea of 24-hour-a-day sports.

"With that, he became a major architect of that quantum shift in the way television presented itself."

In July 1979, Rasmussen was named chairman of the 24-hour cable sports network. In September, ESPN launched in Bristol, Connecticut, with 60 employees working inside an unfunded building on less than an acre, which was purchased eight unseen.

As ESPN's founder and first president, Rasmussen shaped the early successes of the company and laid the foundation for its future.

Under Rasmussen's leadership, "SportsCenter" debuted, followed by around the clock sports programming and groundbreaking coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in the spring of 1980, which drive national attention for the upstart cable network.

"Bill was our George Washington and a good friend," said ESPN anchor Chris Berman, who joined the network three weeks after its launch. "He was such a grateful person, and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn't a glass half-full guy. His glass was always overflowing with optimum. He greeted everyone with a smile, and we can all smile knowing Bill's legacy."

Rasmussen, a humble, modest man who never seemed to grasp the gravity of his ESPN founding, called about the early days of the network in a 2009 interview.

"It all started with a $9,000 credit card cash advance," Rasmussen said. "That doesn't go too far when you're buying satellite time and paying people, but it all worked out pretty well."

'The Father of Sports Television'

William F. Rasmussen was born on Oct. 31, 1932, in Chicago and raised in south of Columbia House, Illinois. From the time he could play sports, Rasmussen did, but he especially liked baseball.

After high school, Rasmussen passed up an institution to a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and headed to Greencastle, Indiana, to attend DePauw University where he was a Rector Scholar majoring in economics and on the baseball team.

In 1954, after graduating from DePauw, Rasmussen served in the United States Air Force, then later earned an MBBS and Rutgers University.

Rasmussen's career in media began in 1962 at NYTT trade in Amherst, Massachusetts. In 1965, he moved to WWLPTV, Springfield, Massachusetts, where he spent eight years as sports director and two years as news director, working on football, basketball, baseball and history play-by play assignments on both radio and television.

ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, left, and longtime friend Ken Owen. Rasmussen returned to DePauw University in 2017 for the Timothy and Sharon Ubbes Lecture Series "Finding Your Passion Realizing Your Dream." PROVIDED BY KEN OWEN

"And Bill came up with the idea of 24-hour-a-day sports. With that, he became a major architect of that quantum shift in the way television presented itself."

Ken Owen

Longtime friend and former TV anchor

In 1974, he joined the New England Whaleen, last that job in 1976, then Rasmussen found himself in a car stuck in traffic with an outrageous idea.

At first Rasmussen and his son launched a network showing Connecticut sports to state residents, but they quickly switched to a 24-hour national sports network.

"With flooded backing from the Getty, he is a propanomizing contact with the NCAA and an advertising agreement with Aldonsen when, then the largest sponsorship deal in cable history, The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (changed to ESPN, Inc. in 1984) launched in 1.4 million homes at 7 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 1979.

"From Day 1 to 1969, more than four decades later, SportsCenter – the program that has used the most episodes in television history – has been the backbone of the network and its signature show," ESPN said in a statement, announcing Rasmussen's death. "(It) redefined the game of sports news on television."

Owen, a 1962 DePauw graduate, remembers watching ESPN's debut from a house on the same campus Rasmussen called his college home.

"You couldn't have imagined that ESPN would become the cultural force it has become," Owen says. "It's just an acute board."

ESPN came on the scene at a time when stations signed off "when you just assumed that nobody wanted to watch television overnight," Owen said. "But the score changed with ESPN. Bill was a visionary because all his stuff that followed, including CNN."

Rasmussen's time at ESPN was short-lived. He left the network in October 1980 and became a sports and media consultant. Throughout his life, he had his hand in many start-up ventures in sports, often involving media, but his immense contribution to the television landscape with ESPN followed him.

In 1994, Rasmussen made Sports Illustrated's "Ferry for the Ages," a list of sports figures who significantly altered and elevated the world of sports in the second half of the 20th century. USA TODAY called him "The Father of Sports Television."

Back in Greencastle, Indiana, Rasmussen was so much more than that.

"Bill was a tremendous representative of DePauw," said Rasmussen's long-time friend Bill Wagner, assistant athletics director for communications. "His entrepreneurial spirit and vision made the world better. His positive attitude was unmatched and lifted everyone around him. I will miss his friendship. We lost a true legend and pioneer."

'Bill had a brilliant mind and he used it for good'

After leaving DePauw, Rasmussen never forgot the university. He came back often to help, to speak, to talk to students, to disengage the school, and that included his beloved Monon Bell football game between DePauw and Wabash.

In 1977, with Rasmussen's encouragement, ABC aired the Monon Bell as a regional broadcast. In 1979, the same year ESPN launched, CBS' Charles Ku-

ralt did a feature on the game during his "Sunday Morning" show.

It never failed. If DePauw needed Rasmussen, he was there, Owen says.

In 2007, Rasmussen returned to the university for a week on campus that included interacting with students, working with the business school, attending the Monon Bell game and sitting down with Owen for the Timothy And Sharon Ubbes Lecture Series "Finding Your Passion, Realizing Your Dream."

"And he did not charge a dime," Owen said. "If I had a student reach out and say, 'How would I get abide of Bill Rasmussen?' I'd say, 'I'll reach out for you.' And I'd call Bill and he'd go, Oh yeah, give them my number."

"He's a very modest guy. He was not at all baseball. Bill was a salesman, but he was very modest."

Two years after his DePauw visit, Rasmussen revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2039. Rasmussen became an ambassador through the American Parkinson

Bill Rasmussen, the co-founder of ESPN PROVIDED BY ESPN

Disease Association and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

"When he went public with his Parkinson's diagnosis, he was very deliberate about it, because he was determined not to make it about him, but to help people," Owen said. "And that's a real tribute to him, because he was 88 years old. He could have just quietly gone into the night."

Instead, Rasmussen made it his mission in up to create charge for others, continuing to make public appearances to bring awareness to the disease.

"I think of all the people I've known in my life. Bill might have been the greatest impact player," Owen says. "He had a brilliant mind and he used it for good."

Rasmussen is survived by two sons, Scott (Laura), Glenn, and his daughter, Lynn Van Hollebeke, and her husband Louie; seven grandchildren, one great grandson and one great granddaughter. He is president in death in his wife Lois of 36 years (2008) and his brothers Robert and Donald Rasmussen, sister Vivien and grandson, Justin Van Hollebeke.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Hunsinger on X @danahunninger33. Email dbenhoun@ndystar.com

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---

SPORTS

USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2025 | 5C

NFL

Which players might be on chopping back?

Michael Middleburt-Schwartz USA TODAY

A dreaded day on the NFL calendar looks in the near future.

As training camps wind down and the preseason preten out, each team will face the unavoidable task of making a significant reduction in force by setting its 53-man roster on Aug. 30 for the start of the upcoming season. That nearly 50% reduction in manpower hardly closes the door on further moves, with franchises continuing to reshuffle in the aftermath while also setting their practice squads. But there's an undeniable sense of finality ahead for many of those who will be sent packing, with a large portion unlikely to make it back to this level.

A good chunk of teams' cuts already seem clear, with only so many positional competitions within any given roster still ongoing. Yet some familiar figures could still be looking for a new setting in short order.

With 40 days remaining until the cut-down day deadline, here are some of the most notable names from around the league who could be on the chopping block.

Titans OB Will Levis

Things have been rather rough for Tennessee's former starting quarterback since his November 2024 bombing. The first time in Titans select Cain Ward with the No. 1 pick in the ensuing draft, but the strong-armed signal call-er missed all of the 2023 campaign after opting to undergo shoulder surgery.

Nevertheless, his confidence he is a starting caliber passer heart's wavern! To explain that status, however, his exit is likely a necessity - and it could be coming sooner rather than later.

With Tennessee having signed one of the more capable backups on the market in Mitchell/Turalsky, Levis has been able to make a clear No. 1 option. With development a priority throughout the roster, carrying three quarterbacks seems like a luxury that Tennessee can't afford.

The one wrinkle could be Turalsky's right biceps injury, which he suffered on Aug. 17. Though any long-term issue could prompt some reexamination of the contingency plan behind center, their year could helped finish expressed optimism that the problem would be short-lived.

Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson

In addressing the battle unfolding behind lead ballcarters, Jaylen Warren and Brin Dowdle, Steelers coach Mike McCarthy made clear his priorities.

'It's important for our players to be able to play all four downs,' McCarthy said on Aug. 8, one day after Pittsburgh first exhibition matching against the Packers. 'I think everyone's excited about draft picks and this and that, but... you have to be able to play on offense (or) defense and special teams. I don't like to keep a guy who's just on special teams or just on offense unless his offense or level (warsaw) is.'

McCarthy was partially giving a shootout to running back Travis Homer, a special teams standout who's worked his way to additional consideration for reps in the backfield. But he also might have been thankfulsening a split with Johnson, the 2023 third-round pick who's been unable to find his footing with the previous coaching staff or the new one.

With Homer getting the tool to start the first preseason game, Johnson logged just two crazies for 3 yards. That workload didn't seem like it reflected the coaching staff's intentions to keep the second-year back safe. Instead, Johnson's dwindling role over the course of the offseason could culminate with the team sending long-packing as it

Steelers coaching back Kaleb Johnson participates in organized team activities in May at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. CHARLES LEILAND/MARIN HAGAN

prioritizes more versatile options further down the roster.

Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Based on the early returns from his first on-field work in more than a year, the two-time Pro Bowl receiver's return to the Giants looks on track. Despite notching past two catches for 6 yards, Beckham consistently broke free of coverage both underneath and downfield.

'I'm impressed by the way he looks right now,' general manager Joe Schoen said during the broadcast.

That re-emergent skill set should be sufficient to score Beckham a spot in a shaky receiving corps. John Harbaugh, however, was a bit cryptic in addressing his endeavor's future with the franchise.

'I love Odell. I do. What he's fighting for - I don't know how it's going to turn out,' Harbaugh said in a news conference. 'It's gonna turn out the way it turns out based on what happens. But it's see his fight, his determination, his humility... just as a friend, that makes me really proud of him.'

Regardless of Beckham's resolution, the Giants' roster call will likely include the departure of a notable receiver. Julie Hyatt, a former third-round pick who continues to be hampered by leg and ankle ailments, might very well be running out of time after seeing his production wane over three years.

Browns WR Cedric Tillman

The youth movement is already underway in the Browns' receiving corps, with top picks Ed' Corecepcion and Denny Boston figuring to vacuum up plenty of targets alongside Jerry Jeudy. That transition could bump out Tillman, who started 10 games last season but might be blocked off from meaningful steps this fall.

A third-round pick in 2023, Tillman has enjoyed a couple of relatively fruitful multi-week stretches for Cleveland despite the team's severe limitations behind center. But with Boston in tow, the Browns have their big-bodied perimeter target to secure contested catches.

A nonfaster on special teams, Tillman might need to look elsewhere to jump-start his career.

Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo

Camden Browns' ascension from an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Southern to training camp during has been a fun development for almost everyone in the Cowboys orbit - except for Mingo.

Browns' team is approaching a full covenants after his two touchdown performance, because the trackbacks. Though Cowboys coach Brian Schotterheimer cautioned that Browns needs to maintain his trajectory, he added, 'The game's not to big he fans.'

The same can't be said for Mingo through three years in the NFL. Despite giving up a fourth-round pick to acquire the former second-round selection, he November 2024, the Cowboys have netted a tenacity six catches for 79 yards in 14 career games for the widovat.

Jerry Jones initially launched a staunch defense of the highly organized trade, but it might be time to cut last Browns has been lauded by such of Dallas' quarterbacks, and his momentum for the fifth receiver slot might be too much for Mingo to overcome.

Bengals DT McKinley Jackson

When the Bengals selected Jackson in the third round of the 2024 draft, they envisioned a run-stuffing successor to DJ Broder in the middle of their defense. After limited contributions as a rookie, however, the Texas A&M product seemed to fall out of favor last season, with first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden. Jackson's endeavours trade request went unfulfilled, and he played in just nine games and 25% of the defensive maps for a unit that had widespread problems stopping opposing ground games.

Now, he looks like an afterthought on a reloaded front.

With Denny Lawrence and Jonathan Allen, coming ahead to bump incumbent starters E.J. Hill and T.J. Hales Jr., to the second team, Cincinnati has extensive depth at what used to be the team's most undertornated position. Kris Jenkins Jr., taken a round ahead of Jackson in 2024, could hold the edge for a final roster spot, while seventh-round rookie Landon Robinson is making a push for consideration. Jackson, meanwhile, has been bolded by an ankle

injury suffered in the preseason opener.

Buccaneers OLB Chris Braswell

Tampa Bay's various efforts to supercharge its pass rush in recent years have largely fallen short. It's little wonder, then, that general manager Jason Licht proposed on the opportunity to become more forceful up front by taking Booten Bain Jr. with the No. 2 overall pick in April.

But as the Buccaneers embrace one bravery transfer off the edge, it could be preparing to close the door on another.

Braswell, a second-round pick in 2024, looks extraneous to the current crop of outside linebackers. Bain and YaYa Daily are slated to hold down the lead roles. Al-Qaudith Muhammad was signed in April to add depth alongside Anthony Nelson, who is set to enter his eighth year with the organization. Meanwhile, 2025 fourth-rounder David Walker appears to be the beginning in his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament last summer, and undrafted rookie Jack Hyman flashed promise with two sacks in the first preseason tilt.

That doesn't leave many years for Braswell, who's only matched 2-3 sacks in two years, to contribute in any meaningful way. Still in need of significant development as a pass rouler, the Alabama product - as well as the team - might be best off if he tries to polish his game elsewhere.

Chargers LB Junior Colson

As much as it might pain. Jim Harbaugh to let go of a fellow Michigan man, that's the way things could be trending for Colson, a 2024 third-round pick.

After a rocky rookie season that included an appendectomy in training camp and landing on injured reserve due to his hamstring, Colson missed all of the 2023 campaign after having shoulder surgery last August.

Now he's stuck behind more reliable options in Duglas History, Denzel Perryman and Troy Dye, while McElhown Phillips and Macleod Max build solid cases to be more than special teams contributors.

With Wes making a strong impression in camp and the first preseason game, Colson might have work to do if he's to secure a spot. There's time left for a late surge, and the Chargers might be relieved to give up on a player who has not been able to fully demonstrate his ability. But the roster setup might not be in his favor.

