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The New York Jets flight has been anything but smooth through six weeks. To make matters worse, the flight crew is set to lose a key piece for the foreseeable future.

Garrett Wilson, the Jets’ leading receiver and arguably best player, suffered a knee injury during the team’s Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos in London. He was seen exiting the field multiple times during the game, appearing to be at less than 100%.

After the game, it was revealed that Wilson would be getting an MRI to determine the severity of the issue and those results are in.

The Jets will now get to experience life without their WR1 for a bit. Here’s how long Wilson will be sidelined.

Garrett Wilson injury update

Wilson suffered a hyperextended knee and will miss a couple weeks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Jets have two games remaining before their bye week, which would seemingly put Wilson on track to return in Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 9.

Wilson inked a four-year, $130 million extension over the offseason, keeping him with ‘Gang Green’ going forward. New York spent the 10th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on the former Ohio State star and Wilson has been as advertised despite a less-than-ideal quarterback situation.

After reuniting with his college quarterback, Justin Fields, Wilson has seen 56 targets through six games, hauling in 36 receptions for 395 yards and four touchdowns.

The Jets’ passing game undoubtedly revolves around their WR1, meaning an already struggling offense is set to take a major hit in Wilson’s absence.

Jets WR depth chart

Garrett Wilson (injured)
Josh Reynolds
Arian Smith
Allen Lazard
Tyler Johnson

It’s an uninspiring room at best for offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand in the immediate future. The Jets already lacked depth and top-end talent at the position before Wilson’s injury.

The task becomes even more daunting without him.

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LANDOVER, MD – After a sleepless night and a frigid shower, Jake Moody was mobbed by virtual strangers for doing a job he didn’t know he’d have until the day before.

Such is the life of an NFL kicker.

Moody’s 38-yard field goal – through the Maryland mist and at the final gun – defeated the Washington Commanders 25-24 in his Chicago Bears debut Monday night.

“(I)t feels amazing, obviously,” said Moody, a third-round pick out of Michigan two years ago by the San Francisco 49ers, who waived him last month after he failed to find a consistent groove with them.

“Hitting a game winner is always a good time. Doing it for a new team, my first game – it’s huge. … So, glad to be a part of a team like this, and we’re going to keep moving forward.” 

Moody, who joined Chicago’s practice squad Sept. 12, found out Sunday he’d be filling in for Cairo Santos, whose injured quadriceps muscle wouldn’t allow him to play. Over the ensuing 24 hours, Moody continued to get familiarized with his new teammates while also tossing and turning in an uncomfortable hotel bed − he thought it was a twin − when he wasn’t getting scalded in the bathroom.

“(T)ook a nice ice shower before the game and that might be the new tradition that I start, we’ll see,” he said after also being flummoxed by a hotel showerhead that only operated at extreme temperatures.

But whatever makes for a successful routine.

Prior to Monday, when he converted four of five field-goal attempts and his lone extra-point try, Moody had been something of an adventure with the Niners. His 74.2% field-goal conversion rate in Silicon Valley – including 10 misfires in 34 attempts in 2024 – was a non-starter, especially when he missed two of three in this season’s opener.

Since then, he’s been biding his time behind Santos, working with performance coaches and rebuilding his confidence – which didn’t waver even after his 48-yard try to start the fourth quarter, one that would have given Chicago the lead but came off his foot low, was blocked.

“Just get reps, simple as that,” said Moody, who won the Lou Groza Award in 2021 as college football’s top place-kicker. “I like to think if you’re over-prepared for something, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be confident.”

Santos, who made the trip to Washington, also provided welcome assistance on a wet and windy night.

“He’s kicked here a fair amount, and he was able to kind of help me with the wind, with the field surface, all that stuff,” said Moody.

“Shoutout Cairo. He’s been a great help through all of it.” 

But it was Moody who was helped off the field by his appreciative and victorious – if still unfamiliar – teammates, who enjoyed their third consecutive victory at the Commanders’ expense nearly a year after losing on a Hail Mary in this same building.

“Amazing,” running back D’Andre Swift said of Moody. “I introduced myself to him on the sideline – first time I spoke to him. He did a great job.

“Resilient, man. I’m proud of him. Happy to have him on the team, too.” 

