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Johnson shutters House again in bid to keep shutdown heat on Schumer

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has once again instructed House lawmakers to remain in their home districts next week, keeping attention — and heat — in Washington on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for over a month.

A clerk in the House of Representatives announced on Friday that Johnson is designating Oct. 20 through Oct. 23 as a ‘district work period,’ meaning no votes or House hearings are expected to be held for that time.

It’s part of the pressure strategy Johnson has implemented against Democrats amid the ongoing government shutdown, which is barreling into a fourth week with the GOP’s federal funding plan stalled in the Senate.

The House GOP passed its federal funding plan on Sept. 19, a seven-week extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 government spending levels, called a continuing resolution (CR). 

It was aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on FY 2026 spending.

But Democrats, infuriated by being sidelined in the talks, are threatening to reject any deal that does not include an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of December.

Democrats reason that millions of Americans are expected to see their healthcare premiums skyrocket even before the subsidies themselves expire at the end of this year, and with no plan in place.

Republican leaders have signaled openness to having those discussions at a later date — albeit not without reforming the system — but are holding firm to their demand that the CR be passed without any partisan policy riders attached.

Johnson told reporters earlier on Friday that he would give House members 48 hours’ notice before they had to return for any votes, something he’s stated both publicly and privately for weeks.

But while his House GOP conference is holding largely united behind him, there are several Republicans growing uncomfortable with the lengthy recess period.

Both Reps. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., expressed concern about the extended time at home during a private call among House Republicans earlier this month.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., has been more public with his pushback. He told MSNBC live on television Wednesday, ‘It is absolutely unacceptable to me and I think only serves further distrust.’

And Rep. Dave Valadao, while not explicitly pushing back on Johnson’s decision, told Fox News Digital that he was ‘kind of torn on that’ before blaming Senate Democrats for putting the GOP in this situation.

Meanwhile, Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., the lone House Democrat who was in the chamber when the district work period was declared, criticized Johnson for keeping the chamber out of session.

‘Congress has been absent here in the House for almost a month when there are critical conversations that need to be happening about reopening the government, lowering the cost of healthcare for millions of Americans, and also moving forward on critical issues,’ Olszewski said.

In a sign of a likely lengthy shutdown, the Senate is preparing to hold a standalone vote next week on paying government workers who are forced to work during the shutdown, including active-duty military members.

Asked by reporters if the House would come back to vote on the measure if it passed the Senate, Johnson said Friday, ‘If we have a viable path, yes, but I suspect the Democrats are going to bat it down again.’

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Trump says ‘tremendous bad blood’ between Zelenskyy, Putin delaying peace deal despite Middle East momentum

President Donald Trump said Friday that ‘tremendous bad blood’ between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin is delaying a peace deal in Ukraine despite the administration’s recent victory with calming tensions in Gaza.

‘They have tremendous bad blood. It’s really is what is holding up I think a settlement. I think we are going to get it done and we have to make it long-lasting, as I said in the Middle East, everlasting,’ Trump said Friday as he hosted Zelenskyy at the White House.

‘The Middle East is a much more complicated situation. You know, we had 59 countries involved, and every one of them agreed. And it’s, you know, it’s sort of amazing. Most people didn’t think that was doable. This is going to be something I really believe that’s going to get done. I had a very good talk yesterday with President Putin. I think he wants to get it done,’ Trump added.

Zelenskyy, sitting alongside Trump, said, ‘President Trump has a big chance now to finish this war.’

‘President Trump has really showed for the world that he can manage a ceasefire in the Middle East. And that’s why I hope that he will do this. And we will also have such big success. For Ukraine, it’s a big chance, and I hope that President Trump can manage it,’ Zelenskyy said.

Trump also said at one point during the meeting, ‘We need Tomahawks, and we need a lot of other things that we’ve been sending over the last four years to Ukraine.’

Trump and Zelenskyy’s meeting, which was announced earlier this week, unfolded a day after Trump held a phone call with Putin. 