Eagles CB Kelce Ringo

The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Georgia product sporadically serves up reminders of his considerable upside, as he did in the preseason quarter by heading in an end-zone interception. But the story of Ringo's career has led him as a pro that been his consistency. That trend has continued to hold this summer, with his takeaway coming past one play after he was flagged for pass interference.

'You always want to think about being able to move on and play the next play,' Eagles coach Nick Brizumi said after the game. 'That's mental toughness, having the same attitude, effort, energy and enthusiasm, and so that was good. That was positive to see Kelce come back after that play and make a really nice description.'

But Brizumi, defensive coordinator Vic Fango and general manager Hoxie Bowman might not be able to move on so easily from last year's memories of Ringo's inability to seize a starting spot. Next to Max McWilliams and Jonathan Jones, he might not even size up favorably as a backup.

Ringo's saving grace might be his value as a gainer. Yet special teams contributions alone might not be sufficient to keep him on the roster.

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6C 1 THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 1 USA TODAY

SPORTS

FOR THE RECORD

All times ET

MLB

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Wall Division
Young Ma	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0

Central Division

Young Ma	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Wall Division
Young Ma	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0

Northern Division

By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0
By T. Kelleher	0	0	0.0

Wednesday's Games

Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of Pittsburgh
Easton of

CFL

EAST DIVISION

Overland	1	1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Oceania	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0
South Africa	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Uganda	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0

WEST DIVISION

Easton	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0
South Africa	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Uganda	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Uganda	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0
W. Africa	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Thursday's Game

Alberta to Australia 1:30 p.m.

Friday's Game

Australia to Australia 1:30 p.m.

Saturday's Game

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99.

NFL

Princess Week 2

Thursday's Games

San Francisco to Canada 1:30 p.m.

San Francisco to Canada 1:30 p.m.

Sunday's Games

Sunday's Games

Saturday's Games

Washington to Canada 1:30 p.m.

Friday's Games

Friday's Games

Friday's Games

Friday's Games

Saturday's Games

NFL

AFCs Division II Crac

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

At 1:30 p.m.

SOCCER

Sogich Premier League

Friday's Game

Sogich Premier League 1:30 p.m.

Saturday's Game

Sunday's Games

AT 1:30 of Friday (July) 2:10 p.m.

Sunday's Games 2:30 p.m.

WNA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

At 1:30	At 1:30

Friday	At 1:30	At 1:30

WESTERN CONFERENCE

| Friday | At 1:30 | At 1:30 | | --- | --- | --- |[{"box_2d": [506, 220, 647, 225], "label": "table", "caption":table> Friday At 1:30 At 1:30 "}][{"box_2d": [506, 226, 647, 231], "label": "table", "caption":table> Friday At 1:30 At 1:30 "}]

| Friday | At 1:30 | At 1:30 | | --- | --- | --- |[{"box_2d": [506, 238, 647, 243], "label": "table", "caption":table> Friday At 1:30 At 1:30 "}]

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A pleasant day is in store from the southern Great Lakes through interior New England state. South of New, the same day will occur from southern New England through the Ohio Valley and into parts of the Southeast and the mid-Atlantic. Source from northern Mississippi and Arizona through parts of the mid-Atlantic can bring their flooding and damaging winds.

We and humid conditions will continue across much of the Plains, with thunderstorms and equipment also occurring from northeastern Nebraska through northern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Mississippi.

While a vast majority of the Rockies and the West will remain for and the other ones from densitome can dot parts of New Mexico, Arizona, western Utah and central Colorado

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Balance 1:10 1/16 2:25 3:35 4:45 5:55 6:65 7:75 8:85 9:95 10:05 11:15 1:25 1:35

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PRECIPITATION FORECAST

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No. 1 hr. contiguous off of the through Tuesday

EXISTANT 1:30 2:30 3:35 4:45 5:55 6:65 7:75 8:85 9:95 10:05

10:05 11:15 1:25 1:35

TOP TRAVEL CITIGS at south-southwest[{"box_2d": [45, 753, 191, 852], "label": "table", "caption": " 1:30 2:30 3:30 1:30 2:30 3:30 1:30 2:30 <td

---

SPORTS

USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2025 | 7C

College football GMs reveal how it really is

John Blice

CBS TODAY

NASHVILLE – The biggest ballroom in this downtown Nashville hotel is overflowing – standing-room-only – and College Football Hall of Future Mock Broom is holding court.

Broom – the last coach to win a national championship at Texas and North Carolina – estranged coach – is explaining why fifth place beats second.

On the latest acquisition trail, that is:

At this moment, he’s the champagne side to the seventh annual Personnel and Recruiting Symposium – a 48-hour event spanning parts of three days. For 1,600 staffers from 160 schools it’s the technology equivalent of the NCAA transfer portal they navigate and the social equivalent of the record-label parties that did this city during Country Music’s smooth season.

“I’ve been doing this 50 years; they’ve been doing it (the recruiting process) six months. Brown tells the crowd. Just so many times, people in this room or assistant coaches didn’t want to ask hard questions because you are afraid you’ll get the wrong answer. I wanted to get an answer. I’d ask rather be fifth than second. If you are second, you lose the next two, so I either wanted to get him or get out.

“So, I ask questions. We had at Texas once, a mother said she was from Indiana. Sally (Broom’s wife) said, ‘What about distance from home? She said, ‘Yes, he’s not going to go for. I said. Well, ma’am, we’re not moving; So, he’s not. What we are reading has been?’ You just asked her and she’s not going to let him go. We’re not. That’s just back!”

Some of the sport’s top firms and agencies host everyone from college football general managers to showcase game representatives to multi-and-trial agents. Some gatherings occupy large tables during lunch inside the city’s sprawling Assembly Food Hall – large enough to have its own interior bridge linking its 30-plus dining joints.

Firms with brick-and-mortar spots in the city, such as both CAA and WIS, utilize their prominent downtown locations.

Other groups secure Nashville’s top clubs and rooftop bars. Events turn the night of Monday, Aug. 3, into the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 4, and they repeat that pattern into Wednesday, Aug. 5.

The event’s substance tracks at a similarly satisfying level, like a Deep South meat-and-flour.

A year after hosting representatives from all 32 NFL teams, 25 franchises return for the 2016 duration.

The hallway outside the ballroom is lined with dual-sided vendor booths, spanning longer than a 100-yard kickoff return and spilling down the stairs into the registration zone. Ghost Mail, Hndi Measach, Spirituality, Trackay, Nutritional offerings and travel services.

At in Southall is literally roster stage when Homer Pittsburgh Steelers executive Kattie Kassen, now vice president

A crowd overflows at the Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville. (JOHN BRICE) USA TODAY

of sports intelligence at event-sponsor Teamworks, presents the latest developments.

There are more players than ever for these college programs to scout in this transfer portal era, but stretching finances – in some instances, reducing staff rates – also maximize demands on personnel.

With 1,000 players in the transfer portal, there is not enough time to do this thoroughly. NFL teams can get away with this because they only lock at half-of-eligible players’ ways the Harvard-educated Kassam, founder a decade ago of the Hoohoo analytics and research approach. “They ignore FCS altogether, and for the most part, they know everyone they need to scout a full year in advance.

“I can extrapolate this trend for you. You are responsible for anyone who stops foot on a college football field anywhere in the country. The transfer portal can’t be scouted the same way. You can ask your AD for a 25-person scouting department. Good luck. Or we can look to technology to find more efficient ways. It’s worth thinking about what this future is going to look like.”

He has suggestions. “What if scouts spent an hour a day giving autonomous agents little scouting tasks?” Kassam asks. “Digital scouting assistants. Agents that can perform scouting tasks not as well as a seasoned scout, but none of them pretty well.

“You’re not going to stop watching film. You will have to check their work. If you’re a scout, if you’re a recruiter, what would you do with a dozen digital assistants great at some things and faster than you can dream off? I think it’s worth asking the question. And I’m painting this picture and I can see it because it’s not that far away. It’s grounded in what we’re doing today.”

Travel discussions rule the event –

particularly on contract negotiations, trends and player evaluations.

General managers from Arkansas, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Texas, Texas Tech are among panelists, moderators from agencies and search firms, with backgrounds in fore-ball, such as Joan Magee, Ed Marjewski, Pat Snellen and Clint Hine among them.

Mini-breakout sessions implore those personnel give to poor questions. “A three does the front office manage the relationship between the head coach and the athletic department when their priorities diverge?”

“A three involved should the assistant coaches be in deciding what to pay players, and how is that communication with the head office manager?”

A three do you balance the urgency of closing on a record or a pivotal target against the discipline of making sound fiscal decisions within budget?

The University of Cincinnati holds a standing meeting every Tuesday to discuss contract developments, trends in the marketplace and what that school’s administration is bearing in regards to potential rules changes, modifications or other potential legal issues.

An execution from another school, name withheld due to the executive nature of the discussion, sheds insight on troubleshooting approaches.

“Administrators will always find ways to say no,” says the SEC executive. “You have to help those find ways they can say yes.

“So, don’t just bring problems, bring solutions, come with compromises. Be ready to meet that middle ground so that you can take care of your priorities while understanding their perspective as well.”

Billy High, Tennessee’s top roster construction expert and former North Carolina personnel head, explains the

Vole approach in securing intra-departmental alignment.

“We talked at the beginning, really defining what the goals are in that athletic department and football program,” High tells the Competing Stakeholder Interests panel. “From a budgetary standpoint, being clear early and often. The communication piece is so key.

“There are so many, especially now with revenue ideas, so many different entities that are involved. You have to have that regular communication.”

High issues one final message about finding common ground.

“Coaches are always going to want more money, athletic departments are always going to want to pay two money,” he says. “But at the end of the day, the goal or shared interest is winning.”

With every college program’s team in camp, and most NFL camps already two weeks old, the Aug. 3, schedule finishes before lunch.

Still, it’s an overflow-crowd for the Tips for Young Evaluators session. Issuance of the 2016 season, the perspective of top college personnel executives, Clemson’s Kevin Kelly – a 20-year NFL personnel veteran – and Georgia’s Will Myers, a national award recipient for his work on the Bulldogs 2025 event.

Dining sessions from the previous day and that morning, attendees learn that in the past two years of the NFL Draft, “there have been more zero-star players drafted every year than the stars. 75-0 stars to 49 five-star drafted in that time.”

About 50 to 600 signed as underlined rookies each year, we see out of them 280 were 0-star prospects; a panelist says.

Kelly goes on-depth on area length, how it factors into both NFL Draft evaluations and positional recommendations; he writes Clemson also measures least sizes for all of its prospective players.

Myers points to the Ruellen Bain exception – the ex-Miami Huttmanns consensus All-American and 2026 NFL Draft No. 20 selection.

Georgia, we are a height-weight-speed team,” Myers says. “A short-armed defensive lineman, why does it matter if it’s Ruellen Bain if he’s explosive? A short-armed 50-lineman loses faster, his pads are captured faster from a long-armed offensive lineman. He wins dirty, his pads are dirty, Ruellen Bain is the exception.

“That 250 seconds longer it takes because his pads are hard to capture (because his arms are longer), that matters. I’ve learned a lot about exceptions: we have some outstanding players that don’t fit the criteria and hundreds.

Luke Kinchly is probably the best Instructor I’ve watched. He had short arms. D’Angelo Pondz at Indiana, outstanding.

But, you have to ask: Does it stop them from doing something he needs to do?”

Perhaps that answer rests in 2027, when this symposium converse football’s roster building leaders yet again.

Mariners’ failure of a season hits new low in Milwaukee

Gabe Leques

CSA/WSR

SUN TODAY

There’s a certain know-it-when-youse-it moment when a baseball team goes from underperforming to checked out, from disappointing to joylessly headed numbers.

The Seattle Mariners seem to have reached that point.

Their 22-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug 30 had 8 all managerial malfunction, an embarrassing gaffe by a superiorist and, in the end, an after lack of fight that better for fact the Mariners are actually in the American League playoff hunt.

Let’s be clear. That doesn’t mean they’re a good team.

The Mariners are 59-67, have been outscored by 45 runs and have a 40-homer superstar batting .157 – nearly 10 points worse than the lowest-quarrelled hitter in the major leagues. In any other year, that would typically invite a housecleaning at the trade deadline and perhaps a few telling knots in management.

In the American League in the year 2026, however, it gets you just four games out of fast in the West Division and three games out of the wild card.

Yet Seattle’s fortuitous positioning can’t wash away how dreadful his season has been, particularly since expectations were slid high after the Mariners came within eight outs of their first

Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller is taken out of the game by Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone in the fifth inning against the Brewers at American Family Field on Aug. 10. MICHAEL MCCLONE/MARIA SWEDT

World Series appearance ever in 2025.

That Game 7 loss – contrary to George Spingey’s historic home run – would not be possible had Mariners manage that Wilson not pushed virtually every wrong button in the pivotal seventh inning. And 2026 has been one-half of a hangover.

The Mariners’ location in the Pacific Northwest makes them the game’s best-buyt secret when things are going well. It can also serve to camouflage disappointments.

But you can’t hide from 22-0.

The remarkable thing! It was just a 1-0 game going into the bottom of the fifth. That’s when Mariners starter Bryce Miller got peppered – single-walk single-walk sacrifice fly – with a one-out rally Even then, it was just 3-0.

Lefty pitters! Add. Seagren was warning in the bullpen. Christian फोटो was striding to the plate. Wilson struck with Miller, not unlike sticking with Eduard Saunde. So, face Spingey all those months ago is Toronto.

Like Spingey, फोटो-circled a three-run homer. And then Wilson lifted

Miller once again after the fact. But it was game over at that point.

The spioning was just beginning, though, reaching a crescendo when position played Lee Braas was peppered for nine hits and nine runs in the bottom of the eighth. Yet only seven were earned runs, because franchise center Robert Julio Rodriguez lost track of the outs, tossed the ball into the stands and two more runs scored.

Hey, brain here happen. But combine that with all that’s gone wrong with the squad – this was the Mariners’ eighth loss in 31 games – and it’s a massive spotlight on a fast track.

Up 22, the Brewers saw fit to throw their own position player on the second – catches 22-0, 22-0, 22-0, 22-0, 22-0. Mariners couldn’t push across a run. So they joined the 2016 Yankees and 1975 Pirates for the worst shutout loss since 2016.

Nonetheless, they woke up Wednesday four games behind Houston in the West. The division is so bad that the Mariners’ odds of winning it are 23.5%, per PanJongbo, compared to their 7.4% chance to snag the final wild card, which is just three games out of every round.

But the Mariners would have to baptize an ounce, not two, to share the final wild card. That’s just not happening.

