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FBI doubted probable cause for Mar-a-Lago raid but pushed forward amid pressure from Biden DOJ, emails reveal

: The FBI did not believe it had probable cause to raid President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 2022, but moved forward amid pressure from the Biden Justice Department, with an official saying he didn’t ‘give a damn about the optics’ of the search, newly declassified documents reviewed by Fox News Digital reveal.

Fox News Digital reviewed emails between FBI and Justice Department officials in the months leading up to the August 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago, with FBI officials expressing concerns about a lack of probable cause to execute the search warrant on the then-former president’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida. 

‘Very little has been developed related to who might be culpable for mishandling the documents,’ an FBI official serving as an assistant special agent in charge, wrote to another FBI official, Anthony Riedlinger. ‘From the interviews, WFO has gathered information suggesting that there may be additional boxes (presumably of the same type as were sent back to NARA in January) at Mar-a-Lago.’

‘WFO has been drafting a search warrant affidavit related to these potential boxes, but has some concerns that the information is single source, has not been corroborated, and may be dated,’ the official continues. ‘DOJ CES opines, however, that the SW’s meet the probable cause standard.’

‘Even as we continue down the path towards a search warrant, WFO believes that a reasonable conversation with the former president’s attorney, (stating that the FBI and DOJ are readying a search warrant, and have developed information that there are more documents at Mar a Lago), ought not to be discounted,’ the official wrote.

‘At a minimum, even if the former president’s attorney is correct and the documents were all declassified (or believed to be declassified), it can be reasonably argued that the documents remain sensitive and should be properly secured until the matter of classification is sorted out,’ the official continued. ‘This conversation could easily be accomplished at the same time that WFO presses forward with the investigation and continues building out the search warrant.’ 

Weeks later, an FBI agent writes an email stating: ‘We haven’t generated any new facts, but keep being given draft after draft after draft.’

‘Absent a witness coming forward with recent information about classified on site, at what point is it fair to table this?’ the agent writes. ‘It is time consuming for the team, and not productive if there are no new facts supporting PC (probable cause)?’

Another email revealed that the FBI’s Washington Field Office did ‘not believe (and has articulated to DOJ CES), that we have established probable cause for the search warrant for classified records at Mar a Lago.’

‘DOJ has opined that they do have probable cause, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space,’ an agent wrote.

The FBI believed that a raid would be ‘counterproductive,’ and suggested ‘alternative, less intrusive and likelier quicker options for resolution’ to reclaim any potential classified records.

The process moved forward, regardless of concerns.

Another email on Aug. 4, 2022, revealed the plan for the execution of the warrant.

‘The FBI intends for the execution of the warrant to be handled in a professional, low key manner, and to be mindful of the optics of the search,’ an agent writes.

The agent quotes then-Deputy Assistant Attorney General George Toscas in a meeting.

‘Since we heard Mr. Toscas say yesterday in the call that he ‘frankly doesn’t give a damn about the optics’ and Mr. Bratt has already built an antagonistic relationship with (Trump) attorneys…I think it is more than fair to say that the DOJ contact with (Trump attorney) just prior to the execution of the warrant will not go well. DOJ said as much yesterday,’ the agent writes. ‘I also think that it is fair to say that if FBI calls, having in mind officer safety, to the optics of the search, and the desire to conduct this search in a professional and low key manner, there is a far better chance that the execution will go more smoothly and we may actually gain some measure of cooperation, which could go some way to resolving the mishandling of classified records investigation that is being conducted.’

The agent added: ‘I understand that this request may not go well at DOJ, however, it is the FBI serving and executing the search and it will be our personnel who will have to deal with the reaction to that first contact.’

The FBI, in August 2022, raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, executing the search warrant as part of an investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records after leaving the White House.

Fox News Digital reported in 2024 that the Biden administration authorized the use of deadly force during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago. That language was also used during the search of then-President Joe Biden’s residence for potential classified documents in 2023. 

An ‘Operations Order’ produced in discovery as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records revealed that the ‘FBI believed its objective for the Mar-a-Lago raid was to seize ‘classified information, NDI, and US Government records,’’ as described in the search warrant.

The order, according to a court filing, contained a ‘Policy Statement’ regarding ‘Use of Deadly Force,’ which stated, for example, ‘Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary.’

According to the filing, the DOJ and FBI agents ‘planned to bring ‘Standard Issue Weapons,’ ‘Ammo,’ ‘Handcuffs,’ and ‘medium and large sized bolt cutters,’ but they were instructed to wear ‘unmarked polo or collared shirts’ and to keep ‘law enforcement equipment concealed.” 

Fox News Digital first reported that during the raid, FBI agents seized boxes of documents containing records and materials potentially protected by attorney-client and executive privilege, leading to legal disputes over the handling of those documents by a taint team.