Zelenskyy has made clear his chief aim is to secure better defenses for Ukraine amid Russia’s constant aerial bombardments of civilian targets like cities, energy infrastructure and hospitals, and his big-ticket item is the American Tomahawk missile. 

With the capability of hitting beyond even Moscow, the sophisticated high-precision long-range cruise missile could increase Ukraine’s ability to strike further into Russia and better target not only its military complex, but its oil industry, which has largely funded Putin’s war chest.  

Following his call with Putin on Thursday, Trump said ‘great progress’ was made, but he did not provide any specifics on how progress was achieved, though the pair agreed to once again meet in person, this time in Hungary. 

Though Trump said the pair discussed U.S.-Russia trade, he did not say whether U.S. aid to Ukraine was discussed, which appeared to be the impetus for the call earlier this week when he told reporters he ‘might have to speak’ with Putin regarding whether he wanted U.S. Tomahawks near his borders, in what appeared to be an implied threat.  

But neither Tomahawks nor defensive aid were mentioned in the president’s account of the talks.  

Though, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the issue was discussed and opposed by Putin.  

‘Vladimir Putin reiterated his thesis that Tomahawks won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but they will cause significant damage to relations between our countries. Not to mention the prospects for a peaceful settlement,’ he told reporters following the call, according to Reuters. 

Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X on Thursday that, ‘Nothing has changed for Russia – it is still terrorizing life in Ukraine.’

‘Therefore, every air defense system for Ukraine matters – it saves lives. Every decision that can strengthen us brings the end of the war closer,’ he added.

Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House Friday was his third this year. In his first visit in February, Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy sparred during their meeting.

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Thune slams Schumer’s ‘kingmaker’ politics, refuses to ‘kiss the ring’ in shutdown talks

As the government shutdown nears its fourth week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has no intention of giving in to what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants.

On a surface level, Schumer and Senate Democrats want a guaranteed deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies, and Thune has signaled that he is open to giving them an opportunity to negotiate on that only after the government reopens.

But what he won’t do is strike a deal in secret with Schumer, something he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that was all too often the case when the top Senate Democrat ran the upper chamber.  

‘You know, I’ve been around here when everything’s decided by four people in Schumer’s office,’ Thune said. ‘That’s not a way to run the government.’

‘It’s not the business model that Chuck Schumer is accustomed to, and he likes to be the kingmaker and have everybody come and kiss the ring,’ he continued. ‘And I just think that’s not my style.’

Thune described his leadership style as a bottom-up approach ‘where senators get to be senators.’ That has proven true so far, in his handling of the shutdown.

He’s encouraged rank-and-file Republicans to have talks with Senate Democrats in the hopes of constructing an off-ramp from the shutdown, rather than handing down a my-way-or-the-highway edict.

And from those conversations, an offer to Senate Democrats has materialized on the expiring subsidies that would give them a vote, but only if the government reopens. And that offer comes with several caveats that Thune couldn’t guarantee an outcome on. 

‘I signaled to the Democrats that, because they’ve said, ‘Well, we want a guaranteed vote by a certain date.’ OK, I think we can make that happen,’ Thune said. ‘But they also want a guarantee they’re going to win, you know, and I can’t guarantee that. And honestly, even if I could, there’s no guarantee anything gets through the House.’

Still, with an offer for a vote on the table, Schumer and his caucus have not budged from their position. They again blocked Republicans’ attempt to reopen the government for a tenth time on Thursday, and in doing so, guaranteed that the shutdown goes into next week as lawmakers leave town for a long weekend.

A potential complication, too, is Republicans’ desire to make reforms to Obamacare subsidies, enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic but set to expire at the end of this year. In Democrats’ counter to the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), they demanded a permanent extension of the program as-is, which was a non-starter for congressional Republicans.

The Congressional Budget Office found in a report last month that permanently extending the subsidies would cost roughly $350 billion over the next decade.

Thune didn’t dive into specifics of certain reforms he and others in the Senate GOP would like to see, but he noted that reining in the cost of the program was a starting point.

