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College softball games today: NCAA games across 16 regionals

Editor’s note: Here’s a look at Saturday’s scores and highlights.

Saturday is cutdown day in the NCAA softball tournament. The teams that came up short in yesterday’s action now face win-or-go-home contests at the 16 regional sites.

The outlook is much rosier for yesterday’s winners, who look to move one step away from advancing with another victory today.

Of course, the beauty of the double-elimination format is everybody still has a dream. It also means there is another full day of games to watch. Whether you want to plan your day around your favorite school or are just interested in the sport, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s a look at the schedule for Saturday, May 17, based on the results from Day 1:

NCAA softball tournament schedule today

College Station, Texas

Game 3: No. 1 Texas A&M vs. Liberty | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Marist vs. Saint Francis | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 7 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Watch NCAA softball games on Fubo (free trial)

Norman, Oklahoma

Game 3: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. California | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Omaha vs. Boston U | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 7 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Gainesville, Florida

Game 3: No. 3 Florida vs. Florida Atlantic | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Georgia Tech vs. Mercer | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 5 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Game 3: No. 4 Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Indiana vs. Saint Louis | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Watch NCAA softball games on ESPN+

Tallahassee, Florida

Game 3: Florida State vs. South Florida | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Auburn vs. Robert Morris | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+(Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Austin, Texas

Game 3: No. 6 Texas vs. Michigan | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Game 4: UCF vs. Eastern Illinois | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Knoxville, Tennessee

Game 3: No. 7 Tennessee vs. Ohio St. | 12 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 4: Miami (OH) vs. North Carolina | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 5 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Columbia, South Carolina

Game 3: No. 8 South Carolina vs. North Florida | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Virginia vs. Elon | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Los Angeles

Game 3: No. 9 UCLA vs. San Diego State | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: UC Santa Barbara vs. Arizona State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 10 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Game 3: Nebraska vs. Southeastern Louisiana | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: No. 10 LSU vs. UConn | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Clemson, South Carolina

Game 3: No. 11 Clemson vs. Northwestern | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Kentucky vs. SC Upstate | 4 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6:30 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Lubbock, Texas

Game 3: No. 12 Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State | 2 p.m. | ESPN@
Game 4: Brown vs. Washington | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 7 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Tucson, Arizona

Game 3: No. 13 Arizona vs. Ole Miss | 4 p.m. | ESPN
Game 4: Santa Clara vs. Grand Canyon | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 9 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Durham, North Carolina

Game 3: No. 14 Duke vs. Georgia | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Howard vs. Coastal Carolina | 4 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 6:30 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Game 3: No. 15 Alabama vs. Virginia Tech | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 4: Jackson State vs. Belmont| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 5 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

Eugene, Oregon

Game 3: No. 16 Oregon vs. Stanford | 4 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 4: Weber State vs. Binghamton | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+ (Loser eliminated)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 9 p.m. | TV TBD (Loser eliminated)

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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ALEX BERENSON: Why we need to humiliate Joe Biden

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was even more demented than we knew.
Last night, excerpts leaked from Biden’s October 2023 interview with Robert Hur, the federal prosecutor who investigated him for possessing classified documents.

They are awful. They show a man in severe cognitive decline. Biden couldn’t recall even basic facts, like when elections are held. Yes, Joe Biden — who had lusted for the presidency his entire life — thought Donald Trump had won in November 2017, not 2016. It wasn’t a verbal slip. He didn’t know. An aide had to correct him.

Even that summary doesn’t capture Biden’s struggles.

What he says is bad. How he says it is worse. His voice is weak and whispery. He goes silent for stretches, loses his train of thought, offers oddly emotional asides about his son Beau — though he could not remember when Beau died. He seems not to remember being vice president; he speaks of being a senator and then jumps to running for president.

In the end, the classified documents investigation went nowhere. (Like the similar case involving Donald Trump, it shouldn’t have). But along the way, Hur — a well-respected prosecutor who had been the U.S. Attorney for Maryland in Trump’s first term — discovered something far more important: proof of Biden’s incapacity.

The Hur interview is so crucial because Biden and his handlers went to such lengths to protect Biden from press or public scrutiny even before the 2020 election.

Biden used teleprompters for his speeches, of course. His press conferences were rare and closely scripted. He had been told what questions would be asked in advance. Biden’s few unscripted, live interactions visible to the public generally came when he left the White House to walk to Marine One. He would occasionally stumble over to the ‘gaggle’ of reporters yelling questions at him and speak for a few seconds.

Hur’s interview with Biden was likely the only time during Biden’s entire presidency when he faced lengthy questioning he could not control. It shows why Biden and his handlers tried so hard to avoid similar situations.

Hur wrote in his report on the investigation last year that Biden was ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’ The audio suggests that description was kind.

You wouldn’t trust the guy in this interview to drive to the grocery store. 
Biden had the nuclear codes.