Said Bears quarterback Caleb Williams: “I didn’t necessarily fully know who (Moody) was when he got here. So being able to hear about his story when he got here, being able to see him work and being able to kind of have this moment – I know he’s been through some tough moments, and so having this moment for him I know is important.

“Kudos to him, and we love him for that.”

Moody loved it, too, even if he was only temping for Santos for one prime-time night.

“It’s a pretty cool series of events,” he said. “A couple days ago, I didn’t know I was playing and to get lifted up by my teammates. It’s an amazing feeling, and I’m really glad I got to share that moment with them.”

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Penn State needs its very own Curt Cignetti.
Matt Rhule’s best attribute is that he’s a program builder. You could say the same of James Franklin.
Penn State needs a closer, not a builder.

Matt Rhule has a big ol’ crush on Penn State.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to Nebraska’s coach gush with affection for his alma mater.

“I love Penn State,” Rhule said, as his face lit up, during his weekly news conference one day after James Franklin’s firing. “Met my wife there. It’s my alma mater. Fan since I was born. I think I probably had a Penn State shirt when I was born. I love Pat Kraft,” the Penn State athletic director.

That, folks, sounds like a man waiting on a job offer. A man experiencing a bout of infatuation — and not for the Huskers.

I half expected Rhule to rip off his Nebraska hoodie, reveal a mountain lion’s head on his undershirt, and start swaying and singing “For the Glory.”

Oh, sure, Rhule also said he loves Nebraska and he wants to “turn this thing into a beast,” but how much are we to believe that pledge while Rhule is rubbernecking Penn State?

This whole situation smells a little too obvious. Rhule played at Penn State as a walk-on under Joe Paterno, then started his career as a volunteer coach there. Kraft previously was Rhule’s boss when he coached Temple. They’re pals.

Rhule also hinted Nebraska’s not bankrolling his roster to the extent he’d like.

It’s clear why Rhule would flirt with well-heeled Penn State, but why should Penn State settle for the easy choice? Hiring Rhule would amount to hiring a Franklin 2.0. This one just smiles more.

Matt Rhule credentials are a lot like that of James Franklin

By every indicator, Rhule’s a solid coach. He’s a program builder. He’s steady. He worked wonders at Baylor and Temple, just as Franklin did at Vanderbilt. He leaves programs better than he found them.

Each of those descriptors applies to Franklin, too.

By firing Franklin, Penn State signaled it desires to be elite, not solid.

By every indicator, Rhule’s not elite. Like Franklin, he loses the big games. He lost to Michigan a few weeks ago. He’s 8-13 against Big Ten competition in 2½ seasons at Nebraska.

It should be said he’s got Nebraska trending up, with a 5-1 record. Year 3 consistently marks a crescendo for Rhule’s tenures, and this one is no exception.

Sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola is flourishing. Might Raiola follow Rhule to Penn State, if his coach left?

If Penn State hired Rhule, nobody could say it hired a bad coach. I would say Penn State spent tens of millions of dollars and triggered the second-largest buyout in college football history, just to replace Franklin with a more charismatic Franklin.

Rhule’s chops for program building cannot be questioned, but Penn State doesn’t need a rebuild. It needs a closer, a cut-throat like the one Big Ten rival Indiana cooked up.

Will Penn State go for obvious hire or challenge its imagination?

Rhule is the unimaginative, tug-on-the-heart strings choice. That’s worked elsewhere. Mario Cristobal, a Miami native who played for the Hurricanes, has “The U” humming.

Kirby Smart, Jim Harbaugh, Phillip Fulmer and Steve Spurrier won national championships coaching their alma maters. Ohio native Urban Meyer did his thing at Ohio State. Bear Bryant suited Alabama beautifully.

There are just as many examples of the obvious choice going splat. Including the guy Rhule replaced at Nebraska. Scott Frost seemed like a slam dunk. He stunk.

So did Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, his alma mater. So did Kliff Kingsbury in his Texas Tech homecoming.

Mike Shula flopped coaching his alma mater. Alabama replaced Shula with a West Virginia native who played at Kent State. Nick Saban went on to become the GOAT. Alabama built him a statue.