Bad seasons happen, certainly. But this one seems like a continuation of all that went wrong when the Mariners held that 3-2 A2, championship series lead, only to go home empty-handed.

It seems a lot likelier there will be consequences for this failure.

---

8C | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | USA TODAY

SPORTS

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE

THE NEW YORK KNICKS' CHAMPIONSHIP IN A HARDCOVER COLLECTOR'S BOOK

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$35.95 REG. $39.95

Check shipping after paying due 18, 2026 Knieks Bag Reg. 36, 2026

The Knicks are champions! New York hadn't won an NBA title since 1973. Fifty-three years of heartbreak — from Ewing's near miss in '94 to the '99 Finals run that fall short — tested every fan who ever packed Madison Square Garden. That was it over!

Jalen Brunson and company ripped through the 2026 playoffs, reaching the NBA Finals with 11 consecutive victories that closed out the Hawks, included sweeps of the 76ers and Cavaliers. Then the Knicks polished off Victor Wembunyama and San Antonio in five games to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"Garden Glory" is a 160-page hardcover book covering this entire season, from a 53-win regular season through the Finals showdown with San Antonio. The photos, the stories, the moments that made it real. Published by USA TODAY Sports. Printed on premium matte stock. Reserve your copy today.

PREORDER ONLINE AND SAVE AT NY.ChampsBook.com

USA TODAY SPORTS

---

IFE

USA TODAY | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 | SECTION D

Check for your favorite title on our best-selling books list

"Theo of Golden," stays at No. 1, while "Jently" reenters the list ahead of the movie. Page 2D

LIFELINE

FLOTIA SANCHEZ/MUTTER

MAKING WAVES SALMA HAYEK

Salma Hayek is a grandmother! The actress, 59, took to Instagram on Aug. 17 to announce that her stepson, François Pinault Jr., welcomed his first baby with wife Lara Cosima knocked von Donnersmarck. The post featured a sweet video of Hayek, who is from Mexico, cradling the baby boy and speaking to him in Spanish as he smiles and babbles. Hayek also revealed that his name is François. Her his father and grandfather, "Although I will call him Panchito," she wrote in the caption. "He seems to love it, and I cannot love him more."

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY WHO'S CELEBRATING TODAY

Politician Ron Paul turns 81 Broadcaster Connie Chung, 60, Singer Robert Plant, 78, Singer-songwriter John Hiatt, 74, Broadcaster Al Roker, 72, Actor Joan Allen, 70, Filmmaker David O. Russell, 68, Singer Fred Duret (Lime Bokit), 56, Actor Ke Huy Ghan, 55, Actor Agra Adams, 52, Actor Andrew Garfield, 43, Singer Demi Lovain, 14, USA TODAY Network

HOROSCOPE | SANCTUARY More: www.sanctuaryworld.co

Aries (March 21-April 19). You're full of bold ideas today. Convinced you can see exactly which direction to go? Not so fast!

Taurus (April 20-May 20). Trust and money issues may become unpredictable today. What's actually yours to give?

Gemini (May 21-June 21). A relationship may suddenly change direction today. Can you stay curious instead of rushing to define what's happening?

Cancer (June 22-July 22). Your schedule could unravel just as you're ready to begin! Prepare for a shift in course.

Lee (July 23-Aug. 23). Give yourself artistic freedom today. What inspires you to feel fired up? Stretch your imagination.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Unexpected professional demands may throw you off center today. What response do you need to protect your emotional bandwidth?

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Ready to listen beyond your assumptions? Today's Sagittarius moon brings an inspired conversation with an unpredictable outcome.

Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). A financial curveball could test your sense of security today. What adjustment would put your mind at ease?

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your heart is dreaming up an agenda you want to explore. But is disruption rewriting the plan without warning?

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Prioritize your rest today, even if your task list says otherwise.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). A spontaneous idea could reshape your future trajectory. Ready to share it with a friend to help nurture its potential?

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20). Ideals energize your ambitions into motion. Capitalize on this inspirational flow and advance your professional agenda.

STREAMING

Alexandria Stapleton credits Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson for improving access in making "The Reckoning." JACKSON/GREENSLEY/TT WAGGIE/FIRMSTYLE

Filmmaker digs deep for 'Diddy's', 'Reckoning'

Krystle Lee Yandell USA TODAY

For nearly two years, director Alexandria Stapleton worked in total secrecy to tell the story of one of music's most powerful and, eventually, disgraced figures: Sean 'Diddy' Combs. When her four-part Netflix documentary, "Sean Combs: The Reckoning," started streaming in December 2025, the series reached No. 1 on the streaming platform. It's now also the subject of critical acclaim having earned three Emmy nominations for outstanding directing, outstanding documentary or nonfiction series and outstanding picture editing. • Executive-produced by Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, "The Reckoning" examines the rise and fall of Combs, the allegations of violence and sexual misconduct against him, and his history of instilling fear and control to silence those around him.

Stapleton spoke with USA TODAY about the Emmy-nominated Netflix series. The director discussed how she named the trust of people who were afraid to speak publicly, the threats she received during production, and what Combs' story reveals about power and accountability in the music industry.

Question: Congratulations on three Emmy nominations. What does the recognition mean to you? Answer: It's one of the highest achievements that you could have. To get that series nomination was incredible because it really represents how there's an entire army of people coming together to make this really important series.

How did it feel to release it, and what did you think of the audience's response?

I had no idea it would blow up the way it did. I remember Dr.鈴木's creation when he watched the rough cots. He said, "I'm telling you, this is going to be huge." Even in the last week before it was released, he told me, "You should prepare yourself for what's going to happen." But I had no idea.

Early in the first episode, viewers see Sean Combs discussing the importance of media strategy. Why did you choose to open the

The documentary about Sean 'Diddy' Combs, above performing at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2023, was two years in the making. TEA (ENGSPLADITY MAGS)

documentary with that conversation?

It sets a tone for everything that you're going to watch and it makes you question Combs at every moment. It makes you think about: What's reality and what's spin? When is he trying to use reverse psychology in the media to spin a story in his favor?

See COMBS, Page 2D

CELEBRITIES

'Peter Pan Girl' is OK embracing inner child

Owen Carry USA TODAY

Christina Toni Kubasich is a Disneyland superfan who extensively documents her trips to her 9,000 followers on TikTok at @babyton99.

Every year she photographs and films herself with Peter Pan, who is played by various actors. "10 years ago, I met the lost boy who changed my life," her captives made in a 2023 photo-shifted documentary the photos she has taken since January 2021.

And this is what has brought her a lot of attention online in the past week. After one of her recent videos with Peter Pan received more than 29 million views, many gave her the nickname "Peter Pan Girl" while critiquing her interactions in viral videos and memes and speculating on how the performers feel about them.

"People can take something really small and turn it into something big without even knowing what it's truly about," Kubasich told USA TODAY in an interview Friday, Aug. 14.

The discourse was sparked on July 31 when she shared a video of herself giving a Peter Pan actor a handmade crochet keychain. Some edits of the clip show the character in black-and-white, staring at the camera, emulating a horror movie scene.

"I know he went on a cigarette break after this," reads a comment with more than 15 million likes on Kubasich's original video.

TikTok's "Peter Pan Girl," known as @babyton99, next to a Peter Pan actor at Disneyland in 2026. PROVIDED BY TONY@BABYTON99

Kubasich is proud of her Disney fandom

Kubasich, 27, said it's "been a little rough" this week with the internet making memes of her. "I've never expected to, like, blow up this much—of like, the entire internet to know I exist."

She is a proud "Disney Adult," a subculture of gossip-ups who make pilgrimages to Disney packs. "I think being a Disney Adult means letting out your inner child," she says.

She says she has been going to Disney packs since she was little, but she has had an annual pass only since 2021. She says she tries to go to Disneyland once a week.

Kubasich says she relates to how Peter Pan is canonically "the boy who never gave up," but has love of the character started because of her relationship with the actors. A Peter Pan she met in 2010 had a positive impact on her. "He put made a really magical experience for me the first time."

When asked her favorite thing at the park, she said, "Surprisingly, it's not meet Peter Pan," laughing. "My favorite thing to do is actually go on Astro Blasters. It's the game where you, like, shoot things."

Kubasich says that despite online rumors, she was not learned from the park. "I actually was there yesterday," she says. She said she didn't seek out Peter Pan.

See PETER PAN GIRL, Page 2D

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2D | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | USA TODAY

LIFE

USA TODAY BEST-SELLING BOOKS BOOKLIST.USATODAY.COM

• Book Document • Print Comment

		STILLBUST/STOP	PUBLISHER	GENRE	C		TITLBUST/STOP	PUBLISHER	GENRE	C
1	1	Thea of Golden;Live, 80m	Arco Books	Literary	F	26	4/6	Flankene;Gullerton's billback;Winn. Eker	Blown Books	Romance Contemporary
2	2	Dungeon Crawler Cat;Vibrarian, Matt	Aro Books	Fantasy - Action & Adventure	F	27	4/6	Dred [Deluxe billback];Various, Scora	Blown Books	Romance Contemporary
3	3	Yesterday;Violet, Gus Claire	King/ Publishing Group	Forested	F	28	28	The Dungeon;Anacolist's Cookbook;Stranman, Matt	Aro Books	Fantasy - Action & Adventure
4	4	The Calamity Club;Tealleft, Kathryn	SpringH & Sea	Literary	F	29	15	The Unknown;Sugar, Riley	Button	Thrillers - Suspense
5	4/5	Heartable: The Edge of Darkness Trilogy;Wren, Jeff	Zip	Romance - Suspense	F	30	4/6	The Dangerous; Hollywood; Dollons Gang From Grandpa;Dollons, Harry	Mission Ornam Press	Action & Adventure - Several
6	4/6	What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking; What to Watch;Gardens, Caroline	Grain Square & Co.	Stirthold, Rock & Music	NF	31	11	The Giver: A Newbery Award Winner;Canny, Lou	Clarion Books	Coming of Age
7	4/6	The Butcher Legacy: A Dr. Wren Noller Novel;Gardens, Anna	Zando	Thrillers - Suspense	F	32	2	Adversary to the Villais;Wadron, Hannah Nicole	Enlarged, Ned Town Books	Romance, Science, Comedy
8	4	Whistler;Pold, Jeff, Ikin	Harper	Literary	F	33	28	The Gate of the Pearl Gods;Vibrarian, Matt	Aro Books	Fantasy - Action & Adventure
9	4/6	God Doesn't Relapse: Sex, Drugs, and the Life The Almost Killed;Medvion, Matt	Lounge Books	Personal Memoirs	NF	34	36	Red Rising;Blown, Pence	Self Boy Books	Action & Adventure
10	5	The Wedding People: A Novel;Sippich, Alison	Kult. Paperbacks		NF	35	24	The Correspondent;Scors, Virginia	Green Publishing Group 1997	Women
11	11	The Odyssey;Homer	W. W. Norton & Company	Classics	F	36	10	Crime;Willer, Madeline	Back Boy Books	Literary
12	4/6	Vanity;Homer, Colleen	Grand Central Publishing	Women	F	37	4/6	Under the Falls;Huma, Richard	King/ Publishing Group	Literary
13	15	Daggerwood;Wolfe, H. M	Scarlett Press	General	F	38	28	Marxists: 80 Walter Mystery Logic Passies;Garmin, Russel	Patchweight Press	Logic & Brain Passes
14	4/6	Courage Car;Save Us: Yes & Extraordinary American;and You Fight for Our Future;Marriott, Kyn	Bloomsbury Publishing	Leadership	NF	39	4/6	Rebyssey;Whitten, Hannah	Run for It	Psychological
15	4/6	Donohahn, Vol. 20;Tafin, Yakesko	Vol Media	Numerous	NF	40	4/6	Devient King [Deluxe billback];Herd, Nina	Blown Books	Romance Contemporary
16	14	Project Hall Mary;Pitt, Andy	Ballastier Books	Thrillers - Suspense	F	41	36	Haunting Abilities;Carlton, H.D	Zando	Romance Contemporary
17	4/6	The Monitoring Ice; Book One; Part One of the Monitoring Ice; Social/Political	Harper Voyage	Numerous - General	F	42	28	Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump;Vibrarian, M. and Tania, J.	Simon & Schuster	American Government
18	19	Lights Out: An Into Darkness Novel;Mim, Marvin	Zando - literature	Romance - New Adult	F	43	27	Cool Machine;Whitbread, Colson	Scudderday Books	Literary
19	4/6	Toddler: Justice Workbook;Scholastic	Scholastic Teaching Research		NF	44	4/6	Bolshire [Deluxe billback];Green, Tate	Blown Books	Romance Contemporary
20	23	The Outsiders [Platinum];Wetter, S. E.	Wang Books for Young Readers	Classics	F	45	30	Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy; Part One of Three;Koch, Jim	Hispanolity	Action & Adventure - Several
21	4/6	The Secrets: We Hide: A North Falls;Thriller;Kingston, Ken	William Morrow & Company	Women	F	46	32	Pick Ink: A Dark Romance;El Grover, Anna	Safety Books	Romance - Suspense
22	4/6	The True Meaning of Love;Herd, Danielle	Delacorte Press	Women	F	47	4/6	Bury Our Room: in the Midnight ;Mall's book, V.	Tor Books	Fantasy - General
23	12	Car's Sovereign Scenario;Vibrarian, Matt	Aro Books	Fantasy - Action & Adventure	F	48	75	Dungeon Crawler Cat; Vol. 1 [ Staples Novel];Vibrarian, Matt	Vault Comics	Fantasy
24	4/6	Poetry Affection: Assume Friendly;Spratly Stories, A From And From of Time	Anadol Books	Numerous Stories	F	49	32	I Miss Have Never Known Men;Keyman, Jacque, Ken	Trevor Books	Literary
25	21	Palmsted: 411 [Renault];Radbury, Sep. 8	Simon & Schuster	Classics	F	50	32	The Very Hungry Catwistle;Clark, Eric	Pleasant Books	Classics

WHAT AMERICA'S READING? The book list appears every Thursday. You also can find it at booklist, watchlist, com. Each week, USA TODAY collects sales data from booksellers representing a variety of outlets. bookstores chains, independent bookstores, mass merchandisers and online retailers. Using that data, we determine the 150 top-selling titles of the week.

Combs

Continued from Page 1D

It took you two years to complete "The Reckoning." What was the most stressful part?

There were so many challenges. In particular, the challenge of having the people who participated feel comfortable and making sure that I wasn't leaving them feeling exploited. I wanted them to really feel like they were giving interviews and testimonies that allowed them to tell me the good, the bad and the ugly. We were committed to taking our time to guide a much larger, comprehensive picture of his world that hadn't been shown before.

