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Trump budget bill with $4.5T in tax cuts survives key hurdle despite House GOP infighting

A mammoth bill advancing a broad range of President Donald Trump’s policy goals survived a key hurdle on Thursday, putting Republicans closer to their goal of passing a bill by sometime in May.

The legislation passed the House Budget Committee on a party-line 21 to 16 vote and is expected to be taken up by the entire chamber for a floor vote later this month.

It comes despite eleventh-hour negotiations that had the bill’s eventual passage in question even as the committee met to discuss the text on Thursday morning.

The 45-page resolution directs various House committees to find a sum of at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, with $300 billion in new spending allocated toward the border, national defense and the judiciary. 

It also directs $4 trillion toward raising the debt limit, and it includes $4.5 trillion to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and other tax provisions pushed by the president for the next 10 years.

House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a broad range of Trump policy goals, from border security to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.

By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, it will allow the GOP to use their razor-thin majorities to get legislation signed into law with zero Democratic support, provided the measures included relate to the budget and other fiscal matters.

Conservative spending hawks on the House Budget Committee had demanded assurances that Republicans would seek to cut spending as deeply as possible in the reconciliation process, particularly to offset new spending on Trump’s tax priorities.

House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told reporters early Thursday afternoon that committee Republicans came to an agreement on an amendment that would win over holdouts, however.

The proposal would mandate a corresponding reduction in the $4.5 trillion tax allocation if Republicans failed to cut at least $2 trillion in spending elsewhere.

Conversely, if spending cuts exceeded $2 trillion, it would increase the amount of money directed toward tax cuts by the same amount.

‘The amendment that will come up is a good amendment,’ Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a Budget Committee fiscal hawk who had issues with the original text, told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s common sense. It’s doing what we said we’d be doing.’

The House advanced its proposal after being forced to punt the committee vote last week in the face of disagreements over where to set the baseline floor for spending cuts.

Senate Republicans advanced their own plan in the meantime, passing a narrower bill on Wednesday night that included new funding for the border and defense but would leave Trump’s tax cuts for a second package.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that bill a ‘nonstarter’ in the House.

But while the House’s bill passed a critical test on Thursday, it’s just the first step in a long process.

Passing a budget resolution then sends instructions to other committees to seek cuts and policy changes in their respective jurisdictions, before those proposals are added back to one large bill.

The House and Senate must also agree on a compromise between their two versions and pass identical pieces of legislation before they can be sent to Trump’s desk.

Republicans have a three seat majority in the Senate and a one seat majority in the House, meaning they can afford precious little dissent among themselves to pass a final bill.

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Senate Majority Leader Thune says this is the reason why he and Trump are working well together

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is getting a tough job done.

‘Senate Republicans have been committed to getting President Trump’s nominees through,’ Thune, who’s been on the job steering the Senate for six weeks, told Fox News in an exclusive national digital interview.

Thune was interviewed ahead of Brooke Rollins’s confirmation as secretary of agriculture, which brought to 16 the number of Trump nominees approved by the Senate.

Only 11 Cabinet nominees were approved by this date eight years ago during Trump’s first term in the White House.

And on this date four years ago, the Senate had confirmed only seven of then-President Biden’s Cabinet nominees.

Rollins’ confirmation followed the confirmations of two of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees: former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services.

Gabbard and Kennedy were confirmed on near party-line votes in a chamber the GOP controls with a 53-47 majority.

‘I think that the Senate Republicans have proven that we are united,’ the South Dakota Republican said.

Thune, a two-decade Senate veteran who served in GOP leadership the past few years before succeeding longtime leader Sen. Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the chamber, emphasized the team effort.

‘What you try and do is just try and make the people around you better,’ Thune said. ‘We’ve got a lot of talent in the Senate, people who … we want to deploy and utilize and let them use their gifts and talents [to] get things done around here that need to be done.’

The senator pointed to his father, a former college athlete and coach, who he said would advise him to ‘make the extra pass if somebody’s got a better shot. So what we’ve been trying to do is look for an opportunity to make the extra pass. And I think that it does really utilize the great talent we have here in the Senate.’

Thune says he’s been meeting ‘fairly regularly’ with the president, in person, on the phone and through text.