Trump attorneys, at the time, told Fox News Digital they were not permitted into the rooms as FBI agents conducted the search, raising major concerns about the procedures surrounding the raid. Attorneys said that the FBI agents executing the search were in no position to decide unilaterally where to search and what were Trump’s personal records and what were not.

Trump was charged out of former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.

Trump also was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation: an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

Trump pleaded not guilty. The charges were dropped by Smith after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Kennedy urges GOP to restart spending battle amid soaring cost of living, warns against wasting majority

One Senate Republican is making the case that lawmakers aren’t using all the tools at their disposal to tackle affordability in the United States.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wants Republicans to take another crack at budget reconciliation, the grueling, monthslong process used earlier this year to pass President Donald Trump’s crowning legislative achievement of 2025, and one that tested the unity of congressional Republicans.

Kennedy wants to see the process used to eat into the cost of living in the country, which has proven a thorny issue for the GOP after Trump’s promises on the campaign trail to hack away at skyrocketing inflation that proved politically fatal, among other issues like immigration, for Democrats in last year’s election.

But it’s a Pandora’s box that lawmakers have been hesitant to reopen after narrowly advancing the colossal tax package over the summer.

‘I have been preaching as persuasively as I can for months now that we need to do another reconciliation, and in that bill, we need to address things like rules and regulations, which add about $2 trillion to the cost of goods and services,’ Kennedy said.

He acknowledged that the process could be tricky, given that it is governed by the Byrd Rule, which nixes any provisions that don’t have a budgetary impact, but noted that lawmakers have at least two more attempts to take advantage of the process while Republicans still control both chambers of Congress.

‘And I am at a loss to understand why our leadership will not agree to another reconciliation,’ he said. ‘If you went to Senator [Chuck] Schumer right now and said, ‘Schumer, Senator Schumer, you have the chance to pass anything you want to pass today within the parameters of Byrd, without having to depend on a single Republican vote,’ what do you think Chuck would do? He’d take a dozen, and I just don’t understand why we are not doing that.’

Affordability and the cost of living have become a central focus for many on the Hill, particularly after dueling partisan proposals to tackle the impending hike to healthcare premiums and expiring Obamacare subsidies went down in flames last week.

Lawmakers are still searching for a path forward on that front, with a bipartisan group led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, meeting on Monday night to build a consensus between the parties.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of the architects of Senate Republicans’ healthcare proposal that failed last week, told reporters, ‘The calendar precludes getting something done this week,’ but was still optimistic about finding a way to deal with rising costs on the healthcare front.

‘But, still, a commitment to work together is a lot of progress,’ he said.

Still, Kennedy was ardent that lawmakers had spent little time since passing Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ taking advantage of their majority in Congress.

‘Yes, we passed the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ that was July 1, five months ago, now, almost six months ago,’ he said. ‘We need to act. And I’m hoping that after the holidays, my friend, Senator [John] Thune, and he is a friend, and I think he’s doing a great job, but I think Senator, I hope Senator Thune will relent and agree to another reconciliation bill that addresses the cost-of-living issue.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Why Sherrone Moore was fired by Michigan but staffer wasn’t

Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was fired for violating a university policy regarding supervisor-employee relationships.
The staff member involved in the affair was not fired because the policy places the responsibility of disclosure on the supervisor.
The policy was created in 2021 after a previous scandal involving a university provost and subordinate employees.

The staff member who had an affair with Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was not fired from her job because of it, unlike Moore, who was dismissed on Dec. 10. She previously concealed the relationship from the university, which received a tip about it and looked into it and even searched her phone, according to the Detroit Free Press.

After breaking up with Moore on Dec. 8, she finally came clean and told the university about the relationship Dec. 10, triggering Moore’s firing the same day.

Yet she’s still employed by the university, the university confirmed Dec. 15.

So why wasn’t she fired, too, if only because of an apparent lack of prior honesty about the relationship?

The university responded to this question from USA TODAY Sports Dec. 15 by pointing to university Policy No. 201.97.

That policy itself is the product of a different scandal at Michigan. It also stresses the importance of the power balance in supervisor-employee relationships and why employees are treated differently than supervisors when it comes to secret affairs. This is the policy Moore violated to get himself fired.

What is the policy that got Sherrone Moore fired but kept staffer employed?

Policy No. 201.97 governs supervisor-employee relationships at the university. It states a supervisor may not, “implicitly or explicitly, initiate or attempt to initiate an intimate relationship with a supervisee.”

It’s not clear whether Moore or his staff member initiated the relationship, which went on for multiple years, according to the prosecutor in Moore’s criminal case. But even if she initiated it, the policy still requires the supervisor, not the employee, to disclose the relationship to university officials. Upon disclosure, the university then would implement a management plan to remove the supervisor’s power over that employee.