None of the four coaches in last season’s CFP semifinals was at his alma mater. Of that quartet, only Franklin was a native of the state where he coached. A lot of good that Pennsylvania upbringing did Franklin against UCLA and Northwestern.

You think Indiana cares Curt Cignetti is from Pittsburgh, played at West Virginia and came to Indiana by way of James Madison? Indiana wouldn’t trade its Yinzer for any born and bred Hoosier.

Think Oregon minds Dan Lanning, he of the defending Big Ten champion Ducks, is from Missouri and ascended as Smart’s defensive coordinator, three time zones away from Oregon? Nope.

Plundering a coach from a big-brand program isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, either. Texas A&M tried that with Jimbo Fisher. LSU is attempting that with Brian Kelly. Southern California is trying it with Lincoln Riley. None of those guys made the playoff after changing jobs.

Hiring Rhule would be the easy move, the obvious hire, a choice who ensures a high floor. He’d charm the skeptics at his introductory news conference, and he’d love Penn State, and, at first, Penn State would love him back.

And when Rhule proves he’s the second coming of Franklin, Penn State would wonder why it spent all that money to hire the coach it just fired.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

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MILWAUKEE — There was the Milwaukee Brewers’ magical defensive play Monday night that no one has ever witnessed in a postseason game.

There was Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman tormenting the Brewers again with a towering home run and a double.

There was former Dodgers closer Blake Treinen coming in to rescue the kid who took his job.

But, in the end, it was all about Dodgers starter Blake Snell.

This was his game.

This was his night.

This was his piece of history.

Snell, in one of the finest playoff performances ever, put on a pitching clinic for the ages in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. He was in complete control from the first pitch to the last, leaving both sides believing they’ve never seen anything like it.

“This is as good as I can remember in the postseason,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “against a very gritty team. You’re not going to see too many performances like that, certainly in the postseason. This was pretty special.’

Snell not only faced the minimum 24 batters in eight innings, but also he retired the last 17 batters without a single ball leaving the infield.

Not. One. Single. Ball.

The Dodgers outfield could have spent their time sipping adult beverages while Snell was on the mound.

Only Brewers third baseman’s Caleb Durbin’s third-inning single prevented him from possibly joining Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series as the only ones to pitch a perfect game in the postseason.

Snell still became the first pitcher in postseason history to allow no more than one hit, no walks, and strike out 10 or more batters in at least eight shutout innings. He is only the fourth pitcher to face the minimum number of hitters through eight innings, joining Larsen, Bill James in the 1914 World Series and Hall of Fame pitcher Chief Bender in the 1910 World Series.

“The kid is incredible,’ Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I think it’s the most dominant performance against us. I’ve been here 10 years. The kid was amazing. Snell was unbelievable.

“We couldn’t get anything going.’

The Brewers never even sniffed a rally during Snell’s eight innings. He threw 103 pitches, and the Brewers swung and missed 22 times. He threw 23 changeups, and the Brewers swung and missed 14 times.

The best postseason pitching performance they’ve ever seen?

“I can’t think of one that was just off the top of my head,’ Freeman said, “that was just so good from the start. Sometimes it takes an inning or two for someone to settle in. It was from the get-go. It was a masterpiece tonight.

“He’s amazing. There’s a reason he’s a two-time Cy Young Award winner. He’s on the big stage now, and he’s just doing what he’s always done.’

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who has played in 81 postseason games over nine years with two teams, certainly couldn’t think of a game more dominant performance, suffocating the life out of a team from start to finish.

“That’s pretty hard to do,’ Betts said. “That was electric, lights out.’

The Brewers, who managed to finally break though in the ninth when Roberts pulled Snell after 103 pitches and went to rookie Roki Sasaki, were left astounded

“It seemed like he was hitting corners with everything,’ Brewers second baseman Brice Turang, who struck out with the bases loaded to end the game. “It felt like the ball was just sort of disappearing once it got to the box. He was commanding the zone. He was throwing every pitch for a strike.’

Said Brewers center fielder Sal Frelick: “He was definitely on his game tonight. Executed and really didn’t give us too many good pitches to hit. We face a ton of really good pitchers, right? And when we see guys like that, you kind of got to choke up on the bat, find a way to get on base.