‘It’s a regular pipeline,’ he said. ‘His team has been really good, too, about working with our team here. I think we’ve had a very constructive working relationship. And I tell people, our incentives are aligned. We all want to get to the same destination.’

Thune hasn’t always had a constructive relationship with the often unpredictable Trump.

Trump was critical of Thune in the years after his first term and briefly considered backing a primary challenge against the senator as he ran for re-election in 2022.

Thune said that ‘like a lot of people,’ he’s had ‘differences with the president in the past.’

‘But I think right now, we understand the things that we want to get done in the course of his term and the opportunity that we have, which is rare in politics, to have unified control of the government, House, Senate and White House. We need to maximize that, and in order to do that, we’ve got to have a very constructive relationship in which there’s regular communication,’ Thune emphasized.

McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirming Kennedy and Gabbard. McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines, was critical of Kennedy’s history of high-profile vaccine skepticism.

‘I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,’ McConnell said after the Kennedy vote.

Trump, who’s long criticized McConnell, took aim again.

‘I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is he shouldn’t have been a leader. He knows that. He voted against Bobby. He votes against almost everything. He’s a very bitter guy,’ Trump charged.

Thune, interviewed after Gabbard’s confirmation and ahead of the final vote on Kennedy, said the 82-year-old McConnell is ‘still active up here and still a strong voice on issues he’s passionate about, including national security.’

‘So when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to,’ Thune said. ‘He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us. He’s a team player.’

Thune added, ‘I’ve had plenty of consultations with him through the years and in recent months and weeks, and we’ll continue to reach out to him when we think it makes sense to get a lay of the land that, based on his experience, he can help us navigate.’

While he’s enjoyed a slew of confirmation victories this week, Thune is realistic.

‘I feel good about how it’s gone so far, but we’ve got some really hard sledding ahead. We know that, and we just have to keep our heads down and do the work,’ he cautioned.

While confirming Trump’s Cabinet is currently job No. 1, Thune is juggling numerous tasks.

‘Obviously, most of our time has been occupied moving the president’s team and getting his nominees confirmed, and we’ll continue to do that. But as we go about that process, we’re looking for windows, too, to move important legislation,’ he said.

He pointed to the Laken Riley Act, quickly passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law by Trump.

The controversial measure, which is named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus, requires federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes.

Thune pointed out that the legislation grabbed bipartisan support, but he added that it’s ‘a bill that was responsive to the election mandate, and it was a bill that divided Democrats and united Republicans.’

He also chastised his predecessor as Senate majority leader, Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.

Thune argued that during Schumer’s tenure ‘the floor would get bogged down. You know, votes would take forever. We’re just trying to make more efficient use of people’s time and get this place kind of operating on a schedule again. We’re going to continue to do that and getting back to regular order.’

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JuJu Watkins, USC hand No. 1 UCLA its first loss of the season

LOS ANGELES — No undefeated teams remain in women’s college basketball.

JuJu Watkins had another signature performance and No. 6 Southern California played lights-out defense down the stretch to take down No. 1 UCLA 71-60, handing the rival Bruins their first loss of the season. 

The hometown star had been in a shooting slump entering the night, but she drilled her first attempt – a 3-pointer – and it was her game after that. She finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a whopping eight blocks. She played a key defensive role in the fourth quarter as USC outscored UCLA 24-8 as the Galen Center crowd roared.

The Trojans win round one of the crosstown showdown. The two sides will play the second matchup at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in the regular-season finale on March 1. 

USC vs. UCLA highlights

Final: USC 71, UCLA 60

Trojans pulling away

The home crowd is starting to feel it. USC continues to play incredible defense and the offense is getting to the hoop, leading 64-57 with three minutes to go.

USC retakes lead

The defensive intensity has picked up for USC and it now leads 53-52 with less than six minutes to go.

The Trojans haven’t let UCLA get anything easy and the Bruins are 0-for-8 from the field with three turnovers. Meanwhile, Watkins has picked it up once again, converting a fast-break attempt into a layup that gave the Trojans the lead, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

End of third quarter: UCLA 52, USC 47

A strong start to the third quarter gave UCLA the lead and it is out in front by five points heading into the final frame.

The Bruins started the third quarter with 10 consecutive points − propelled by Lauren Betts − for a seven point lead and the Trojans struggled to make much from the field. Despite only making one field goal, USC went 7-for-7 from the free throw line to prevent UCLA from breaking away.

