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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has returned to campus in Boulder after recovering from an undisclosed health issue at his ranch in east Texas this summer.

Sanders, 57, announced it on social media July 25, just a couple of days before his team is due to report for preseason training camp. A school spokesman confirmed he is in Boulder. He also is scheduled to hold a news conference with his medical team in Boulder on Monday.

“Back and Feeling Great!” he said on social media site X.

Sanders has a history of blood circulation issues in his legs that led to surgeries in 2023 and the amputation of two toes before that. But he hasn’t revealed what ailed him since suffering the health setback in May and then missing several events in May and June, including a speaking engagement in Florida and Colorado’s annual high school and youth football camps.

Football recruits who visited in June were told he was out sick. He did appear at a Big 12 Conference media days event July 9 but declined to talk about his health.

He then recently left his ranch to visit his son Shilo at preseason camp for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on July 23.  

His eldest son Deion Jr. talked about the ordeal in a video he posted from the ranch on YouTube on July 22.

“I’m kind of sad,” Deion Jr. said of his last day at the ranch. “I’m not gonna lie to you. I learned to really actually love this place. I really never stayed out here much. … It’s not even just about being here. It was like the battle that was fought here. The battle that was fought and won here. That’s like the main important thing. Boys didn’t left the house for two months.”

He called it a blessing and said details would be coming soon, as documented on video, much in the spirit of the “Coach Prime” marketing machine.

“He’s gonna tell y’all whatever he went through very soon, and I’ve got a lot of it recorded on video,” Deion Jr. said. “So you’ll be able to see what he went through.”

Colorado opens the season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. It will be Deion Sanders’ third season at Colorado after finishing 4-8 in 2023 and 9-4 in 2024. But it will be a challenge after several top players left for the NFL, including his quarterback son Shedeur, safety son Shilo and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

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

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Australian Kaden Groves skillfully navigated a slippery route that resulted in a crash and demonstrated he was more than just a sprinter by winning the 182.4 km from Nantua to Pontarlier Stage 20 of the Tour de France.

Originally part of a 13-man breakaway, Groves gained momentum and took the solo lead in the final stretch of Stage 20, ultimately claiming victory over Frank van den Broek and Pascal Eenkhoorn. As Groves inched closer to the finish line, he burst into tears, glancing over his shoulder to ensure he was in the clear before raising his hands in celebration as he crossed the line.

The 26-year-old cyclist has increased his tally to nine stage wins, comprising seven from the Vuelta and two from the Giro d’Italia.

Stage 20 results

Here are the final results of the 184.2-kilometer course on hilly terrain from Nantua to Pantarlier at the 2025 Tour de France, Saturday, July 26 (with position, rider, team, time):

Kaden Groves, Alpecin-Deceuninck (4:06.09)
Frank Van Den Broek, Team Picnic Postnl (04: 07.03)
Pascal Eenkhoorn, SOUDAL QUICK-STEP/bel (04:07.08)
Simone Velasco, XDS ASTANA TEAM/kaz (04:07.13)
Romain Gregoire, GROUPAMA-FDJ/fra (04:07.13)
Jake Steward, ISRAEL – PREMIER TECH/isr (04:07.13)
Jordan Jegat, TOTALENERGIES/fra (04:07.13)
Tim Wellens, UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG/uae (04:07.13)
Matteo Jorgenson, TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE/ned (04:07.13)
Harrison Sweeny, EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST/usa (04:07.13)

Tour de France 2025 standings

Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia: 73 hours, 54 minutes, 59 seconds
Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark: 73:59.23 (4 minutes, 24 seconds behind)
Florian Lipowitz, Germany: 74:07.11 (12 minutes, 12 seconds)
Oscar Onley, Great Britain: 74:07.11 (12 minutes, 12 seconds)
Felix Gall, Austria: 74:12.11 (17 minutes, 12 seconds)
Tobias Johannessen, Norway: 74:15.13 (20 minutes, 14 seconds)
Kevin Vauquelin, France: 74:17.34 (22 minutes, 35 seconds)
Primoz Roglic, Slovenia: 74:20.29 (25 minutes, 30 seconds)
Ben Healy, Ireland: 74:23.01 (28 minutes, 2 seconds)
Jordan Jegat, France: 74:27.41 (32 minutes, 42 seconds)

2025 Tour de France jersey leaders

Yellow (overall race leader): Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia
Green (points): Jonathan Milan, Italy
Polka dot (mountains): Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia
White (young rider): Florian Lipowitz, Germany

Who’s wearing the rainbow jersey at 2025 Tour de France?