“Recognizing that Intimate Relationships exist or may develop in the workplace that are not initiated by a Supervisor and are free from coercion and abuse of power, immediate disclosure of the relationship by the Supervisor is required,” the policy states. “Failure of the Supervisor to disclose an Intimate Relationship is a serious offense and cause for discipline, up to and including dismissal from employment.”

Moore did not previously disclose it, which alone is a policy violation that could have cost him his job. By contrast, the policy notes the disclosure requirement doesn’t apply to supervisees.

“Although encouraged, Supervisees have no obligation to disclose,” the policy states.

Why is the employee not required to disclose the affair?

The supervisor’s influence over the employee gives the employee reason to fear retaliation if the employee doesn’t obey the supervisor’s wishes. That could mean loss of job or pay.

In this case, Moore retaliated in a different way after she went against his wishes and reported the affair, according the prosecutor. Moore showed up at her apartment to confront her, leading him to get arrested on charges of stalking and home invasion.

The university doesn’t want to put employees in that position.

The policy recognizes the power supervisors have over employees gives them the opportunity to abuse it in these situations. It puts the onus on them for that reason — to disclose it and avoid initiating intimate relationships.

“Intimate Relationships initiated by a Supervisor are at high risk of being unwelcomed and experienced by the Supervisee as sexual harassment,” the policy states. “Supervisors are therefore responsible for understanding how their statements and conduct may reasonably be interpreted by persons who do not share their same level of power.”

How this policy came about

The policy came in response to a different scandal in 2020 involving university provost Martin Philbert, the second-highest administrator at the school. He was accused of sexually harassing multiple members of the university community, including university employees and graduate students who worked in his lab.

After the university hired a law firm to investigate, the firm produced a report that included some recommendations. One of those recommendations was to develop a standalone policy “explicitly focused on consensual relationships between employees in positions of unequal authority.”

“Philbert engaged in multiple sexual relationships with subordinate employees,” the report from WilmerHale stated. ‘Such relationships between employees — though they may be consensual — create the potential for actual and perceived conflicts of interest, exploitation, and favoritism where the employees occupy unequal positions of authority, and may disrupt the workplace environment.  Moreover, such relationships can involve issues of sexual harassment and retaliation.”

The university didn’t have a specific policy to address this previously and instead relied on its nepotism policy to address issues of favoritism and discrimination from employees’ “close personal relationships,” the report noted.

The university responded by adopting Policy No. 201.97 in July 2021. Less than five years later, it led to the firing of the football coach “supervisor” while sparing the “employee” in a relationship of unequal authority.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

(This policy was updated to add new information.)

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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NFL Week 16 odds and expert predictions for every matchup

The Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos clinched playoff spots last week. Could we see more teams earn playoff berths in Week 16?

Six teams won last week after trailing by at least 10 points, tied for the most in a single week in NFL history, per NFL Research.

Week 16 features multiple games with major playoff implications. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Carolina Panthers in a battle for first in the NFC South. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos put their winning streaks on the line in the Mile High City.

The Baltimore Ravens host the New England Patriots in a matchup between two AFC playoff contenders on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ Week 16 ends when 44-year-old Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts travel to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 22.

USA TODAY Sports provides the early predictions for Week 16:

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

NFL Week 15 predictions, picks

Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks

Date: Thursday, Dec. 18

Time: 8:15 p.m. ET

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle

TV: N/A

Streaming: Prime Video

Spread: Rams (-1)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Rams 24, Seahawks 20

Sam Darnold had four interceptions in a Week 11 loss to the Rams. The Rams have proven to be a bad matchup for the quarterback. The absence of Davante Adams (hamstring) is a tough blow for the Rams.  

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders

Date: Saturday, Dec. 20

Time: 5 p.m. ET

Location: Northwest Stadium, Landover, MD

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Eagles (-6.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Eagles 28, Commanders 17

The Eagles had a get-right game against the lowly Raiders last week. Philly can clinch the division with a win. They won’t the opportunity versus Washington slip away.

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears

Date: Saturday, Dec. 20

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

Location: Soldier Field, Chicago

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Packers (-1.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Packers 25, Bears 21

Micah Parsons’ season-ending knee injury is a huge blow for Green Bay’s Super Bowl chances. But the NFC North division is still there for the taking. The Bears will play them tough at home.

Buffalo Bills vs. Cleveland Browns

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland

TV: CBS

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Bills (-10)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Bills 26, Browns 17

Buffalo’s comeback win over the Patriots should give them momentum as they close the regular season. Myles Garrett is closing in on the NFL’s single-season sack record, but the Browns don’t have enough to compete with the Bills.

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Dallas Cowboys

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Cowboys (-1.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Chargers 23, Cowboys 20

The Cowboys are pretty much playing for pride at this point. The Chargers are still in contention for the AFC West crown. LA’s defense has been playing well lately. They’ll slow down the Cowboys offense (some).