Still worse, Hur interviewed Biden in 2023. If Biden and the people around him had had their way, he would have been president through January 2029. The interview suggests he’ll be nearly vegetative by then — if he lives that long.

When the Justice Department released Hur’s report on his investigation in February 2024, the legacy media immediately downplayed its importance and attacked Hur’s motives.

… the legacy media is only the second-most important villain here.It was Biden and the people around him, most notably his wife Jill and son Hunter, who insisted that he was fit to serve, and would continue to be until he was 86. 

‘In what is supposedly a legal document, these inclusions certainly looked gratuitous—to say the least,’ the New Yorker wrote in an article about Biden’s ‘righteous fury’ over the report.

Two days later, the Washington Post would claim in a headline Hur had a ‘five-hour face-off’ with Biden and write:

‘Hur’s description of Biden’s demeanor as that of a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’ would infuriate Biden’s aides, who saw it as sharply at odds with what occurred as the president sat for voluntary questioning.’

Sharply at odds, huh?

I have written before about the media’s dereliction of duty in covering Biden’s decline, both before and after the Hur report, which continued until his disastrous June 27 debate in Atlanta made covering for him impossible. And I will come back to the media’s failure. Hur’s report made clear that Biden’s cognitive impairment was severe and the White House was covering it up. That scheme should have been the story of the 2024 campaign from the moment the report became public.

This is not 20/20 hindsight on my part. On Feb. 9, 2024, the day the report came out, I wrote that it actually might be WORSE for Biden than an actual indictment.

Most of the media looked the other way, even as Biden’s flubs and lapses visibly worsened in the spring of 2024 despite the protective cocoon around him. But the legacy media is only the second-most important villain here.
It was Biden and the people around him, most notably his wife Jill and son Hunter, who insisted that he was fit to serve, and would continue to be until he was 86. Both Jill and Hunt had their reasons. Jill’s lust for the trappings of power would be almost comic in its nakedness if it weren’t so dangerous; Hunter has champagne taste and a beer budget (or, more accurately in his case, cocaine taste and a meth budget).

But, of course, all of them, including Biden, knew the truth. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to hide it.

Imagine if Biden had won. Imagine if he had somehow found his way through his debates with Trump and then gone back to the presidential cocoon. Imagine if the media had insisted through Election Day that the videos showing his decline were merely ‘cheap fakes’ – as it did throughout the spring. We’d be approaching a Constitutional crisis. Our system is not parliamentary; it has no way to replace an unfit President quickly or easily. And in running for a second term when he did not have to, Biden showed that he would not give up power unless he was forced to do so.

Robert Hur spoke truth to power. He’s a hero.

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Knicks fans party in streets outside MSG as players look to Pacers

NEW YORK — Celtics star Jaylen Brown said losing to the Knicks felt like ‘death.’

But outside of Madison Square Garden on Friday night, the Grim Reaper was nowhere to be found. Thousands of fans, many of whom were not born the last time their beloved Knicks played in the conference finals, and many who had enjoyed their share of adult refreshments, packed, shut down, and mosh pitted their way down 7th Avenue in a scene New Yorkers hope carries them to hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy next month.

With chants of ‘Let’s Go Knicks!’ and ‘F U Boston!,’ the world’s most famous arena became a royal blue, orange and white clad party scene unlike anything the city has seen in the past three decades, most of which was littered with playoff disappointment, uninspiring play, 11 different head coaches since the turn of the century and a two-week blitzkrieg that took the city by storm known as Linsanity.

The lightpoles outside MSG were no match for rowdy fans, but inside the building, the vibe was much more subdued, knowing what’s ahead.

‘The goal is always to win a championship. We’ve got eight wins, you need 16,’ New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said minutes after his team scored their biggest victory in a quarter of a century.  

Josh Hart, who had a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Knicks on Friday, said the Game 5 tape was hard to watch.

“We watched film and we were disgusted,’ said Hart, sporting a semi-closed left eye from taking an elbow in Game 5. ‘It’s going to be a tough opponent. We can build off this game. I feel like our defensive transition, our communication was great today.’

The Knicks did what they couldn’t do Wednesday in Boston and rode a big first-half lead and an inspiring defensive effort to close out the world champion Celtics in six games and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. Game 1 of that best-of-seven series starts Wednesday night (8 ET, TNT) in New York.

But the long-suffering fans and players of this team are not taking anything for granted, especially considering past playoff performances, including blowing a 2-0 series lead to Indiana in last year’s semifinal round. The 119-81 rout of the Celtics on Friday night, which was the Knicks’ largest margin of victory in a postseason game, did nothing but bring back memories. Still, it also boosted a confidence not seen since Patrick Ewing was roaming the tunnels near 33rd Street in Manhattan.