“We didn’t do that tonight.’

Not even close.

Snell, who threw his fastball for only 51 of the 103 pitches, relying heavily on his changeup, almost toyed with the Brewers. He had such pinpoint command they didn’t have a chance.

Then again, it’s not much different than what Snell has done for the past four weeks. Snell is yielding a 0.68 ERA in his last six starts since Sept. 10, giving up 15 hits over 40 innings with 56 strikeouts. He’s the only pitcher in history to go 5-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA with at least 50 strikeouts and permitting 15 or fewer hits over six starts since ERA became an official stat in 1913, according to OptaSTATS.

He has looked like Sandy Koufax this postseason, going 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA, giving up only six hits with 28 strikeouts. He has given up a run in only one of his 21 innings this postseason, retiring the side in order 16 times.

It’s hard to believe this is the same guy who had 10 postseason starts in his career before signing his five-year, $182 million free agent contact last winter with the Dodgers, never lasting more than 5 ⅔ innings. He has gone at least six innings in each of his three starts.

“Postseason, if you dominate and you do great,’ Snell said, “no one can say anything. That’s probably the best feeling is you get to prove yourself right, or you get to go out there and you fail. But at least you get to learn and grow and see who you are and how do you get better from it.’’

Snell was never in a jam the entire night and perhaps his most impressive feat was shutting down the Brewers just when it looked like the game could turn after one of the zaniest double plays in history.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning when Max Muncy sent Quinn Priester’s cut-fastball 404 feet to center field, potentially over the center-field wall for a grand slam. Brewers center fielder Sal Frelick leaped, brought the ball back, but it bounced off the wall back into his glove.

The Dodgers, who initially thought the ball was going over the fence, froze. Then, they thought Frelick caught the ball, even though left-field umpire Chad Fairchild ruled the ball was in play.

Teoscar Hernandez, who had gone back to tag up at third base, raced home. Frelick fired a strike to cutoff man Joey Ortiz, who fired home, just ahead of Hernandez, who didn’t realize it was a force play.

Meanwhile, Brewers catcher William Contreras, realizing that Will Smith, who headed back to second base believing the ball was caught, sprinted to third base.

Out at home. Out at third. Double play.

It was the first 8-6-2 double play in postseason history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“It’s got to be the longest double play in history, too, right?’ Muncy said. “That was unbelievable.’

But while the sellout crowd of 41,737 were going bonkers, and the Brewers were wildly celebrating running off the field, Snell never lost his composure. He opened the fourth by striking out leadoff hitter Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich and induced a comebacker from William Contreras. He retired the next 12 batters, too, without a single player hitting the ball out of the infield.

“That was huge for Blake,’ Smith said, “to put up another zero right back out there.’

It was just the latest gem for this starting rotation. The Dodgers’ four starters have a 1.65 ERA in seven games this postseason, yielding a .141 batting average with 56 strikeouts. They have struck out at least nine batters in five games, their most in a single postseason in franchise history.

“I don’t know if you can write enough words in your stories about our starting pitching,’ Freeman said. “It really has been amazing. They seem to feed off each other. And as an offense, we’re just doing everything we can to support them.’

And Snelll, who doesn’t have a World Series ring, just helped the Dodgers move one game closer to becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles in a quarter-century.

“To be here now, it’s a dream come true,’’ Snell said. “I couldn’t wish for anything more. I’m just going to do the best I can to help us win a World Series.’

Certainly, he did just that on a magical evening.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

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Lawyers for James Comey told a federal judge in Alexandria on Tuesday that they plan to file a motion early next week to formally dismiss his criminal case, citing what they argued is President Donald Trump’s ‘unlawful’ appointment of former White House aide Lindsey Halligan as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia shortly before Comey’s indictment.

The filing is part of a broader effort by Comey’s legal team to have the criminal case tossed. His lawyers told the judge overseeing the case last week they planned a separate motion to dismiss the case on grounds of vindictive prosecution.

Tuesday’s filing is not a formal motion but a notice to the court that they plan to challenge Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District. Doing so will require an ‘out-of-district judge’ to hear the motion, as they noted in the filing.