USC’s JuJu Watkins has a game-high 30 points with six made 3-pointers. Betts leads UCLA with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

UCLA continues strong third quarter

USC has finally found the bucket in the third quarter but UCLA is still scoring, leading 49-43 with just under five minutes left in the frame.

UCLA’s Lauren Betts continues to take control of the quarter with nine points and four rebounds out of halftime. JuJu Watkins converted an and-one attempt to bump her scoring to a game-high 28 points.

UCLA storms out of halftime, takes lead

UCLA is carrying the momentum it had at the end of the first half into the second half. The Bruins started the third quarter on a 10-0 run to take a sudden 45-38 lead.

Star center Lauren Betts took command to start the run, scoring the first seven points down in the paint and at the free throw line. Guard Londynn Jones got open for a 3-point shot that forced USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb to call a timeout and the Bruins bench to erupt.

Halftime: USC 38, UCLA 35

We’ve got a game in Los Angeles.

UCLA used a late run in the second quarter to close the deficit. The Trojans lead by three halfway through Thursday’s contest.

UCLA was down by 13 points when it started making shots, going on a 14-1 run to tie the game with a minute left. However, JuJu Watkins drained another 3-point shot in the final minute to return the lead to the Trojans.

Watkins has shined and seemingly shaken off the shooting slump she was in entering the night. She has 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, and she’s been nearly automatic from 3-point land at 6-for-7. UCLA star Lauren Betts leads the Bruins with nine points, drawing fouls to get to the charity stripe.

UCLA ties it

The Bruins aren’t letting USC run away with this one, tying the game at 35-35 thanks to a 14-1 run. UCLA has made its last four shots while USC has gone cold, with one shot made in its last 10 attempts.

JuJu Watkins continues to lead USC

It’s become the JuJu Watkins show. She has 21 of USC’s 34 points as the Trojans lead by 11 points halfway through the second quarter.

She’s been getting anything she wants, whether it’s been getting to the bucket or pulling up from 3-point land. She is 8-for-12 from the field and an astounding 5-for-6 from 3.

End of first: USC 24, UCLA 15

A buzzer-beating circus shot from USC’s Talia von Oelhoffen summed up what was a dominant first quarter for the Trojans, who lead the No. 1 team in the country by nine points at the end of the first 10 minutes.

USC has simply been knocking down shots, and UCLA has not. The Trojans are 8-for-15 (53.3%) from the field, with four of those shots from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Bruins are 5-for-16 (31.1%) and only 1-for-7 from 3-point land. USC’s JuJu Watkins has a game-high 11 points.

USC jumps out to double-digit lead

The Trojans are on fire, going on a 14-2 run to take a 20-10 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter, forcing UCLA to take a timeout.

USC is making shots, with six of its last eight attempts going in.

JuJu Watkins’ strong start gives USC early lead

The stars have come to play in Los Angeles, with JuJu Watkins off to a hot start in Thursday’s contest. USC leads 11-8 with four and a half minutes to go in the first quarter.

Watkins has eight of those points, including two 3-point shots that have the Galen Center crowd rocking early. UCLA has gotten to the foul line and is 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, but just 2-for-6 from the field.

When is UCLA vs. USC women’s basketball game?

The game is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 13.

How to watch UCLA vs. USC

Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Streaming: Peacock

What channel is UCLA vs. USC women’s basketball game on?

USC and UCLA’s matchup on Thursday will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.

UCLA starting lineup

Kiki Rice, G
Londynn Jones, G
Gabriela Jaquez, F
Angela Dugalic, F
Lauren Betts, C

USC starting lineup

Kennedy Smith, G
JuJu Watkins, G
Talia von Oelhoffen, G
Rayah Marshall, F
Kiki Iriafen, F

USC vs. UCLA women’s basketball betting odds

Odds according to BetMGM

Spread: UCLA (-1.5)
Moneyline: UCLA (-115); USC (-105)
Over/under: 139.5

UCLA resume

Record: 23-0
NET ranking: No. 5
Quad 1 record: 7-0
Quality wins: No. 4 South Carolina, Baylor, No. 15 Maryland, No. 8 Ohio State
Losses: None

USC resume

Record: 21-2
NET ranking: No. 6
Quad 1 record: 6-2
Quality wins: Mississippi, No. 7 Connecticut, No. 15 Maryland, No. 8 Ohio State
Losses: No. 2 Notre Dame, Iowa

Spotlight shines on Los Angeles with UCLA-USC

In January 2022, Cori Close and UCLA visited Lindsay Gottlieb and Southern California at the Galen Center in a matchup between middling crosstown rivals. The attendance in that game was 1,982 people in the 10,258 capacity arena. 