The Knicks will need everything the fans have and more to get past a hot Pacers team that easily took care of the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. Granted, the Cavaliers did have several injuries and three starters missed one game of the series.

On Friday, all five Knicks starters scored in double figures, with four scoring over 20 points, led by Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, who each scored 23.

The key to the next series may be Anunoby, the team’s highest-paid player after signing a five-year, $212.5 million contract last summer. It has been hit or miss for the ninth-year small forward, who had 13 total points on 4-of-27 shooting from the field in the two defeats in the conference finals but put up 29, 20 and 23 points in three of the victories.

‘From start to finish, that was terrific,’ Thibodeau said about Game 6. ‘We knew we had to play 48 minutes against them. They play their style no matter what, and I thought we earned it.’

Thibodeau quickly put this victory to bed, no matter how satisfying, knowing Indiana awaits.

‘You’ve got to win games different ways. Every game is different. There’s really no carryover from one game to the next. You have to get ready for the next series,’ Thibodeau said.

With the problems that Boston brought with their championship pedigree and prolific shooting, the Pacers possibly present more of a challenge, just in the way matchups will dictate who will win this series.

‘They are an excellent basketball team, you look at their guard play, they can push you and break you down off the dribble. We understand what the challenge is,’ Thibodeau said.

The Knicks won two of three regular-season matchups and have a long playoff history with the Pacers, dating to the 1993 Eastern Conference first round.

Over the next two weeks, phrases like ’25-point fourth quarter,’ ‘Eight points, nine seconds,’ and ‘Spike Lee sit down’ will invoke memories that will no doubt stoke Knicks’ fans ire, but also could become a rallying cry and push a team that hasn’t won an NBA championship since 1973.

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Brock Purdy contract winners, losers: Who benefits from QB’s deal?

The San Francisco 49ers have locked up their starting quarterback for the rest of the decade.

Brock Purdy and the franchise agreed to a five-year, $265 million extension that will keep him on the team through the 2030 NFL season. The deal makes Purdy the seventh-highest paid quarterback in the NFL by average annual value (AAV) and fifth by total value.

Purdy will receive $181 million guaranteed with $165.05 million coming in the first three years of the extension.

This is the second extension San Francisco’s given to an offensive player this offseason. On April 29, the team gave George Kittle a four-year, $76.4 million extension that made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

The final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy’s become the most successful ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ in modern history. He’s entering his third season as the 49ers’ full-time starter after taking over as a rookie in 2022 and leading the team to the NFC championship game.

He turns 26 years old this season and is likely entering his prime as a quarterback. Here’s a look at the winners and losers of the Purdy deal:

Winners

Brock Purdy

It’s hard not to start off with the quarterback himself. Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Purdy’s $181 million guaranteed is on a rolling structure, meaning he’ll get close to all of it.

If he gets all of that, that’d put him second in the NFL behind only Deshaun Watson in total guaranteed money. He’s ahead of the likes of Josh Allen ($147 million guaranteed), Joe Burrow ($146.51 million), Lamar Jackson ($135 million) and Justin Herbert ($133.73 million). He’s one of the top-paid players in the NFL and is absolutely a winner because of it.

Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle

Aiyuk enjoyed a career season in 2023 as Purdy’s top target in the passing game. If he’s back healthy in 2025, he’ll be happy to see No. 13 under center for the foreseeable future. Aiyuk’s ability to separate from man coverage unlocks the 49ers’ offense as a whole and Purdy relied on him in key moments during the team’s 2023 run.

It’s a similar story for Kittle. He’s been a first- or second-team All-Pro tight end in each of Purdy’s three seasons and should be in for more productive years even as he enters his mid-30s.

Kyle Shanahan

Shanahan’s offenses in San Francisco have been efficient even when not prolific. The unit took a leap in 2019 as the 49ers reached their first Super Bowl under Shanahan with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, but much of that was due to the running game.

With Purdy, the passing game’s become just as dynamic. Their 2023 run to the Super Bowl saw the offense become a top-five passing unit for the first time under Shanahan. Product of the talent around him or not, Purdy executes the offense better than any other quarterback Shanahan’s had in San Francisco.

C.J. Stroud

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is one of the next prominent quarterbacks up for an extension. He still has at least two years left on his rookie contract with a fifth-year option on the table for 2027. The Texans have a history of extending players sooner than later (see: Jalen Pitre and Derek Stingley Jr.).

Purdy’s deal moves the needle on guarantees even if it’s not an unusually gaudy number by AAV or total money. Stroud’s team can take that into consideration during negotiations for his eventual extension.

Losers

49ers’ 2027 free agents

Purdy’s cap number will likely remain on the lower end in 2025 (under $15 million, per the SF Standard’s David Lombardi) as the total money ramps up later on. That may not affect the team’s 2026 cap space, currently $38.2 million per OverTheCap, but it’ll likely come to a head in 2027.