The move is part of a broader salvo from Comey’s legal team to have his criminal case tossed, amid what they say is a politically motivated effort pursued by a lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, who formerly worked as Trump’s personal lawyer and White House aide.

Trump in September announced he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Comey’s lawyers previously suggested that Halligan’s appointment, three days before his indictment, could strengthen their motion to dismiss.

‘We think that’s an unlawful appointment,’ Comey’s lawyers said. 

Comey’s criminal case has emerged as a political lighting rod, punctuating years of public broadsides and quietly simmering tensions between Trump and his onetime FBI director, whom he fired in 2017, less than halfway through Comey’s ten-year tenure as FBI director.

Comey used his memoir, ‘A Higher Loyalty,’ and subsequent public appearances to take umbrage against Trump and publicly criticize the actions he took during his first term. Trump has continued to assail Comey and scrutinize his tenure at the FBI, including by reportedly pressing for the investigation and empaneling of a grand jury. 

Halligan ultimately secured the indictment from a grand jury in Alexandria just days before the statute of limitations ran out in bringing the case.

Halligan, a former insurance attorney in Florida, has said that the charges against Comey ‘represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.’  

‘No one is above the law,’ she told reporters last month.

While the indictment drew praise from some Trump officials and allies, it also prompted criticism from others, who said the case shows the lengths Trump is willing to go to punish perceived political foes.

The notice from Comey’s lawyers was not the only significant development in his case this week.

Hours earlier, the federal judge assigned to his case, Judge Michael Nachmanoff, rejected the Justice Department’s request to limit Comey’s access to ‘protected’ discovery materials being used by prosecutors in the criminal case. 

Nachmanoff said in an order that the government is obligated to share with Comey and his lawyers the discovery materials in the case, including those designated as ‘protected.’

Blocking Comey’s access to these materials would ‘unnecessarily hinder and delay’ his ability to prepare for his criminal case, he said.

‘Protective orders addressing the confidentiality and privacy interests of others should not override a defendant’s right to a fair trial,’ Nachmanoff added.

Further, he said, the government’s proposed order ‘does not sufficiently define the information constituting ‘Protected Material,’ thereby making it overbroad.’

The order resolves, for now, one of several public skirmishes that have emerged in the days since Comey was indicted last month in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, on one count of allegedly making a false statement to Congress during a Senate hearing in 2020, and one count of obstruction connected to the same event.

At issue most recently was whether Comey, the former FBI director who was fired by Trump during his first White House term in 2017, should be granted access to certain discovery materials in his criminal case. 

Halligan asked the judge to restrict his access to discovery materials, citing their sensitive nature and concern about them remaining in the hands of defendants.

She argued the action has long precedent in the Eastern District of Virginia — the Alexandria-based federal court where many national security and intelligence cases are tried — calling it a ‘common practice.’

Comey’s lawyers filed their objection almost immediately. 

They argued that Comey is a Virginia-licensed attorney who himself is ‘admitted to practice law in the Eastern District of Virginia,’ and who has already ‘been entrusted with some of the most sensitive and highly guarded information in the country,’  including during the Bush administration, when he served as the Deputy Attorney General  and as FBI director — a role he held for nearly four years before Trump fired him in his first White House term.

‘To assert now, that he cannot be trusted with receiving discovery in his case controverts his long career of distinguished government service at the highest levels,’ his lawyers said. 

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced a global effort to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize as phase one of the recent Middle East peace agreement goes into effect.

‘I’m proud to tell you that together with my friend, Speaker Ohana of the Israeli Knesset, the equivalent of our Congress, we’re going to embark upon a project together to rally speakers and presidents of parliaments around the world so that we will jointly nominate President Donald J. Trump for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize,’ Johnson said Tuesday. ‘No one has ever deserved that prize more, and that is an objective fact.’

He made the announcement during his daily government shutdown news conference on the 14th day of the ongoing fiscal standoff between Democrats and Republicans.

Johnson opened the press conference praising Trump for helping strike the deal that is aimed at ending the war between Israel and Hamas.

‘There will be more to share on this in the weeks ahead, but today marks the start of this effort that we’ll embark upon together, this joint parliamentary project,’ he said.