How did you earn the trust of so many who were afraid to speak publicly about Conbs? Was did God helpful in securing those interviews?

10 was completely instrumental in that. We started the film before there was even an indictment, and I think his involvement provided people with a sense of security. Being the executive producer, he had conversations with some of the people who participated, which was a huge part of gaining access. Also, one I connected with people and they became comfortable with me, they would advocate me.

Were you ever afraid of Sean Combs yourself?

I was, and it wasn't only about physical safety. We had incidents while shooting with some unsavory character-she made threats. It wasn't directly from Combs, it was fans and people in the extended world around him. It required us to operate like a Navy SEAL operation. No one knew where we were, or when people found us and made them work, or even more. We ran a tight ship. Traditionally, when you're filming yourself you producing partners where you are and who you're filming with. We never released that information beyond the people who had to be there.

What did you learn while making the documentary that shocked you?

The unseen feature of Combs [filming] knew of before his trial! I didn't plan on having it. It came from left field. Watching it was validating because it showed some filmless and manipulative he could be. In the conversation at the beginning of the series, he owns that he's going to play in your face and use the media to paint the image he wants to

Director Alexandria Stapleton attends a "Reckoning" screening in Los Angeles. (AFP) (caption)

upload.

How did you acquire the footage?

I'm not going to reveal anything about my source. It came into my orbit. I had no idea that footage was being recorded.

Have you heard from Combs or anyone in his orbit about a reaction?

No. I know what the public knows. His mother publicly said she wasn't a fan and Combs responded through his representatives. I haven't had any contact with him or anyone else in his circle.

As several high-profile men accused of abuse attempt public comebacks, what does this moment say about our culture's relationship to accountability? Do you think these stories are still important?

I believe that people inherently want to live in a community where we are protected, we treat people with respect, and we don't condone abusive and exploitative situations. But I think we have our work cut out for us. My way of contributing us as thoroughly as I can, promoting you with a set of facts and values to get pursued along and thinking. There was a Me Too movement, but there wasn't a Me Too movement in hip-hop. What does that look like? This series was a journey into that space, and it's been cool to see people standing up in that behavior.

Do you think there's more of Combs' story to tell? Would you be interested in that?

It took over. I'm not opposed to continuing, but it would have to break new ground. I still think there's a major story beyond Combs himself about the ecosystem of money and power that allowed this to happen - and the people who knew it was happening. That is a reckoning.

Peter Pan Girl

Continued from Page 1D

"I don't even always meet him," she says. "I hold a [cracked] dinosaur. Its nine weeks because we didn't see each other... I wouldn't have had it for nine weeks if I was that crazy trying to find him."

Not all interactions with fans are welcome

Andrey Loll, an actor who portrayed Peter Pan and other characters at Walt Disney World in Orlando in 2015, says that during training, Disney instructors warned him about adult patrons who might figure out his real name, address and social media accounts.

"I can't prepare that feature," my schedule," he says. "They would just show up, and they would be like the first one to for every single one of my sets. But after a while, you have to be in deal with them."

A "net" refers to a block of time that character actors are onstage and interacting with guests. Loll says they involved taking pictures and having improved conversations, which often ended back to learned character catchphrases and movie references. Loll says he actually had five 43-minute sets a day.

Sarah Daniels, an actress who portrayed a host of characters at Disney packs and on Disney Cruise Line from 2006 through 2017, told USA TODAY her interactions with children were "just so magical."

Loll also spoke highly of children. "It wasn't the kids that were weak. It was mostly the adults and the teenagers."

In 2021, an actress playing Tinkerball claimed she was because it's several hundred men at Disney World when she was 68. Disney said it proved out "multiple resources to protect cast members' wellbeing" as a statement to "The Independent, including on-site police, and encouraged them to report problems. They said repeat offenders can be learned permanently from all Disney packs. (USA TODAY reached out to a Disney representative for comments on the information response.)"

Kalusich says she has witnessed other Disneyland patrons touch character actors or ask them inappropriate questions. She says some male visitors

Christina Toni Kalusich and a Peter Pan actor at Disneyland in California. (PROVIDED BY CHRISTINA TONI KALUSICH)

"meet the princesses over and over and over and take photos. They do that every week."

She insists she treats the actors with respect, largely because she used to work at Disneyland in 2014 at the California Adventure Park and various food venues. "I strongly believe that because I'm someone who has worked for Disney, when I go [there], I always ask them, 'Can I buy you?' I allow them to lead the interactions. So I'll wait for him to be like, 'Let's go take a walk.' I'm not going to initiate the walk."

Kalusich says she has kept in touch with the original Peter Pan she met in 2015. But she tries out to think of them as individuals - the character is singular. "I try it to keep the Disney magic, as like, there's only one, and he's the Peter. But I do have favorites."

---

LIFE

USA TODAY | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | 10

USA TODAY CROSSWORD

NUTRIN (Non-Nutrition) BY Steve David

GETTING ATTACHED

AHRYN 1. Phoenix Opens spin 2. "Do your ..." 3. Take orders from 4. Poor suitable for 5. Health must 6. Use stubborn and 7. After forget in a Wi- 8. Sports game 9. Take off 10. Do better boys 11. Always friend 12. Drink that might 13. be unmuch with 14. change it 15. Need to play 16. ... drink de 17. me any expense" 18. Darrell, Mess- 19. more interested 20. by Margaret 21. Average 22. "I am around the 23. and didn't 24. I'm very 25. "Days of ... lives" 26. Orchard with 27. Counterpart of 28. so 29. Fresh and medium 30. heating thunder 31. "Higher figures" 32. "I am around the 33. August announces 34. Long, long time 35. "Hopes we've 36. always interact 37. includes the world's 38. "I don't fill it 39. White to Dear Abby 40. say 41. "I'll sing" 42. "The Bride is...in a 43. scoreboard" 44. "Bride over Alder" 45. "Hume on a 46. Kingdoms 47. playing life 48. "I am not much 49. Sign of things to 50. some 51. Sign of things to 52. some 53. "I'm not much 54. Sign of things to 55. some

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70. 7-Eleven
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Annuity Call: 800-888-8355 (9 units a minute, or with a credit card, 1800-02-4289)

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BONUS CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Council insurers 5 Brillance 10 Auction 14 Traditional knowledge 15 Blue 16 Caisai 17 Sugar 18 Eye color 19 Speckled horse 20 Science of teaching 21 Riddle 24 Zono's marks 25 Metal fastener 26 Robins to the ground 28 True 32 Diamond and Armstrong 33 Die down 35 Day of 65W 36 Bushard room 37 Waltery ice 38 Behaviors 39 — Cards 41 Bقتar 41 Silver 42 Gumminess 44 Forense table 45 County 46 Flat candy 47 Gideway 50 Greek sea god 54 Trowed shelter

55 On the left, resolutely 57 Asian desert 59 Fishes 59 Salem liquid 60 By — or by route 61 Parents 62 Direct 63 — parent lonely 66 Mind reader 67 Short, fast race 68 Like a bump on 72 Clamp soil 73 Burden burner 74 Turns a horse to the right 75 Pleasant 76 Repeater 77 Usher's seat 78 Eat no food 79 “I give up” 80 Winter 81 Huck 82 83 84 85 86 87 87 88 88 89 90 90 91 91 92 92 93 93 94 94 95 95 96 96 97 97 98 98 99 99 100 100 101 101 102 102 103 103 104 104 105 105 106 106 107 107 108 108 109 109 110 110 111 111 112 112 113 113 114 114 115 115 116 116 117 117 118 118 119 119 120 120 121 121 122 122 123 123 124 124 125 125 126 126 127 127 128 128 129 129 130 130 131 131 132 132 133 133 134 134 135 135 136 136 137 137 138 138 139 139 140 140 141 141 142 142 143 143 144 144 145 145 146 146 147 147 148 148 149 149 150 150 151 151 152 152 153 153 154 154 155 155 156 156 157 157 158 158 159 159 160 160 161 161 162 162 163 163 164 164 165 165 166 166 167 167 168 168 169 169 170 170 171 171 172 172 173 173 174 174 175 175 176 176 177 177 178 178 179 179 180 180 181 181 182 182 183 183 184 184 185 185 186 186 187 187 188 188 189 189 190 190 191 191 192 192 193 193 194 194 195 195 196 196 197 197 198 198 199 199 200 200 201 201 202 202 203 203 204 204 205 205 206 206 207 207 208 208 209 209 210 210 211 211 212 212 213 213 214 214 215 215 216 216 217 217 218 218 219 219 220 220 221 221 222 222 223 223 224 224 225 225 226 226 227 227 228 228 229 229 230 230 231 231 232 232 233 233 234 234 235 235 236 236 237 237 238 238 239 239 240 240 241 241 242 242 243 243 244 244 245 245 246 246 247 247 248 248 249 249 250 250 251 251 252 252 253 253 254 254 255 255 256 256 257 257 258 258 259 259 260 260 261 261 262 262 263 263 264 264 265 265 266 266 267 267 268 268 269 269 270 270 271 271 272 272 273 273 274 274 275 275 276 276 277 277 278 278 279 279 280 280 281 281 282 282 283 283 284 284 285 285 286 286 287 287 288 288 289 289 290 290 291 291 292 292 293 293 294 294 295 295 296 296 297 297 298 298 299 299 300 300 301 301 302 302 303 303 304 304 305 305 306 306 307 307 308 308 309 309 310 310 311 311 312 312 313 313 314 314 315 315 316 316 317 317 318 318 319 319 320 320 321 321 322 322 323 323 324 324 325 325 326 326 327 327 328 328 329 329 330 330 331 331 332 332 333 333 334 334 335 335 336 336 337 337 338 338 339 339 340 340 341 341 342 342 343 343 344 344 345 345 346 346 347 347 348 348 349 349 350 350 351 351 352 352 353 353 354 354 355 355 356 356 357 357 358 358 359 359 360 360 361 361 362 362 363 363 364 364 365 365 366 366 367 367 368 368 369 369 370 370 371 371 372 372 373 373 374 374 375 375 376 376 377 377 378 378 379 379 380 380 381 381 382 382 383 383 384 384 385 385 386 386 387 387 388 388 389 389 390 390 391 391 392 392 393 393 394 394 395 395 396 396 397 397 398 398 399 399 400 400

1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 8 10 8 11 8 12 8 13 8 14 8 15 8 16 8 17 8 18 8 19 8 20 8 21 8 22 8 23 8 24 8 25 8 26 8 27 8 28 8 29 8 30 8 31 8 32 8 33 8 34 8 35 8 36 8 37 8 38 8 39 8 40 8 41 8 42 8 43 8 44 8 45 8 46 8 47 8 48 8 49 8 50 8 51 8 52 8 53 8 54 8 55 8 56 8 57 8 58 8 59 8 60 8 61 8 62 8 63 8 64 8 65 8 66 8 67 8 68 8 69 8 70 8 71 8 72 8 73 8 74 8 75 8 76 8 77 8 78 8 79 8 80 8 81 8 82 8 83 8 84 8 85 8 86 8 87 8 88 8 89 8 90 8 91 8 92 8 93 8 94 8 95 8 96 8 97 8 98 8 99 8 100 100[{"}][{"box_2d": [726, 535, 747, 746], "label": "list", "caption": "1 1\n2 2\n3 3\n4 4\n5 5\n6 6\n7 7\n8 8\n9

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4D | THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2026 | USA TODAY

LIFE

The career of a legend

MEMORIALIZED

The storied career of John Sterling in a hardcover collector's book

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$35.95 $109.95 • plus tax & shipping • offer expires Oct. 7, 2026 • books ship Nov. 13, 2026

For 36 years, John Sterling called every single Yankees game. Every pitch, every hit, every walk-off... 5,000 consecutive broadcasts without missing one. His home run calls were woven into New York baseball. "It is high, it is far, it is gone!" was the sound of summer in the Bronx. But this collectible book is about more than the man behind the mic. This commemorative coffee-table book from NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Sports captures the greatest moments of the Sterling Era: the championships, the legends, the unforgettable plays. It follows Sterling's career and the Yankees era he called through photography, stories and behind-the-scenes moments. From the dynasty years of the late '90s through the 2009 World Series championships, John's final season and Judge's record-breaking 62nd home run, it's the definitive visual record of one of the most celebrated runs in Yankees history. The calls that gave you chills. The championships that defined a generation. The quiet moments fans never get to see. It's all here.

Learn more and preorder at

Sterling.PictorialBook.com

northjersey.com

USA TODAY SPORTS

---

NATION & WORLD EXTRA - USA TODAY NETWORK | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2028 | 1NN

NATION & WORLD EXTRA

Ukraine confirms new defense chief

Overall predecessor issues call for wartime elections

A resident walks through a street market hit by a Russian drone in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Aug. 19. REUTERS

Dan Pelewchuk and Yulia Dysa REUTERS

KYIV – Ukrainian lawmakers appointed a new defense minister Aug. 19, hours after his curated predecessor dealt a major blow to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a call for elections in wartime.

Yevhenii Klimava, a former top special forces operative, takes up the critical defense portfolio amid fresh political turmoil for the president, who had faced weeks of protests over his dismissal of 25-year-old reformer Mykhailo Fedorov.

Klimava's appointment also took place just hours after anti-corruption authorities announced charges against a deputy chief of Zelenskyy's office as part of an alleged $5 million money-laundering scheme.

Fedorov's removal as defense minister in July brought thousands of demonstrators onto the streets in new wartime protests over a surprise shake-up seen as poorly communicated to the public at a critical time in the war with Russia.

His hold call for elections in the fifth year of fighting drew accusations of populism in a country where a majority of people still oppose a wartime vote, even though many argue that Ukraine needs fresh faces in power.

"He chose to move on the populist trajectory, underlining the risks and challenges for democratic process of election," said Lusia Bidechko, a policy fellow at the European Policy Institute in Kyiv.

Newly appointed Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Klimava is a former top special forces operative. REUTERS

Zelenskyy has yet to respond directly to Fedorov's call, but the president's communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters that "Russia's daily drone and missile strikes are the exhaustive answer to this question."

Major challenge

In his statement late on Aug. 18, Fedorov said the country faced a crisis of governance and that Ukraine's democratic process "cannot be held hostage by Russia."

Wartime elections are prohibited under law.

An Aug. 5 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed

Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine's democratic process "cannot be held hostage by Russia." REUTERS

57% of Ukrainians believe they should only take place after the war, given that hundreds of thousands of troops are on the front line and Russian missiles and drones are raining down on Ukrainian cities, towns and villages.