That’s the same offseason in which two franchise players — linebacker Fred Warner and left tackle Trent Williams — are up for new deals. Warner will be entering his age-31 season while Williams would be entering his age-39 season. With Purdy’s big deal now on the books for the next few years, handing out top dollar to those aging veterans will be even tougher.

NFC West opponents

Product of a system or not, the 49ers’ offense is better with Purdy under center. Since entering the NFL, Purdy’s been the most efficient quarterback in the league, ahead of the likes of Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jackson and Jared Goff.

That makes things tougher for opposing defenses. NFC West foes Seattle, Arizona and the Los Angeles Rams will have at least two games per year locked in with the 49ers’ best option at quarterback in place.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ extension for Dak Prescott looks even more of an outlier as other deals pile up. Prescott remains the lone $60 million quarterback by AAV. His guarantees may be lower overall than Purdy’s latest deal, but Dallas’ waiting to get the deal done continues to look worse as more quarterbacks sign more team-friendly deals.

The rest of the 2022 quarterback class

If not for Purdy, the 2022 class of quarterbacks would be one of the worst in recent memory. Eight quarterbacks were drafted before Purdy at No. 262 overall. The first three — Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis — failed to win or hold the starting jobs for their original teams and have since been traded.

The other five have combined for 7,083 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. All are worse than Purdy’s totals so far (9,518 passing yards, 64 touchdowns and 27 interceptions). He was the last quarterback drafted and is the last one carrying the torch as a starter.

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Biden interview audio reveals who brought up Beau’s death — and it wasn’t Hur

Former President Joe Biden lashed out against special counsel Robert Hur over a report in which he described the longtime lawmaker as a ‘sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

The part of Hur’s report that most angered Biden was the suggestion that the then-president could not remember when his son, Beau, died. However, new audio obtained by Axios sheds light on Biden’s lapses in memory.

In February 2024, Biden and several high-profile Democrats — as well as media personalities — attacked Hur. During a press conference on Hur’s report, Biden said, ‘There’s some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There’s even a reference that I don’t remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that?’

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Hur in February 2024, saying his report was ‘gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate.’ She also suggested that it was ‘clearly politically motivated.’ Harris recalled Biden’s alleged sharpness at the time, noting that Hur’s interview took place on Oct. 8, 2023 — just one day after Hamas’ attack on Israel. Harris said she was ‘in almost every meeting’ with Biden and that he was ‘in front of and on top of it all.’

Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., grilled Hur when he testified on Capitol Hill in March 2024. Both lawmakers attempted to get Hur to say that his report ‘exonerated’ Biden — which he did not do. Then–Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also criticized the special counsel, suggesting that Hur knew his description of Biden would ‘ignite a political firestorm,’ something Hur denied.

Former Obama advisor David Axelrod also criticized the report, calling it a ‘shiv the special counsel stuck into the Biden reelection campaign,’ according to CNN.

On Friday, Axios published a bombshell report that included audio recordings from Biden’s interview with Hur, something the previous administration refused to release. The audio includes long pauses in which Biden struggled to recall the dates of several major events, including when President Donald Trump was elected to office for his first term, his son’s death or his exit from office as vice president.

Since his report was released, Hur has seen two key moments of vindication aside from Friday’s report. The first came when the transcript of his interview was released in March 2024. At the time, the White House refused to release the audio, citing fears of AI deepfakes. Hur appeared to receive further vindication when Biden had his disastrous debate against then-candidate Trump in June 2024. Less than a month after the debate, Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris.  

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‘Failure’s not an option’: Trump budget bill will be ‘big’ help for seniors, top House tax-writer says

The top tax-writer in the House of Representatives is arguing that President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ will be ‘big’ for American taxpayers as well – including seniors.

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and other Republicans on the panel spent months negotiating behind closed doors on how to enact Trump’s tax policies.

Among those is an added $4,000 deduction for Americans aged 65 or older. Seniors with income of less than $75,000 as single filers, and less than $150,000 as joint filers, would be eligible for the full deduction, which then would begin to phase out.

‘So, that’s on top of their guaranteed deduction, and that’s per person . . . anyone who has total earnings of $75,000 a year or less is going to be made completely whole, so all the low-income and middle-income seniors on Social Security will be paying zero on Social Security in the long run,’ Smith told Fox News Digital, while adding of others, ‘most of them will be paying much less.’

Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process, which lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51 for certain pieces of fiscal legislation, to advance a vast bill full of Trump’s priorities on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.

Because the House already operates under a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping legislation while sidelining the other side, in this case, Democrats.

Trump has directed congressional Republicans to permanently extend his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as implement new policies eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees’ Social Security.

But the law that established the reconciliation process, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, also specifically forbade direct changes to Social Security via the process.

Smith said Republicans’ had added $4,000 tax deduction as a way to make them ‘completely whole.’