In addition to the four traditional colored jerseys at the Tour de France, the reigning world road race champion wears a rainbow-colored jersey. It’s white with five colored stripes – blue, red, black, yellow and green (same as the colors of the Olympic rings) – and is currently worn by Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia.

2025 Tour de France next stage

Stage 21 of the 2025 Tour de France is a 132.3-kilometer course on flat terrain from Mantes-La-Ville to Paris Champs-Elysees on Sunday, July 27.

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The New York Yankees’ two-year nightmare at the hot corner is finally over. And that comes at the expense of the Colorado Rockies, whose bid to avoid the worst record in modern major league history just got a lot more difficult.

The Yankees acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies on Friday, July 25, galvanizing a position that’s haunted them even as they advanced to the 2024 World Series and positioned themselves for another playoff run this season.

In McMahon, 30, the Yankees get a 2024 All-Star with significant power, but also a propensity to strike out. He leads the National League with 127 strikeouts this season and was punched out a career-high 198 times in 2023.

Yet he’s also heading toward his sixth season of at least 20 home runs and has averaged 22 homers and 27 doubles per 162 games in his career. McMahon has two more seasons remaining on the six-year, $70 million extension he signed with Colorado.

And he will provide a name that manager Aaron Boone can write confidently in the lineup every night after a revolving door at third.

Yankees: Ryan McMahon solves third base problem

Yankees third basemen rank 22nd in the major leagues in OPS, despite trying a slew of them this year: Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, miscast second baseman Jazz Chisholm, Jorbit Vivas and Pablo Reyes have all earned starts there this season, and that doesn’t include DJ LeMahieu, who was released with $22 million left on his contract this year after flailing at second base with All-Star Chisholm at third.

That alignment wasn’t great for the Yankees in 2024, even as Chisholm’s midseason acquisition provided punch to the lineup. But he was never fully comfortable at third, contributing to a defensive incontinuity that dogged the Yankees in the World Series against the Dodgers and lingered through this year.

That won’t be a problem now. McMahon ranks fourth among all major leaguers with four outs above average, and the left-handed hitter will now be able to pepper Yankee Stadium’s short right field with his elite power.

And the Yankees will have to pay less of a premium for McMahon than they would have for Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suarez, whose market just got a lot more expensive for clubs hoping to acquire him.

Rockies: On pace for worst record in modern MLB history

The Rockies received minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Ryan Grosz in exchange for McMahon. Herring, a left-hander, was ranked No. 17 among Yankee prospects, according to Baseball America. Largely a reliever at LSU, Herring, 22, has moved to the rotation in the minors and has a 1.71 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 89 innings at three levels.

The Rockies figure to assign him to high A or Class AA.

Grosz, 22, reached Class AA with the Yankees and struck out 131 2/3 batters in 121 innings at three levels this season.

But they’re of no help to the big league Rockies, who entered Friday 26-76 and with a .255 winning percentage, putting them exactly on pace to equal the Chicago White Sox’s 41-121 record last season – worst in the modern major league era.

Avoiding that history will be harder with McMahon gone – and likely a few more players to ship out before the July 31 trade deadline. McMahon was replaced in Friday’s lineup at Baltimore by journeyman infielder Orlando Arcia, who has a .177 average and .473 OPS.

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Welcome to the NFL, Shemar Stewart. Officially.

Despite being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 17 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the rookie has been living life without an NFL contract. It’s been a long, winding road of uncertainty and frustration for Stewart and the Bengals as their relationship got off to a rocky start.

Both sides can put that behind them now.

On July 25, Stewart and the Bengals officially agreed to a fully-guaranteed, four-year, $18.97 million deal that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, a person with knowledge of the contractual details confirmed to USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon.

Whether Trey Hendrickson remains in the building or not, the hope is that Cincinnati found a star pass rusher in the draft. Now that Stewart’s under contract, they’ll have a chance to see what he can do on the field.

Here’s what to know about Stewart’s first NFL contract:

Shemar Stewart contract details

Stewart is signing a four-year, $18.97 million deal with the Bengals.

It carries an average annual value (AAV) of around $4.7 million and a signing bonus of $10.4 million, according to Spotrac. The total value of the deal is about $8 million less than what No. 10 pick Colston Loveland received from the Chicago Bears. However, it’s about $4 million in total value more than the No. 32 pick, Josh Simmons, received from the Kansas City Chiefs.

That is because NFL rookie contracts are slotted, meaning the player’s draft position determines their contract. They are fixed and designed to limit haggling in negotiations to things like offset language.