‘There’s no incentive to control costs,’ Thune said. ‘And when the insurance companies are getting direct subsidies from the federal government to enroll as many people as possible, they’re going to enroll as many people as possible, even if those people don’t know they’re enrolled.’

Meanwhile, Schumer has called on President Donald Trump to get directly involved in negotiations after a meeting with the president and Republican leaders at the White House late last month was not enough to prevent the shutdown from happening.

Thune said, ‘I think that happens,’ when asked if Trump would get involved, but he noted that first, the government has to reopen.

‘That’s basically what the White House has been saying,’ he said. ‘The president does like to be, you know, obviously, he is a guy who has experience and wants to solve problems and has experience making deals, and I think he’s probably more than willing to sit down with them, but he’s not going to let them extort him.’ 

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Is Puka Nacua playing this week?

Rams leading wide receiver Puka Nacua has been ruled out for Week 7 due to an ankle injury, according to news reports.
Nacua sustained the injury during the Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

The Los Angeles Rams are going worldwide in Week 7.

The 4-2 Rams face off against the 4-2 Jacksonville Jaguars in Wembley Stadium in London early Sunday morning. Both teams are looking to keep pace in their respective division races; Los Angeles is in a 4-2 logjam in the NFC West with Seattle and San Francisco while Jacksonville can’t fall too far behind AFC South leader Indianapolis.

One of the Rams’ best players won’t be suiting up, though.

Los Angeles ruled out leading wide receiver Puka Nacua for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville, per multiple reports.

Nacua suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the Rams’ Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Nacua jumped for a pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford and landed hard on the ground. He remained on the field grabbing at his leg after the play and he exited the field and headed to the locker room.

He was ruled questionable to return to the game but eventually re-entered the lineup in the second half. He had a season-low two catches for 28 yards in that contest.

Coach Sean McVay said after the game he was unsure if Nacua would be good to go against Jacksonville this week. Turns out he is not.

Los Angeles returns from London for their bye in Week 8. The team has not moved Nacua to injured reserve (IR) so he may be back in the lineup for Week 9 at home against New Orleans.

Rams WR depth chart

Davante Adams
Puka Nacua (injured)
Jordan Whittington
Xavier Smith
Konata Mumpfield
Tutu Atwell
Tru Edwards (practice squad)
Brennan Presley (practice squad)

With Nacua out, Adams may take on a larger role in the offense as he did against Baltimore. Same goes for Mumpfield. The rookie seventh-round wide receiver saw season-high snaps on offense against the Ravens in Nacua’s place.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Formula 1, Apple announce new media rights deal

Formula 1 has entered into a new five-year media rights deal with Apple that will bring all F1 races to Apple TV for viewers in the United States beginning in 2026, it was announced on Friday, Oct. 17.

Apple will pay $140 million annually for F1 rights – an increase from $90 million they received from ESPN since 2018, according to reports. ESPN will continue broadcasting F1 races in the U.S. until the end of this year.

The announcement comes before this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, held in Austin, Texas – the second of three American races on the F1 calendar, along with the Miami Grand Prix in May and Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.

‘When you compare it to other sports in the U.S., certainly the biggest sports – which I think F1 is, and should be in the U.S. – the growth opportunity is huge. It’s exponentially huge. You can exponentially grow the sport,’ Apple’s senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue said during a media call Thursday before the announcement.

F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali added: ‘It’s a perfect match to be hopefully, as soon as possible, socially relevant in a way that everyone can wake up and think about Formula 1 as you’re thinking about NFL or NBA or MLS.

‘Maybe you might think of that as crazy. But that’s really what should be our target. People thinking about our sport – not only as a sport, but also as something that is more than that. And that’s really what we would like to do together with our friends at Apple.’

The partnership sets the stage for F1’s continued growth in the U.S., and follows Apple’s global success of ‘F1 The Movie’ – which became the highest-grossing original feature in 2025 and the highest-grossing sports movie of all time, surpassing $629 million at the global box office.

F1’s U.S. fanbase reached 52 million, the company said in an August press release.