Rather than seeing that tax relief month-to-month, however, Smith said it would come in people’s yearly tax returns.

He argued that it was more beneficial for lower-income seniors as well, giving added relief to those whose incomes were too low to pay Social Security taxes in the first place.

‘Under the rules of reconciliation, you cannot touch Social Security directly. What we did is to make sure that they get . . . tax relief for any senior who makes less than $75,000 per year,’ Smith said. ‘It’s not that we didn’t want to do it, it’s that it cannot be done under the rules of reconciliation, or you wouldn’t qualify for the 51-vote threshold over in the United States Senate.’

‘But the tax relief they will receive is an added tax cut, and that will make up for what they have paid in Social Security tax.’

The White House also endorsed Smith’s plan despite its departure from Trump’s initial campaign pitch.

‘The One, Big, Beautiful Bill not only delivers permanent tax cuts and bigger paychecks, but it secures a historic tax break for seniors on Social Security,’ White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. ‘This is another promise made, promise kept to our seniors who deserve much-needed tax relief after four years of suffering under Bidenflation.’

The $4,000 tax deduction, which would be in effect from the 2025 through 2028 tax years, would be on top of the higher standard deduction that people above age 65 already receive. 

It would not be a tax credit, reducing tax liability directly regardless of tax brackets. A deduction reduces taxable income and is dependent on the taxpayer’s rate.

But for single seniors making up to $75,000, and married seniors making less than $150,000, qualifying for the $4,000 deduction, it would likely provide some relief for millions of taxpayers across the country.

‘It’ll be a wash of what their Social Security tax would’ve been,’ Smith said, adding later in the interview: ‘Failure’s not an option. We’re going to get this done.’

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Middle East trip highlights President Donald Trump’s 17th week in office

President Donald Trump spent his 17th week as commander-in-chief visiting the Middle East, marking his first major overseas trip of his second term. 

The president left Washington, D.C., Monday for Saudi Arabia, followed by a visit in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 

The president’s trip comes amid the continuing war between Israel and Hamas, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and his plans to broaden his first administration’s Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab League nations such as the United Arab Emirates. 

Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early Tuesday morning, with the nation sending fighter jet escorts to welcome Air Force One to the ground and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeting Trump on the tarmac, which was adorned with a lavender-colored carpet.

Upon his arrival to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump was also met with a mobile and operational McDonald’s truck. 

The president, during a speech in Riyadh shortly after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, vowed to continue America’s partnership with the Saudi Arabian government, but also called for peace in the Middle East, urging the region to pursue economic development rather than Iran’s ‘self-destructive’ path. 

‘If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences and focus on the interests that unite you, then all humanity will soon be amazed at what we will see here in the geographic center of the world, and the spiritual heart of its greatest faiths,’ Trump said.

‘Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past, and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other,’ he added.

Trump’s speech came after he and Salman signed several economic agreements totaling $600 billion in trade deals. The agreements could help create up to two million U.S. jobs, Trump said.

Several of the agreements tracked with previously stated ambitions by both Washington, D.C., and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, particularly when it comes to defensive deals. 

But as for Iran, Trump, during his Saudi Arabia speech, also warned the Islamic Republic of a ‘massive maximum pressure’ campaign if it did not come to a nuclear agreement with the U.S. 

‘As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,’ Trump said. ‘If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch… we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero.’

‘Iran can have a much brighter future, but we will never allow them to threaten America and our allies with terrorism or a nuclear attack,’ Trump said. 

Trump had announced a 60-day time frame to reach an agreement with Iran over its illegal atomic weapons program. The first U.S. negotiating session with Iran commenced April 12. 

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Iranian officials for a fourth round of nuclear talks over the weekend. 

The nuclear talks were ‘difficult but useful,’ Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, offered more, describing the talks as being both indirect and direct, The Associated Press reported.

An ‘agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements,’ the U.S. official said. ‘We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future.’

The Trump administration has said the flawed 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb. 

Trump, throughout his visit, made stark warnings to Iran — verbally, and through sanctions. 

Just shortly after dangling a carrot of a ‘brighter future’ for Iran, the Treasury Department gave a taste of Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign and sanctioned more than two dozen firms operating in Iran’s illicit international oil trade. 

Trump said Iran has the nuclear ‘proposal.’ 

‘But more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad — something bad is going to happen,’ the president said. 

Next, the president traveled to Qatar, where he signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha.

Trump and his motorcade were greeted by dozens of mounted camels after his plane landed in Qatar Wednesday morning as he continues his four-day trip to the Middle East. 

The agreements there involved a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and ‘joint cooperation’ between Qatar and the U.S. The emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase MQ-9 drone aircraft.

Al Thani said he had a ‘great’ conversation with Trump prior to the signing ceremony Wednesday, adding that the agreements have elevated the U.S.-Qatar relationship to ‘another level.’