‘And I’m honored to do it alongside our ally and my counterpart in Israel in leading that effort.’

Trump was in Egypt on Monday for the signing of the historic peace deal alongside other world leaders from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Both Israel and Hamas also began taking the first steps of the peace process by releasing people held by their respective sides. All 20 living Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas were released, while Israel began releasing Palestinian prisoners it held within its own borders.

Trump has received praise from both sides of the aisle for his role in the U.S.-brokered agreement.

‘I thought it was remarkable. I saw a video last night of one of the released hostages who made the point that as soon as the election was held in November in the United States, Hamas began to treat him and his fellow hostages much better,’ Johnson said. 

‘They fed them better. They respected them more. They changed the tone of how they treated them. They no longer spit upon them. As he said in his own words, elections have consequences.’

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Congressional Democrats from Maryland and Virginia warned on Tuesday that they would sue over the administration’s planned firings and threats of no back pay for furloughed workers.

Both have been used as pressure points by the White House to get Senate Democrats to budge from their dug-in position and vote to reopen the government, but until late last week, no direct action had been taken.

Late last month, the OMB circulated a memo that there would be reductions in force (RIFs) beyond the typical furloughs during a government shutdown. It had remained a threat until last week, when OMB Director Russ Vought announced on X on the 10th day of the shutdown, ‘The RIFs have begun.’ 

Flash forward to Day 14, and Senate Democrats from Maryland and Virginia, states home to tens of thousands of federal employees, showed no signs of caving from their shutdown position despite the firings.

‘When they tell you when they tell you that the shutdown is making them fire these federal employees, do not believe it for a moment,’ Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said. ‘That is a big lie. It is a big fat lie. It is also illegal. And we will see them in court.’

The lawmakers also railed against threats that furloughed federal workers would not receive back pay. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that roughly 750,000 nonessential federal employees could be furloughed, and their estimated back pay could cost up to $400 million per day.

The threat runs counter to a law President Donald Trump signed in 2019 that required furloughed workers to receive back pay in future shutdowns.

‘The idea that he doesn’t understand that everybody has to get paid back shows maybe how short his memory span is, or how [he] arbitrarily wants to pick and choose,’ Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said.

While the lawmakers threatened actions in the courts, Rob Shriver, who formerly served as acting director of the Office of Personnel Management under the Biden administration before taking a position at the non-profit legal services and public policy research organization Democracy Forward, said that a lawsuit was already in motion.

‘As soon as Russ Vought tweeted on Friday, we were on our way back to court to file an emergency motion to stop those unlawful RIFs right in their tracks,’ Shriver said. ‘A hearing on that motion is tomorrow, and no matter what happens, we will continue to fight these illegal RIFs.’

Still, despite the threats from the administration, there has been little progress toward reopening the government. The Senate will again vote on House Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) Tuesday night, which has so far failed seven times. Both sides are firmly rooted in their positions.

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., want a firm deal in place to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies before open enrollment begins on Nov. 1, while Senate Republicans argue that they are open to negotiating a deal only after the government reopens.

And the actions and threats from the Trump administration appeared to only further steel Democrats’ resolve on the issue.

‘The message we have today is very simple, very simple,’ Van Hollen said. ‘Donald Trump and Russ Vought: stop attacking federal employees. Stop attacking the American people and start negotiating to reopen the federal government and address the looming healthcare crisis that is upon us.’

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The Trump administration is seeking to cool tensions between the U.S. and China, after Beijing unveiled plans to impose export controls on rare-earth magnets and after the U.S. threatened more stringent tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation. 

Rare-earth elements are used in products such as electric cars, household appliances, lithium batteries and camera lenses — and are critical to national security because the magnets are key components in many weapons systems.

The export controls directly affect the defense supply chain since the magnets are used in F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Tomahawk missiles and radar systems, among other platforms.

A Virginia-class submarine is outfitted with more than 9,200 pounds of rare-earth elements, while F-35 fighter jets contain more than 900 pounds, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

China plays a critical role in producing these elements. It is responsible for mining roughly 60% of the world’s rare earth minerals and processing nearly 90% as of 2024, according to CSIS.

China unveiled plans Thursday to expand export controls to include five additional rare-earth metals — holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium — adding to seven previously restricted in April.