Three years later, it’ll be hard to find an empty seat in Los Angeles.

A sold out crowd will be on hand to watch two of the best teams in the country finally meet Thursday night when top ranked and undefeated UCLA visits No. 6 USC in one of the biggest matchups in women’s college basketball.

“It’s great for LA,” Gottlieb said. “The energy is gonna be off the charts.”

– Read more about the matchup here.

Lauren Betts: ‘Most unique player in college basketball’

UCLA women’s basketball is having its best season in program history, and it’s all thanks to a center dominating the paint.

Lauren Betts was a top-ranked recruit out of Aurora, Colorado, who committed to join a highly-stacked Stanford team under Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer, adding a potential star to one of the best frontcourts in the country. 

However, Betts didn’t spend much time on the court. Her confidence was affected and it didn’t feel like a good fit. She entered the transfer portal after one season at Stanford. UCLA pushed hard to make her a Bruin, feeling like she could help the team take that next step toward a championship.

Now, in her second season at UCLA, Betts is elevating the Bruins and the team is eyeing its first Final Four berth. If Betts keeps up her standout play, there won’t be anything stopping UCLA from reaching Tampa. 

– Read more about Betts here.

The other USC star: Meet Kiki Iriafen

When JuJu Watkins decided to play for Southern California, part of the appeal was bringing glory back to her hometown. The banners from USC’s 1983 and 1984 championships have stood together for decades … without much expectation of adding a third one. 

For as talented as she is – setting numerous freshman records in 2023-24 and guiding the Trojans to their first Elite Eight in 30 years – Watkins could only shoulder so much of the burden. While she commanded the backcourt and had a solidified post presence in Rayah Marshall, another star could have really elevated the team.

Luckily, Watkins has made USC the place to be, and another star joined the fold when Kiki Iriafen returned to her roots. She’s helped make the Trojans one of the championship favorites. 

– Read more about Iriafen here.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Red Sox acting like a big-market team again after monster deal

The Boston Red Sox stopped operating like a small-market team.

Alex Bregman stopped demanding $200 million.

The Detroit Tigers stopped from adding another year.

The Chicago Cubs stopped from subtracting a year.

The Houston Astros stopped cold in their tracks.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

And just like that, Bregman, a two-time World Series champion, two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, is now a Red Sox infielder after spending his entire career with the Astros.

Bregman, who dropped his demands for a long-term deal, agreed to a three-year, $120 million deferred contract with the Red Sox that includes an opt-out after each season, a person with direct knowledge of the contract told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity since the contract won’t become official until Bregman passes a physical.

The deal was staggering with its annual average salary of $40 million, tying Yankees MVP Aaron Judge for the sixth-highest AAV in baseball history, but a bargain price for the Red Sox with only a three-year commitment.

After all of the winter bluster, it really came down to only three teams: the Red Sox, Tigers and Cubs.

The Tigers, who offered a six-year, $171.5 million contract for Bregman, could have easily had him if they just bumped it up and added a seventh year, making it a $200 million deal. They refused.

The Cubs, who jumped into the sweepstakes late, could have grabbed him if they changed their four-year, $120 million offer to the same 3-year, $120 million like the Red Sox, or perhaps even went to five years. Nope.

The Astros, who made the first offer Bregman received for six years, $156 million, refusing to ever alter it, and even took it off the table.

And the Toronto Blue Jays were used only as a stalking horse, and were never involved in the bidding at any juncture.

The Red Sox, who blew it by insulting everyone from Mookie Betts to Jon Lester to Xander Bogaerts with low offers, and overpaid for Trevor Story, now land the man who could get them back to the postseason.