"We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to move its full democratic process even in the conditions of a long war," Fedorov said.

He did not say whether he would compete in any election, but another recent poll indicated the tech-savvy Fedorov - Zelenskyy's longest-standing ally - would considerably beat his

See UKRAINE, Page 5NN

U.S. debt crosses threshold of $40T

Total has doubled in less than a decade

David Lawder and Jacob Bogage REUTERS

WASHINGTON – Total U.S. debt has topped $40 trillion for the first time, the Treasury Department said on Aug. 19, drawing fresh warnings that a fiscal crisis is looming as hallowing costs for social safety net programs and interest payments for outstrip revenues held back by tax cuts.

The Treasury's latest daily cash and debt balances statement showed total public debt outstanding at $40.047 trillion on Aug. 18, a total that includes Treasury securities held by the public of 832,246 trillion and intra-governmental debt holdings of $7782 trillion.

The federal government's 10U has now more than doubled in less than a decade, from $9.95 trillion when President Donald Trump was sworn in for the first time in January 2017.

Roughly one-third of that increase occurred during two years of frantic government borrowing to fund the COVID-19 pandemic responses undertaken by Trump and former President Joe Biden, while the fiscal policy choices of both presidents combined with long-running tax-and-spending imbalances to account for the rest.

Budget watchdog groups have been anticipating the crossing of the threshold for weeks and have issued stark warnings that a full-blown debt crisis could erupt unless lawmakers confront an unsustainable fiscal outlook and issue taxes, cut spending or both.

"Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn't exist solely on the government's ledgiver, it is felt throughout the economy and finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another," said Maya MacGuinness, president of the nonjurious Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

"The more we borrow, the more we exacerbate inflation, squeeze out other

See DEBT, Page 5NN

A man passes by the National Debt Clock in New York City on Aug. 19. It now stands at $40.047 trillion.

BRIGOLAN, NY, U.S. PUBLIC RELATIONS

ANALYSIS

ABC says FCC intimidation has forced changes

Disney and ABC said the Trump administration's actions have chilled the TV network's editorial decision-making.

WARD AND/OR/4/REUTERS FILE

Accuses administration of using pressure tactics

Dawn Chmielewski and David Shepardson REUTERS

ABC is accusing President Donald Trump's administration of employing pressure tactics that have forced the television network to make programming compromises such as refraining from booking political candidates on its popular daytime talk show "The View" for fear of retaliation.

The network and its parent company,

can Disney, sued the Federal Communications Commission on Aug. 18 in an effort to block the agency's unusual early review of broadcast licenses for eight Disney-owned local TV stations. They argue that the administration is

unlawfully seeking to punish the network over its broadcast content and force changes in its programming. In a Reuters interview, FCC Chair Brendan Carr denied that the agency was infringing on Disney's free speech rights or responding to Trump's dislike of specific content.

The legal fight highlights the volatile relationship that Trump and his administration have had with the media. Trump has repeatedly since 2024 called for the FCC to revoke the licenses of ABC stations, most recently after the network declined in July to air a primetime address its gave on election security.

Disney and ABC said that demands made by the FCC during the license review process and Trump's public threats already have chilled the network's editorial decision-making.

The FCC, according to the lawsuit,

See ABC, Page 5NN

SUBSCRIBER-EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL EDITION

---

ZNN | THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2026 | NATION & WORLD EXTRA - USA TODAY NETWORK

We make life simpler, safer, and better.

Visit AccuWeather.com or get the app.

AccuWeather

NATIONAL SUMMARY

The laboratories are forecast from the Mississippi Valley to the mid-Atlantic and southern New England today. Some storms from northern Mississippi and Alabama through the mid-Atlantic will produce flash flooding and damaging winds. Storms are forecast to die the Southwest and Midwest, while heat continues in the West and Plains.

In the digital e-edition, you can click anywhere on the US map to get up-to-date forecasts, radar, MinutesCert® and more

WEDNESDAY EXTREMES

NETWORK, Inc. (here's a long-term plan)
High:	119 at South Valley, CA
Low:	34 at Granby, CO
Precip:	6.17" at Panama City, FL

INTERNATIONAL (includes Antarctica)

High:	119 at Smollett, Iran
Low:	36 at Calarna, Chile
Precip:	5.04" at Dover, Myanmar

TODAY IN HISTORY

Heavy rain from the summer of Hurricane Camille on and around Aug. 20, 1989, killed 161 people and caused 8100 million in damage in the upper James River Basin of Virginia.

WEATHER TRIVIA™

It is what your wind has been first named?

CGC: ▼

NATIONAL CITIES THURSDAY

	High/low/W	Low
Aberdeen, SD	85/83/4	38
Altoona, TX	9/8/75/5	46
@Aurora, VA	86/70/1	17
Altoona, FL	9/8/75/5	47
Alton, OH	77/57/7	15
Alamogordo, NM	100/50/4	48
@Alexandria, VA	85/70/1	20
Alliance, OH	75/70/1	75
Antarctic, TX	66/70/1	15
@Aurora, VA	81/70/1	28
@Anderson, SC	66/70/1	15
@Aguirano, MI	83/54/4	29
@Asheville, NC	86/67/1	41
Jackson, OH	75/70/1	75
@Athens, GA	97/70/2	14
Jackson, OH	90/71/2	14
Austin, TX	104/70/5	75
Brownsville, OK	93/58/2	50
Battle Creek, MI	85/55/4	28
Buffalo, PA	82/54/1	15
Binghamton, NY	75/52/2	25
Buffalo, SC	94/54/1	17
Bloomberg, MA	85/54/4	44
Stratford, MA	86/56/2	60
Brownsville, TX	104/70/2	50
Burleigh, IA	90/50/2	40
@Burleigh, NC	94/70/1	15
Burleigh, IL	75/70/1	45
Cambridge, OH	76/62/1	26
Cambridge, MO	85/55/2	35
Cambridge, NY	75/55/1	35
Carter, OH	75/70/1	75
Carlisle, NY	100/75/5	75
Charlottesville, TX	74/55/1	20
Charlottesville, PA	74/55/1	20
@Campbell, NJ	80/64/1	40
Cincinnati, OH	81/67/1	54
@Clarksville, TN	90/77/1	50
Colchester, MI	85/57/2	25
Columbus, OH	80/64/1	44
Corning, NY	73/52/4	20
Corpus Christi, TX	90/78/1	75
@Corpus Christi, TX	91/75/1	75
Daming, NM	102/71/1	50
Delaware, LA	90/77/1	34
@Des Moines, IA	91/58/2	25
Detroit, MI	81/58/1	20
Des Moines, IA	95/58/2	37
Dover, NH	83/58/2	20
El Paso, TX	100/70/5	75
El Paso, NY	73/52/2	37
Elm, PA	77/58/1	20
Eugene, OR	91/56/2	25

	High/low/W	Low
Evansville, IN	85/58/1	75
@Fairview, MA	87/63/8	60
@Farmington, NH	90/68/1	75
@Huntsville, NC	97/75/2	60
Esiodi du Lac, MI	80/62/1	75
@Fort Myers, FL	94/76/2	20
Fort Smith, AR	104/74/2	53
Farrington, MA	85/57/2	60
Fremport, IL	80/60/1	75
Fremont, OH	77/55/1	47
Fort Collins, CO	90/62/2	75
@Gadsden, AL	95/71/1	47
@Gainesville, FL	94/74/1	50
Galesburg, IL	80/60/2	25
@Gastonia, NC	90/70/1	75
Gen Ross, TX	107/74/2	50
Gonzales, LA	97/77/1	55
Grand Falls, UT	91/54/1	43
Green Bay, WI	80/60/1	25
Greenville, SC	94/72/1	50
@Hackensack, NJ	91/60/1	75
Hagerstown, MD	70/64/1	50
Hattiesburg, MD	95/75/1	50
@Henderson, KY	94/64/1	75
@Hendersonville, NC	80/58/1	37
Hertford, NY	76/51/2	20
Hillsdale, MI	80/58/2	75
Hickory, IN	81/57/1	25
Hockett, NY	75/54/1	75
Hurma, LA	94/75/1	55
Hovett, MI	81/54/1	25
Hutchinson, IN	90/58/1	75
@Hopkins, MA	82/67/2	50
Indianapolis, IN	82/60/2	25
Island City, IA	81/60/2	50
Ithaca, NY	75/52/2	25
@Jackson, MS	100/76/1	31
Jacksonville, FL	93/71/1	50
Jacksonville, NC	93/71/1	50
Kent, OH	76/97/1	75
Knoxville, IL	82/60/2	25
Keppel, WV	77/58/1	25
El Kirsten, NC	87/74/2	25
Elខេត្តកំពង់ចាម, TX	85/71/1	75
Lafayette, IN	80/58/2	50
Lafayette, LA	90/78/1	55
Lakeland, FL	91/75/1	25
Lansing, MI	80/57/1	25
Las Cruces, NM	100/75/2	50
Lebanon, IN	70/58/1	50
Louisburg, FL	91/76/1	25

	High/low/W	Low
Lincoln, IL	93/57/2	20
@Louisville, KY	90/70/1	75
Madison, WI	102/71/2	50
Meadows, MI	77/66/1	25
Macdull, OH	79/57/1	40
@Marshall, WI	87/68/1	45
@Marinfield, WI	80/57/1	50
Meadows, OH	77/58/1	75
@McLean, WI	94/58/1	50
@Melbourne, FL	93/74/1	75
@Memphis, TN	90/76/1	50
Middletown, NY	76/57/4	25
Milford, MA	95/57/3	50
Milwaukee, WI	78/56/1	25
Minima, MI	74/54/1	25
@Moline, LA	104/70/1	55
Montgomery, AL	97/71/1	50
Muncie, IN	80/60/2	45
@Northwestern, TN	87/68/1	31
@Naples, FL	92/70/1	75
@Nashville, TN	92/72/1	50
@Naples, NJ	80/58/1	50
@New Bedford, MA	85/62/2	60
@New Bern, MO	93/78/1	75
New Philadelphia, OH	71/60/1	75
Newark, OH	80/57/1	50
Nevada, KS	75/70/1	25
@New York, NY	81/68/1	50
@Norwich, CT	64/50/1	50
@Ocala, FL	92/70/1	75
Oklahoma City, OK	101/77/2	50
Oakland, FL	97/70/1	50
@Oakland, WI	80/62/1	25
@Northeast, FL	92/60/1	75
Palm Springs, CA	112/81/2	50
Panama City, FL	91/78/1	75
Palm, FL	83/60/2	25
Pleasantville, FL	92/57/1	75
Perry, IL	81/62/2	25
@Philadelphia, VA	95/72/1	45
Prussia, AZ	108/76/1	75
Port Huron, WI	77/51/2	45
Port Huron, IN	94/52/2	25
Port Huron, NY	100/60/2	75
@Providence, RI	94/64/2	45
Prussia, CO	90/62/1	75
Quincy, MA	86/61/1	60
Redding, CA	101/81/2	75
Reno, NV	97/64/2	25
Roanoke, OH	74/57/1	75
Richmond, IN	91/51/1	50

	High/low/W	Low
Rochester, NY	75/52/1	50
Rockford, IL	81/54/1	50
Rodson, NM	87/60/1	50
Salem, OH	90/58/2	50
Salina, KS	93/64/2	50
@Salina, CA	77/57/2	50
@Salisbury, MD	86/70/1	50
San Angelo, TX	102/72/2	50
@Sarasota, FL	91/74/1	50
Savannah, GA	90/71/1	50
Sheboygan, WI	74/62/1	50
@Shelby, NC	93/58/1	50
Sheboygan, TX	100/76/1	50
Shreveport, LA	108/76/1	50
Silent City, NM	93/58/1	50
@Sioux Falls, SD	95/64/1	50
Somerset, PA	71/58/1	50
@Somerville, NJ	75/62/1	50
South Bend, IN	90/55/1	25
@Spartanburg, SC	90/71/1	50
Springfield, IL	92/70/1	50
Springfield, MO	91/70/2	50
@St. Augustine, FL	92/77/1	75
@St. Cloud, MN	92/60/1	50
St. George, UT	104/68/2	50
@Stanton, VA	94/54/1	50
@Steubenville, MI	92/58/1	50
Stockton, CA	90/67/1	50
Stroudsburg, PA	75/54/1	25
@Stuart, FL	92/77/1	75
Sturgis, MI	90/60/2	25
Tallahassee, FL	95/75/1	75
Thompson, LA	90/74/1	75
Topeka, KS	95/67/2	50
Topeka, KS	90/57/1	50
Topeka, KS	92/57/1	50
Ventura, CA	75/58/1	50
Victoria, CA	108/75/2	50
@Vineland, KS	83/68/1	50
Visalia, UT	100/64/1	50
@Washington, DC	97/75/1	50
Watertown, CO	84/54/1	25
@Wausau, WI	90/62/1	25
Waynesboro, PA	74/62/1	25
@White Plains, WI	95/65/1	50
Wichita Falls, TX	106/74/1	75
@Wilmington, DE	89/57/1	50
Wilmington, NC	92/77/1	50
@Wisconsin Rapids, WI	92/58/1	25
Winston, OH	77/54/1	75
Worcester, MA	78/61/2	50
York, PA	74/52/1	50

Air Quality Index: 0-50, Good: 51-100, Moderate: 101-150, Unhealthy for sensitive groups: 151-200, Unhealthy: 201-300, Very unhealthy: 301-500, Hazardous