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

TV: CBS

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Chiefs (-3.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Chiefs 22, Titans 20

Kansas City’s season ended last week. Look for the Chiefs to play inspired for Patrick Mahomes, whose season-ending knee injury should be the genesis for a retooling in Kansas City.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Miami Dolphins

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

TV: CBS

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Bengals (-1)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Bengals 26, Dolphins 24

A battle between two disappointing teams. The Bengals and Dolphins are both eliminated from the playoffs, but I expect Joe Burrow to have a better performance after a bad outing in Week 15.

New York Jets vs. New Orleans Saints

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA

TV: CBS

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Saints (-4)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Saints 20, Jets 17

The Saints are coming off two surprising wins over the top two teams in the NFC South. Kellen Moore, Tyler Shough and the Saints defense deserve a lot of credit for finishing the season strong. New Orleans carries its momentum against the Jets.

Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants  

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Vikings (-3)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Vikings 21, Giants 17

J.J. McCarthy is starting to play like a competent quarterback. McCarthy’s connection with Justin Jefferson still needs work, but Minnesota is improving.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers  

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Bucs (-3)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Bucs 25, Panthers 20

This might be the game of the Week. The winner of this game takes control of the NFC South. I think the Bucs prove they are still the class of the division, but Carolina is coming.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Denver Broncos  

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

Location: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Broncos (-3)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Broncos 24, Jaguars 22

The Broncos have the longest active winning streak in the NFL at 11 games. Denver is closing in on the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The surging Jags are going to make it tough, though.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals   

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ

TV: FOX

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Falcons (-2.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Falcons 25, Cardinals 21

The Falcons had a huge win against Tampa Bay last week. I expect the Falcons to ride Bijan Robinson to victory in this one.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Detroit Lions   

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 4:25 p.m. ET

Location: Ford Field, Detroit

TV: CBS

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Lions (-7)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Lions 28, Steelers 24

Expect this to be a physical game between two teams battling to get in the playoffs. The Lions need to win out, and get help, to earn a playoff berth. Detroit’s the more desperate team. The Lions should be favored, but a seven-point spread feels like a lot. Pittsburgh’s won two in a row.

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Houston Texans   

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 4:25 p.m. ET

Location: NRG Stadium, Houston

TV: CBS

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: Texans (-14.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Texans 26, Raiders 10

It’s simple. The Raiders are the worst team in the NFL. Houston’s won six straight games, they are at home and fighting for a playoff spot.

New England Patriots vs. Baltimore Ravens   

Date: Sunday, Dec. 21

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD

TV: NBC

Streaming: Peacock

Spread: Ravens (-3)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: Ravens 28, Patriots 27

I’m surprised the Ravens are home favorites in this one. I originally picked Baltimore to win the Super Bowl. A win against New England could catapult them as they close the year against Green Bay and Pittsburgh.

Indianapolis Colts vs. San Francisco 49ers   

Date: Monday, Dec. 22

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

TV: ESPN

Streaming: FUBO

Spread: 49ers (-5.5)

Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY: 49ers 24, Colts 20

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Jury close to beginning deliberations in Tyler Skaggs trial

The Tyler Skaggs wrongful death civil lawsuit thundered toward a conclusion Monday, Dec. 15, with lawyers for the deceased pitcher and the Los Angeles Angels’ legal team presenting their closing arguments.

Sometime Tuesday, Dec. 16, arguments and rebuttals will conclude and the jury will begin deliberations, tasked with determining whether the Angels knew or should have known their former communications director was providing opioids to Skaggs and other players, including the fentanyl-laced oxycodone pill that resulted in the pitcher’s death on July 1, 2019.

Eric Kay is serving a 22-year term in federal prison, and the Skaggs family is seeking $118 million in lost earnings and other damages in this civil trial.

Closing arguments lasted nearly four hours Dec. 15, The Athletic reported, with Skaggs family attorney Daniel Dutko accusing the Angels of ‘gaslighting’ the jury.

‘It’s trying to convince you of something that isn’t true,’ he said.

At issue is whether Kay’s distribution of opioids to Angels players fell within the scope of his regular duties as Angels communications director, with Skaggs attorneys arguing that Kay performed myriad tasks for the players, arranging tickets to sporting events, purchasing Viagra for one player and arranging massages and other appointments.

The Angels contend that Skaggs, who fought a Percocet addiction as an Arizona Diamondback before he was acquired by the Angels in 2013, was the ringleader of a group of Angels players who abused Oxycodone and other opioids.

Lead attorney Todd Theodora contended Skaggs made other Angels players aware that Kay could provide pills, that the Angels handled Kay properly by facilitating his treatment for opioid addiction earlier in 2019, his recovery threatened by Skaggs continuing to ask him for pills.

‘What you see here is a classic double standard,’ Thedora argued.