Gracelin Baskaran, the director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at CSIS, said that the export controls will require all foreign companies to secure Chinese approval to export magnets that contain even small amounts of rare earth elements from China, or were made using Chinese technology. 

‘China’s new rules mark its toughest move yet against the defense sector. Beginning December 1, 2025, firms linked to foreign militaries – including the United States – will be largely denied export licenses,’ Baskaran said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. 

China said that it imposed the new restrictions due to national security concerns, claiming that the rare-earth elements have ‘dual-use properties for both civilian and military applications,’ according to a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. 

China’s plans are testing relations between the U.S. and China, following a few months of relative calm between the two. But China’s announcement received pushback from Republicans and Democrats serving on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, who are pushing for action to penalize China.

Committee chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said in a Thursday statement that the new export controls amount to ‘an economic declaration of war,’ and that every American would suffer. 

‘China has fired a loaded gun at the American economy, seeking to cut off critical minerals used to make the semiconductors that power the American military, economy, and devices we use every day including cars, phones, computers, and TVs,’ Moolenaar said in a statement. 

Moolenaar sent a letter to Trump in September urging him to act against China’s dominance in rare-earth magnets and to consider limiting Chinese airline access to U.S. and allied airports until Beijing lifts the restrictions.

Ranking member of the committee, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., also said that the U.S. must find alternatives so the country doesn’t depend so much on China for the magnets. 

‘The United States and allies must redouble efforts to diversify supply sources, strengthen partnerships, and invest in domestic processing to reduce our reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for essential minerals,’ Krishnamoorthi said in a Friday statement. 

In response to China, the Trump administration threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese goods by 100% and warned he might cancel his meeting later in October with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

Even so, Trump attempted to defuse the situation Sunday, and chalked up Beijing’s plans to impose new export controls to a ‘bad moment.’ 

‘Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment,’ Trump said in a Sunday social media post. ‘He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!’

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said Monday that it ‘firmly rejects’ new U.S. restrictions and sanctions against Beijing, and will ‘do what is necessary to protect its legitimate rights and interests.’ 

‘Threatening high tariffs is not the right way to deal with China,’ the Chinese Embassy said in a Monday social media post. ‘The U.S. should correct its approach and act on the common understandings the two presidents reached in their phone calls.’ 

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday that the U.S. was not given a heads up on the increased export controls, and said that China ‘deferred’ a call from the U.S. on the matter after Washington learned about the move from public sources. 

However, China and the U.S. upping the ante in their trade war hasn’t totally derailed talks between the two countries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the U.S. and China engaged in ‘substantial communications’ over the weekend, and that Trump and Xi’s meeting in October is still expected. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips and Alex Schemmel contributed to this report. 

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is seeking testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith about what he says were Smith’s ‘partisan and politically motivated’ prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

Jordan told Smith on Tuesday in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to schedule an interview with his committee by Oct. 28. The move comes at the same time congressional Republicans have been raising alarm over the recent revelation that Smith subpoenaed phone records of sitting senators.

‘As the Committee continues its oversight, your testimony is necessary to understand the full extent to which the Biden-Harris Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement,’ Jordan wrote.

Jordan’s request comes amid Republicans intensifying their focus on Smith, who brought criminal charges against Trump over the 2020 election and classified documents but later dropped them because of a Justice Department policy that advises against prosecuting sitting presidents.

The request to appear for a transcribed interview marks the first instance of Congress summoning Smith after the former special counsel spent more than two years investigating and prosecuting Trump. The president has repeatedly targeted Smith, referring to him as ‘deranged,’ a ‘thug’ and a ‘sleazebag’ and calling Smith a ‘criminal’ who should be arrested.

Jordan also made a broad request for all records from Smith on his work related to Trump. If Smith were to resist the requests for an interview and documents, Jordan could subpoena him. Fox News Digital reached out to Smith’s lawyers for comment.

The Senate is also ramping up its scrutiny of Smith. Last week, 18 Senate Republicans, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded that the DOJ and FBI release documents on Smith’s decision to subpoena phone companies for toll records of eight Senate Republicans, material that could be protected by grand jury rules.