It’s unknown whether the Red Sox can talk Rafael Devers into moving from third base to accommodate Bregman. Bregman, 30, who originally was drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in 2012, has a career .375 batting average (30-for-80) with a 1.240 OPS in 21 games at Fenway Park, including seven homers, 15 RBI and nine doubles.

The only player in history with a higher career on-base percentage at Fenway with at least 95 career plate appearances is Hall of Famer Ted Williams.

“Alex is a champion,’’ agent Scott Boras said at the winter meetings in December. “All of these teams realize what a leader he is and what a champion he is, plus his skill level.’’

The deal with Boston reunites him with Red Sox manager Alex Cora, his former bench coach in 2017 with the Astros, snubbing his former manager, A.J. Hinch of the Tigers. Hinch managed Bregman from 2016-2019 before he was fired in the aftermath of the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal.

“He can help any major league team,’’ Hinch said Wednesday before Bregman’s decision. “Special guy.’’

Well, maybe the Tigers can jump back into the fray for Bregman if he somehow decides to leave the Red Sox and his remaining $80 million after this season, but for now he belongs to the Red Sox.

And for now, the Red Sox are acting like one of the big boys again and have become a legitimate power in the AL East. They had quite the winter trading for left-handed ace Garrett Crochet, and signing starters Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval, and also left-handed relievers Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson.

The Red Sox, who slashed payroll after being a top-five team from 2004-2020, simply realized you need to spend to win. They were a last-place team in the AL East in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and just a .500 team last year.

They boasted that they would spend big money all winter, but spent just $52.3 million. They lost out to the New York Mets in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. They couldn’t land aces Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. And finally got a prized free agent in Bregman, their most lucrative free-agent signing since shortstop Trevor Story in 2022, pushing their payroll past the $241 million luxury tax threshold.

Now, the Red Sox finally have the right-handed bat they badly needed to balance their heavy left-handed lineup, shored up an infield defense that led the major leagues in errors, and have a clubhouse leader that has been missing since the departures of Betts and Bogaerts.

The Red Sox, who have one of the game’s top farm systems and plenty of infield depth with Vaughn Grissom and David Hamilton, also have some valuable trade chips in DH Masataka Yoshida and first baseman Triston Casas. If the Red Sox trade one of them, it would enable Bregman to play his natural third-base position where he won a Gold Glove award last season and slide Devers to first base or DH.

But for now, they’ve got one of the finest infielders in the game and a two-time World Series champion who has played in the postseason every year of his career.

“Alex is a complete player,’’ Cora said in December at the winter meetings. “He’s a player that’s been on winning teams his whole career. Good defender. Offensively, he’s really good. He’s a guy that a lot of people are talking about, and I do believe he can impact a big-league team, a championship-caliber team.’’

That team is now the Red Sox.

They’re finally back, acting once again like a genuine big-market team, and even a threat to the powerful New York Yankees.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

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Trump’s Justice Department order to drop charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams sparks resignations

Several senior Justice Department officials resigned in protest Thursday rather than comply with an order to drop a bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

The resignations came amid President Donald Trump’s effort to overhaul the agency, which he said has been weaponized against political opponents.

The six resignations include Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, Trump’s pick to temporarily lead the office prosecuting Adams, who resigned her post on Thursday, according to the memorandum by Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a Trump appointee.

‘I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached,’ Sassoon wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

Adams, a Democrat who said he was targeted by the Biden administration, has been willing to work with the Trump administration crackdown to curb illegal immigration. Adams pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes from Turkish officials. 

‘Rather than be rewarded, Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case,’ Sassoon wrote to Bondi. 

Adams’ lawyer Alex Spiro said in an email to Reuters that the charges against his client are a ‘sham.’

‘If SDNY had any proof whatsoever that the mayor destroyed evidence, they would have brought those charges—as they continually threatened to do, but didn’t, over months and months,’ Spiro wrote. ‘This newest false claim is just the parting shot of a misguided prosecution exposed as a sham.’

In his Thursday memo, Bove wrote that Sassoon had refused to comply with what he called his office’s finding that the case against Adams amounted to weaponization of the justice system. 

‘Your resignation is accepted…you lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the DOJ,’ he wrote. 

‘Your office has no authority to contest the weaponization finding,’ wrote Bove, Trump’s former personal criminal defense lawyer. ‘The Justice Department will not tolerate the insubordination.’