The president then met with U.S. service members at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and cited ‘substantial pay raises’ for U.S. troops in his 2026 budget. 

‘You are without a doubt the greatest fighting force in the history of the world,’ Trump said. ‘And as your commander-in-chief, I’m here to say that America’s military will soon be bigger, better, stronger and more powerful than ever.’ 

Next, the president traveled to the United Arab Emirates for his final stop — a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, was illuminated in red, white and blue in honor of President’s historic UAE visit. 

Trump visited the Grand Mosque, a rare visit for a U.S. president, and was gifted the UAE’s highest civilian honor, the Order of Zayed, by UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

The president wrapped up his visit to the United Arab Emirates with a visit to the Abrahamic Family House, which encompasses a mosque, a church, a synagogue, and a forum, and served as a community for inter-religious dialogue and peaceful co-existence.  

As of this week, Trump has signed 148 executive orders since his inauguration in January, including a whopping 143 within his first 100 days as president, dwarfing the number of executive orders signed by his predecessors stretching back to at least President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton, Morgan Phillis and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

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Maple Leafs force Game 7 with shutout win: Game 6 highlights

The Toronto Maple Leafs stayed alive with a 2-0 victory against the Florida Panthers Friday night that bodes well for their chances in Game 7.

Toronto bounced back from a 6-1 blowout loss in Game 5 with a strong defensive effort to end a three-game losing streak. Joseph Woll, who was pulled in Game 5, made 22 saves for his first career playoff shutout.

More important for the Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews found the back of the net. He broke a tie at 6:20 of the third period for his first career playoff goal against the Panthers in 11 games.

Max Pacioretty added an insurance goal and the Maple Leafs limited the Panthers to one shot in four power-play opportunities. They blocked 31 shots in the game to help Woll.

Game 7 will be in Toronto on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV). If the Maple Leafs win, they will reach the conference final for the first time since 2002. The Panthers have gone to the third round the last two seasons.

‘We have to come out in Game 7 and do the same things we did tonight,’ Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube told reporters. ‘It’s not fancy. It’s just competing. It’s being direct. It’s simple hockey.’

Said Panthers coach Paul Maurice: ‘You don’t need a lot of extra coffee. You’ll be ready to go.’

USA TODAY provided live updates for Game 6 between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Highlights from the game:

Panthers vs. Maple Leafs highlights

Matthew Knies injury update

Knies, who absorbed a couple big hits, had limited ice time as the game wore on, including missing power-play time.

‘He’s dealing with something here that happened and we’ve got to look at him (Saturday) and see how he’s feeling,’ Berube said.

Game recap

Panthers vs. Maple Leafs final score: Maple Leafs 2, Panthers 0

Joseph Woll gets a 22-save shutout and Auston Matthews scores his first goal of the series. Max Pacioretty adds an insurance goal. We’re heading to Game 7 on Sunday.

Panthers timeout

1:48 left in the third.

Sergei Bobrovsky goes to bench

Panthers pull their goalie with about three minutes left. Carter Verhaeghe hits the side of the net on a good opportunity.

Panthers-Maple Leafs score: Max Pacioretty goal

Pacioretty wins a race to the net, takes a pass from Bobby McMann and beats Sergei Bobrovsky with a backhander at 14:17. Maple Leafs 2, Panthers 0

Panthers go on power play

Brandon Carlo is called for hooking. Panthers 0-for-3 so far. Now 0-for-4 after Toronto prevents them from setting up in the zone. No shots in the last three power plays.

Panthers-Maple Leafs score: Auston Matthews goal

Matthews gets his first goal of the series after taking a pass from Mitch Marner, skating into the zone and taking a shot that eludes Sergei Bobrovsky at 6:20. Maple Leafs 1, Panthers 0

Third period underway

Still scoreless.

End of second period: Panthers 0, Maple Leafs 0

The Panthers flipped the script in that period, controlling play and outshooting Toronto 9-0 at one point. Toronto gets a few late power plays and shots finish up 12-6 for the period. Florida is outhitting Toronto 34-24 while the Maple Leafs lead in blocked shots 18-7.

Maple Leafs go on power play

Aaron Ekblad is called for interference. Florida kills the penalty.

Auston Matthews penalty

He high-sticks Aaron Ekblad. Going to 4-on-4. Now Florida on the power play. Carter Verhaeghe hits the post. Toronto kills it off.

Maple Leafs go on power play

Florida called for too many men on the ice. Auston Matthews out there. Toronto gets its first shot of the period.

Auston Matthews heads to dressing room

He gets hit in the face with a stick on a faceoff.

Another Panthers flurry

Shots 9-0 Florida in this period.

Panthers picking up play

They’re spending more time in the Toronto zone and have outshot the Maple Leafs 5-0 so far in the period.