The final weeks of the trial, now stretching toward its second month, was marked by squabbles over Skaggs’ potential future earnings. The Angels deployed former major league general manager Dan Duquette to contend that Skaggs’ earnings potential was between zero and $50 million.

Skaggs was exactly halfway to his finest season as a pitcher, on track to make 30 starts and pitch a career-high 160 innings at the time of his death. As a left-handed starter, he would have always been a rare commodity on the free agent market.

The virtually impossible task of determining such value – and the risk for both sides of a massive jury award or nothing – creates the possibility of a settlement before the jury returns a verdict. A civil trial requires just eight of 12 jurors to agree on a verdict, and unlike a criminal trial, not needing to meet the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Three years in, is the NBA Cup actually working?

On Tuesday night, for the third time, there will be a new NBA Cup champion.

The San Antonio Spurs will take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in Las Vegas to culminate the third playing of the event. But, now that it has become a staple of the NBA calendar, is it actually working?

By many metrics, the NBA Cup has been a resounding success.

More than 40 million viewers tuned in for group stage games, a 90% year-over-year increase. It was the most-watched group stage in the Cup’s three seasons. Headed into the quarterfinals, the international audience for NBA Cup games had also jumped, by 10%. Factoring in the high-profile Spurs-Thunder semifinal matchup over the weekend, that number is presumably even higher.

“It’s growing,” Hall of Fame guard and current Amazon Prime analyst Steve Nash told USA TODAY Sports in a phone interview. “The importance to the players and coaches is growing. That is, I think, the genesis of the success we’re going to see as it continues to grow.”

Those gains are evident through the league’s social channels, too.

Through the quarterfinals, content from NBA Cup games garnered 2.6 billion views across the NBA’s social and digital platforms, a 38% growth from last season. Content from NBA Cup days, on average, yielded 24% more views than non-Cup days.

The event has infused an element of competition that would otherwise be lacking during a stretch of the calendar when fans might be distracted by college football and the NFL.

And for the players, it’s no surprise that the financial incentive to win carries weight.

Each player on the NBA Cup championship team Tuesday night will claim an additional $530,933.

“When I see the court, I’m like, it’s just time to win the money,” Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels said Nov. 7, according to the Star Tribune. “We ain’t been to Vegas one time. At least come in first, second, or third, we get a little bit of money. So, whichever one we come in, I’m cool — we get a little wire transfer.”

It’s not just the players; the NBA Cup is also making the league money. Marketing partnerships have increased successively each season of the event, and the number of partners this year, 14, is double what it was during the inaugural playing in 2023.

It has also helped that, this year, premier NBA Cup games have been packaged on a new broadcast partner that has drawn positive reviews. In its first full season broadcasting NBA games, Amazon Prime has been a solid addition to the portfolio. Alongside Nash, former players like Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, Dwyane Wade and John Wall (among others) have treated pre- and post-game content as opportunities to educate fans about the inner workings of the game. Rejecting hot take and debate culture, the Amazon broadcasts have become appointment viewing.

Yet, there’s still work to be done.

Although audience, engagement and attendance are all up since the introduction of the event, the league will continue to monitor ways it can improve the NBA Cup, and might incorporate changes in the coming season to maximize reach and profit.

“It’s not perfect,” Nash continued. “Change is difficult. Trying to build something new is never straightforward, so there’s going to be bumps in the road. But, overall, I see how it’s gaining importance — from players and coaches, but how that all trickles down to the fans, too.”

‘Change the courts, please’

To market the tournament, the NBA contracted artist Victor Solomon the past two seasons to design custom alternate courts for each team to be used during Cup games. This is not new; the league also used alternate courts in the first iteration of the event in 2023, which was then known as the NBA In-Season Tournament. But the alternate floors, at best, have drawn mixed reviews.

Safety concerns emerged this season, after Los Angeles Lakers guards Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves complained about the surface at Crypto.com Arena being slick.

“Change the courts, please,” Dončić told reporters Nov. 25 after the Lakers beat the Clippers on their alternate NBA Cup floor. “It’s just slippery. It’s dangerous.”

Dončić’s concerns reached the Lakers front office, which elevated the matter. Eventually, prior to the team’s following home NBA Cup game, Wednesday, Dec. 11 against the Spurs, the alternate court had been returned to the vendor for repairs, according to ESPN. The Lakers played on their primary floor instead. The move, ESPN reported, was made out of an abundance of caution.

The night prior, during an NBA Cup East Quarterfinal game against the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic also played on their primary court, though that was because their NBA Cup court was damaged while held in storage.

Fans are engaging with the NBA Cup because of the product atop the floor, not the paint on it. If anything, the unconventional — if not dizzying — colors and designs can detract from the viewing experience.

This season, the most controversial court was Minnesota’s, which drew widespread disapproval Nov. 7, when the Timberwolves first played on it, against the Utah Jazz.