Of course, Stewart was a rare exception and experienced plenty of roadblocks along the way to a deal.

Shemar Stewart holdout

The Bengals usually limit their contract disputes to veteran players seeking big extensions, but Stewart became the exception this offseason.

It became clear this would be a problem when he arrived at rookie minicamp only to observe and not practice. From that point on, the alarms had been going off in Cincinnati as the season inched closer. Stewart vowed he wouldn’t practice before his contract was finalized, a negotiating tactic to avoid injury and apply pressure to the organization.

The standoff reached its boiling point during mandatory minicamp, the last step in the offseason before training camp. Stewart, similar to Hendrickson, took his story to the media as minicamp began on June 10.

‘I’ve been doing this for most of my whole life, and then all of a sudden it’s gone over something very simple to fix,’ Stewart told reporters. ‘It’s kind of disappointing.’

The 21-year-old was frustrated with the lack of progress in negotiations, which stemmed from Cincinnati’s interest in inserting a new contract clause. That change in contract language would’ve allowed the Bengals to void future guarantees in Stewart’s contract, according to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Despite trying to stay ready, Stewart acknowledged at the time that he was missing valuable practices reps. The rookie ended up leaving minicamp on June 12.

Regardless, those issues are now in the past. It’s back to football for Stewart and the Bengals.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

To endorse, or not to endorse, that is the question for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as New York City and the nation wait to see if this top Democrat will throw his backing behind socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

According to Zany Zohran’s backers, this should be a no-brainer. After all, Mamdani won the primary fair and square, but given his far-left proposals like city-owned grocery stores, free buses, and replacing cops with social workers. Jeffries is rightfully wary.

This week, would-be Mayor Mamdani ran away to Uganda to let the heat die down over a guy who once said the state should control the means of production potentially governing Wall Street.

This Africa adventure gives Jeffries a little more time to decide whether to endorse, but not much. The moment is still coming.

What makes this choice so hard for Jeffries is that he knows better than anyone just how dangerous these Democratic Socialists can be. In fact, it’s the whole reason he is now in line for the speakership should Democrats retake the House.

In 2019 Jeffries replaced another New Yorker named Joe Crowley as chair of the Democratic Caucus in the House. The coveted spot in leadership was available because Crowley had suffered a shocking primary defeat at the hands of whom? A bartender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In spite of the fact that AOC opened the door to power for Jeffries, he is actually much more of a Crowley than a Cortez. He might be the poster child for the old-school Democrat machine politician.

Jeffries was born and raised in Brooklyn, state college undergrad, masters in public policy from Georgetown, law degree from NYU, clerked with a federal judge, a decade of private practice, two years in the state assembly and now, Congress. That is how it used to be done.

Now, Hakeem Jeffries’ party is being overrun with theater kids who skirt through college and whose political training comes almost exclusively from far-left activist organizations and Marxist tracts, and they want him to sign off on it.

The political reality for Jeffries is that if he endorses Zohran, then this 33-year-old, who can be credibly called a communist, will be hung like a millstone around the neck of every Democrat running for the House.

Even moderate House Democrats who try to distance themselves from Mamdani and his parade of pathetic and stale socialist programs will be sharply and publicly reminded that the guy they want to make Speaker of the House endorsed a communist.

Nowhere is this more true than close to home in the suburban New York districts that Republicans swept in 2024 to keep their slim House majority. There is no path back to power that doesn’t flow through Long Island and Westchester.

Republican House candidates like incumbents Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota will absolutely make Mamdani a focal point of their campaigns, no matter who their actual opponents are.

There is no easy way out of this predicament for Jeffries. Either he refuses to endorse Mamdani, and sets off an angry civil war in his party, or he does endorse him, and watches Democrats’ chances to win the House and make him speaker diminish greatly.

For any party leader, herding the cats is a great challenge. It was for Nancy Pelosi, and it is for Jeffries. But the Mamdani question is bigger than managing normal ideological differences. Jeffries has to decide if he will, for the first time, usher actual communists into the Democrats’ tent.

Most of us were born at a time when Democrats still proudly called themselves the party of Jefferson and Jackson. Today, it is starting to look more like the party of Marx and Guevara. Can Hakeem Jeffries hit the brakes? Don’t count on it.

My sources in Gotham, in both parties, the ones I trust the most, all think Jeffries will eventually, as quietly as possible, give his support to Mamdani. I’m not completely convinced, but it is the path of least resistance, which is a siren call for most politicians.

When and if Jeffries makes this cowardly choice, Republicans must be prepared to explain, quite clearly, to Americans that one of their major political parties, its oldest, in fact, has come to embrace communism.