After Sassoon refused to dismiss the case, the Trump administration directed John Keller, the acting head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit, to do so, according to people familiar with the matter.  

Keller also resigned on Thursday, two people familiar with the matter said, as well as Kevin Driscoll, a senior official in the department’s criminal division. 

Three other deputies in the Justice Department’s public corruption unit – Rob Heberle, Jenn Clarke, and Marco Palmieri – also resigned on Thursday over the Adams case, a person familiar with the matter said.

A Justice Department official confirmed Keller’s and Driscoll’s resignations, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the other three.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. Since taking office in January, Trump has fired more than a dozen federal prosecutors who pursued cases against him.

In a statement to Fox News, Bove said he concluded that the prosecution against Adams had to be dismissed in order to ‘prioritize national security and public safety over continuing with a case that has been tainted from the start by troubling tactics.’

‘There is no room at the Justice Department for attorneys who refuse to execute on the priorities of the Executive Branch – priorities determined by the American people,’ he said. ‘I look forward to working with new leadership at SDNY on the important priorities President Trump has laid out for us to make America safe again.’

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report. 

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USC vs. UCLA live updates: What to know ahead of top-10 showdown

LOS ANGELES — When UCLA and Southern California face off Thursday night, it will be more than just a matchup between crosstown rivals. It will be two top-10 teams meeting in what could be a preview of the Final Four.

The spotlight will be shining on the City of Angels as the Bruins and Trojans meet again. With star center Lauren Betts, UCLA is the No. 1 team in the country and, at 23-0, the only undefeated team left. On the other side, star JuJu Watkins and USC are 21-2, a deeply-talent squad still building off last season’s success. The Trojans will be at home playing in a sold-out Galen Center.

While both sides know each other well, this will be the first time the rivals face off as Big Ten foes. The two teams have handled their new conference well − UCLA is in first while USC is in second. Thursday is the first of two meetings between the two teams, but they both carry equal importance as both sides prepare for a deep run in March.

Follow USA TODAY Sports for live updates and highlights from the top-10 showdown in Los Angeles:

When is UCLA vs. USC women’s basketball game?

The game is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 13.

How to watch UCLA vs. USC

Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Streaming: Peacock

What channel is UCLA vs. USC women’s basketball game on?

USC and UCLA’s matchup on Thursday will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.

USC vs. UCLA women’s basketball betting odds

Odds according to BetMGM

Spread: UCLA (-1.5)
Moneyline: UCLA (-115); USC (-105)
Over/under: 139.5

UCLA resume

Record: 23-0
NET ranking: No. 5
Quad 1 record: 7-0
Quality wins: South Carolina, Baylor, Maryland, Ohio State
Losses: None

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How much is the NFL franchise tag worth at each position in 2025?

The window for teams to franchise tag players is almost open and will remain open for two weeks ahead of the start of free agency. But how much is the franchise tag worth in 2025?

The value of a franchise tag is almost entirely dependent on the position of the player receiving the tag. While a franchise tag can be worth 120% of a player’s previous salary, it is more often worth some kind of average of the salaries of the top-paid players at their position.

There are three kinds of franchise tags, all with slightly different ways of calculating value.

Here’s an explanation of the three kinds of franchise tags, how much each one is worth and a full breakdown of franchise tag value by position in 2025:

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

NFL franchise tags, explained

Two types of franchise tags are dependent on a given player’s position.

The non-exclusive tag – which is the most common type of franchise tag – allows players and their agents to negotiate with other teams. The team that placed the tag on the player can match any offer from another team or receive two first-round picks as compensation if the player departs.

It is worth either the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position over the last five years or 120% of the player’s last salary (whichever is greater).

The transition tag is the other kind of franchise tag that is dependent on a player’s position. Like the non-exclusive tag, it allows a player and his agent to negotiate with other teams and gives the original team the right to match any offer. However, the team would receive no compensation if the player departed.

A transition tag is worth the average of the top 10 salaries at the player’s position in the current year.

There is a third type of tag – the exclusive franchise tag – which is worth either the top five salaries at the player’s position in the current year or 120% of his previous salary (whichever is greater). The value of the ‘top five salaries at the player’s position in the current year’ is not determined until restricted free agency ends.