‘One point that we considered together was the amplification platform that Apple will offer our customers,’ Domenicali said. ‘Our customers are getting younger, and younger, and that’s something that’s special. The younger generation uses their phones and PCs more than my generation. It’s why we believed it was the right thing to do.

‘One of the reasons why we wanted to work together is because we know what Apple can do, and we know the power of connected people is through them.’

Apple TV – which costs $12.99 per month – will show F1 practices, qualifying sessions, Sprint races and Grand Prix races to subscribers. Select races and all practice sessions will also be available for free in the Apple TV app throughout the F1 season.

F1 TV Premium, the company’s premier content offering, will continue to be available in the U.S. with an Apple TV subscription.

Apple also plans to incorporate F1 into other applications like Apple News, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+ and Apple Sports.

‘We think that by partnering with Apple, we are best placed to really look to the future and to have an offering that will talk to the broadest possible audience in all of the different ways that they consume,’ F1’s chief media rights and broadcasting officer Ian Holmes said.

F1 joins Apple’s sports portfolio, which includes MLB’s Friday Night Baseball since 2022, and MLS Season Pass since 2023.

F1 races averaged 1.4 million viewers in 2025 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC – which paced ahead of the 1.21 million record average set in 2022, ESPN said in a September press release.

‘We’re incredibly proud of what we and Formula 1 accomplished together in the United States and look forward to a strong finish in this final season,’ ESPN said in a statement. ‘We wish F1 well in the future.’

Domenicali thanked ESPN for being instrumental in F1’s growth in the U.S.

‘They were very instrumental for our growth in the U.S.,’ Domenicali said. ‘They invested on us when no one was really ready to invest in us many, many years ago. But now is the time to look forward, and to take another route that is the future.’

This story was updated with new information.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Pressure points: Alabama, Tennessee, LSU face Week 8 challenges

Several SEC teams, including LSU and Georgia, face pivotal Week 8 games that could define their playoff chances.
USC coach Lincoln Riley is under pressure to prove his team can compete with top programs as they face Notre Dame.
BYU’s undefeated record and freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier face their toughest test yet in a rivalry game against Utah.

The similarities are hard to ignore.

Three weeks removed from a win against then-unbeaten Georgia, Alabama was 5-1 and ranked No. 7 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and Tennessee was 5-1 and ranked No. 11 when the two met on the third Saturday of last October.

Fast-forward a calendar year. Three weeks after beating the Bulldogs 24-21, the red-hot No. 6 Crimson Tide host the No. 11 Volunteers looking to avoid a similar fate to last season.

Tennessee’s 24-17 win in Neyland Stadium was a sign of struggles to come for Alabama, which nosedived out of College Football Playoff contention and lost more than three games for the first time since 2017. While the Tide ruined their own chances with cringeworthy losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, the defeat in Knoxville ended up being the separating factor that earned the Volunteers an at-large playoff bid at Alabama’s expense.

A five-game winning streak since dropping the opener to Florida State has reestablished the Tide as a legitimate national championship contender and potentially the best team in the SEC. This stretch of play since early September has also rocketed quarterback Ty Simpson into the Heisman Trophy debate and solidified second-year coach Kalen DeBoer’s job security after his stressful debut.

There’s a sense that this season is different for Alabama. Part of this optimism stems from three wins in a row against ranked teams, starting with the Bulldogs. Another factor is the improved play on offense.

But all that momentum would evaporate with a third loss in four years to the one-loss Volunteers, who lead the nation in scoring (48.2) with at least 34 points in every game and rank fourth in yards per game (527.8). There’s no question that Tennessee has slid under the radar after spending most of the offseason dealing with the fallout from quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s abrupt departure for UCLA after spring drills.

The Tide and Volunteers lead the USA TODAY Sports preview of the team, game, coach and quarterback facing the most pressure in Week 8 of the regular season:

Team: No. 10 LSU

LSU is either a great team, a very good team, a good team, an average team or an outright disappointment — and sometimes all of the above in the same game.