For Hakeem Jeffries this is an existential choice, not just for his political future, but the future of his political party, and of our nation itself.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to fire numerous Democrat-appointed members of independent agencies, but one case still moving through the legal system carries the greatest implications yet for a president’s authority to do that.

In Slaughter v. Trump, a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to fight what she calls her ‘illegal firing,’ setting up a possible scenario in which the case lands before the Supreme Court.

The case would pose the most direct question yet to the justices about where they stand on Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, the nearly century-old decision regarding a president’s power over independent regulatory agencies.

John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital he thinks the high court is likely to side with the president if and when the case arrives there.

‘I think it’s unlikely that Humphrey’s Executor survives the Supreme Court, at least in its current form,’ Shu said, adding he anticipates the landmark decision will be overturned or ‘severely narrowed.’

What is Humphrey’s Executor?

Humphrey’s Executor centered on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to fire an FTC commissioner with whom he disagreed politically. The case marked the first instance of the Supreme Court limiting a president’s removal power by ruling that Roosevelt overstepped his authority. The court found that presidents could not dismiss FTC commissioners without a reason, such as malfeasance, before their seven-year terms ended, as outlined by Congress in the FTC Act.

However, the FTC’s functions, which largely center on combating anticompetitive business practices, have expanded in the 90 years since Humphrey’s Executor.

‘The Federal Trade Commission of 1935 is a lot different than the Federal Trade Commission today,’ Shu said.

He noted that today’s FTC can open investigations, issue subpoenas, bring lawsuits, impose financial penalties and more. The FTC now has executive, quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, Shu said.

SCOTUS greenlights other firings

If the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily allow two labor board members’ firings is any indication, the high court stands ready to make the FTC less independent and more accountable to Trump.

In a 6-3 order, the Supreme Court cited the ‘considerable executive power’ that the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board have, saying a president ‘may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf.’

The order did not mention Humphrey’s Executor, but that and other moves indicate the Supreme Court has been chipping away at the 90-year-old ruling and is open to reversing it.

The case of Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya gets closest to the heart of Humphrey’s Executor.

Where does Slaughter’s case stand?

Slaughter enjoyed a short-lived victory when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found that Trump violated the Constitution and ruled in her favor on July 17.

She was able to return to the FTC for a few days, but the Trump administration appealed the decision and, on July 21, the appellate court paused the lower court judge’s ruling.

Judge Loren AliKhan had said in her summary judgment that Slaughter’s case was almost identical to William Humphrey’s.

‘It is not the role of this court to decide the correctness, prudence, or wisdom of the Supreme Court’s decisions—even one from ninety years ago,’ AliKhan, a Biden appointee, wrote. ‘Whatever the Humphrey’s Executor Court may have thought at the time of that decision, this court will not second-guess it now.’

The lawsuit arose from Trump firing Slaughter and Bedoya, the two Democratic-appointed members of the five-member commission. They alleged that Trump defied Humphrey’s Executor by firing them in March without cause in a letter that ‘nearly word-for-word’ mirrored the one Roosevelt sent a century ago.

Bedoya has since resigned, but Slaughter is not backing down from a legal fight in which Trump appears to have the upper hand.

‘Like dozens of other federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission has been protected from presidential politics for nearly a century,’ Slaughter said in a statement after she was re-fired. ‘I’ll continue to fight my illegal firing and see this case through, because part of why Congress created independent agencies is to ensure transparency and accountability.’

Now a three-judge panel comprising two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee is considering a longer-term pause and asked for court filings to be submitted by July 29, meaning the judges could issue their decision soon thereafter.

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a slew of documents this month, revealing that Obama administration officials ‘manufactured’ intelligence to push the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.

Here’s a look at the newly declassified records:

Declassified Presidential Daily Brief

Documents revealed that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community consistently assessed that Russia was ‘probably not trying … to influence the election by using cyber means.’

One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s talking points stated, ‘Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome.’

Fox News Digital obtained a declassified copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, which was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, with reporting from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and open sources, for Obama, dated Dec. 8, 2016.

‘We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure,’ the Presidential Daily Brief stated. ‘Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states.’

But the brief stated that it was ‘highly unlikely’ the effort ‘would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result.’

‘Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes,’ it stated. 

The brief noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that any Russian activities ‘probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates.’

The brief stated that cyber criminals ‘tried to steal data and to interrupt election processes by targeting election infrastructure, but these actions did not achieve a notable disruptive effect.’