The court was overwhelmingly fluorescent, almost like a giant green screen. It was so bright that, when cameras zoomed in on players’ faces during the broadcast, they were underlit in a hazy, green glow.

“It’s an honor to step on an NBA court,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said after the game, “no matter how ugly that court is.’

This is a case where subtlety might make more sense. The NBA should distinguish its NBA Cup courts to further heighten the stakes of the event, but it can do so in a more understated way. Perhaps, the league could incorporate a smaller decal or image of the NBA Cup trophy, or signage similar to the popular NBA Finals text that used to be visible near midcourt during the championship series.

The NBA Cup spawns questions about dense scheduling

John Hollinger of the Athletic conjectured in a recent article that the NBA Cup’s schedule has imposed further strain on the bodies of NBA players. The 2025-26 season has seen various soft-tissue injuries to some of the game’s biggest stars like Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Hollinger hypothesized that road travel for Cup games might in part be contributing to early fatigue.

NBA chief communications officer Mike Bass pushed back against that claim in a statement posted Thursday, Dec. 11 on social media. In the message, Bass cited data and said “The Cup has objectively not led to a denser league-wide schedule in the early part of the season.”

Injuries across the NBA are almost certainly multi-factorial, from the steady increasing of pace and average velocity across the league this season, to the extension of the basketball calendar with EuroBasket and international competition. There simply isn’t enough data to determine the impact of the NBA Cup on injuries.

Spreading travel days over a longer period, however, would be an easy step to ease any potential exhaustion players might be feeling.

Where does the NBA Cup go from here?

Players, by and large, thrive on competition. Initially, back in the inaugural year of the event, there was some confusion about the merits of the tournament.

“It’s weird, because the energy, you can tell is like something is happening,” then-Bucks player Damian Lillard said in November 2023 during a post-game interview. “But it’s new so I’m not really sure what the hell is going on. It seems like a moment — the court, the uniforms, TV game and all that, but I don’t think nobody really knows what’s going on. We just trying to get to Vegas.”

As players have had more experience in Cup games, however, that sentiment has largely faded.

The quality of matchups and storylines, however, will determine the success of the NBA Cup. The West semifinal upset on Saturday, Dec. 12, when the Spurs toppled the Oklahoma City Thunder in Wembanyama’s return from a 12-game, calf-strain absence flashed the potential of what the Cup can be: the established power, the defending NBA champion Thunder were challenged by upstarts. Some of the game’s brightest stars — Wembanyama and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — had to will their teams.

If the Cup can become a playoff-lite, a precursor to the drama of May and June, the event will thrive.

The buy-in has already started. Sustaining it will be imperative.

“As competitors, we want to win every game,” Wembanyama told reporters Dec. 15. “And this one brings something new to the table, so we want to win it even more.”

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Winners and losers from MNF: Steelers eliminate Dolphins in rout

The Pittsburgh Steelers remain on top of the AFC North.

On a cold Monday night in Pittsburgh, the Steelers (8-6) defeated the Miami Dolphins (6-8), 28-15.

The Dolphins scored the game’s first points on a field goal in what was a defensive battle for most of the first half. The Steelers put together a 12-play, 60-yard touchdown drive at the end of the second period, which was part of 28 unanswered points between three quarters.

It’s Pittsburgh’s second straight win.

The Dolphins’ loss snapped their four-game winning streak and they are now mathematically eliminated from the playoff contention.

USA TODAY Sports examines the winners and losers from the Week 15 AFC matchup on ‘Monday Night Football’:

WINNERS

Steelers defense without T.J. Watt

The Steelers defense was stout even without their best player, T.J. Watt, who underwent lung surgery last week. Watt suffered a partially collapsed lung during a dry needling treatment at the team facility on Dec. 10. The Steelers defense played well without the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Pittsburgh held Miami to just three points and had a takeaway in the first half.

The Steelers defense erased Miami’s offense in the third quarter; the Dolphins had minus-20 yards in the period.

The Steeles defense sacked Tua Tagovailoa four times and intercepted him once. They did give up two touchdowns during garbage time in the fourth quarter, which made the game appear more competitive than it was.

Dolphins running back De’Von Achane was held to 60 rushing yards.

Steelers offense

The Steelers were ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in total offense (284.5), pass offense (195.2) and run offense (89.2) entering Week 15. In the first half it showed. However, Pittsburgh turned it up in the second half.

The Steelers scored 21 points after halftime and gained 220 total yards.

Kenneth Gainwell tallied 126 yards from scrimmage.

DK Metcalf had a strong touchdown catch. He finished with three catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

The Steelers gained 336 yards of total offense, passing for 201 and rushing for 135 yards. Those numbers represent improvements from their averages.

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers was efficient in the win. He completed 23-of-27 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. He now has multiple touchdown passes in 166 career games.

Mike Tomlin’s .500 record streak

Remember those “fire Mike Tomlin” chants? Those calls seem to be a thing of the past.