INTERNATIONAL CITIES

	Thursday High/low/W	Friday High/low/W		Thursday High/low/W	Friday High/low/W		Thursday High/low/W	Friday High/low/W		Thursday High/low/W	Friday High/low/W
Alexandria	84/79/3	102/78/1	Cape Town	85/48/2	110/51/2	La Paz	90/29/3	58/28/3	San Jose	86/70/1	85/71/1
Adela Ababa	71/56/1	72/55/1	El Caracau	91/78/1	90/77/1	Logan	84/75/1	64/74/1	San Salvador	92/70/2	92/56/0
Algiers	97/75/2	80/77/3	Casablanca	92/66/2	84/68/3	Palos	75/66/1	75/67/3	Santiago	96/61/2	76/46/2
Annam	95/75/3	102/74/3	Columbia	87/78/1	87/75/1	Lisbon	75/65/2	78/61/3	San Paulo	85/60/2	75/54/2
Amsterdam	103/59/0	89/56/0	Casperleques	103/53/0	100/54/2	London	75/65/0	77/61/2	Sampere	90/52/3	90/54/2
Antara	91/64/3	83/90/1	Damacus	102/68/1	106/71/3	Madrid	90/64/3	69/61/3	Shanghai	81/81/0	90/91/1
Asuncion	64/64/0	74/68/2	Dublin	92/44/0	93/46/0	Milpaka	92/58/0	92/58/0	Singapore	91/87/0	93/80/2
Augusta	71/56/1	78/59/3	Geneva	75/51/4	67/51/1	Toronto City	77/55/0	74/56/1	Stockholm	85/61/3	91/61/0
Auckland	93/90/2	60/50/1	Guatemala City	83/50/2	83/53/1	Miami	74/67/1	76/65/2	Sydney	72/50/2	72/50/0
Baghdad	111/60/3	112/65/3	Hanoi	96/98/1	92/98/1	Montenegro	85/75/2	87/72/2	St. Louis	91/76/1	91/75/1
Bangkok	89/77/0	85/80/0	Harare	78/50/2	78/50/2	Montenegro	94/48/1	52/41/1	Yugosyuk	85/60/1	85/68/1
Binging	95/75/1	91/74/2	Havana	85/75/2	85/75/2	Montreal	77/58/3	78/60/3	Tokyo	101/77/2	102/74/3
Beirut	86/75/0	90/96/0	Hospital	63/55/4	58/56/0	New Delhi	73/58/1	75/62/2	Tokyo	86/70/2	88/77/1
Bulgaria	100/71/2	101/73/2	Hong Kong	88/60/1	86/62/1	Panama City	91/77/1	91/78/1	Vancouver	74/50/2	77/52/2
Bogota	60/45/0	66/48/1	Johannesburg	80/50/2	76/50/2	Paris	76/60/2	72/60/0	Vienna	91/60/2	80/63/1
Borussia	77/57/2	84/54/0	Kabul	94/57/2	92/58/2	Port van Pienaar	101/75/1	101/72/1	Warsaw	91/61/3	92/61/1
Budapest	96/72/1	93/87/1	Khartoum	100/80/2	102/82/2	Rio de Janeiro	79/72/2	80/97/1	Yemen	94/50/1	85/92/3
Buenos Aires	62/45/2	64/45/2	Kyiv	87/68/3	84/72/1	Kuyper	100/63/3	104/63/3	Zagreb	84/50/2	85/54/1
Cairo	94/76/2	95/75/2	Kingston	94/50/2	93/81/1	Rome	91/77/3	88/73/1	Zurich	77/61/1	65/53/1

© Denotes possible travel delays Thursday

©2026, forecasts and graphics provided by

AccuWeather.

Superior Accuracy™ for Better Decisions

Visit AccuWeather.com

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NATION & WOMEN'S YEAR - USA TODAY NETWORK | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 | 3NN

Trump picks Overton for FDA

Policy aide would lead unhantled health agency

Yasmen Alastaiah

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump named White House policy aide Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration, turning to an 'America First' ally to accept an agency chokes by staff losses, low morale and fights over vaccines, the abortion pill and drug approach.

Trump's previous FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, resigned in May after it months on the job, following clashes with White House officials over flavored wipes, a stalled abortion pill safety study and public disagreements with drugmakers such as Replimune, Rarelyts and Moderna over reviews of potentially lifesaving medicines and vaccines.

The choice of Overton, an ally of Makary, may deepen concerns among drugmakers and some FDA staff seeking stability after months of upheaval.

Chris Meekins, a former Trump health official who is now an analyst at a National Assoc., said industry groups are likely to view Overton's lack of management experience, negatively, and warned her appointment could accelerate staff departures and reverse progress made since Makary's exit.

Overton, a doctor by training who serves as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, must be approved by the U.S. Senate. She previously worked at the American First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.

When a known to take on the HARD-EFT issues, and bring the solutions that work best for the Country, Trump wrote in a social media post on Aug. 29. "We need her leadership at the FDA even to ensure that the U.S. remains the WOMEN LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CORE."

Heidi Overton, a doctor by training, serves as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. American and American law.

The FDA has faced numerous challenges in Trump's second term, including an absence of experts and top talent and plummeting morale after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired thousands of people across 1950.

The agency, which is responsible for regulating and approving all drugs, treatments and vaccines, has lost more than 3,000 staff over the past year, including division heads, and is under pressure to rebuild confidence among industry and public health groups.

Overton's nomination coincides with new efforts by Trump health officials to take action on a number of controversial issues, including autism and vaccines as well as the abortion pill.

Overton spoke at a White House event last week at which Trump announced a new executive order that calls for significantly cutting back the national childhood vaccination schedule and splitting the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines into three separate shots, which pharmaceutical companies said could take years.

Heidi brings exceptional judgment, professionalism, discipline, and an un-wowning commitment to the American people. I have seen her challenge assumptions, demand excellence, and turn bold ideas into meaningful re-

sults," Kennedy wrote on X.

Overton is likely to be viewed skeptically by pharmaceutical companies and a broader health care industry looking for stability at the unhantled agency.

Meekins, a health official in Trump's first term, wrote in an analyst note on Aug. 29 that Overton has "seemingly no real experience causing anything of consequence."

"Industry will view this pick as extremely troublesome and FDA career staff will continue to flee the agency in my view," Meekins wrote. "Any progress made since Makary's departures likely to be quickly reversed if she is confirmed."

Kennedy has struggled to retain top health officials, creating turbulence at federal agencies responsible for nearly 10 months of government spending.

Erica Schwartz earlier in August was confirmed at director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The job had been vacant for over a year, for Kennedy fired Susan Monacre within weeks of her confirmation due to a clash on vaccine policy.

After themselves has served as acting FDA chief since May. Under his watch, the agency has reversed course on several drug groups or proposed regulatory considerations for case-disease therapies from Reynolds,俾dlyms and Replimune. It also launched steps aimed at speeding all drug research by pairing sponsors with qualified research institutions to shorten the time from drug identification to first-in-human studies.

It remains unclear whether Overton will continue themselves approach Trump's present health idea proceed Kennedy for more action on vaccines and what Trump and Kennedy say is a possible link to autism, a view refuted by years of scientific research.

Overton's appearance and endorsement of Trump's executive order on vaccines last week unnoticed some career staff at the FDA, according to a person familiar with the dynamics.

FINANCIAL MARKETS

More to decrease as yields ease

Moderns huge rally lifts other health care stocks

Bessel from and Avinash P REUTERS

The main U.S. stock market indexes closed markedly higher on Aug. 29, as easing government bond yields boosted risk cigarettes while a domestic rally in shares of vaccine-maker Moderna show gains in the health care sector.

Investors barely reacted to minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, which showed deepening concern about inflation with 'sevens' policymakers ready to raise interest rates. 'Many' said a rate hike would be needed if inflation does not decline to the U.S. central bank's 2% target.

But a day after the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond hit its highest level since 2007, the yield fell on Aug. 29, along with the 30-year Treasury yield. The interest came after the U.S. Treasury announced it would double the size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-shared bonds.

"The risk-on trade is trying to hang on to the Seldon that Treasury Secretary Jicorff Bessert sent," said Carol Scharf, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, noting that riskier assets including daily profile technology stocks had sold off in recent days as bond yields rose.

Concerns over ballooning government debt and rising inflation had pushed global bond yields to multi-decade highs on Aug. 16 Scharf cautivates more relieved by the govern-

Oil prices

Brent Leake futures settled at $51.82 a barrel, up 60 cents, or 0.7%, on Aug. 30. Brent Texas intermediate crude futures rose 69 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $85.49 a barrel.

ment support as higher rates "could potentially impact the oil trade" as technology companies have been issuing debt and equity and using their own cash to fund construction of data centers supporting all.

However, equity indexes pared gains as the session were on. Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, said investors likely took some profits after the initial rally and he added that the morning's announcement 'doesn't mean that the longer-term issue of higher rates is off the table'.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89.65 points, or 0.22%, to $3,463.05; the S&P 500 gained 16.22 points, or 0.23%, to 7797.90; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 8.18 points, or 0.16%, to 26,318.09.

Moderna's shares surged almost 1775, leading S&P 500 gainers in a record rally for the company after it announced that its personalized mRNA cancer therapy developed with Merck cut the sale of melanoma recurrence and spread in a late-stage trial. Merck shares jumped 0.6% and it was the biggest percentage gainer in the blue-chip Dow and the third-biggest in the S&P 500.

Moderna's histering rally boosted

health care peers such as Novacuz, which finished up 45.4%, and U.S.-listed shares of BioNTech, which vaulted 22%.

The S&P 500 health care sector closed up 5.5%, marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since April 2025. The sector also hit a record high and provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500 from any of its 21 major industry sectors. The Nasdaq biotechnology index also jumped 6.4%.

The second-biggest S&P sector gainer was consumer discectonary, which added 2%.

The S&P 500 industrials index led percentage losses among the benchmark's industry indexes with a 0.9% decline. The S&P 500 information technology index was the next biggest loss, down 0.7%, with pressure from chip stocks.

However, Marvel Technologies shares jumped 9.4% after it said it will help develop Google's in-demand content-clips and has offered the search-go and the right to buy a potential SE. 2-10-lim stake Marvel was one of the few gainers in the volatile Philadelphia semiconductor index, which ended down 2% Google parent Alphabet's shares finished up 0.2%.

On the earnings front, Target shares rose 4.3% after the retailer raised its annual sales forecast. Lowe's shares gained 2.4% earlier than the named its annual sales growth forecast.

Erica Leake shares jumped 4.3%, making it the S&P 500's second-biggest percentage gainer, after the cosmetics maker forecast annual profit above Wall Street estimates.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Aug. 20. On this date in:

1619: On or about this day, '20 and add' kidnapped Angolans arrived on a Dutch ship at the English colony of Jamestown, Virginia, to be forced into servitude. It was widely regarded as the beginning of African slavery in the United States. The voyage started with 100 captives; almost all died or were kidnapped a second time by pirates.

1858: Charles Darwin co-published the first outline of a theory of evolution. Published along with fellow scientist Alfred Russel Wallace, who had closed with Darwin his own independent work on the subject. It was met with little fanfare. Darwin developed the theory further and the following year published the landmark book 'On the Origin of Species'.

1866: The National Labor Union was founded in Baltimore and called on Congress to mandate an eight-hour workday, the first such demand. Although the group did not succeed—and folded only seven years later—it raised public awareness and invited the American Federation of Labor.

1911: The first communal telegram was sent around the world. The first single left the first of the 1900s building in New York City at 7 p.m. and was received 70 minutes later after traveling through 10 relays via the Azores, Gibraltar, India, Hawaii and San Francisco. It read: 'The message sent around the world.'

1945: Leon Tichaly was fatally attacked in his Mexico City home by a Spanish communist wedding an ice as he died the next day. The Russian Revolution leader had been living in raids for 11 years. The Soviet government said it was not responsible, though that was widely debated.

1954: President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a National Security Council paper throwing support behind Ngo Dinh Doen, who had been appointed prime minister of Vietnam, once South Vietnam. The goal of the support was to restore U.S. policy to a traditional Asia and 'prevent further losses to Communism.'

1950: The first live animals returned to Earth from a trip to space. The Soviet Sputnik-5 carried mutts Belka and Shreha, 40 mls and four mls. The Premier Nikita Khvachchov later sent one of Shreha's projects to first help Jackie Kennedy. Though a propaganda here, Leike, the first dog in space, had been sent on a one-way mission.

1968: Approximately 200,000 Soviet-led troops and 5,000 tanks invaded Czechoslovakia and chucked the 'Prague Spring.' The communist country's brief period of liberalization. Protesters confronted tanks with flowers and took down street signs to confuse the soldiers, who killed more than 100 people.

1975: NASA launched the Viking 1 million and landed to explore Mars. Almost one year later, it became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. Viking 1 remained on 25-year Plantia for six years, taking photos and the first Martian and samples.

1982: President Ronald Reagan ordered 800 New men to blend to overuse the Palestinian and Syrian with 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000 of the 1,000

1989: The bullet-ridden bodies of Jose and Mary Louise 'Kitty,' Mertensky were found in their Beverly Hills mansion, after seven years and three trials, a jury found their sons Lyle and Erle, sole beneficiaries of the multi-million-dollar estate, guilty. In 2024, Los Angeles prosecutors announced they were reviving new evidence of alleged sexual abuse brought forth by the brothers' attorneys.

USA TODAY Network

Rescue mission for aging NASA space observatory fails

Joey Roulette

REUTERS

WASHINGTON - A mission to rescue NASA's aging Swift Observatory in space was canceled on Aug. 29 after the spacecraft that was launched to tug the satellite to a higher orbit suffered irredeemable technical issues, according to the rescue staff's owner, Katalyst Space.

Katalyst's LIMS staff was launched in early July to approach the Neil Grindle Swift Observatory some 126 miles to space, grapple onto it and then tug it to a higher orbit of roughly 373 miles, ex-

trending its life by years.

But the LIMS staff began spinning uncontrollably soon after reaching space.

Katalyst engineers spent weeks trying to explain control of the craft, uploading new positioning control software last week that showed but did not stop its errant spinning.

Following continued monitoring and assessment of the LIMS spacecraft, Katalyst Space and NASA together have concluded that due to ongoing attitude control issues, the mission will not include the capture and boost of NASA's

Neil Grindle Swift Observatory," Katalyst and NASA said in a joint statement on Aug. 19.

The mission failure means NASA's joined 8500 million Swift Observatory, which has been studying gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic phenomena since 2004, will likely fall into Earth's atmosphere naturally and have up later this year.

The goal to boost the observatory's orbit and extend its life by years, the first U.S. mission of the kind, was an ambitious endeavor for Arizona-based start-up Katalyst, which said it built and

tested the LIMS rescue vehicle on an unprecedented nine-month production schedule under a 800 million NASA contract.

'We look on this high-risk, high-necked challenge and are proud of the milestones we reached along the way,' Katalyst CEO Ghadien Lee said in a statement.

He added that the company, founded in 2000 to build flocks of autonomous robotic spacecraft, has learned a 'reminishian-attentist' during the mission and plans to implement these lessons on future flights.

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ANN | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 | NATIONAL WORLD EXTRA-CASA TODAY NETWORK

NEWS IN BRIEF

Exports Police Harry Meghan planning to move back to Britain

LOS ANGELES – Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, plan to move back to Britain this month, six years after they stopped down from their royal duties and relocated to the United States, media outlets reported on Aug. 19.