Fox News Digital obtained declassified, but redacted, communications from the FBI in the Presidential Daily Brief, stating that it ‘should not go forward until the FBI’ had shared its ‘concerns.’

Those communications revealed that the FBI drafted a ‘dissent’ to the original Presidential Daily Brief. 

The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ‘based on some new guidance,’ decided to ‘push back publication’ of the Presidential Daily Brief. 

‘It will not run tomorrow and is not likely to run until next week,’ wrote the deputy director of the Presidential Daily Brief at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose name is redacted. 

The following day, Dec. 9, 2016, a meeting convened in the White House Situation Room, with the subject line starting: ‘Summary of Conclusions for PC Meeting on a Sensitive Topic (REDACTED.)’

The meeting included top officials in the National Security Council, Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, among others, to discuss Russia.

The declassified meeting record, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that principals ‘agreed to recommend sanctioning of certain members of the Russian military intelligence and foreign intelligence chains of command responsible for cyber operations as a response to cyber activity that attempted to influence or interfere with U.S. elections, if such activity meets the requirements’ from an executive order that demanded the blocking of property belonging to people engaged in cyber activities.

After the meeting, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Clapper’s executive assistant emailed intelligence community leaders tasking them to create a new intelligence community assessment ‘per the president’s request’ that detailed the ‘tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.’

‘ODNI will lead this effort with participation from CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS,’ the record states.

Later, Obama officials ‘leaked false statements to media outlets’ claiming that ‘Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election.’

By Jan. 6, 2017, a new Intelligence Community Assessment was released that, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ‘directly contradicted the IC assessments that were made throughout the previous six months.’ 

Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital that the ICA was ‘politicized’ because it ‘suppressed intelligence from before and after the election showing Russia lacked intent and capability to hack the 2016 election.’ 

Officials also said it deceived the American public ‘by claiming the IC made no assessment on the ‘impact’ of Russian activities,’ when the intelligence community ‘did, in fact, assess for impact.’ 

‘The unpublished December PDB stated clearly that Russia ‘did not impact’ the election through cyber hacks on the election,’ an official told Fox News Digital.

The official also said the ICA had assessed that ‘Russia was responsible for leaking data from the DNC and DCCC,’ while ‘failing to mention that FBI and NSA previously expressed low confidence in this attribution.’ 

Officials said the intelligence was ‘politicized’ and then ‘used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump’s victory, the years-long Mueller investigation, two Congressional impeachments, high level officials being investigated, arrested, and thrown in jail, heightened US-Russia tensions, and more.’

Declassified House Intelligence Committee Report

A report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2020 said the intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the ‘unusual’ direction of then-President Barack Obama, published ‘potentially biased’ or ‘implausible’ intelligence suggesting otherwise.

The report, based on an investigation launched by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was dated Sept. 18, 2020. At the time of the publication of the report, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the chairman of the committee.

The report has never before been released to the public and instead has remained highly classified within the intelligence community.

Fox News Digital obtained the ‘fully-sourced limited-access investigation report that was drafted and stored in a limited-access vault at CIA Headquarters.’ The report includes some redactions.

The committee focused on the creation of the Intelligence Community Assessment of 2017, in which then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for the inclusion of the now-discredited anti-Trump dossier despite knowing it was based largely on ‘internet rumor,’ as Fox News Digital previously reported.

According to the report, the ICA was a ‘high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five CIA analysts, using one principal drafter.’

‘Production of the ICA was subject to unusual directives from the President and senior political appointees, and particularly DCIA,’ the report states. ‘The draft was not properly coordinated within CIA or the IC, ensuring it would be published without significant challenges to its conclusions.’

The committee found that the five CIA analysts and drafter ‘rushed’ the ICA’s production ‘in order to publish two weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn-in.’

‘Hurried coordination and limited access to the draft reduced opportunities for the IC to discover misquoting of sources and other tradecraft concerns,’ the report states.

The report states that Brennan ‘ordered the post-election publication of 15 reports containing previously collected but unpublished intelligence, three of which were substandard — containing information that was unclear, of uncertain origin, potentially biased, or implausible — and those became foundational sources for the ICA judgements that Putin preferred Trump over Clinton.’

‘The ICA misrepresented these reports as reliable, without mentioning their significant underlying flaws,’ the committee found.

‘One scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports constitutes the only classified information cited to suggest Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win,’ the report states, adding that the ICA ‘ignored or selectively quoted reliable intelligence reports that challenged — and in some cases undermined — judgments that Putin sought to elect Trump.’