The Tigers are an enigma, basically, with no wins against Power Four opponents with a winning record and an offense that ranks 104th nationally in points per game against Bowl Subdivision teams. Yet LSU heads into the second half at 5-1 and as one of several SEC teams positioned for a playoff run.

It’s still hard to take the Tigers seriously. They dropped the one matchup against a legitimate team, No. 5 Mississippi. The win against Clemson in the opener means nothing with the Tigers slumping. Of the team’s 18 offensive touchdowns, eight came in a paycheck game against Southeastern Louisiana.

Saturday’s trip to No. 18 Vanderbilt ranks among the biggest games of the Brian Kelly era. A win provides some validation and could be a springboard into subsequent pairings with No. 4 Texas A&M, Alabama and No. 13 Oklahoma.

A loss would be devastating: Given what’s to come, Vanderbilt’s first win in this series since 1990 would put the Tigers’ playoff odds on life support and raise some legitimate questions about the state of Kelly’s program.

Game: No. 5 Mississippi at No. 7 Georgia

This one is bigger for Georgia given the earlier loss to Alabama, though the Bulldogs could lose on Saturday and still wouldn’t be denied a playoff berth should they go on to beat No. 17 Texas and No. 12 Georgia Tech.

Georgia’s hit-or-miss offense went awry in a 20-10 win against Auburn, averaging a season-low 4.3 yards per play and running for just 79 yards on 2.6 yards per carry. This same group won a shootout against the Volunteers in September, however.

Wins against LSU and Tulane have left the unbeaten Rebels in great shape. What we don’t know is how they’ll handle this road environment after playing just Kentucky away from home during the first half.

This is a barometer game for Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. A win would make it official: Ole Miss is a deadly serious national title contender for the first time since the early 1960s.

But a loss could make the ensuing trip to Oklahoma a must-win game, especially if LSU drops off the map down the stretch and Tulane fails to at least play for the American championship.

Coach: Lincoln Riley, Southern California

Beating Michigan jumped USC to No. 21 in Coaches Poll and highlighted some newfound toughness against one of the most physical teams in the Big Ten. The Wolverines had just 109 yards on the ground and were held without a rushing touchdown for just the second time in conference play since the start of the 2022 season.

If the defense is for real — the unit has been much better outside of a meltdown in the loss to Illinois — the Trojans are dark-horse Big Ten contender. Offensively, USC leads the FBS with 8.3 yards per play, ranks second with 552.3 yards per game and third in scoring at 45.5 points per game.

No. 15 Notre Dame will be the best team USC has faced to date. The Fighting Irish dropped single-possession games to No. 2 Miami and Texas A&M but have since ripped through Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State and North Carolina State.

As with Kelly and LSU, you can make the argument for this ranking among the biggest games of the Lincoln Riley era. A win would validate the Trojans’ perceived growth following a disappointing Big Ten debut in 2024, but a loss would reignite concerns that Riley’s program is not constructed to compete with the best teams in the Power Four.

Quarterback: Bear Bachmeier, Brigham Young

After helping No. 14 BYU gut out a double-overtime win against Arizona despite tossing a pair of interceptions, Bachmeier gets his first taste of the Holy War against No. 22 Utah.

The freshman won an intense offseason quarterback competition after former starter Jake Retzlaff transferred to Tulane. He’s played well, by and large, with 1,220 passing yards, another 295 rushing yards on 4.2 yards per carry and 15 combined touchdowns, seven on the ground.

But his numbers — and the Cougars’ unbeaten record — have largely been accumulated against average-to-worse competition. Arizona is the only opponent with a winning record BYU has faced to date; the only other opponent with a non-losing record is East Carolina.

Are the Cougars for real? Is Bachmeier? The questions lingering around the Cougars’ second 6-0 start and the play of their freshman passer will find their answers in Saturday night’s intense rivalry matchup.

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Top Week 7 fantasy football sleepers at every position

Week 7 of the NFL season is here. The last two weeks have been quite the wild ride. The once untouchable Philadelphia Eagles have now lost two straight, capped off by being embarrassed by the New York Giants.