The duke and duchess of Sussex are moving with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lillian, 3, from California to Britain for an extended period and the children will begin school there in September, People magazine and British newspaper The Telegraph reported.

There was no comment from Harry’s spokesperson at from Buckingham Palace. However, a source chose to the couple confirmed the reports’ accuracy.

According to The Telegraph, the couple will not live in a royal residence. Their status will be unchanged, and they will remain nonworking royals as agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth II when they left in March 2020.

Harry married Meghan Mackie in a dazzling ceremony at Windsor Castle in 2008. But it was not long before cracks in their relationship with the rest of the royal family began to emerge. Two years later, they announced they would stop down from official duties and move to the United States.

Dulles airport gains approval for $19.9 billion overhead plan

WASHINGTON – The board that oversees Washington Dulles International Airport voted on Aug. 19 to approve a $50.9 billion overhead plan that includes $17.5 billion in land-use underground tunnels to replace slow vehicles that transport passengers across the tarmac.

The $6.2 billion reconstruction of the main terminal at the primary international airport serving the Washington, DC region is set to begin in late 2020. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said.

The new tunnels and automated transport of new construction last a new concourse are expected to be completed by 2016, as will renovations to the main terminal.

President Donald Trump announced the $22 billion plan in July, including a massive parking garage and transportation center that were not included in the $9.9 billion proposal approved on Aug. 19.

Kenya tourist helicopter crash kills 7, including Americans

NAIROBI, Kenya – Seven people, including five Americans and Ecuador’s intelligence head, were killed on Aug. 19 when the tourist helicopter they were flying in crashed in Kenya’s Samburu County.

The aircraft was flying to the Loisaka Convectionary, a wildlife reserve and water destination in northern Kenya, when it crashed, according to a preliminary report from Arduro Post police station seen by Reuters. All seven people – six passengers and one pilot – were killed, authorities said.

A State Department spokesperson said five Americans were among the dead, while Ecuador’s presidential office confirmed intelligence head Michele Jones’ Central and his wife, Stepheny Hathaway – who died U.S. citizenship – were also killed.

“The U.S Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” the State Department said.

Canary tour agency Abeyond, which offered the excursion the tourists were on, said in a statement that the cause of the crash was yet to be determined.

Thailand schools hold shooting drills after deadly school attack

BANGKOK – Thai schools conducted active shooter drills on Aug. 19 as authorities moved to strengthen security measures two weeks after a 14-year-old opened fire at a school and killed at least eight people.

The Jutraddancomic School in Bangkok, located in the heart is a “run, hate, fight” exercise, with a police officer dressed in black and acting as a mock attacker, armed with a handgun and an assault rifle firing blanks.

Students ran from the gunman and hid under tables and behind locked doors, while others used furniture to block entrances. In one scenario, students tackled and pinned down the attacker after he entered the classroom.

The police officer was identified as a “run, hate, fight” exercise, with a police officer dressed in black and acting as a mock attacker, armed with a handgun and an assault rifle firing blanks.

Hind Rajab’s grandmother shows a photo of the Palestinian girl in Gaza City on Aug. 19. BANGKOK JADA ALIANI/INSTROM

Israel opens Gaza probes

Admits its troops killed 5-year-old Hind Rajab

Rosh Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM – Israel’s military acknowledgment on Aug. 19 that its troops had opened fire on a car carrying 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and her family members in Gaza in 2024 and said it had opened a criminal investigation, though rights groups say such probes rarely lead to convictions.

Hind Rajab’s killing was one of the most high-profile incidents involving civilian deaths during Israel’s military assault in Gaza, launched following the 2023 Human-fed attacks on southern Israel.

She died after being pinned down in a car for hours, begging Palestinian medics by mobile phone to send help, while her aunt, uncle and three cousins already lay dead.

An ambulance was dispatched, but soon after it arrived at the scene the dispatchers lost contact with both the girl and the responders. Twelve days later, the bodies of the girl, her relatives and two ambulance workers were recovered from the area.

The military previously denied its troops had been in the area near where she was killed. On Aug. 19, it said that following a reconditioning probe by an internal fact-finding mechanism, it found that troops opened fire at her vehicle as

it was approaching them.

It said a shell was later fired at a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance that had been dispatched to save her.

Following review of the findings and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation of the incident, “the military said in a statement.

The military said the Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism would also open a criminal probe into the killing of 55 emergency and aid workers in March 2023.

In three other incidents, including the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024, the military said it found to have been used to open criminal investigations.

Investigations rarely lead to convictions, rights groups say

A film about Hind Rajab’s death was an award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Her grandmother, speaking to Reuters in a displaced persons camp in Gaza City, said that she and the girl’s family “do not treat the judiciary of the state of Israel.”

We hope that justice will be from the entire world. We agreed to the international justice system as a whole, said her grandmother, Hind Rajab, after

whom the girl was named.

Israeli rights groups say that criminal misconduct investigations into Israel’s troops over the killing of Palestinians rarely lead to convictions.

Dan Owen, a researcher in the Vosh bin rights organisation, said that over the last decade only a “loys” proportion of investigations had led to indictments, while growing political pressure “further deters Israel law enforcement authorities from holding those responsible accountable, even when clear evidence does exist.”

Israeli’s military, which says its attacks target Hamas and Hadzilah militants, opens investigations into some of its attacks when they involve the deaths of civilians, including medical and aid workers or journalists.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, with thousands more killed in its military operations in southern Lebanon. The dead include aid workers, doctors, journalists and others.

The Gaza ceasefire declared last October halted major fighting in Gaza but Israeli attacks have continued.

Israeli has said that its ongoing strikes aim to thwart imminent attacks by Hamas and other Gaza militant groups.

More than 1,200 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the time, according to Gaza health authorities and the Israeli military.

UAE’s financial embargo on Iran puts their rivalry back in spotlight

REUTERS

DUBAI – The United Arab Emirates’ decision to suspend all financial and economic transactions with Iran until further notice, citing a military escalation by Tehran with a missile threat, has refocused the spotlight on fraught ties between the major Gulf Arab oil producer and Iran.

The UAE, a close U.S. ally and regional power, was the Gulf state most heavily hit by Tehran during the early stages of the Middle East war. However, the last reported attack on UAE and was the May 4 strike on the Pujarati port, a key oil export hub.

The move by the UAE to sever commercial ties came after its defense ministry said that it had deterred two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, an incident that marked the first time in months that residents received telephone alerts warning of possible threats.

In a statement, the ministry said the missiles targeted “maritime traffic” based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.

The UAE also sent a phone alert on Aug. 20 to residents stating that the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after the earlier warning.

Isara’s foreign ministry rejected the statement by the UAE that its missiles targeted maritime traffic, describing it as “bassless.”

Dubai, the UAE’s main commercial hub, is one of Iran’s most critical economic lifelines.

ADOC, NAGYANAWANDOTEKI/ALE

Dubai, the UAE’s main commercial hub, is one of Tehran’s most critical economic lifelines.

UAE official Afra Al Hamdi, director of the Strategic Communist-ations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE was committed to dialogue and cooperation to advance peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Al Hamdi said that in light of escalations that undermine regional and international peace, while security, attitude, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran have been halted.

Asawa Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said in a post on 3 that rumors about the “provision of 8-

financial facilities to Iran” are “false and just of desperate media campaigns.”

The UAE was drawn into the wider war in the region which began in February with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran’s attacks on UAE soil stopped in May, while they persisted in neighboring Kuwait and Bahrain. Attacks at sea on its vessels did not stop.

In August, the United National Oil Company, or ADNOC, one of the world’s largest energy producers, said it was being significantly impacted by what it described as unprovoked attacks on its people and assets, as it sought to continue meeting customer requirements in an “exceptionally challenging environment.”

ADNOC said in a statement that several of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while reuniting the fitout of Hormuz since the start of the conflict.

The missile launch that the UAE blamed on Iran came as a 60-day window for U.S.-Iranian peace talks expired without a breakthrough, saving fears of a new escalation in the conflict that has disrupted shipping through the fitout of Hormuz since February and rattled global markets.

Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have previously threatened action against vessels reuniting the stout if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries or fail to comply with Iranian directives.

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MATION & WORLD EXTRA - USA TODAY NETWORK | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 | 5NN

Debt

Continued from Page 1NN

priorities in the budget, and leave ourselves vulnerable to emergencies at home and turmoil abroad,” MacGuinness said in a statement just after the Treasury data was released.

She noted that the $40 trillion figure was reached less than five months after debt reached $19 trillion, and has quebningen to less than 15 years after taking until 1981 to reach $1 trillion for the first time.

It is staggering how predictable the fiscal decline of a global power can become,” MacGuinness added.

Global U.S. creditors may already be growing wary. Days after a $25 billion auction of 20-year Treasury bonds went off at the highest yield since 2021, yields on so-called long bonds on Aug. 10 hit their highest levels in nearly two decades as investors demanded greater compensation in the face of hefty U.S. government bond issuance.

On Aug. 26 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took a bold step to push long bond yields back, announcing a doubling of buyback sizes for 10- to 10-year Treasuries to at least $4 billion per operation.

The term premium for 10-year Treasuries – a measure of how much of the security's overall yield is accounted for by the perceived risk of holding them over a decade – year this week to its highest in more than a dozen years.

Against all that, demand for U.S. debt by foreign investors – who hold nearly one-third of all Treasuries – has been declining over the past year, leaving more bonds to fall to more price-sensitive buyers, which can exacerbate market volatility, John Cannon, lead financial market analyst in Oxford Economics’ Macroeconomic and Investor Services group, wrote on Aug. 30.

Pandemic spending and more

The Treasury last week reported the fourth-highest monthly deficit in U.S. history – $433 billion for July – as tariff refunds turned customs receipts negative for the third month in a row and out days for Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors continued to grow.

The deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2026 has already exceeded the total gap for all of fiscal 2025 with two months to go in the current fiscal year.

Trump has largely ignored the debriefing number of fiscal hawks in his Republican Party, championing heavy

spending across his two terms. Public debt over by $7.9 trillion during Trump’s first three months had a total of $1.1 billion, including during the pandemic response over his last nine months in office.

Since Trump took office a second time in January 2025, the U.S. debt loss has increased by $3.8 trillion, for total growth of $16.6 trillion across his two terms so far.

Public debt increased by $6.4 trillion during Biden’s term, also marked by heavy COVID-19 recovery spending, but driven as well by big ticket outlays for infrastructure investment, clean energy subsidies and other priorities championed by his Democratic Party.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the policy choices of Trump and Biden have increased the federal debt trajectory beyond what would have accumulated under the existing spending statutes when each took office.

For instance, Trump’s landmark second-term legislative package – the One big demand in full Act – will add another $4.7 trillion in debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the consortium bookkeeper for lawmakers.

Trump has founded his second presidency as one focused on cost-cutting, marked by early federal agency job cuts ordered by the nongovernmental De-

partment of Government Efficiency. But much of his spending reduction has targeted to smaller investments programs, the smallest portion of the federal budget.

Mandatory programs

The United States spends roughly $7 trillion annually, and 60% of it is a marketed for so-called mandatory programs, including payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veteran care, that generally grow to keep pace with living costs.

Another $41 million policy for interest on U.S. borrowing, the cost of which does as the debt job grows and as interest rates climb. The 2025 fiscal year budget marked the first time debt service costs exceeded Pentagon funding. In the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year, interest costs have reduced Medicare health care outlays to become the second-largest line item in the federal budget, behind the Social Security pension system.

The United States is spending more to fund the retirement and health care costs of the baby boom generation, ensuring the trust funds behind Social Security and Medicare even as payroll and income tax revenues fall short of covering federal costs.

Ukraine

Continued from Page 1NN

former boss in a runoff vote.

Bishchiko said there was still no realistic procedure for regulating a vote, with millions of Ukrainians living as refugees overseas, displaced within the country, and serving in the military.

Currently, it looks like an elegant way of occupying the opposition space without taking responsibility for the mechanics,” she said of Fedorev.

Opinion on the streets and online was mixed on Aug. 9. The evening rally in support of Fedorev in central Kyiv was very sparsely attended, with a Bostino reporter seeing just over a dozen protesters.

On the one hand, holding elections right now isn’t the best idea. On the other hand, it’s like a serious ultimatum to the president that could make him reconsider his appointments,” said Ivan Hnukesin, one of the protesters who gathered in front of the parliament ahead of the vote on Khmuza.

Dmytro Koratynyshki, a veteran consultant who had called for the original protests to emulate Fedorev in July, took to sneak media to wish Khmuza success and indicate that the protest is now over.

“I cannot imagine how to technically provide the possibility of a vote to those sands of service personnel currently serving at the front,” he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy’s ‘drone’

Khmuza, who briefly served as acting head of Ukraine’s SBC security service, was not Zelenskyy’s primary pick for defense minister and he was named as a placeholder only after the protests broke out.

Best known as the mastermind of Ukraine’s deep strikes into Russia, Khmuza steps into the role as Kyiv

People take shelter inside an underground parking lot amid Russian strikes in Kyiv early on Aug. 20. NCINTN 0000000000207296

struggles to defend against mounting Russian ballistic-mimile attacks and grinding advances on the front line.

Two of his predecessors had led the ministry for barely half a year each, failing accusations of a lack of consistency at the country’s most important ministry.

“Yevhenii Khmuza is the president’s drone photograph, heroic, obedient, and lacking to easy processing system,” said Mariana Sembila, an outspoken lawmaker with the presidential faction. Protesters and opposition lawmakers

have cited Khmuza’s strong reputation, but have lashed out at Zelenskyy for what they saw as a poorly explained decision to fire Fedorev.

New investigation

Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities said in a YouTube video that they had uncovered a group including a deputy head of the presidential office in a scheme that aimed to pay for bail in an existing energy corruption scandal.

investigation unveiled last November into an alleged $800 million kickback scheme at the state atomic energy agency that erasured Zelenskyy’s thousand of staff, sparking widespread public anger.

The only graft agencies did not name the official, but Zelenskyy dismissed adviser Iryna Mishra shortly after the probe was announced. She later confirmed searches had taken place at her home, adding that she was fully cooperating with the investigation and that she would defend her good name.

ABC

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has “waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC because the Republican president, among other grievances, disappeared at its own coverage and objects to an air comments by its late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

“Our job is to hold broadcasters accountable to the public interest standard,” Carr told Reuters, citing how the government long has granted statutes free use of the airwaves in exchange for providing programming in the public interest. “You made a deal with the American people. You know, the up to your end is the right.”

The president has obviously every right to express his view on these matters. “Carr said, adding that any decision will be “based on the facts and the law and the record.”