The report also states that the ICA ‘failed to consider plausible alternative explanations of Putin’s intentions indicated by reliable intelligence and observed Russian actions.’

The committee also found that two senior CIA officers warned Brennan that ‘we don’t have direct information that Putin wanted to get Trump elected.’

Despite those warnings, the Obama administration moved to publish the ICA.

The ICA ‘did not cite any report where Putin directly indicated helping Trump win was the objective.’

The ICA, according to the report, excluded ‘significant intelligence’ and ‘ignored or selectively quoted’ reliable intelligence in an effort to push the Russia narrative.

The report also includes intelligence from a longtime Putin confidant who explained to investigators that ‘Putin told him he did not care who won the election,’ and that Putin ‘had often outlined the weaknesses of both major candidates.’

The report also states that the ICA omitted context showing that the claim that Putin preferred Trump was ‘implausible —if not ridiculous.’

The committee also found that the ICA suppressed intelligence that showed that Russia was actually planning for a Hillary Clinton victory because ‘they knew where (she) stood’ and believed Russia ‘could work with her.’

The committee also noted that the ICA ‘did not address why Putin chose not to leak more discrediting material on Clinton, even as polls tightened in the final weeks of the election.’

The committee also found that the ICA suppressed intelligence showing that Putin was ‘not only demonstrating a clear lack of concern for Trump’s election fate,’ but also indicated ‘that he preferred to see Secretary Clinton elected, knowing she would be a more vulnerable President.’

Declassified Hillary Clinton section of House Intelligence Committee Report

One section of the declassified House Intelligence Committee report states that the material in Putin’s possession included Russian intelligence on Democratic National Committee information allegedly showing that senior Democratic leaders found Clinton’s health to be ‘extraordinarily alarming.’ 

‘As of September 2016, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service had DNC information that President Obama and Party leaders found the state of Secretary Clinton’s health to be ‘extraordinarily alarming,’ and felt it could have ‘serious negative impact’ on her election prospects,’ the report states. ‘Her health information was being kept in ‘strictest secrecy’ and even close advisors were not being fully informed.’ 

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service also allegedly had DNC communications that showed that ‘Clinton was suffering from ‘intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness.” 

‘Clinton was placed on a daily regimen of ‘heavy tranquilizers’ and while afraid of losing, she remained ‘obsessed with a thirst for power,’’ the report states.

The Russians also allegedly had information that Clinton ‘suffered from ‘Type 2 diabetes, Ischemic heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.’’

The Russians also allegedly possessed a ‘campaign email discussing a plan approved by Secretary Clinton to link Putin and Russian hackers to candidate Trump in order to ‘distract the American public’ from the Clinton email server scandal.’ 

Gabbard, during the White House press briefing Wednesday, said there were ‘high-level DNC emails that detailed evidence of Hillary’s, quote, psycho-emotional problems, uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression and cheerfulness, and that then-Secretary Clinton was allegedly on a daily regimen of heavy tranquilizers.’ 

A tranquilizer is a drug used to reduce mental disturbance, such as anxiety and tension. Tranquilizers are typically prescribed to individuals suffering from anxiety, sleep disturbances and related conditions affecting their mental and physical health. 

A Clinton aide dismissed the claims as ‘ridiculous.’ 

Neither Clinton nor Obama responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

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Kyle Schwarber recorded his 1,000th career hit in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 12-5 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday.

Schwarber’s milestone hit was a two-run home run that tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. It was his 35th home run of the season.

A Phillies fan, who was attending the game with his friends, caught Schwarber’s 1,000th hit and the group was seen hugging after the catch.

‘You show up to the field every single day trying to get a win at the end of the day. I think our fans kind of latch onto that,’ Schwarber said. ‘It’s been fantastic these last three-and-a-half, four years now, the support that we get from our fans. It means a lot to me that they attach themselves onto our team, myself, whatever it is. We can feel that support, and yeah, I always appreciate it.”

It was the first of two two-run home runs in the game for Schwarber. The second one came in the top of the eighth inning and helped put the game out of reach for the Yankees. Schwarber brought Trea Turner in to score both times.

Kyle Schwarber gets milestone ball back from fans

Schwarber met with the fan who got the ball and their friends after the game. The fan returned the ball and Schwarber signed two baseballs for them.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber, Schwarber had asked if the fans wanted him to sign a third ball, but all the fans asked for in return was for him to re-sign with the team. Schwarber shared a laugh with the trio of fans before getting ahold of a third ball to sign.

He’s in the last year of his contract and will become a free agent after the season.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba were “extremely upset” upon hearing they will not be available to play in Inter Miami’s next match after skipping the MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Texas earlier this week, co-owner Jorge Mas said after the league’s announcement on Friday, July 25.  