The Kansas City Chiefs, who started the season 0-2 after losing to those same Eagles, have won three of their last four. Their latest victory, a Sunday night beatdown of the Detroit Lions, showed how quickly things can change in the NFL.

The same goes for fantasy football. One week a player is considered hot, and the next he is not. Then the managers of that player start looking for help, possibly in the form of a streamer.

To help, here are 10 players and one defense you can stream to win Week 7.

*Streamers are players who are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues.

Fantasy Football Week 7 Streamers

Quarterbacks

This is a tough week to stream quarterbacks. The best ones who are still widely available have difficult matchups.

Jaxon Dart, New York Giants

Starting a quarterback against the Broncos hasn’t worked for many this season. But in a week with limited streaming options, Dart is one of the better plays.

He has already faced two tough defenses and finished as a QB1 in both games. Oddly enough, his worst fantasy performance came against the Saints. This matchup against Denver will likely be his toughest test yet, but his rushing floor makes him a solid option.

Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Since Week 1, Darnold ranks as QB8 on a per-game basis, yet he remains rostered in fewer than half of leagues.

He faces the Texans this week, who have allowed the fewest points per game to opposing quarterbacks. That stat is a little misleading. Their recent matchups have been against Cooper Rush, Cam Ward, and Trevor Lawrence. Rush is a backup who was replaced himself, while Ward and Lawrence rank QB37 and QB22 in fantasy points-per-game. Those three combined for 18.7 fantasy points.

The only top-10 QB they’ve faced this year was Baker Mayfield in Week 2, and he scored 19.9 points. Darnold has played well enough lately to post a similar outing.

Running Backs

Week 6 was kind to running backs, but there’s still plenty of uncertainty at the position, sending managers to the streamer pool for help.

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons

In three of five games this season, Allgeier has scored more than 10 half-PPR fantasy points. In four games, he’s seen double-digit carries. The lone outlier was the 30–0 blowout loss to Carolina.

Even as the backup to Bijan Robinson, Allgeier continues to get meaningful work. This is thanks to the Falcons running the ball 48% of the time, fifth most in the league.

The 49ers have already allowed four rushing touchdowns and just gave up scores to both Rachaad White and Sean Tucker last week. So why not both Bijan and Allgeier this week?

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans

As mentioned in the Fantasy Six Pack Usage Trends article, Spears was on the field more than Tony Pollard in just his second game back.

While that didn’t mean more carries, it did result in four receptions and 90% of the short-yardage work. The Titans tend to use Spears more when trailing, and as underdogs this week, he should see plenty of snaps.

Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals

A surprise report during pregame last week said Knight was going to be the starter. While that didn’t end up being the case, he still played more snaps and received more carries than Michael Carter. He also handled all the goal-line and short-yardage work, scoring a touchdown.

The matchup this week against the Packers is tough, but streaming is about guaranteed touches, and Knight has that locked down.

Wide Receivers

Injuries continue to shake up the WR landscape. Puka Nacua, Garrett Wilson, Emeka Egbuka, Calvin Ridley, and Marvin Harrison Jr. all went down in Week 6. The good news is that CeeDee Lamb and Mike Evans could return, and Rashee Rice is done serving his suspension.

Kendrick Bourne, San Francisco 49ers

For the second straight week – and it would have been three if they did not play on Thursday night last week – Bourne lands on this list. With 15 receptions for 284 yards over the last two games, he deserves to be rostered more so he isn’t eligible for it.

Jauan Jennings returned last week but admitted he played through two sprained ankles and five broken ribs. George Kittle and Brock Purdy might return, but it seems unlikely that Ricky Pearsall will. Even if Kittle does play, Bourne should continue to see heavy target volume.

Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders’ passing game has struggled, especially without Brock Bowers. Despite that, Tucker has quietly been a steady option, finishing as a WR3 or better in four of six games.

This week’s matchup against the Chiefs is a tough one, and Kansas City is favored by 12. If this game turns into a blowout, Tucker should see plenty of volume in catch-up mode.