Second period underway

Matthew Knies is on the ice after his first-period collision.

End of first period: Panthers 0, Maple Leafs 0

The Panthers don’t generate much offense, only two shots despite having two power plays. Toronto has seven shots, led by two from Pontus Holmberg, who’s back in the lineup. He also had a big hit on Brad Marchand. Hits are 16 apiece. Toronto’s Matthew Knies had a good chance but shot wide. But he looks to be in pain after a collision with Niko Mikkola.

Maple Leafs carrying play

Since killing the second penalty, the Maple Leafs have been carrying play. Sergei Bobrovsky has been busy. Shots are 7-2 Toronto.

Panthers go on power play

Oliver Ekman-Larsson trips Carter Verhaeghe. Penalty killed. No shots for Florida. Toronto gets some chances after killing the penalty.

Max Domi saves the day

The Toronto forward dives to knock away a rebound before Sam Reinhart can get to it.

Panthers go on power play

Simon Benoit is called for interference against A.J. Greer. Panthers power play is clicking at 23.5% in the playoffs. Florida gets a shot, but Toronto kills it off.

Game underway

Auston Matthews line vs. Eetu Luostarinen line

What time is Panthers vs. Maple Leafs Game 6?

Game 6 of the Panthers-Maple Leafs series will be at 8 p.m. ET in Sunrise, Florida.

How to watch Panthers vs. Maple Leafs playoff game: TV, stream

Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida
TV: TNT, TruTV
Stream: Sling TV, Max

Panthers projected lineup

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Joseph Woll back in net

Joseph Woll will be back in Toronto’s net Friday after being pulled after Florida’s fifth goal on Wednesday.

“He’s been a good goalie for us all year,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “So I’m not worried about him.”

Woll has been in net since No. 1 goalie Anthony Stolarz was injured in Game 1 of the series.

Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews to stay together

Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Friday morning he would keep forwards Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews together for Game 6.

“I split them up at times this year and I felt like it didn’t really do anything, to be honest with you,” he told reporters. “These guys have been a combo for a long time and they’ve had a lot of success. I trust them. I believe in them.”

Maple Leafs lineup changes

Forwards David Kampf and Nick Robertson are expected to sit out after playing in Game 5. Pontus Holmberg and Calle Jarnkrok will go back in the lineup. Robertson scored the Maple Leafs’ lone goal in Game 5. Kampf was a minus-2.

No changes for Panthers lineup

The Panthers lineup will remain the same as it was for Game 5, coach Paul Maurice said.

Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues day-to-day

Injured Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues skated Friday but remains day-to-day.

“He had a pretty good push,” Maurice said. “We’re monitor him tomorrow and see where he’s at.”

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JONATHAN TURLEY: Biden not the only loser revealed by shocking Hur audio

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‘For posterity’s sake.’

Those words from President Joe Biden sum up the crushing impact of the leaked audiotapes from the interview between him and Special Counsel Robert Hur. Not only did they remove any doubt over Biden committing federal crimes, but they also constituted what is akin to a political racketeering indictment against much of the Washington establishment, from the White House staff to Democratic politicians to the media.

The interview, conducted from Oct. 8-9, 2023, has long been sought by Congress, but was kept under wraps by Biden’s Justice Department even as Biden campaigned for a second term.

Many of us balked at the conclusion of Hur that no charges were appropriate despite the fact that the president had removed classified documents for decades, stored them in grossly negligent ways, and moved them around to unsecure locations, including his garage in Delaware.

Given President Donald Trump’s indictment for the same offenses, it was hard to imagine how the special counsel could not recommend the same criminal charges (presumably after he left office).

Instead, Hur declared it would have been hard to get a jury to convict Biden because he was ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

It appears that Trump, on the other hand, was presumptively not sympathetic or well-meaning and possessed a good enough memory to face prosecution.

The contrast was glaring and only reinforced the view of many citizens that there are two tracks for justice in Washington.

Soon after the report’s release, Biden gave an irate press conference at which he lied about the findings of his culpability and lashed out at any suggestion that he had gapped or stumbled in the interview.

For example, when reporters raised Hur’s assertion that Biden had forgotten when his son Beau died, Biden angrily responded, ‘How in the hell dare he raise that?’ Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn’t any of their damn business.’

However, it was not Hur but Biden himself who raised the death of his son, and he forgot a wide array of dates, including when he served in office.

The interview shows that in 2023 it was clear that Biden was mentally diminished despite claims from many allies and former aides that there was a sudden loss of capacity just before the disastrous debate in 2024. It is now undeniable that the White House staff actively hid the president’s incompetence from the American public. That includes the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (who left her post in May 2022) and her successor, Karine Jean-Pierre, who insisted that Biden was sharp and ‘running circles’ around the staff.

Of course, the media is now covering the story after the public saw the truth in the debate. Figures like CNN’s Jake Tapper have even written books that belatedly pursue the question despite previously insisting that there was no evidence of a diminishment in Biden’s mental state.