Any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club’s next match, per MLS rules.  

Inter Miami will play a highly-anticipated match against first-place FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, without Messi and Alba, despite both returning to practice on Friday for the first time this week with expectations they would be able to play.  

“He’s very upset, extremely upset today, as expected. I’m hopeful it doesn’t have an impact long term,” Mas said of Messi during a Zoom press conference with media, regarding ongoing contract negotiations to extend the Argentine World Champion’s contract beyond this season.

MLS commissioner Don Garber told USA TODAY Sports this was a “complicated” decision based on Messi’s workload. 

Messi has played every minute in 22 of 23 matches since April 2, with his lone absence in a 4-3 loss at home to FC Dallas on April 27.

“I know Leo Messi loves this league. I don’t think there’s been a player, or frankly just about anyone, who has done more for MLS than Leo Messi has,” Garber told USA TODAY Sports. “But we have a long-standing policy that is related to participation for all players. And unfortunately, I had to enforce the policy. It was a difficult decision to make.” 

Mas said the club decided for Messi and Alba not to travel, considering they just completed a stretch of nine games in 35 days with an upcoming stint of 10 games in 34 days.

Mas added he had communication with the league on Monday and Tuesday, but admitted talks between both sides “wasn’t handled ideally.” MLS did not announce Messi and Alba would miss the All-Star Game until roughly eight hours before the Wednesday, July 23 exhibition.  

“Obviously, Lionel Messi is Lionel Messi. He is different. He has completely changed the economics of this league for every single club, every team, every sponsor, the league, media, etc. He’s important. But at the end of the day, Lionel Messi wants to play in competitive matches,” Mas said. 

“If he would have gone Wednesday, would have played maybe 15-30 minutes – great. But at the end of the day, league corporate sponsors are already taking advantage of Lionel Messi’s presence in the league.”

Mas believes the rule that will sideline his former FC Barcelona stars is “frankly draconian,” and the All-Star Game puts the players in an “untenable situation” to choose between participating in the exhibition and getting some much needed rest during the regular season. The All-Stars who started the exhibition were substituted after 30 minutes because most returned to regular-season play Friday.

“It’s not just for what he’s done off the field, growing the overall popularity and awareness of the league. It’s really what he’s done on the field. His games are special moments. Every one of them is a must-see match, and it’s that commitment what he does on the field that makes this decision so complicated,” Garber said of Messi.

“He’s played more games than any one player this year. He’s so committed to his club that the timing of the All-Star Game, the timing of the Club World Cup and their schedule, has him wanting to take a break. And I respect that. It was based on his commitment to his club, and I understand and respect his decision.” 

Garber reiterated to Mas that he will “take a hard look at the rule moving forward to make sure it reflects the evolving realities of our league and its players.”  

“I think the rule, it is going to change, but that’s neither here nor there,” Mas added. “Their reaction was as I expected, and they were extremely upset – both of them.”

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Legendary Crimson Tide pitcher Montana Fouts returns to Rhoads Stadium at the University of Alabama this weekend for the 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League championship series, but this time she’ll be representing the Talons.

Fouts and the Talons will face off against Lexi Kilfoyl and the Bandits in Game 1 of the AUSL’s inaugural best-of-three championship series on Saturday, July 26. Game 2 is set for Sunday, July 27, followed by Game 3, if necessary, on Monday, July 28.

The Talons and Bandits are sending their aces to the circle for Game 1. The Talons will start Georgina Corrick, and Kilfoyl will take the mound for the Bandits. Corrick has the lowest ERA in the league (2.04), while Kilfoyl (2.35) has the second-lowest. Fouts, who has the third-lowest ERA (2.71), and Taylor McQuillin will get the starts for Game 2 on Sunday.

Both teams are very familiar with each other. The Talons and Bandits have faced each other eight times during the inaugural season of the AUSL, most recently on July 13 in the Talon’s 6-3 comeback win in Omaha, Nebraska. The regular season head-to-head is tied 4-4, but the Bandits outscored (45-31) and outhit (70-59) the Talons in the eight matchups.

Here’s everything you need to know about the AUSL championship series, from the full schedule, to team rosters and players to watch in the championship series:

When does the AUSL championship series start?