Sterling Shephard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The hits keep coming for Tampa Bay. Emeka Egbuka strained his hamstring last week and is expected to miss Week 7, maybe more.

Mike Evans is trying to return, but even if he suits up, Shepard should remain involved as a reliable target for Baker Mayfield.

Tez Johnson and Kameron Johnson are deeper-league dart throws but more as boom-bust options.

Tight Ends

George Kittle, one of the more entertaining tight ends in the game, is returning this week. So those of you who were using Jake Tonges will need to look elsewhere.

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

Fannin has carved out a solid role as the Browns’ second tight end and could see an even bigger workload if David Njoku misses time with a knee injury.

Last week, he caught seven of 10 targets, with five coming after Njoku left in the fourth quarter. If Njoku sits, Fannin should be started in all leagues.

Mason Taylor, New York Jets

Last week didn’t go as planned for anyone on the Jets offense, Taylor included. This week should be better as they face the Panthers, who allow the second-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends.

Taylor had seen heavy usage before Week 6, and that should bounce back with Garrett Wilson sidelined. It’s possible Taylor becomes the primary target in the Jets offense.

Defense

It’s another challenging week for streaming defenses, with most of the top options already rostered.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a sneaky good fantasy defense. They are getting buried in scoring leaders list because of a complete disaster in Week 2 against the Lions. That game they put up a negative two.

In the other four games of the season they are averaging 10.25 points. That would make them the No. 1 fantasy defense.

A lot of this has to do with how many turnovers they are forcing. They rank second in the NFL with 12 turnovers. This is with them having their bye week already as well.

Their opponent this week, the Saints, are tied for seventh with four giveaways on the season. This might make you think the turnovers won’t come this week for the Bears, well think again. The Commanders went into Week 6 having turned the ball over just three times, and the Bears turned them over three more times.

Expect more big plays from this defense.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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EXCLUSIVE: Karoline Leavitt slams Hakeem Jeffries as ‘stone-cold loser’ after he attacks her as ‘demented’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is hitting back at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after he called her ‘sick’ among other attacks on Friday morning.

‘Hakeem and Democrats are lashing out because they know what I said is true,’ Leavitt told Fox News Digital. ‘The Democrat Party’s elected officials absolutely cater to pro-Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals. House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning Hamas following the horrific October 7th terrorist attacks, and Democrats cheered on pro-Hamas radicals while they hijacked America’s college campuses and harassed Jewish students.’

‘Democrats opened our borders and allowed tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country over the past four years, including rapists and murderers, because they view them as future voters,’ she continued. ‘Democrats coddle violent criminals and support soft-on-crime policies like cashless bail that let violent offenders back on the streets to hurt law-abiding citizens.’

She then went after Jeffries directly while criticizing Democrats as a whole for blocking the GOP’s federal funding bill.

‘Democrats do NOT serve the interests of the American people. Hakeem Jeffries is an America Last, stone-cold loser. Now open up the government and stop simping to try to get your radical left-wing base to like you,’ Leavitt said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office for a response.

Earlier Friday, Jeffries criticized Republicans as a whole for their attacks against Democrats, before he turned the focus to Leavitt specifically during a press conference.

‘You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control,’ Jeffries said. ‘And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar or all of the above.’

He added, ‘But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals and undocumented immigrants makes no sense, that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown.’

Tensions have run high on both sides as the shutdown drags on, and the standoff shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, it’s expected to roll into its fourth week after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s federal funding measure for a tenth time on Thursday before leaving Washington for the weekend.

Republicans put forward last month a seven-week extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a long-term deal for FY2026.

But Democrats in the House and Senate were infuriated by being sidelined in those talks. The majority of Democrats are refusing to accept any deal that does not include serious healthcare concessions, at least extending COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

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Musk ally Jared Isaacman makes comeback bid for NASA administrator role after May withdrawal: report

NASA is once again considering Elon Musk ally Jared Isaacman for the administration’s top role.