The senators said they had ‘serious constitutional concerns’ about the subpoenas and that the DOJ should ask courts to unseal the records if needed. Seeking toll records is a routine part of an investigation and sheds light on when calls were placed and to whom. They do not provide any details about the contents of phone calls or messages.

Jordan called the subpoenas and his recent discovery that the FBI monitored Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., before seizing his phone ‘abusive surveillance.’

Jordan also raised numerous other concerns he said he had with Smith’s probes, including the controversial execution of a search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in 2022 to seize boxes that allegedly contained classified material. Jordan also took issue with a gag order Smith sought against Trump in court after prosecutors raised concerns that threats Trump’s targets were receiving were a result of the president’s rhetoric.

‘These actions undermined the integrity of the criminal justice system and violated the core responsibility of federal prosecutors to do justice,’ Jordan wrote.

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Florida basketball returned to the mountaintop last season by winning its first national title since 2007.

A poll of experts who cover the SEC for the USA TODAY Sports Network is picking the Gators to carry that momentum into a new campaign and dethrone Auburn as league champions. Florida is the preseason favorite after receiving eight first-place votes.

However, the Gators were not a runaway choice atop the conference. Florida’s biggest competition, according to our experts, is Kentucky.

The Wildcats received four first-place votes and were picked to finish second. Their last regular-season SEC title came in 2020 under John Caliprai, who is now the coach at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are fifth in this preseason poll.

Alabama and Tennessee, two teams that made the Elite Eight in 2025, are ahead of the Razorbacks. Rounding out the top six is Auburn, who reached the Final Four last season and is beginning a new era under coach Steven Pearl after his father Bruce Pearl retired in September.

Kentucky basketball’s Otega Oweh was voted as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year. The guard averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last year in his first season with the Wildcats. He returns this winter for his senior campaign with ambitions of taking Kentucky back to the Final Four.

Kentucky’s Mark Pope reeled in the Preseason Coach of the Year honor. Pope guided the Wildcats to a 24-12 record and a trip to the Sweet 16 last season.

Tennessee freshman phenom Nate Ament is the Preseason Newcomer of the Year, while Missouri’s Anthony Robinson II is the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Here is the predicted order of finish for the coming season by the USA TODAY Sports Network’s panel of 12 experts, with the preseason All-SEC teams and awards below:

SEC basketball preseason poll, predicted order of finish

First-place votes in parenthesis.

Florida (8)
Kentucky (4)
Alabama
Tennessee
Arkansas
Auburn
Missouri
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Texas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
Georgia
LSU
South Carolina

Preseason basketball All-SEC teams

FIRST TEAM

G Otega Oweh, Kentucky (unanimous selection)
G Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
G Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
F Nate Ament, Tennessee
F Alex Condon, Florida (unanimous selection)

SECOND TEAM

G Labaron Philon, Alabama
G Boogie Fland, Florida
F Keyshawn Hall, Auburn
F Malik Dia, Ole Miss
F Thomas Haugh, Florida

Preseason SEC basketball Coach of the Year

Mark Pope, Kentucky

Others receiving votes: Todd Golden, Florida; Steven Pearl, Auburn; Chris Beard, Ole Miss.

Preseason SEC basketball Player of the Year

Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Others receiving votes: Alex Condon, Florida; Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn; Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State.

Preseason SEC basketball Newcomer of the Year

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Others receiving votes: Keyshawn Hall, Auburn; Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas; Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee; Xaivian Lee, Florida; Jaland Lowe, Kentucky; Mackenzie Mgbako, Texas A&M.

Preseason SEC basketball Defensive Player of the Year

Anthony Robinson II, Missouri

Others receiving votes: Felix Okpara, Tennessee; Alex Condon, Florida; Keyshawn Hall, Auburn.

Poll participants: Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun; Ryan Black, Courier-Journal; CL Brown, Courier-Journal; Adam Cole, Motgomery Advertiser; Gentry Estes, The Tennessean; Jackson Fuller, Southwest Times Record; Callum McAndrew, Columbia Daily Tribune; Sam Sklar, Clarion Ledger; Emilee Smarr, Tuscaloosa News; Colton Sulley, The Oklahoman; Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald; Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel.

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