NFL franchise tag value by position

Here’s how much the non-exclusive tag and transition tag is worth for each position:

Quarterback:

Non-exclusive: $41,325,000
Transition: $35,267,000

Running back:

Non-exclusive: $11,951,000
Transition: $9,765,000

Wide receiver:

Non-exclusive: $25,693,000
Transition: $22,523,000

Tight end:

Non-exclusive: $14,241,000
Transition: $12,069,000

Offensive line:

Non-exclusive: $25,156,000
Transition: $22,745,000

Defensive end:

Non-exclusive: $24,727,000
Transition: $20,769,000

Defensive tackle:

Non-exclusive: $23,468,000
Transition: $18,934,000

Linebacker:

Non-exclusive: $27,050,000
Transition: $22,612,000

Cornerback:

Non-exclusive: $20,357,000
Transition: $17,198,000

Safety:

Non-exclusive: $19,626,000
Transition: $15,598,000

Kicker/punter:

Non-exclusive: $6,459,000
Transition: $5,830,000

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Politics

Indian Prime Minister Modi takes page from Trump, says ‘make India great again,’ or ‘MIGA’

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a page from President Donald Trump’s playbook during a joint press conference Thursday, saying he wants to make India great again, or ‘MIGA.’

Modi met with Trump at the White House, where the world leaders discussed a range of issues, including trade, the economic relationship between India and the United States and military sales. 

During a press conference, Modi said Indian people were focusing on their heritage and ways to ensure his nation is developed by 2047. 

‘Borrowing an expression from America, our vision for a developed India is to make India great again, or MIGA,’ he said through a translator. ‘When America and India work together, that is, when it’s MAGA plus MIGA, it becomes a mega partnership for prosperity.

‘And it is this mega spirit that gives new scale and scope to our objectives.’ 

At the beginning of the press conference, Trump announced the United States would be providing India F-35 fighter jets and increasing military sales to the country by billions of dollars. 

Trump also said his administration approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, one of the plotters of a deadly 2008 terrorist attack that killed 160 people. 

‘I’m pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and one of the very evil people of the world having to do with the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack to face justice in India,’ Trump said. 

In addition, Modi said India would accept illegal Indian immigrants in the United States who are deported back home. 

‘Anybody who enters another country illegally,’ Modi said, ‘they have absolutely no right to be in that country.

‘And as far as India and the U.S. is concerned, we have always been of the same opinion. And that is that any verified Indian who is in the U.S. illegally, we are fully prepared to take them back to India.’

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Politics

RFK Jr. sworn in as Health and Human Services secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the new secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), hours after being confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate Thursday by a close vote of 52-48 that was almost entirely along party lines.

Kennedy stood in the Oval Office alongside his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, and accompanied by his children, while he placed his hand on a Bible and swore the oath of office. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch swore in Kennedy.

After the ceremony, Kennedy told attendees about his first visit to the Oval Office. 

‘My first time in this Oval Office was in … 1962. I came here, and I had a meeting with my uncle who was president then, where we talked about the environment. He was involved very deeply, as we all know, in restoring physical fitness in this country.

‘For 20 years, I got on my knees every morning and prayed that God would put me in a position where I could end the childhood chronic disease epidemic in this country,’ Kennedy said.

‘On Aug. 23 of last year, God sent me President Trump. He’s kept every promise he’s made to me. He’s kept his word in every account and gone way beyond it. … I’m so grateful to you, Mr. President.’ 

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy’s nomination. McConnell, the former longtime GOP Senate leader, had polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines.

Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump, needed a simple majority to be confirmed by the Senate.

‘I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,’ McConnell said after the Kennedy vote.

Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.

The push is part of his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign.

Trump regularly criticized Kennedy during his independent presidential bid, accusing him of being a ‘radical left liberal’ and a ‘Democrat plant.’

Kennedy fired back, claiming in a social media post that Trump’s jabs against him were ‘a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims.’

However, Kennedy made major headlines again in August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. 

Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, who were both assassinated in the 1960s. Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

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Sports

SEC pushes College Football Playoff change, but not so fast, Greg Sankey

The SEC helped rearrange conference alignment in a blow to the 12-team playoff’s vision. Now, it’s time for SEC boss Greg Sankey to slurp what he helped crumble.
Removing byes for conference champions would help SEC and Big Ten, but other conferences could throw up a short-term road block.
12-team CFP bracket format could stay the same for 2025 season, even though SEC hungry for change.