The private astronaut had been nominated for the role earlier this year, but the White House yanked that nomination as cracks formed in President Donald Trump’s relationship with Musk.

‘Secretary Duffy and Jared Isaacman had an excellent meeting,’ NASA press secretary Bethany Stephens first told Reuters in a statement this week.

She added in a statement to Fox News Digital: ‘At President Trump’s direction, Secretary [Sean] Duffy in his capacity as acting NASA Administrator, is meeting with and vetting several candidates for the permanent role.’ 

The nomination was pulled on May 31, one day after the White House held a farewell press conference for Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO who led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts.

Trump announced on social media at the time he was pulling the nomination for Isaacman, a commercial astronaut and founder and CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments after ‘a thorough review of prior associations.’

Trump also said he would unveil a ‘new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space.’

Isaacman’s affiliations with Musk include being an investor in SpaceX, in addition to leading two private spaceflight missions with SpaceX, including Inspiration4. The 2021 Inspiration4 mission was the first time an all-civilian crew orbited Earth.

The billionaire investor flew twice to space in the company’s capsules.

He had spent months navigating the Senate’s confirmation process at the time his nomination was yanked, balancing NASA’s multi-billion-dollar strategy to return to the moon first and its focus on Mars. NASA recently unveiled plans to develop a nuclear reactor on the moon. 

Isaacman said he suspected his ties to Musk were part of the decision, noting the call came the same day Musk’s tenure with DOGE concluded.

‘I don’t need to play dumb on this,’ Isaacman said on the ‘All In’ podcast. ‘I don’t think that the timing was much of a coincidence, that there were other changes going on the same day.

‘There were some people that had some axes to grind, I guess, and I was a good, visible target.’

Tensions between Trump and Musk came to a head when Musk came out against the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ Trump’s massive tax and spending package.

Ties between the pair are seemingly on the mend. They shook hands and chatted at Charlie Kirk’s funeral in Glendale Arizona last month.

‘We had a little conversation,’ Trump said. ‘We had a very good relationship, but it was nice that he came over.’

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Hakeem Jeffries unleashes personal attack against Karoline Leavitt, calls her ‘sick’ and ‘demented’

The top Democrat in the House of Representatives attacked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with a slew of insults on Friday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republican officials of unjustly going after Democrats amid a controversy over a swastika flag found in a House GOP lawmaker’s office this week, though the lawmaker denied he or his staff played any role. Jeffries made the comments during a press conference with reporters on day 17 of the ongoing government shutdown.

‘You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick. She’s out of control. And I’m not sure whether she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone-cold liar, or all of the above,’ Jeffries said.

‘But the notion that an official White House spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants makes no sense, that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump administration in the middle of a shutdown.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response.

Jeffries had been asked about the swastika, which was reportedly embedded into a small American flag that was hanging on a cork board in the office of Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio. It was first reported by a local Ohio social media reporter who goes by the X handle ‘The Rooster.’

Taylor said in a statement to Fox News that several offices were targeted with the flag, which he said was the work of an ‘unidentified group’ in a coordinated opposition campaign.

‘New details have emerged from a coordinated investigation into the vile symbol that appeared in my office. Numerous Republican offices have confirmed that they were targeted by an unidentified group or individual who distributed American flags bearing a similar symbol, which were initially indistinguishable from an ordinary American flag to the naked eye,’ Taylor said. 

‘After a full-scale internal investigation, I am confident that no employee of this office would knowingly display such a despicable image, and the flag in question was taken down immediately upon the discovery of the obscured symbol it bore.’

It’s not immediately clear why the events made Jeffries invoke Leavitt specifically, however.

Tensions have run high on both sides as the shutdown drags on, and the standoff shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, it’s expected to roll into its fourth week after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s federal funding measure for a fourth time on Thursday before leaving Washington for the weekend.

Republicans put forward last month a seven-week extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a long-term deal for FY2026.

But Democrats in the House and Senate were infuriated by being sidelined in those talks. The majority of Democrats are refusing to accept any deal that does not include serious healthcare concessions, at least extending COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

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