Tomlin’s closing in on a 19th consecutive season with a .500-or-better record, the longest such streak to begin a head coaching tenure in NFL history.

LOSERS

Dolphins’ playoff hopes

The loss eliminated Miami from the AFC playoff race. The Dolphins had entered Week 15 riding a four-game winning streak.

Tua Tagovailoa in cold weather

Tagovailoa is 0-6 when the temperature is 40 degrees or colder.

Tagovailoa threw his league-leading 15th interception. The interception happened on an underthrown deep pass to Jaylen Waddle in the first quarter. The underthrown pass won’t quiet critics about his arm strength.

The Dolphins quarterback finished with 254 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Most of his positive plays happened when the game was out of reach. He had a few passes that could’ve been intercepted.

Miami’s third quarter

The Dolphins didn’t show up after halftime.

The Dolphins defense gave up 14 points and 163 total yards in the third quarter. The offense was worse.

Miami’s offense had an abysmal minus-20 yards of total offense in the third quarter. The Dolphins ran six total plays in the period and nothing worked.

First half offense

Both defenses won the first half. The first two quarters resembled a Pirates vs. Marlins baseball game. The Steelers entered halftime with a 7-3 lead, but it was a struggle offensively for both squads.

The Dolphins went 1-4 on third downs and Tua Tagovailoa underthrew Jaylen Waddle on a deep pass that was picked off by Steelers CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Pittsburgh punted on its first three possessions. The Steelers put together a 60-yard touchdown drive on their final offensive series in the first half.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

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Israeli intel official says your ‘jaw would drop’ at terror plots prevented worldwide

Senior Israeli intelligence officials say warnings delivered to Australia ahead of a deadly attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach were part of a much broader alert: an accelerating global rise in attempts to execute terror attacks across Western countries, increasingly aimed not only at Jewish targets, but also at Christians and large gatherings especially during religious holidays.

According to a senior Israeli intelligence official, Israel’s foreign intelligence service has been tracking a sharp increase in attempted attacks worldwide, many of them low-tech, quickly mobilized and designed to exploit open societies and crowded public events.

‘We stopped a few ticking bombs, the target was on people’s heads,’ the senior official told Fox News Digital.

Israeli intelligence officials say Australia is not an outlier. From their perspective, recent months have revealed a pattern of attempted and disrupted plots across Europe, North America and beyond, pointing to a sustained global threat rather than sporadic violence.

‘If you knew how many terror attacks we exposed and prevented,’ the senior official said, ‘your jaw would drop.’

Israeli intelligence officials say the rise in attempted attacks is driven in part by how extremist and state-linked networks build terror infrastructure globally while deliberately masking their origins.

Officials say the networks frequently rely on non-Iranian nationals to carry out different roles along the operational chain, including logistics, intelligence gathering, financing and execution, in order to blur any connection to Tehran. In some cases, operatives are recruited from migrant or refugee backgrounds, while in others criminal elements or hired proxies are used to carry out acts of violence.

To avoid detection, officials say the networks rely on encrypted communications and clandestine in-person meetings, sometimes conducted outside the country where an attack is planned. In other cases, instructions are delivered remotely through secure channels that bypass standard telecommunications monitoring.

According to Israeli assessments, extremist networks are increasingly overlapping: jihadist ideology, lone-actor violence and state-linked activity now exist in the same ecosystem, fueled by online radicalization and geopolitical instability. Many plots, officials say, are unsophisticated, making them harder to detect early while still capable of causing mass casualties.

Israeli intelligence officials and foreign diplomatic sources warn that the threat is not limited to Jewish targets and is global. ‘We exposed terror cells in Germany, Greece, Austria — but not only Europe — also in South America, India and Thailand.’ The senior official said he cannot elaborate further.

A senior foreign diplomatic source said the current environment is being shaped by what they described as a global contagion effect, in which attacks are amplified online, celebrated across extremist networks and rapidly imitated elsewhere.

According to the source, attacks are increasingly attractive to extremists because they are relatively easy to carry out while producing outsized psychological and political impact.

The source cautioned that Christian communities and broader civilian gatherings are also vulnerable, particularly during religious holidays and symbolic events that attract large crowds.

This concern has been reflected across Europe in recent weeks, when authorities sharply increased security at Christmas markets and holiday celebrations amid warnings that seasonal events present prime targets for extremist violence. Armed patrols, barriers and surveillance were expanded in multiple cities as officials assessed elevated risks tied to jihadist-inspired attacks and lone actors.

On Monday, federal authorities announced they foiled a New Year’s Eve terror plot, arresting suspects accused of planning coordinated attacks involving improvised explosive devices, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors said the plot was disrupted before explosives were fully assembled, underscoring both the scale of the threat and the importance of early intelligence intervention.