Tapper repeatedly dismissed the claim and even excoriated Lara Trump for raising it. In one interview, he pushed a White House talking point that such suggestions were mocking Biden for a childhood stutter.

‘It’s so amazing to me- a ‘cognitive decline,’’ he told the president’s daughter-in-law. ‘I think you were mocking his stutter. Yeah. I think you were mocking his stutter and I think you have absolutely no standing to diagnose somebody’s cognitive decline. I would think somebody in the Trump family would be more sensitive to people who do not have medical licenses diagnosing politicians from afar.’

When Lara Trump insisted that this was clearly evidence of a ‘very concerning’ cognitive decline, Tapper dismissed her statement by saying, ‘Thank you, Lara. I’m sure it’s from a place of concern. We all believe that.’

Keep in mind that others beyond Lara Trump were raising this issue and there were tapes showing obvious physical and mental decline. The media simply refused to seriously pursue the story until the cover-up no longer mattered after the debate.

Over on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough was equally apoplectic at those raising the issue and stated

‘Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth. And eff you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever. Not a close second. And I have known him for years…If it weren’t the truth, I wouldn’t say it

This media effort continued all the way up the debate itself. On CNN.com, Oliver Darcy wrote ‘Right-wing media figures are desperately pushing conspiracy theories about Biden ahead of the debate.’

Once the public found out, the media was ready to tell the story when it became impossible, and no longer politically beneficial, to deny it. Articles began to appear with the same realization of, ‘Oh you meant THAT mental decline. Well sure.’

It was the same belated acknowledgment that came, after the election, with Hunter Biden’s laptop. The media just moved on with a shrug and a collective ‘our bad’ concession.

As for the then-president himself, the one moment of clarity in the interview may have been his most incriminating line. When asked why he removed classified material on Afghanistan, Biden admitted ‘I guess I wanted to hang on to it for posterity’s sake.’

That is precisely what critics on CNN and MSNBC accused Trump of doing: removing material as types of keepsakes or trophies.

One president was indicted for that and one was sent along his way to pursue a second term in office.

The real indictment that comes out of these tapes is a type of political racketeering enterprise by the Washington establishment. It took a total team effort from Democratic politicians to the White House staff to the media to hide the fact that the president of the United States was mentally diminished. It there were a political RICO crime, half of Washington would be frog marched to the nearest federal courthouse.

Of course, none of this complicity in the cover-up is an actual crime. It is part of the Washington racket.

After all, this is Washington where such duplicity results not in plea deals but book deals.

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HHS SEC ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: American patients pay more so others can pay less — that stops now

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President Donald Trump’s bold executive order on drug pricing isn’t just policy—it’s a revolution in healthcare affordability. The plan is simple yet transformative: ensure Americans pay no more for medications than citizens of other wealthy nations.

Consider this stark reality: a GLP-1 drug costing $88 in London commands $1,000 in the United States. Even after manufacturer discounts to insurers, Americans still pay over $400—for the identical medication, from the same company, produced in the same facility. This disparity is especially galling when pharmaceutical companies extract 70% of their profits from America—a nation representing just 4% of the world’s population. This global free-riding on American patients ends now.

Industry leaders recognize this imbalance. I’ve already engaged with CEOs from four major American pharmaceutical companies and a foreign manufacturer eager to relocate to the U.S. Their response has been encouraging, but we’re prepared to act decisively if necessary. U.S. Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) possess the statutory authority to deliver on President Trump’s commitment: other developed nations must pay more, so Americans can pay less, thus preserving the innovation pipeline.

Americans deserve both groundbreaking therapies and affordable access to them. Yet according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly one-third of patients skip prescribed medications due to cost—an unacceptable reality in the world’s wealthiest nation.

While prevention through healthier lifestyles remains our best strategy for reducing medication dependence, certain treatments will always be essential. The pharmaceutical industry has delivered remarkable advancements in cancer and autoimmune therapies that benefit patients worldwide. 

We value continued innovation as a core American principle, but we cannot indefinitely subsidize global medical progress while other wealthy nations contribute disproportionately little.

President Trump’s negotiation approach has already proven effective with NATO, where European countries responded to accountability by making historic reinvestments that strengthened the alliance. The same principle applies here. The President and I stand united: global free riding on American patients must end.

CMS, with Dr. Mehmet Oz at the helm, extends beyond payment reform to fundamentally realigning care delivery incentives. This initiative will protect safety nets for vulnerable populations while addressing the financial pressures facing state partners and federal programs—particularly Medicaid, which has seen dramatic growth in both enrollment and costs.

The coming months will be decisive in achieving President Trump’s prescription for a healthier America—one where innovation thrives, and patients no longer shoulder an unfair share of the global healthcare burden.

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