Trump appointed Carr to the FCC in 2007 during his first term as president, and designated him as chair last year.

‘Policy of Intimidation’

“The sad facts that the policy of intimidation has already worked, to a certain extent, by forcing media organizations and others to come and keep their heads down, rather than act as they normally would in accordance with their

First Amendment rights,” said Gabriel Kahn, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protests against government abridgment of five speech.

“The Administration has attacked ABC’s speech – the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air,” the lawsuit stated.

The FCC, created by Congress in 1954, issues license to local broadcast television stations, typically requiring renewal after a period of eight years. The licenses for the eight Deansy-owned stations – including some of its most profitable ones in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston – were not due to expire until 2028 to 2035.

The FCC had not conducted early license reviews like the one involving these stations in half a century. The FCC has made 600 requests for information, yielding 13,000 pages of documents, and sought data on political donations made by staff.

The FCC’s license review means the network is called for “upon the consequences of any decision that might enjoy the Administration or the FCC Chairman,” the lawsuit stated.

For example, ABC decided not to broadcast Trump’s July 16 speech in which he revived his long-running at-

tacks on U.S. election security. Trump for years has made false claims of widespread voting fraud including in his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

ABC instead opted to carry the speech live on its streaming service – something it said it ordinarily would not have done – as it is sustained the risk of resulting Administration retaliation over its decision not to broadcast it live. NBC also did not broadcast Trump’s speech live.

Afterward, Trump called for both networks to lose their licenses.

Guests on ‘The View’

“The View,” a show involving a regular panel of women discussing current events and entertainment along with guest interviewers, has not featured a political candidate since February, when James Talance, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Texas, appeared, according to the lawsuit.

“Historically, decisions about which candidates or public figures to invite as guests were made based on newsmen, thieves, audience interest, and alcohol, or beer,” the lawsuit stated.

“The lawsuit said that in light of the FCC scouting, NBC stated now conducts any invitation to a political candidate for its potential consequences.”

Trump himself has appeared multiple times as a guest on “The View” in the

past. Vice President JD Vance appeared as a guest in June, though he was not a candidate for office at the time.

Talance’s appearance triggered an FCC inquiry into whether it violated federal “equal time” rules that require broadcasters to provide the same opportunity to all qualified candidates. The FCC during the 2020s administration in 2022 had exempted “The View” from the rule, deeming it a “loose tide” news program.

The FCC asked the Disney-owned station in Houston to produce all communications between its segment producers, the executive producer, its on-air hosts and the hosting staff, about Talance’s appearance. The FCC also asked ABC to disclose the nature of any political situations taken by issues such as individual employees, including an insinuated list going back four years.

As a result, the network has become “more circumpired” about hosting political candidates as guests on “The View” or even broadcasting video clips that could constitute appearances, the lawsuit said.

The Annenberg School’s Kahn said the lawsuit illustrates how federal agencies under the Trump administration have been “weaponized to go after perceived enemies.”

“The only course that companies like Disney have is to engage in lengthy and costly litigation in the courts. These are not good-faith actors,” Kahn said.

制度与权力批判深度研判：USA Today (2026-08-20)

▌ 本日全报思想与文化深思雷达 (Intellectual & Cultural Significance Radar)

在系统通盘梳理本期报纸所涉及的所有国际政治、经济、社会与文化报道后，以下 3 个具体事件在思想史、文化政治与制度伦理层面最值得学者进一步深思：

1. 【激进派在佛罗里达州初选的逆转获胜】 [F2_4 🔍]

   • 事件简述：美国民主社会主义者成员、州众议员安吉·尼克松在佛罗里达州初选中击败了退役陆军中校亚历克斯·温德曼。
   • 思想文化深思切入点：探讨激进政治话语在传统政治版图（如“阳光之州”）中的渗透力，以及基层动员如何通过挑战建制派候选人实现权力位移。

2. 【前政府官员乔·肯特的辞职与政治转型】 [F11_22, F12_24]

   • 事件简述：乔·肯特因反对伊朗战争而从特朗普政府辞职，并试图将反战情绪转化为共和党内部的政治行动，主张战争批评者可以学习特朗普的变革方式来“接管”共和党。
   • 思想文化深思切入点：分析个体良知与国家安全机器之间的伦理张力，以及“非干预主义”在右翼话语体系中的重构。

3. 【五角大楼 9/11 博物馆的长期延期与记忆建构】 [F4_8, F5_10]

   • 事件简述：在 9/11 事件发生 25 年后，一座旨在讲述该悲剧结局的博物馆及教育中心在经历长期延期后即将动工。
   • 思想文化深思切入点：考察“国家记忆”的制度化生产过程，分析物理空间的建设延迟如何反映出权力在处理创伤记忆时的筛选机制。

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▌ 精选核心专题深度思想论证 (In-Depth Dialectical Monograph)

专题一：国家安全机器中的良知悖论与非干预主义的右翼重构

前政府官员乔·肯特的辞职事件 [F11_22 🔍]，揭示了现代官僚制度中个体伦理与国家权力之间深层的撕裂。肯特于 3 月 17 日辞职，其核心理由是反对在伊朗战争爆发后派遣士兵参加“无法证明合理性”的战争 [F12_24 🔍]。这里存在一个典型的现实困境：在国家安全机构的科层制中，个体的专业判断往往被制度性的“国家利益”话语所掩盖。

这种权力运作机制在肯特的后续行动中呈现出一种有趣的转移策略——他并不试图回归传统的自由主义反战阵营，而是试图在 MAGA 运动的框架内，将反战情绪转化为一种“右翼非干预主义”的政治行动 [F11_22 🔍]。他主张战争批评者可以向总统学习，通过引领变革来“接管”共和党 [F11_22 🔍]。这种策略实际上是在利用右翼内部的民粹主义能量，来对抗传统的干预主义外交政策。

从韦伯（Max Weber）关于“责任伦理”与“信念伦理”的区分来看，肯特的困境在于他试图在官僚体制的责任伦理（对上级的服从）与个人的信念伦理（对战争合理性的质疑）之间寻找平衡。然而，当代地缘政治的碎片化给这一理论带来了新洞见：反战不再仅仅是左翼的道德高地，它正在成为一种新的右翼实用主义策略。当非干预主义与“美国优先”相结合时，它实际上是在用一种新的民族主义逻辑取代旧的全球霸权逻辑。

专题二：创伤记忆的制度化延迟与空间政治学

五角大楼 9/11 博物馆在事件发生 25 年后才即将动工 [F4_8 🔍]，这一极长的延期周期并非简单的行政低效，而是一个关于“记忆政治”的典型个案。该项目包含一座两层楼的教育中心，位于现有纪念碑西南约 200 码处 [F5_10 🔍]。物理空间的建设延迟，往往映射出权力在处理集体创伤时的犹豫与筛选机制。

在记忆研究中，纪念碑的建立不仅是对过去的记录，更是对未来的定义。当一座旨在讲述“最终结局”的博物馆被推迟四分之一世纪才开始建设时，这意味着该空间的叙事逻辑必须在 25 年的政治演变后重新校准。这种延迟导致了记忆的“脱节”：最初的创伤体验与最终的制度化呈现之间存在巨大的时间鸿沟。

这种现象揭示了国家在将“创伤”转化为“官方叙事”过程中的权力运作。通过控制建设的时间节点和物理空间的布局（如行人通道将教育中心与撞击地点连接 [F5_10 🔍]），权力机构能够引导参观者在特定的路径中体验历史。结论是，物理空间的延迟建设实际上为权力提供了重新修剪记忆、剔除不和谐音符的缓冲期，使得最终落成的博物馆不再是对悲剧的实时记录，而是一次经过深思熟虑的、制度化的叙事重构。

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▌ 面向学者的开放性思想追问与研究路标 (Open Horizons for Scholarly Inquiry)

1. 【关于记忆制度化的研究】：五角大楼 9/11 博物馆的 25 年延期 [F4_8 🔍] 提供了极佳的样本。研究者可以追问：国家在将“创伤”转化为“纪念碑”的过程中，如何通过时间节点的延迟来筛选并最终定格官方的叙事逻辑？

2. 【关于右翼非干预主义的范式转移】：从乔·肯特的政治转型 [F11_22 🔍] 来看，反战情绪在共和党内部的兴起是否意味着一种新的“右翼孤立主义”正在取代传统的“新保守主义”？这种转移对全球地缘政治格局将产生怎样的结构性影响？

理性与情感辩证深度研判：USA Today (2026-08-20)

▌ 本日全报生活世界痛感与情感政治深思雷达 (Lifeworld & Affective Significance Radar)

在系统通盘梳理本期报纸所涉及的所有报道后，以下 3 个具体事件在生活世界痛感、情感政治动员与制度理性冲突层面最值得学者进一步深思：

1. 【激进派在佛罗里达州初选的逆转获胜】 [F2_4 🔍]

   • 事件简述：美国民主社会主义者成员、州众议员安吉·尼克松（Angie Nixon）在一次惊人的逆转中击败了退役陆军中校亚历克斯·温德曼（Alex Windman）。
   • 情感政治与伦理深思切入点：该事件揭示了身份政治与意识形态动员如何冲破传统的资历逻辑（如退役军官背景），体现了政治光谱中激进主义对建制派逻辑的冲击。

2. 【五角大楼 9/11 博物馆的长期延期与动工】 [F4_7, F4_8, F5_10]

   • 事件简述：在 9/11 事件发生 25 年后，一座旨在讲述这场悲剧最终结局的博物馆在长期延期后即将开始建设。
   • 情感政治与伦理深思切入点：一个承载国家深重创伤的纪念空间，在行政程序中经历了长达四分之一世纪的延迟。这种“制度理性的迟钝”与公众对创伤记忆的紧迫感之间形成了剧烈的撕裂。

3. 【前政府官员肯特的辞职与政治转向】 [F11_21, F12_23, F14_27]

   • 事件简述：乔·肯特（Joe Kent）在因反对冲突从特朗普政府辞职后，试图将反战情绪转化为政治行动，并探讨如何“接管”共和党。
   • 情感政治与伦理深思切入点：个体基于反战立场的职业选择与国家战略理性之间的冲突。这里存在着个体道德理性与政党权力结构之间不可调和的张力。

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▌ 精选核心专题理性与情感辩证论证 (The Dialectic of Logos and Pathos Monograph)

专题一：官僚程序的“时间冷漠”与创伤记忆的“空间渴求”：五角大楼 9/11 博物馆的延期辩证

在五角大楼 9/11 博物馆的建设进程中，我们观察到一种典型的制度理性（Institutional Logos）对生活世界痛感（Lifeworld Pathos）的无意识遮蔽。从制度理性架构来看，该项目的推进被视为一个技术性的行政过程，在 9/11 事件给国家带来深重创伤 25 年后，博物馆才“即将开始建设” [F4_8 🔍]。在技术官僚的逻辑中，建设一座博物馆的优先级必须服从于复杂的行政协调，导致项目陷入“长期延期” [F4_7 🔍]。

然而，这种冷色调的行政逻辑忽略了生活世界中真实存在的痛感。对于受害者家属和公众而言，纪念空间并非一个简单的“教育中心” [F5_9 🔍]，而是一个情感的锚点，是处理深重创伤、实现心理闭环的必要仪式空间。当制度理性将时间线拉长至 25 年时，这种延期本身就成为了一种制度性的冷漠。一个旨在讲述“最终结局”的博物馆，在现实中却经历了漫长的缺失 [F4_8 🔍]。

这种摩擦在空间布局上得到了具象化：教育中心被规划在现有纪念碑西南约 200 码处，通过一条行人通道连接 [F5_10 🔍]。这种精确的物理距离计算（200 码）与漫长的时间延迟（25 年）形成了鲜明对比。制度端追求的是空间规划的精准与程序的合规，但生活端感受到的却是记忆承载物的匮乏。这种社会心理诊断结果是：制度理性在追求程序正义的过程中，异化为了对人类情感需求的迟钝，导致国家记忆的物理构建在官僚主义的泥潭中发生了严重的滞后。

专题二：职业伦理的“个体理性”与国家机器的“战略理性”：乔·肯特的政治异议辩证

乔·肯特（Joe Kent）的政治轨迹提供了一个剖析个体道德理性（Individual Logos）与国家战略理性（State Logos）剧烈撕裂的样本。肯特作为一名陆军退伍军员，在伊朗战争爆发不到三周后从政府中辞职 [F12_24 🔍]，其核心驱动力是对战争合理性的质疑以及对非干预主义外交政策的认同 [F11_21, F12_23]。

在这种辩证摩擦中，个体理性表现为一种基于职业伦理的“良知觉醒”：当国家战略被认为违背基本原则时，辞职成为一种维护个体道德完整性的唯一手段。然而，在国家安全机器的宏大叙事中，这种个体行为往往被简化为对体制的背离。肯特试图将这种反战情绪转化为政治行动，通过学习特朗普的 MAGA 运动逻辑来“接管”共和党 [F11_21 🔍]，这实际上是一种尝试将“个体痛感”转化为“集体权力”的策略。

进一步的冲突体现在对“可信度”的定义上。肯特指出，像 JD·万斯这样在反对冲突的承诺之后却在启动新战争的政府中任职的人，会面临“可信度”问题 [F14_28 🔍]。这里存在着两种截然不同的理性定义：一种是基于行为一致性的“伦理理性”，另一种是基于权力运作的“实用理性”。肯特的立场揭示了当代政治中的一种异化状态：当个体试图用道德一致性去挑战制度的实用主义时，其身份认同必须在“背叛者”与“改革者”的极化标签之间进行危险的跳跃。

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▌ 面向学者的伦理与社会心理开放性追问与研究路标 (Open Horizons for Ethical & Sociological Inquiry)

1. 【关于“纪念延迟”的社会学追问】：当一个承载集体创伤的纪念空间被行政程序长期搁置（如本案中的 25 年）时，这种“制度性延迟”如何影响幸存者的哀悼过程？它是否会导致集体记忆从“具象的共情”转向“抽象的愤怒”？
2. 【关于“政治逆转”的机制研究】：在佛罗里达州初选中，安吉·尼克松如何通过意识形态动员击败具有传统资历（退役中校）的候选人 [F2_4 🔍]？这种权力移位是否预示着选民对“建制派理性”的信任危机？
3. 【关于“非干预主义”的认同重建】：像肯特这样基于道德理性辞职的个体，如何通过构建新的政治共同体（如非干预主义共和党）来实现身份重建？这种个体良知与制度标签的斗争如何重构公共交往领域？