A second senior Israeli intelligence source said the broader threat environment has deteriorated after two years of war in the Middle East, which they said has energized radical Islamist movements globally.

According to the source, instability in Syria is of particular concern, creating conditions that could allow ISIS to regroup and once again project influence beyond the region.

‘I’m worried about Syria and that ISIS will return,’ the source said, warning that renewed activity there could inspire further attacks in Europe, Australia and North America.

The source said the growing prevalence of lone actors and sleeper cells poses a significant challenge to Western security services, as individuals with minimal resources can still carry out deadly attacks and trigger copycat violence.

While Australian authorities have not linked the Bondi Beach attack to foreign intelligence direction, Israeli officials say the case fits into a wider global picture: a sustained rise in attempted terror attacks, many of which never become public because they are disrupted early.

‘We see it everywhere,’ the senior intelligence official said. ‘And most of what we stop, the public never hears about.’

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Mexican lawmakers filmed pulling hair and shoving each other during heated Congress floor debate

Mexican lawmakers were filmed shoving each other and pulling hair on the floor of Congress in Mexico City on Monday.

The viral video shows women lawmakers of rival parties jostling for position at a podium in the front of the chamber. The women’s argument escalates from shouts to pushing and ultimately to pulling each other’s hair as other lawmakers try to intervene.

The scene took place during debate over reforms to Mexico City’s transparency oversight agency. Members of the right-leaning National Action Party (PAN) were protesting conduct by the left-leaning Moreno Party, which is the controlling power.

PAN representatives were holding their position at the podium as members of the Moreno Party tried to remove them, leading to the scuffle. Both parties condemned the violence after the incident, but blamed their opponents for starting it.

‘We took the podium peacefully, without touching anyone, and the decision made by the majority legislative group and its allies was to try and regain control of the board through violence,’ PAN aide Andres Atayde said at a press conference following the incident, according to a translation from the Economic Times.

‘Not only is it vulgar, not only is it aggressive, but it is lamentable that this is the majority governing party for this city,’ PAN lawmaker Daniela Alvarez added.

Morena spokesman Paulo Garcia made similar claims about conduct by PAN lawmakers.

‘What worries us a lot is how the opposition is systematically resorting to violence instead of arguments, in the absence of being able to debate,’ Garcia later said in an interview with Mexican media.

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Comer warns contempt as Clintons face January dates for Epstein-probe depositions

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is delaying Bill and Hillary Clinton’s depositions before Congress until January.

In a letter sent to their attorney on Monday evening, Comer warned that a failure to appear for their new dates would result in immediate contempt of Congress proceedings.

‘They’re saying now that he’s going to a funeral on that day, so we’ve been going back and forth with the lawyer,’ Comer told Fox News Digital the same evening. ‘We’re going to hold him in contempt if he doesn’t show up for his deposition.’

The letter said, however, that they failed to provide ‘alternative dates’ for their testimonies.

‘Therefore, the Committee has chosen the date of January 13, 2026, for the deposition of President Clinton and January 14, 2026, for the deposition of Secretary Clinton. If your clients do not comply with these new dates, the Committee will move immediately to contempt proceedings,’ the letter said.

The Clintons were originally subpoenaed over the summer to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s probe into Jeffrey Epstein.

They were part of a long list of former presidential administration officials called in for closed-door meetings with the panel’s lawyers.

To date, just two people have shown up in person — former Trump administration Attorney General Bill Barr and former Trump administration Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.

Others have deferred their subpoena dates or opted to send in written statements due to various personal matters, but it appears Comer is not allowing the Clintons to sidestep an in-person grilling.

In his letter, the Republican leader even went so far as to criticize the Clintons’ lawyer for asking for the same treatment.

‘Your correspondence with the Committee continues to ignore the Committee’s arguments, misstates relevant facts, and seeks information about the Committee’s investigation to which neither you nor your clients are entitled,’ the letter said.

‘As the Committee stated clearly in its November 21, 2025, letter to you, the Committee’s decision to forego in-person depositions for certain other individuals was because those individuals ‘lacked any relevant information to the Committee’s investigation or otherwise had serious health issues that prevented their testimony.’’

Comer said the former president and former secretary of state ‘are not similarly situated and therefore your argument that they are receiving unfair treatment — which you continue to repeat — is baseless.’

‘For example, unlike these other individuals, President Clinton and Secretary Clinton had a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,’ he wrote.

Photos and other documents released by the committee so far have shown Bill Clinton and other powerful figures, including President Donald Trump, socializing with Epstein to varying degrees.

Both Bill Clinton and Trump were shown to have handwritten entries in a book compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday, though until then much of the media scrutiny had been focused on Trump’s entry alone.

Neither of the Clintons have been implicated in any wrongdoing related to Epstein, however, and their social engagements with him appear to have ended long before his 2019 federal indictment on sex trafficking charges and subsequent suicide.

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