Or, what about this one? Self-made problems become the toughest to solve.

Sankey wants to reconfigure the 12-team College Football Playoff, which he helped create, after just one season.

Sankey’s modification wish list includes stripping away protection of first-round playoff byes for conference champions.

In such a universe, first-round byes would go to the top four teams in the final College Football Playoff committee rankings, with no built-in protections for conference champions. In theory, then, all four byes could go to teams from the same conference – say, Sankey’s SEC.

Sankey says this change became necessary because conference affiliation no longer looks how it did when commissioners, including Sankey, devised the 12-team playoff format.

Hmm, I wonder why conference alignment changed.

Ah, yes, it changed after Sankey steered the SEC’s plunder of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12’s top brands. The SEC’s heist started the realignment carousel’s ignition, and then the Big Ten sprang into action and raided the west coast. In turn, the Big 12 and ACC shopped the Pac-12’s discount rack, and that conference became an unrecognizable husk.

“It’s not the same reality that existed when the 12-team model developed, and I’ve opined what I believe is the need to adjust,” Sankey said on “The Paul Finebaum Show” last week.

“And, the seeding issues, particularly moving teams into the top four, need to be looked at deeply.”

Let’s not forget, Sankey already engineered a change to the 12-team playoff before its launch. Originally, the playoff had been devised for six automatic bids and six at-large bids. After the Pac-12 buckled, Sankey successfully spearheaded the switch to five automatic bids and seven at-large berths.

His latest effort to bend the bracket to the SEC’s desires encounters a roadblock, though.

Changing the playoff before next season would require unanimous approval from the other conference commissioners, plus Notre Dame. Sankey knows he’s unlikely to gain the full support necessary to trigger a change. Commissioners from leagues like the Big 12, Mountain West and ACC have little incentive to give up byes for conference champions.

PLAYOFF PICKS: Projecting next year’s field of 12 with some surprises

LOOKING AHEAD: Our way-too-early college football Top 25 for 2025

Big 12, ACC have little reason to rework College Football Playoff

The first-round bye carries more value than bracket positioning. It also triggers additional financial compensation to the league represented in the quarterfinals.

Conference commissioners aren’t in the business of turning down paydays.

“I do not have the appetite to give up any financial reward that comes with a bye,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently told Yahoo! Sports.

As ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told Yahoo! Sports, earmarking byes for conference champions is “not some exotic structure.”

Indeed, a professional league might call that common sense.

If at-large playoff qualifiers become eligible for byes, college football would become America’s only sport in which a team could finish fourth in its conference standings and earn a playoff bye.

The commissioners reportedly will meet in Dallas later this month to discuss the playoff’s future. If even one rival conference commissioner tells Sankey, “No thanks, bucko. We like the playoff as is,” the format will remain the same next season.

In other words, grab a straw, SEC.

You too, Big Ten.

Those “Super Two” conferences puffed up during realignment by weakening other conferences, but now it’s time to grab a straw and slurp what they crumbled – for one more year, anyway.

SEC, Big Ten will get their way, but question is how soon?

Impeding the “Super Two” in their playoff revision would be a short-lived roadblock to the playoff becoming a de facto SEC-Big Ten Invitational. Starting with the 2026 season, unanimous commissioner approval no longer will be required to change the format. At that time, the SEC and Big Ten gain additional authority over the bracket. Hard to imagine that’ll be good for the ‘little guy’ conferences.

So, changes very likely are coming, but why should rival commissioners capitalate to Sankey and Tony Petitti, Sankey’s Big Ten cohort, any sooner than required?

If teams were seeded based off ranking this past season, Big Ten and SEC teams would have seized all the byes.

I don’t fault the SEC for snapping up Texas and Oklahoma and triggering realignment, and Sankey’s just doing his job by seeking an avenue to more byes for SEC teams. The SEC endured two consecutive seasons without advancing a team to the national championship game, so the conference could use a boost. But, the Big 12, ACC and others have no reason to fork it over.

Yormark and Phillips would be doing their jobs by telling Sankey to spend the next year slurping up the beautiful 12-team playoff vision that he helped crumble into realignment soup.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

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