Game 1 of the AUSL championship series gets underway on Saturday, July 26 at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local) at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

How to watch Bandits vs. Talons: TV, stream for Game 1

Time: 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)
Location: Rhoads Stadium (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
TV Channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+

Stream the AUSL championship series on ESPN+

Full AUSL championship series schedule

All times Eastern. * If necessary

The Talons secured home field advantage with the best record in the league:

Game 1 – Saturday, July 26: Bandits vs. Talons (3 p.m., ESPN)
Game 2 Sunday, July 27: Talons vs. Bandits (2 p.m., ESPN)
*Game 3 Monday, July 28: Bandits vs. Talons (7 p.m., ESPN2)

Talons full roster

Head coach: Howard Dobson
General Manager: Lisa Fernandez

Catcher Sharlize Palacios (UCLA)
Infielder Bri Ellis (Arkansas)
Infielder Tori Vidales (Texas A&M)
Infielder Sydney Romero (Oklahoma)
Infielder Hannah Flippen (Utah)
Infielder Ali Aguilar (Washington)
Outfielder Sierra Sacco (Mississippi State)
Outfielder Caroline Jacobsen (Clemson)
Outfielder Jadelyn Allchin (UCLA)
Outfielder Victoria Hayward (Washington)
Utility Sahvanna Jaquish (LSU)
Utility Maya Brady (UCLA)
Pitcher Megan Faraimo (RHP, UCLA)
Pitcher Raelin Chaffin (RHP, Mississippi State)
Pitcher Montana Fouts (RHP, Alabama)
Pitcher Georgina Corrick (RHP, USF)
Pitcher Mariah Lopez (LHP, Utah)

Player to Watch: Will Georgina Corrick continue her domination in the championship series? Corrick was named the Pitcher of the Year after going a perfect 6-0 this season. She recorded 27 strikeouts in 34.1 innings pitched and threw the only two shutouts of the entire season, including the league’s first-ever complete game shutout over the Volts on June 21. Corrick has the lowest opponent batting average (.202) in the entire league. Maya Brady enters the championship series red hot. She made her professional debut for the Talons on July 16 after a Grade 2 hamstring strain sidelined her the beginning of the season. She has a league-leading .647 batting average through six games.

Bandits full roster

Head coach: Stacey Nuveman Deniz
General Manager:  Jenny Dalton-Hill

Catcher Jordan Roberts (Florida)
Catcher Mia Davidson (Mississippi) *Temporary Inactive List
Catcher Mary Iakopo (Texas)
Infielder Danielle Gibson Whorton (Arkansas)
Infielder Sydney McKinney (Wichita State)
Infielder Delanie Wisz (UCLA)
Infielder Erin Coffel (Kentucky)
Infielder Skylar Wallace (Florida)
Utility player Cori McMillan (Virginia Tech)
Outfielder Morgan Zerkle (Marshall)
Outfielder Bubba Nickles-Camarena (UCLA)
Outfielder Bella Dayton (Texas)
Utility Cori McMillan (Virginia Tech)
Pitcher Taylor McQuillin (LHP, Arizona)
Pitcher Emiley Kennedy (LHP, Texas A&M)
Pitcher Odicci Alexander (RHP, James Madison)
Pitcher Sarah Willis (RHP, UCF)
Pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl (RHP, Oklahoma State)

Player to Watch: The Talons must keep Skylar Wallace off the bases because she’s likely to score. Wallace recorded a league-high 26 runs this season, with 10 of them coming against the Talons. Outfielder Morgan Zerkle has also had success against the Talons. She has a .419 batting average (fourth-best in the league) and registered 12 hits against the Talons.

2025 AUSL standings

The AUSL’s inaugural season features four teams  Talons, Bandits, Blaze and Volts  playing a 24-game season across 10 metro areas, including Chicago, Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City. The top two teams punched their tickets to the AUSL championship series. Here’s how the regular season shook out:

Talons: 18-6
Bandits: 15-9
Volts: 8-16
Blaze: 7-17

2025 AUSL end of season awards

AUSL Hitter of the Year: Erin Coffel (Bandits)
Pitcher of the Year: Georgina Corrick (Talons)
Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Flippen (Talons)
Rookie of the Year: Ana Gold (Blaze)
2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Defensive Team (in Alphabetical Order)

Jadelyn Allchin (Talons) – Outfield
Erin Coffel (Bandits) – Middle Infield
Georgina Corrick (Talons) – Pitcher
Hannah Flippen (Talons) – Middle Infield
Ana Gold (Blaze) – Corner Infield
Baylee Klingler (Blaze) – Utility
Korbe Otis (Blaze) – Outfield
Sharlize Palacios (Talons) – Catcher
Sierra Sacco (Talons) – Outfield
Jessi Warren (Volts) – Corner Infield

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